The room they had gathered in was affectionately known as The Oubliette. The original designer of the building had, for reasons unknown, filled the surrounding walls with cork, leaving the room completely silent except for those already within it. The room itself was a small perfect circle of only fifteen feet diameter. Bogdanovic had so loved the space that he painted its walls, floor and ceiling completely black, then hooked fog machines to the vents near the ceiling. The room's only furnishings was a small circular table as well as chairs exactly matching the room's occupants. From the high ceiling hung a thick black cord which ended in a circular metal shade and a very low wattage bulb.
Indeed, the bulb was so pitiful in its attempts to light the mist shrouded room that occupants of the table could barely see one another despite sitting close. They all sat back in their chairs, each enjoying the quiet of the room that provided no distractions from the game they were playing.
"A bomb placed in the basement of city hall, set to explode on a holiday when the building is sure to be empty," said the first figure, a hulking mechanized being known as Lord Nemesis.
There was no hesitation in the reply. "A distraction from the true objective," said one of the remaining two, Rorschach, whose mask's black patches wandered and joined on its white surface. "But a necessary one to disarm."
"Meaning the bomb will be accompanied by a clue as to the real objective," this said by the final member of the room. Batman seemed to be one of the shadows, even his voice seemed more ghost than corporeal man.
"Excellent," Lord Nemesis said, steepling his fingers together before him. "Shall we begin?" At the nods from the other two the Prussian Prince began. "A Get Well Soon card signed by the Easter Bunny."
"Target is James C. Cadbury, multimillionaire stock broker outside town," Batman riposted.
"Found dead with no blood inside his body and the word Charity carved on his forehead," said Nemesis.
"Go immediately to the local red cross and cross-check all bagged blood of his blood type with his DNA," Rorschach said intensely, leaning further into the feeble light.
"The blood is found, but mixed in with it is strawberry Kool Aid," said Nemesis, relaxing back in his chair which creaked alarmingly. "The initials of the attending phlebotomist are O.Y."
Rorschach jumped in quickly, cutting off Batman. "Check for prominent local figures with the same blood type, paying close attention to those with diabetes."
"Incorrect," replied Recluse with a soft chuckle. "Penalty point. Any thoughts Batman?"
"Search the blood facility and Cadbury's home for walls that have been damaged... also for signs of new construction in case they had been damaged and then repaired." The Dark Knight said it slowly, thinking his way through it.
"Signs of new construction in the eastern wall of blood donation building," Nemesis said, applauding lightly.
"Wait," Rorschach interrupted. "How the hell is that relevant to the clue?"
Batman retreated further into the shadows, giving Rorschach the distinct impression he was hiding a smirk. "The initials O.Y. stand for Oh Yeah. The Kool Aid guy always broke through walls in the commercials."
"You've got to be kidding me," Rorschach said but waved his hands in disgust.. "Fine, fine. I concede the point. Keep going."
Lord Nemesis nodded. "Damaged wall abuts with a jewelry store. Only one gem stone has been stolen despite millions of dollars worth being available. The gem stone in question is very small, barely a karat, but is perfect otherwise."
Rorschach leaned forward so aggressively the table scraped the floor. "Search for missing laser technology over the past month."
"Laser missing from the local college of applied sciences, specifically its communications department." Lord Nemesis paused, as though savoring the taste of his next words in his mouth before delivering them. "A single security guard is laying dead directly next to the laser's former resting spot. His mouth is stuffed with navel fuzz."
There was a long silence which Rorschach finally broke. "Naval fuzz? What, like Navy Military Police?"
"Navel fuzz as in belly button lint," Nemesis replied pleasantly.
The silence stretched out until finally Nemesis rose to his feet. "Since you both seem to have hit something of a dead end, I'll grant you both time to research and/or cogitate on the matter. I think a week should be ample time for gentlemen of your... skill sets."
As he walked towards the room's only door, Batman's voice, sounding severely preoccupied, came from the darkness. "Are you sure you're not an alternate reality version of Edward Nigma?"
Nemesis opened the door and paused only a moment before walking through it, tossing back his rejoinder as he departed.
"Please, compared to me Edward Nigma's plots are best suited for a Golden Key book."
Nemesis closed the door, leaving the two detectives completely in the dark.
