FIC: Road to Nowhere (4/7), Bruce, various, REMADE TRILOGY
TITLE: Road to Nowhere (4/7)
AUTHOR: Demon Faith
SERIES: 'Remade'
CATEGORY: AU, Angst
CHARACTERS: Bruce, various
RATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: 869
SUMMARY: Bruce failed to find Dick the first time. It will not happen again.
NOTES: This is the completion of my AU trilogy 'Remade', which can all be found here.
Thanks to coppercowries and skitty_kat for their lovely artwork, and the insufferable ladybugkay for being so persuasive.
"Lost in thought, Big Man?"
Russell always called him "Big Man", and Bruce recognised it as a term of endearment. He nodded absently and gratefully accepted a top-up of his coffee.
He wondered what his tab would come to when he settled it at the end of the month. The paparazzi had stopped taking pictures of him in the café because it was such old news. A few desperate socialites had tried their luck at his table but given up when he clearly wasn't interested. His playboy reputation was trickling down the drain but he couldn't bring himself to care.
"Stock," he said, his default explanation for whenever his mind drifted. Lucius kept rolling his eyes every time he used it, so he was going to have to think of something else soon.
"Sure it's not a lady?"
He really needed to be seen with someone soon or The Gotham Gossip would start publishing that story about upper class bondage dungeons again. Lois had torn them to shreds once, but he couldn't allow her to defend him too often.
"Mr Wayne doesn't need a lady, Russell. He has good friends." Laura nodded to herself, and Bruce realised absently that they were probably the closest thing to friends he had.
"I could set you up, Big Man. My friend's got a daughter - you should see the-"
"Russell! The cake is burning!"
A large wink and then he was at Laura's heels, snapping the tea towel across her generous behind. She giggled like a schoolgirl and then they disappeared into the back. Bruce watched them go, smiling wistfully. It would be nice to have someone like that. It would be nice to have anyone at all.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!"
The dropped cup broke against the table edge, as the hot tea splattered Amie's hands. She excused herself and rushed to the tap, soothing them under the cold spray. Candy rolled her eyes in his direction but he was focused on Amie and the way she rubbed her long fingers over and over, as if she couldn't quite get them clean.
She fetched Candy another cup of tea before bringing over Bruce's three o'clock teacake (apple turnovers were now only for special occasions or treats - Alfred had threatened to put him on a diet).
"Are you all right?" he asked and she nodded, sandy hair falling over her face. Without thinking, he took her hands in his and looked them over, frowning. There were pale white lines along every finger, framed by little dots of scar tissue. How on earth had she got those?
"It was a car accident," she said softly, so that no one overheard. "Put my hands against the dash and whoops, no fingers." She drew her hands away from him and he nodded, unable to look at her.
"That's a lot of surgery," he said thickly and he saw her shrug out of the corner of her eye.
"The end of my college fund," she said and then walked away. He would break the boyfriend's fingers. He would break him like he had broken her.
Batman had a new mission.
~
It was easy enough to find her surname, her Social Security number and her residence. Yet what he found made no sense. Amie Cartwright lived in Blüdhaven - so why was she working in Gotham? Though, he thought to himself, perhaps the boyfriend lived in Blüdhaven. Or it could be her parents' house.
It certainly bore further investigation. However, tonight, he had found a source that placed Dick's last known whereabouts in Metropolis, potentially negotiating a contract with Lex Luthor. It seemed unlikely but he had to go over every possibility.
Clark seemed equally sceptical but promised to tell Bruce if he heard anything. The source had been questioned thoroughly and seemed convinced that he'd seen Renegade's mask. But black and red masks were easy to procure and it could be an imitator or a coincidence.
Still, Metropolis was a big city and the hope of finding Dick there, even if it had been him, was minimal. He nevertheless planted several informants in key places and threatened a number of petty criminals into keeping their ears to the ground. One could never be too cautious.
~
Amie had been off work for the past two days. She had called in sick - something Laura claimed she had never done before - and it sent all of Bruce's senses tingling. If the boyfriend had harmed her in any way…
"I wish she had someone to look after her. All alone in that little flat. She needs…a friend."
"She has friends," Russell said, uncertainly, and Bruce stared into his coffee. She was too old for the Youth Projects, too young for the Seniors Clubs and she didn't need retraining or employment. What could he do for twenty-something with an abusive boyfriend and overwhelming lack of confidence?
He had domestic violence shelters but he also only had suspicions and it wouldn't do to present her with an unwanted "solution". If she wasn't back at work within the week, he would have to pay her a visit at home.
As Batman, of course. He could always make up an excuse. Nobody questioned Batman.