Disclaimer: Batman belongs to those people at DC Comics and Christopher Nolan. But my characters belong to only me and no one else.

The slow sounds of Marc's breathing were warm in her ear, a reminder that last night had been a blur of lust and alcohol which she only had vague memories of. But despite having no clear recollections of the sequence of events that led them to his bed, she remembered herself kissing and touching him first on the way home from the restaurant. Chloe couldn't quite justify why she'd initiated it, even as she knew that her actions would only hurt Bruce if he knew what she'd done.

Groggily, Chloe pushed herself away from him, taking great care to not wake him up. Normally, Marc's naked presence beside her would have been too much to resist but now the guilt of spending the past few days in Marc's company was simply proving to be too much. This time, there was comparatively less of that basking in the pleasurable after-effects of last night's sexual activities. The guilty feeling that had been accumulating in her conscience since the last time she saw Bruce was telling her that she should be doing the right thing for Marc, as much as it was for Bruce, if not more.

In his own way, Marc cared for her just as much as Bruce did. Chloe couldn't pretend that there weren't times when she had the distinct feeling that he cared for her far more than he was letting on. But somehow, for the greater part of their relationship, he had simply preferred to hide it under the cover of their shamelessly flirtatious back and forth. As she took a long look at Marc who was still dozing away, Chloe wanted to believe that there was a better, gentler way to do what she should have done several days ago.

Marc awoke slowly, prising open an eye just enough to notice that he was alone in bed. Rolling over, he checked the time on the nightstand. It was barely seven and much too early for either of them to be awake. His eyes shifted to the en suite bathroom, looking for the crack of light underneath the door. Nothing. Feeling a frisson of worry, Marc hoisted himself out of bed and pulled on his underwear that lay discarded on the floor. Opening the bedroom door, he padded into the hallway and his nose registered the smell of breakfast.

Chloe was seated by the counter at the open kitchen with her back toward him. Stepping into the kitchen proper, he could see that there were two plates on the counter. Both plates had a low stack of buckwheat pancakes topped with roasted strawberries. He was about as surprised with the food that awaited him as well as the fact that she'd managed to make do with what little ingredients he had at home.

"Why are you up so early?" He murmured, curling his hand around her midriff. Marc was close enough to see that she was checking her work email while her other hand was hooked around a cup of coffee.

"I couldn't sleep," Chloe admitted, and without looking at him, offered him the other cup of coffee which still had steam wafting out of it. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough," Marc replied, immediately sensing that something was wrong. It was as if the air around them thrummed with an uneasiness that he couldn't quite put his hand on.

As he pressed himself against her fully clothed body, Marc leaned forward to kiss her. Without hesitation, she tilted her head toward him, unable to help herself from returning the kiss.

When he pulled away, Marc was certain that something was wrong. His brow furrowed as he replayed the events of last night, trying to identify what could have been the problem. He thought about the pretty brunette who had waited on their table but they'd only made eye contact for as long as it was necessary. Petty jealousies and ridiculous insecurities weren't her thing, that much he knew. It couldn't have been anything that he was conscious of doing recently.

"What's wrong?"

"It's not you, it's m..." Chloe trailed off, scolding herself for the line that had been used by almost everyone in light of an impending break-up. She straightened up, still not looking at him, and reached for words that were original and sincere. "This thing that we've been having has to come to an end."

"Does that mean I haven't done anything wrong?" Marc had heard her the first time.

Chloe swallowed at how bluntly he'd put it. There was no getting away from it. "You've been doing everything right all this while. I was the one who screwed up."

Marc sat down on the stool next to her and gently brushed the hair out of her face. This time, she looked up, meeting his eyes. "It's not your fault either."

Even as thoughts of Bruce persisted in her head and her knowing that breaking up with Marc was the fairest thing she could do for him, Chloe wanted him to know that every single moment she had with him wasn't a lie.

"I need you to know that all of this was real. I wanted it as much as you do and I regret none of it," She said earnestly, hearing her voice going stronger with each word spoken. "If it helps, you can be the one breaking up with me, althou—"

Her utterance was cut off by Marc who simply picked up on her thoughts. "This isn't something that has a breaking up stage. It just goes away when it's time."

