AN: I love Jim Gordon. He's one of the great non-costumed characters in the DCU. I hope you guys like my version of him, which is part-animated universe, part-comics, plus a dash of Gary Oldman-Batman Begins for flavor.

Chapter 6

Allied insurance HQ…Ted Dandridge's office…some time later…

"Let me get this straight, you woke up in your apartment last night, realized that Batman was there, and did…nothing?" Ted asked.

"Ted, the next time you wake up and realize that there's a six-foot bat in your house, you can judge me. In the meantime, just listen. I don't know him from Dracula. The papers say he's a vigilante but for all I know, the guy's psycho-ceramic!"

"Psycho-ceramic?" interjected Captain Jim Gordon, a tall, broad man, with salty dark hair and thick mustache.

"A crack pot," clarified Ted, sparing a glance at the Captain.

"Oh."

Chloe turned to Gordon. "Look, I didn't do anything because it became clear that he wasn't there to scare me or get anything from me. He wanted something from my apartment. I figured if I stayed quiet long enough, I could find out what that was."

"And did you?"

"No, whatever he was looking for, he must have found it before I woke up. By the time I could get in position to see what he was doing, he was already letting himself out through the balcony doors."

"And you're certain it was Batman?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Is there more than one guy with pointy ears and a black cape who creeps around rooftops at night?"

"You never know in this town," muttered Ted.

"Captain," Chloe continued, "You know Batman better than anyone. Do you have any idea what he would want with me?"

Gordon sighed and put the pad he had been writing on back into the pocket of his trench coat. "I have been dealing with Batman for a while now but that doesn't mean I have any more insight into what he does on a given night than anyone else. I want to help you out, I really do, but I'm not sure what I can tell you, Miss Sullivan."

"Jim, don't forget that Allied has helped your department out on a number of occasions. CJ's working a very important case right now and I've got a feeling that the Bat's sudden interest in her has something to do with it. Now you'd tell us if she was in any danger from this guy, right?" Ted asked.

"The Batman's not out to hurt people…well, not law-abiding people anyway. He's a good guy. I've put my badge on the line for him many times." Gordon said firmly.

"Well, that's very reassuring but it doesn't explain why he broke into my apartment." Chloe said sarcastically. She was then struck with a thought. "You know how to contact him, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Well then, there you go, just ask him!"

"Excuse me?"

"It's called the direct approach, Captain. Perhaps you've heard of it. Just ask him what he was doing in my apartment. He'll answer you; you're his legitimacy in this town. Just turn on your little signal-thingy and have a chat, man-to-man. Or rather, man-to-Bat."

"I'm not so sure that he will…"

"Jim, come on. The Gotham PD owes us this much at least. If not for CJ's peace of mind, then do it for the case. Our investigation into that explosion might very well hinge on this."

Gordon let out a deep breath. "I'm aware of that."

Wayne Enterprises Building…later that day…

It was almost eleven by the time Chloe arrived at the offices she was using in the Wayne Corp. building. Not surprisingly, Danny was already pacing the office waiting for her.

"Where have you been?" he demanded as soon as she entered. "I've been worried sick about you!"

"Is it Cliché Day and no one told me? C'mon, Danny, you can do better than that."

Danny frowned at her.

"I left you a message this morning telling you that I was going to Allied first thing. There was no reason to get all excited." Chloe set her laptop case on the table and slipped out of her suit jacket, revealing a red-button down shirt with French cuffs.

"New shirt?" asked Danny.

Chloe looked down and shrugged. "Yeah, why?"

"You don't wear red a whole lot. You should, it looks good on you," he replied. "Anyway, sorry if my way of expressing my concern wasn't exactly original but you can't blame me for being worried. Lex Luthor, the subject of our investigation, shows up your apartment unannounced and acting like you guys are old friends. You kick me out without so much as an explanation, you never call me to say you're OK and then you leave me some cryptic message at six a.m. saying you'll be at Allied all morning. What am I supposed to think?"

