Second Chances: Batwoman

Chapter 22

Kate Kane was currently walking through Gotham park, heading over to the comic book stand where Ryan Wilder had last been seen before her disappearance. She didn't think it was a coincidence, since based on all of the intel she'd had Luke gather for her, nearly every kid who'd vanished was last seen at this stand.

"Hello, can I help you?" the comic vendor asked her, surprised to see a grown woman at his stand.

"Yes. I was wondering if I could get a copy of Galactic Defenders for a friend of mine." Kate said.

"Coming right up." the vendor said as he pulled out a copy of the comic and put it on the counter, only to be surprised when Kate placed a very large wad of cash on the counter.

"This is way more than the comic is listed for." the vendor said as he reached for the cash, only to have Kate stop him.

"Not so fast. Not all of this is for the comic. Most of it is for information." Kate said.

"What kind of information?" the vendor asked as Kate showed him Ryan's picture.

"This girl has recently gone missing and the last place she was seen was here." Kate said and she had to stop herself from smirking at seeing how nervous this guy got. He clearly had no poker face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. A lot of kids come by this stand." the vendor said nervously.

"And several of them vanish without a trace not long after." Kate said as she then held out the gun she'd stolen from him, since she knew he'd reached for it.

"Looking for this." Kate said.

"How did you?" the vendor asked, only to be smacked on the head by the butt of his own gun.

"You have five seconds before I call GCPD and hand you over to them, so I suggest that you use those five seconds to tell me who you're working for, you sick bastard." Kate said, taking this case extra seriously, since it reminds her of Beth.

"I'm just a spotter." the vendor said fearfully as Kate bent one of his fingers in a way it definitely was not supposed to go.

"For who." Kate snapped.

"I don't know her name. Just some middle aged woman with blonde hair. She pays me to spot kids no one will notice disappearing." the vendor said.

"Not good enough. Tell me where I can find her." Kate said.

"I don't know where she is, she doesn't tell me." the vendor said.

"Tell me something. How do you get paid?" Kate asked.

"The money just shows up in my account." the vendor said fearfully as Kate finally yanked him out from behind his stand and tossed him to the ground.

"Now why don't I believe you?" Kate asked angrily.

"I swear." the vendor said fearfully.

"Well, maybe the GCPD will be able to get something out of you." Kate said as she used the zipties she'd brought with her to make a citizen's arrest.

"Excuse me ma'am, can we help?" a female detective asked when Kate shoved the vendor inside.

"I'm here making a citizen's arrest on this guy, who I have a confession of admitting to being a spotter for child abduction." Kate said as she played the guy's recording on her phone.

"In that case, allow me to escort this scumbag to his new home and please submit that recording to us for evidence." the woman said.

"My pleasure Detective Sawyer." Kate said, reading her badge as she handed the creep over to the woman.

"Please, call me Maggie." Maggie said with a smile to Kate before she walked the creep back to the interrogation room.

"So, have you hacked that vendor's financial's yet?" Kate asked Luke as she entered the batcave and handed him the comic she'd paid for.

"Yep and I've already found the payment he received for Ryan and I'm currently working on tangling the bitcoin trail that was used to pay him." Luke said.

"Great, how long will it take?" Kate asked.

"Not sure. One of the perks of bitcoin is that those block chains are very hard to crack. But fortunately, I have plenty of people to help speed up the process, since I know that time is of the essence." Luke said.

"Good. I want someone to beat up as soon as possible, this is striking me a little too closely, since it reminds me of Beth." Kate said and Luke nodded.