The basement of Wayne Manor smelled dry, a mixture of electronics and metal.
With the bulging tote bag slung over her shoulder, Ririko squeezed sideways through the doorway.
She walked to the table and set the bag down with a solid thud.
Bruce was checking some data at the console. He turned at the sound and spotted a gold bar poking out beside the bag's zipper.
His wary gaze flicked between the bag and her face twice.
"Weren't you going to Blüdhaven for some Circus thing? Did you... rob a bank?"
He was already racing through any bank robberies that might have happened in Gotham over the past few days, while figuring out how to defend her in court.
Ririko leaned against the table to catch her breath. Alfred had offered to carry the bag, but she had refused.
She planted her hands on her hips and clarified, "This is my pay. I didn't rob a bank."
Bruce looked down at the bag stuffed with cash and gold. He didn't believe she and Dick could have earned that much from a single circus performance.
He didn't ask any more questions, only smoothed her disheveled hair.
Ririko rolled her shoulder, sore from the strap, and changed the subject. "Galavan's back. Hurry up and sue him for arms smuggling."
Bruce looked at her calmly with his blue eyes.
"He put forward a few scapegoats to take the blame. There's no way to pin the nuclear weapons on him... and Clark already destroyed that shipment.
"He's acting mayor now. Getting him out of office isn't something we can do overnight."
Ririko said seriously, "He's definitely coming after your family."
Bruce folded his arms and gave her a steady, confident smile.
"I'm not the Bruce I used to be, either. I'd like to see