Chloe flicked some hair from her face and looked Danny in the eyes. "You're supposed to trust me."

"Am I really?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you've been keeping things from me and probably the rest of the team. You never told us you knew Luthor before this case. That's a big detail to leave out, CJ!"

"Dandridge knew and he's the one who assigned me this case." She paused, "Alright, just sit down."

Danny lowered himself into a nearby chair and Chloe slid up onto the desk.

"Here's the Cliffs Notes version: I know I told you that I'm from Metropolis, and that's true but I went to high school in a town in Kansas called Smallville. I only lived there for about four years."

"Smallville, KS? Isn't that where all those meteors hit about twenty years ago? I think I read about it in my geology class in college."

"Yeah, the meteors," muttered Chloe. "Smallville's claim to fame. Anyway, Luthor Corp. operated a plant there back then. My dad was the plant foreman and Lex ran it."

"So that's where you know him from? He was your dad's boss?"

Chloe titled her head and bit her bottom lip. "Yeah, sort of. We had some mutual friends; it was a really small town…"

"Hence the name?"

"Uh…right. For a small town, there was a lot going on, though. Without going into too much detail, some of the stuff that went on wasn't exactly legal. Or explainable. I managed to witness some of it and it turned out that Lex's father was behind some of the really bad stuff. Long story short, Lionel Luthor tried to kill my father and me but Lex managed to hide us for a while. When we came out of hiding, I testified at Lionel Luthor's trial, and, as a result, he got sent to prison. You know the rest."

"You sent Lionel Luthor to prison? THE Lionel Luthor?" Danny choked out.

"I told you, it's the Cliffs Notes version. There was a lot going on that I really can't go into right now…"

"CJ, why are you even on this case? That's a pretty big connection to have with someone like Lex Luthor…" Danny stopped short and looked up at Chloe. "That is your only connection, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I may be paranoid, but Lex seemed pretty…possessive of you last night, almost like you and he had something going on."

Chloe looked away and Danny leaned forward to try to reestablish eye contact.

"Did you?"

"You are being paranoid but that's what they pay us the big bucks for, right?" she said, fighting to keep her voice light. "Hey, it's the obvious question right? Most of the time it is the right answer but not in this case. Lex Luthor and I were never involved that way, I assure you. And I haven't seen him in ten years. Not even once."

Danny shook his head. "That doesn't mean he wasn't interested. Or that he's not still interested now. You need to be careful with him. The guy creeps me out, CJ. In fact, I'm sorry I left you alone with him last night."

Chloe slid off the desk. "Danny, you're acting like a jealous boyfriend."

"And what if I am? And what's wrong with that?"

"Because…you don't have a right to be either."

They were both silent as Chloe's words sunk in. Danny looked expectantly at her, as if he was waiting for her to take them back. When she didn't, he nodded to himself and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to head over to the HR office," he said tightly. "They called earlier and said they had those employee records you asked for. I'll go pick them up."

"Danny…"

"Thanks for telling me…that stuff. I'll see you later."

Chloe pressed her palm to her forehead. 'Why did men have to make things so complicated?' She had thought that Danny's flirting was harmless but lately it appeared that he had stepped up the intensity of his attentions. She probably would have had to shoot him down sooner or lately. She just questioned the wisdom of having it happen in the middle of such a big case.

Wayne Corp. building…Later that evening…

Lex stood in the doorway of Chloe's office silently observing her for a moment before he knocked. To his immense relief, her accountant friend was nowhere to be seen. She was immersed in something on her laptop; reading, not typing, it appeared. Her face was expressionless, giving nothing away about what she might be looking at.

He rapped on the door with his knuckles, then flattened out his hands in the air so she could see him.

"Are you going to injure the other hand if I come in?" he quipped, indicated the hand she had scratched the night before.

"Are you sure you want to risk it?" she quipped back.

"Well, I think you're worth it," he drawled stepped further inside and pushing the door closed behind him.

"I wasn't aware that we had anything else to talk about. At least not anything that we couldn't say with the door open." Chloe said, closing the lid on her laptop.

