Chapter 9: It's Not Over
Jim and Emma wasted no time getting back to work on the Joker case. They were horrified when they watched in horror as the Joker made a chilling threat and murdered a man on the local news. Both of them knew that they made a serious mistake in delaying their hunt for the Joker. Jim and Emma knew they had to stop the clown before he killed again.
As Jim worked, he thought about his wife and children. He reflected on the promise he made to her the day before. He told her that he would be spending more time with her and the children once the mob was brought in. He felt terrible that he would have to take those words back. Jim took a moment in his office to call Barbara. Jim listened anxiously as the phone rang on the other line. He knew Barbara would be disappointed. He could not bear telling her that he would be late again.
"Barbara," Jim began hesitantly. "I will be home late tonight."
Jim knew what Barbara would say before she said it. She asked him why he would be late again. She did not understand why he was late again. She reminded him that he promised to spend more time with her and the children.
"I know, I know," Jim said remorsefully. "I promised that we would spend more time together. I'm sorry. Look, there has been a murder. The Joker just killed a man on television. I have to stop him. I'm sorry. I will see you later tonight. I love you."
Barbara replied with "I love you," but it sounded forced. She sighed as she hung up with Jim. As Jim hung up, he ran his hands through his hair. He felt guilty not being with his wife. He only hoped that he could catch the Joker sooner rather than later.
At the same time, Emma was having the same problem. Just like Jim, she called her husband to let him know the situation. Ethan, of course, was disappointed. Emma was just as disappointed as her husband, but she knew she had a job to do. Emma knew that if the Joker was not caught, she would never see her husband again. Knowing this, Emma buried herself in her work.
Emma and Jim met in the main room of the Major Crimes Unit. Both of them shared worried glances.
"What have you got, Emma?" Jim asked.
"Nothing," Emma sighed. "I've got nothing except for that footage."
"Don't get discouraged," Jim said. "He can't resist leaving breadcrumbs."
Just then, Ramirez entered. "Lieutenant, I think we got something."
"What is it, detective?" Jim asked.
"This was pinned to the body," Ramirez said.
Ramirez showed Jim what she had. It was a Joker card, carefully preserved in plastic. Written in marker were the words, "Will the real Batman please stand up?"
"Get this down to forensics, detective," Jim instructed. "and inform me by tonight any information about the results."
"Yes, sir," Ramirez said dutifully.
Without a second thought, Ramirez hurried away with the card in hand. Jim sighed and exchanged hopeful glances with Emma.
"You think that will be enough to catch this guy?" Emma asked dubiously.
"I can only hope, but this clown is too good," Jim said glumly.
"What about your friend?" Emma questioned.
"I think he's the best hope we have of getting this guy," Jim said.
"Jim, I hope you're right," Emma said grimly.
"So do I," Jim replied.
Later that evening, Jim and Emma were still at the Major Crimes Unit. Both of them were exhausted as they continued to search for clues leading to the Joker's capture.
"Any luck yet, Jim?" Emma asked.
"Nothing," Jim sighed. "I'm afraid that this clown has covered his tracks well."
"We should check in with Commissioner Loeb," Emma said wisely.
"And be a step ahead of him. Let's go," Jim agreed.
Jim and Emma headed out the door. Just before they could leave, Ramirez caught up with them.
"Lieutenant," she called. "That Joker card pinned to the body? Forensics found three sets of D.N.A."
"Any matches?" Jim asked.
"All three," Ramirez answered. "The D.N.A. belongs to Judge Surrillo, Harvey Dent, and Commissioner Loeb."
"The Joker's telling us who he's targeting," Jim said knowingly. "Get a unit to Surrillo's house. Tell Wuertz to find Dent. Get them both into protective custody. Where's the Commissioner?"
"City Hall," Ramirez replied.
"Seal the building," Jim commanded. "No one in or out till I get there."
"Right away," Ramirez said as she hurried away.
