/!\ Warning, this chapter is a bit more violent than the others. Graphic depiction of violence ahead...

Red Hood's headquarters were slowly waking up that day. Some men were still sleeping in their attributed bedrooms. There was bedrooms in the headquarters because Hood wanted to ensure the building's security constantly. Not far from them, a few other men were gathered in a large room which had been converted into some kind of living room by the henchmen themselves. It can seem unusual for a gang to have this kind of room, but Hood's men were closed to each other and they really appreciated to have this space for themselves.

Of course, not all the henchmen were constantly living in the headquarters. Many of them had their own families to take care of and they were going back to their homes every day, knowing perfectly well that their husbands, wives or children were impatiently waiting for them. A lot of these families had seen their partners disappear through one of the many gang wars which had recently been happening in Gotham and from all sides, not only from Red Hood's gang. Those wars had become more and more violent throughout the years and it was even from times to times touching innocent who were passing by at the wrong time...

The newspapers talked about at least twenty innocent civilians who had received a stray bullets coming from the violent activities happening mostly in the Bowery, Crime Alley and all the dangerous spots in the city. It was coming to a point where no one was safe anymore. People were shaking at the idea of going outside even if it was just to go grocery shopping.

At first, when Red Hood and his gang started to emerge, the crime rate in Gotham dropped spectacularly. People weren't scared anymore because they felt more protected. However, it increased again and again when Black Mask reacted and associated himself without other gangs against Hood's. At this point, even the police wasn't going in those areas, it was way too dangerous...

Many people had started to get really tired of being scared every time they were stepping outside but none could really do something. It had to be solved by the gangs themselves, and that's what was going to happen that day...

It was around six in the morning and while some of Hood's henchmen were still sleeping or slowly waking up, some of them were already ready and being busy either cleaning their guns or talking with each other inside the headquarters' main hall. It was really early and they weren't expecting their leader to be already here, walking furiously through the building with who they thought was a traitor by his side.

"What is Barnes doing here, boss?" one dared to ask as both men passed near him. Red Hood didn't answered and kept walking before he climbed up the stairs and reached the catwalk to be a little higher than the men who were already gathered in the hall. Kyle exchanged a brief glance with him. His eyes weren't covered by the red domino mask Jason had given him earlier.

Red Hood loudly cleared his throat, "I need to talk to you. To all of you. Please go and gather everyone here. I'll be back in around an hour. Do not contact Aaron though. He's... having the day off and we don't need him here today." Some of the men nodded and rushed towards the headquarters bedrooms while others took out their phones and called those who were with their families. None of them knew what was happening, but they all undoubtedly realized that something was definitely wrong...

During this time, Kyle and Hood had reached the gang's leader office. "Why weren't you wearing your mask?" the helmeted man asked with a quite irritated tone while he closed the door and locked it.

Kyle leaned against the closest wall and took the domino mask out of the pocket of his new black leather jacket (which was fitting him after all). "I need to regain their trust and I don't think that hiding my identity is a good solution for this... Besides, they would asked themselves who is this masked man who's standing next to their boss," he simply shrugged.

Hood sighed, "Fair points..."

After a small moment of silence, Kyle sighed deeply as well. He was thinking about what was ahead of him that day and he seriously felt the urge to relax. "Hey Jay?"

"Mhm?"

"Do you have a cigarette?"

Jason stared at Kyle confusedly. He was really surprised by the question but then remembered the day Kyle and him went undercover in Jensen's headquarters. Before they left Hood's own headquarters, the young man had shared a little moment with him when they had smoked together. "Yeah, I do." He walked to his desk and opened the first drawer. There, was lying an old packet with only three cigarettes inside and an old lighter Roy had offered to Jason. The latter handed a cigarette to Kyle and kept one for himself.

"Thanks," the young man said while he let himself flop to the ground and leaned his head against the wall. He lit up the cigarette and took a long puff out of it, closing his eyes in appreciation. Next to him, Jason had removed his helmet and was sitting in his desk chair, also smoking. Both men shared the moment in a comfortable silence until Kyle broke it. "Do you think we'll make it alive?" he blew out another puff of smoke.

Jason remained silent for a while. "No idea..." he whispered. He took a long drag out of the cigarette and saw from the corner of his eyes Kyle lowering his head and closing his eyes. Slowly, the smell of both cigarettes spread all across the room. It wasn't unpleasant for both young men, on the contrary.

