The cost of buisness

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

Gotham's winters are bitter and merciless. The bite in the air right now could do real damage to exposed anatomy if left unprotected for more than a few minutes. Tim pulled the hood of his cape over his head to give his ears a reprieve.

Moving like a ghost, he flitted silently between shadows making no sound at all as he bounded to the neighboring rooftop. Carefully he came to the edge and peered down into the alleyway.

Gold light lit up the dirty and garbage strewn snow, the illumination spilling from an open loading dock where men hurriedly moved crates into a waiting van. The vehicle's motor was running and it's driver looked up and down the alley with nervous impatience.

Drake sized up his targets and pulled a few tools from his belt.

Comments

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

"Bet you're cold." came Connor's voice over the comms.

High above the boy wonder and his alleyway tableau, Superboy was drifting amid the floating motes of ice and snow that had yet to fall to the city bellow. A coating of white had begun to settle on him as he watched the currents of air and crystallized water negotiate the thermal layer bellow.

"I'm bored, in case you were wondering."

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

*eyeroll*

"Yes, I am and no I wasn't."

Tim shifted his position and then dropped from the ledge. As he fell, a smoke bomb preceded him. The sudden bloom of obscuring mist instantly caused panic. He landed on the shoulders of the largest of his targets. A fast and focused jab rendered the man unconscious and Robin was leaping to his next opponent before his first finished falling to the ground.

The fight was over before the other side knew it had started.

"Cover me."

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

Letting himself free-fall until the last few moments, Superboy literally dropped into the scene. He was careful to stay aloft and touch nothing, as Tim had cautioned him earlier.

"Why are we doing this again?"

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

Lock picks make short work of the brief cases, and a quick inventory of the contents are confirmed. There was a small fortune in cash here. A nearby crowbar is utilized to open a few of the crates next, revealing assault rifles and cases of specialized ammunition. Closer inspection verifies that their serial numbers have been neatly filed away.

Connor's question gets a raised eyebrow.

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

It's his turn to make with the eyerolling.

"I mean, why didn't we just tip off the cops? Isn't this kinda overkill? It's just five guys and a van."

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

Robin returns to inspecting the crates, confirming the military issue contraband in each.

"The cops won't go near this. These guys are on the untouchable list. Put on those gloves and help me load the rest of these crates into the van."

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

"Untouchable list?"
From his back pocket, the referenced gloves are produced and Connor slips them on. The puzzlement in his voice growing at Robin's request.

Lifting a crate into the van with casual ease, "Why?"

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

"I've been tracking patterns of illegal activity and police response for the last couple of months and I'm pretty certain that there is a new organization in Gotham that has gone to some pretty lengthy efforts to chisel out significant turf in the local underworld. Lots of business in drug trade and arms dealing is being done but it's very controlled. Anyone dealing outside of the organization is getting hit hard by police attention while those operating inside the group are getting the blind eye. It's a pretty safe bet that there are some deep hooks in the police force right now."

The crates are loaded and Robin tosses the three briefcases into the van as well. He hops into the driver's seat. "Get in."

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

"Huh? What are we doing now? Aren't we going to rope these jerks up and leave a friendly neighborhood 'R' for the police to find?."

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

"Nope. Like I said, they'll just walk, and this 'stolen property' will just find another route to it's buyers. I'm changing the game up and hitting the bad guys where it hurts. We're taking the goods somewhere it'll be safe for you to slag all of this with heat vision. No goods, no profit. They'll either be out the money refunding their buyers or wind up loosing cred as reliable suppliers. They loose either way. Eventually it'll add up."

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

Wheels turn in his head.
"So...you're punching them...in the checkbook?"

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

Wry smile.
"Yep. When Batman first made the scene in Gotham, the Falcone family was so entrenched in the system that he couldn't go after their legal assets. Instead he found out where they were storing reserves of dirty money and burned down the building it was being held in. It wasn't like the Falcones could recoup it in an insurance claim.

I figured the same works here. Now get in."

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

Sliding into the passenger's seat, he smiles as he mulls the idea over.

"So you're Robin-Hood now huh?"

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

"Sorta. Mostly I'm focusing on sticking it to their business model. These guys aren't the usual Arkahm crazies. Based on their patterns, they're here for power and profit. We keep this up and it just won't be profitable to do trade in Gotham anymore. They'll have to close up shop and move on."

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

Nodding.

"Unless they just figure out who it is messing with them and they kill us."

[tim-drake-robin.livejournal.com]

"Dude. We're the sidekicks of two of the most badass superheroes on the planet. That's gotta figure into somebody's balance sheet cost-benefit analysis. How many people do you think want Superman that pissed off at them?"

The van moves into traffic and Robin heads to the city outskirts.

"Besides, people have tried to kill us before and we're still here."

[krypton-or-bust.livejournal.com]

Grin.

"You realize with our luck this group of mystery gangsters is going to turn out to be like headed by Sinestro and Mongul or something right?"