Jim turned to Emma. "Emma, I need you to go with the unit to get Surrillo. Whatever you do, don't take 'no' for an answer. Get her back to the Major Crimes Unit as soon as possible."
"I will, Jim," Emma replied.
Without a second thought, Emma raced out of the Major Crimes Unit and jumped into a patrol car to find Surrillo. As Emma and her unit sped down the road, she only hoped that she would find the judge first.
Jim and Stephens headed down to City Hall as fast as he could. To his relief, Commissioner Loeb was still alive. Jim knew he had to be wary. The Joker could use any means to kill the commissioner. Commissioner Loeb was surprised to see Jim enter his office.
"Gordon, what are you playing at?" he demanded.
"We're secure," Jim said. "I want a floor-by-floor search of the entire building."
Stephens hurried away as soon as possible.
Jim turned to Loeb. "Sorry, sir. We believe the Joker has made a threat against your life."
Commissioner Loeb was not phased. "Gordon, you're unlikely to discover this for yourself so, take my word. The Police Commissioner earns a lot of threats."
Loeb took out a bottle of whiskey and began to pour a glass. "I found the appropriate response to these situations long ago. You get to explain to my wife why I'm late for dinner, Lieutenant."
"Sir, the Joker card had a trace of your D.N.A.," Jim explained.
Stephens then entered the room with a list. "Just the normal number of bad guys and they're all city employees. Here's a list."
Jim took the list and perused over it.
"How'd they get my D.N.A.?" Loeb wanted to know.
"Somebody with access to your house or office must've lifted a tissue or a glass," Jim explained.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jim saw Loeb put the glass to his lips.
"Wait, wait!" Jim cried.
Jim was too late. Loeb was keeled over as he clutched his throat. Jim raced to save the commissioner.
"Get a medic!" he cried.
Jim tried his best to keep Loeb alive. He furiously did chest compressions on Loeb, but he was too late. Loeb was gone before the paramedics arrived.
Meanwhile, Emma and two other officers arrived at Judge Surrillo's house. Emma and her two officers flashed their badges after Surrillo came to the door.
"Judge Surrillo, we've come to take you into protective custody," Emma said firmly.
"And for what reason?" Surrillo demanded.
"The Joker has made a threat against your life," Emma explained. "There were traces of your D.N.A. pinned to the Joker card we found on the body."
"I'm a judge. I'm used to death threats," Surrillo said nonchalantly.
"Ma'am, this man murdered a man on television," Emma said seriously. "This is not a mere threat. He's already targeted Commissioner Loeb and Harvey Dent. Lieutenant Gordon sent us to bring you into custody."
"Gordon wants me to leave now?" Surrillo asked.
"Yes," Emma replied.
"And where am I going?" Surrillo asked.
"I don't know," Emma replied.
Surrillo pushed past her and the two officers and headed to her car.
"Ma'am, I must impress on you the seriousness of this man," Emma said urgently. "He's not just some common madman."
"These are dangerous people, Judge," the officer said.
"Yeah, but you're not giving me a whole lot of information," Surrillo said stubbornly.
"Even we don't know where you're going," the second officer said.
Emma handed Surrillo an envelope.
"Get in and open the envelope. It'll tell you where you're headed," the officer explained.
Without a word, Judge Surrillo got in her car. Emma stood by and was about to call Jim on her cell phone. Suddenly, POW! Judge Surrillo's car exploded, sending the vehicle upward in a roaring fireball. Emma was knocked off her feet by the blast. When she struggled to her feet, Emma could see playing cards scattered about the inferno.
"Get the fire department!" Emma shouted.
Within moments, a team of firemen arrived at the scene. Emma explained to them that the Joker was behind the murder on Judge Surrillo. The firemen then told Emma to get back to work. Emma carefully picked up one of the Joker cards and bagged it. Without a second thought, Emma jumped in the patrol car and raced back to the Major Crimes Unit. When Emma arrived, she saw Jim and Ramirez with grim expressions.
"Jim, Surrillo's dead," Emma said gravely. "The Joker got to her before we could."
