BAE Chapter 8

Barbara swings down to the Car and lands, closing the cockpit.

“Alfred, I’m going to let the police handle the gang from the subway. I’ve made enough appearances tonight and there’s nothing else big on the scanner. Did you get what I asked for?”

“Yes, Ms. Gordon. I’ve sent it to the car.”

Barbara puts her foot down. If Andrea Beaumont survived what happened at the World of the Future, someone had to have helped her. Alfred goes on:

“She has two half-sisters, one of whom recently took up residence in Gotham,” he says.

“When Carl Beaumont was on the run from the mob, he took Andrea to Europe. We never found out how the mob found him. Amelie was new to Gotham and to America. Maybe she’s the one who sold him out and Andrea needed her to surface before she could finish the job.”

“There’s another possibility, Ms. Gordon. Just as you have taken up Master Bruce’s mantle, so Andrea’s sister might do with that of the Phantasm,” Alfred notes.

“If she did, she’s making a mistake,” Barbara says irritably. ****. It’s always ****. Nothing good ever comes of it.

The apartment is high in one of Gotham’s numerous old, gothic high-rise buildings. Downtown is never truly dark, but it’s late enough that above street level, glowing windows are rare.

Barbara crouches on a window ledge, using binoculars to take a closer look at the apartment. It’s room and open, but modest: only a one-bedroom. It looks nice enough at a glance, but the lights are still on.

Riley Beaumont, age 20. She’s the older of Carl Beaumont’s two daughters from his first marriage.

Barbara watches, wondering why Riley is up so late. A door opens and steam wafts out. Riley steps into view, vigorously drying herself with a white towel.

Her red hair matches Andrea’s perfectly. Barbara never met Andrea, but Bruce has… quite a few photographs. The resemblance is obvious, although Barbara has trouble focusing on Riley’s face. She’s twenty stories up and alone, so she’s not worried about modesty as she towels off. Her body is pale and smooth. She has an athletic figure, long legs, and a certain perkiness that stands out. Barbara shifts her position uncomfortably, wondering if perkiness was a thing that she’d ever noticed before Ivy’s Seed attack.

Riley turns off a light, but there’s still a lamp on. The different lighting just highlights her curves and makes her body that much more erotic. Barbara watches her walk into the bedroom, tossing the towel aside. Is she going to bed? Naked?

Barbara watches intently, as though there’s something of relevance to the case in watching this girl crawl nude across her bed to turn off the lamp.

Then the apartment is dark and there’s no view. She puts her binoculars away.

Barbara gets out of there and handles a few more burglars and muggers. The red light district is where she’s needed most this time of night, and it doesn’t disappoint.

With a sore back and tender knuckles, Barbara returns to the Cave just before daybreak.

Alfred is waiting for her with a smoothie in an unnecessarily fancy glass. She groans and unbuckles her straps, then pulls off her cowl and climbs out to accept it. She takes a long drink and savors the quiet and the cool of the Cave.

“Excellent work tonight, as always, Ms. Gordon.”

She takes another drink instead of replying.

“Would you like me to prepare you something to eat?”

“I need to clean up, Alfred.” She puts the glass back on the tray, and Alfred leaves. It’s tempting to just leave a trail of costume pieces on the way to the shower, but it’s Bruce that Barbara’s annoyed with, not Alfred. She strips in the shower room, keeping the costume together for Alfred’s sake.

Under the water, she reflects on her decisions.

Using the car had worked out well.

It’s unlikely that she could have saved Amelie’s life; Andrea had already been in the house, after all. But it’s possible that Barbara might have gotten more information, even if Andrea would’ve just struck after Barbara left. On the other hand, going in through the skylight made a statement and her alleged involvement in the **** will put the fear of the Bat in the criminal element. The same thing happened during Andrea’s original killing spree: people blamed the Batman. Criminals had never been more scared than when they believed that the Batman was willing to kill.

As for the subway, that had been a blunder. The Leader had been too smart and too angry to intimidate. Ricky might’ve been a scumbag, but Barbara had almost gotten him killed. There was some consolation in the tracker. If Barbara had gone for the takedown she’d have collared the Leader and the Bait Girl, but they wouldn’t have talked. Now there’s a chance that GCPD can get the whole gang. Bruce wouldn’t have thought twice about making his move. But Bruce isn’t always right, and **** shouldn’t be the answer to everything.

Should Barbara spend the night at Wayne Manor?

Or go home?