Adventures ofCassandra Cain, Ch 10

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Cracking down on Petrov

Sunday Night

Barbara has no trouble absconding with Cassandra from the Gordon residence. He agreed that she probably needed fresh air after the lawyer had taken his liberties with putting her through all the testing that noone had asked for. Cassandra herself was grateful for getting out, she needed to vent a little.

James started to tell her not to be out past midnight, but stopped himself. He was a worried old man and she wasn't going to be alone. He didn't like the idea of people coming and going in his home, but then he reminded himself that she wasn't people and offered a wave before going back in.

That night the five heroes conglomerated at the Gotham Cathedral. Barbara and Cass had made a quick detour by the Bunker first so Cass could change before they themselves headed out. Apparently Nightwing had a plan of action.

Meeting there at not quit nine o'clock, Nightwing nods to the two girls who were last tonight. Instead of her usual sports bra beneath the tactical plate that guarded her torso, she had gone digging for a black longsleeve and wasn't to be dissuaded by the time or Babs' pleading over the matter.

"Now that we're all here, let's get this started. We'll be in two teams, one team will penetrate from the western end of the scrapyard and the other from the front. The team at the front will take down everyone they can, the other team will focus on locating the big fish and isolating him. Questions?"

Babs nodded immediately at that,"So an assault team and a recon team?"

"Precisely. I'm counting on them noticing a problem, but not until we're ready to nail him. I'm not talking charging in fists flying, I'm going for quick take downs. If they find anything, it should be people not at their posts or reporting in," the flying Grayson explains.

Babs nods, less put off by this explanation now. Just to be sure, she inquires further,"So less of an assault team, more of a clearing out security so they can't respond when we move in team."

Nightwing nods once more at that. When noone inquires further after a moment has passed for everyone to process this, Nightwing takes it upon himself to assign teams,"Black Bat, you're with me and Batwoman on assault. Batgirl, Robin, you two are on take down. Remember: infiltrate, locate, isolate. We need him pinned down and cut off where he's not going anywhere and neither he nor anyone he's with is talking to anyone."

He knew Barbara and Tim were tech wizzes, this would be their prime time. He didn't know Batwoman's skillset yet, but he knew she could throw down solid so she was good for the front line as long as she could be as quiet as he and Cassandra. He knew that would be a tall order, but it was as good a time as any to find out. He'd just be keeping an eye on her.

Barbara didn't always appreciate his talent for redundancy in his pep speeches, at least that's what she thought of this as. After a certain point he began to sound like the teacher in a Peanuts cartoon. She knew he meant well, but halfway into it she knew everything she needed to know. Her and Tim were on point for finding and taking down the boss while everyone else had fun. Groan. A sentiment that Tim shared.

Cassandra felt similarly to Barbara as they winged off for Petrov's scrapyard, that he talked entirely too much at times like this. Barbara had helped her out on the way to picking up her costume with a little present to make up for the fire, and she took advantage of it now as the three in her team got staged to begin. She had in her helmet a couple earbuds draped over but not actually in so she could hear radio chatter, Babs had bought her an ipod to make up for her lost 'music box' and had downloaded to it a few albums including the one she'd lost. She was listening to it now as she got ready, smiling to herself beneath the solid blank 'face' of her tactical helmet when Maynard starts in on his chorus,'You lie...cheat and steal, you lie...cheat and steal...' amidst the tantric beats of the drummer.

Nightwing would've been mad at her if he'd known about Cassie's music, unless he was just being civil for the moment as they move in. The trio crept alongside the driveway, moving via the ditch to the guardshack to take advantage of the shadow. The capes of her two partners were actually advantageous here in the breezy coastal evening. They served to break up their outlines while Black Bat endeavored to be as close to the ground as she could until they actually reached the shack.

the men in the small building weren't paying attention, it was typical guard duty for them. Check in every thirty minutes to be sure they were awake, watch DVDs in between on a laptop. Tonight they would miss their check in. One of them was a fairly beefy sort while the other was best described as rotund or perhaps robust.

The trio staged in crouch at the door, easily clearing the cyclone style gate in practiced silence with only Kate seeming to have a little difficulty. Her inexperience showed as she awkwardly cleared the top to land with a quiet thud on the other side but none raised any alarm from the distracted hired security.