Lex noted the deliberate movement. "You can't be too careful. Especially not in this building. You know that."

"I'll have you know I had the cameras in this room pulled this morning. Lucius Fox assured me that it was an oversight that they were left in here at all."

"Of course it was." Lex agreed, tongue firmly in cheek.

"Actually, I meant to ask you a question."

"Ask away."

"How did you find me last night, anyway? I know that it's not impossible to do but I'd like to know all the same."

"You were well hidden. All the major items – driver's license, bills, etc. - were well covered but your… charitable nature gave you away."

Chloe furrowed her brow. "My charitable nature?"

"Two years ago, a C.J. Sullivan gave $5,000 to the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington D.C. Now, how many C.J. Sullivans would donate that amount to an international charity that pays tribute to journalists who've died while trying to report the news?"

Chloe only frowned at him.

"Your address was in their database. Rest assured, though; I doubt that anyone who didn't know you would have made that connection."

"You should leave now." Chloe replied.

"No. I answered your question; you can answer mine, can't you? Are you feeling a bit more open today?"

"More open to what? To allowing you to try and sway this investigation one way or another? I wouldn't count on it."

"I'm not trying to sway you; I'm just trying to get you to look at this logically. Why would anyone here want that plant destroyed? Our companies stand to make a great deal of money off this venture. Far more than $200 million dollars."

Chloe rested her chin in her hand. "Maybe it's not about the money. Maybe it's about something more important than money."

Lex swallowed. "Like what?"

"I don't know, you tell me. You're the expert."

Lex planted his hands on the desk and leaned forward on them. "You need to be more specific, I'm an expert on quite a few things."

Chloe looked up at him and then rolled her eyes. "I know you are, and that is why I'm here. You're a brilliant businessman, Lex. You surround yourself with brilliant people. Maybe the bunch of you just decided that you could outsmart everyone."

"We probably could, but is it logical that we would destroy our own property to do it? Come on. Chloe, you don't believe that."

"You'd be surprised what I believe. For example, I believe that logic is misleading," replied Chloe, rising from her desk. "Most of the things I saw before the age of eighteen defied logic."

"Fair point but this isn't Smallville."

"Exactly, and I'm not a naïve eighteen year old."

"You were never naïve, Chloe."

"Wasn't I? I trusted Clark. I trusted Lionel, and I trusted you."

"Lumping me in with them again? I told you last night, I never intended to lose your friendship. It meant…it means a great deal to me."

"You used the wrong tense there, Lex. In case you missed the memo, you and I can't be friends anymore, even if I wanted to. I'm here to do a job. I've already spent too much time talking with you about this," Chloe said, shaking herself slightly and returning to her seat.

Lex followed her. It hadn't escaped his observation how she had unconsciously drifted closer to him as they spoke. He needed to re-establish the connection. When she turned again in front of her chair, he was right behind her. She blinked and sat down to put some distance between them.

"We communicated pretty well, didn't we? I seem to remember that we could talk for hours." He crouched down in front of her to look her in the eye.

"Perhaps, but not about the things that mattered."

Lex nodded and placed a hand on her knee. Her body felt warm, even through the cloth of her pants. To his surprise, she didn't jerk or shake off his hand.

"That's my fault. I shouldn't have expected you to simply know why I needed to put some space between us. It was that town, Chloe. Even though were we careful when you came back, the rumors were everywhere. I know you heard them too. I thought it would be better if we just took a step back until you left for school. I was planning on leaving then Smallville anyway. I just assumed you would understand. You always seemed to understand everything else about me."

"Lex, don't…"

"Don't what? Don't tell you that I missed you?" Lex placed his other hand under her chin, with his thumb stroking her jawline. "Ten years is too long to go without a best friend, Chloe."

When she didn't answer, he pressed on. "You want to believe me, I know you do."

Chloe shook her head, but still didn't pull away. "I can't."

"What can I say to make you believe me?"

Chloe opened her mouth to speak but it was a male voice that ultimately broke the silence.

