A/N: Hi all. My junior year is done! All the exams are completed, and it's now time for a fun-filled summer of vacationing and writing (novels and fanfiction).
Sorry to keep you waiting all this time, but I hope this chapter lives up to expectations. Here, we meet a new SVU character who will play a big role later on, Stuckey confronts Fox, and the Joker reveals himself!
Disclaimer: I do not own either, but if I did you'd clearly know.
Please review!
As a wise man once promised: "I'm a man of my word:"
Chapter 9: A Deal with the Devil
"Five hundred and twenty-seven counts of fraud, eight hundred and seventy-five counts of racketeering, one thousand and nine counts of assault, three hundred and eighty-three counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder." Judge Liz Donnelly leafed through the massive prosecution brief on her desk during arraignment. At the people's table, she noticed Dent, Alex, and the other representatives of the DA's office looking smug; why shouldn't they, for it wasn't often that law enforcement raked up arrests in the triple digits. She flipped a page and found a joker playing card. Confused, Donnelly disregarded it and continued listing the charges. "Six hundred and thirty-two counts of extortion, five hundred and seventeen counts of grand larceny, and twelve hundred and forty-five counts of obstruction of justice. How do the defendants plead?"
"NOT GUILTY!" yelled the nearly one hundred defendants, the nearly thousand others watching the proceedings over closed circuit television. Noticeably quiet were the top bosses, all assembled at the front of the court. Maroni, Delia, Aleksayev, Velez, and Connors all seemed calm; Bushido and King were annoyed, while Penguin just fidgeted, eager to get out and handle the situation.
"Order!" Donnelly shouted, banging the gavel on the desk. "Mr. Langan, control your clients."
"I'm sorry your honor," said Trevor Langan, the very definition of an unctuous shark of a lawyer. Watching from the bench, Elliot glanced over at Olivia, who was seething; the antagonistic (at best) relationship between the two was GPD legend. "On behalf of all my clients, we plead not guilty to all charges."
"What a surprise. People on bail?"
"Your honor," said Harvey, rising from his seat. "The people request remand. The defendants are known members of several criminal entities that are renowned for their disregard for the law. We believe they are a significant flight…"
"Why don't you come up and say that to my face cracker," yelled Denny King, who had to be restrained by his lawyer.
Donnelly banged her gavel, her voice rising in anger. "Counselor, control your client or I'll have him removed."
"Calm down Denny," whispered Penguin to his de facto subordinate. "This isn't the time." Denny to his credit calmed down, only accountable to his secret boss.
"Now on the matter of bail, I'm setting it a two million dollars for each defendant, plus they will all surrender their passports."
"Your honor," piped Alex, rising next to Harvey. "The people have an objection regarding Mr. Cobblepot's bail."
"Excuse me?" squawked Penguin, though he expected this.
"Are you questioning my judgment counselor?"
"No your honor, but due to Mr. Cobblepot's reputation for violence and murder, we ask that more restrictive conditions be placed on him so as to prevent retaliation against the GPD and the public." 'Well said Alex,' thought Olivia of her cousin. By the smirk on Elliot's face, he thought the same thing.
"Your honor, if I may address the court?" asked Penguin, taking off his top hat and placing it over his heart. His gesture of humility made Olivia want to barf.
"Make it quick."
"I am a humble man, and I assure you that all my energy will be spent fighting these ridiculous charges leveled against me and my friends."
"Your loyalty and dedication Mr. Cobblepot is commendable, but it is exactly what we want to prevent. I'm amending your bail to three million dollars, and you are confined to your home with a monitoring ankle bracelet. We're adjourned."
Maroni, feeling like he could use a nice hot shower, turned to Harvey and Alex. "Well counselor's, I hope you're ready for the next round."
"Oh, I haven't yet begun to fight Sal," smirked Harvey. "Good luck running your criminal empires when your people are in jail."
"Oh Mr. Dent, you never know what friends we have stashed away for a rainy morning, Waugh, Waugh, Waugh," remarked Penguin, cleaning his monocle with a handkerchief.
