Breaking and Entering

[the_caped_crusader]

Who: Batman & YOU???
When: Late at night, between 12-4am
Where: Police Department
What: Batman's looking for clues.
Warnings: As I've mentioned, I have permission from the mods to investigate the police station. However, I know nothing more than that-- not what they'll find, or the consequences that will take place. If you take part in this, your character may be subject to the whims of the mods, whatever they may be.



[ santa rosita is a far cry from gotham, it's low, suburban rooftops offering little cover by themselves if not for the almost unnatural shadow that seemed to creep at every corner. for batman, that would be enough.

he spent the first month stocking up on cheap supplies at honeybee's, the kinds of tools that he could engineer into basic lockpicks, smoke grenades, or even batarangs. while he was grateful (though suspicious) of his suit arriving at his doorstep one morning, it was more than unfortunate that it had been reverse engineered somehow to remove some of it's more important qualities, namely the contents of his utility belt. it was times like this that he had to remember his training, and that, in the beginning, he had done far more with far less.

the police station was small, serving as both a boon and a crux at the same time. there would be less to search, but it would be easier to be seen by whatever night shift remained on duty. he could remember the way they looked at the gala months back, unable to ascertain whether they possessed supernatural senses or not; he supposed he would find out shortly. once inside, he hugged to the shadows, lips thinning at the almost entirely open office area just past the lobby. his intention was to look at their evidence room, or perhaps search their files for past criminal activity in the area. harding's office he would save for last. ]

[ ooc: if parts of this prompt don't work for you, feel free to have them jump in at any point before bats enters the station, or give me your own! i'm very flexible, and available to chat at BATGUY if you'd like. ]

Comments

[the_caped_crusader]

Of all the places you need to be the most cautious of, it's that school. You're alone there, but you can still keep your head down and listen for leads without putting yourself in danger.

[ he pauses, considering for a moment. ]

That's why I'm here. Last October, a bus full of children went missing and were pronounced dead. I'm looking for past criminal reports that may have been similar in nature.

[grice]

[ he nods once, a definite yes sir, but some days later: falco did not listen to batman.

the reason he was here, that’s troubling. he could ask why he’s there dressed like a bat, but he seems to already be very self aware. ]

. . . No one found them?

[the_caped_crusader]

...They were found.

[ he says, but leaves it at that. it sort of leaves the impression that whatever they found wasn't good. batman turns around and begins working on one of the locked cabinets in the office, looking for notable past crimes that have happened in santa rosita. ]

I need you to do me a favor, Falco...

[grice]

[ that leaves things clearer and even a little more worrying. and here the impression he had was that they were pronounced dead without being found. yikes.

but mister bat is asking him for something and he immediately changes his posture— wary, but attentive and eager. ]

Yes, sir?

[the_caped_crusader]

This town has a way of affecting your memories when you're... not doing what it wants you to do. If I find anything here...

[ the cabinet clicks. bruce hands falco a small notebook from his belt. ]

I carry this with me to keep track of what I've found. If anything happens, I want you to get out of here as fast as you can and hide this notebook somewhere where you'll always remember. Do you think you can do that?

[grice]

[ ‼️

responsibility weighs in, but the kind falco gladly takes along with the notebook, holding out both hands to gently secure it. ]

I can. [ no wobbliness in saying so— he’s sure he can and already thinks of a place to put it back “home”. ] How’ll I know when to give it back?

[the_caped_crusader]

If I don't come for it myself, you'll know something went wrong...

[ he replies ominously, working on this unusually frustrating lockpick. back in the 60s, tumblers usually weren't that sophisticated, but then this wasn't the normal 1960s, was it... ]

My name... my real name... is in the front. You'll know where to find me that way. I trust you to keep that to yourself.

[grice]

[ with that being said, falco can't help but give a little peek underneath the cover. Bruce Wayne, it says. true to his word, he only nods, tucks it under his arm and keeps the knowledge to himself. this is all a little eerie, please don't get caught batman ]

Yes, sir. [ if he wanted a way for the kid to go home, too, he's immediately got one. ] I'm living on 323 Midwich Street, [ a gesture, with the notebook, ] so I should go, then. Good luck, um— [ he can't call him by name, ] Mister Bat.

