Chapter 4 Road to Gotham City
Nancy spent the rest of the afternoon pulling up all files that she could on Oswald Cobblepot of Gotham City, New Jersey.
She found many articles involving his criminal pursuits.
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot AKA "The Penguin."
So, thought Nancy, here's a bird lover who makes it his mission to collect valuables, particularly when they have to do with birds. He has a limp in his right leg from a horse-riding accident at Cambridge. His particular weapon of choice were his umbrellas, which have been known to shoot bullets, spray fire, and to produce a knife from the end. The Penguin, who Nancy was now referring to him as, was also seen at the scene of the crime.
All she needed now was evidence that The Penguin had the Emerald Owl. For this, she would need to travel to Gotham City. She had heard that this was a large, rough city. She would need a reference there to see if she could get close.
She made a phone call to the Gotham City PD to talk to someone. A gruff sergeant picked up the phone.
"Sergeant Bullock here. What do you want?"
Nancy was taken aback. Was this how Gotham City police officers answered emergencies?
"My name is Nancy Drew, amateur detective, and I-"
Sergeant Bullock cut her off.
"We already have one of those. Dresses like a bat and jumps off rooftops. We don't need any more amateurs, honey."
The Sergeant hung up on Nancy. She was shaking with anger, but tried to imagine the situation from Sergeant Bullock's position. Who was this little girl, calling into a big city, trying to help? Also, she was taking a moment to consider his comment about "the bat." He must be referring to "the Batman." He was referenced in the Penguin files as being the vigilante who arrested him on multiple occasions. Despite his taste for justice, he was not an official law official, so Penguin was constantly released on technicalities. Technicalities aside, Batman usually beat Penguin to a pulp for his troubles.
Nancy's phone rang. She jumped in surprise. She gingerly picked up the phone.
"Nancy Drew?" asked a female voice.
"This is she," said Nancy Drew.
"This is Barbara Gordon at the GCPD. I want to apologize for Sergeant Bullock. He's a good cop, but he's rough around the edges. Did you have something you wish to tell us?"
Nancy related everything that she had to Barbara, going into exquisite detail.
"Well done, Nancy!" said Barbara. Nancy could tell that Barbara was smiling on the other end.
"I know how you feel," said Barbara, "I'm not an official officer. I'm the daughter of the Commissioner. I try to help out Dad when I can. We've been trying to get Cobblepot for weeks, but we never have any solid evidence for a warrant. The police department is in shambles lately. We've been under constant attack from that creep, The Riddler. He keeps sabotaging our computer systems and destroying our crime lab. Three-fourths of our police force are in the hospital from a chemical attack at the Gotham City Anniversary parade by Jack Napier, AKA The Joker.
I'm not saying that you are lying, Nancy, but if what you say is true, we need a bit more to go on. I do not advise that you come to Gotham City to help, but If you were here, I would advise you to be careful and to keep on using that clever brain of yours."
Nancy could feel the wink at the last bit of Barbara's speech.
"Will do, Miss Gordon!" said Nancy.
"Please," she said back, "Call me Barbara."
"Where are you going?" asked George as she saw Nancy getting out her black faux leather duffel bag. George was clad in a white blouse and faded blue jeans. A red checkered bandana was folded and tied around her forehead to keep her short hair up. Her hands were on her hips.
George knew that when Nancy got out this particular bag, she was not going on any ordinary trip. The black duffel bag meant that Nancy was going on a trip as a sleuth. This put a strain on George, because she knew that Nancy was going to ask her to go along. It wasn't that she despised these trips, she even got a bit of a thrill out of it. Her main concern was that these escapades were getting rather dangerous. Their last mystery involved a Ring Master's scheme to foil a girl out of her fortune. Nancy and George got jumped by his men, and awoke to find themselves bound and gagged, aboard a train heading out of the state. There's no telling what would have happened to them if they hadn't woken up, or if the goons had decided to do something worse to them!
"Gotham City." Said Nancy, filling the bag with two sets clothes, a pair of binoculars, copies of paperwork related to the case, and a toothbrush.. "Mr. Barnaby is paying all expenses for travel to and from Gotham. He's even driving me there. I worked it all out with Dad."
George was waiting for the last bit.
"Want to come along?" Nancy asked, "I can convince Mr. Barnaby that you will be my partner and backup."
George shook her head, but then relented with a sigh.
"You know I'm by your side, Nancy. Besides, Bess is on that field trip to the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory in Vermont. I had absolutely no interest in a tea tasting trip. I'd much rather go to Gotham with you, even if it is a bit dangerous. At least I won't be in danger of being bored." Said George.
Nancy grinned. "We leave at 6pm. I'll meet you back here."
George and Nancy arrived in Gotham City, shocked to see the state of things.
"JOKER'S WILD! JOKER'S WILD!" screamed a thug with clown makeup, running down the street.
George was aghast to see that an apartment complex was frozen solid! It was melting partially, but it was mostly one solid block of ice. Question marks were graffitied all over the train that had taken them to Sionis Heights, three blocks from the Iceburg Lounge.
"Are we in a dream, Nancy?" asked George, not convinced that such a place could be real.
"I've read countless news articles about this place. It's a lightning rod for exotic personalities." Said Nancy, as if she was delivering a dissertation instead of assuring her cousin that things would be alright.
"Well, let's get this Penguin and get out of here!" whispered George harshly to Nancy.