A/N: Slightly longer chapter this week (4,900 words instead of the normal 2,000-3,000 words according to Fanfiction). Things are starting to get interesting. Also, Children Playing is moving to a bi-weekly update schedule as I can't sustain weekly updates with my current work schedule.
Gotham City Police Department
Police Report
Date: Wednesday, December 22, 1999
Time: 22:29
"Twenty says Flynn asks him out."
Leon resisted the urge to turn around and ask the officers huddled in the corner what they were talking about although he knew all about it. He had been hearing a lot of similar talk around the station about Flynn and him. Her act of buying him a coffee had not gone unnoticed nor did her habit of stealing him to go up to the roof. Apparently a betting pool was starting up. He had to fight not to laugh when he overheard Dmitri speak up and reply, "Forty says Ellie is taken and doesn't."
"How do you know?" another officer asked.
"I'm her fiancé!"
There was a slight pause before the same officer replied, "Sixty on Leon!"
Leon would have started to laugh if Flynn didn't suddenly slam a file folder onto his desk before glaring at him. "Smokes. Roof. Now!"
Knowing resistance was futile and suicidal, Leon shrugged on his coat and followed Flynn to the roof. Behind him he heard one of the officers say to Dmitri, "Don't worry. There are other fish in the sea."
Once on the roof, Flynn started to furiously devour her chocolate sticks. Leon instead pulled out a package of gum and started to chew one of the pieces. Finally, Flynn opened her mouth for a reason other than to take a bite of her chocolate covered biscuit sticks.
"Who the hell does she think she is?"
Leon shrugged. He wasn't quite sure why he had been kidnapped instead of Dmitri but he figured it was safer to keep his mouth shut and avoid Flynn's wrath than to derail her incoming rant and ask her.
"Acting like my family was her business! So what if my sisters are dead? And acting like I'm a homicidal maniac who wants to kill all of Gotham just to avenge them takes the cake!" She furiously bit into another stick. "I'd think she was on the take from the real thieves if I didn't know better."
"Who?"
Leon almost wished he had kept his mouth shut when Flynn turned to face him. Her eyes were fiery pits like when she told him about white collar crime.
"Montoya. That bitch just suggested I took the vials from Umbrella or was on the take just because my sister died with the city." She furiously stuffed five sticks into her mouth. "I swear that woman makes me so mad, I could just—" Flynn appeared to be trying to get control over her anger as she inhaled and exhaled.
"I thought your sister died of cancer two years ago."
Flynn nodded as she slowly ate another stick. "My big sis, yeah. My baby sister was a grade school teacher in Raccoon City. She died last year when the terrorists launched that missile." She paused to eat another stick at a much slower pace. "No idea why that would make me hate Umbrella though. It's not like they sold the terrorists the missiles."
Leon was silent as he chewed his gum. Of course Flynn would think it was terrorists. She knew there was no nuclear reactor in Raccoon City but she probably didn't read the National Enquirer. She probably got the idea of terrorists from the Gotham Times.
Finally, she sighed and smiled at him. Most men would have rejoiced that the woman had calmed down. Leon, however, knew Flynn and braced himself for another eruption. "Thanks for listening," she said. "Normally I would have kidnapped Dmitri but since he's on the MCU, it wouldn't exactly be professional."
Leon nodded, still braced for the incoming explosion. "No problem."
Unfortunately, he was right. Flynn's eyes suddenly narrowed into a glare. "Speaking of being unprofessional, why haven't you done anything about my tip?"
His mind was completely blank until he remembered the paper stuck to the bottom of his coffee. Since Flynn was still glaring at him, he said the only thing he could think of. "I forgot."
Her eyes narrowed more. "You forgot."
"I never got the chance to read it because Montoya wanted to talk to me and then." He fell silent as he struggled to think of what else to say. "I forgot."
"Well that figures," Flynn replied as she calmly ate another stick. "If your questioning was half as bad as mine, I'm amazed you know your own name right now." The woman suddenly stretched. "Anyways, the tip wasn't too time-sensitive. Just that Gaspari apparently is in a turf war with another gang called the Black Mask. My guess is that the cop saw Gaspari roughing up a few businesses where the Mask launders his money asking for protection money."
"What would that do?"
"Basically take the money out of the Mask's pocket and put it into Gaspari's." Flynn shrugged. "That's just my guess judging by what you said but I'll keep you posted if I find anything else out. Just let me know if they come to visit you again."
