"Boss?"

I had been sitting at my desk, when I heard Butch's voice calling out for me. It was the middle of the afternoon, and I had much to do before my club reopened in a few hours.

"What is it?" I snapped. "I'm very busy at the moment and had requested not to be disturbed."

"Boss, a man is here to see you."

I waved my hand in the air and continued with my paperwork. "Another time, Butch."

"He's the GCPD detective."

I grabbed my umbrella and spun around, angered that Butch had not mentioned this in the first place.

"When you say that someone is here to see me, Butch, you tell me right away who he is, got that?"

I pointed the pointy end of my umbrella at the man's neck, causing him to become nervous.

"Yes, Boss."

"Send Detective Gordon into the dining room. I'll meet him there… Tell Valerie to join us as well."

When Butch walked away, I hobbled towards the back of the club where the long dining room table was placed. The roaring fireplace warmed my body as I took a seat in Fish Mooney's chair, the very chair that had become my own. When the doors reopened, Detective Gordon came strolling in with Leena following behind him.

"Ah, Jim, just the man I wanted to see."

I motioned to an empty chair. "Please, take a seat."

Leena approached my side and gave me a nervous smile.

"Is something wrong, Leena?" I questioned. "Your face seems a little flushed."

"No, everything is fine, Mr. Cobblepot."

When Leena had accepted my job offer, I had given her a strict set of rules, one of those rules being to address me as Boss or Mr. Cobblepot while we were working. The last thing I needed was someone believing that we were more than work associates.

"Good," I replied, sliding a notebook towards her. "Take some notes."

"Word is that you wanted to see me." Detective Gordon stated.

I smiled widely. "Well, Jim, I was eating breakfast the other morning and came across your picture in the Gotham Times. Word is that Commissioner Loeb fired you and that Fish's murder is under an investigation. She had an accident, Jim, one that can never be turned into murder… People fall off of roofs all the time, am I right?"

"With no witnesses, Penguin, there will be no evidence to call Mooney's death a murder."

I happily slammed my hand down on the table. "And that is why I like you, Jim Gordon. You are always ten steps ahead of me, and never beat around the bush. And seeing that it's coming from your mouth, the heavy weight I had been feeling has been lifted off my shoulders. Would you like a drink?"

Jim shook his head. "No thanks, Penguin. Valerie…"

I held up my hand to stop him. "Please, Jim, it's just the three of us. You can call her by her given name. I do believe Leena suits her better anyway."

Jim corrected himself. "Leena came and told me that you wished to speak with me, but the truth of it all is that I was going to come see you today anyway."

"Since when does Jim Gordon go out of his way to come visit me?"

"I need a favor, Penguin."

I relaxed in my chair, for this was indeed becoming interesting. "A favor? Jim Gordon is in need of a favor?"

The man nodded. "Yes."

"Then ask away, Jim. Whatever it is, it shall be done. Friend's don't owe friends favors. They do them because…well, because they're friends. I am the king of Gotham now, and your every wish is my command."

"Could you get me my old job back?"

"And how, exactly, do you expect me to do that? I have many connections, Jim, but unfortunately, you're my connection in the GCPD."

"Commissioner Loeb fired me, and he's the only one that can reissue my job."

"So, it's murder that you've come asking of me?"

Leena gasped and immediately interrupted. "Oswald…"

Oh, she had stepped over the line! I didn't want to be angry with her, but I needed to make sure she knew her place.

"Leena, you've been a very hard working assistant so far, but you're forgetting your place. I believe Jim and I will be all right now. You can go back to your office and finish your work."

"But…"

"Leena, you're trying my patience. I will deal with you later when Detective Gordon is gone."

I was happy that the woman had obeyed me and left the room, leaving Jim and I alone.

"I apologize for the interruption, Detective. She's still getting into the swing of things, I suppose."

"And I'm surprised you didn't treat her like any other of your insubordinate staff."

I faked a smile. "I'm sorry, Detective, I don't know what you mean?"

"Oh, come now, Penguin. I've seen your handy work…I even watched your crack a broken bottle over Gilzeen's head once. You have a short temper, especially when it comes to someone who's angered you in some way. So why were you soft with Leena?"

"Well," I sarcastically replied. "Leena is in Gotham's witness protection program and not to mention, I'm sitting beside a man of the law."

"That's not why, Penguin. On top of that, she called you by your first name. You know as well as I do that everyone in this establishment calls you either 'boss' or 'Mr. Penguin.'"

"And your point being?"

"You have feelings for her, don't you?"

It was true, but I wouldn't allow myself to believe it, or admit it to Jim Gordon.

"That's not true."

"Of course it is, Penguin. I see the way you look at her… Everything makes sense now. No wonder you wanted me to place her back into the club… You're in love with her."