Nightwing put a hand on the handle, holding a hand to the duo behind him as he signed '3, 2, 1...' then turned the handle and threw open the door to sprint in, an arm snaking around the first man's neck from behind as he arrests him with a from behind sleeper maneuver. Kate rushed in behind him, grabbing the other by the hair of the back of his neck and swiftly knocking him out via driving his head onto the hard desk with an audible 'thonk'. The Cassie kept her eye on things from the outside while the two gathered intel from the signin sheet of who was coming and going, quickly snapping pictures of the last several sheets before they moved on in.

Meanwhile Barbara and Tim, Batgirl and Robin respectively, moved in over a pile of pancaked cars that made for the main wall on the other side. Kneepads and gloves were richly appreciated as they made their way up and over. Both experienced hands at the stealth game themselves, they were undetected as they crept on in employing a google map to find their way to the small buildings within that were tagged as the most likely candidates for finding their targets.

Cass's helmet fills with a tune that she didn't know or expect as the drums of Smashing Pumpkins' Voodoo starts in while they move to the building known to be the guards headquarters. 'I'm not the one who's so far away as I feel the snakebite enter my veins...' Taking her place at the lead, she skips that tune, it being too slow for what's about to go down. Time for the Creatures, Seven Tears is a good song. Dick shakes his head at her in disappointment as he notes the ipod, exhaling as Cassie shrugs at him. "Seven ships, set seven sails. Seven whalers, seven waves..." comes the low voice of Siouxsie Sioux as the drums thunder in their subdued volume within her helmet.

Crouched at the door, it's now Cassie's turn to give the '3, 2, 1,' countdown. In her hand is a trio of smoke pellets ready to lob in ahead of them and she does that immediately before rushing in. Whipping her sword out of its sheathe, she deftly flips it to the false edge of the ninja-to as she takes immediate stock of the guards present coughing in the smoke filled room. Whipping out with it, she knocks out one then steps to the one behind him, cracking him in the forearm to drop the pistol in his hand before cracking him in the head with a pommelstrike to drop him next.

Right behind her comes Batwoman as Nightwing pulls security for anyone that gets past them or have eyes on in case an alarm goes out prematurely. Batwoman snatches up a coughing guard with an AK in hand, slinging him around to get a from behind sleeper on him like Nightwing had done earlier, putting him down in swift order. She's holding her breath in the eye stinging fog but she can see Cassandra at work well enough. She'd already dropped another two in that timeframe.

Siouxsie's voice was sublime for the moment, as were the heavy drums of her man Budgie as she intoned 'Hope! Give hope!' to the hammering beat as her feet carry her through a fluidly swift security sweep of the room with her trusty sword at the ready. Her helmet did well filtering out the by now clearing smoke, her nightvision allowing her to perfectly see the raw movements of her unfortunate targets. They'd been unprepared as planned making this excercise all too easy for her and rendering her two partners unnecessary but better to have excess than not enough. She quickly darts out with the other two as they now moved to the next shack to see them gearing up. From the voices, someone had heard the noises.

Nightwing takes the initiative and slams through the door as soon as the other two are with him and the real fight is joined. He immediately grabs an AK from the first man he comes to, grasping it firmly by the barrel to pull it back as he gets a hand on the stock and slams the butt into its holder's face before ballbat swinging it to knock him cold. A second later and everyone's dashing for cover as a deffilade of fire ensues. Their distraction for the other two had suddenly sprang to life in a bad way.

Barbara heard the weapons fire just as she'd verified their mark. She was in the midst of cutting the internet and phone feed to his building when it'd broken out, Tim had just set up a signal jammer on top of his building. Things were working out, but not going well as he now had to rush to block the door. He knew that when it was found to be barricaded, his guards would likely take the lead in departure. It was classic.