Jim bowed his head. "Commissioner Loeb's dead, too. The Joker used a poison on his glass."
Emma sighed. "Oh, geez. Is there any good news? What about Dent?"
"Dent is safe, thankfully," Jim replied.
"Where's Wuertz?" Emma asked.
"Not back yet," Jim replied. "He's bringing Dent home."
"Oh, thank God," Emma said with relief.
Emma took out the Joker card she picked up from the scene. "Ramirez, the Joker left these at the scene of the crime. Get this down to forensics, and let us know if you find anything."
"Got it," Ramirez said.
Ramirez hurried away with the card in hand. Emma and Jim exchanged anxious looks.
"I'm afraid this Joker is always ten steps ahead of us," Emma said. "Now we've lost our commissioner and a good judge."
"But Dent is still alive," Jim said with some hope.
"You and I know what will happen, Jim," Emma said. "People are going to start running scared. No one is going to want to put mobsters on trial with this clown running free."
Jim nodded. He had considered those consequences. "We have to stand our ground. The second that we show fear is when the Joker defeats us."
"Then we won't let him win," Emma said determinedly.
"No, we won't," Jim agreed.
The next afternoon, the Major Crimes Unit was eerily quiet. Only Stephens, Jim, and Emma showed up at the unit. Just as Jim and Emma knew, everyone else was completely terrified of standing up to the mafia after the murders of Commissioner Loeb and Judge Surrillo. Despite the growing fear, Emma and Jim remained sturdy.
"Jim, Ramirez got back to me from forensics," Emma said.
"Do they have anything?" Jim asked.
"I wish I could say that they did," Emma replied dejectedly.
"The Joker will leave us a clue soon. Is Mr. Lau ready for his day in court?" Jim asked.
"I've got a car ready to take Mr. Lau to trial," Emma told Jim.
Stephens wrinkled his brow. "What trial?"
"We are still prosecuting the mob, Stephens," Emma replied.
"We need Lau to stand trial if we're going to lock up his friends," Jim added.
"Jim, it's over," Stephens said forlornly.
"As long as they don't get to Lau, we've cut off their funds," Jim said optimistically.
"The prosecution's over," Stephens said. "No one's standing up in front of a judge when judges and police commissioners are getting blown away."
"Then what are we doing here?" Emma asked pointedly. "We have a job to do, and we're not going to run. Lau is going to stand trial. And the Joker will be locked up."
"I wish I had your optimism," Stephens said gloomily.
"What about Dent?" Jim asked.
"If he's got any sense, Dent's halfway to Mexico by now," Stephens replied.
Just then, Harvey burst into the Major Crimes Unit. "Where do you keep your trash?"
Jim and Emma smiled. Both of them were impressed with Dent's stamina. Jim and Emma showed Harvey to the holding cells where Lau was held.
Harvey shoved a bullet-proof vest at Lau. "You're due in court. We need you alive long enough to get you on the record."
"You can't protect me," Lau scoffed. "You can't even protect yourselves."
"Refuse to cooperate on the stand and you won't be coming back here. You'll go to County. How long do you calculate you'll last in there?" Harvey spat.
Jim and Emma stood by as Lau was escorted out by Harvey and Ramirez.
Emma turned to Jim. "Jim, I think that Lau was right. We can hardly protect ourselves."
"What happened to your optimism, Emma?" Jim asked.
"All I'm saying is that the Joker has killed our judge and our commissioner in one day, and we don't know who could be next," Emma said calmly. "Just be careful. For all we know, you could be next."
Jim nodded. "Don't worry, Emma. I won't be one of his victims."
"I hope you're right," Emma said.
Emma did not know it, but Jim had taken serious thought about her warning. Jim knew it was only a matter of time before the Joker came after him. He thought about his family. From that moment, Jim began to formulate a plan that would result in him becoming one of Joker's victims.
A/N: I hope you're enjoying this story! I appreciate the reviews. Thank you to all my readers! I appreciate it very much.
