Savior | T. Drake ✔

[13]

Irina had been quite disturbed about Lex's words so she once visited his department at LexCorp to check up but was denied access to his labs. His partner Thomas Rookwood told her that Lex had strictly forbidden anyone, including her, to come there before a certain time.

She knew something was terribly wrong with the whole ordeal so she chose a different approach of finding out the reasons behind it and donned her vigilante suit once again. There was one person who could help; Red Hood.

So she went to the same shed in Crime Alley where that family lived who claimed to be Hood's little spies. They let her in without hesitation because she had been there twice before as well with Hood so they knew she was not an enemy.

She waited for him to turn up and shortly afterwards, he did come and had brought dinner for the family as well. Seeing her there he was a bit surprised but knew the matter would be urgent and confidential that was why she had preferred to meet him face to face instead of texting or calling him on the phone.

"Long time no see," he greeted her after handing over the lunch boxes to the kids.

She saw that the family had busied themselves with dinner so she took him slightly aside, "Hood, I need your help."

"Of course, hit me with it."

She chose her words carefully, "you guys have been working on that GIT case, right?"

"Yup."

"What has that group been up to lately?"

Jason's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second but the helmet disguised his face so she couldn't see that. He could sense that Tim had told her nothing about it so he too had to be cautious of giving her the information, "Red Robin is working on that case mostly, I'm just scouring the underground for further info. I could refer you to him if you want."

She shook her head, "no thanks. If you know something recent about them, let me know. Or else it's fine, I'll find out myself."

"They broke into Wayne Tech yesterday," he replied because he knew she would probe further if he refused to comply and at the moment, her involvement could only stir up trouble for the Bat vigilantes.

Irina realized that was probably why Tim and Damian had to leave from the double date, "first the GIT, now Wayne Tech. Don't you think LexCorp will be the next target?"

He nodded, "valid point. But I don't think LexCorp is in much trouble right now."

A thoughtful look crossed her face, she suspected that the group was after her father's ideas and maybe that was why he had been so troubled. But then his last remark struck her and she looked back at him, "what do you mean by that?"

"Confidential info, love, can't share more."

"You Bat vigilantes are so stuck up, can't you accept a little outside help?"

He chuckled, his voice resonating due to the helmet, "I hadn't known that was your way of offering help. And I can't speak for the rest of the Bats but I would be glad to have your help."

A soft smile graced her face as well, "good. So now that we're working on this together, you can at least share the info you gather, right?"

"Depends."

"Hood..."

"Fine, you got it. But then I will expect a little undercover work as well."

She was a bit startled at that remark, "how so?"

"Red Robin suspects you work at LexCorp," he remarked, "and we all suspect that the root cause of this case is at LexCorp. So if you would help in searching for clues there, then you're in on the team."

She thought for a while, "how the fuck does Red Robin even think of such assumptions?"

"Don't even try to contradict. He's always right in his assumptions."

"Fuck him."

He chuckled again a little louder that time as if it was all an inside joke which she didn't yet know about, "don't say that to him, he might take it literally."

Her reply was immediate, "and you guys call him a genius? He's a tornado of absolute doom, that's what he is."

Jason had to stop himself from laughing because his voice sounded terrible due to the helmet, "anyway I told you what I know. So how about you tell me why you were so interested in the case all of a sudden?"

"I think the group is after Lex Luthor," she replied, considering her words before speaking out, "but I don't know anything more than that."

Jason realized exactly why she was concerned, "and what if I told you that Luthor is the top suspect?"

"He is not."

He refrained from pushing further but knew he had conveyed the message clearly, "but that will only be proved if the case is solved, right?"

She merely nodded in reply, her mind on the other hand was drifting towards the possibility of her own father being a top suspect in a technology heist. But she refused to believe anything just yet, at least not without proofs. "Is there any way to identify the group? Like some gangs use certain elements to distinguish themselves from the rest. Have you searched that out?"

He answered, "found it just today. They have a tattoo on the nape of their necks. We caught one and made him talk but he is being a little reluctant."

"What kind of tattoo?"

"I'll send you a pic later."

Her face was set in a thoughtful look but she spoke, "thanks for the help, Hood."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "my pleasure. Oh and by the way, if you could tell me who else in LexCorp has such a tattoo, that would be great."

"I'll see what I can do."

She was about to leave but he called from behind making her pause, "be careful."

She turned to face him, "that goes without saying."

He gave her a thumbs up before going back to the little children who were crowding behind him, probably excited to tell them the events of that day. Irina waited for a little while at the door, watching the crime lord bend down on his knees to talk with the kids.

Red Hood was a man of different and strikingly contrasting shades. But seeing him that friendly and caring towards people was a rarity. A small smile flickered on her face as Hood gently ruffled the head of the boy closest to him, listening attentively to whatever he was recounting. 

She stepped out after one last glance and closed the door behind her. She had a lot on her mind already and all that Hood had revealed had only deepened her concerns instead of relieving them like she had hoped.

***