"Is that a threat Penguin?" asked Alex acidly.
"Now why would you think that?" mumbled Penguin as the guards took him away. "See you later, Nuck, Nuck, Nuck."
The arraignment done for the day, Harvey and Alex left the courthouse, running right into Elliot and Olivia outside. "Good job counselors," congratulated Elliot, shaking Harvey's hand.
"Thank you Captain, now comes the hard part."
"What's that? The trial?"
"No," Harvey grinned, "Running past the Mayor. Are you sure you can't come baby?" he asked Alex. The blonde blushed at the term of endearment, making Olivia want to scream. The only thing she was more frustrated about than not being able to show Bruce her feelings was the way Alex was stringing him along, no matter how logical it was.
"Much as I would love to, I can't. Lunch with Liv and all that."
Now it was Elliot's turn to look at Olivia with betrayal. "Et tu Liv?"
Olivia laughed. "Come on Elliot, Munch will be there with you. As long as he doesn't make the coffee, you'll be fine." Chuckling, Olivia took Alex's arm and led her down the steps.
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Harvey Dent Sweeps out Mob: Pursuing State Level RICO Charges Against Gang of Seven.
Lucius Fox chuckled at the headline of the Ledger. 'Oh Mr. Wayne and Miss Benson, I do admire your handiwork.'
"Excuse me Mr. Fox." Fox looked up from the paper to see Dale Stucky, the head accountant on the JSF deal.
"Ah Mr. Stucky," he said in a cheery tone. "Would you like a scone? My wife made them herself."
"No thank you sir," answered Stucky, who even for him was rather chipper, as if having a huge chip on his shoulder.
"So what can I do for you on this fine morning?"
"I ran the numbers on the JSF deal as you requested, and the numbers are completely in the clear. You can tell our friends at Lockheed and BAE that the factories can state cranking fighters out soon. Bing, Bang, Bong." He slapped his knee, annoyingly chipper.
"Why that is good news Mr. Stucky, but couldn't a phone call or a memo have sufficed?"
"For this yes, but the numbers I ran on the shelved LSI Holdings deal popped up some irregularities.
"Well Mr. Stucky, their CEO did flee the jurisdiction and is now currently in police custody. Forgive be for being blunt, but isn't that a 'duh?'"
Stuckey smiled, baring his set of teeth in that annoyingly eager way of his. "Not with their numbers Mr. Fox, but with yours, namely concerning Applied Sciences."
This made Fox's smile contort into a frown; he leaned forward, giving Stuckey his full attention. "Excuse me?" he asked questioningly.
"It's funny how a whole division of Wayne Enterprises suddenly vanishes, all output and profits gone and replaced with several glaring expenditures, yet with no returns. Odd, wouldn't you say?"
"I'm not sure I'm following you Mr. Stucky?"
Stucky waved his index finger at him, "You are a smart man Mr. Fox, that's why I greatly admire you. However, due to my own awesomeness, I knew you were going to say something of that nature, so I pulled some old files." He removed a schematic for the Tumbler and laid it out on the desk. "Don't tell me you didn't recognize your baby pancaking cop cars on the evening news."
Fox didn't respond, his mind processing how to best deal with this.
"Additionally, your office has had several meetings between the big boss and an 'Unnamed Shareholder.' Don't you think it's strange that you wouldn't put who you were meeting with on the logs? Unless it was a certain Police Lieutenant who happens to be Bruce Wayne's closest childhood friend." 'This guy is smart, but does he really know what he's getting himself into?' Fox would have bet that he didn't. "So now, you have the whole R&D department burning through cash on, uh, what was it? Ah yes, cell phones and iPods for the Israeli Defense Forces. What are you building for them now Mr. Fox, a rocket ship perhaps?" he asked jokingly, biting his lower lip in triumph.
"So what do you want Mr. Stucky?"
