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Diana was amazed, that was the fifth cold case Neal had solved this week. When Peter had given Neal the files, she had just groaned knowing they were some of the ones that all the Probies cut their teeth on in this office. Some of those files were a decade old and been through dozens of agents and yet here he was just solving all the cases like they were the daily crossword instead of the unsolvable mystery that they were to everyone else.
“You finished another one?” She asked.
“Yeah, I guess I’m going to have to get more from Peter soon.” Neal said with a grin. Flipping his pencil is his hands.
Jones came up behind them whistling his approval. “Nice job, Detective.”
Neal stiffened in his chair, flinching back hard. The pencil fell to the desk unheeded. A dark cold look crossed his face, foreboding in a way that was strange and unfamiliar on their lighthearted conman.
“Never call me that.” Neal growled. Even his voice had changed from light and cheery to a threatening growl filled with menace.
Jones backed up instinct making him retreat from the threat in front of him. His hand twitch toward his sidearm. “Umm, sure thing Neal. No problem at all.” The man stuttered out overwhelmed with the urge to run from there peaceful non-violent conman.
Diana grabbed the finished files from Neal’s desk, “How ‘bout I take these up to Peter for you.”
She whisked herself up the stairs and filled Peter in on the incident.
Tim knew he had overreacted and Jones did mean any harm but he also couldn’t help the visceral horror and fear he felt when he was addressed by that word. No matter how long it had been he still seemed to be drawn back in time to those days in the desert, unsure if he was going to live or die. Unsure if he could get Tam out of there in one peace. All too aware of the fact that two of his companions had gotten killed because of his mission. The fear of awakening next to the green pit and knowing that he was going to loss his mind, his control, his since of self. Thinking about the fact that Jason never recovered from his swim in the verdant liquid.
Tim gave a little shudder as he forced his mind back into the present. There was no point in thinking about those days they were long gone by now. Those days may haunt his memories but the reality was very different. Now he was in New York, working with the FBI, a long way from the desert and the madness that lay hidden therein.
All he could do now was to make amends thru work, for a bat never did know how to apologize. He knew Burke had given Jones some old files to look at, he could help with those. He slipped the files off Jones’s desk when he wasn’t looking and started working on the little puzzles.
A few days had gone by and the office had noticed Jones’s new caution around Neal. It didn’t seem to matter that Neal hadn’t done anything really. The sound of his vehement denial was enough to make the man pause. And maybe things could have gotten back to normal if nothing else had happened.
The one thing the everyone clearly agreed about that day was the man who came into the office was that he felt older than he looked.
The team had once again convened in one of the conference rooms working on a case. Neal was sitting facing the door way and was the first to spot their intruder and react.
The man strode into the White Collar offices like everyone in them was beneath him. He had come dressed in a dark foreboding suit with a green and gold ornate cloak worn over it. He stalking into the room with purpose and a dark gleam in his eyes.
Neal stood up and left the conference room as soon as he caught sight of the strange man.
“Where are you going Neal, we are still discussing this case.” Peter shouted after him.
Neal opened the door to the glass room, and exited quickly.
“What are you doing here Ra’s?’
“I’ve come to make you an offer, my dearest detective.” The man’s cultured voice sent chills down his spine. The leer on his face was also deeply unsettling.
“I told you to quit contacting me.”
“You have been attempting to get my attention, with you work here and now you have it. It was quite rude of you to undo all my work.”
Neal had been on the upper level caught without his weapons. He had hoped to keep the Ra’s talking and maybe just talk him down. He knew that was a stretch but a guy could dream right. Neal put one foot on the banister and pushed himself into the air flipping a few times to land on Jones’s desk he leaped from there to his own in one fluid movement. Once he was behind his desk Neal reached into the drawer and pulled out his emergency collapsible bo staff. Properly armed Red Robin walked to the center of the room.
“Well, I thought that having a known terrorist in charge of the FBI might just be a bad idea.”
“Come detective, be my beloved, rule with me and we will watch the world burn.”
“Over my dead body.”
“That can be arranged, maybe even preferable.” Ra’s pulled out a sword with a wicked smile on his face. “Then when I bring you back you will truly be mine.”
By this time the Agents had figured out that something was wrong, Peter and the other members of his team had exited the conference room and were standing at the railings he had just left. Hughes had left his office and was trying to call for order and explanations, at least half a dozen of the agents had pulled their weapons and pointed them at the two.
“Neal, what’s going on here?’ Peter’s voice rang out over the crowd.
“Nothing you need to worry about, Peter. Just some old business I need to take care of real quick.”
