7 TAKE HIM DOWN

We stood in the dark alley, unmoving.

I stared at the time indicator on the corner of the mask display for almost the tenth time since arriving here. I switched back to my normal vision. I pulled up the collars of the long night coat so that it covered the back of my neck.

I hated the cold night breeze that constantly blew on the exposed skin; it made me feel tense, and tension was not good...

not tonight.

Clouds of smoke puffed carelessly and engulfed me creating yet another nuisance.

"Whoever introduced you to that shit should have taught you how to blow your smoke."

I waved my hands to clear the stench of nicotine that had now filled the space. Dooku did not answer; he did not even spare me a side glance. The guy had barely been a week in Gotham, but the speed at which he was embracing all the city vices was astounding. I mean just how fast did it take for someone to become a cigar addict?.on the plus side though, it might give him a reason to stick around DC

It was the fifth day after the incident involving the clowns. Since then, I have been forced to reevaluate my stance.

I had to accommodate Ndoku's conditions so that at least I would start making serious progress through the dark side training.

Those conditions were something I would rather not dwell on at the moment.

I also had to provide some cash to the count to enable him to familiarize himself with Gotham. I planned that the Sith would understand the lay of the streets before the real events began.

The agreement between us had brought some form of consensus, even though we were far from becoming buddies. At least now there was less friction between us, and the count actually gave me real lessons.

Tonight, though, was when those events commenced.

I could not help feeling like I was trying to bite off more than I could chew... I mean, things had escalated really fast—too fast that all the slow plans I had in place were rendered obsolete. Kidnapping Batman had not been something I had planned to do within just a few weeks in Gotham. I had not done any serious groundwork, nor had I even familiarized myself with Batman's movement.

The sudden escalation of things at the bar, however, made it mandatory that we dive right into it because, believe me when I say, if we failed to do it fast, the Dark Knight would be paying us a call soon. Even now, I wasn't quite sure whether the ambush we were laying had not been foiled by Batman's detective work. For all we knew, it may well be our own... I, however, spared Ndoku the ugly detail.

As it is, the Sith was quite puffed up... something that, although I knew was a wrong attitude, I still could not help but admire. I liked the feeling that one of us was at least good enough to hold his own against Bats should things go south, and with Batman, it would likely happen. Even if he walked right into the ambush completely oblivious, there was no certainty that it would be an easy job.

I had the mask on, but I had dangerously drained several bars of power. I was now down to four from seven. I hoped I would not have to use it tonight. The plan was to let Dooku do the work, which the count was more than happy to do.

I knew that Dooku was underestimating Batman. The guy had no personal powers, but he had held his ground against powered individuals in both Gotham and the larger DC on more than one account. Still, I reminded myself that this was Dooku, a former Jedi master, a Sith apprentice. The guy literally had the best of both worlds when it came to the Force; he should be able to pull it through.

Again, I checked the time. It was half past twelve, and still, the guys I had hired were not here. Could it be they had gotten cold feet already? I mean, what I was paying them was worth the risk, not to mention they had no clue what was going on, but still... they might have been scared already. Again, I found myself wondering whether the Dark Knight was not in on it.

My fears, however, were proven wrong when slowly the sleek car I had hired pulled up through the driveway further ahead.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched the hired men step out of the car. They were a rough-looking bunch, the kind you'd expect to find in the underbelly of Gotham's criminal world. As they approached, I could see the glint of anticipation in their eyes.

"About time you guys showed up," I muttered, keeping my voice icy. The man I had spoken to earlier smirked.

"Sorry for the delay, boss. Traffic was a nightmare." The rest of his friends burst into laughter. I knew the guy was messing with me, and part of me wanted to show him what real jokes look like, but there was no need to waste the mask power on an accomplice. There was so much I had to do, and I had not begun feeding the mask dark powers yet.

I waved off his apology. "We don't have much time. Make the call... Wait, I thought I told you to bring a lady." The guy threw his friends a mocking look, and they burst out laughing. "The hell you did not; you said, 'You need a lady to make the call.'"

I stared at him cluelessly

"AND...?" I still could not see how that changed the situation; there was no woman amongst them and I had no time to fuck around.

The man nodded to the hefty guy next to him who smiled, curtsied, and pulled out a phone. Dialing it, he put it on speaker and grinned.

The phone rang a few times before the line clicked, and a voice came from the other end. "911, what is your emergency..." The transformation that came over the man the next minute was completely insane. "Help... please help us... they... they will kill us... they will rape me." The voice was completely devoid of any trace of masculinity. The police interrogation went on for a while as the 'lady' fed them the info I had dictated, and when it was done, I immediately knew 'she' had sold it to them.

"Told ya we have the best boss," the leader purred.

I pulled out a pistol from my pocket without a hint of being impressed. "The best is what I paid for... now off you go, you know the drill." The group turned, and the three men went to lay just a few paces from the car.

It was time for the hero to show up.

I glanced over at Ndoku, who had finally finished his smoke and was now walking towards me. Despite my reservations about his overconfidence, I couldn't deny the raw power he exuded. "Remember," I mumbled, keeping my voice low, "we need the man unharmed.. especially the face. No unnecessary force." He grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze fixed on the mouth of the alley where our unsuspecting prey would soon appear.

Minutes ticked by like hours as we waited in the darkness. Based on what I knew about Batman's style, every information that reached Gotham Police Station had to reach him.

The guy would come.

After a while, however, I began to tolerate some doubts. What if he was not in Gotham? What if he had missed the tip? Just when I was beginning to doubt whether our plan would succeed, my heart leaped into my throat as I caught sight of the figure approaching from the display of the Sith mask.

But... but it wasn't Batman. It was someone else entirely.

"Robin?" I whispered, disbelief coloring my tone. Sure enough, the young hero emerged a few streets away, still far enough that plain eyes would not see; his cape was billowing behind him. He looked around the alley with a mixture of caution and determination, his eyes scanning the darkness.

I cursed under my breath, cursing my luck. Of all the nights for Batman's sidekick to show up, it had to be tonight.

Dooku's expression darkened as he realized from my surprised voice that something was off.

"Is something wrong?" he growled, his body language tensing up. I shook my head, frantically trying to come up with a plan. I couldn't afford to let Robin's interference thwart my plans, not when our entire operation hinged on capturing Batman.

"No, we stick to the plan," I said finally, my voice resolute despite the uncertainty gnawing at me.

"Take the bastard down, we shall get the man one way or the other"

I was certain that Robin had probably come here without informing Batman; it was unlike the man to send his young sidekick to a threat he had not accessed personally.

Dooku nodded, a feral gleam in his eyes as we began to ruffle our disguised accomplices.

From the mask, I watched discreetly as Robin drew closer, unaware of the danger he was walking into.

Tonight was going to be a long night, one way or another. But I swore it would end with Batman in my grasp

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