"I just want all of this to be done already."

"So do I. It's gonna be a complicated mission and we can't ensure everyone's security. I don't even know how I'm going to protect my brothers or if I'll be able to do it..."

"We have to stop all of this, at all costs sadly."

"I know," Jason took another drag out of his cigarette. He stared at Kyle for a moment. They were both anxious as to how all of this would end up. They stayed there in silence during a long time, both lost in their thoughts. Jason was the first one to stand up. "Time to go. I already hear them losing patience," he smirked while he put his helmet back on. He outstretched his hand and helped Kyle up. Kyle gave one last look at the domino mask in his hands before he put it back inside his pocket. He would put it on later.

When they both reached the main hall and climbed on the catwalk, the room was practically full. Nearly all of Hood's gang was there except for the sentries who had to keep the building safe in any case. Jill was standing in the front row, talking with another woman. Everybody stared at Kyle when they saw him standing next to Red Hood. Some protestations could be heard. The last time they had seen him, he had the traitor status...

"Alright everyone," Hood started loudly, "today is gonna be an important day. It's been too long that Black Mask and Matt Jensen are trying to have their hands on Gotham. It's our city, and we'll show them!" The men cheered evenly, their fists raised in the air. Hood briefly looked at Kyle next to him. "I know what you are all thinking about. Why is he here? Last time you saw him he was a traitor. A recent discovery proved his innocence. He's been accused of treason when he wasn't even the culprit. He is the victim of a frame-up and all of us, me first, have been tricked! The actually culprit is one of us. A man on who nearly had my full trust and you know him well because it is Aaron himself!"

At first, the whole hall remained silent until whispers started to emerge. No one could really believe it. All of them knew Aaron, some way better than others but they knew the man was loyal to Red Hood so it was hard for them to believe he had betrayed them. All of them.

"I know it's hard to believe and you must all be as angry as I am. That's why I promise you that I'll catch him and make him pay for his double betrayal. You all have my words." Hood's tone had suddenly turned darker and Kyle was looking at him with concern. He could feel his friend's anger radiating from him even if he was trying to sound calm. To confirm what he was thinking, he noticed how tightly gripped Jason's hands were against the guardrail of the catwalk they were both standing on. "That's why it's time to put an end to all of this. I'll ask you to put your lives in danger once again today. You are all brave and have proved me many times how much you are worth. I believe in all of you, never doubt this. Are you with me?!"

A loud "Aye!" boomed out in the room. All the henchmen were cheering for their leader, the fists pumping in the air once again. A rage to conquer could be seen in all their faces.

"What are your orders boss?" Jill asked loudly so that everyone could hear her, looking at Red Hood right in the eyes, her lips twitching lightly.

"Light 'em up."

***

It was only seven in the morning but Aaron was already leaned against the wooden counter of his favorite bar, sipping a bottle of beer. Some can think it's really early to start drinking, but that's Gotham after all...

All of a sudden, he spotted a young dark-haired woman wearing a very provocative outfit. She had a red mini skirt on with a black off the shoulder crop top showing her belly button piercing jewelry. All of this was embellished with a pair of black high heels. The bulky man bit his lips. He grabbed his bottle of beer and stood up. The woman noticed him coming her way and offered him a bright smirk.

"Hello gorgeous," Aaron said and the woman's cheeks turned slightly pink. She readjusted her top in a swift movement.

"What can I do for you, darling?" she gave the man a sultry glare, looking right in the man's brown eyes.

"May I offer you a drink?"

She raised her perfectly done eyebrow and replaced a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her pale neck. "Isn't it a bit early for this?"

"It's Gotham, my dear. Nothing is too early in Gotham."

She stared at him up and down before she licked her red colored lips. She grabbed Aaron by the shoulders and slowly bent over, offering a perfect view of her décolleté. "Why don't we already go outside?" she whispered in the man's ears.

"I thought you'd never ask, sweetie," the man whispered back. The woman straightened up, a large smile all across her lips. She walked away and grabbed her tight jean jacket and waited for Aaron. The latter grabbed her by the waist and gently guided her out of the bar. "My car's not far from here, we'll have to go on a little walk."

