Chapter Text
C.C Haly was warned about Gotham. In a city ridden with crime, you must keep an eye on your things. If it weren’t for one of Gotham’s characters breaking out of its feared asylum and wreaking havoc on the city, the circus would have kept a better eye on their equipment. As it stands, Haly is now staring at the empty spot the trapeze equipment is supposed to be in, feeling bewildered and annoyed. Who has any use for trapeze equipment outside the circus? Better yet, how had no one seen the large platforms being moved out of the tent?
He raises a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, fighting back a headache. Their first performance is tomorrow and they somehow need to find emergency trapeze equipment.
Haly makes his way to the Graysons’ tent to discuss what to do. The flap of the tent is open, and Haly can hear sounds of feet running around and childlike giggles. Stepping in, he catches Dick performing one of the complicated flips the Graysons are known for while his parents watch.
When Dick lands on his feet, looking a little wobbly, Haly clears his throat to gain their attention and they pause. Dick grins, racing over to him and wrapping his arms around the ringleader’s waist in a clinging hug.
“Mr. Haly! I’m super ready for the show tomorrow- here, check out this quadruple somersault! It’s gotten so much easier!” Dick lets go of him, moving to demonstrate, but Haly places a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“I would love to see it, kid,” he says regretfully, “but first I have to talk to you all about your performance.”
John and Mary approach, their expressions turning concerned. “What’s wrong, Haly?” John asks.
“There seems to be an issue with your trapeze equipment,” Haly slowly admits. After a moment, he elaborates, “Particularly that it seems to be…ah…gone.”
“What do you mean by gone?” Mary questions incredulously, jerking her head back and forth as if the equipment will appear in front of her. Her hair nearly smacks John in the face, prompting Dick to let out a shocked giggle from the side, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth and feigning seriousness.
Haly spares him a knowing glance before returning his attention to Mary, his own hand coming to rub at the back of his neck. “I mean that it is not where it is supposed to be, and if it is not anywhere else in the circus, then it must have been stolen.”
“Stolen?! Who else would want our trapeze equipment Mr. Haly?” Dick exclaims, bouncing on his heels.
“I do not know, but if we don’t find it, then we will have to figure something else out soon so you will be able to perform,” Haly informs them gravely.
“I can go ask around with Dick to see if anyone in the caravan has seen the equipment,” Mary volunteers. “We have extra swings that John can go get. Is there a way for you to figure out the platforms in the meantime?” she asks.
“Yes, Mary. I will look around Gotham for any stores that may be able to help. We might need to go to a hardware store and build it ourselves,” Haly replies decisively, already mentally running the numbers.
Their respective roles having been assigned, the group splits up. Haly heads to his tent to grab his phone, searching up stores that may be selling platforms of any kind. It takes him only a handful of minutes to determine that the circus would need to put together the platforms themselves. Most ready made ones were for stage performances and weren’t high enough, and the rest wouldn’t come in on time.
Exiting his tent, he finds that the Graysons have already gathered a substantial group of circus members. John is holding a box with trapeze swings, but Mary shakes her head when Haly makes eye contact with her. Sighing, he approaches the group and gives them the news: they will have to try to build trapeze platforms themselves for tomorrow's show.
With an efficiency bred from having worked with one another for so long and in such close quarters, the group is able to quickly split up to gather the materials needed, agreeing to meet back up in around an hour.
Sure enough, once that hour passes, they all gather in the main tent, ready to assemble platforms as best as they can.
Laughter and music fills the air as the circus performers work together to make trapeze platforms that are as safe as possible, despite the limited time in which they have to construct them. They each take on assigned roles and painstakingly build up the platforms, dedicating themselves to ensuring that their fellow performers - the Graysons - will be safe during their act. Eventually, they step back, and the Graysons test out the platforms with a net to ensure their safety. They swing back and forth, completing their routine as the rest of the circus watches and cheers them on. Haly and the others pay special attention to make sure that everything seems safe and stable the whole while.
Unfortunately, due to limited material, the platforms are not as tall as they usually are, but they are just tall enough for the Flying Grayson routine. As they finish up, a sense of relief and pride permeates the air because the Graysons are now able to perform in tomorrow’s show.
….
Haly is in his office, going over the finishing touches of the show, when the door flutters open revealing a tall, scarred man flanked by two other only slightly less intimidating men.
“C.C. Haly!” the man booms, spreading his arms out like he’s greeting an old friend. “It looks like you have quite the performance in store for Gotham tomorrow.”
Haly hesitantly rises from his seat, unsure of the purpose of this visit and even less sure as to who the newcomers are.
“Hello, sir,” he greets, courtesy being a practice long-since instilled in him. “May I ask who you are? I wasn’t aware anyone had a meeting with me today.”
The man lets out a booming laugh, easily waving him off. “Yes, yes, this is a bit last minute. My name is Tony Zucco, and I work for Mr. Falcone. I’m sure you’ve heard of him?” The question is stated innocently enough, if one were to ignore the undertone of mocking to it; Haly’s stomach drops at the name. “It seems that your circus isn’t as safe as you thought. I have gotten reports of your members buying building materials.”
