Erin prided herself on being a prudent, rational, and intelligent sort of woman. She liked to think she could look at a problem and make a decision about it. This wasn't a problem she understood. Not fully. That was why when the initial shock wore off, she asked, "This is about what happened the night of DA Dent's death, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"And about the things being said about Batman?"
Again, came a soft, "Yes," followed by, "and no." He sighed. "This is also about Batman."
Erin didn't have to wonder why the Joker was coming after Batman. A man who couldn't be corrupted was a temptation to a man who thrived on chaos. What didn't make sense was why he had Ethan killed.
"Why Ethan?" she demanded. "Or me for that matter?" She shook her head. "I don't have a connection to either Batman or DA Dent."
"Ethan was one of the officers assigned to watch Dent in the hospital."
Erin felt the blood drain from her face as she realized their connection.
"And I was one of his nurses the day the Joker blew up Gotham General."
She had forgotten about that. With everything going on, it completely slipped her mind how she was one of the nurses on duty that afternoon. I should have remembered, though, she realized. Ethan made me leave because of the threats the Joker made.
"He's killing everyone associated with Dent."
"Why?"
"He means to reveal the truth about Dent."
"So." Erin pushed to her feet and walked over to the huge bay windows. She stared out at the buildings that adjoined Wayne Towers, her thoughts as dark as the sky. "He plans to have the last laugh by revealing everything said about Batman as a lie."
"Yes."
The way to stop that from happening seemed clear to Erin.
"Will it be at my brother's funeral or the mayor's ceremony afterward?"
In the reflection of the glass, she saw his frown.
"Will what be at your brother's funeral or the mayor's ceremony?"
"Which event do you think the Joker will make his play?"
His frown darkened.
"It doesn't matter since you won't be attending either one."
The look on his face spoke volumes. Much of his rantings during his delirium had been guilt over his inability to save ADA Dawes. His redemption, in his mind, at least, was to rescue her from the Joker. Erin knew it wouldn't help absolve him of his guilt. No, it'd only add to it in her mind.
He'd find himself questioning how he could have managed to rescue her, a relative nobody, over the woman he loved. Conveying that to Bruce, however, wouldn't be easy. She treaded on very thin grounds here and had to choose her words carefully, and wisely.
"I have to attend both services," she said softly, reasonably. "I'm the only member of my family who can stand up for Ethan. I'm giving his eulogy."
"I said no, Erin."
"Please, try and be reasonable." A muscle ticked in his jaw. A clear sign that he wasn't going to acquiesce, at all. She sighed and tried again. "Bruce, I have to attend."
"No," he repeated in a near growl. "And that's final."
"We both know that this is the only way to catch the one carrying out his orders."
"I'm not using you as bait."
"You know this is the only way to put a stop to the Joker."
"I said no, Erin." He stamped his cane against the floor. "Now, drop it."
She held her hands up, palms facing upwards, silently beseeching him to try and be reasonable about this. It wouldn't be easy for him to find. She knew it wouldn't. Not when what she wanted him to do was place her in the path of danger. To stand back to watch. To hope that this time wouldn't prove as disastrous as the last time. It wasn't a fair request to make.
Yet she made it anyway.
"Ethan, Doctor Rolamanov, the first Batman, the two women, and whoever else have been killed all deserve justice given to them. They deserve to have vengeance. To see their murderer locked up with the Joker is the only way to give that to them."
Bruce stared at her angrily.
"Not by you placing you in danger."
"All it takes for evil to win is for good people to stand by and do nothing."
"I'll find him." The desperation in his voice hurt her to hear. "I will stop him."
"You cannot go out there and hunt down whoever is working for the Joker," she declared in a crisp, clear voice. "You have to leave this to the police. So," she continued over his curses, "if using me as bait is the only way to bring the Joker's henchman out into the open so that the cops can arrest him? Then that's what has to happen."
"No."
"Bruce..."
"I said no!"
Erin raked her fingers through her hair, striving to keep her temper in check. The man was being completely unreasonable, however.
"Bruce…"
"I said no, Rachel."
Silence descended between them. Finally, Erin said, "I'm not Rachel."
"What?" A frown furrowed his brow. "What did you say?"
"You called me Rachel, Bruce."
…
"I didn't call you..."
Bruce stopped when he realized that he had called her Rachel. He bit out a soft curse and turned away. He just crossed a serious line and had absolutely no idea for how to apologize for it. Erin didn't flay him alive for his faux pas. Oh no. When he glanced back at her he saw her eyes were full of sympathetic understanding and pity.
The last thing he wanted from her was pity.
No, what he wanted most from her was her agreement to do as he said. However, living with this woman for the last few days had taught him she wasn't someone easily cowed. She wasn't intimidated by his "black looks."
Erin was also a moralistic woman, one who held herself to the same strict codes he held himself. She also believed in him, saw him as a hero even though he did not. As an agent of the system instead of a hindrance of it.
That time with her had not, however, prepared him for what she'd say next.
"All right." She folded her arms across her chest. "Then let's leave Gotham."
"Leave Gotham?" he sputtered in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"Very serious." She tossed her head. "You want me to avoid the ceremonies so we'll avoid them by leaving town. Right now."
"Leave?" He turned to face her. "And go where exactly?"
