The elevator pinged softly as it arrived on the top floor. The doors parted smoothly, and Bruce strode confidently out. The room at the end of the hall was his destination. Having called ahead to set up the meeting, Bruce knew where to go. His pace was brisk enough so as to not be late but not so fast as to hurry. He held the majority of shares in the company; the board members would wait for him if required.

Pushing both of the double doors open, Bruce entered the meeting room as noticeably as possible, short of being escorted by a brass band. The room was long and bright. Floor to ceiling windows lining the south and east walls made the room appear to lack walls of any kind. Made of black marble, the rectangular conference table dominated the length of the room, surrounded by padded leather chairs of matching color.

Dressed in formal suits, ten men and four women stood up from the table in a show of respect as Bruce walked in. They were the board of directors for Wayne Enterprises. At the head of the table was the man currently in charge of things, Lucius Fox.

Standing perfectly straight, the thin and athletic businessman wore a brown suit and golden yellow tie. Lucius had dark skin and even darker hair.  Gold wireframe glasses were perched on his nose, and his gaze made Bruce instantly focus upon him. Everyone in the room was looking toward Bruce, but the intensity of Lucius' stare made Bruce cautious. Lucius seemed more alert and perceptive than the other executives, and it made him dangerous to Bruce and his secrets. Keeping his objectives and agenda hidden from Lucius would be a challenge.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Bruce said in greeting. He took the available seat at the foot of the table, not wanting to displace anyone. He was only here to speak with them, and until he knew them and how they were going to assist or hinder him, Bruce didn't want to disrupt anything. "I've looked over the public records of the company, and I believe you have all done a tremendous job. Wayne Enterprises is successful and highly profitable, both for itself and its stockholders. I would like to be a part of my family's company, but I see no reason to disrupt an organization that's working well. Since you know the company best, do you have any suggestions?"

The executives returned to their seats, relaxing slightly when it appeared he wouldn't be dismissing any of them from the company. His ultimate goals were unknown to them, so they didn't relax entirely.

"Since your father left the company to work at the hospital, his office has remained unused," Lucius explained. His hands were folded on the table, and his voice was cultured and even; everything about the man was professional and orderly. "I think it would be fitting if you took over his office. We can supply you with detailed company records for you to review and see if anything sparks your interest."

"Sounds good," Bruce said. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to get started."

"I would like to say one more thing," Lucius announced as he stood from his chair and straightened his golden tie. "It will be nice to have a Wayne back with the company again."

The other board members offered similar sentiment.

Bruce rose from his chair. Before departing, he came around and shook Lucius' hand. "Thank you. Good to meet you, Mr. Fox."

"Likewise, Mr. Wayne," Lucius returned.

Bruce exited the conference room, and as he walked to the elevator, he pulled out a slim case from the inside pocket of his jacket. Opening the case, Bruce removed an earpiece and slipped it into his right ear. The elevator arrived, and Bruce pressed the button for the proper floor, leaning one shoulder against the wall. He returned the case to his pocket and listened to the bug he'd planted under the conference room table. He needed to know who were either his allies or potential opponents.

"He seems nice," said a female board member.

"He's just a kid," retorted a male voice.

"That kid did his school work at home," pointed out a voice Bruce recognized as Lucius Fox. "He may be young, but he holds a degree in business."

"How do you know that?" demanded another voice.

The elevator arrived at the proper floor, and Bruce exited, walking leisurely down the corridor as his concentration was still centered on the meeting on the floor above.

"Thomas Wayne put me in charge of this company, and I'd be foolish to hand it over to someone else unless I knew they'll be responsible with it," Lucius replied. "It didn't matter to me if his name was Wayne or not, so the moment I learned of his scheduled meeting with us this morning, I made it my business to learn everything I could about him."

"What did you find out?" asked a curious person.

"Enough to know his being here will be good for the company," Lucius assured them.  "Did anyone else take note of what Mr. Wayne did when he left?"

Bruce tensed, wondering if he'd been spotted planting the bug.

"He addressed me by name," Lucius pointed out.  "We weren't introduced, but he knew my name.  Clearly, Mr. Wayne isn't entering into this company blind; he's done his own research, and he clearly knows what he's doing."

Bruce breathed easier when he realized he wasn't about to be caught by the board of directors on his first day with the company.

"Now then, let's turn our attention toward the recent fiscal reports," Lucius suggested.

Bruce removed the earpiece and replaced it in the slim case from his pocket.

Alfred stood outside the office, waiting for him.