He grinned, "I want ten million dollars a year, for the rest of my life, along with the company car of my choosing. Bing, Bang, Bong!" He leaned back in the chair, convinced he had won.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Fox took off his glasses casually and leaned forward over the desk. "Let me see if I understand you Mr. Stucky. You think your boss, one of the most powerful and influential people in the USA's business community and his best friend, the most decorated female officer in the history of the Gotham Police Department, are secretly a pair of masked vigilantes who spent their spare time beating criminals to a pulp with their bare hands." As Fox continued on with his questioning, Stucky's face fell slowly from smug victory to nervous fear. "And your plan is to blackmail these people?" asked Fox incredulously. At Stucky's nervous gulp, Fox smirked, "Good luck."
Tugging at his tie, Stucky rose. "Umm, you can keep those," he said, pointing at the schematics.
As the accountant was leaving, Fox called to him, giving a wide grin. "What was it you said Mr. Stucky? Ah, yes; Bing, Bang, Bong."
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"Eleven hundred and seventy-five criminals!" asked Mayor Garcia, an exasperated look on his face. He ran his hand over his face as if clearing his thoughts. "Dent, this is insane, even for you; I mean, you wrote the book on insane. And you actually got Donnelly to hear this farce?"
Harvey shrugged, giving the Mayor his trademark awe-shucks grin. "She shares my passion for justice. After all, she is a judge." Elliot smirked at that; he had really misread Dent, though it was a happy surprise rather than a sad one.
"Ok," answered the Mayor, "Let's say you get convictions out of Donnelly, and that's a big if. This is going to set records at appeal for quickest kick in the ass. Have you even considered it?"
"I have, and it doesn't concern me. The big guys can make bail sure, but the others are too poor to with Lau controlling most of their funds. They can't sit in jail for however many years trial and appeal will take. Their lawyers will take deals that include some jail time in exchange for their testimony on Penguin and the Gang of Seven. Think of what you could do with eighteen months of clean streets."
Garcia pursed his lips, pondering what Harvey said. "Mr. Mayor…" began Commissioner Munch.
"Out, both of you. I want to speak with the DA alone."
Shrugging, Munch began to leave, motioning for Elliot to come with him. "Well," said Elliot after the door closed. "That went better than expected, and my expectations were catastrophic at best."
"Don't be so sure of yourself Elliot," cautioned the older cop. "In my experience, once politicians get into a pissing match over anything involving anything, it starts to go down the crapper."
"Ok, please tell me this isn't going to end up being one of your CIA lectures is it, cause I've heard enough JFK stories from you to last a lifetime."
Chuckling, Munch wrapped an arm around Elliot's shoulder. "You have learned well my young padawan. No, this isn't one of those, just be careful, especially around Dent."
Elliot raised an eyebrow, "Why Dent? He seems genuine. Hell, even Liv is backing him up."
"Well Elliot, Olivia's been wrong before. I'm just saying, don't get too trusting. You of all people should know that."
"Munch, we have only one ace left, and that's Harvey. We need to go all in or lose the chance at winning to pot."
Sighing, Munch looked his protégé in the eye, "I hope you're right Elliot, I hope you're right."
Back in the mayor's office, Garcia was pacing behind his desk while Harvey waited patiently for the talk to begin. "How long have you been in politics Harvey? What, a year?"
"A year and two months next Friday," answered Harvey with the pride of an outsider who'd made it.
"Ok, fourteen months give or take a week. I've been in this business for fifteen years. Over that amount of time, you grasp a feeling of what the voting public is like. Voters Harvey are very hypocritical. They badger on and on about reform this or change that but in reality, they hate change. They fear change. When change rears its ugly head they take a shotgun out and shoot at it. The public clings to the status quo, it's safe, it's known; that's why President Bush's Social Security plan couldn't get passed, no matter how brilliant it was. The only way they'll accept change is if their dragged kicking and screaming into it like with Pearl Harbor or 9/11, or if a man with bright ideas and a great speaking voice leads them into it, like Ronald Reagan. You're like Reagan Harvey; the public likes you, and that's the only reason this might fly."