"Are you sure that you really want to be so nice about this whole thing right now? If you want to scream or something, I'll understand." Heck, she'll do more that simply understand any expression of his emotions. Deep down, Chloe actually encouraged it.

Something flickered across Marc's face. It was gone within a split second, and before Chloe could interpret what it was. "Believe me, I'm more subtle than that," Marc smiled ruefully and took a sip of his coffee. At the relief that crossed her face, Marc found himself asking, "Is it, Wayne?"

"It's him," Chloe confirmed, taking a glug of coffee. "I'm sorry. And you have all the reasons in the world to doubt how much I meant it, but I'm really sorry." In spite of himself, Marc admired how her gaze never wavered, not even once. It would have been easier to let the anger consume him when he believed that she was simply pretending to care about his feelings. However, he saw that Chloe was sincere about what that was currently unfolding between them.

If Marc had to be honest, the most intense blow to his ego was knowing that she chose a shallow socialite over him. But it wasn't entirely shocking that she'd eventually return to him. It had been obvious from the start and the way she'd behaved at the Japanese restaurant only verified what he'd long suspected.

To distract himself from what their conversation entailed and that Chloe would soon be out of his life, he reached for the pancakes. "How did you know that I like these?"

"Three months is more than enough time to get to know someone," She said, before adding teasingly in the way that friends do. "What else is buckwheat best known for?" They cut into the pancakes and then they were both catching up on their respective emails.

Slowly and reluctantly, Marc and Chloe became aware that their time together was up. For Chloe, she felt a pang of emptiness where she once had Marc when there wasn't anyone else. She was also signing off on the lifestyle that she had come to prefer over anything remotely long- term. At least until the time comes when she and Bruce didn't work out in the end. For Marc, it was a goodbye that he knew was bound to happen. It wasn't his style to turn incandescent with rage when his lover decided to call time on their relationship.

"Don't worry, I'll return the Jag," She stood up, looking at him sheepishly when she realized that one final thing.

"Hmm." Marc stood up as well, looking unconvinced.

Chloe held back from confessing that she really wanted the car but couldn't see any way around it. She doubted he'd accept a check for the amount he'd paid for it.

"I can't think of a better person who deserves to keep it." He smiled. Resolutely she tried not to smile back at him.

Marc decided to simply spare her any effort at pretending otherwise. "I know you wan—"

She shook her head as she blurted out. "I shouldn't be having—"

He interrupted her, giving Chloe a stern look. "I insist. Consider it as a parting gift."

As she left his penthouse, Chloe almost wanted to ask him if they were still friends. Almost, being the operative word. Except she was held back by the realization that she couldn't ask any more of him. Even if he wasn't looking for a relationship.

Over an hour later, the cab turned a corner and Wayne Tower loomed ahead. Suddenly, the hulking skyscraper seemed like the last place she wanted to be after what that had transpired back at Marc's place. She should have felt relief for arriving at her destination after being stranded on the back seat for the last forty- five minutes, but now she didn't want to so quickly move on to another man.

Marc had been so accepting about all of it, and he'd made it so easy for her to simply pick up with Bruce where they had left off. But something held her back from running into her other man's arms and telling him excitedly that she'd ended things with Marc. The past week had hurled her through a whirlwind of emotions and she needed to catch a break. Chloe needed to settle into the new way of things where it was no longer just about the sex.

Wrapping the cashmere Calvin Klein trench tighter around herself, she directed the cabbie to her own address. Chloe expected for an angry monolog courtesy of the driver but he simply shrugged. "You're about to rake up one hell of a taxi fare, lady."

"I'm sure," Chloe muttered, staring absently at the black Rolls Royce that passed by their cab. She completely missed the look directed at her by the billionaire in the back of the vehicle.

After a moment of watching the vacant expression on Chloe's face in one of the cabs before it blended into the Gotham traffic, Bruce sighed and turned back around to face the butler's gaze. It didn't seem as if Alfred noticed his sudden lapse in attention.

