Rats Enter the Trap

Rain poured over the East End.

Lightning tore across the night sky, illuminating heaps of wrecked armored vehicles in the street.

LexCorp's cleanup crews blasted the bloody sludge from the pavement with high-pressure hoses.

Water swirled with dark red liquid and drained into the sewers.

The area was now strictly off-limits.

Several dark figures used the spray from the hoses as cover, moving quickly along the walls.

"Move it, big fish. You're too big a target." Floyd kept his voice low. His tactical boots made no sound in the standing water.

Nanaue's massive body hugged the wall, his gray-blue skin gleaming coldly in the rain.

He said nothing, only quickened his pace.

Dig brought up the rear, two custom boomerangs in hand as he scanned their surroundings.

"Hee hee hee... Puddin', I'm coming for that bad guy." Harley led the way, a baseball bat across her shoulder, her steps as light as if she were off on a picnic.

Rain had smeared the garish paint on her face into a mess, making her look like a cheap clown doll.

Floyd grabbed Harley by the back of her collar and hauled her into the shadow of an unfinished building.

"Shut up, you lunatic." Floyd pressed his gun beneath her chin. "We're sneaking in, not going to an amusement park."

Harley tilted her head, blinked, then lunged to bite the barrel.

Floyd jerked the gun back and swore under his breath.

"The ventilation shaft's up there." Dig pointed to a rusty louver on the second floor. "It leads straight to the top floor of the Iceberg Lounge. The jammer's already disrupted the security system there."

"Go." Floyd gave a tactical hand signal.

The four of them climbed the outer wall.

Nanaue drove his claws straight into the concrete and scaled it like an enormous gecko.

Harley slipped through the louver and into the dark duct.

The duct smelled of old dust and machine oil.

"Left, then straight ahead. Take the right at the fork." Dig checked the tactical terminal on his wrist. Its faint green glow picked out the duct's contours.

Floyd led the way.

He had a bad feeling.

It was too quiet. This was the new king of Gotham's lair. How could its defenses be this lax?

The Iceberg Lounge, a lavish suite on the top floor.

The climate control kept the room at a perfectly comfortable temperature.

The scent of expensive incense and strong liquor hung in the air.

Chu Men reclined in the center of a broad leather sofa.

He was bare-chested, his solid muscles radiating explosive power under the soft light.

Jay knelt to one side.

Lark stood behind the sofa, her hands resting on Chu Men's shoulders.

Chu Men's eyes were closed, his breathing steady.

His Super Hearing was already active.

Every sound within fifteen kilometers passed through his mind.

Drip.

Rain struck the glass.

Rustle.

Tactical fabric brushed against the sheet-metal duct.

Thump, thump.

Chu Men's lips curved.

"A few rats got in," Chu Men said without opening his eyes.

Lark paused for half a second, then resumed massaging his shoulders.

"Tell the people downstairs to pull every hidden guard from the third floor to the top." Chu Men's voice was lazy. "Let them come up. I'm getting bored."

"Yes." Lark released his shoulders, stepped back, and pressed the tiny communicator at her ear to relay the order.

Inside the ventilation duct.

Floyd stopped.

Through the grille below, he looked down the third-floor corridor.

No one was there.

Not even a patrolling guard.

At the post that should have been manned at the end of the corridor, only an empty chair and half a cup of still-steaming coffee remained.

"Something's wrong." Floyd tightened his grip on his suppressed rifle. "It's too clean. They've pulled their guards."

"Maybe that monster thinks he's unbeatable and doesn't need guards?" Dig muttered behind him.

"Shut up." Cold sweat ran down Floyd's back.

He had spent years living on the edge of life and death. The eerie emptiness made every hair on his body stand up. It was a trap.

"We're pulling out," Floyd ordered without hesitation. "Back the way we came."

"Pull out? Why?" Harley turned her head, her pigtails slapping the metal duct. "I can smell that bastard!"

She surged forward, scrambling through the duct on hands and knees.

"Damn it! Stop her!" Floyd reached for her and caught only air.

Harley reached the vent at the far end, which opened onto the corridor outside the top-floor suite.

Bang!

Harley kicked the louver out.

The twisted metal grille flew across the corridor and landed on the expensive carpet.

Harley dropped down as lightly as a cat.

Floyd gritted his teeth and jumped down after her.

Nanaue's massive body tore through the duct opening, and he landed with a crash.

Dig followed close behind.

The four stood before the suite's enormous double oak doors.

"Prepare to breach." Floyd raised his rifle and flicked off the safety.

He knew there was no turning back now.

Harley ignored any thought of coordinating with the others. She gripped her baseball bat in both hands and drove her foot into the door.

Boom!

The solid-wood doors burst open. Their hinges snapped, and one door slammed into the room.

The instant the doors opened.

An oppressive force poured out of the room.

Visible ripples warped the air.

Floyd had barely taken half a step when it hit him like a train at full speed.

Thud!

Floyd's knees slammed into the carpet.

His high-tech bulletproof armor creaked under the strain.

Every muscle in his body spasmed, utterly beyond his control.

Dig dropped flat, his boomerangs flying from his hands.

He gaped like a fish out of water, fighting to breathe, but it felt as though an invisible hand had clamped around his lungs.

"Urgh..." Nanaue's huge body shook violently. He braced his hands on the floor and tried to rise, but it felt as though a mountain pressed down on his back. Tiny beads of blood seeped through his gray-blue skin.

Chu Men leaned back on the sofa, a glass of red wine in his hand.

He did not even turn to look at the doorway.

Lark and Jay stood silently on either side of him, watching the four rats on the floor with cold eyes.

Sweat covered Floyd's brow. He forced his head up and looked past the back of the sofa, but all he could see was Chu Men's broad back.

That glimpse alone stripped him of any courage to fire.

"Puddin'! I'm here to avenge you!"

A shrill cry broke the dead silence.

Harley seemed entirely unaffected by the crushing force field.

A feverish flush spread across her face. Dragging her baseball bat, she contorted her body and advanced toward the sofa one step at a time.

"Bastard! Die!" Harley raised the bat and brought it down hard toward the back of Chu Men's head.

At the instant everyone's attention turned to Harley.

A vicious glint flashed in Floyd's eyes.