As they entered the small alley just behind the bar, the woman looked directly into Aaron's eyes, "I don't want to wait."

Aaron smirked and pushed the woman against the bar's wall. He pulled her brown hair away from her face and crashed his lips on hers. He put one hand on her uncovered belly and the other on her face. The woman returned the kiss. Their lips were eagerly moving with one another. The brown-haired woman let out a loud moan against Aaron's hard but soft lips. The man kept on moving his hand all over her body, dawdling especially on her hips to bring her closer to him. Her skin was soft under his touch. After another moan, the woman wrapped one leg around Aaron's. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and desperately tried to bring him even closer to her. Their tongues were entwining madly with one another and they could feel each other's heat constantly rising up.

Someone behind them cleared his throat loudly. "I sincerely hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Aaron and the woman jolted away from each other's embrace. "Piss off, you son of a b-" Aaron yelled at the top of his lungs but gasped when he noticed who it was who was standing not far from him. "Boss?" his surprise could clearly be seen on his face, "what are you doin' here?"

The woman was slightly shaking. It's not every day that you see the Red Hood standing a few meters away from you. She looked back and forth between the helmeted man and the man she had kissed a few seconds before. The latter was still cornering her against the bar's wall but she decided not to budge.

"Ma'am," Red Hood started calmly, "I suggest you immediately leave this place, as fast as you can." His tone sounded like an order. Aaron moved aside and let her run away.

"What can I do for you, boss?" the man questioned, still surprise to see him here.

Red Hood walked closer to the man, "tell me Aaron, how much do you value honor and loyalty?"

"I uh... Why are you asking this?" Aaron replied with his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed.

"Just answer the question," Hood replied firmly as he took another step forward.

Aaron felt as if he was being choked. He was uncomfortably fidgeting. "I value this a lot, boss. Why?" Suddenly, Aaron heard something landing behind his back.

"Oh really?" a threatening voice said. Aaron turned swiftly on his heels and saw a masked man standing there, his stare pointed directly at him. Aaron frowned. He was certain that he had already heard the man's voice. The bulky man backed away slightly.

"Now tell me," Hood continued while he drew his knife out of one of his boots. He looked at the blade before he glared back at Aaron. "How much do you value treason?" Hood's tone had turned dark and unbearably cold.

Aaron's eyes open widely, but instead of saying anything, he burst out into laughter. Kyle clenched his fists in anger. He felt the urge to punch him but restrained himself. Aaron, on the other hand, realized he was trapped between the helmeted man and the familiar masked one. He swallowed hardly and, rapidly, reached for an inside pocket in his vest. In an angry scream, he dropped a smoke bomb to the floor and started to run away, taking advantage of the surprise under which Kyle and Hood were.

It didn't took him a long time to hear footsteps right behind him though. He could already feel his heart rate exploding in his chest. Unfortunately for him, being bulky wasn't an advantage at all in this situation, on the contrary. It was slowing him down. Red Hood and the masked man were much faster than him. He could hear their boots drawing nearer and nearer...

In a desperate attempt to escape from them, he turned in another alley and accelerated as much as he could, feeling the fire in his lungs and the sweat dripping from his forehead.

Jason turned left while Kyle turned right to follow Aaron. At first, the young man didn't really quite understood why he would do that be he quickly focused back on chasing Aaron. As said before, he had one massive advantage. He was much lighter than Aaron and the adrenaline he was feeling gave him strength to go even faster. He noticed Aaron turning right again. However, as he reached the same corner, the man had disappeared.

Kyle stopped in his tracks and frantically looked everywhere. The man had vanished. "NO!" Suddenly, he heard a loud screeching of tires noise. A dark Mercedes accelerated just in front of him and Kyle saw perfectly well who the driver was... "Fuck," he told himself frustrated as he reached for his comm link. "Hood? He's escaping in a black Mercedes."

"Which type of Mercedes?"

"Uh... Class C AMG I'd say."

"On it."

This time, Kyle saw a flash of red passing in the street just in front of him. Jason had turned right because he knew the Ducati was parked there... Kyle shook his head. He had to find a vehicle too.

He started running again. When he finally reached a traffic light. He saw a light grey Mustang waiting for the light to turn green. His lips immediately got covered by a smirk. The young man lunged forward and violently opened the driver's door. "Sorry sir, but I need your vehicle." He swiftly removed the man's seatbelt and threw him out of the Mustang. He made the tires scream as he smashed the accelerator with his foot. The muscle car's engine roared. "Hood? Where are you?"

