The Collector

Chapter Twenty-Two

Bruce stared into the dead eyes which looked up at him from his computer screen. He had a feeling growing in the pit of his stomach which was making him feel nauseous. After receiving Dick's heart diagnosis, it became evident that at some point in the future the boy was going to need more medical care than Lesley could give. This wasn't an issue, but for Bruce to make sure Dick was able to receive this care, there was something he had to do first. He had to bring Richard Grayson back from the dead. His first call that morning had been to locate Dick's passport and visa documents, which the young man had told him existed but were kept in a safety deposit box that was linked to the account where Slade had kept his money. After some digging, Bruce had managed to locate these with the help of the card Dick had entrusted him with. He sent Alfred to collect them, while he made a few more calls, the last of which to Jim Gordan.

The Commissioner was surprised to hear from him and even more surprised when Bruce told him the nature of the call. The surprise soon turned to fury, as Gordon investigated the case files from Dick's arrest four years ago. Bruce could hear him furiously tapping on his keyboard. The files were found, and Gordon gave Bruce a heart felt apology. By a stroke of sheer bad luck, Dick had been arrested the same week Gordon had taken his first and only vacation in five years. Dick had been arrested, processed, released and the files lost all before Jim and his family were back in the state. Gordon had had no idea Dick Grayson had ever stepped foot in the station. Nor did he know why the arresting officer didn't notice the flag on system when he had entered the kids name. As Dick had been fifteen at the time, the Commissioner ensured Bruce that the file would be sealed and would never be used against him. He sent Bruce a copy of the file at the man's request and said he would need to see the boy for himself before he could lift the missing persons status from his name. Bruce agreed and set up a meeting at the manor later that day. Since then, he had been staring at the case file.

He knew why Dick had been arrested, he'd heard as much when the boys had been attacked by Mike and his men. But to see it written in black and white made it suddenly seem a lot more real. He had thought Dick was in a state when he had first come to live with them all those months ago, but to see what the boy looked like before he had been taken in by Slade...Bruce suddenly had a stronger appreciation for the mercenary. The boy in the arrest photo was sickly thin, the edges of his cheek bones prominent making his whole face look gaunt and hollow. The bags under his eyes made his expression look numb and emotionless. Bruce shifted through the images of the teenagers' arms, seeing the track marks that had littered them. These were not just the scars which he had seen on Dick's arms every day for months. The ones in the photos were fresh, a few of them still scabbed over with dried blood. Bruce had seen many people in this condition over his years as Batman, he knew what would have happened to Dick if Slade hadn't stepped in when he did. He closed his eyes, trying to push away the thought of a body in an alley.

A knock came from the door to his home office and Bruce quickly closed his computer screen. Alfred entered the room, carrying a tray with a mug of coffee and a manilla envelope under his arm.

'Coffee for you Sir, you look as though you have had a trying morning.'

'You can say that again Alfred. Did you manage to get them?' Bruce nodded towards the envelope. Alfred handed it to him and waited for the younger man to inspect its contents. Bruce looked over the European passport and the visa documents, all seemed to be legitimist and in order. The photo on the passport looked to be a few years old, the boy captured still looked very sickly but when compared with the photos Bruce had spent the last hour studying, he was already on a journey to recovery when Slade had arranged the documents.

'Gordon is coming over later, Alfred. He needs to see Dick in person before he can close the missing person's case.'

'Quite right, Sir.' Alfred said. 'I shall arrange the side sitting room for his visit.' The old butler stood back to leave. 'Is there anything else you need Master Bruce?'