Chapter 8: Someone Like You
The lobby was crowded and loud with commotion. A man with blue eyes scanned the officers as they moved back and forth. He felt fatigued from his day, but he knew the night would be long as he continued his hunt for the bank robber. It was his duty, as commissioner, to keep the city safe. He'd taken an oath, just as the ninja had.
Gordon advanced toward the stairs and heard the noise of the station fade into quietness as he climbed to the fourth floor. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the silence as he came to his office and tried the door. Raising a brow, he tried the door again. He could've sworn he'd left it unlocked, but he shrugged and grabbed his keys, opening the door. Darkness surrounded the commissioner as he walked to his desk and dropped an envelope on it, taking a seat and turning on his lamp. No light came, and he scoffed as he started to walk to the outlet.
Click!
The man felt something press against the back of his head and he gasped quietly, stiff. "Don't move or call for back up," a deep, malicious voice demanded. Gordon tried to glance over his shoulder and see his assailant, but the weapon pressed harder against his head. "I said don't move."
"Okay, just take it easy," said Gordon. He could feel his heart palpitating, his life at stake. Who was this person?
The assailant nodded to himself, glad that the commissioner was cooperating with him. Unbeknownst to Gordon the weapon against his head wasn't a gun, but a stapler. The illusion of danger was necessary. And the assailant was Lucas, dressed in the Kevlar suit he'd gotten from Fox, a black mask over his face. The grey ninja kept the stapler against the man's head and watched him carefully. Gordon couldn't flee. "Now I think we can come to an agreement," he said, his voice low and deep.
"What do you want?" the commissioner demanded. "Who are you? It's a dumb move to hold a cop at gun point at the police station."
"I prefer to think of it as a strategic move, to meet with you in private." Lucas noticed a movement of confusion and slowly eased the office item away from Gordon's head. "I've heard rumors of this mastermind behind the recent heists. Joker. Tell me, what do you know about him?"
Gordon, feeling disgruntled, tried to glance over his shoulder again, but the weapon was on his head once again. He didn't want to release confidential information, but he had a weapon trained on him. "I don't know how know about this guy. You shouldn't be interfering with police work," he scowled.
"Funny, you once said that you needed the ninja's help to find this guy," Lucas mused. Gordon raised a brow. How did this guy know about his request for the ninja's help? "They declined until you find more information. What exactly is this guy trying to achieve? More weapons? Chemicals? Or is it just for reputation?" Lucas glanced past the man and grabbed the file from his desk. He read about Joker, but it wasn't anything he didn't already know. "You don't know anything about him?"
"Like I said, you shouldn't be interfering. I don't know who you are or why you're here, but you have exactly one minute before I call for back up. I'll take the bullet if I have to."
"I just have one more thing to ask you. Does this guy have any ties or connection to anyone else that's considered dangerous?"
Gordon was silent for a moment, but then snorted. "I doubt it," he replied. "There's this known mobster, Sionis. He's considered dangerous and works in the city slums. Powerful and rich too. We've searched everywhere for this guy, but we can't find him. It's considered suicide if you try and stop him alone." Quietly and discretely, the commissioner reached for the gun strapped underneath his desk. He was ready to catch the assailant off guard.
Puzzled, the water ninja thought about the man's words. A mobster who was underground and had some control over the city in his own way. Yet, he sounded absolutely impossible to find. Suddenly, an idea came to the brunet. "You say you've searched the city, but have you searched outside of the city? Like, in the shipyards at the port? Or in any of the warehouses?"
Gordon's hand moved away from the weapon as he pondered. It'd never occurred to him to search outside of the city's perimeter. There had been claims of disruptions at the shipyards, but the reports said it was false information. "Well, we've sent officers to the shipyards to investigate some complaints," he admitted. "They returned empty handed. It's not likely that Sionis is there or connected to Joker."
"Unless they did find clues about his whereabouts, but aren't saying so," Lucas stated.
Think about it. Sionis has money, and possible control of the shipyard. Your people would investigate, but hide the information from you. Maybe they're being bribed. You could have dirty cops on your hands, Jim."
The man felt lost. His assailant could actually be right about his men. And it would be under his nose without him even realizing it. Thy mystery man was talking like he was. . . a detective. "Who are you?" he demanded.
Smirking, Lucas tossed the stapler onto the desk and slowly stepped back. He had a lead now. "Someone like you," he replied, climbing through the open window and escaped.
Gordon stared at the stapler thrown across his desk as realization dawned on him. "Hey," he cried, drawing his gun and running out of his office.
Concealed in the darkness, Lucas quickly climbed up to the rooftop. Suddenly, his muscles became sore and heavy as he took some staggered breaths. He'd been fine before, but now he had a hard time moving, like his armor was weighing him down. After a minute had passed, the grey ninja had caught his breath.
The roof access door flew open abruptly. Lucas snapped his head around and watched Gordon pile out with two other officers, all armed. Without hesitating, the brunet turned and fled, the police tailing him. They shouted for him to halt, but Lucas ignored them. His armor was beginning to feel heavy again. The water ninja saw that he was running out of tarred roof and noticed another building across a wide alley. It was his only option for escape. Pushing himself to run harder, Lucas jumped.
He felt himself fly across the wide alley, keeping his eyes trained on the railing of the fire escape. His chest made contact with the metal railing, knocking the air from his lungs. Lucas winced as he hung above the ground. Something began to break loudly and he grasped the metal tightly as the fire escape's screws broke loose. In one swift motion, he flipped up and climbed to the roof, continuing to run as far away as he could.
Gordon watched his masked assailant escape and scoffed, placing his gun back in his holster. Being held hostage was one thing, but allowing someone to escape from custody was something he wouldn't stand for. He wondered if he'd see the man again. "Who was that, commissioner?" one of the officers asked.
"Just some punk," Gordon replied.
Lucas collapsed against a ledge and breathed deeply to try and calm his nerves. He pulled his black mask off and stretched his sore body. The cool breeze felt good on his face, but his armor felt heavier than usual. All of his stamina had been drained from his body. He wondered if there was any lighter armor at his grandfather's company that he could use, or maybe a weapon that would help him safely cross to far ledges. He'd have to visit Fox tomorrow and find out. But all and all, he now had a lead to finding Joker and stop the heists.
