Plans for the Night

In the police bathroom I quickly got out of my normal clothes and slipped them into the backpack that Connor had and changed into a Bloodhound. I know that Elephants are considered the best tracking animals in the world, but I didn't want to cause a scene for the Circus. Just allegations of wrongdoing could be disastrous. So, I went with the number one tracker of the canine world. 

  Naturally as soon as we left the bathroom we walked directly into a cop. "Hey, you can't have your dog in the public without a leash!" 

Walking up behind the officer, Diana, "Sorry officer he slipped out of his leash, I have it right here." 

  Naturally she was holding her lasso of truth out. I really hoped all the jokes about it were false. Surly she would have to channel some energy into it to make it force me to answer questions. As Diana slipped the lasso on me all I could think was {Collared by a woman that I haven't even slept with, how humiliating.}. 

Diana, {I heard that!} 

Logan, {Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.} 

Connor, "Now I know why you kept the napkin. You will follow her scent back to where you think she was being kept." 

I barked in affirmative and started to head back to the circus. 

When we got back to the circus, we stopped just outside the animal area, and I turned to Diane waiting for her to take out the napkin. 

I followed Tammy's scent to a warehouse about 4 blocks away then asked Morph to cover me enough to not embarrass my teammates. Shifting back, I asked, "You guys see anything? This is where Tammy's scent leads me." 

  Diana returns her lasso to her waist as her belt and said, "I hear voices of children and a few adults but not enough to make out everything." 

Connor, "I hear a woman talking about losing Tammy but there should be enough to fill the contract anyway. Now a man with a weird voice is saying that they should kill the kids and plant them early, but another man says no immediately." We all tensed up when they talked about killing the kids. But relaxed a little knowing at least someone had a conscience. 

Logan, "You guys wait here a minute I'm going to sneak in and see if I can get into someone's mind and see what's going on. I don't want to rush into anything." 

Taking the shape of an owl I start to wing it to the roof of the warehouse. Once I get up high enough, I see that there is only one man up there and I am able to evade him easily. Flying through a broken skylight I find a comfortable, out of sight place to perch and start looking for people. 

I saw the guy that talked like a heavy smoker that had followed us as we took Tammy to the Police station. He was about 6ft 6in and had a beefy upper body. I would guess him at 260 lbs., the only weird thing was that he moved rather stiffly, like he had sore muscles. 

Standing next to him was a woman whose voice I recognized as the big guy's partner in following us earlier. She had mousy blond hair and was an average height of 5ft 7in. Looking around more I see 4 guys patrolling and another one talking to the duo. 

One of the patrollers had stopped to light a cigarette and I slowly dipped into his mind. His name was Jake Owen and he worked with Intergang. He was here to work a contract that had been taken out to cause trouble for the Haly's Circus. His boss decided to kidnap some kids and pin it on the Circus. With all the ruckus aroused by some movie about trafficking kids it should cause a big issue for the Circus. They even grabbed a judge's kid that had been harsh on one of their members and it was a sign of things that happened to those that weren't nice to Intergang. No slipping out of a long and painful investigation with all that added together. Even if they were later proven innocent, the headlines would destroy the name of the Circus before their innocence could be proven. 

Wow, someone put some thought into messing with Dicks childhood home. 

Trying to plot out a way to get to the kids before any fighting took place, I heard the one Jake called Cris yell out. 

Cris, "The boss should be here any minute with a couple more kids. Jake, I need you or Sammy to stay in the room with the kids. Until we figure out how the one girl got out, they stay under our constant supervision." 

These guys were smart and paranoid. They put the Gotham regulars to shame with their planning. I keep wracking my brain on how to get the kids out, but I'm coming up blank. I head back out to Connor and Diana to see if they have any ideas. 

After explaining everything I saw to them we came up with a plan for me to get into the room with the kids and deal with the one guard, then get the kids out a hole in the wall I created.  At the same time, Connor and Diana will make a distraction by attacking the opposite side of the warehouse. 

Logan, "I think we need one more person, someone that can get the kids away during the fight. That way I can join you guys after they are gone just in case. We need to wait for the boss and the kids he is bringing anyway. Stay out of sight until I get back." 

I quickly fly back to the Circus and look for Dick but when I reach out with my mind, I don't feel him. As I'm looking around, I spot Cali in her costume and see her leading Liz and Chester back to their rest area. I quickly flew to a cage near her and shifted back to my body but then I realized all I have is Morph for clothes. 

Hope she is understanding. "Hey Cali, don't panic but I need your help." 

Cali, "When someone says don't panic it usually means that there is a reason to panic coming along." 

Logan, "Look I am not trying to streak you or anything but all I got on is some skimpy shorts, I didn't want you to think I was flashing you." 

When I step out Liz sees me and trots over for some attention. While I'm dealing with that, I explain to Cali what's going on. 

Surprisingly she takes it in stride, "There is a small bus here I can take and meet you outside the building. If you can get the kids to me, I will load them up and get them to the nearest Police building." 

Logan, "Ok, park a couple blocks away and I'll call when you should get to the spot I can break them out. I will need your number though." 

Cali, "Is that what this is really all about? Rescuing kids to impress me and get my number?" 

I could tell she was being playful, so I replied, "Well I'm sure every guy you meet in every town thinks they are the best thing you have ever seen. So, I figure I need to step up my game to have a chance." 

She laughs and tells me her number and I tell her to be in place in no more than 15 minutes and I will tell her when to move in. 

I move back out of sight and change into an owl and head back to Diana and Connor. I wasn't intentionally hiding my powers from her, but I didn't want to advertise them either. My color stood out and if a certain acrobatic vigilante in Gotham was seen with me it wouldn't be hard to connect Dick to the mask. 

When I got back to Diana and Connor I said, "I got Cali to show up with a bus to get the kids out fast and safe. Anything happen here? 

Connor, "There was a car that came, it had the driver a passenger and two kids tied up and asleep in the back." 

Logan, "That should be the boss they were waiting for. If you guys are good, we can stop this with everyone present." 

  Diana, "I will not turn from a child in need." 

Connor, "I would love a reason to hit something really hard, I just hope there is someone here can take it." 

  Logan, "OK I will tell Diana when I am in the room with the kids, then you two tear it up. Just be careful and look out for each other. And remember, once the kids are out and safe, we don't have to stick around." 

I call Cali and tell her to start moving.