The Hunt Begins: Luring Batman Out!

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

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

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

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?"

Atop the bell tower across from the residence, Harley Quinn lay against a gargoyle, watching 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 to her feet.

"You want to draw 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 skyward across Gotham'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 calculated.

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

Shrill alarms and fire-engine sirens filled the city.

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

"Commissioner! There's a huge fire on the west side!"

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

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

Police cars raced toward the chaos erupting across the city.

More than half the officers guarding the once-impregnable Diamond District were pulled away.

Link's plan was halfway to success.

"All right. Our turn."

Link looked down at the suddenly sparse streets and nodded to Harley.

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

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

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

He led Harley through layer after layer of defenses as easily as if they were strolling through his own backyard.

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

"Stop. Wait for the camera to turn."

"Good. Now."

Harley stayed close behind Link. Watching him stroll through a deadly maze without a care, she felt a strange light kindle in her eyes.

She had never seen a crime carried out with such elegance.

It was nothing like Joker's frenzied explosions. It was more like... a work of art.

At last, they stopped beneath the balcony outside 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 casually pulled open the balcony curtains.

The sleepiness on his face turned instantly to sheer terror.

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

The man wore a well-tailored black coat and was as handsome as a movie star.

The woman had twin ponytails and a sweet smile, but she carried an enormous Baseball Bat that looked absurdly large in her hands.

"Good evening, Mr. Mayor." Smiling, Link pushed open the glass door and stepped inside. "We'd like to take you somewhere. There's a party."

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

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

But his hand froze in midair.

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

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

The mayor shook all over. Cold sweat soaked through his silk robe in an instant.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Mayor." Link stepped up to him, his voice gentle but allowing no argument. "We're not interested in your money or your life. We just need you as bait."

"B-bait?"

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

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 or forced entry.

It was as if he had grown wings and flown away.

Gordon rushed onto the Rooftop. Without a moment's hesitation, he tore the rain cover off the searchlight.

Once again, the enormous Bat-Signal pierced Gotham City's crime-ridden night sky.

Meanwhile, on an abandoned platform at Gotham Central Station.

Link sat on a bench, wiping down his handgun.

Harley 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.