From the driver's seat, he continued on, "Really, Master Wayne, I'm surprised that you're finally done with keeping the company of numerous celebrities and models." Alfred said drily.

"You could at least try to sound less approving of me ditching the playboy image. After all, it was your idea." Bruce crossed his arms, allowing his mind to slip back to last night when he decided to tell Alfred about what had been going on with Chloe. He didn't really get into the details but he'd shared that Chloe hadn't denied she felt something for him. She wanted time to think about them and Bruce agreed with it even as he was less than keen on the suggestion. It was necessary that they think things through before committing themselves to each other.

He didn't need Alfred to tell him that this was a major step for both of them. Even if the older man hadn't voiced his approval of the recent developments in their dynamics, Bruce recognized the proud look which Alfred gave him.

"Forget what I said, sir." Alfred was unwilling to be guilt tripped into being the one who suggested the idea that both of them had come to loathe. Still, he reminded himself that it was a very good cover that was entirely his own idea. "I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted because clearly, you didn't like to be seen with so many beautiful women hanging off your arm."

Bruce leaned forward and peered over at his butler. "Except you conveniently forgot that none of them was chosen for what they could offer beyond their looks." It was true. He was eye candy for them as much as they were his. They were all undeniably very pleasing to the eyes, and sleeping with them would have been very easy to do but he wasn't interested. Save for the occasional few.

"Do you think she'll notice anything different?" Bruce asked uncertainly, making no attempt to conceal how alien all these really was for him.

"I'm quite certain that Miss Greenwell could care less." Bruce's mind mulled over what Alfred said, unable to dispute his statement. For as long as he'd known her, Chloe had never once indicated that the company of the women bothered her, or if she even found them remotely repugnant. Had it been the other way around, he knew he would have felt something and he had, hadn't he? On a few occasions, he had unconsciously compared himself to Marco, wondering what it was he could offer her that Bruce himself couldn't. And once upon a time, he even uselessly tried to measure up to Dent. Now it seemed so trivial that Bruce couldn't believe he'd felt insecure.

"I'm really surprised that you seem to know her so well. What is it that you two usually talk about?" Bruce had been really curious about how easily the two of them got along. If he had to admit, he was slightly envious of his butler. Ever since she'd stepped foot in his kitchen and he'd seen for himself as she helped Alfred while making conversation as if it was no big deal, Bruce knew Chloe was something else.

But he hadn't been the only one, had he? Alfred had realized it too, although he suspected it simply reaffirmed what his surrogate father had been thinking about her.

Bruce glanced at the rearview mirror. His butler had allowed a small smile to surface on his aged face. "You might be surprised to know that you were mostly the focus of our conversations."

He settled back into the buttery- soft leather seats, his growing interest evident in the familiar hazels gazing back at Alfred in the mirror. "Such as?"

"You should ask her yourself," Alfred's unwillingness to share details about what they talked about actually surprised Bruce into a momentary silence. So now my butler's keeping secrets on both ends, he silently groaned.

Opening her eyes, she gazed through the floor- to- ceiling windows of her home. Dusk was falling over the city. Dark blue and purple streaks of clouds were slowly turning darker as the light disappeared from the skies. She had slept off for the better part of the day after when she'd came home and took a shower. Stretching her legs which were bare under the cotton shorts, she turned over on the couch and checked her phone.

Earlier, she'd typed out a quick message to Detective Blake asking for a favor, only to end up sleeping when her plan was to take a nap. Staring back at her was a reply from the detective. I remember. You're the heiress at the orphanage. I'll see what I can do. Rereading it, Chloe sent another message requesting his email so she could send him the image of the man from the club the other night.

Her first choice had been to ask for the Batman's assist but later decided that she was better off getting legit help from someone in the force. Between the Commissioner and the detective, she'd decided that she didn't need to trouble Gordon. For all she knew, it could have been nothing that could help with the case.