Leon nodded and the two officers turned when there was a knock on the door to the roof. It opened revealing Commissioner Gordon. "I'd hate to break up this little meeting," he said with a smile, "but I need two officers to take Tacey Hill back to his cell in Arkham."
"We're on it," replied Flynn before Leon could reply.
The commissioner nodded and disappeared into the warm building. A second later, Flynn and Leon joined him. Leon then followed Flynn to the holding cells where the escapee, Tacey Hill, was being held. The man had a narrow face and his hair was cut close to the skull. He was dressed in a straitjacket and his ankles were shackled together. On the side of his head by his temple was a small tattoo in the shape of a red triangle and a spear. Bloodshot eyes watched the officers' movements. Flynn unlocked the door while Leon entered the cell. He wasn't expecting trouble but if Hill made a wrong move he was going to taste steel bars. The police training, Leon learned, worked well against normal human opponents and T-virus creatures but Gotham criminals required a whole new approach. After being beaten so many times, Leon had tied down Hakim (a black belt) to help him improve.
Grabbing Hill underarm, Leon tried to gently raise him to his feet. The ankle chains made this a bit difficult but they managed. Once out of the cell, Flynn grabbed Hill's other arm. They were able to get Hill into the back of the cruiser without a problem and he sat there, silent for the entire journey. Almost too silent for Leon's tastes as he recalled another silent backseat passenger suddenly attacking him when he drove a cruiser in Raccoon City.
Flynn was also unusually quiet. Her lips were pulled into a tight line and her eyes were narrow. She was checking her gun and even pulled out the shotgun stored in the center console to check it.
"Are we going into a warzone?" Leon said in an attempt to break the silence.
Flynn nodded as she handled the gun. "When you go to Arkham Asylum you have to be prepared for the worst. Every time an inmate escapes, the security tries to fill in all the holes but somehow the crazies always find a new one."
"I heard there was a mass escape a couple months back."
Flynn nodded. "We managed to get most of the crazies back but there are still a few running around." She placed the shotgun back into the center console. "Things have been quiet since the Joker escaped which means we're due for another breakout or riot pretty soon. A word of warning, don't think of the place as an asylum. It's a prison and everyone treats it as such. Got it?"
He nodded and turned onto a side street. A lift bridge suddenly appeared before them. It was currently up forming a rift between the small island called the Narrows where Arkham was and the rest of Gotham. Three story high chain-link fences and barbed wire bordered the island. Searchlights traveled over the area and from his place in the car, Leon could spot a pair of armed guard standing by the bridge. Beyond the bridge was flat land surrounded and divided by the same high fences and barbed wire that bordered the outside perimeter. In the center was a group of buildings. The one in the middle was larger than the rest of the buildings put together. Having never been to Arkham, Leon could only guess that the smaller buildings were the library, infirmary, and other miscellaneous buildings needed on the island. The larger building was most likely where the inmates were housed. Although all the buildings were lit, only the largest one seemed to glow. Glancing at it, Leon felt he would have preferred if the building was completely dark. Maybe then it wouldn't seem so ominous.
When they arrived at the bridge, he halted the car. One of the guards approached carrying a shotgun. The other had a flashlight which he shone into the police cruiser. Leon narrowed his eyes against the light and pulled out his police shield which carried his identification number. "Officer Kennedy and Flynn. We're dropping off Tacey Hill."
The flashlight moved to the back of the car. After studying Hill for a moment, the officer turned to Leon and then began to list off rules and protocol for their trip onto the island. Leon tried to listen but he was distracted by Flynn speaking with the other officer.
"Hey Martin, how are things?"
"Tense," replied the man with the shotgun. "Word from HQ is that some of the crazies are getting restless. Two from Two-Face's gang tried to make a break for it. They were caught, of course."
"At least you just have to sit back here and try to stop people from coming in."
"Or we're the last line of defense to stop them from getting out," Martin replied. He shivered. "At least those boys inside have proper heating. When you see the warden, tell 'im we're freezing out here."
"Will do."
The other officer had finished his lecture and returned to the small building beside the bridge. Moments later, the bridge descended to create a path over to the asylum. Leon nodded at the guards before he drove the car forward. Hill seemed to have fainted in the backseat. He was slouched over the seat. Leon couldn't tell if his eyes were even open. However, he wasn't going to stop the car to find out. Searchlights bathed the car in white light as though a spaceship was hovering overhead waiting to take them to the mothership. He had no doubts that if he stepped out of the car he would be shot on sight.