The Bat family working together was proving to be a well honed weapon. It was Batwoman's turn to suppress the opposition, and she did just that with a flash bang to the other side of the building as Nightwing puts on a pair of specialized ear coverings to suppress the sound, his eyes closed tight against the flash. Black Bat's helmet does its job shielding her from the pitch and flash as she simply looks away. As soon as it goes off Batwoman and Black Bat are on top of them, Cass' ninja-to cracking one in the forearm and head before belting another across the jaw before slamming him into a wall where he slumps down under the impact. Batwoman's target is dropped with similar efficiency this time as she batarangs him between the eyes, receiving a 'Good shot' kudos from Nightwing.

Black Bat sheathes her sword, the signal coming over from Robin,"The big fish has been caught. Everything go alright on your end? Sounded exciting."

Nightwing replies,"Got a little hairy at the end there, but yeah. We're good here."

Barbara offers then,"Good to know, should I notify Gordon?"

Nightwing promptly says,"Go ahead. Let's head home, we've got some intel to go over."

Barbara would drop Cassie off on her way to the meeting. The next day would be big for her, her first classes tomorrow evening. Dick had words with her before they left, telling her to keep the earbuds out of her helmet in the future as it was unprofessional. Cassie didn't understand everything he said but she knew he wasn't happy about it.

At the house, James was long since asleep so she quietly went to her room. Laying on her back she stared up at the ceiling, her mind abuzz with what would come tomorrow. Dick was worried how Petrov's organization would go forward in his absence, her mind was focused more personally. Barbara had talked to her about Tim. Apparently he'd been a little whiney about her reaction to his teasing.

Supposedly teasing is affectionate. Cassie was confused by this concept, and apparently that was why he hadn't talked around her. She didn't like it or his timing, and he'd translated that to not liking him which was pretty far off mark. She didn't care enough about him to not like him, she didn't have an opinion one way or the other about him past that he was good at what he did and reliable as a person. She had relayed that in her own way to Babs, who found it more than a little amusing that she didn't think any more about him than that.

Cassie continued staring up at the ceiling for a while, her mind running with little things like this. Tonight's events couldn't have been less important in retrospect, it was a job well done and in the past to her. The targets had been taken with their pants down, and it had showed. She wanted a challenge.

Monday, First Class

Cassandra and James got along well enough together. He acknowledged the lawyer's valid point about her education and managed pull a few strings to arrange for her to get into a special program for underdevelopped adults. It would culminate in a GED, but it was geared towards adults with little to no education. They had to admit astonishment at the severity of her case, but couched their alarm with reassurances that it is never too late. Cassandra was considerably less enthused.

Come Monday, he did his darnedest to be on time to sit in on the first class hosted by daughter and Cassandra. He wouldn't be the only one, as Oliver Queen managed to show up on time as well with similar intent. The two men sat next to each other off to the side as Barbara and Cassandra go through the final motions of getting the place squared away. It isn't a huge task, but is an important one and Cassandra has a wicked eye for detail as she spotchecks the gym in the minutes leading up to five o'clock in the afternoon.

Oliver and James shake hands when they realize who each other are, and a few of the faces in the room show genuine surprise as well. Oliver cracks a joke about paparazzi that James doesn't find very funny as he verbally observes the truth of it. The class consisted mostly of police officers, but there's a few local faces in there and one Katherine Kane and Tim Drake. Dick Grayson ended up applying for her advanced Saturday course when he realized who would be with her during the week.

Barbara did most of the talking as usual, but Cassandra did well enough leading this course. Barbara opens up the class with a greeting, introducing the class as Muay Thai for beginners. She gave a real quick intro to it, advising them to check Google if they wanted the history as it's rather extensive. Then she introduced Cassandra Cain as their lead instructor for the evening. Cassie nods, taking a breath before she dove in.

"Ok...first stretch. Warm up thirty minutes every day," Cassandra begins, a few people look at each other as they observe her broken way of speaking with its meticulous annunciations,"We first do butterfly, then split, then the pushup and crunch. Ok?"

Oliver looks like he's in visible pain by this. James is quick to point out that she's trying, Oliver's more interested in how many are gonna come back for this as she drops down into a full split with Barbara explaining to just stretch as far as they can if they aren't yet flexible enough.

Her personal level was discouragingly high to the students, many of whm had never done more than job related stretching since grade school. After the stretches were finished, Oliver says loud enough for others to hear,"Ok. I'm fixing this."