I slammed my fist down on the table and stood up, my height over powering his own as he continued to sit in his chair.

"That is a lie, Jim… I don't love her or anyone else! My heart is cold and black… You know this yourself."

"Love is something one must not take for granted, Penguin. You may have done some things that you're not proud of, but that doesn't make your body immune to having feelings for another person. It's out of your control…"

I plopped back into my chair and ran my fingers through my thick wisps of black hair.

"I'm completely in control of my feelings, Jim, and I can assure you that Leena is a friend and nothing more. I owe her my life for taking me in, just like I owe you mine for sparing me at the pier. You will have your job back, this I can assure you."

"No murdering, Penguin. If you murder Gillian Loeb, everything will lead back to you."

"There's nothing wrong with having a little fun once in a while, Jim. And you just took the fun right out of this favor…"

"I mean it, Penguin…"

I crossed my fingers. "Cross my cold heart and hope to die, Jim."

"Good…"

Detective Gordon was just standing to his feet, when I interrupted him.

"Oh, Detective, that reminds me… I need a favor from you in return."

The man gave me a dirty look. "A favor? No, Penguin, this isn't how it works."

"What? And why not? I know how you hate owing people favors, so why not just get it over with now instead of later? That way, we're even."

"What could you possibly want now?"

I smiled widely. "When I took over the club, some of Fish Mooney's loyalists took a bunch of money that belonged to me. Two grand, actually...As they say "Finders Keepers…" Well, that doesn't work with me. I was the one to destroy Fish Mooney, and so everything she owned became mine, including the money she kept in her safe. I want you to track these men down and bring me back my money. Do this, and then, perhaps I will see about getting your job back."

"I will bring you your money, Penguin, but I want my job back, tonight! Are we clear?"

"Why is your job so important to you, Jim?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders. "It's so easy to change professions with the blink of an eye. Look at me? I went from being Fish's umbrella boy, to well, being Fish. The possibilities for you are endless, my friend."

"I am going to clean up the city if it's the last thing I do, Penguin. Gotham cannot and will not strive without the proper authority."

"And yet, you've come to me for help. I think the right term for such an act would be "calling the kettle black. But please, Jim, don't let me stop you from cleaning up Gotham City."

"Stay out of trouble, Penguin." Jim said, as he headed towards the door.

"You know I will."

With Jim Gordon gone, my smile faded and I hobbled towards Leena's office, anger coursing through my blood. I angrily barged in and slammed the door closed, causing the girl to gasp in fright.

"Would you care to explain what happened a few moments ago?" I snapped, limping towards Leena's desk. "How many times have I told you about calling me by my first name in front of others?"

"And since when did you become a murderer?"

"I am not a murderer, Leena! It was a joke, you know, something you say to lighten the mood?"

"Lighten the mood?" she cried. "Oswald, that wasn't funny."

"There you go again! When there are other people walking about this club, I am boss or Mr. Cobblepot…I don't care if you even acknowledge me as…"

"Penguin…" the girl snapped. "Is that what you want me to call you?"

Leena said the word as though it were slander. Being called Penguin by others didn't bother me at all, but when it came out in her sweet voice, it hurt me deeply, as if my best friend were taunting me behind my back.

"No," my body stiffened. "You may not call me that."

"And why not? Everyone else calls you that horrible name. And you stand there and smile at it, as if it means something great."

"It does," I growled. "It means respect!"

"Respect? How can that be respectful, when just a few weeks ago, people were calling you that name in order to embarrass and harass you? How do you know that when they call you Penguin now, they aren't doing so in order to laugh behind your back?"

"Because I am the king of Gotham, that's why! You know what Fish Mooney did in this club and you had no problem with it…So why all of a sudden are you changing the way you feel about what goes on here?"

"Because you weren't the one committing the crimes before… You were sweet, and kind, and…"

"And Mooney's weak umbrella boy!" I interrupted. "Is that what you want? You want a frightened umbrella boy?"

"The umbrella boy I knew wasn't weak, he was the bravest man I knew. Taking over for Fish has changed you. You've become this hateful person who shows no mercy to anyone, not even me. And now you're murdering Commissioners."

"I am not going to murder anyone…There is no harm in teaching someone a lesson, especially a man of the law who has done much wrong."

"You're not a man of the law. You can't just go frighten people you dislike, especially for Detective Gordon, no matter how right it may seem."

I was losing my patience with the girl, so much, that I turned my back to her and headed to the door.

"Well, Leena, if you don't like the arrangements, you can leave. I don't need an assistant, especially one that oversteps their bounds. Your job is to listen and keep your mouth shut….You obviously don't know the meaning of it."

"I quit!" she cried, throwing her note book to the other side of the room. "You're a monster, a crippled monster that should have died at Fish Mooney's hand!"