From what he saw, Flynn didn't look into the backseat although she did remove the shotgun from the console again. Obviously, she expected something to happen. As they neared the largest building, Leon felt his grip on the steering wheel tighten. His eyes searched the darkness for signs of movement and he found himself suddenly thankful for the searchlights. At least this way he could see danger coming.
Finally, they arrived at the building. Above the door was a sign saying, "Arkham Asylum Penitentiary." Waiting at the door were two doctors or orderlies dressed in blue scrubs, and two security officers. The security guards were a male and a female. They wore face masks as though they were playing hockey. However, instead of wooden sticks in their hands they carried lethal guns and attached to their belts were items that looked like grenades. Most likely they were filled with teargas and smoke bombs. They also wore black body armour with the words security written on the front and back.
Leon parked the car and he and Flynn exited it. When he opened the backdoor, he expected Hill to glance in his direction. Instead the man remained slouched over. He had fainted. With some elbow grease, Leon, Flynn, and the two security guards were able to remove Hill from the car. The doctors approached as Leon and the male guard held the unconscious Hill. They muttered to themselves before nodding to the security guards. Leon expected the doctors to take Hill from him and the guard but the doctors turned and walked into the building. Leon started to ask what was going on when he recalled Flynn's words. Arkham Asylum really was like a prison, he thought. The female guard and Flynn turned and walked towards the building leaving Leon and the male guard to carry Hill into the penitentiary. He started to ask about a wheelchair or a gurney to place Hill on but a look from Flynn silenced him. Apparently, Arkham made with its own set of rules and laws. He wasn't sure if that made him feel safer or more worried.
The walk to Hill's cell was a slow one due to Leon and the guard having to drag the unconscious man there. The route to the cell was filled with the opening of doors and twisting doorways. It appeared whoever created the asylum went out of their way to make it confusing. When Leon asked the guards about it, he learned it was completely intentional. Apparently each hallway was lined with twenty cells and was referred to as cell-rows. These cell-rows were numbered. A group of ten cell-rows was then called a cell-block which was given a letter. Finally, ten cell-blocks created a section which was given a name. Hill's cell was called Cell 2-3GBeta which translated as cell 2 in cell-row 3 of cell-block G in section Beta.
While the idea made sense, it was a huge pain when the group was making their way to Hill's cell. Every door which led to the various sections and subsections of the asylum were electronically locked. Also, they had to pause at each door so the female guard could remove her key card and swipe it through the card reader because according to protocol the card was supposed to remain in her pocket unless being used.
Unfortunately, the length of the trip was also increased because every so often they would have to pause and wait for Flynn and the other guard to clear the way of inmates who were being transferred to other areas of the asylum. TVs with a man speaking of the accomplishments of Arkham appeared every thirty feet or so. Announcements often interrupted the video. Thankfully, none of the announcements seemed to suggest any danger. A few of the patients heckled the group as they walked pass cell after cell. Leon ignored them without a problem although a few times Flynn would point the shotgun at them and dare them to repeat themselves.
Finally, they reached the cell. Unfortunately, Hill returned to the land of the living as the female guard reached for her key card. When the man spotted the bars in front of him, he began to struggle. Leon tightened his grip on Hill while the guard attempted to gain control over the man. Meanwhile, the prisoners on either side of the hallway where Hill's cell was started to chant. Flynn and the female guard shouted at them to shut up as the chant grew louder.
"Es-cape. Es-cape. Es-cape."
"Open the damn door!" shouted the male guard.
The female guard hurried to obey while Flynn shouted at the inmates. When the door was open, Leon and the guard pushed Hill in and slammed the door shut. The inmates stopped chanting and returned to heckling the officers.
"Tell it to someone who cares," replied Flynn after one of them suggested she join him in his cell.
Leon didn't reply when one of the prisoners suggested the same thing to him and the male guard.
The group of law enforcers quickly left the cellblock. As the heckling died down, Leon allowed himself to relax. He had almost completed the drop off. All he had to do was reach the main core of the asylum located on the top floor. There he and Flynn would fill out a few forms. Then he could drive back to the station and fill out some more paperwork before going home for the night. Flynn and the female guard appeared to feel the same way as they were trading stories about annoying pests. Only the male guard appeared on high alert.