Barbara glances over, by this point a news van had set up outside. Someone had called about he and the Commissioner being there together and wisely thought it might be a newsworthy occasion. This development did not sit well with her as she knew how the man could be when out from behind the mask.

"Barbara, be a doll and fetch a few of those wooden swords from the rack over there would you? We'll need two apiece, I'd hate for the moment to ruin from shoddy craftsmanship,"declares Oliver.

James just sits there, he had started to protest but Oliver waved to him in a 'don't worry, I've got this' manner. He continues to the delight of the confused crowd of students,"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Oliver Queen. I'm sure many of you have heard of me and I'd like to confirm that yes, I am the owner and general manager of this studio and no I am not available." He winks with that at newsgirl who was still trying to help the cameraman get ready.

"It has come to my attention that my hiring practices are presently in question, and I'd like to refute this by pointing out that I have excercised the utmost discretion in honoring the spirit of diversity by hiring a girl of mixed ethnicity with difficulties to run my studio," continues Oliver with barely withheld humor in his tone.

By this point, the camera was rolling as Barbara brings an armful of bokkens. Oliver gestures to the ring,"Yes, thank you m'dear." He then looks to the crowd and says in his grandiose manner,"Now, in my defense against the allegations laid against my good name and in the interest of furthering..." he pauses here for effect,"the cause of diversity and equal opportunity, I propose a match. I hereby challenge my chosen instructor for this studio, Ms Cassandra Cain." Barbara's gaze widens at his audacity, and James rises to his feet at that.

"Mr Queen, I must object..." begins James as he starts towards him as he is making his way to the ring.

"Commissioner, please. I know what I'm doing and I'm a professional myself. Please, calm down." He levels a serious look at James. The hardness in his eyes is striking, a total contradiction to the grandstanding that he'd committed just moments earlier.

He climbs into the ring with Cassandra, the two of them picking up a sword each. Barbara offers padding but she's waved off dismissively much to her annoyance.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if Ms Cain wins, she will be the owner and proprietor in fact of this gym. That is my stake. If she loses, well I'll think of something she won't like." He gestures in a la-dee-da manner with the sword, grinning at the chuckles he illicits.

Cassandra whips the sword through the air a couple times, feeling the weight of it as Oliver turns to face her,"Ready when finish."

Oliver grins, the humor vanishing from his eyes as they turn steely. He adopts the posture of a professional fencer, gripping his bokken with one hand like a saber. Cassandra notes this, becoming focused and blocking out the world around her as she knows from everything about him that this isn't for play.

"EN GARDE!" cries Oliver in earnest fashion, springing across the ring and whipping the sword diagonally downwards with a speed that silences the crowd.

Cassandra blocks the sword with an audible 'Crack!' and replies with a downward swing of her own at his shoulder that would have shattered his collarbone but for a skillful block of his own. Her style for this fight is a more traditional kenjutsu posture with both hands grasping it.

This fight showcased western style versus eastern for the on hand cameras as they danced back and forth delivering rapid successions of strikes that had a couple of the attendees holding their ears. As fast as the blows rained in, wood against wood, the footwork was equally sublime as they maneuvered to trip each other up and occasionally dodged a kick from the other.

Barbara was stunned by what she was seeing. She knew Oliver was a skilled martial artist on top of being a world class archer, she had no idea that he was also such a sublime swordsman. She didn't know how much of this was just performance, but she could tell by the power behind their swings that this wasn't for play. He was really trying to push her.

Oliver had been trained by the best, Slade Wilson the Terminator himself. He'd stalked Merlyn and been stalked in kind, put arrows in League assassins, and gone hand to hand with more than one power hitter of the underworld's elite. He knew from looking at her that she wouldn't cut it here if she didn't let off a little steam, and further that if he committed to this it was going to be to the pain. Her skill was superb as he sidestepped and fended off more than one cut that would break bones or land him in a hospital and responded in kind.

Cassandra's attention is rapt with the man's form. At once familiar and artistic, the movements of a master at work as he appeared in her mind a composer bringing a symphony to life there in the ring. They'd only been at it a little over a minute but when your attention is focused to their level, time stands still and has no meaning as she brings her own orchestra to life against the superbly trained crime fighter. It had been too long since anyone had made her operate at this level.

