Hauntings part V-Allies
"So you're saying Gordon Tin was dead when you got to his apartment?"
"Actually, he was alive. They were talking when I came in."
"They were talking?"
"It sounded more like arguing. Gordon was yelling when the assassin shot him."
"How did you get in the apartment? Did you have a key? Pick the lock?"
Batgirl stepped in next to Robin. "What were they arguing about? Did you hear anything about the Key? The Weapon? Was there any mention of-"
Nightwing cleared his throat. "Why don't we give Mr. Howard a little break. Let him rest."
"Nightwing," Robin contradicted, "he's a witness to a murder."
"Assassination," Batgirl corrected. "And the longer we wait, the more he may forget."
Nightwing gave his siblings a bat-glare, alerting them this was not up for debate. They sighed and filled out of the infirmary. Nightwing nodded to Maddex and began to shut the door behind him, but stopped when he saw SilverWings leaning against the wall across from the infirmary.
"Five minutes," he said. She nodded and entered the room.
Maddex sat up straighter as she entered.
Silver thought he looked less threatening then he had with his sais pointed at her, but she didn't feel completely at ease.
The open button-down shirt he had changed into partially revealed the bandage that encased his shoulder. He had been stripped of his armor and a dagger they had found in his boot. Maddex now looked like little more than a teenage boy.
"Why am I here?" Maddex asked.
"For your protection," Silver answered automatically.
"From what?"
She hesitated, unsure of how much to tell him.
"Ever heard of the Key?"
"Batgirl mentioned it before, but I hadn't heard of it before now. What is it, exactly?"
"It's a list of people. A kill list."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Gordon Tin is on the list."
"Why?"
Silver shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"And a friend of yours is also on this list?"
"Why would you assume that?" It was a reasonable inference, one she herself would have made.
"I'm just looking for some connection between you and this list." He is looking at all sides of this, Silver thought, Like any good detective. Her suspicion of him was growing, and the little trust she had felt toward him was dropping. She decided the less he knew the better.
"You think quickly for someone with 15 milli-grams of morphine in their system."
It was his turn to hesitate, as if he had said something wrong and was trying to think of a way to fix it.
"Gordon was a good friend of mine," Maddex said quietly. "I just want to find out why he was killed."
"So do we." There was a moment of silence.
"He had a family," he said, looking away from me. "A wife, Amelia. And their daughter, Rosy." Silver nodded, remembering the picture.
"That little girl's going to grow up without her father. She may not remember him. She's only three." His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I put on that good to stop things like this."
"So you're a vigilante?"
"Yeah," he chuckled without humor. "Some vigilante. Can't even stop the one thing fight for."
"The death of the innocent."
Massed nodded.
You don't have to trust someone to agree with them, she decided. "I can't guarantee you vengeance, but I can promise you, justice will be served."
Maddex nodded again. He laid back as if he had finally given up his resistance against the sedative drug that coursed through his vanes.
Silver took her cue. "Good bye, Dex." She left quietly, shutting the door softly behind her.
"So you're saying Gordon Tin was dead when you got to his apartment?"
"Actually, he was alive. They were talking when I came in."
"They were talking?"
"It sounded more like arguing. Gordon was yelling when the assassin shot him."
"How did you get in the apartment? Did you have a key? Pick the lock?"
Batgirl stepped in next to Robin. "What were they arguing about? Did you hear anything about the Key? The Weapon? Was there any mention of-"
Nightwing cleared his throat. "Why don't we give Mr. Howard a little break. Let him rest."
"Nightwing," Robin contradicted, "he's a witness to a murder."
"Assassination," Batgirl corrected. "And the longer we wait, the more he may forget."
Nightwing gave his siblings a bat-glare, alerting them this was not up for debate. They sighed and filled out of the infirmary. Nightwing nodded to Maddex and began to shut the door behind him, but stopped when he saw SilverWings leaning against the wall across from the infirmary.
"Five minutes," he said. She nodded and entered the room.
Maddex sat up straighter as she entered.
Silver thought he looked less threatening then he had with his sais pointed at her, but she didn't feel completely at ease.
The open button-down shirt he had changed into partially revealed the bandage that encased his shoulder. He had been stripped of his armor and a dagger they had found in his boot. Maddex now looked like little more than a teenage boy.
"Why am I here?" Maddex asked.
"For your protection," Silver answered automatically.
"From what?"
She hesitated, unsure of how much to tell him.
"Ever heard of the Key?"
"Batgirl mentioned it before, but I hadn't heard of it before now. What is it, exactly?"
"It's a list of people. A kill list."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Gordon Tin is on the list."
"Why?"
Silver shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"And a friend of yours is also on this list?"
"Why would you assume that?" It was a reasonable inference, one she herself would have made.
"I'm just looking for some connection between you and this list." He is looking at all sides of this, Silver thought, Like any good detective. Her suspicion of him was growing, and the little trust she had felt toward him was dropping. She decided the less he knew the better.
"You think quickly for someone with 15 milli-grams of morphine in their system."
It was his turn to hesitate, as if he had said something wrong and was trying to think of a way to fix it.
"Gordon was a good friend of mine," Maddex said quietly. "I just want to find out why he was killed."
"So do we." There was a moment of silence.
"He had a family," he said, looking away from me. "A wife, Amelia. And their daughter, Rosy." Silver nodded, remembering the picture.
"That little girl's going to grow up without her father. She may not remember him. She's only three." His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I put on that good to stop things like this."
"So you're a vigilante?"
"Yeah," he chuckled without humor. "Some vigilante. Can't even stop the one thing fight for."
"The death of the innocent."
Massed nodded.
You don't have to trust someone to agree with them, she decided. "I can't guarantee you vengeance, but I can promise you, justice will be served."
Maddex nodded again. He laid back as if he had finally given up his resistance against the sedative drug that coursed through his vanes.
Silver took her cue. "Good bye, Dex." She left quietly, shutting the door softly behind her.
Maddex Howard (civvies)
Maddex Howard (civvies)