Leena stormed out of the room and headed towards the door, tossing and throwing anything that came into contact with her on her way out.

"Burn in Hell, Oswald Hobblepot!"

When the door to the club slammed closed, I was left standing there clenching my fists in an angry rage. Oh, how I wanted to snap her neck for calling me that!

"Boss, do you want me to go after her?" Butch asked, approaching my side with a loaded gun. When the man cocked the safety, it startled me and caused my body to slightly jump.

"Butch, where the hell did you get that from?"

"Fish's stash down in the basement. She'd be an easy target."

"Absolutely not, Butch… And put that thing away!"

"But, Boss."

"But nothing, Butch! If the girl wants to quit, she is entitled to do so. But, if she ever comes back, you have my permission to teach her a lesson. Are we clear?"

Butch sighed and lowered his gun. "Yes, Boss."

"Good. Now, be a good servant and round up Victor. He and I have a house call to make tonight."

For most of the day, I heard Leena's angry voice calling me that horrid name. Oswald Hobblepot! Oh, how the very name made my blood boil! The woman had an ill temper, one that was much like my own. But her temper was one that I couldn't match with, for she always knew what to say to make me angrier than I already was. That evening, I rounded up Victor, and headed towards Gillian Loeb's Gotham home. It was already extremely late by the time we arrived. I would have taken Butch with me to fulfill Jim Gordon's favor, but Butch didn't possess the wild and crazy personality that Victor had.

"So, who are we going to kill?" the bald headed man asked as he locked and loaded his two hand guns. I pressed my head back against the seat of the car and moaned.

"For the last time, Victor, we're not killing anyone. I promised Detective Gordon that no harm would come to the Commissioner."

"Then remind me again why I'm here?"

"Because we're going to convince him to give Jim Gordon his job back. The man is a stubborn fool, and he may need a little push…So, if he does, you have my permission to shove away."

This seemed to satisfy Victor, for he smiled widely and proceeded to get out of the car. Besides having a wild temper, the man knew how to break into someone's house without making a single sound. We entered the commissioner's expensive home, the dark hallways being very quiet and peaceful. Knowing that the man would wake once he heard any kind of commotion, I entered the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

When I heard a strange voice, I spun around to see the commissioner standing in the doorway dressed in his robe.

"Ah, Commissioner…I was wondering, do you have any peanut butter? Smooth, preferably?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, forgive me, Sir… I am Oswald Cobblepot, the king of Gotham. You've made me quite angry, for you see, you fired my good friend, Jim Gordon. And when people anger me, things tend to get bloody."

From out of the shadows, Victor appeared and pointed his gun at Gillian's head.

"Can I kill him now?"

I turned towards the window. "No, I want you to serve him some wine and cheese…Yes, kill him!"

It was all in good fun, for I had no intentions of doing so.

"Wait! I'll…I'll give Gordon his job back."

"Yes," I continued. "But then you would know that Jim and I are friends, and that wouldn't look good for him."

"Can I kill him now?" Victor interrupted.

"Of course, fire away."

Victor was about the pull the trigger, when Gillian's voice cried out again.

"I'll resign! I'll resign tomorrow….Please, don't kill me!"

I happily clapped my hands. "Looks like I won't have to kill you after all, Commissioner… Or, should I say Ex Commissioner…"

"Come, Victor, our work here is done…"

And just like that, we left the commissioner's house to return to the club. I was just sitting down at one of the tables in order to take in a glass of wine, when the doors opened, only to have Falcone enter. If there was one person I didn't want to see, it was him… But I faked a smile and stood to greet him.

"Mr. Falcone…What an honor it is to see you again."

The old man smirked and extended his hand to me. I was just reaching out to shake it, when his other hand grabbed me by the back of my neck and slammed my head down into the table. The light music that was playing came to a screeching halt, and my employees all huddled around to watch what was going on.

"Cobblepot, I believe I have been more than kind to you," he began. "I give you an inch, and you've taken a mile."

"Mr. Falcone…I…I don't know."

"Shut up!" he growled, slamming my head against the table again, causing blood to splatter upon its clean surface.

"I believed you when you told me how Fish Mooney was planning on taking me down, and I respect that. I told you the club was yours for the taking…"

"And I have thanked you ten times over again, Sir…"

"Then what's this I hear about you marching around the city and screaming to the

heavens that you're the king of Gotham?"

I swallowed hard. "I…I don't know what you mean?"

"As long as I'm breathing, Penguin, there will be one king, and one king only, and that king is me! You're a fraud…"

"M….Mr. Falcone, please…"

"No, Penguin… You broke my heart, and now, there are consequences to pay."

Never had I been so frightened in all my life. I wasn't sure what Falcone was going to do to me, but I could only hope he would be merciful..