The trip to the main core was far faster than the trip to Hill's cell although the distance was farther. As would be expected, the path to the main core was heavily secured. Before even entering the hallway that led to the control room, they had to pass through two security points. Apparently the points were added after an inmate managed to kidnap/murder a visiting police officer and steal her clothing to escape. At the first security point Leon's, Flynn's, and the two guards' identities were checked as were their weapons. At the second, they were patted down to make sure they weren't carrying any explosives or undeclared dangerous weapons. They were also forced to leave their weapons at the checkpoint. Although this would be the first time since Raccoon City that Leon did not have a firearm within reach, he mistakenly believed he would be alright. He handed not only the Glock to the security guard but also his combat knife. A second later he had the strongest desire to take them back. He told himself he was being stupid. He told himself that the control room would be the last station to be overrun. He told himself to stop acting like a little kid. None of it helped.
As he followed the guards and Flynn into the control room, all he wanted to do was turn around and get his weapons. However, he had a job to do so he quickly finished his paperwork and tried not to appear too impatient while he waited for Flynn to finish hers. He didn't realize he was tapping his foot until the female guard coughed and pointedly looked at him. Upon realizing it, he tried to focus on something other than how he was completely unarmed. He glanced around the control room in an attempt to distract himself. The walls were covered wall to wall with TV monitors. Most were divided screens and a few even showed heartbeats like an EKG machine. There were at least twenty people in the room. Most were wearing headsets with microphones and were speaking into them. The room had the feeling of a mission control like in the spy movies. The image of 007 walking into the room to be briefed caused Leon to smile briefly. He hadn't seen a movie in a while. Mostly because of the hours he was working but also because most of the movies he used to watch no longer interested him. It was hard to be interested in horror or action movies after surviving one.
Leon barely shook his head. I hadn't gone to the movies for a while even before then, he thought. The last movie I went to was the comedy Mom and Dad wanted to see before—
"All done."
He blinked as he found himself suddenly pulled out of his thoughts. Flynn handed the pen she had borrowed back to one of the people at the monitors. She flashed him a smile as she rose from the chair. "Now we can go get your baby."
Leon frowned but decided not to comment. It never really occurred to him that anyone would notice his almost obsessive need to have a weapon on his person. However, it was obvious that someone had and he did not welcome the suggestion. However, he had to admit he was relieved to have his combat knife back in its carrier and his Glock in his hand. He was even happier to be leaving the asylum. He couldn't understand how the guards lived with the stress of the job. Of course, his parents had questioned his choice of career when he informed them as well. Regardless, Leon was happy to be leaving the island.
Unfortunately, they were unable to leave.
"Is this some sort of joke?" Leon demanded when he found the door electronically locked.
"If it is, it's a bad one," replied the male guard. "My pass isn't working."
Meanwhile the female guard was speaking into the radio on her vest. "HQ, do you read? We're just outside Security Point B. The door to Point A isn't opening."
Leon glanced at Flynn and found her standing with the shotgun at the ready. "How good are you with your gun?" she asked.
"Good enough," Leon replied. "Why?"
"Because we just walked out of the frying pan and into the fire."
Leon started to ask what she meant when they all heard an electronic beep. The male guard pulled at the door and it opened. Chaos was waiting for them standing beyond the Plexiglas windows which protected the guards who checked the identification.
"Damn," muttered Leon as he raised his weapon.
One of the inmates turned and grinned at them as he snapped a guard's neck. More pummeled the windows, no doubt wishing to bathe their hands in blood. There was another beep and Leon glanced towards the door to the security point. The war cries suddenly increased in volume. He saw the door open. A person armed with a pipe entered. Leon didn't wait to issue an order. He raised his weapon and began to fire.
Gotham City Police Department
Police Report
Date: Wednesday, December 22, 1999
Time: 22:55
"The waterways look fine down here too," Batman said. "But I haven't checked the Narrows yet."
Since discovering that the B-virus was in possession of Talia al Ghul, Batman had made it top priority to find her base or at least where she may try to stage her attack. He had found nothing so far. This could almost be considered a good thing since it meant Talia hadn't put her plan into motion yet. At each location, he left a small motion sensing device and camera connected to the cave. If anyone later came to those areas, he would know about it.
"Well I hope you have more luck when it comes to appearing at the fundraiser on time," Alfred's voice replied. The butler then muttered to himself as a shout came over the police radio frequencies. Over the speaker in Batman's cowl, Alfred said, "You might want to check Arhkam Asylum now. It appears there has been a riot. Several police officers and security staff have been taken hostage while many of the criminals are taking their chances and are trying to escape alone. Most of the police force outside the Narrows has been able to capture them but the island is completely cut off from the city."
