Commissioner Gordon drove up to the Pier #4 and exited his car with a large carrying case. There was no time to contact Batman and Robin, as they were still involved in Lord Ffogg's and Lady Peasoup's trial in Londinium. The proceedings had become hung up on the question of whether masked vigilantes could testify in court. That issue had long since been settled in American jurisprudence, but not on that side of the Atlantic.
Gordon looked around. In the shadows of a nearby building, a figure moved, but he could not make out whom it was with a street light shining directly in his eyes. "Drop the bag," came a muffled voice from the darkness.
"Where's Batgirl?" Gordon demanded as he clutched the bag close to his chest.
"At the end of the pier," came the voice.
Gordon turned to look and saw something move on the wood planks under the dock lamp. He recognized it as a body squirming inside a bag, a muffled voice coming from within. "You dastardly fiend!" Gordon sneered and hesitantly dropped the bag to the ground. Then he ran to the end of the dock to get to the bag and unzipped it.
He was stunned to find a beautiful blonde inside, struggling to speak through her muffled mouth gag. Gordon removed the gag and the woman screamed, "That dirty rat! I'll kill him!" Gordon turned back and the man was gone. All he heard was screeching tires in the night.
Back at the warehouse, Batgirl was exhausted. The tennis balls were hitting her at will now. She had managed to avoid being hit in the head, but it was still all she could do to keep from falling to the ground and choking herself on the nylon cord around her neck.
"Okay, boys, let's take a break. I'm out of balls," Benny suggested as the others fired off a few last rounds. "Besides, we need to keep Batgirl alive . . . at least until we get the ransom!
"I'm getting hungry. Porkchop, get the food Tiff brought from Louie's. I'm dying for some linguine. Tony, let her down before she chokes herself."
Tony went and loosened the cord and picked up the limp Batgirl and carried her over to a cushioned chair and sat her down in it, then leaned down to retie her ankles securely. The others had gathered around the table, pulling up chairs to sit down for a late night meal. They ate hungrily as Batgirl winced and moaned in the chair.
Benny chuckled and asked the tormented Batgirl, "Hey, Bat-Babe, you want a cannoli?"
"You'll pay for this!" Batgirl said with malice as the men laughed. They were still laughing when Detective Nail walked in with a satchel.
Benny stood up and wiped his hands on a napkin and asked Nail, "Everything go as planned?"
"Like clockwork," Nail said as he tossed the bag on the table. "Here's your money."
"Do you mind if I count it?" Benny asked with a grin. "Not that I don't trust you . . ."
"What are you going to do with her?" Nail asked.
"I've got something real sweet planned." Benny said as he thumped through the strapped bills. He looked at Batgirl, who suddenly began to struggle desperately to free herself.
Batgirl was moved to Benny the Butcher's huge meat market warehouse, where his legitimate business front was located. It was closed for the night and Batgirl was taken to the meat processing area.
There she was hog-tied, and her petite body was placed sideways in a large metal tray on a conveyor belt. Her shoulders and knees ached from being pulled backward and tied together at the wrists and ankles. The position, however, gave her the opportunity to have access to a cutting tool hidden in the boot of her heel!
Batgirl watched her cruel captors as she surreptitiously fumbled for the tool, and listened as Benny explained to her what was about to happen. "This is where we cut and pack our meat," Benny said as he gestured to the huge stainless machine around them. "I'm real proud of this baby, I came up with the idea myself.
"First, it chops up the meat, and then it's packed in neat little plastic packages for Joe Schmoe out on the street. Except for you, Batgirl, I made a little adjustment. First, it's gonna wrap you in plastic, and then it's going to chop you up into little Bat-fillets!"
The men laughed as Benny hit the big button to start the machine. The conveyor belt began to move and Batgirl, twisting at her wrists and ankles desperately to free herself, watched with horror as she passed through a metal box. When she came out the other side, she was wrapped tightly from head to boot with a sheet of clear plastic. Terrified, she realized that her air was cut off!
Now she was headed to another, much larger steel housing, which she knew was filled with slicing and cutting devices. The conveyor moved slowly, and there were several agonizing feet to travel. Batgirl figured it would only take a few minutes to reach the machine, if she didn't suffocate first!
Just then, there came a wail of sirens outside! Benny and his gang went wide-eyed with panic as Detective Nail said calmly, "It's over Benny, shut off the machine."
"What?" Benny asked, dumbstruck.
"Your loyal girlfriend, Tiffany, must have sang like a bird," Nail said with a grin.
Benny looked at Nail and then slowly realized what was happening. "You set me up, you dirty double-crossing cop. I'll make you pay for this. Get him boys!"
As the Butcher Boys rushed at Detective Nail, Benny exclaimed, "It will take the cops a while to get in here. That will give us just enough time to pound you into hamburger, and for Batgirl to die!"
Detective Nail began to fight furiously with the three Butcher Boys as Batgirl continued to struggle with her cutting tool. Her air was giving out and she began to feel faint as her lungs ached from lack of oxygen.
