Sons of Batman

Part 6

Dick’s POV

“Dick,”Wally said, “I really don’t mind you staying here. Besides, where are you going to go?”
“Thanks Wally,” I said, “but I’ve got somewhere organized.”
“Where?”
I shook my head
“I’m not going to tell you. That way, if someone comes looking for me, you can truthfully say that you don’t know where I am.”
“But what if I need to contact you?”
“You have my cell phone number, don’t you?”
He sighed.
“You really have thought this through, haven’t you?”
“Of course,” I replied, flashing him a grin, “and I promise I’ll come back soon. I just need some time to think things through.”
“Just, be careful,” Wally said, pulling me into a hug.
“Always,” I replied.

I then picked up my bag of belongings and walked out of Wally’s front door.

Bruce’s POV

“Are you telling me,” Jason demanded, “that Goldie is not only your son, but also the Demon Head’s grandson?”
“Yes,” I sighed
“And that Demon Spawn is his brother?”
“Yes,” I replied.
Jason uttered a few, obscene words.
Barbra smacked him on the back of the head.
“What?!” He cried.
“She glared at him, “don’t swear in front of kids!”
“I am not a kid!” Damian growled, glaring at her.
“Well, what are you then? A grouchy kangaroo?”

Damian lunged at Jason, but I stepped between them, stopping him in his tracks.
“Stop fighting!” I said, “we are never going to find Dick if we continue in this fashion!”
“I thought you said he was at Wally’s house?” asked Tim.
I shook my head.
“No, he would have moved on by now. He's got a safe house somewhere, I’m certain of it.”
“How are we going to find him?”
“We don’t ,” I replied, “we wait for him to come to us.”

Dick’s POV

Before I went to my secret hideaway, I snuck into my apartment to fetch a few supplies. I climbed in through one of the windows. I couldn’t be sure that Bruce hadn’t hacked the building’s security feed. He wouldn’t be able to hack mine, I had built it myself.

I grabbed a rucksack and threw in all necessary items, including clothes, everything I would need when staying away from society for a while.

I then packed another bag with food and water. If necessary, I could go out to get some more. It wasn’t as if I was hiding from my would-be assassin, just my family.

Lastly, I wrote a letter, leaving it on the kitchen countertop, addressed to Bruce.
I took one last glance around the room, making sure I had everything, before climbing back out of the window into the alleyway below.

I was about to walk out onto the street, when I saw Bruce’s car pull up in front of the building. I quickly ducked back into the alleyway, grateful that I was good at blending into the shadows. When I was sure that Bruce hadn’t seen me and had gone inside, I walked out onto the streets, heading for my Gotham safe house.

Bruce’s POV

I entered Dick’s apartment using the spare key he kept at the manor. I looked around to see if I could find any leads to where he might have gone, but I came up empty. I did realize, though, that  Dick had already been, as his wardrobes and cupboards were empty. He had taken his things with him.

The one thing I did find was a letter, addressed to me, on the kitchen counter. I opened it and began to read:

Dear Bruce,

I’m sorry

I’m sorry for lying to you about my surname all those years ago. My 13 year old self was afraid that you wouldn’t listen to me if you knew that my surname was “Al Guhl”, because your mind would be clouded by it. I see now that I should have told you, even if not at first, at least when I was older.

I’m also sorry that I’ve been avoiding you recently. It’s just that I need some time to clear my head and figure things out for myself.

Please tell Damian that I’m sorry I didn’t keep my promise to him seven years ago, and please tell him that I’ll return soon. Tell Jason NOT to swear in front of Damian or I will personally come and throttle him. Tell Tim that I’m proud of him and tell Babs that I love her.

And finally, I just want to say that I’m sorry, again.

Love,
Dick

I sighed. Dick had nothing to be sorry for. If anything, I was the one that should be sorry. Sorry that he couldn’t have trusted me enough to tell me who he was. I had to find him and explain.

The only problem was that it was Dick I was trying to find. He would have covered his tracks very well, so would have to think of another way to find him. I could try phoning him, but he probably wouldn’t answer and, if he did, he had probably blocked his location. I’d have to find another way.

Time to call in the troops.

856 words