"CJ? You still here? I got those…" started Danny as he opened the door and stopped in his tracks when he noticed that Chloe was not alone.

"I guess I should have knocked," the younger man said softly.

Lex dropped his hands and rose to his feet. "You'll know for next time," he told Danny.

Before either man could say another word, Chloe rose to her feet and began packing her laptop away.

"Actually, I have to leave anyway. I…lost track of time here. There's some place I need to be."

She pulled on her jacket and slung her purse over her shoulder.

Lex placed his hand on her arm as she moved past him.

"Can we finish this conversation later?"

"I…I don't know where I'll be later," was all she replied. Lex noticed that she didn't look at Danny as she left.

Danny, for his part, seemed capable of little more than throwing a stony glare at Lex. Lex had no time for posturing, which he made clear by saying to Danny, "Stay out of this. This isn't about you."

"That doesn't matter. If it's about her, then I can't stay out of it."

"Fine, have it your way but don't say I didn't warn you."

Gotham City Police HQ…later that night…

All investigators have their own tools of the trade, gizmos, gadgets and other paraphernalia that help them perform the job of gathering information that they aren't supposed to find. Certain things were almost universal: mini recorders and listening devices, cameras, lock-picks, hand-held scanners, etc. And of course, there are the disguises. Once again, every investigator has their favorites. Chloe's was the classic janitor, she owned three janitor disguises and kept one in the trunk of her car at all times. To her, it had proved to be the next best thing to truly being invisible. She always marveled at the tendency that most people had of looking right through those who had the unenviable task of cleaning up after them.

Chloe drove straight from Wayne Corp. to Gotham Police headquarters. She changed in her car, slipping out of her work clothes and into the baggy janitor's jumper and a pair of ancient tennis shoes. She covered her blond hair with a bandanna and added a pair of thick glasses.

She entered the station without incident, simply slipping in behind a group of officers who were going in as well. As expected, they barely noticed her.

A quick stop at the janitor's closet and she had her props: a grimy bucket and equally grimy mop. The first thing Chloe did after securing the elements of her disguise was to find the route up to the roof, where the bat-signal originated.

Upon finding the door, she tried the keycard she had found in the janitor's locker. It worked. She would need it to go up to the roof as well as to re-enter the building after she was finished.

'Next step: find Gordon,' thought Chloe. She had no idea when Gordon would turn the signal on so she had to stay close to him in order to know when she could make her move up to the roof. It had to be soon, since it was already dark out and Gordon's shift was technically already over. The man needed to sleep sometime.

She couldn't say exactly why she felt the need to be here when Gordon talked to the Batman about the previous night. All she knew was that something about Gordon's reaction that morning made her curious as to how he would ask the masked vigilante about the break-in.

She knew that Gordon was an honest cop. That much was practically written in stone on the steps of police headquarters. What she didn't know was how loyal he was to the Batman.

Shortly after leaving the roof entrance, she found Gordon's office. Through the glass door etched with his name, she could see weary officer reading through some reports as he sipped his coffee.

For appearance's sake, Chloe swished the mop around on the floor a few steps from his office.

Watching Gordon's body movements as he worked, she noticed how much he reminded her of Ted. He was and old-school cop, measuring time in coffee cups rather than hours or minutes.

Struck at the thought, she squinted to see how much of the liquid he had left in his cup. It looked like less than half a cup. If Gordon was anything like Ted Dandridge, he'd drain the cup, clear up his desk a bit, get up and get a refill before heading up to the roof. That way, he'd have a full cup to nurse while he waited for Batman to respond to the signal. She'd seen Ted Dandridge and other cops play out similar scenes countless times before.

Chloe casually pushed the mop and bucket towards the roof entrance before abandoning it altogether. After a quick glance around to ensure that no one was watching, she slid the key card though the slot and slipped up onto the roof.

Gotham City Police Headquarters was not a tall building but its roof was high enough to be chilly and windy after dark. Chloe scoped out the area behind the massive spotlight that projected the bat-signal before settling on an empty area nearby. It was behind the HVAC unit, close enough so she'd be able to hear Gordon and Batman's conversation but far enough to stay hidden.

