Pawn of the Sea

Chapter 13

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Braden pulled himself from the rubble and looked around cautiously. The area surrounding the destroyed House of Justice was in chaos, just as he had planned.

Callista had followed his instructions to the letter. He glanced down at a pair of shapely legs that peeked out from under a heavy stone slab. Too bad she hadn't known that her survival was never in Braden's plan. She had gotten entirely too clingy.

He searched a bit and found her briefcase which, he knew, held a stolen guard uniform. Noticing a rescue team coming closer, he quickly swam behind some of the decorative sea plants that had been part of the building's courtyard and changed into the illicit outfit.

He tried to stay in the shadows of the large plants, avoiding the circles of light that the tall lamps in the courtyard were still emitting, illuminating the horror and destruction all around him. As he peeked out from his hiding place, waiting for a chance to escape, he noticed something black and red out of the corner of his eye, lit by the circle of one of the tall orbs.

His heart beat faster as he furtively moved to the pile of wreckage that had once been a side entrance. He gingerly moved some rubble aside to find none other than Tempest, clad in his trademark black and red wetsuit, and unconscious. Braden deduced that his cousin must have been on his way into the building when the bomb had gone off.

As Braden leaned in closer to inspect Garth's condition the other man moaned softly and thrashed a bit. Braden smiled to himself as he began to push the heavy rocks covering Garth to the side in earnest. This was too good to be true.

"Well, cousin," he said to himself as he freed Tempest's body. "This has gone better than I could have imagined. I had hoped for escape and a small amount of revenge, but now that I have you, it opens up all sorts of possibilities. Come on, then," he grunted as he hoisted Garth's limp body over his shoulder. He looked around to see if anyone recognized him as anything other than a guard helping out, and was satisfied to see that everyone who was not dead or injured was busy searching the ruins and didn't give him a second glance.

Braden clumsily swam toward refuge, stopping only to grab a small bag of supplies that had been hidden in a small cave by Callista, to aid in Braden's escape. He lay Garth down and dug in the bag, finding the items he needed. Next, he tied Garth securely, not taking the chance his cousin would wake up and use his magic to free himself, and then as an extra precaution dug out a syringe of a sedative he had had Callista pack just in case he would need to take a prisoner. He smiled to himself at his own cleverness.

Once Garth was drugged and tied Braden hooked his arm through his cousin's bound hands, picked up his bag and began towing the other man out to sea, taking care to stay out of sight of any curious observers.

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Arthur, King of Atlantis, appeared on the communication screen in the Bat Cave.

"Batman," he greeted his colleague wearily.

"Aquaman, what is your status down there? We've been worried."

Arthur ran a hand through his wild hair. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been. The trial had not officially begun yet so the hall was not full. Twelve have been confirmed dead and another thirty wounded."

"Do you know who is responsible?"

Arthur shook his head. "We've been too busy with the rescue efforts and haven't had time to investigate. I think it's fairly safe to assume that Braden and his Rep were probably involved. I did not trust that woman. At any rate it does not matter now. They uncovered her body a short while ago."

"What about Garth?" came a quiet voice from over Batman's right shoulder.

Bruce and Tim turned to find Dick standing barefoot, clad in his sleep pants and a too tight Haley's Circus t-shirt. "You shouldn't be down here, Dick," Bruce admonished his son.

"I have to know," Dick replied simply, turning his attention back to the screen.

"We have not found him yet," Arthur replied quietly. "He had not yet arrived at proceedings when the bomb went off, but he has not checked in either."

Dick's jaw tightened and Tim moved in beside him and placed a supportive arm around his brother's waist. Dick hated that the movement made him jump a bit. "And Braden?" he bit out.

"We have not found him, either."

Dick simply nodded, unable to speak.

"What can we do?" Batman asked the beleaguered king.

"I hate to sound ungrateful, but there is really nothing you can do. Right now having a bunch of air breathers to take care of would be more of a hindrance."

Batman held back a sharp reply at Arthur's slight insult. "Understood. Keep us posted please, and let us know if there is any way we can help."

"Thank you, we will." Arthur's attention turned to Dick. "I will contact you as soon as there is word of Tempest. Aquaman out."

The screen went black and Bruce turned to Dick. "Back to bed. There's nothing you can do here."

Dick's attention was still on the blank computer screen, his thoughts obviously miles away.

"Dick," Tim prodded his brother softly, tightening his grip on the other man's waist.

"Braden has Garth," Dick stated quietly his eyes hardening to a steely blue.

