It was dark and the gloomy weather of Gotham did not make the situation any better. A silhouette could be seen briefly, blending into the shadows shortly after. A man was walking soundlessly through the puddled streets, trying to find a safe place to hide and wait for the person he had called to meet.

He found a spot sheltered by a huge dumpster in the alley so he crouched down, taking refuge in the darkness as he waited. A short while later, he heard the sound of footsteps and got alert. 

He recognized the boots that had stopped in front of that dumpster so he got out. The woman who was looking around for him turned with a startled gasp to see him.

Both of them were silent for some time as if to make sure that they weren't being overheard or followed. In the dim light, the red shade of her hair was unmistakable as Ember Sullivan stood in front of him.

But unlike the worry and concern that he had expected to see in her eyes, a frown was set on her features. Her olive eyes were locked on him in a silent fury that troubled him.

"Ember, I..."

"You put me through all this shit, Evan, you knew full well what was going to happen and you did it anyway... Why?" Her voice was low but determined and he could see that she had somehow figured out that he was involved with the abductors all along.

He hadn't really gotten kidnapped. He had made it seem that he got abducted and used her concern for him to get her to do the bidding of either the Blackwoods or the Ranaldinis. She wasn't yet sure whose side he was on.

"How do you know?"

"I have my sources," she spoke through gritted teeth, "you better answer my question easily or I will have to use other means."

"Em, you don't understand. I can explain..."

It seemed as if she was in no mood to relent even for a second as she stuck to her questions, her eyes piercing through his. "Who's side are you on?"

"It's not like that. I am not your enemy, I have been trying to help you all along."

"You call this help? All I have been doing so far is living a life that I never wanted for myself. The one thing I wanted to do, you orchestrated it to be my demise!"

Evan was getting frustrated by then. He hadn't wanted Ember to find things out like that. It had destroyed everything and no convincing on his side would set it right, that much he could ascertain from her fiery eyes.

"How long have you been pulling my strings?" She stepped threateningly closer to him, her finger jabbing at his chest, "was it only from when I started working at the Gazette or was it even earlier from when we met in university?"

He could see that she was angry and whatever he would say, she was bound to take it the wrong way. So he took in a deep breath, his hand closing onto her wrist as he pushed it away from him, "to be honest, it was way earlier than our university days. I first met you when I was seven. But I have never pulled your strings, that is what you've gotten wrong from your sources."

Her eyes widened in surprise; she didn't remember meeting Evan before their university days. And even back in the university, they had only been acquaintances and not very close friends. 

"You will not believe me now but every single thing I have done was to keep you safe," he stressed again, "but now you have almost ruined everything yourself."

"What the hell do you mean?"

He hadn't let go of her hand and his grip tightened, despite her trying to break free from his hold, "at this rate, you might meet a similar fate as your mother."

"What...?"

His other hand reached out toward her and she panicked but he only took the small communicator attached to her earring and crushed it. He seemed to have realized that everything he had said to her had gotten recorded or transmitted to a third party.

"Really, Ember? You can't trick me with these microdevices, I have used plenty myself."

Her facade of anger faltered for a brief moment, expecting him to retaliate but he did nothing. He let go of her hand and looked around as if waiting for someone to show up.

True enough, a swooping sound broke the unnerving silence between them and the red and green shades of Robin's suit gleamed in the dim light as well. He had quickly come in between them, shielding Ember from Evan.

"I hope your new friends are able to help you, Em, because I can't do much anymore."

"Evan Sinclair, you are under arrest," Robin stated, and shortly after police sirens could be heard approaching as well.

Before he could escape, Robin had gripped his arm and held him tightly so that he wouldn't run off. But surprisingly, Evan didn't look like he was planning to escape either. 

Ember had received a call from Evan earlier that night but before going to meet him, she had been approached by the Bat vigilantes, Robin and Spoiler to be precise. They had warned her of Evan's involvement and she already knew a major part of it due to the history she had gathered on him by her informant.

So they had advised her to go and meet Evan to find out what exactly was going on. But she had been given a comm to transmit everything the man said and Robin himself was on patrol nearby.

The second Evan crushed the comm, Robin had left his perch and showed up at the alley where the comm's last known location was displayed.

The GCPD had also been alerted in advance and they had reached by then to arrest the supposedly kidnapped former editor of Gotham Gazette.

The charges against him at the moment were that of false abduction and fraud as his abduction had caused Ember to get hurt and her safety had been compromised. But as the police were taking a very silent Evan away, Robin felt something was wrong.

Perhaps they had acted too soon and there were much bigger forces at play.

But he realized Ember was right there behind him so he turned to face her, noticing that she looked confused at the last words Evan had said to her.

"Are you alright, Miss Sullivan?" He asked as the GCPD cars were pulling out of the alley.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" She asked, uncertainty flickering in her eyes, "what if we are wrong and Evan isn't the one to blame for this whole situation?"

"He was responsible for getting you in trouble, that much is certain," he replied in his usual monotone, "we also found out that he is connected to both the Blackwoods and the Ranaldinis. The rest he might tell himself during interrogation. So if you didn't help us tonight, he wouldn't have gotten caught. You didn't do anything wrong."

She shook her head and Robin felt that she was doubting the situation deep down just like he was doing so himself. There was still something they couldn't see.

"He damaged this," she handed him the pieces of the communicator and he took them from her.

"It's okay, we have recorded everything in the Batcomputer. If he said anything of importance after destroying the comm, you should tell us."

She paused, thinking about it. "No, you came before he said anything else."

He nodded and offered to escort her back home but she politely declined. Still, he made sure she got to the hostel safely as he completed the last round of his patrol and returned to the cave.

However, his head was whirling with a lot of thoughts regarding Evan, Ember, and the first lead they had dating back to Krista Ranaldini.

What if someone else was pulling the strings and they had all become puppets in an undisclosed play?

The only person they had who could give them an answer to that was Evan Sinclair and Damian hoped the man would not waste any more of their time.

***