"Always a complement to be compared to the Gipper," said Harvey.
"I'm serious. Because of that, all of this is going to be on you. No one, not me, not Munch, not the city council, no one will join this with you. It's you and Stabler in this alone, and just remember, Penguin isn't your only worry. Everyone's going to be coming after you; politicians, reporters, businessmen, cops, anyone whose wallet's being picked clean. Believe me, if they get anything on you," Garcia said, standing right in front of his window, "All those criminals will be back on the street, followed swiftly by you and me."
Before Harvey could respond, something hit the window, causing the mayor to recoil in pure fright. Rising, Harvey saw two bodies dressed up like the Batman and Batgirl dangling from two nooses. He rushed to the door. "Stabler, we need you in here now!"
An hour later, Elliot watched as a cherry picker cut down the bodies from their nooses, easing them down to the pavement.
"What the hell happened here?" asked Briscoe, accompanied by Blaine, Dana, and Gordon.
"That," Elliot said, pointing to the bodies.
"Is that them?" asked Dana.
"Let me see." Elliot walked over to the two bodies, Melinda doing her preliminary workup. "What do we have?"
"They weren't strangled," said the ME, "But they were tortured. Knife and burn scars all over the face, plus white makeup."
"Makeup? Oh no…" Elliot removed the sheet off the two corpses and saw it. The faces were painted white with red Glasgow Smiles plastered on the mouth with lipstick. "The Joker, he's escalating."
"Damn," muttered Melinda, handing a card over to Elliot. "Here Cap, this was clipped to the female." Elliot took the card, which was the Joker's calling card. On it was a message:
Will the Real
Batman and Batgirl
Please Stand Up?
Or Will I Have
To Settle With More Fakes?
J
"Come on you psychopath," he said to himself, "What's your angle?"
"Cap!" called Gordon, holding a cell phone. "GCN's got something that we need to see right now!"
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The bar was packed with people, mostly businessmen and government workers looking to unwind for their lunch breaks. Olivia didn't feel out of place in her t-shirt and work jeans as she did at most of the places Alex dragged her to. "So Alex, who is this woman you want me to meet?"
"She's a very rich and very interested venture capitalist who is thinking of donating some money to Harvey's campaign."
"Then shouldn't she go to Bruce's party tonight. You said Harvey would show up."
"Yeh, and it'll take me a crowbar just to pry him out of the car. He's terrible at society events, just like…" her eyes were drawn to a red-haired woman sitting at a booth with a platter of hot wings. "There she is. Liv, be on your best behavior."
"When am I not?" she replied with a smirk, earning a glare from Alex.
The two walked, 'More like elbowed,' thought Olivia, through the crowd to the booth. "Olivia Benson, meet Miss Casey Novak of New York, New York. Casey, meet Lt. Olivia Benson of the Gotham Police Department."
The redhead wiped her face and hands with a napkin before reaching out. "Ah, the famous Benson as in Benson and Stabler?"
"The one and only," preened Olivia, glad someone recognized her public life so readily (her private life was another matter entirely, for there were bat skeletons in that closet). Looking at the massive plate of wings, drenched in hot sauce, she pointed at them. "Mind if I have one?"
"Please," mumbled Casey, already scarfing down on a drumstick. "Help yourself."
Olivia greedily grabbed a wing dripping with sauce, causing Alex to roll her eyes, "So you finally found a girl to do this with, not having to embarrass yourself with Bruce." Olivia stuck a tongue out at her cousin.
"Bruce, as in the Bruce Wayne?" asked Casey.
"Yep," replied Olivia. "He's been my best friend since we were in diapers. Why do you ask?"
"I've been very interested in acquiring shares in Wayne Enterprises. Do you think you could put in a good word for me guys?"
"We hardly know you Miss Novak," said Olivia bluntly. "How do you expect us to trust you?"
"Fair enough," replied Casey, throwing a picked-clean bone into the basket.