"Anywhere. Everywhere. Wherever it is you want to go. I don't care so long as it's not Gotham."
Bruce could only gape at her. Now she wanted to leave? After suggesting he use her as bait and protesting when he refused to even consider doing so?
"Erin..." he gritted. "I don't know what you are up to..."
"I'm not up to anything, Bruce," she said calmly. "I'm just not willing to concede to what you want me to do. So, I am offering a compromise. We pack up everything we need and go. Let the police handle the Joker and whoever he has working for him."
His lips trembled despite his annoyance with her. The woman was just as stubborn as him. He should have realized she'd never yield to his demands.
"Erin..."
"I want you to come home with me, Bruce." She crossed to him, set her hand on his arm, and gazed up at him imploringly. "I want you to come home to Ireland with me." A refusal was on the tip of his lips but she quickly added, "Just come home with me until things in Gotham settle down. Please."
Bruce couldn't deny being tempted by her offer. Getting away from Gotham, from all the memories would be good for him. Alfred had even indicated as much to him for the last few days. However, he just didn't think leaving was the best idea. Not with the Joker threatening to reveal the truth about Dent.
"Erin," he said on one long breath. "I can't leav..."
Erin silenced him by laying her fingers across his lips. "Just think about it. Okay?"
"All right," he murmured against her fingers. "I'll think about it."
"Thank you."
It was the first compromise they'd ever been able to reach.
"Let's go and see if Alfred has managed to find anything," he suggested.
"All right."
She slid her arm around his waist and helped him down the hall. Bruce chose to not see this as yet another concession on his part. His time with her had taught him that a man needed prudence when dealing with a woman as headstrong as her. He discovered when and where to pick his battles.
He also learned allowing her to have her way was sometimes the easiest solution of all. Plus, much as he hated to admit it, his knee pulsated with pain. He wasn't sure he'd have made it to his room without the damned thing buckling and sending him straight to the floor.
Not that he'd tell her that, of course.
…
"Jensen Davis," Alfred announced when they joined him in the small cubby a few minutes later. "A lifelong criminal with numerous arrests for aggravated assault. Three trips to Arkham for psychotic episodes."
"I remember him," Erin said quietly. "Ethan wouldn't allow me to go into his hospital room without him because of how dangerous a man he was."
"Do you have an address, Alfred?" Bruce asked.
"He's at 2201 Civic at Monument, just off Cicero."
Bruce reached into a drawer for one of the burner phones he kept handy.
"I'll call Gordon."
"You'll call Gordon?" Erin's lips twitched and a glimmer of deviltry had silver flecks appearing in the depths of her eyes. "Isn't it Batman who should be calling the Police Commissioner?"
Bruce glanced at her, amused.
"You just love this, don't you?"
He felt her hand settle, warm and comforting upon his lower back.
"I'm not particularly enjoying the reason why you have to do this," she admitted softly. "But I am very glad you are." She tipped her forehead against his arm. "Davis is a bad man, Bruce. He's hurt a lot of people while in the service of a maniac. And he could hurt so many more people if he's not stopped. If it requires Batman placing a polite phone call to the police… well, so be it."
Bruce was silent as he dialed the number.
…
On the street outside the warehouse, Gordon's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw the number flashed private. He frowned before answering.
"Hello?"
He heard Batman's familiar rasp: "Joker is working with a criminal named Jensen Davis."
His breath caught in his throat at hearing the voice, the one voice he'd prayed to hear, but not expected to ever hear again.
"How do you know?" he asked in a voice made hoarse by relief.
"I know."
That didn't surprise Gordon any.
"How is Davis connected to all this?"
"He was a patient at Gotham General while Dent was a patient there."
"What's the connection between Joker and Davis?"
"Dent," Batman gritted. "Dent was the lawyer who put Davis away."
The pattern slowly began to unravel itself in Gordon's mind.
"Dent is the connective tissue between all of them," he said. "The last man delivered to the station was one of Dent's law clerks. Officers Tate and Sims were two of the officers I had guarding Dent. The women in Rolamanov's office testified against Davis in the case Dent prosecuted. Rolamanov was also called as an expert witness in that case. And Tate's sister..."
"Was one of the nurses on duty at the hospital on the day the Joker confronted Dent."
A trifecta of bodies all leading back to one person: Dent.
"You realize that he plans to reveal what happened that night."
"Yes."
Gordon peered up at the top of the buildings, wondering if he was watching from somewhere nearby. Are you still guarding this city that has so cruelly abused you?
"Do you know where Davis is?"
"He's staying in a rundown building on Civic at Monument Boulevard."
Gordon flinched at the bite of anger lacing that growl. It was deserved, though. For the last few weeks, this man had been treated lower than the very vermin he helped bring to justice. He ran a hand over his face and wondered if there'd ever be a day where the lies would become truths and the hurt would stop. He hoped so. Then his thoughts drifted back to the woman who had been unfairly drug into the Joker's diabolical world simply because of her association with her own brother.
"The woman..." he started. "Erin…"
"She's safe."
Then there was a click and silence.
Gordon stood there for a moment, going over the conversation in his head. Then he shook himself and turned to look at Matheson. "Get all available units to Civic at Monument," he ordered.
"Yes, sir."
A/N: Hello, all! Hope this finds you well!