Shadow Justice

29: Spies and the Four Senses

"J'onn," came the voice through the earbuds. "What just happened?"

The red haired man set his newspaper aside and watched Oliver leave with an unconscious Kaiba in his arms. "I do not know. But I believe the man who just left may be the cuplrit behind the deaths in this city." Blue eyes gazed in the direction the old man had left in and saw nothing but a group of people holding cups of coffee talking by a newspaper stand and a young man riding a skateboard down the sidewalk.

"You're sure."

"As sure as I can be at the moment," J'onn said

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"Yes," J'onn replied. "He had a prosthetic eye and said a word I am unfamiliar with."

"What word?"

J'onn watched the woman, Mai, rev her motorcycle and wait for Oliver and the car to pull out behind her. "Anophthalmia."

"That's a disease of some kind, I think. I'll get Flash on it."

"There is something else," J'onn said, opening his telepathic senses once more.

"What's that?"

J'onn could still feel Kaiba's debilitating fear permeating the space he had occupied only minutes ago. It would remain imprinted there for at least a day or so. Never had J'onn felt such terror coming from one person before. It seemed to be enough for two people, or it was amplified by something deep within Kaiba's mind. The Martian had very nearly drowned in it. Also, "This 'Tormentor God of Obelisk'..." J'onn began.

"Yes. I think we can say with almost absolute certainty that we're dealing with Diana's Dark Ones from the old Egyptian pantheon."

"That would be a reasonable assumption, yes," J'onn said.

There was a muffled curse. "I was afraid of that. Did you plant the bug?"

"I dropped it into Walter's jacket pocket as he left. I doubt he will notice it until later."

"Good," the voice said. "Stay put. I'll have Lantern come meet you and we'll head to the hotel."

"Understood. And Batman," J'onn watched Mai and the car with Walter, Diggle, Oliver, and the unconscious Kaiba in it drove away. "Do you believe Kaiba is innocent now?"

Batman did not answer, but J'onn had not been expecting him to.

~~XxX~~

Who knew Walter could drive like a daredevil? The Sorceress careened through the streets at speeds too great to even be considered safe and wove through traffic like a master. But she continuously glanced over shoulder and into her rearview mirrors to be sure Walter kept pace with her. Despite his guide's erratic driving, Walter kept up easily.

"Do I want to know where you learned to drive like this?" Diggle asked, glancing up from his charge currently belted to the middle seat and slumped against Oliver's shoulder.

"I have to get to work on time during rush hour somehow, don't I?" Walter replied calmly, eyes never leaving the road. Oliver snorted and Diggle shook his head with a vaguely impressed expression on his face. "Speaking of," Walter said, glancing briefly at his passengers through the rearview mirror. "Mind telling me how long you've been involved with the vigilante, John?"

Diggle sighed through his nose. "I honestly can't say I'm surprised you'd ask that," he muttered. Louder, he said, "Almost from the beginning. I didn't know about Oliver's...exploits at first. All I knew was the idiot," he cast Oliver a tolerantly frustrated look, "kept slipping my watch. I found out when he came to me wounded and asking for help."