"What?" Bruce and Tim asked in unison as they stared at him.

"It's the only explanation," Dick replied finally looking at the two men.

"How do you figure?" asked Bruce skeptically.

Dick sighed heavily. "What are the odds that neither of their bod…that they haven't been found. If Garth had found Braden he would have turned him in. Somehow Braden discovered Garth and took him."

"There's a lot of rubble to sift through still," Tim replied. "I mean, I'm sorry Dick, but maybe they're both just still buried."

Dick shook his head. "They found Braden's Rep who would have been sitting or standing close to him, and Garth…" He trailed off and cleared his throat. "And Garth hadn't even gotten there yet. I suspect he was close and was hit with debris. He would have to be unconscious for Braden to be able to take him."

"Either way, Dick, there's nothing we can do down there right now." Bruce spoke gently to his son as he eased closer. Dick had raised his hands to his head, rubbing his temples. "Headache?" Bruce asked.

Dick nodded, but continued with his theory. "If he does have him, we won't have to do anything. Braden will want me to know. He'll want me to be there to see what he's got planned."

"Tim and I will deal with that when the time comes, Dick," Bruce answered. "You're still not well enough to go anywhere."

"I won't risk Garth's life," Dick answered in a strong voice, staring at Bruce.

"And I won't let you risk yours." Bruce stared back, his own tone just as firm.

"Master Dick!" Alfred called from the top of the stairs. "There you are! What are you doing out of bed and down in this damp air? Dr. Thompson will most certainly not approve."

Rather than stay and argue with Bruce, Dick let himself be led back upstairs to his room by their clucking butler. He was going to need some time alone to figure out what he was going to do when Braden contacted him. And he was certain his former captor would be in touch. He just prayed he would be strong enough to save Garth from his cousin's jealousy and hatred.

Back down in the cave Batman moved to sit at the computer, seemingly to map out that night's patrol. Tim could see that Bruce was extremely worried about Dick. "Do you want me to stay home tonight? You know, keep an eye on him?" Tim asked Bruce. He was worried about his brother too.

Bruce shook his head tersely. "That is tempting, but I'll need you tonight. That drug shipment is due in at the docks tonight. Besides, Alfred will be here."

"Under normal circumstances I would find that comforting, but did you see the look in Dick's eyes just now?"

Bruce sighed and nodded. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

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Hours later Batman and Robin were out on patrol and Alfred was somewhere downstairs, probably puttering in the kitchen. Dick was lying in his darkened room trying to sleep off the migraine that had attacked him earlier that afternoon. Leslie had given him meds to take for the headaches, but he didn't want to risk being out of it.

He had tried sleeping it off, but he was too worried to relax. He didn't care what Bruce or Tim said. Garth was in danger. He just knew it. He knew there was no way he could sleep until he knew his lover's fate, safe or otherwise. Now he knew how Garth had felt when he had been missing. A sudden wave of guilt overwhelmed him for letting his fears about Braden win, for letting them push Garth away.

God, what if he never saw Garth again? Dick closed his eyes, trying to stop those thoughts from racing through his brain.

As he rolled over to try and get comfortable, he heard the chirp of his new cell phone coming from the nightstand. Bruce had just brought it to him today, after they all had realized belatedly that Dick's had been lost in the kidnapping. He had asked that Bruce keep the same number he had before, since it was one he often gave to people he wanted to stay in contact with through his police work.

He fumbled for the annoying object, noting to himself to change ring tones as soon as possible. "Grayson," he said gruffly.

"Meet me in the spot where we first made love, and make sure you come alone," came the steely voice from the other end, and then the line went dead.

Dick's blood ran cold. It was Braden. Dick shot out of bed, ignoring the sharp pain in his skull, and pulled on his sleep pants. As he quietly made his way outside his room he hoped he was still agile enough to perform the stunts it would take to get past Alfred, which was quite a formidable task when he was healthy and in top form.

Dick leapt over the banister of the stairs leading to the main floor of the manor and began a silent hand over hand descent by hanging onto the posts of the railing, virtually invisible to anyone who was in the kitchen. When he was close enough to the bottom he dropped quietly to the floor and hugged the wall, making his way stealthily to the secret entrance of the cave.

Alfred looked up from his preparation of Tim's nightly snack and cocked his ear. He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. No point in trying to stop one of them when they were as determined as he knew Master Dick was. He waited for the exact amount of time he knew it would take his young charge to suit up and steal the boat, then Alfred made his own way down to the cave so he could send back-up for his wayward grandson.

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