Epilogue

It's early dawn. Two hours earlier, the police had arrived at the skate park and taken Yarsmith into custody. Commissioner Gordan had also arrived and made it his personal responsibility to take the boy home. Shortly after the arrival of Gordan, Batman had left the scene.

Watching the sun rise from his bedroom window, Dick waits for Bruce to arrive. Is it over? The police have him, but is it over?

Hearing the door knob turn, Dick turns to face Bruce as he enters the room.

"I spoke with Gordan," says the rich man. "Yarsmith has been processed and shipped off to prison to be held until trial. Because of what he did, I doubt bail will be set."

"A part of me still doesn't feel safe," replies the boy, turning his back to the older man and looking out the window at the rising sun. "I don't know if I will ever feel safe. We know all too well, criminals break out of jail. Hell, Bruce, he could be paroled for good behavior in a few years."

Glancing back at Bruce, Dick starts rubbing his arms.

"He wants me dead, Bruce," whispers Dick. "And I don't think he will give up."

"I will make sure he never sees freedom again," growls Bruce.

…...

2 MONTHS LATER

Parking the car in the long driveway that curves in front of the mansion, Commissioner Gordan puts the vehicle in park, takes the key out of the ignition, and opens the car door. Walking over to the front door, he knocks once and waits. It doesn't take long before the door is open by Wayne's butler.

"Commissioner Gordan," says the butler.

"Good morning," replies Gordan. "Is Bruce home?"

"Of course, sir," replies the other man, opening the door further to allow Gordan to enter the Wayne home. "Mister Wayne's study is down the hall on the left."

Nodding his head, Gordan walks down the hall and enters the study. He doesn't have long to exam the room before the owner of the home enters the room.

"Jim," greets Bruce, raising a hand to shake.

Taking Wayne's hand, Gordan gives a quick shake.

"How can I help you?" asks Wayne, motioning toward some chairs near a fire place.

"I'm here about Yarsmith's trial," answers Gordan.

"Dick is ready, though I would prefer it if he didn't have to speak about what happened," says Bruce, shaking his head gently. "I don't know which would be better, talking about it or ignoring it."

"Well, it looks like your ward won't have to talk about it. There won't be a trial."

"What?" demands the billionaire.

"I just came from the prison, Bruce. Yarsmith is dead," answers Gordan.

"How?" demands Bruce.

"Child molesters are never popular in prison and it appears that some of Yarsmith's fellow criminals took out their feelings on him. I'm not sure how they did it, but it appears one of them was able to make a knife from some of the plastic silverware and stabbed Yarsmith very late last night.

"Normally, the stabbing wouldn't be fatal, but the prison's doctor had already gone home an hour earlier and the overnight staff didn't have enough medical knowledge to know what to do. By the time they got Yarsmith to a doctor who knew what to do, Yarsmith had lost a lot of blood and died on the operating table," explains the police commissioner.

"I see," replies Wayne.

"I felt that you should know as quickly as possible before you heard it on the news," says Gordan. "How do you plan to tell Dick?"

"Please leave it to me," replies Bruce.

Nodding his head, Gordan stands up. Standing up as well, Bruce walks with Gordan out of the study, down the hall, and to the door.

"Thank you for stopping by, Jim," says Bruce.

"While it wasn't a pleasant way to go, I would rather that bastard had gone to prison," replies Gordan.

Nodding his head, Bruce opens the door and Gordan walks outside. Watching the police commissioner get into his car, Bruce waits until Gordan drives away from closing the door.

"Convenient. Wouldn't you say so, Master Bruce?"

Turning to face Alfred, Bruce raises a brow.

"While I would not say this in front of Master Dick, it wasn't beyond reality that Yarsmith could get out of prison," says Alfred. "With him dead, he can never hurt the boy again."

"Are you suggesting something?" asks Bruce calmly.

"I would never think to presume," replies the faithful butler.

"You know very well, Batman does not condone murder," says Bruce, before walking away.

"I never said Batman, sir," replies Alfred quietly.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yup, that's right, the story is FINALLY done. I hope you enjoyed it and that it was worth the wait. Please let me know what you think.