Trying to steer the conversation back to Harvey, Alex butted in. "So Miss Novak, you have a proposition you wish to discuss regarding my boyfriend's reelection campaign."
"Yes, that's why I set this meeting up isn't it? As you see, I kind of got distracted." She waved her hands over the plate of wings, causing Olivia nearly to choke, giggling uncontrollably. "Anyway, I have come to admire Harvey Dent's dedication to the cause of justice. For Gotham City, let's just say your reputation precedes you."
"Don't bother with the euphemisms Novak," said Olivia. "I know it all, we're corrupt, run by criminals, the joke that you don't call 9/11 but wave a wad of twenties until a squad car pulls up, and the fact that we let a man and a woman dressed up like bats clean the city for us. Yes, I understand our reputation." 'I am the woman who dresses up as a bat but that's not the point."
Looking flustered, Alex attempted to defuse the situation. "Look, Miss Novak, my cousin is on edge with the prosecution and all…"
"No need to explain; I was an ADA myself when Adam Schiff was District Attorney of Manhattan. I can understand how tiring your jobs can be."
That shocked Olivia. "You were an ADA?"
Now it was Casey's turn to preen. "Yep; got my law degree from Stanford University, then worked in the Manhattan DA's office for seven years. It didn't pay much, but it was worth it putting society's scum behind bars."
"If it didn't pay so much, how are you so rich?" Olivia knew it wasn't proper etiquette but she was in Detective Benson mode, and one doesn't stop Detective Benson when she was on a role.
"Always the detective huh," smirked Casey. Olivia grinned, for she was liking this Casey Novak already. "I inherited a large sum of money three years ago. I know, the first reaction would be to buy a yacht and sail the world with five Calvin Kline models, but I wanted the money to do some good in this world. I have a fund set up to give campaign cash to local prosecutors who defy the odds to get justice, and I want to add Harvey Dent to the list."
Nodding happily, Alex looked Casey in the eye, "So we'll definitely see you tonight at the fundraiser."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, and I hear Bruce Wayne throws the best parties."
"Oh, he's just the pretty face," quipped Olivia, trying not to think the ever present dirty thoughts about that pretty face. "The real genius is Alfred, his butler. I remember this one time when he…" Her eyes drifted off to the TV, which was turned to Gotham Central News.
"Liv, are you ok?" asked her cousin, concerned.
Rising out of her seat, she made her way to the counter. "Police," she shouted over the din, showing her badge to the bartender. "Could you turn that up?" The bartender nodded, turning up the volume. It was a newscast of police lowering down two bodies, the bodies of a pair of Batman and Batgirl copycats. Staring in shock, Olivia pulled out her phone. 'Bruce has to see this.'
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As the cleaning staff made the last minute touchups to the penthouse, workers hauling in chairs and banquet tables, Alfred dismissed the caterers, satisfied with their services. "I hope that you haven't ordered anything disgusting Alfred," cautioned Bruce, buttoning his white dress shirt as he trotted down the stairs from his bedroom.
"Come now Master Bruce, I've been told my taste is exquisite. Remember, I coordinated the logistics for your father's parties, and they were legendary if I do say so myself."
"Well Alfred, as long as you don't get any of that New Age health food crap that tastes like wet cardboard I'll be satisfied."
Alfred smirked, "I assure you sir, it's nothing like that. Based on the RSVPs we have gotten from your list of deep-pocketed donors, this fundraiser is going to be a smashing success for Harvey Dent's campaign. I hope that you find what you're looking for as well sir."
Bruce raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You think I'm holding ulterior motives?"
"Well Master Wayne, there are only two reasons for you socializing with people besides the scum of Gotham's underbelly; one is losing a wager with Miss Olivia, and this clearly isn't that. Second is the more obvious choice, impressing Miss Cabot."
"Much as it warms my heart that you know me so well Alfred, it's not that at all. This Dent, he seems truly like the savior Gotham needs at…" He was interrupted by his cell phone. "Hey Liv!" he said cheerfully, Olivia always putting a smile on his face. "I've been getting ready…"
"Bruce, turn on your TV to GCN now!"
