The Hunt Begins: Luring Batman Out!

The mayor's residence stood in Gotham City's Diamond District, the most heavily guarded part of the city.

Infrared sensors lined its high walls, and armed guards stood at every turn. Its outer defenses were tighter than those of Arkham Asylum.

Mayor Hill, a bloated politician, lounged in a silk robe, enjoying an expensive Cuban cigar and a costly private massage.

He had no idea that a storm capable of upending all of Gotham was quietly gathering around him.

"Sweetheart, are you sure we're kidnapping that fat guy?"

From the top of the clock tower opposite the residence, Harley Quinn lay across a gargoyle and watched everything inside through binoculars.

"What's the fun in kidnapping a mayor who can't do anything but embezzle money and read scripts on TV? Blowing up GCPD headquarters would be way more fun!"

"No. You don't understand."

Link stood behind her, Gotham's night wind stirring his black coat.

He wasn't looking at the mayor's residence. His gaze rested on the darkest stretch of Gotham's skyline.

"Blow up GCPD, and you'll only bring in more police and the National Guard. But touch the mayor, and you challenge this city's reputation and order. And Gotham has a self-appointed guardian of order."

"He'll come."

Harley understood at once. She tossed aside the binoculars and sprang up in excitement.

"You want to lure out that big black bat! I love this plan!"

Link smiled and picked up his communicator.

"Iron Spike, start the fireworks."

"Yes, boss!"

Iron Spike's voice came through the communicator, excited but hushed.

The next second, flames shot into the sky across Gotham City's West District, South District, and Docks District, almost simultaneously.

More than a dozen freight warehouses, casinos, and underground factories belonging to Falcone and the Maroni Family exploded at once.

The blasts weren't especially powerful, but their locations and timing had been carefully chosen.

Like poisoned needles, they struck the most sensitive nerves of Gotham's Underworld.

Shrieking alarms and fire-engine sirens swept across the city.

At GCPD headquarters, Commissioner Gordon's office phone rang almost nonstop.

"Commissioner! There's a huge fire in the west!"

"The Docks District blew up too! It's Maroni's territory!"

"Good God, these lunatics are going to set all of Gotham on fire!"

Countless police cars were dispatched to the scenes of the chaos.

Most of the officers guarding the once-impregnable Diamond District were pulled away in an instant.

Link's plan had half succeeded.

"All right. Our turn."

Link glanced at the streets below, now noticeably less guarded, and nodded to Harley.

Like cats in the night, they slid silently down a cable from the clock tower. A few quick movements later, they vanished into the shadows around the mayor's residence.

To Link, the residence's defenses might as well not have existed.

The Mastery of Traps and Mechanisms he had gained from Riddler let him see how every camera hidden in a corner and every pressure sensor beneath the lawn operated.

With Harley beside him, he passed through layer after layer of security as easily as if they were strolling through his own garden.

"Three steps left. Jump over that patch of grass. Don't step on it."

"Stop. Wait for the camera to turn."

"All right. Now."

Harley stayed close behind Link. Watching him stroll through a maze of deadly defenses, she felt a strange light kindle in her eyes.

She had never seen crime carried out with such elegance.

This wasn't like Joker's frenzied explosions. It was more like... a work of art.

At last, they stopped beneath the balcony of the mayor's bedroom.

Link took a small Grapple Gun from his waist and fired it at the balcony railing.

It made no sound.

The hook caught precisely in a gap in the railing, as though it had grown there.

They climbed the cable and reached the second-floor balcony without a sound.

Inside the bedroom, Mayor Hill had just finished his massage and was getting ready for bed.

Yawning, he pulled back the balcony curtain.

The sleepiness on his face vanished, replaced by utter terror.

Two figures, a man and a woman, stood motionless as statues on his balcony, smiling at him.

The man wore a smart black coat and was as handsome as a movie star.

The woman wore her hair in twin ponytails and had a sweet smile, but she carried a huge Baseball Bat that looked absurdly large for her frame.

"Good evening, Mr. Mayor." Link smiled, pushed open the glass door, and stepped inside. "We'd like you to come with us to a party."

"Who... who are you? Guards! Help!"

The mayor screamed in terror and reached for the emergency button beside his bed.

His hand stopped in midair.

Harley's Baseball Bat was already pressed against his forehead.

"Shh. Keep it down, fat boy." Harley smiled sweetly. "Or my bat might accidentally get a taste of your brains."

The mayor shook so badly that cold sweat soaked through his silk robe.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Mayor." Link stepped up to him, his voice gentle but carrying a force that left no room for argument. "We don't want your money or your life. We just need you as bait."

"B-bait?"

"That's right." Link glanced out the window. "To catch Gotham's biggest fish."

Half an hour later.

At GCPD headquarters, Commissioner Gordon received a call that nearly stopped his heart.

The mayor had vanished from his heavily guarded residence.

There were no signs of a struggle. No sign of forced entry.

It was as though he had sprouted wings and flown away.

Gordon rushed onto the roof and, without a moment's hesitation, yanked the rain cover off the searchlight.

The enormous Bat-Signal once again cut through the night sky above crime-ridden Gotham City.

Meanwhile, on an abandoned platform at Gotham Central Station.

Link sat on a bench, wiping down his pistol.

Harley, meanwhile, excitedly used a rope to hang the trembling mayor from the station's vaulted ceiling like a ridiculous chandelier.

Link looked up and saw the familiar symbol in the distant sky.

He smiled.

The prey had taken the bait.