"He turned on the highway, I'm on his heels."

Jason's Ducati was an extremely fast motorcycle. Designed originally for races, but he had taken care to ameliorate its performances even more during his free time.

Jason nimbly avoided a large SUV crossing the streets as he looked on his side. The highway was just under him. All he had to do was jump above the guardrail...

He accelerated even more, the engine roaring under him. He found a hole in the guardrail. Jason took a deep inspiration under his helmet and rushed the bike forward. He land just in front of a truck which braked at the very last second.

The grey Mercedes wasn't that far anymore.  Jason pushed the motorcycle even more. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a grey Mustang hurtling down the highway's entry at full speed a few meters before him. He drove closer and closer to the muscle car, feeling the wind against his clothes. The traffic wasn't extremely dense that day, unfortunately for them. Indeed, Jason could have weaved in and out between the cars and stopped Aaron more easily.

Aaron, he, couldn't think straight anymore. He wasn't an extremely experimented driver and he had had the Mercedes only recently after a bribe from Jensen for his work. The car was much more powerful than the one he had before but it didn't prevented him to put the pedal to the metal. He zig-zagged between all the other vehicles on the highway at full speed but he could still hear the roaring engine of Red Hood's red motorcycle. He felt the sweat dripping down his back as he caught side of the bike in his rear view mirror. All of a sudden, he passed from the third lane to the first one and took the highway exit.

Hood easily followed him but Kyle had to brake to not miss the exit before he could accelerate once again, the Mustang protesting in a loud roar.

Jason was at full speed on the streets when he noticed the traffic ahead of him. Aaron couldn't be that far... he heard some screams coming from his right and saw the Mercedes wheeling on the sidewalk. Jason let out an angry groan. "Kyle?"

"I'm not far from you!"

"Try to take a parallel street, this one is packed!"

Hood turned on the sidewalk as well, extremely careful as to not hit a passerby. He pushed the Ducati forward once again. He heard the citizens screaming in fear in front of Aaron's Mercedes. The latter wasn't caring about hitting passerbies or not, all he wanted was to escape from Red Hood.

"Kyle! Where the hell are you?!"

"I'm avoiding traffic, it's fucking everywhere and I don't have a bike!"

The Mercedes suddenly turned around the corner. Jason followed it, not bothering to decelerate. His right knee nearly brushed against the street's concrete but he successfully straightened up the bike once he could drive straight again. The Mercedes suddenly reappeared in Hood's sight, followed very closely by the grey Mustang. This street was less packed than the previous one and the three powerful engines were thundering through the city's streets. Hood quickly caught up with Kyle and overtook him.

However, all of a sudden, an extremely swift black shape passed a few millimeters away from Hood's helmet. It couldn't be a bullet. No one had heard a detonation...

The shape lodged itself into one of the Mercedes rear tires, causing it to immediately explode. Aaron kept on trying to accelerate with only three tires left but another black shaped lodged itself into a front tire and this time, both the shape and the tire exploded.

Aaron braked madly but the car was thrown into the air and rolled over twice before it finally hit the concrete once again and landed on its roof in a deafening crash.

Kyle and Jason braked as well, astonished by what just happened. Jason was the first one to reach the damaged car. He blinked when he finally realized what the two black shapes were. He looked up and searched on top of the nearby building until he saw the more than familiar red uniform and the redhead wearing it waving in his direction, his bow in his hands and a large smile on his face.

Hood shook his head and waved back before he joined Kyle next to the Mercedes. "Tell me this asshole is still alive."

Kyle violently opened the car's doors and noticed Aaron's chest going up and down. "Yeah, he is."

"Take him out of here," the helmeted man said as he cut the seatbelt with his knife, "I don't care if he's injured or not. We can't stay in the streets." Indeed, civilians had already started to gather from everywhere to see the scene. Kyle climbed back in his car and saw Jason dragging Aaron on his motorcycle. He made the engine roar again, following Hood in a more discreet place.

Jason thought Crime Alley would be perfect so he drove until there. He parked the motorcycle and saw the light grey Mustang arriving just behind. He grabbed Aaron by his vest and let him fall to the floor before he reached for his comm link. "Red Hood to Nightwing, are you there?"