Sure enough, just a few minutes after Chloe crouched down, she heard the roof door open again. Gordon, once again clad in his trench coat and holding a now full cup of coffee, appeared. With his free hand he slipped a key into a locked box near the signal. When the box opened, he reached inside and threw the switch. The bat-signal appeared on the clouds over the nearby Gotham River.

Chloe couldn't help but smile a bit as Gordon sipped his coffee as he paced back and forth in front of the spotlight.

After only about seven or eight minutes, Chloe saw a dark figure approach in the west sky. She blinked a bit because it truly looked like the figure was flying. Only when he landed did she realize that he had been swinging like some sort of urban Tarzan on black cables.

This was Chloe's first real view of the Batman. She has half-expected him to look ridiculous with his pointy ears and theatrical cape – but he did not. It was eerie; he looked like a part of the night come to life. His cape and suit were so dark, your eyes almost slid right off of it. The cowl covered most of his face, but not all. Only by squinting could Chloe tell that the man in the bat suit appeared to be light-skinned. Perhaps Caucasian, but she could not be sure. The rest of his features were obscured, even the color of his eyes was concealed behind lenses in the cowl.

He was tall and broad. The silk cape outlined a muscular back. The cape fell almost to the floor and he had it pulled around him, further adding to the darkness of his figure. Newspaper reports hinted that he wore some kind of Kevlar uniform with a tool or utility belt which helped him in his work but Chloe could not see them underneath his cape.

Batman didn't greet Gordon verbally, he only gave a nod. Gordon remarked on the speed of his arrival. "You got here quick. Slow night?"

Batman did not answer.

"Word is you were busy last night. You paid a visit to the home of an insurance investigator named Chloe Sullivan."

Chloe held her breath in anticipation of Batman's answer. Would he deny it? Get angry? Hurt Gordon? I was almost a full minute before he responded and when he did, his voice was low and gravely.

"What does she know?"

Huh?

"She woke up in time to see you leaving her apartment. She doesn't seem to know why you were there though she suspects it has something to do with the explosion."

"How did you get involved?"

"Her boss is an ex-cop. He asked me to find out why you were there."

"Don't tell them anything." Batman almost growled, causing Chloe to jump.

Gordon did not seem intimidated. "I know that, give me some credit. I'm just not sure how long I'll be able to hold them off. How much more time do you need?"

"Not much more. Our mutual friend seems to think we can finish this soon, as long as we take care of this problem with the insurance investigation." Batman leapt up on the wall of the roof, apparently readying himself to take flight again.

"What will you do?"

"Whatever's necessary."

Chloe tried to suppress a gasp, but failed. Unfortunately, it seemed that she failed pretty badly, as both Gordon and Batman looked in the direction of the HVAC unit.

"Are you certain we're alone?" Batman growled again.

"Of course we are. Only PD personnel have access to this roof and they know better than to come up here at this time of night."

"I heard something," insisted Batman, stepping down off the roof wall towards the area when Chloe crouched. She not tried to think about what would happen if he found her there.

"It was probably that old HVAC unit, thing's been on the job longer than I have. City won't spend the money to replace it though."

The sound of sirens blaring up from the street below stopped the Batman from investigating any further. Instead he rushed to the other side of the roof to see where the squad cars were heading.

"At least four units, heading south towards the Kirby Bridge!" he shouted to Gordon over the noise. "They might need help."

Before Gordon could respond Batman shot out a line and took a running leap off the south side of the roof.

"Hey, hang back a bit unless it's real bad. Let my guys do their jobs!" Gordon shouted at the retreating figure.

Batman waved an arm in response.

Chloe watched as Gordon finished his coffee and switched off the bat-signal before heading back downstairs. She let out a sigh of relief when the she heard the door shut behind him.

Her relief was short-lived, though, as the impact of the conversation she'd overhead really hit her.

"What the hell is going on here?"

End chapter.