She tucked the device into the pocket of her shorts, heading into the kitchen to fix a lazy excuse for dinner. The ramen boiling in the pot was reputedly an extremely spicy fried chicken variety. Chloe continued staring out of the windows at the far end of the living room as she assembled the huge plate of what was to be her meal. Peering harder at the view she was trying to look for a sign of the Batman. It was ridiculous, she thought dejectedly, to think that he was making their meetings at the rooftop in a regular thing. Having nothing better to do, she grabbed a chilled bottle of Chardonnay along with a glass and the plate of noodles, heading for the roof.

The Batman didn't show up until two hours later. She was too preoccupied with gingerly drinking the wine through bee-stung lips to notice him until a shadow fell over her. The wineglass wobbled in her loose grip, spilling some of its contents on the ground. "I was going to ask for your number so we can make appointments ahead of time, but," Chloe drained her glass, seemingly reconsidering her words "No thanks."

His head cocked in such a way that Chloe could detect the question in it when she felt her nose was running again. And she remembered seeing her lips in the mirror after she'd ate the noodles. "Don't judge." She held up a hand, blowing her nose with the other. "It's some really spicy Korean instant noodles."

"How was the bruise?" He asked in his usual gravelly voice, betraying none of the concern that prompted the question in the first place.

Chloe wondered how he knew about her bruise from the other day but she didn't ask. Instead, she simply answered his question. "It's healed. I've got this stuff from an apothecary in Chinatown. Works flawlessly every damn time."

Behind the mask, he curbed his surprise from showing. He was impressed by how she'd come to know of the analgesic liniment that was traditionally preferred by Chinese martial artists. "I usually treat bruises with comfre—"

"Comfrey tea?" Chloe finished, pressing her lips together to keep from smiling, only to end up snickering. "That works too." She poured another glass of wine, shaking the bottle to make sure she had every drop of it.

There was a quiet moment before the Batman spoke again. "Is there something you want to trouble me with?"

Chloe reached for a notepad placed atop of her closed laptop. She tore off a page, handing it to him. "If it's not too much trouble, I need you to find out everything you can."

"Why these names?" He grated out, seeing the Falcone name that she had written down. Even if the name was no longer a powerful name in Gotham's criminal underworld, it filled him with a sense of foreboding that she had come into contact with his youngest son. From what he knew, Alberto was a well- educated man who had studied in Harvard under a scholarship and later went on to Oxford.

This was the difficult part which Chloe herself couldn't explain. How could she begin to tell him that she only knew these names because her ex-lover had ties to them? Well, she had to say something to the vigilante who was expectantly waiting for an answer.

"We all know who Alberto's father was. Someone I know has been hanging out with him lately, so I need to know." Chloe paused, seeing that there wasn't any outward sign of emotion from Batman. But his silence was encouragement enough that she continue. "I met the owner of Alpha Pharmaceuticals the other day and he's family to someone I know."

He frowned. "Are you going to tell me who this 'someone' is?"

"I can't and I won't tell you anything else," She looked up at the Batman who was radiating plain disapproval even without having moved a muscle. As she pushed all thoughts of Marc to the back of her mind, she did her best to appear that she meant what she said. "I just need to know if we have a deal."

Chloe saw Batman clench his jaw and then as he forcibly relaxed it. "What's the information for?"

"Damned if I know," Chloe muttered, which wasn't as much of an answer as she wished it was. His facial expression was enough to confirm that he found it to be an equally inadequate response. Shifting on her feet and tugging down on her red flannel shirt, Chloe knew she wasn't making a convincing case for herself.

"I hate to bring Bruce into this conversation, but since he wants you to be keeping a lookout for me, I suggest that you do what you're good at and cease asking questions. Just this once," Please, she wanted to add but it would ruin the image she was attempting to project.

The Batman observed her with indifference. But what truly struck him was how she was trying to assert her position as the one who had a boyfriend who more or less made him her personal bodyguard, so to speak.

Chloe didn't know what possessed her to speak with the self- entitlement of being Bruce Wayne's unofficial girlfriend. In spite of himself, Bruce's possessive instinct approved of how easily she implied that she belonged with him. More than she could ever know, the Batman's protection wasn't conditional on her giving him a good enough reason to do what she requested of him.

