Chapter 44

Lucius, Waylon, and a group of his followers gazed at the old tower, surrounded by a brand new thick stainless steel fence with barbed wire going all around. "We thought you would know of this," offered an old man in the crowd. "It was set up by a bunch of engineer-types surrounded by men in uniform and heavy rifles. We were instructed not to come near or get blown to high heavens."

"What? Those don't sound like standard law enforcement agents. If you'll permit me speculating here, maybe those men belonged to some other nefarious group, but were parading as agents," Lucius offered. The men and women exchanged glances, appearing to accept that as a probable fact.

"What do you think the tower is supposed to do?" asked Waylon.

"I can't tell, not till I get in."

Waylon bent to the ground, picked up a rock at his feet, and tossed it at the fence. The rock made the fence spark brightly and buzz with energy. "Hmm... an electrified fence." He looked about and found a rock the size of a dish, picked it up with two arms and tossed it at the fence. The light that was produced was a lot larger, and so was the sound of electrical humming. But the fence stood strong against the croc's attacks. His followers began to follow his lead, tossing stones at the fence, causing it to erupt in sparks each and every place it got hit.

"There must be an easier way in," said Lucius, breaking off from the others to study the fence at closer range. Already, he could see a locked gate with some kind of remote contraption and... what looked to be a camera. "Uh oh..."

"Uh oh?" asked Waylon.

"Don't panic now, but I think we've been spotted."

"Good!" declared Waylon, planting his feet in the ground as he turned around to the woods around them. "Let them come. I want to meet the people responsible for installing this trash in my forest!"

"Your forest?" Came a voice in the woods. A slim figure in a dark hood appeared on the scene, and beside him a number of men in dark robes leapt down from the trees to land silently next to him. "I should think not."

"And who do you think you are?" asked Waylon, unimpressed by the display.

The dark figure laughed, and slowly he lowered the hood to reveal a tanned skinned man with dark eyes and greying hair. "I'm your lord. You'd do well to bow before me."

A steel chained net surrounded by weighty ball bearings fell over Waylon, causing him to be trapped beneath. The croc-man angrily lashed out at the chains, but all his attempts only caused him to become even more entangled in the mesh. He roared under the weight of his constraints.

With two-to-three somersaults through the air, the men in robes landed right before Waylon's followers, katanas slicing through flesh and bone. They moved so smoothly and silently, they were almost invisible to the eye. A cry caught in Lucius' throat, his life flashing before his very eyes. He tried to back off the scene, but soon felt an arm wrapped around his back, the glint of a katana before his eyes. And all around him, the mangled bodies of all those who had followed. A sickness invaded the pit of his stomach, he wanted to retch, but fear of the katana in his face made him hold it all in.

"You..." said the man in the hood, pointing at him with a slender finger. Lucius shivered, feeling more helpless than ever - he was dead wrong when he thought the croc-man was the worst he had to contend with. "You know the whereabouts of Bruce Wayne."

Lifting up his arms in surrender, Lucius swallowed a huge gulp. Bruce had just returned to Gotham after spending six-months in captivity. He hadn't stated who or what was behind his capture, but if Lucius had to guess - this guy was probably it. "N... not exactly." It was the truth, but he didn't think the stranger would be satisfied with his reply.

"With a snap I can end you," said the man in the hood. "Do you really wish to gamble with your life?"

The man had a good point, yet Lucius had no immediate plans to give Bruce up if he could help it at all. "Speaking of gambling, Bruce didn't mention anything about you or..." he glanced at the men in robes. "Any of your associates to the rest of us. Surely that means something? Can't you show him a little mercy?"

"Mercy..." the man in the hood said with a laugh. "I may have room for mercy, but only after I find him first. And I will do that, with or without your help." He turned to the men at his side, and motioned towards Waylon and Fox. "Remove both this creature and this man from the tower. I do not want them meddling in our affairs."

As the katana was lowered from Lucius' throat, and placed behind him as his captor beckoned him forward, he mustered whatever courage he had to ask the man in the hood, "Why is that tower so important to you? What do you plan to do with it?"

"I suppose with Gotham coming to an end, it wouldn't hurt for you to know," he said. "That tower will enhance the strength of the quake - turning what might be a minor event into something that will rock every structure to the core."

Lucius gasped, it all finally made sense to him - the bunkers, the talk of devastation, the Court... everything except the man in the hood. He didn't understand how he fit into the picture. "I understand that the Court of Owls wishes to regain the power they once had over Gotham, but how are you to profit from this?"

"I happen to be a man with many fingers. Each with a hold on a city or a nation in the world. The Court is merely a tool for me to achieve my will for Gotham."

Lucius fell a step behind. Just like that, he'd all his questions answered. At the same time, he feared the truth would be buried with him. He could only pray that Harvey, Jim and the rest of the G.C.P.D would be able to prevent what would soon befall the city.