"Olivia what…"
"NOW! Right Now!" Hearing the panic in Olivia's voice, Alfred switched the large flatscreen in the corner to Gotham Central News.
The Anchor was droning about a murder, the caption below him reading: Batman and Batgirl Dead? "This cannot be promising," quipped Alfred dryly, Bruce snatching the remote and turning up the volume.
"…beware, the image is disturbing." The feed cut from the anchor desk to what looked like a homemade video, set in an amorphous slaughterhouse, a pig's carcass dangling form a hook in the background.
Tied up on chairs in the middle of the shot were two copycats, one Batman and one Batgirl. "Tell them your names," said a nasal voice that so reminded Bruce of Heath Ledger (A/N: Wink). From Olivia's increased breathing pattern on the other end of the conversation, she was thinking the same fearful thoughts he was.
The camera panned in to the man, the shaky hands indicating it was hand-held. "Simon Marsden," he groaned through the mask.
The camera moved on to the woman. "Tracy Marsden."
Over the line, Olivia whispered, "Joker."
"Looks like it," was Bruce's reply, his and Alfred's eyes glued to the screen.
"Tell me Simon [giggles], are you the real Batman?"
"No."
"No? [giggles] And Tracy, are you the real Batgirl?"
"No."
"No? No, no, no? [giggling uncontrollably] Then why do you dress up like them?" he growled, yanking off their masks, revealing a young, interracial couple. He dangled the rubber masks in front of the camera, giggling like a madman. "Who-hoo, who, hoo, hoo."
"They're symbols!" spat the woman, Tracy. "Symbols that we don't have to be afraid of scum like you!"
"Oh you do Tracy," seethed the Joker off camera, approaching the woman and gripping her cheek with a gloved hand. "You really do!" He grabs her hair, only to be distracted by the man's whimper. "Oh Simon no, no, shh-shh-shh," he says in a mock soothing voice, stroking the man's cheek. "You know what you need my man, a little liquid relaxer, something like… ah-ha! Here we go," he flashes a bottle in front of the camera, unscrewing the top, "Vodka, just the thing!" He strides over to Simon and forces the neck of the bottle into his mouth. "Drink it. Drink it! There we go, swallow."
"Just kill us and get it over with!" screamed Tracy from beside her husband.
"Oh, that's the endgame sweetheart [giggles]; we still have a lot of important ground to cover." Bruce could hear Olivia's baited breath over the line. "So, you think Batman and Batgirl have made Gotham a better place, hmm?" The two stared at the ground, completely cowed. "Look at me. LOOK AT ME!" At the snarl, the two turned their heads slowly, eyes wide with terror.
Suddenly, the Joker turned the camera, revealing his face in all its glory. Bruce did a quick double take, for the security photos really didn't do him justice. "You see this is how CRAZY Batman and Batgirl have made Gotham!" He takes several deep breaths before continuing, puckering his lips. "You want order, in Gotham [licks side of mouth]," he deadpanned, stressing every syllable, "The Batman and Batgirl must take off their masks, and turn themselves in."
He looked away from the camera, seemingly done. "Oh, by the way, every day they don't people will die," he causally remarked, as if giving directions. "Starting tonight [giggles uncontrollably]." His voice suddenly became serious. "Be warned Gotham; I'm a man of my word." He then began laughing maniacally, the camera spinning out of control in his hands. Before the feed cut to black however, both Bruce and Olivia made out the blood-curdling screams of the captives.
A/N: Wow! You watch the first Joker video in TDK and you can see why Heath Ledger deserved his Oscar. Only wish Mariska had gotten one for the same film ;)
Who would have given anything to hear Morgan Freeman say Stucky's catchphrase? I would have!
Wrote the entire section in a day to make it up to you guys, so enjoy. I went to see Neighbors tonight, and I really recommend it.
Next up, the party gets crashed, plus a lot of original Joker action!
Please review!