"Yes, you got him?"

"Yeah, be ready to go, we're about to interrogate him."

"Alright, we're waiting."

Kyle tossed Aaron around. The man's face was bloodied and seeing the cringy angle his elbow was taking, it was most certainly broken.

Hood briefly put his hand on Kyle as he passed near him. Right after, he knelt just next to Aaron. He lifted his gloved hand and smashed it against the unconscious man's cheek. The jolt of pain instantly woke him up. At first, he was completely disoriented but he was quick to recover. He felt a sharp blade against his throat and a wave of intense pain was running all across his body.

"Where are they?" Hood asked as he pressed the blade even more against Aaron's neck.

The man threw him a despised glare. "You won't be able to stop them," he finally managed to say in a bloodied smile.

"I can't believe I fucking trusted you." Hood spat. He removed the knife from Aaron's throat and backed away a little. In a swift movement of the wrist, he pinned the sharp blade right inside the man's knee cap. Aaron yelled. A throbbing pain invaded him. The blade had made its way inside the man's leg and its tip was appearing behind the man's knee cap. Just as violently, Hood removed the blade and grabbed the man by the collar. He made him stand on his feet and pushed him right into the nearest wall, taking good care to smash the man's head against the bricks. 

Kyle was looking at the scene from afar, his arms crossed over his chest. He wished he could draw out his gun and put a bullet right through the man's skull, but they needed information first.

"Where are they?!" Hood yelled again but Aaron didn't replied, he was too overwhelmed by pain. The helmeted man shook his hand and threw his fist against Aaron's jaw. "I repeat. Where are they?!" Aaron's face was bloody and he couldn't feel his legs anymore. "Don't make me ask a fourth time," Hood coldly said as he drew out a handgun. He pushed the barrel against the bulky man's temples. His finger was on the trigger, ready to push it out of anger.

"Wait!" Kyle suddenly intervened, "let me take care of this." He took a step forward and Jason moved aside. Kyle grabbed Jason's handgun and grasped Aaron by the collar.

Aaron was staring at the masked man with a smirk. "I know you, don't I?"

Kyle's mouth shuddered. He lifted the hand which was holding the handgun and, between two fingers, peeled off the red domino mask and let it fall to the floor. "Yes. You do."

Aaron burst out into laughter. "Barnes... I can't believe it. Look at you. You're Hood's little bitch now, uh?"

Kyle tightened his grip against the gun's grip. The young man leaned next to Aaron's ear and whispered "at this point, I bet you're not even able to feel your legs anymore. Just let me bring them back to life for you." Kyle pulled the trigger. The hot bullet pierced right through Aaron's foot and the man screamed out in pain again. Kyle stared at him with an indistinguishable smirk on his lips. "Tell me where Jensen or Black Mask is otherwise I'll wake the other foot up."

Aaron was hardly able to breath at this point. "No, please..." he begged, "I don't know where Black Mask is. I wasn't in contact with this asshole at all."

"Get to the point!" Kyle spat while he aimed for the second foot.

Aaron pulled his hands up "Arkham! He's in Arkham with the clown!"

Kyle and Jason exchanged a brief glance. "Finish him," the helmeted man said after a few seconds before he walked away to transmit the information to Batman and his three brothers.

"No! Please! I'm begging you..." Aaron grabbed Kyle's sleeve. The latter looked at him dead in the eyes.

"Once a traitor, always a traitor. Isn't it what you told me?" Kyle brought the barrel of the gun just next to the man's temple and felt his hand shaking on the gun's grip.

Aaron smirked, "you're a coward Barnes. You don't have the balls to do it."

"I do." Hood lunged forward and pushed Kyle away before he held a grip around Aaron's head. Swiftly, he snapped his neck in a loud cracking noise. Aaron's eyes rolled and he fell limply on the floor.

Hood stood back up and climbed on his motorcycle. "C'mon Kyle, let's get out of here."

The young man glared at Aaron's dead body. He backed away and picked up his domino mask before he put it back on. He climbed back inside the grey Mustang and made the tires squeal without another glance at Aaron, quickly followed by Jason.

Alright, I'm sad to say this story is coming to an end very soon. In less than four chapters I think *screams*