(Read Nightrunner #3 if you haven't)
Bilal's Apartment
"None of this adds up Adrian. If the riots were being used as a distraction from the plan to blow up the Arc de Triumph then they would have done it by now, it's been a month and a half."
Bilal was lightly pacing in his kitchen as he spoke on the phone with Adrian. "Look can you just come up here for a minute? I have somethings to give you." Bilal walked into his living room to the cluttered wooden coffee table in it's center and picked up a list he wrote of the most violent riot locations.
"No, No Bilal. You have a date, remember? You've got to go pick up Zuri soon and I'm not going to be the one she gets mad at if you're late." Adrian chuckled as he said.
Bilal had almost forgotten that he was in a full suit. His black overlay along with the navy blue tie was complemented by a slight flowery cologne that tried it's best to advertise that it was "manly".
"This isn't the time for a laugh Adrian, the riots are getting worse and I got attacked. Those goons knew that I was Nightrunner and we have to find out how." Bilal paused from the pacing that he unconsciously restarted and took a deep breath. "Maybe I'm not cut out to figure this out, I should just call Batman."
"Look Bilal, Batman and Nightwing saw something in you. People are talking about you all around France, and even when the riots get worse they still believe in you, Nightrunner, to keep them safe. We will figure this out okay? "
Bilal smiled and responded calmly. "Okay. Yea you're right."
"Plus you sorta killed that guy in the subway and I think batman would lecture you like a six year old if he found out." Adrian laughed at his joke which caused Bilal to let out a small chuckle too. "Alright, now you go have fun on your date and remember that you have a life outside of Nightrunner. And use protection."
Bilal rolled his eyes and gave another short laugh before ending the call and pocketing his phone. He grabbed his keys off of the cluttered coffee table, turned the lights off, and exited his apartment.
Le Chardenoux~ Restaurant in Paris
An hour into the date was all the time Bilal needed to forget about his problems. He and Zuri talked extensively about her trip to London for her modeling agency. Adrian often teased Bilal on the odds of him landing a model.
"Oh I feel like we've been talking about me the whole time. How's work going?" Bilal loved that Zuri was so caring, which made it much harder for him to lie to her. He wasn't going to tell her that he was using all of his sick days to stop the Arc de Triumph from being destroyed of course, so he had to improvise his answer.
"Uhh, It's going well. Ya know, nothing out of the ordinary, business as usual." Bilal did not lie very well Zuri could tell something was strange An awkward silence hovered over their table as they ate their meals. Before either one could say anything else, Bilal felt his phone vibrate in his shirt pocket.
"Oh, it's Adrian. I'm gunna step out and take this." He stood up from the table and walked to the entrance of the restaurant. Before he left he mentioned that he was stepping out to the hostess and she nodded politely. "Hey, did something come up?" Bilal said this as he stepped out into the chilled city street.
"Hello Nightrunner, I have your friend here with me." Frantic breathing and grunting could be heard in the background as a mysterious smooth voice spoke through Bilal's phone. "Come to warehouse 9-D in Clichy-sous-Bois' south side to pick him up, and don't keep me waiting, or you could have another dead best friend on your conscious."
The call was dropped and Bilal clinched the phone in his hand with nothing but rage coursing through his body. In a hurry, Bilal ran down the street to his car, grabbed the bag with his spare costume in it, and ran into a nearby alley.
Warehouse 9-D
Bilal traveled through the cold night across the rooftops until he arrived at a housing complex that over looked the warehouse. As he overlooked the dark, windowless building Bilal pulled up his mask and put in an earpiece that enhanced his hearing. There were two guards standing at the front entrance of the building.
"How much longer do we have to wait man?" The burly guard on the left of the door was holding a hand gun and smoking a cigarette.
"The boss man said an hour, any minute now they're gunna call us inside to smoke that doorman." The lean pale guard on the right spoke with a nasally voice.
"Like hell you will." Bilal pulled his mask back over his face and jumped down from the top of housing complex to land on the cement roof of the warehouse. He pulled off the main vent covering and slipped into the shaft.
Bilal dropped down onto scaffolding inside the building only to find that it was completely dark. Bilal surveyed the area for any immediate danger. Just as he was about to turn his night vision on, the bright florescent lights of the building buzzed on. Below, Bilal gazed upon a warehouse full of thugs, some even still in their prison uniforms, with various melee weapons. In the middle of the large crowd, was Adrian tied to a chair, bloody and bruised.
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