The shift in the atmosphere into a territory that felt uncomfortable wasn't lost on Chloe. She cleared her throat, pinning him with a serious look. Suddenly, there was a need to explain herself to Batman. "Don't get any ideas, I'm not his girlfriend. He's just a control freak, and somehow he convinced me to have you around." That much was true.

"Wayne tells me otherwise," He said flatly, unnecessarily replying to her explanation. It was simply to see how she would respond.

Chloe planted both her hands on her hips in exasperation. "Will you please tell him to not get ahead of himself?"

Without another word, the Batman promptly swept off the rooftop, taking off into the night before she could see the smirk that graced his stern features.

Soon after receiving the photo in his email, Blake reached out to the heiress and suggested that they meet- up to discuss the issue. Both agreed it would be best that she didn't make an appearance at the station, certain that it would prompt a whole lot of question and interest.

Walking all the way to the back of the small restaurant, he saw a hand waving him over. Blake headed toward the table, noticing that his acquaintance didn't look the slightest bit out of place as he found her comfortably seated in the unremarkable setting that couldn't have normally been the sort that heiresses visited. She was dressed much casually this time in a loose tee and ripped jeans.

"Morning, Detective." She looked up from tapping a package of sugar into her coffee. There was already several empty packets of sugar and two empty cups of coffee on the table.

"Morning, miss," Blake sat down. It certainly seemed like she had been here much earlier before him. "It's just Blake when I'm not at the office."

"Call me Chloe." She corrected him with a smile. "That's reserved for official use only." He opened his mouth to protest that the occasion was a formal one but quickly snapped it shut. Plus he knew her type, and like Bruce Wayne she might probably insist on it.

"I hope you don't mind that I've gone ahead and ordered for myself," she offered, reaching across to clear up the books that were all over the table.

"It's fine really," He assured her, glancing around to look at the menu on the wall.

"I was told that the Italian caprese panini is a must-have," Chloe said, and from the corner of his eye, Blake saw that she barely looked up.

"Then I'll just have that," he agreed, placing his order as a waitress swung by their table.

Returning his attention to the woman across from him, he took a good look at the papers strewn beside her. There was the Gotham University logo on some of the printouts. The scene before him was as familiar to him as to anyone who had always rushed assignment at the very last minute. "I didn't know you studied there as well."

"It's a matter of time before the media gets a hang of it. But yes, I'm a student there now." Chloe made a halfhearted attempt to restore some form of order to the notes before resuming typing on her laptop.

"Why did you reach out to me?" He asked bluntly, setting his messenger bag down beside him.

Chloe shrugged, "To be honest, I'm not sure if anyone else would entertain me. They'd probably think I'm just some ignorant heiress asking them to look for the guy who groomed my dog. And I'm not sure if there's anything worth looking into."

"I have a reputation of being the young, hotheaded detective in Gordon's unit. Is that partly the reason too?" He asked conversationally and casually, cracking a grin. The way she spoke without reservation for beginning to put him at ease.

"I had no idea," She admitted, giving a short chuckle. "But that makes two of us. I can be quite the hothead, sometimes."

At that, Blake sobered up, wondering if he had made himself too comfortable and not being an officer of the law. "You see, Chloe, it's my job as a detective to follow up on cases. I can't have a civilian endangering her safety to try and solve cases on the GCPD's behalf."

"My safety's not an issue. It's almost guaranteed," Chloe said, reminding herself that she was talking to a member of the police force who had made the Batman their sworn enemy.

He gave her a long look and then glanced around the place on the lookout for bodyguards that she had brought along. "I wouldn't have so much trust on a bodyguard if you even have any," He said accusingly, noticing that she had none.

Chloe didn't even look the slightest bit abashed, instead there was a knowledge that she knew more than she was letting on. "I wouldn't even put my bet on the most well-built bodyguard, but this guy I have on my side..." She trailed off and her eyes took on a hardened glint, revealing nothing as it met his. " It's better that you don't know, Detective."

