[center][h1][b][color=ed1c24]THE CRIMSON AVENGER[/color][/b][/h1][/center] East End Legal Clinic Gotham City, NJ 4:54 PM [color=ed1c24]"In hoc signo vinces!"[/color] Lee Travis exulted as he held a tablet in front of Jill Carlyle. It lacked the same dramatic effect of slapping a freshly printed newspaper down onto the surface of desk, true, but Lee privately figured that Jill's office had more than enough paper in it at this point, filling boxes and binders and most available surfaces. The environment needed the break. [color=ed1c24]“Grand Jury Impaneled in Ace Chemicals Dumping Case. That's the kind of headline I like to see.”[/color] [color=00aeef]“And naturally we hear it first in the Globe-Leader,”[/color] she said with a smirk. [color=ed1c24]“What can I say, counselor, I run a quality publication.”[/color] [color=00aeef]“I understand it's the first choice for people who want to line birdcages,”[/color] Jill replied. She gently pushed aside the tablet, focused on the brief she was reading. [color=00aeef]“Did you come down all this way just to brag about owning a newspaper or did you actually want something?”[/color] [color=ed1c24]“You have a real talent for reducing things ad absurdum, Jill,”[/color] he said as he idly flipped through the rest of the issue on his tablet- Had to check the work, after all. [color=ed1c24]“I know you've been working hard on this case. I know you've been putting in a lot of time with depositions from all those laborers who escaped. I just thought you might like to see you were getting some public acknowledgment.”[/color] [color=00aeef]“It's a start but the real work is coming for the DA and the grand jury. The case is going to rest on a bunch of illegal aliens working through interpreters against a bunch of wealthy types, including a former Hollywood star. It's going to be tied up for months before there's even an arrest.”[/color] [color=ed1c24]“Plenty can happen in that time.”[/color] [color=00aeef]“Including me getting a decent dinner, I hope.”[/color] [color=ed1c24]“Well, I'm in a celebratory mood. We can breathe easy at least for now, any immediate threat has passed. Things are getting incrementally better, gradibus ascendimus.”[/color] He smiled broadly. “[color=ed1c24]How about you close up for the day and we get some dinner? My treat.”[/color] Jill looked up sharply. [color=00aeef]“You serious?”[/color] [color=ed1c24]“Ipse dixit. Have you ever known me to joke where sushi is involved?”[/color] [color=00aeef]“I'll need a couple hours-”[/color] she said, then suddenly paused when she saw Lee's face go pale. [color=00aeef]“Lee, are you okay?”[/color] [color=ed1c24]“Yeah- yeah,”[/color] he said. [color=ed1c24]“Just think I might have to take a rain check. It seems terrorists have seized Gotham Central Station. Unknown number of hostages, no demands or statements issued just yet.”[/color] [color=00aeef]“Oh my God,”[/color] she said in alarm. [color=ed1c24]“We'll have to do dinner another time. The Globe-Leader has to be there,”[/color] he said, making for the exit. [color=00aeef]“Sure, but does its owner?”[/color] Jill asked incredulously. [color=00aeef]“Don't you have staff for that kind of thing?”[/color] [color=ed1c24]“This could be one of the biggest stories in Gotham's history,”[/color] he said hurriedly. [color=ed1c24]“I definitely need to be there. Lead from the front, right? Pax tecum, Jill,”[/color] Lee said as he rushed out of the office, nearly at a dead run. Jill stared after him, lips pursed, rolling questions in her mind. Gotham Central Station Gotham City, NJ 5:20 PM He had taken to keeping his Crimson Avenger getup in the car, in a hidden compartment inside a door panel he and Wing had installed together. It was something of a miracle he hadn't been in an accident slipping on the shoulder holster, coat, hat, and mask while tearing through the Gotham streets at 70 mph, but he had reached the massive structure in almost no time, pulling into the long term lot and slipping out of the SUV to hide among the many rows of cars. More and more sirens were beginning to draw near, but he had managed to arrive before law enforcement had fully cordoned off the area. Good. He was inside their perimeter. The Crimson Avenger put very little faith in the Gotham police. All available evidence indicated they were malicious, cruel, or both at once. This would inevitably escalate to a pitched gunfight that would endanger hostages. The Crimson Avenger hoped he would be able to guide some of them out or find them shelter inside the building. Gotham Central was a sprawling sandstone building of early 1900s vintage, long the focal point of Gotham. The edifice still bore the pockmarked scars of 1930s tommy-gun battles between bootleggers, the scrapes from counter-culture clashes in the 1960s. But today would mark another bloody battle. The massive structure had many doors and windows, and the Crimson Avenger gambled that the terrorists would not be able to watch every single one- better to herd the hostages in one area and concentrate their forces. With the butt of his pistol he smashed a frosted glass pane on what had once been one of multiple restaurants in the building, long since given to decay and ruin like so much of this city. Reaching inside, he undid the latch and let himself in, dropping gracefully to the floor. He trained his .45 on the door, bracing himself in case anyone ran in to confront him. A full thirty seconds passed, seemingly at a snail's pace. He finally exhaled, concluded his entrance into the building had indeed gone unnoticed. Excellent. Pistol at the ready, he crept over to the door and risked opening it an inch or so to peer out into the main vestibule. He had to know exactly what the situation was before he could act.