"You could've gone inside," Bruce mentioned. He opened the door and entered first.

"This was your father's office," Alfred replied. "It didn't seem right to enter ahead of you, Sir."

"Have a seat," Bruce encouraged. He waved a hand to the available furniture. Opposite the primary seat behind the large desk of polished oak were two high backed chairs of dark brown. Bookcases lined the left and right walls except for the corners by the door. Coffee tables, sofas, and tall lamps had been set up to create a place near the door to comfortably read either the books from the shelves or the latest company paperwork.  It also served as a less formal place to receive guests.

When Alfred closed the door, Bruce held up a finger to his lips, indicating a wish for silence. Alfred obliged and nodded his head in understanding. From a pocket on his slacks, Bruce took out a small device the size and shape of a compass. He switched it on by the single control on the side, and a red light engaged on the top. The light flickered, fading in and out for a moment before staying on at full intensity.

"Okay," Bruce told Alfred. "It safe to talk; this device blocks transmitters from listening devices."

"Do you think someone bugged your office, Master Bruce?" Alfred inquired. He waited for Bruce to sit down on the corner of the desk before taking a chair for himself.

"I used one myself," Bruce reminded. "It wouldn't be the furthest stretch of the imagination to think someone else might employ similar methods to learn about me."

"I suppose you're right, Master Bruce," Alfred accepted. "Do you need to search the office?"

"Not yet," Bruce denied. "The way the scrambler works is it activates in stages, making the bug's transmission break up before it cuts out completely. If someone is listening, they'll think they have a malfunction."

"When they come to fix it, you'll not only learn the location of the bug, but who put it there," Alfred concluded.

"Exactly," Bruce confirmed. "I'll need to put up some of my own gear, both here and in the hallway. Truth be told, I'm not certain anyone is actually bugging the office, but until I can do a proper search, this has the potential to speed things along and possibly resolve the issue quicker."

"Very prudent, Master Bruce," Alfred commended. "In addition to searching for spies, do you know what you'll be doing here?"

"They're going to send me some files, show me what's available," Bruce explained. "However, I've already done some investigating into various Wayne Enterprises' holdings and contracts to see where they're involved and what projects they're undertaking. I have a few ideas."

"Would you care to share them, Master Bruce?" Alfred requested.

"I'll need to make some money for the company," Bruce explained. "My parents may have left me millions, but I could burn through it rather quickly depending on how expensive the price tags are on the equipment I use."

"Buying general parts and assembling them yourself could lower costs while aiding your security efforts," Alfred suggested.

"Good point," Bruce admitted. "Getting more satellites into orbit will be an expensive challenge, but if I can get the board to approve the funding, we'll be able to keep a better eye on Gotham. Taking in more money for the company might make them more inclined to loosen the corporate purse strings."

"How about any equipment you might require, tools and the like?" Alfred prompted.

"Research and Development should have what I need, but I'll want to look the place over and see if I can build any of it myself," Bruce answered. "Can't have things going missing around here; an investigation would be too risky."

"I heartily agree, Master Bruce," Alfred said.

"WayneTech has a lot of high end gear I'll need to duplicate," Bruce went on. "I may have to reverse engineer a few items and rework them to suit my requirements."

"How soon do you think you'll be ready to start fighting crime?" Alfred questioned.

"I don't know," Bruce admitted. "Getting the money rolling is the next phase of my plan, and it's also part of my public persona. Besides, one of the things I found out during my initial examination of online information was an intended partnership with GothCorp."

"Something wrong?" Alfred asked.

"GothCorp has always been shady," Bruce replied. "I haven't found anything wrong with the deal right now, but I can't shake the feeling something is going to go terribly wrong if the partnership goes ahead."

"Perhaps your crime fighter should pay them an unannounced visit and find out what's going on," Alfred suggested.

"Interesting," Bruce considered. "I'd need to know the security setup, alarm systems, number of guards and the weapons they carry, and I'll also require a floor plan of their corporate offices."

"Most of the information shouldn't be too hard to come by," Alfred told him. "What we can't get from long range surveillance, we should be able to find out with a disguise or two."

"Some large companies contract out their janitorial services," Bruce mentioned. "If GothCorp does, security might not notice an extra worker."

"Being a janitor would give you wide access while making most people ignore you," Alfred agreed. "Although, if Bruce Wayne is publicly caught poking around a competing company, you might be arrested for corporate espionage."

"I'll just have to be sure I don't get caught," Bruce determined.