Now most people would think that a bo staff and a sword were not a good match for a fight, and probably in other hands they would be right. But Red Robin was a master at the staff, he had trained with experts and practiced for years. On the other hand, Ra’s was not only a master swordsman himself he had centuries of experience on his side. This was going to be interesting.
For a long while the two men just stood their weapons at the ready with the FBI agents surrounding them hollering for them to stand down.
Red Robin took a breath. In for focus. Out with distractions.
The beginning of the fight was so fast that none of the agents could agree who moved first. One moment there were two men facing each other across the crowded office and then the next there was a flurry of movement, blades and staff connecting in a series of lightening fast strikes too fast for them to follow.
Ra’s had his blade pressed up against the staff pressing back attempting to pin him in place.
“Join me.” The dirty old man crooned in Tim’s face.
“Never, you demented prune.” Red Robin kicked out as he shouted his reply.
He pushed the man off of him throwing him back. Red followed up with swift hits to the hand knocking the blade from his hands. Making sure to keep his momentum Red continued to swing at the old man.
A jab to the solar plexus.
Over hand swing to the head.
Follow that up with a hit from the other side of the staff.
Then a quick flip and a side swipe to bash him in the ear.
Ra’s was left reeling. He could barely stand.
“Do you yield? Or do I have to kill you again?” Red Robins voice was cold and calculating as he surveyed the swaying man before him.
“We will meet again my Detective, and next time you will join me.” Ra’s slurred a little on his speech but otherwise pulled off the menacing supervillain declaration quite well.
Red Robin looked up at one of the agents, “Take your master and leave. Tell the others they have until dawn to leave New York or I will find them.”
The agent holstered his gun snapped into a bow. “Right away Detective.” He rushed over to the still woozy stranger and guided him from the office, two others swiftly following as Red Robin locked eyes on them.
There was a beat or two of silence.
Red Robin let out a breath. He couldn’t believe it three years undercover in the FBI rooting out the LOA and then in one afternoon the whole mission upended because of Ra’s Fucking Al Ghul. Typical undead zombie egomaniac.
“Well, that went well.” Red said under his breath. He took a moment to compose himself collapsing his staff and stashing it in his back pocket before running his finger through his hair. He was almost afraid to turn around. He hadn’t really anticipated making friends here. He had never really had what one might call ‘normal relationships’ so he had no idea if this would ruin his friendships or not. Would they understand being undercover or would they feel betrayed he had no idea. Hell even in the community you’d find some heroes who got mad about it. Like seriously ‘I’m not hiding from you I’m just doing my job here folks.’
“What is going on Neal?” Peter asked again.
“Just an old enemy come to recruit me again and the total collapse of a three year mission. Nothing to worry about here.” Red pulled out a communicator device and toggled it on.
“Watchtower? This is Red Robin, come in Watchtower.”
‘Watchtower here, what’s up RR?’ Bart's voice came over the speaker.
“Ra’s came in to work today, cover blown, mission accomplished. Standing by for orders.”
‘Fuck.’ the voice on the other end of the line wavered for a moment.
‘Who was in charge of that mission?’ a soft muttering could be heard over the line.
“It was a Titans Mission.” Red said with a smile some things never changed.
‘So, you want me to send a rep over? I guess I could get NW to back you up?’
“Sure, send him on over. RR signing out.” Red shook his head a little at his friend’s antics but quickly composed himself. He turned to face Hughes, Peter and his team. There were a bunch of concerning expressions there. Angry, confusion, horror, fear, so many different things he could see on their faces.
“If you four would join me in the conference room I would be able to explain a little better.” His voice wasn’t the same as the all business he had used confronting Ra’s or the suave confidence of Neal. But there was a since of surety and determination a different kind of confidence that permeated his words and made the group gather like he requested.
“Who are you?” Peter asked.
“The name is Red Robin, you can either call me Red, RR, or Neal.” Red was forcing him self to stay professional. He had grown attached to his friends here but he knew it wasn’t going to last.
“Why are you here?” Hughes asked still a little angry to have a vigilante pop up in his office.
“Undercover Titian's Mission.” Nightwing answered as he came in the room. The man was instantly recognizable as one of the faces of the Justice League and Titans. No one had expected a visit from someone so famous.
“Everything ok?”
“Ra’s came in tried to recruit me. We fought he lost. I threatened the sleeper agents, and they left.” RR reported.
Nightwing nodded in agreement, “Sounds good.” He turned to the agents.
“Anything you’ve learned about this mission is classified. Anything you know about Red Robin is classified. Do not expect to see him again and if you ever do run into him do not acknowledge him unless he introduces himself to you. That is all.”
The two vigilantes turned and left the office.
“Good work, baby bird” Nightwing whispered as they disappeared from the White Collar office.