𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, DICK GRAYSON

─ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

"Drinking on the job. Should you be doing that, Ashe?" Dick questioned, standing in front of me as his face was filled with disappointment, which I'm not surprised to see. We were currently at some pizza place down the road with a convenient store nearby.

"If I want to sleep good tonight, then yes, I am drinking on the job," I answered, gulping down the last drop of the malted barley. "I'm on zero hours of sleep, thanks to someone and the limited space in his car."

"How's your sleeping pattern lately?"

"Pretty much the same, I guess."

"Is that with or without alcohol involved?"

"Does it matter?"

"You shouldn't be dependent on alcohol," he stated as I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious, Young. You need help—professional help."

I snorted, "No thank you. Besides, I'm not the one who needs help, Grayson." I pushed my body off from the car, taking a step forward. "Let's talk about your problem. You may have fooled people with this cold, distant exterior but not me. I know one thing for sure, that deep inside," my finger poked him where his heart lies, "you're just as fucked-up as I am."

His jaw clenched together. "I am not fucked-up."

The corner of my mouth quirked up. "Looks like I hit a nerve."

"You have no clue what you're talking about, Ashe."

"You're also stubborn as a child," I added, crossing my arms, "but I can offer you this. Unless you tell someone or face whatever the fuck is eating you up every night, in exchange, I will try to get the so-called help you desperately want me to get."

"I'm not doing that," Dick rejected the offer.

"It looks like I win."

"Why do you have to be so difficult? It won't hurt you."

"That's where you are wrong. Help is for the weak and I am not weak."

"No one will think you're weak if you get help, Ashe. I know, I won't," he promised, looking straight at me in the eyes.

But they will. Every one of them will see me as a weak asset.

"Then explain to me why you also don't get help?" I sent a remark, waiting for him to respond but nothing. "Oh, that's right. It's because I'm the criminal and you're the cop."

"Ashe—"

"Just give up, Dick. I'm a lost cause, nothing will save me. Trust me, I tried," and with that, I stepped back then turned around, heading back to the car.

The ride back to the motel was quiet until a call came in. It was regarding the active case on Rachel and her mother's murder. "Could you forward me everything you got so far?" Dick said over the phone as I had my eyes glued to the empty, dark road.

When we arrived back, I trailed behind him up the stairs and into the room. As I gently shut the door, he picked up a piece of paper from the desk. I watched his face change in a second before he placed down the paper, hastily moving over to the other room.

"Rachel!" he called out as my eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

I picked up the paper—it was a picture of something or someone. I then grabbed the other paper, reading the information. It's the police report Dick asked a few minutes ago.

"No! Don't touch me!" Rachel cried out, causing me to drop the papers and rush over to the other room, into the bathroom. "I don't want her getting out. No!"

Dick hugged the frightened teen as she cried on his shoulder. "You're okay. Nothing bad's gonna happen to you. Don't worry," he told her while my eyes trailed down to see torn-up pieces of papers surrounding the bathtub with drawings of crucifixes.

Once Rachel calmed down from whatever happened to her when we were gone, I was on the bed with her, watching Game of Thrones. Dick went to the other room, looking over the report.

"Basically, this show is about the struggles among families who want the iron throne while others want independence from it. Why does it sound like a Korean soap drama?" I inquired, drinking the grape soda from the vending machine outside.

"I can't believe you never watched this show before. It's what people these days talk about," Rachel laughed.

"I guess I was living under a rock when it came out."

Our night soon came to an end.

I woke up around near the crack of dawn. Carefully getting up from the bed, I walked out of the room and into the other room where I saw the mess Dick created from his little research project. The laptop was still on as papers were scattered around the coffee table.

I redirected my eyes to the sleeping man on the couch. He looked so peaceful and innocent—a complete 180 from his usual annoying and overbearing self. As I reached for my jacket from the coat hanger, I left the room.

Sitting down on the first step of the stairwell, I fished out my cellphone from the jacket's pockets. I pressed on the home button, seeing ten missed calls from an unknown number and one voicemail.

"Hello, little one. It's been a while since the last message and I apologize for that. Everything is going well as we predicted. One by one, father's supplies are being destroyed. Soon, only one will exist and it shall be ours. I will search for you once the mission is done. Until then, stay safe and keep a low profile."

Her message ended.

"No promises with the given situation," I whispered to myself, heavily exhaling out.

By the time Dick and Rachel woke up, we checked out and continued the road trip to Washington where Dick's friends are and the possible place to hide until our next course of action with Rachel, her abilities, and the people after her.

"So, who are these guys?" Rachel asked as we reached apartment 304.

"Old friends," Dick said, "truth is I haven't seen them for a long time."

"What a nice reunion then," I muttered, watching him knock on the door.

Opening the door was a platinum blonde woman. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of Dick, standing at the doorstep of her home. I guess seeing him was the last thing she expected or wanted.

"Hey," Dick greeted.

"Hi," she breathed out.

"Hi," Rachel chimed in, taking a step forward. "I'm Rachel and she's Ashe," she held her hand out as the blonde finally looked away, shaking her hand while giving us her name—Dawn.

"Can we talk?"

"You're about four years too late, but sure."