The Sleuth's Apprentice

The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 4 of 17

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The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 4 of 17

Superboy, Superman, Batman and Robin are Copyrighted and owned by DC Comics.

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Jamie and Dick headed out to Carnaville the very next morning. Robin decided to ride his motorcycle to the city, which was about fifty miles south of Gotham City. Superboy just flew overhead, following Robin and keeping a close eye on where Robin was going and what was in his path, so he could warn him ahead of time if anything was coming his way.

As soon as the two arrived in the town, they stopped at a gas station. Superboy landed right in front of Robin, who was still sitting on his Batcycle. Robin pulled out a sheet of paper, containing names and addresses of people and companies which had been robbed the previous day.

'There is a jewelry store down the street. We can go there first, before we go and question the manager of the bank'' Robin instructed. Superboy nodded, and leaped in the air, as soon as Robin stepped on the gas and put the Batcycle in motion.

Jamie knew that Robin was the boss right now. He was his trainer and his coach. But, Jamie also began to see Robin as the big brother he has always longed for, and he felt extremely honored to be working with the Boy Wonder. Even though he was far stronger and more powerful than Robin, he knew that he had a lot to learn from him. Robin was sharp. He had analytical skills which were far better than Jamie's, and Jamie was well aware of that.

When the two arrived at the jewelry store, Robin quickly parked the bike and hopped off, immediately walking into the store, which had been closed off by police. The glass windows were shattered, and all the display cases were empty. There was broken glass everywhere! The police officers were talking to a tall, slender man, who was most likely the owner of the store.

'I saw one of the kids who robbed the store' he began, as Robin and Superboy joined the police officers. 'He was one of the neighbor's kids, who had suddenly disappeared a few weeks ago. It's really weird! I just don't get it''

'Have you heard of any other kids, who have committed these robberies as well?' Robin asked him.

'Yes, as a matter of fact, John Stevens was robbed by his own son!' the man said sadly. 'I don't know what's going on' Kids are suddenly turning against their parents and robbing them of everything they have worked for all their lives''

'Where can I find Mister Stevens?' Robin wondered.

'He owns the bank down the street'' the man replied, as he pointed to the street before him. 'But, he died in his car; right after the robbery had taken place. He died while he was trapped inside of his burning car.'

'Oh, wow'' Jamie exclaimed.

'You can talk to Jake Stevens, who is his younger brother. I'll give you his address''

'Alright. Thank you!' Robin replied, as he hopped on the Batcycle and started the engine. Superboy quietly leaped in the air, without saying a word. He decided to just follow Robin and to pay close attention to the questions that Robin asked and the answers that the people had given him in response.

A few minutes later, the duo arrived at the deserted bank branch. The scene was similar to that of the jewelry stores: The glass doors and windows were shattered, the money was stolen, and the man who was the owner's brother was left all alone in his office, wondering what had happened and what he would do next.

Robin hopped off the bike and walked in, with Superboy landing and the walking right behind him.

'Mister Stevens? Could we ask you a few questions?' he asked the man, who was sitting in his office. He was deeply saddened. Robin could tell that the man must have been up all night long, and he had been crying as well.

'Sure' I've spent all morning talking to the police, so I might as well take time to talk with you two as well. Who are you, anyway?' Jake replied.

'I'm Robin and this is Superboy. We're from Gotham City' the Boy Wonder replied, as he sat down in one of the chairs, facing Jake's desk. Superboy just remained standing beside him. 'Please tell everything you had seen, last night, when your bank was robbed. And, please tell us what has happened to your brother, John''

'John's son Michael has disappeared a few weeks ago.' Jake began to explain. 'He was always such a happy kid, but, lately he had been acting strange. He got a job working for a grocery store, when it all started''

'Which grocery store?' Robin asked him.

'Anderson's, down the street''

'What did he do there?'

'He was a bagboy. And he pushed carts and mopped the floor''

'How did he get the job at the grocery store?'

'He got it from a bus driver, while riding the bus across town. Interestingly enough, the bus company just declared bankruptcy just last week''

'Hmm' Did your nephew say anything or did he begin to act differently?' Robin asked him.

'Yes' He was coming home with a lot of cash in his pocket. I was surprised that he was making so much, on a job which advertised that it only paid minimum wage. He started coming home with a lot of money, and that's when I started to get suspicious of this place, and the job he was being paid to do there.'

'And then, what happened?'

'One night, John stayed up because he couldn't sleep. Mike was supposed to come home around nine o'clock that night, but he didn't show up until one in the morning. After he had gotten home and had gone to bed, John went into his bedroom to see if he was alright. He could sense the smell of alcohol, and he saw that he had drugs with him''

'Did Mike hang out with anyone? Did he go anywhere after work? And has he ever been drunk before?'

'No, he never went to bars and he has never been drunk before.'

'So' what happened on the night when John's bank was robbed?'

'John was robbed by a masked man, who carried a rifle. He shot his way into the bank and he took all the cash out of the vault, and put it in a big bag, which he carried over his shoulder. When John confronted him, he removed his mask, and he revealed that he was his son, who had disappeared only two weeks earlier.'

