(no subject)
I hadn't long started my evening's patrol when I spotted a familiar figure on the street below.
It'd been a long time since I'd seen Sebastian Ives, but my smile of recognition quickly faded as I took in his body language. I didn't need Cassandra to tell me how bitterly unhappy he was.
There was little I could do as Robin, other than watch him - so that's exactly what I did.
He went into one of the apartment buildings, so I jumped onto the roof and sneaked into the stairwell. There was too much light for me to descend the stairs, but it seems luck was on my side. There was a door open far below and I could make out Ives' voice clearly.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I was in the neighbourhood...It's about a friend - I've her picture, would you take a look?"
I could make out little of the response, then Ives spoke again.
"I appreciate that you're busy...yeah, maybe it would be better if I telephoned..." He sounded so dejected! I wondered who it was he was searching for.
I hadn't kept in close contact with my old friends from Gotham Heights High, and I really regretted it. Initially it had been on my Dad's orders, as he thought the school was a contributing factor to my apparent 'delinquent behaviour'. It was for that reason I hadn't been allowed to go back after I was pulled from Brentwood Academy - though why he thought Louis E. Grieve High would be any better is beyond me.
As I continued to listen, Ives knocked on another door. This time I was able to hear both sides of the conversation.
"Oh, Callie doesn't live here anymore!" said a kindly-sounding old lady.
Callie? My head was spinning, picturing all kinds of worst-case senarios. I hadn't seen Ives' girlfriend in a very, very long time.
"She used to live on the second floor," the old woman continued, "But I haven't seen her in a few weeks, and the super cleared out her room a few days back. Put a lot of stuff in a skip, so she must not have left a forwarding address."
She suggested he ask at the corner store she shopped at regularly, incase they knew anything more. Ives thanked her and left, obviously more disheartended than before.
There wasn't much else I could do, as I really needed to talk to him and find out the situation. So I carried on with my regular patrol, all the while wondering what was going on. Thankfully it was a quiet night, so I was able to head home earlier than normal. That gave me enough time to get some sleep before heading out to intercept Ives on his way to school. He always leaves early, preferring to stop someplace on the way for breakfast.
"Hey Ives!" I called from across the street, putting on an air of surprise.
"Tim?" He blinked at me, "Well hey, stranger. What brings you to this neck of the woods? Thought you lived out in Bristol?"
I shrugged, "No, Dad lost a lot of money so we had to sell that place and stay in the city. I was actually on an errand for my step-mother before school - she wanted me to check on one of her window-ads for her phyisotherapy practise."
Ives nodded, thankfully not bothering to be suspicious.
"Hey, you had breakfast yet?" I asked, as though the thought just occured to me, "I am starving!"
He shrugged, "There's a place just around the corner."
"Well, lead on then!" I continued to force a smile on my face to mask my concern. It'd been a long time since I'd seen Ives this down about something.
It'd been a long time since I'd seen Sebastian Ives, but my smile of recognition quickly faded as I took in his body language. I didn't need Cassandra to tell me how bitterly unhappy he was.
There was little I could do as Robin, other than watch him - so that's exactly what I did.
He went into one of the apartment buildings, so I jumped onto the roof and sneaked into the stairwell. There was too much light for me to descend the stairs, but it seems luck was on my side. There was a door open far below and I could make out Ives' voice clearly.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I was in the neighbourhood...It's about a friend - I've her picture, would you take a look?"
I could make out little of the response, then Ives spoke again.
"I appreciate that you're busy...yeah, maybe it would be better if I telephoned..." He sounded so dejected! I wondered who it was he was searching for.
I hadn't kept in close contact with my old friends from Gotham Heights High, and I really regretted it. Initially it had been on my Dad's orders, as he thought the school was a contributing factor to my apparent 'delinquent behaviour'. It was for that reason I hadn't been allowed to go back after I was pulled from Brentwood Academy - though why he thought Louis E. Grieve High would be any better is beyond me.
As I continued to listen, Ives knocked on another door. This time I was able to hear both sides of the conversation.
"Oh, Callie doesn't live here anymore!" said a kindly-sounding old lady.
Callie? My head was spinning, picturing all kinds of worst-case senarios. I hadn't seen Ives' girlfriend in a very, very long time.
"She used to live on the second floor," the old woman continued, "But I haven't seen her in a few weeks, and the super cleared out her room a few days back. Put a lot of stuff in a skip, so she must not have left a forwarding address."
She suggested he ask at the corner store she shopped at regularly, incase they knew anything more. Ives thanked her and left, obviously more disheartended than before.
There wasn't much else I could do, as I really needed to talk to him and find out the situation. So I carried on with my regular patrol, all the while wondering what was going on. Thankfully it was a quiet night, so I was able to head home earlier than normal. That gave me enough time to get some sleep before heading out to intercept Ives on his way to school. He always leaves early, preferring to stop someplace on the way for breakfast.
"Hey Ives!" I called from across the street, putting on an air of surprise.
"Tim?" He blinked at me, "Well hey, stranger. What brings you to this neck of the woods? Thought you lived out in Bristol?"
I shrugged, "No, Dad lost a lot of money so we had to sell that place and stay in the city. I was actually on an errand for my step-mother before school - she wanted me to check on one of her window-ads for her phyisotherapy practise."
Ives nodded, thankfully not bothering to be suspicious.
"Hey, you had breakfast yet?" I asked, as though the thought just occured to me, "I am starving!"
He shrugged, "There's a place just around the corner."
"Well, lead on then!" I continued to force a smile on my face to mask my concern. It'd been a long time since I'd seen Ives this down about something.