Chapter Text
When Tim had heard of the auction and a little bird getting captured, he'd hesitated for precisely 0.2 seconds before sighing and strapping on his guns--loaded with real ammunition for once.
Frankly, he wished he could make himself stay away from it all for longer, but there are some lines Tim won't cross and this is one of them. The fact that it had even been possible for a Robin to go missing with Nightwing and Batman both watching over their protege, made his blood boil. He'd rather not try to examine wether it was because of jealousy or righteous fury. But it doesn't really matter either way, he's the Red Hood and he's a fierce protector of children, even those from families he can't stand.
He despises these auctions with every fiber of his being, hates the way they talk about living, breathing humans like simple meat for slaughter, but he grits his teeth and gets through it anyway.
His reputation as a crime-lord is helpful when it counts, and it's the main reason Tim hasn't tried to shed that mantle in recent years. True, he might no longer be as aggressive and coldly furious as he had been way back when, but he was also a man of business and his business happened to be crime-alley, the place he died. In fact, it had happened in a warehouse not unlike this one, after he'd been made to search alone, Nightwing choosing to stay in when normally he wouldn't miss a night under pain of death. Well, Tim had received that death and it had changed him. Had taken his sympathy away, had forged him anew as a man he could barely face in the mirror some days.
And yet, when he enters the warehouse and sees a bird all trussed up on display, he doesn't regret his decision one bit. He draws the line at Robin and these fucks would do good remembering that—not that they would have much of a brain left by the end of the night.
But there are well over forty operatives in this building alone and Tim isn't suicidal, not anymore. Or at the very least, he wouldn't do that to Dick, the bright-eyed child that swung from rooftops like it was the most natural thing in the world. He had all of the cherub charm of Jason, without any of the hard edges and annoying energy. He was truly a sweetheart; too sweet for Gotham, in Tim's humble opinion.
But he's a man of honor, and he's not gonna let him get sold to some random crook for who knows what use.
The sight of Dick with his arms behind his back and a muzzle over his mouth makes his blood boil and freeze and Tim averts his eyes. He's seen worse but this might just hit too close to home.
The auction isn't all that special, considering the circumstances. They make a big deal about the main prize and then call out numbers for trivial pleasantries, antique vases and jewels that nobody cares about in these parts of the alley. Tim bids on a pretty jade arm-cuff because he's sentimental and he knows his mom would've loved it, had she still been alive. Then, he waits for the end of the night.
Tensions are high, he can practically taste the air and wishes with all his might to simply gut everyone here that dares to look at Robin-a child-like he's some sort of steak to salivate over. It makes the hairs on his arms stand up in distaste. Thankfully, his helmet shields his eyes from random onlookers that otherwise might have caught his fury.
The bidding starts at 200k and Tim wants to laugh.
(He'd only been worth 40k, when he'd been in the same position. Not that anyone had cared)
But between him and Dick a shift had happened in the criminal underworld, because they'd obviously been lowballing the starting offers. Numbers climb higher and higher and Tim can see Dick's shoulders hitch up a notch when they pass half a million.
Money is of little issue to Tim who has a few legitimate businesses and most of the drug-trade under his belt. That, and he's not planning on paying anything at all for the birdy. His kidnappers wouldn't have any use for the money anyway, because they would be dead by then.
Finally, people start getting nervous. Tim is prepared to go as high as needed, but most others aren't actually interested in paying 700k for a nine-year old. It's only him and an older gentleman now, who clearly has someone on his phone, calling the shots. It would be worth looking into later, Tim decides. Whoever is willing to pay so much for Robin could not be good news. In fact, Tim wouldn't 't be surprised if he found a connection to Ra's. The old man had more money than anyone could possibly need and he did rather like B's children—not that Tim still counted; but he had always been a bit of an exception, hadn't he?
But finally, the man stops offering and Tim has made the win of the night, one birdy for his pleasure for a measly 855k. It's stupid because B wouldn't hesitate to pay a million to get his bird back, but he's not gonna tell them that.
Instead, he makes his deposit of 200k and takes his birdy. Nobody is stupid enough to expect anyone paying for all of it upfront, not that they're gonna receive much more.
Dick is agitated when they hand him over, still zip-tied and blindfolded and if Tim didn't know that feeling painfully well, he would've kept the blindfold on to stop the hassle that would inevitably follow this rescue mission. But he does know and he hates it probably even more than Dick does, so he lifts the cloth and lets Dick's eyes adjust to the dark.
Tim's preferred mode of transportation is his bike, but getting Dick there is exhausting. He's not sure if the boy was drugged or if it's his reputation but he really doesn't want to go with Tim. What luck that he could probably bench press a small car and could easily carry Dick without his tiny, pixie-booted feet hitting the ground.
He shushes him when big tears start slipping past the domino but he doesn't explain himself. His identity is a sore spot for B, no doubt. He knows who Red Hood is, but Tim's not actually sure if he ever revealed that to the rest of the family.
By the way Robin's acting, clearly nobody informed Dick. Looking around to make sure the street was deserted, Tim pulled his helmet off. He had no interest in Dick jumping off a moving vehicle or something equally dangerous, so he needed the boy to trust him.
"Chill out, is this your first time getting kidnapped?" he asks instead of giving an explanation. Dick's blue eyes go wide as saucers and he gapes.
"Nuh-uh, but erm,- I've never been sold before."
"Well, better get used to it, Robin's tend to get captured a lot. But hey, at least you were worth a pretty penny. I hear the first time Nightwing was captured they only paid 50k."
They had, Tim had watched it happen from the rafters. Damian had been seething after and it’s one of his most treasured memories from before.
Dick let out a shocked little giggle. He was too cute for the business.
"I'm gonna tell Blue Jay!" slowly, the boy was thawing, but Tim didn't have that much time left. He did not want to be confronted with an overprotective Nightwing.
"You do that." he said, clipped. Then, he lifted Dick onto the bike. The boy was still small enough to sit in front of him, and Tim decisively put his own helmet on him, because he didn't have a back-up.
The drive up to Wayne Manor is familiar in an alien sort of way, where Tim hasn't done it in years, but he still knows every corner and doesn't have to think about it at all. The child that he's bringing back is a painful reminder of what he never had and he keeps fluctuating between anger and protectiveness.
He sets him down at the hidden entrance of the cave, plugs in his code and then jumps back on his bike, driving as far as he possibly can. He doesn't check if his code still works but he trusts that even with Dick as out of it as he is, is still trained enough to know what to do from here. If not, Bruce will spot him on the security cams.
He just hopes that nobody will try and find him. It's a naive hope, one that he knows is a pipe dream before he even thinks it, but he figures even a zombie can dream.