'Did his son say anything, about where he had been or what he had been doing, while he was gone?'

'No, other than the fact that he was working for Master Wancho now and that all the stolen money would be split up among them''

'How did you know that this had happened to John?'

'Well, some of it has been recorded on tape. The security camera picked up bits and pieces of the whole incident. John also called me, on his cell phone, immediately after the robbery had taken place.' Jake explained. 'The last thing John heard Mike say was that he was doing it for Master Wancho''

'Master Wancho?' Robin inquired. 'Who is that?'

'I have no idea who that is' This sounded like he was the person Michael had been working for, although I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for this Wancho guy''

Robin frowned for a moment, before he got up from the chair.

'Mister Stevens, I'll look into this and I'll give you a call if I find out anything about your nephew or this Wancho person. I'll let you know''

As soon as Robin had exited the bank, Superboy walked up to him and began to say something to him in a soft voice.

'What do you think? That sounds like a weird story. Why would the son of a banker rob his father's own bank?' Superboy asked him.

'Either the boy was hypnotized or brainwashed, or he had joined some sort of street gang or underground crime ring or something''

'So, what do we do now?' Superboy wondered out loud.

'Let's go home and do some research''

Robin hopped on the bike, while Superboy leaped in the air, and flew right overhead.

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About thirty minutes later, Robin and Superboy had entered through the secret entrance to the Batcave. Once inside, they immediately ran over to the computer room, where Robin flipped the switch and all the computers suddenly came to life! Three big monitors suddenly lit up, as Robin took a seat at one of the terminals.

'Grab a seat, Superboy'' he instructed.

Superboy rolled one of the other chairs over to where Robin was sitting, and he sat down at the terminal right next to the Boy Wonder.

'Let's see'' he mumbled to himself. 'Michael Stevens was working for a grocery store called Anderson's''

Robin typed in a few words, while Superboy looked on.

'He said something about working for a guy named Wancho'' he remembered.

'Hmmm' There are lots of people named Wancho in this area' So, I'll need some more information in order to narrow down the search. I need to be able to pinpoint which guy we're looking for.'

'Why don't you look for any clue that have something to do with the grocery store, where Michael worked?' Superboy asked him.

'Yeah' Let's see if I can get any information about that''

Suddenly, a new screen came up, showing a bunch of paragraphs containing different pieces of information.

'The Anderson grocery store is owned by another company named Willco. Hmmm'.' Robin pondered. He then searched around some more.

'Hey, there is something about the Carnaville bus system on that screen!' Superboy pointed out. 'Didn't the guys who robbed the stores come in these buses?'

Robin searched around on the computer.

'It's a dead-end! The company which owned the buses has gone out of business!' he shouted. 'That's odd''

Suddenly, several police reports came in at Robin's computer. Several messages appeared on the screen, all originating from the various police stations in the region, including Carnaville and Gotham City. Robin was able to track everything that was going on in that city and in the surrounding communities.

'Another kid had disappeared last night!' Robin said, as he quickly read the latest email message. 'Listen to this: This kid had gotten a job at a grocery store just a few weeks ago. The store was called 'Anderson's'. He started coming home with just a few Dollars at first. After a week of having worked there, he suddenly got a hefty raise! Not only was he coming home with hundreds of Dollars per week, he also was coming home with the small of alcohol in his breath, and with many cigarettes in his pockets. And this was a kid who had never had a drop of alcohol in his life, nor has he ever had a cigarette!'

'Wow'' Superboy said. 'That's sad''

'Yesterday afternoon, the boy's father searched his son's room, and he came across a small plastic bag containing a few grams of marihuana. The father was astonished, of course. He confronted his son about it, and they had a huge argument. His son had mentioned that he had gotten the drugs from somebody at his work, and the father had forbidden him to return to work until he had a chance to talk to his supervisor. That evening, the boy ran away from home and he went to his work. He had called his father to tell him that he was working and that he had to stay there for the rest of the night. His father got upset, and he got in the car. When he arrived at the grocery store, to pick up his son, the boy had already disappeared and nobody knew where he had gone.'

'That doesn't sound too good'.' Superboy noted. 'Somebody is giving him drugs at the place where he was working!'

'The only thing is that this didn't happen in Carnaville' Robin realized. 'This happened in a community, only twenty miles away, called Valery.'

'That's weird' Is this happening in another town, now?'

'Let's go to Valery, and we'll talk to the father of the boy, who disappeared last night'' Robin suggested, as he stood up and rushed to the garage.

'I'm right behind you!' Superboy cheered, as he flew right behind him.

'Cover me from above, Supes' Robin said. 'If you see or hear anything that seems out of the ordinary, then let me know about it right away, okay?'

'Yes, sir!' Superboy chuckled. 'You're the boss!'

Within moments, the two were racing across the highway and heading towards the community of Valery, where strange disappearances were just now starting to take place for the very first time.

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