Robin was closely monitoring Strade Pharmaceutical Company from his rooftop vantage point.
The night air was cool and damp, carrying the faint chemical scent that always lingered near industrial zones in Gotham. Lights glowed from the building's windows, but most had gone dark hours ago.
"They finally came out. They worked really late tonight."
A group of people exited through the main entrance, and among them was Hollis, the R&D director on Two-Face's list. He looked tired, shoulders slumped, briefcase in hand.
Under Robin's watchful eye, Hollis headed to the parking lot, got into his car, and drove off. Robin immediately gave chase, moving silently across rooftops with his grappling gun, keeping just enough distance to stay unseen.
"Hm?"
After following for a short distance, Robin sensed that something was off.
"That car has been tailing Hollis for a while now."
His gaze shifted to a black van about fifty meters behind Hollis. It matched speed perfectly, never falling too far back or closing too aggressively.
"The windows are heavily tinted. I can't tell how many people are inside."
Robin continued the pursuit while keeping an eye on the van behind Hollis.
"Robin!"
Oracle's urgent voice suddenly came through his earpiece.
"Two-Face has made his move. The location is on the highway in the Old City District!"
"What? Then the car following Hollis is…"
Robin stiffened at the news and looked down at the van below.
At that moment, the suspicious black van that had been tailing Hollis the entire time suddenly accelerated, overtook him, and forced his car to a stop with a sharp screech of tires.
Several masked men carrying equipment jumped out of the van and surrounded Hollis's vehicle.
"Oracle, I've run into trouble on my end too. We'll talk later!"
Without hesitation, Robin leapt off the rooftop, fired his grappling hook, and swung toward the two vehicles.
...
Bang!
A masked man smashed Hollis's car window with the butt of his pistol. Cowering inside, Hollis cried out in terror.
"W-who are you? What do you want?"
"What do we want? Your life, of course. Mr. Hollis, you're a criminal, and our boss has sentenced you to death today!"
The masked man pulled a pistol from his jacket and pressed it against Hollis's forehead.
"Ah! What was that?"
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a sharp pain shot through his wrist, forcing him to drop the gun.
He looked down and saw a pitch-black, bat-shaped shuriken embedded in his wrist, the blade piercing straight through.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
The other masked men immediately realized someone was interfering.
The next second, Robin landed in front of them, staff in hand, cape settling around him like dark wings.
"My apologies, but I'm filing a motion to overturn your boss's verdict."
...
Back at the Clock Tower, Oracle's expression turned grave the instant she heard Robin's words. She immediately pulled up the surveillance feed from his location and saw the masked men ambushing Hollis.
More troubling still, aside from the highway where the incident began and Robin's position, the other five potential targets were also under attack.
Two of them had been killed on the spot, while the rest were under GCPD protection, with firefights already underway.
"The worst-case scenario has happened. I didn't expect Two-Face to try to eliminate everyone at the same time. He rarely acted this way before."
Oracle rapidly marked all the incident sites on the map, preparing to relay the locations of the other attacks and the fastest routes to Robin once he finished dealing with the enemies in front of him.
But when she connected the seven points on the map, her face went pale.
The shape they formed was the capital letter "R."
In that instant, Oracle understood everything.
"Two-Face's real target was never those seven people. It was Robin."
"Damn it. This is a trap. Everyone showing up now is just bait."
She hurried to contact Robin and warn him to be careful.
At that exact moment, the connection abruptly cut out.
"Oh no. Robin's signal is being jammed!"
...
Meanwhile, on the street where Hollis had been attacked.
Robin knocked down the last masked man with a swift strike to the temple.
"Oracle, I'm finished here. Tell me where the nearest attack site is… Hello? Oracle, why aren't you responding? Why was the connection cut?"
He pressed the communicator in his ear, trying to reestablish contact, but there was no reply.
A sense of unease immediately crept over him.
Did something happen to Oracle? Did Two-Face already discover that she's hiding in the secret room at the top of the Clock Tower?
Although Oracle had developed her own wheelchair combat techniques after being paralyzed and was no pushover, capable of handling three or five grown men, she was still disabled. If she ran into Two-Face's subordinates, the outcome was far from certain.
With that thought, Robin strode over to one of the masked men and punched him twice to wake him up.
"Tell me. Is your boss Two-Face? Where is he right now, and what was your real objective?"
"You think I'd betray my boss… Awoooowowow—"
After a round of agonized wailing.
"…No! Stop! I'll talk, I'll talk!"
Robin released him.
"Sullivan Island. The boss is on Sullivan Island."
The masked man gasped for breath as he spoke.
"Who were the targets of this attack?"
Robin pressed on.
"I don't know. We were only responsible for the targets assigned to us."
The masked man hesitated, then added, "But he said the ones we were punishing were just insignificant small fry. The real criminals would eventually be brought before his court for trial."
Hearing that, Robin felt a slight sense of relief. For Two-Face, if even members of Maroni's old faction were not considered true criminals, then he was undoubtedly referring to Batman, Oracle, and himself.
So even if Oracle had indeed been captured, she would not be killed immediately.
Robin knew that Two-Face had an obsessive fixation on his so-called court. Anyone he deemed worthy of trial would always go through a formal process before he passed judgment.
Because of that, Robin did not doubt the masked man's words.
"Sullivan Island. Judging by the time since Oracle and I lost contact, if I leave now, I should be able to arrive before Oracle does."
With that in mind, Robin immediately summoned his Batcycle and raced toward Sullivan Island.
Before leaving, he made sure to bind the masked men together and told Hollis to call the police.
...
In a dark room, Two-Face listened to Robin's conversation with the masked man through a wiretap, a smug smile spreading across his face.
"The criminal is walking into the net. Soon, justice will be served."
"My justice!"
...
Vroom—!
On the highway linking Gotham City proper to Sullivan Island, a red-and-black blur shot past, leaving behind a thunderous roar.
"Did something just fly by?"
A driver cruising along the road stared in disbelief at his rearview mirror.
The shadow had been moving so fast that it vanished in the blink of an eye.
If not for the lingering roar that followed, he might have thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
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