"Send the plane around. I'm going topside." The timing was just suspicious enough to cause him to wonder if it was part of the plan created when the vials were stolen. However, Arkham was due for trouble. But if the riot was part of a plan, was this the main stage or just a distraction?
Gotham City Police Department
Police Report
Date: Wednesday, December 22, 1999
Time: 23:00
"Well at least the Clayface isn't back yet otherwise he'd have a fist of clay with your name written on it."
Leon stared at Flynn for a second. They were surrounded by some dead and more wounded inmates. Most of them were bleeding from gunshot wounds or suffering from a concussion due to them being thrown into a wall. Only Leon was relatively unharmed out of the team due to his tendency to aim for the head without missing. In his mind, the situation did not allow for making jokes.
Flynn shrugged, most likely as a reaction to Leon's disbelief. "Don't take life seriously," she said as she attempted a grin. "You'll never get out alive."
The male and female guard chuckled weakly from their place on the ground where they were sitting. It must have been a local thing because Leon did not see how making jokes was going to make anything better. If the convicts had managed to nearly overrun one of the most secure locations, odds were they had managed to overrun most of the asylum. He glanced at Flynn for an explanation but she shook her head at him. Meanwhile, the male guard had managed to stand and was limping towards the door to the second checkpoint. When he stumbled, Leon helped him remain on his feet. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Flynn helping the female guard up.
"Come on," she said as she helped the female guard walk. "We're going back to HQ."
The female guard nodded and muttered something. At the same time, the male guard collapsed into unconsciousness and Leon heard the second wave of convicts coming. Pulling the man up over his shoulder, Leon shouted at the women to hurry. They picked up the pace as best they could. Once the door was open, Leon laid the man down inside before turning to go back and help Flynn and the other woman. When they were safely on the other side of the door, he lifted the other man again and carried him towards the final door. They could hear the pounding on the door and windows behind them as the prisoners attempted to gain access. Leon could also hear gunshots so it appeared the security was attempting to fight back. Leon just hoped the guards could hold their own and the doors would hold the inmates at bay until they reached the control room.
The doors to the main core remained locked even when they tried both the guards' cards. It was only after the woman radioed HQ directly that they were allowed access. Once inside, Leon lay the unconscious man down. Two of the monitor watchers quickly descended on him to administer first aid. Meanwhile, the rest of the monitor watchers were speaking a mile a minute to guards on the other end of the radios. Leon paused to glance at the monitors and grit his teeth when he saw the destruction. The guards were well trained but sometimes not even that could save them. He looked away when he saw one guard ripped limb from limb. The scenes on the screens did not compare to the brutality of Raccoon City but they were bad enough.
When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked to his left and saw Flynn watching the screens. "It will get better. It's always darkest before the dawn."
"Is that why you were attempting to crack jokes earlier?"
She shrugged. "It's a Gotham thing. If we didn't try to raise morale, both of them would have been in hysterics." She shrugged again. "Sometimes even the worst jokes work enough to ward off the panic."
Leon nodded and glanced back at the screens. "They're going to need help or they will run out of ammo before they manage to subdue them all." He frowned when he noticed a section of screens showed no activity. "Where are those cameras?"
One of the Arkham staff who was bandaging the guards turned and looked over his shoulder. "That's the basement. The more dangerous and insane villains were kept there."
He nodded and glanced at the screens again. Now he noticed the little captions written below each screen. It appeared most of the convicts were flooding the first floor and working their way upwards. "If we could get a group behind them we could catch them in the crossfire," he thought aloud.
"That would involve first being able to get to the basement unnoticed," Flynn added.
He nodded and glanced around the room. Back in Raccoon City most of the vents were only large enough for a child but a few were large enough for him to travel through. He smiled a little when he spotted an air vent in a wall by a desk. He paused to reload his gun and then turned to Flynn. "I need the shotgun."
The woman's eyes widened. "What?"
"If someone could find a way through the vents, he could figure out how to get a group of guards behind the inmates."
"Meaning you," replied the staff member.
Leon glanced at the man. He didn't realize the man was still listening. However, he nodded. The man's only reply was, "You're insane."
"It's an asylum," replied Leon.
However, Flynn still handed him the shotgun and after screwing the cover off the vent with his knife he disappeared into the ventilation system.