Haly’s blood runs cold. Of course he had heard of Falcone. He had heard many warnings of the criminals of Gotham when planning the locations of the performances. He had hoped that the criminals would turn a blind eye to a circus that only wanted to provide entertainment for Gotham’s citizens, but it seems he’d been too naive. “I-I- Mr. Zucco, we did purchase building materials, as our trapeze equipment went missing. May I ask for the purpose of your visit? I assure you that we have properly booked the space and purchased the materials,” he stutters, the words leaving him in a rush.
“Ah, yes it seems you have done a fine job building new ones, but who’s to say they’re safe?” Mr. Zucco’s voice drops deeper, a threatening edge lining it as he adds, “Your original equipment already went missing. What’s going to prevent something like that from happening again?”
Haly gulps, but he steels himself. “We will make it work if the new ones go missing again,” he says resolutely. “Worst case, the Graysons are unable to perform.”
Mr. Zucco chuckles darkly, “Oh, that’s never the worst case in Gotham. You are not from here, so I will give you grace, but you need to be more wary. Things you can never imagine are possible in Gotham.” The words would have seemed encouraging and magical, if not for the dark tone in which they were uttered.
Haly jumped as Mr. Zucco suddenly clapped his hands together with a loud smack, the man’s demeanor brightening, “Which is why I am here today. Mr. Falcone is willing to offer you protection…for a price. Pay us $5,000 for every day you are here, and we will make sure nothing happens to disrupt your performances. Whaddya say?”
Haly’s eyes frightfully dart between the other three men in the room. A bead of sweat drips down his temple and trails down to his neck. He hesitantly admits, “I-I’m sorry Mr. Zucco, I don’t think we can afford that.”
Mr. Zucco waves him off, “That’s okay, you can pay in installments.” He pauses, placing a hand on his chin as if a sudden thought came to him, and his lips curl up in a mean smirk as he innocently adds, “Or.. you can do other favors in exchange for our protection.”
Haly’s body tenses even more. He doesn’t want to get the circus caught up with the mob. That’s just asking to be trapped in the criminal world. Whatever Mr. Falcone would ask of them could result in jail, or worse: death.
He stiffly, but firmly, says, “I’m sorry, but I will have to refuse your offer. We are unable to afford it, so we will take our chances without the protection.” He pauses to swallow dryly, and he fights against the tremble in his voice as he finishes with, “I thank you for coming over in person and taking the time to give us this offer, but unfortunately, I cannot take it.”
Mr. Zucco stiffens, and his face abruptly shifts into rage. “You really think this was an offer?” he spits, taking a menacing step forward and slamming a palm on the desk between them . “ It was a command, and your refusal means that you have disobeyed both me and Mr. Falcone. Just wait and see how you will do with ‘taking your chances,’” he quotes with a cruel sneer, turning on his heel without a moment’s pause.
He storms out with the other two men still flanking him. Haly remains frozen in terror as he processes what happened and what had just been said. Dread pools in his gut as he considers what could happen now that he has angered someone in the mob - what could happen to the circus.
Even so, he can’t bring himself to regret it, as accepting could have had even worse consequences for everyone.
….
Haly is sweating as he exits the stage after his introduction, and he can only be thankful that the dark color of his suit would hide any stains. All throughout the performance he has been on edge, waiting for something to happen. He made extra sure that everything was as it should be the morning before the performance, reminding all of his circus members to triple-check their equipment. He used the missing trapeze equipment as an excuse for his uncharacteristic paranoia. Guilt gnaws at him for not informing his performers of what had happened the night before, but the grim truth was that their knowing would not aid the situation. In fact, their nerves would instead pose a danger to themselves during their acts.
So far the performance has been going smoothly, and the energy in the tent has been electric. The audience’s enthusiasm makes all the struggles they encountered seem worth it to Haly, as he takes in everyone’s smiling faces.
It’s finally time for the Flying Grayson routine, and he holds his breath as they set up the stage. He is nervously anticipating how the makeshift platforms will hold up, despite repeated practice by the Graysons before the performance. They have it down, despite the new equipment, and to an outsider, it would seem like it was their original equipment all along.
The Graysons glide through the air like they have wings, performing flips and tricks only a very small percentage of the world’s population can accomplish. The crowd is gasping in awe as the family performs amazing feats in the air. Haly is just as enthralled as everyone else as Dick is deposited onto a platform while his parents flip across each other and grab the other swing.
Before they can perform their next moves, two loud snaps echo in the tent.
John and Mary Grayson fall down like birds with injured wings, time slowing as horror dawns in Haly.
This has that Zucco written all over it. He should have paid the protection money if only so a son doesn’t have to see his parents’ death.
Haly squeezes his eyes shut not wanting to watch as a sickening thump echoes in a silent tent. There is a moment of stillness before all hell breaks loose.
Parents cover their children’s eyes as people rush to exit the tent. Screams are let out as people panic, but one scream in particular has Haly’s eyes shooting open. They dart quickly to a devastated child standing up on a makeshift platform, tears streaming down his face. The sight jolts Haly into action as he joins the other members of the circus as some go to help Dick down while others go to check on the fallen Graysons.
Haly goes to Dick, not knowing what he is going to say when he gets there. Before he can utter a word, a shout gains his attention.
“They’re alive!”