Blake's mind snapped to connect the dots, as suspicions from the frayed edges of his mind sharpened his attention. If Bruce Wayne was the Batman, and she's been rumored to be his girlfriend much longer than the others, then wouldn't it... Go figure, John! The Batman had been keeping her out of trouble. It explained why she was so confident about her safety. All of it made sense. From the way she was holding back from revealing too much and when she alluded to how it was better that he didn't know who it was.

"It's him," Blake stated, with a certainty that hinted at more than simply a suspicion he had. He looked her straight in the eyes, silently conveying that they were both talking about the same man.

He saw the way she imperceptibly relaxed when she digested his meaning. But her gaze was still somewhat wary as she studied him, more intensely this time. "Does he happen to favor black and eats gravel for dinner?"

"A penchant for a certain winged creature," Blake said easily, answering both their thoughts.

Chloe's surprise was evident when she gave him a skeptical look. "Aren't you supposed to chase him down?"

"That's what the deputy likes to think. But there are a few of us in Gordon's unit who disagree," They smirked at each other across the table. Where she only previously suspected that the Commissioner had a professional relationship with the Batman, it turned out that he also believed in the Batman's innocence. If anything, this served to raise Gordon in her estimation but it didn't explain why he never came clean with it. Surely, his belief/faith in the Batman counted for something.

"Even so, your safety is more at risk than ever. To say nothing of conspiring with a known felon," Blake said, as Chloe was slowly aware that his expression had reverted to one of seriousness.

Chloe had considered the possibility of being caught in a crossfire between the police and the Batman, but that was before. Then, she hadn't known if the vigilante would be the first to flee when his own safety was threatened. Now though, she knew he was better than that, a fact that was partly confirmed by Bruce's readiness to trust Batman to put her safety before his if it ever came down to it. Bruce trusted him, and so would she.

She shook her head, dismissing the detective's concern. "Can't we just get right down to business? The priority here is figuring out what the hell is going on and I'm sure you'd agree."

Blake reluctantly acknowledged her point, mumbling to himself his dislike of her being right. It wasn't as easy as he thought to justify that the greater good outweighed the safety of an heiress who was too stubborn for her own good. He could only begin to wonder how the Batman took to this idea of hers to go snooping around. "Did he seem to be dealing drugs when you saw him?"

"I don't think so. He was being passed stuff to, not dealing it," Chloe shook her head, certain of what she had seen. Her mind had been trying to explain why it wasn't the other way around. It had looked like he was there that night to deal drugs except it didn't fit with what she'd witnessed.

"You might as well begin to tell me the whole story," Blake had leaned back in his seat, looking every bit the cop he was and Chloe knew she had to tell him. Even if the Batman was on her side, it was a good idea to have someone within the system that she could trust. She needed an ally in the daytime hours, after all. Taking a deep breath, Chloe began with her belief that it was a drug-related crime and about being called to the morgue to identify the body of a boy she knew. She'd hired a private investigator to find out if he was ever involved in drugs, but instead, he found that some of the other orphans were doing drugs.

From that point on, she'd been keeping tabs on the kids who did drugs but it was only with that one kid when she finally had something. It was pure luck that she finally had a face to go with what she'd had up till this point. Blake agreed as much.

"So what now?" Chloe was the first to break the silence. She had her suspicions as to what the next logical step would be.

"We have to call for a manhunt," Blake said, confirming her thoughts. "But this can't be only between us any longer. Gordon needs to know everything that you know."

"But what if I'm wrong?" Chloe had to consider the possibility that she was mistaken. "It might not be what I thought it was. Maybe I—"

Blake didn't let her finish, stopping her short of doubting everything she had been doing on the nights when she'd went out and hoped to seek answers of her own. "This might be our only lead on the case. Whoever is behind this is smart enough to cover his own tracks and now we might finally have something to bring the person responsible to justice. We can't afford to doubt this information."

They parted ways after lunch and Blake agreed to speak to the Commissioner about what she had learned.

Over at the MCU, Jim Gordon was trying to process everything that Detective Blake had told him when he came by in the afternoon. According to him, a civilian had inadvertently involved herself in one of the ongoing investigations and to add to the complexity, he'd revealed who the individual was. As if the case hadn't already given him enough of a headache, a member of the prominent Greenwell family had somehow made her well- being his responsibility too.