[helloneighbor]

[The lock on the filing cabinet Bruce is working on eventually gives way and opens. The drawer pops open abruptly, sure to hurt any fingers caught in the way.

Inside, there are at least ten different folders crammed in tightly, each one filled to the brim with papers. One of them is even wound with a rubber band to keep everything inside from falling out. They aren't labeled and there's no organization for how they've been sorted, like they were tossed into the cabinet just because there was extra room.

The one closest to Bruce and Falco has the edge of a newspaper article sticking out of the top of the folder.]

[the_caped_crusader]

Hold on.

[ batman stops falco abruptly, the sound of the filing cabinet on its old track like a treasure chest being opened. he fingers through the folders, grumbling under his breath as to the order of things until the clipping catches his eye. he gingerly removes it, not knowing its age, and scans the text... ]

Open the book and write this down.

[grice]

Oh—!

[ abruptly, falco returns from his turn toward the exit to peer over to the delicate click of a locked drawer coming undone. with haste just after a second of watching long enough with awe, falco flips the notebook open to the next clean page and scrambles for a nearby pen. with that out of the way, ]

I'm ready!

[helloneighbor]

[The paper feels thin and delicate, like it could disintegrate in Bruce's hands if he's not careful, the ink faded almost to illegibility. The photograph at the top of the article looks like a collection of black and white — mostly black — smears loosely resembling police cars surrounding a warehouse.

DETECTIVES BUST APPARENT DRUG TRAFFICKING RING, SAVE MISSING CHILDREN
Five Echo Park children reported missing in April have been found alive in the basement of an automotive assembly plant in the Inland Empire late Monday night.

Discovered behind a dry wall in the depths of the building, the children, unharmed, were escorted to safety by LAPD officials as officers moved in and searched the plant. Also reportedly uncovered was a large cache of narcotics and what sources close to the department are calling a large-scale drug trafficking operation.

The investigation comes at the end of one of many grueling searches the LAPD has been conducting in response to the rash of child abductions that have been plaguing the Greater Los Angeles area since February. Although no further evidence was found at the crime scene linking the other disappearances to the Inland Empire operation, LAPD officials seem confident of a relationship between them and are emboldened to continue the search.

"We've earned our right to celebrate just for tonight," Detective Dale Harding said when approached at the crime scene for comment. "Tomorrow, it's back to work."

Reported to have been the first officer on the scene, Harding, 24, is said to have played an instrumental role in the operation. When asked for comment, the District Attorney of Los Angeles County praised Harding and his colleagues for their work, describing it as "the picture of model police work."

"Most of us are parents," Harding went on to say. "We're approaching this like these are our own kids. Nobody is resting until we find them."]

[the_caped_crusader]

Inland Empire... why here, then?

[ he ponders for a moment, gingerly placing the clipping back into it's folder before shutting the cabinet drawer. once secure, batman turns to falco. ]

Drug trafficking. Child abductions. Echo Park children. Inland Empire. Dale Harding. Twenty-four years old.

[ there's not enough time to write everything down, no camera that he can use to take a snapshot, and the clipping itself too frail to make the trip. he relays keywords that will help him paint a picture for himself in the case that his mind is wiped later. in a final moment, batman approaches falco and crouches, setting a hand on his shoulder. ]

Now hurry home. I have one more place I need to search...

[ he glances in the direction of harding's office. ]

I have a feeling things might get dangerous from here on out. Just remember what I told you. Somewhere only you'll remember.

[grice]

[ he isn’t tall enough to look at the file from this angle, so— being told what to write is good enough. he jots it all down, word for word in his mother tongue and promises internally that he’ll get it translated once he gets home and to a dictionary to make sure it’s correct as can be.

with bruce at his eye level with a respectable hand on his shoulder, he know he has a mission. ]

I promise, sir. [ even though, the rooms further ahead could be as dangerous as he said . . . with a nod, he says, ] Stay safe.

[ he’ll be quietly slipping out the door once he’s allowed. ]