"I know you're better than this," intones Oliver, channeling his personal nemesis for the benefit of his present rival. He flicks his wrist, tapping her blade sharply before snapping his arm like cracking a whip against its side and purposefully shattering her blade. That had her attention.

"Why..." starts Cassandra as she looks at the sundered weapon in her hand.

"Pick up a new one, then show me more," replies Oliver, his stoney expression conveying a seriousness that noone misses.

Cassandra does as told, picking up a fresh blade as Oliver steps to a corner,"Drinks, someone bring us some water. Does this look like a game of golf, come on!" Oliver steps back into his act, hand raised as he waves for someone to answer his request.

Barbara huffs, going to fetch a couple paper cups to fill with water for the two combatants. She wasn't blind, as irritating as he could be she knew by his look in the fight that he had a purpose. This was cathartic.

Cassandra, for her part, was loving it. Finally a challenge, it had been a while and she had been getting frustrated. Everyone talking circles around her, shoving their technology in her face, this was her language not their pencils and big words. Oliver wanted to see more, she would show him more. This time, she wasn't holding back. Waiting for him to give the word with a steely eyed focus that barely registered Barbara's offered water, she blinks and quietly accepts the drink. Turning it back to down it, Barbara regards her with an expression of concern.

James doesn't know how to feel about this. He'd been around Batman for years, was probably the first man he'd come to. He'd experienced what it's like to have someone seemingly materialize when called to, and disappear when the meeting is over. He'd even saved his life, he'd never forget the way he moved in a fight. He saw in her similar ways of moving. He'd never thought he would see someone faster, but what bothered him more than that was he felt she was restraining herself. Maybe he still had some of that old boxing instinct in him, but he knew it when he saw it.

Oliver turns his cup back when Barbara hands it to him, offering with a roguish smile,"Thanks, doll." He sets it down then, rolling out the tension in his wrist. He knew he was likely to lose this round, but he was very curious to find out how. He couldn't afford for her to lose her edge from complacency. He wouldn't forgive himself if the consequences came to call. Picking up his sword then, he steadies himself into his fencing posture. Giving a nod, he calls,"EN GARDE!"

Cassandra was more than ready, she'd steadied herself into a level of readiness she hadn't felt in she wasn't sure how long. The instant he gave his call, she herself was out of her corner and meeting him. She saw the surprise in his eyes and the shudder in his posture. Uncertainty for not more than a fraction of a second, but she saw it. His symphony had a flaw in its performance, and now she would drown it out with her own.

The hilt of her sword met his own in mid swing and she brought it back under the full weight of her approach. Sliding her blade along it to pin it back in flagrant exploitation of his weaker singlehanded grip, she disrupts his posture handily thereby in preparation for her follow up strike. Continuing to step forward without slowing down, she thrusts down at the back of his knee causing him to stumble backwards which effectively ends the fight as he finds himself under her bokken.

"Well done..." he nods vigorously as he waits for a moment for her to relax before rising back to his feet. He exhales as everyone applauds. Even the journalist is aghast at what she has seen. Oliver Queen, master swordsman?

He bows to her graciously at this,"A masterful display," Then turns to the audience,"And I am sure you will all agree?!" He smiles proudly at the applause of the small group. He wondered privately how many of them had seen swordsmanship that wasn't on TV.

He gracefully hops from the ring, leaving a somewhat confused Cassandra in the ring. She stood there scratching the back of her head as she looks to Barbara for a clue about what to do now. Does she actually own the gym now, and why is her gym a media circus?

Barbara walk over to James, a sympathetic look on her face as she asks,"Is he always like this?"

"First time meeting him. I have to say, I preferred Bruce. His exhibitionism was less dangerous and lower key," replies her dad.

Oliver takes the media outside, Barbara gesturing Cassandra down as she asides to her,"Might look good to apologize for him. He probably won't."

Cassandra nods, rubbing the back of her head as she looks down,"I, erm...sorry for distractions here."

The students were thoroughly impressed with what they had seen, much to the surprise of both of them and James. Oliver had made them local celebrities. Besides that, his own image would likely stand a moderate bump in media popularity for this as well.

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