Fortunately, Nail was shoved in her direction, and when he ran into the conveyor belt next to her, he noticed in an instant that Batgirl was in desperate trouble. She had made an 'O' with her mouth as she tried to suck the plastic in and out, like a fish out of water. Nail managed to reach over and punch a hole in the plastic with his finger before he was dragged back into the melee.
As Batgirl sucked precious oxygen into her burning lungs, she managed to cut away enough rope to free her wrists and ankles so she could begin tearing away the suffocating plastic. She was inches from the steel housing where saws and blades whirled within. Batgirl sat up when one of the Butcher Boys noticed her escape attempt, and rushed at her. From her sitting position, she threw some plastic in front of his face, which he was promptly tangled in. Batgirl then gave him a swift kick with her boot and sent him flying backwards.
Batgirl had jumped off the conveyor belt to help Detective Nail with the others, when she noticed Benny trying to sneak out the back. She grabbed one of the jump ropes she had been bound with, twirled it over her head like a bolo weapon, and tossed it accurately at Benny. It wrapped around his ankles and tripped him up. His overweight body toppled and he smacked the floor like a slab of meat.
Finally, Batgirl was able to help Nail finish off the others. Just as Benny and the Butcher Boys were out of commission, the police were finally able to break in and entered the large room, led by Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara. The officers immediately began to surround the bruised and beaten members of the gang.
Gordon was shocked to see Detective Nail with Batgirl in the aftermath of the battle, and exclaimed, "Detective Nail, what's going on? What are you doing here?"
"I'll tell you what's going on," Batgirl interjected as she crossed her arms and struck a defiant pose. "This detective is in cahoots with Benny the Butcher's gang. When you arrived, he turned on them and tried to save me from certain death at the last minute. Probably to save his own hide!"
Gordon, flabbergasted, looked at Nail and asked, "This is shocking! Is it true?"
"Absolutely not, Commissioner," Detective Nail responded.
"Commissioner . . ." Chief O'Hara tried to interrupt.
"Hold on, Chief," Commissioner Gordon said as he held up a hand to quiet O'Hara. He then addressed Detective Nail. "Explain yourself."
"I've been on a secret undercover mission to take down Benny's crew and use them to eliminate all the organized crime in Gotham City. Chief O'Hara can back me up on this."
Commissioner Gordon turned slowly to Chief O'Hara and asked him, "Chief?"
"That's what I was trying to tell you, Commissioner," Chief O'Hara explained."Detective Nail came to me with this idea months ago, and we decided that only he and I should know. That way, Benny and his boys would never find out."
"Well," Commissioner Gordon said, stunned by the turn of events. "Excellent work, Detective. Well done. I want a full report on my desk tomorrow afternoon."
"Yes, sir," Nail said. "Thank you."
"All right, get these wharf rats out of here!" Chief O'Hara commanded to his force of uniformed men.
As Benny and his men were handcuffed and hustled out to the waiting paddy wagons, Benny yelled out, "I'll get you for this, Nail, if it's the last thing I do!"
"I guess we'll add threatening a police officer along to the charges of trafficking in stolen goods, kidnaping, and attempted murder. Right, Chief?" said Commissioner Gordon.
"Aye, Commissioner," Chief O'Hara said with a grim expression. "That we can."
As Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara exited, Batgirl walked up to Detective Nail with her hands on her hips and told him, "Well, I guess I owe you an apology."
"And a 'thank you' for saving your life," Detective Nail said with a smug grin.
Batgirl raised an eyebrow and tilted her head at his remark. She was surprised, but a little amused, by his cockiness. There was a confidence about him that intrigued her. Of course, it didn't hurt that he had just saved her life . . . and that he was ruggedly handsome. Maybe she would accept his invitation for another date when he called Barbara Gordon. "Thank you," Batgirl said, grudgingly.
"Well, I guess I'll see you around, Batgirl," Detective Nail said, trying to act cool and holding out a hand to shake Batgirl's glove.
"Maybe," Batgirl responded, and a sense of déjà vu struck Nail, and he wondered where he had heard this before. It was earlier this evening, with Barbara Gordon, and . . .
Just then, a police officer came in and yelled out, "Detective Nail, the Chief needs you!"
Detective Nail turned to face the officer and told him, "Tell him I'll be right there." When he turned back, Batgirl was gone.
Later, back at Police Headquarters, Chief O'Hara was busy questioning Benny the Butcher in the interrogation room. "All right, boyo," Chief O'Hara growled angrily, "where's the rest of the ransom money?"
"What are you talking about?" Benny said. "It's all there!"
"Don't play games with me, boyo," Chief O'Hara responded. "There's half missing. There's supposed to be two hundred thousand. What did you do with the rest of it?"
"What?" Benny asked, puzzled. Then a slow realization began to come to him. Detective Nail had double-crossed him . . . again!
THE END