As if he didn't already have thoughts of dead children to swarm his mind before he slept every night. Now he even had to make sure that her father wouldn't have any reason to sue him if anything happened to his daughter, Chloe. After the car accident, the department was nearly slapped with a lawsuit for negligence if she hadn't intervened and dropped all charges.

He picked up the hidden cell phone from his drawer and dialed. "There's been an unexpected development in the case." The owner of the characteristically gruff voice answered it immediately, and Gordon had to once again wonder if the man had a life beyond the mask and cape.

Waiting until the last of the detectives had decided to call it a night, Gordon finally headed toward the roof to meet the Batman. His counterpart of shadows was already in wait for him when the door swung open, and Gordon was only glad for the fresh breath of night air.

"We received information on the identity of our suspect from an unlikely source," The Commissioner wasted no time in launching into the business at hand. "You wouldn't believe who's our source."

"Did a witness come forward?" There was a curiosity in the Batman's voice and it was odd hearing it from his comrade who always gave the impression that he knew everything and everyone.

"What do you know about Chloe Greenwell?"

A sudden silence stretched between them and Gordon was left to interpret it as the Batman being equally stunned by the mention of the name as he had been earlier. He should have expected that her involvement would sooner or later come to his attention, but how? He saw no way that Gordon could have known unless she willingly came forth with what she'd gathered from the nights she'd spent going to the bars and clubs around Gotham.

"Nothing you don't already know," He replied, voice suddenly more dispassionate than it had been before. "What did she know?"

"She contacted one of my detectives and sent him this," Here, Gordon produced a color printout of the image Blake had shown to him, handing it over. "We don't know who he is."

"Which of your men did she talk to?"

"John Blake," The implication of the question was not the slightest bit offensive to Gordon. Even if no one knew, he had personally ensured that there wouldn't be cops like Wuertz and Ramirez around, not on his watch. None of them needed a repeat of the tragedy that reduced the Batman to a common criminal on the run from the law. "The kid's clean, and one of the better ones in the department. I personally picked him for the job."

Gordon could see that the words had the intended effect of putting the Batman's concern to rest. Almost as soon as he'd said it, the vigilante seemed to relax although it was hard to tell when the Batman's gaze and posture remained as stoic as ever.

"What do you intend to do next?"

"I wish she had no part in this," Gordon readily admitted to the Batman. "I wouldn't even blame her father when he makes it his mission to see the MCU go down if anything is to happen to her," Gordon ran a hand through his hair which the Batman noted was sporting more silver streaks in the sandy strands than he last remembered. The stress of being Commissioner was certainly showing on him.

If only Gordon knew that the very same thoughts were running through his head. From the start, he'd wanted her to have no part in this, unwilling to consider the possibility that things might go very wrong and he would be too helpless to keep her safe. But it was too late now, and he was secretly thankful that Gordon was the Commissioner with the resources and authority to do things his way without answering to anyone. Between him and the man who was, in fact, Bruce Wayne, together they could do a lot to keep her safety paramount. "When the time comes, you will do everything you can to keep the danger to her at a minimum." The Batman's gravelly voice sounded more ominous than normal, and Gordon had the distinct impression that he didn't mean it as a request.

Gordon snorted at the ridiculousness of him having to say it out loud. "It may be a long time before you know what it feels like to be a father. But I will keep her as safe as I would my own." Gordon was taken aback by how much he cared about this particular heiress, although he shouldn't have been surprised that he had reasons to view her more favorably than he would any of the rich and their ilk.

"I had to make sure," the Batman said, his steely gaze taking in the picture. "What are you going to do about him?"

"We're going to hunt him down." Gordon decided that they had allowed this child murderer to go on a killing spree for long enough, and so was eager for some real action.

Author's Note: I apologize for the absence of any Bruce/ Chloe scenes but please bear with me. Thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews. As always, let me know what you think about this chapter. Please REVIEW. You guys are my greatest motivator!