As you can see, this story's been re-edited into smaller, easier to read chapters.  Here's Part 2, the second half of the original story.

"A NIGHT ON THE TOWN"

by Eric R. Umali

Part 2

Commissioner James Gordon walked calmly through the access door on the roof of police headquarters. The news had been grave, but he was confident in his old friend’s ability to handle the situation. He mused over how reliant he and the GCPD had become on this black-clad vigilante. They’d never needed anything like him before. But then, they’d never faced villains like the Joker or Two-Face or Mr. Freeze before. In any case, he was glad that Batman had come to Gotham.

Gordon paced the rooftop for a minute, waiting, back and forth across the empty rooftop.

"You called?"

Gordon nearly jumped at the voice. He’d never get used to how both Batman and his companions could melt into and out of the shadows at will. The Commissioner turned to find a pair of dark figures standing in a spot a few feet away where seconds before there had been nothing. They were a pair he’d become familiar with-- the Dark Knight’s companions, Robin and Batgirl. Gordon had often wondered what moved a man like Batman to take on these young partners, but both had proven to be valiant guardians of the city.

Robin stood at nearly six feet, with black hair falling just above his mask. His costume was in darkened tones of red, green and gold, and a black cape hung at his shoulders. The young man stood tall and walked proud-- almost cocky, but always sharp witted. Despite his youth, he carried an air of confidence and a strong, set expression.

Batgirl was a few inches shorter than her partner, but by no means less imposing. Her light brown hair blew in the breeze, framing a beautiful and determined face. Her own costume was a matte black that had a tinge of purple to it and her athletic figure often stopped criminals before her fists did. She too wore confidence like a cloak.

"Before you ask, Commissioner," she began, "Batman is undercover."

"I understand," Gordon replied. His confidence lowered only a fraction. If Robin and Batgirl were good enough for Batman to trust, they were good enough for Gordon.

"There’s a group of terrorists holding hostages in the City Hall Annex."

"The construction site," Robin stated.

"Right. We estimate ten to twelve fully armed terrorists, holding as many as forty civilians. No demands yet."

"Doesn’t matter," the young man replied.

"Have you sent in a SWAT team?" Batgirl asked.

Gordon looked downwards. "Yes," he answered. Both heroes understood his meaning.

"Don’t worry, Commissioner," said Batgirl, "We’re on the job."

When Gordon looked up again, they had vanished.

**********

In amongst the tarps and scaffolding, the Annex had a fine view of the Gotham skyline. When the Batsignal ignited, several of the armed men became very nervous.

"They’ve called in the Batman!" cried Marco. Other were silent, but began checking their weapons and clutching them tightly.  The defeated expressions on the faces of their hostages began to fade, replaced with hope.

"Silence!" shouted their leader. The man stood well over six feet, hulking and brutish, but that appearance belied his intelligence. He’d out-thought everything they could throw at them, including Gotham’s finest, and he’d planned for this as well. "Begin your patrols. All of you-- take one hostage. They are to walk with you at all times. That should discourage Gotham’s hero."

**********

A block away, the engines of two powerful motorcycles faded. Side by side, the Redbird and the Batblade came to a smooth stop in a dark alleyway.

"Standard entry, then?" Batgirl asked, checking her grapnel launcher.

"Not sure. I’ll tie into the GCPD’s thermal imaging scanners." He pressed several controls on the Redbird’s display panel.  The small viewscreen swung into view, showing the color-coded heat signatures of the Annex’s occupants. A large group of heat sources were crowded into one area.

"That must be the hostages," said Batgirl. Robin nodded, then pointed to the moving figures.

"The terrorists, patrolling in pairs."

"Can’t be-- there are too many."

"Wait. Computer, enhance detail 33 to 45." The image zoomed in on one of the moving pairs. The outline of a rifle could be clearly made out in the hands of one person. The other was obviously being pushed and pulled along to keep up.

"Damn."

"I hope you’ve been paying attention to the boss, partner-- we’re going in stealth mode."

**********

Inside the Annex, the lights went out on the top floor. Pietro heard scuffling from the end of the hallway. Tugging the sobbing woman he had with him, he jogged down the hall. His movement was stopped by a high-heeled boot’s impact against his face. Pietro staggered back and he saw the dark blur lash out again. He doubled over in pain as the boot struck him in the midsection. A final kick and his vision went black.

The woman looked up and found herself staring into the warm brown eyes of a young woman dressed all in black. "Batgirl…" was all she managed before fainting.

TO BE CONTINUED…