I hit him harder than I should. Not sure why. It worries me that it feels so right. 
Nightwing (Volume 2) #2 is an issue of the series Nightwing (Volume 2) with a cover date of November, 1996. It was published on September 4, 1996.
Synopsis for "Gangland Express"
Inspector Soames took Nightwing to the middle of a landfill to kill him for Chief Redhorn. They exchanged a few words through which Soames evaluated him, and he decided not to shoot him. Soames was apparently an honest cop who wanted his town rid of corruption and enlisted Nightwing to help him. Nightwing agreed and Soames handed him the keys for the cuffs, but Nightwing had already freed himself. Soames tipped him off to a smuggling operation on the docks that "the law" couldn't or wouldn't do anything about. Soames said that he'd tell Chief Redhorn that Nightwing escaped from him using brute force. In order to make the story believable, Nightwing agreed to punch Soames in the face.
On his way back to the city, Nightwing considered asking Batman for help, but felt that he needed to prove himself and gain experience as a solo hero; he was also annoyed at Bruce's tendency to cut people out and his frequent lack of trust in others. Knowing that he'd need a long-term place to stay, he searched for an apartment and found one in Melville, a section within Blüdhaven. The superintendent of the building told Dick to look around and to come back the next day with the payment; if he did so, the apartment would be his. The apartment wasn't much, but Dick realized that at least he could be near the "action".
Come sundown, Nightwing started working off of the information that Soames gave him. He arrived at the Waterloo docks where cargo was unloaded onto trains. The same False Facers that attacked the Minh family were overseeing the transport and commandeering the train. Nightwing couldn't identify the other parties involved besides Black Mask's gang. Still unsure of what their ultimate play was, Nightwing started looking at the cargo to figure out what was being smuggled, but he only saw old and used cars. He was discovered by one False Facer, who started shooting at him. Nightwing knocked him down, but the bullets attracted the attention of several of his friends. The train had already begun to move and was gaining speed. Thinking quickly, Nightwing took advantage of an upcoming tunnel and jumped up onto the freeway, then used his acrobatic skills to get across. He took out a couple more of the goons, who had assumed he fell or jumped off of the train to the ground. Despite his brief victory over the Facers, he still felt frustrated at the lack of answers and his suspicion of Soames increased.
Meanwhile, at the Minh's residence, Soames returned the frozen egg cells to Mrs. Minh. She apologized for her husband being away on business. Soames had clearly been in contact with both of them before.
On the fast-moving train, Nightwing continued looking through the cars to see if there was anything illicit hidden in them. However, several of the False Facers managed to surround him and began shooting at him with no regard for their cargo despite the shouts of their leader in a fox mask. Nightwing then understood that the cars themselves were the items being smuggled, and intended to cause more damage to the cars by jumping out of the masked men's fire. The one in the fox mask who Nightwing had previously taken to calling "Foxy" caught him by surprise by ramming into him using one of the cars, but Nightwing bested him by luring him into the path of a train coming in the opposite direction. Nightwing escaped the gang by throwing himself onto that train that sped away, ending up with broken ribs.
Soames told Redhorn about Nightwing's "escape" and the chief assigned Soames to the Nightwing case until the vigilante was "out of the picture".
At his place, "Foxy"―whose real name was Reynard―was recovering from his injuries from the collision, saved by the car's airbags. He was visited one of Black Mask's henchmen sent to kill him after failing their boss. Reynard played the fool with his would-be killer just long enough to grab his weapon and kill his former coworker. Reynard then vowed to do the same with Nightwing.
Appearing in "Gangland Express"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Bridget Clancy (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Blüdhaven Police Department
- False Facers
- Black Mask (Mentioned only)
- Reynard
Other Characters:
- Bruce Wayne (Mentioned only)
- Madame Minh
- Freddy Minh (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Blüdhaven
- Minh Residence
- Melville (First appearance)
- 1013 Parkthorne Avenue (First appearance)
- Waterloo Docks (First appearance)
Items:
- Batarang
- Inspector Soames' gun
- L'il Igloo cooler
- Reynard's fox mask
Vehicles:
- Southbound Ashland Express train
- Waterloo Docks train
Trivia
- Nightwing's reasoning for not calling Bruce is that Bruce didn't reach out to him "when he needed [Dick] most." This is likely a reference to Bruce's decision to appoint the comparatively new and inexperienced Jean-Paul Valley as Batman (instead of Dick) after Bruce's back was broken by Bane.[1]
- Whenever Nightwing is out at night, a flock of bats is depicted flapping around him.
- Bridget Clancy has an Irish accent. Dick Grayson remarks to himself that "Irish accents drive [him] nuts".
- Dick states that his previous romantic relationship ended in a funeral.
- Clancy's face is never shown in this issue. Her face continues to be hidden in all appearances until four issues later.[2]
- A sign at Clancy's door reads: "Forget the Dog; Beware of the Super".
- Nightwing refers to Reynard, the False Facer who wears a fox mask, as "Foxy"; in turn, Reynard calls him "Pajamaboy".