My husband wanted to have some 'boys time' with Malik so he asked me to go out and have fun. When he told me that, I was dumbfounded but accepted his request. Have fun? What should I do? Sparring with Mai? Nah, she's busy at daylight. Brushing up my shooting skills with Mrs. Wellers? Nah, she has a date with that bookstore manager who worked in a shop two blocks away from her apartment.
Then I remembered about Ivy. She had gone out the grid after her antics of bioterrorism. I wondered if she was at one of the parks in Gotham. Wearing my usual t-shirt, cardigan and maxi skirt, I skipped to my car and drove to Robinson Park. The park still looked the same, but it felt good to smell the air. Even though Gotham's air is polluted, Robinson Park's air is just a tiny bit better.
My eyes looked around for a tall slender ginger woman. But then I inwardly smacked my forehead, just realizing that Ivy couldn't show herself in public since she's wanted by the police. I don't even know how to look for her. I knew she had some new powers. Can she turn herself into a plant? Or is that big tree I'm looking at the moment is her? I strutted towards the big tree and placed my palm against the bark.
"Ivy?" I whispered. "Is this you?" I got no reply. A sugh escaped my lips at my stupidity. It felt nice under this tree so I sat down and leaned my back against the trunk. There were a few families spending their times together. One was playing catch, another was playing tags and another was cycling around.
I took out a book and pencil from my bag. It was my pastry book. Even though the business is closed for now, I still spend some times baking at home and drew some cakes for some ideas. If I can't open my business back, at least I could find a job as a baker in some bakery house or café. I'll ask for Hassan and Lee's opinion later.
The breeze became stronger so I shivered a bit. Then, the shrubs moved. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But the shrubs moved again, crawling close to me, as if blocking the wind. I let of a soft laugh, touching a baby leaf.
She's here.
Ivy is here in this park. I know it.
Smiling, I leaned towards the baby leaf. "I'm sorry for whatever happened, but I have been missing you. I missed our little times together. I missed giving you twenty dollars. And I'm sorry again for not being there to protect you."
The temperature was colder. I should have checked the weather forecast before going out. It was fortunate that I brought a thick scarf in the car. I parked just outside Chery's and then, went out after wrapping the scarf securely around me. It was still chilly but better than without the pashmina. The cold weather had lessened the usual stench smell of the area. Perhaps I should do a polite movement in front of the City Hall to improve the condition in the Narrows. Not that it will gain any of the politicians' attention. To them, the Narrows is just a speck of dust. Not that important for them.
When I rounded at a corner, I bumped into someone. I quickly took a step back and regained my stance, preparing for an attack. You could never too careful around the Narrows even though Lee had warned her people not to attack a certain hijabi one handed woman.
There were about five people before me and Edward Nygma stood in front row. "Hey, Edward," I greeted, knowing the fact that he hated being called that name because he is 'The Riddler'. "Is Lee inside? I need to talk to her… about not being a robin hood."
"I don't see any Edward here," he impudently remarked.
I scoffed. I will never call him the Riddler; other names but not Riddler. "Whatever, brainy. Where is Lee?"
Casually he walked towards me, tilting his head down to peer at me, as if reminding me how short I am. I squared up my shoulders and stared him back with narrowed eyes. I won't back down. I'm not afraid of him or the people he has behind him. Yes, I'm outnumbered, but I'm confident that I could beat them up, if they don't have guns.
"Always appear at the right time, aren't you?" he hummed, causing me to raise an eyebrow. I was about to open my mouth to ask a question but he answered it. "Lee is at the GCPD. We got busted last night during the robbery. She was supposed to distract the cops since she said she could handle Jimbo."
"And you peeps are going to sneak her out, right?" Crossing my arms, I studied the people who stood at the back. "Jim won't put her behind bars. He doesn't have the heart to. He'll just gonna delay the investigation to get you in prison."
He approached me closer, whispering, "See? What did I say about you having feelings for Jim? You understand him."
I rolled my eyes and pushed him away, cursing him in my head. I don't have to convince him that I don't have feelings for James fucking Gordon.
"Sure, starfish. I'll just head up to Gotham Central. Bye guys." I turned and marched back to my car.
I should have listened to the news while on my way to the precinct. I should have. When I was getting close to the building, there were so many people outside. Civilians, cops, press. I parked my car and jogged to the crowd.
"What's going on?" I asked an old man.
"Some weirdos and freaks hijacked the building," he answered in a hoarse voice.
What? But Lee is inside. Pushing past the crowd, I approached the police line and waved at Bullock. Thankfully, he saw me and quickly advanced towards me. The question of the safety of Lee was the first thing that came out of my mouth once he was close enough.
"The prisoners were safely moved through an old exit door. I think the van is still here. You can check up on her if you're worried," he whispered, pulling the police line up so that I could get in.
"Who did this?" We walked briskly, passing some other officers, towards the side of the building.
"Jerome's groupies. Banged the entrance with his coffin. They're crazy! They carry on his mission."
It must be the killing mission. "Bruce and Jeremiah?"
"Yup. Jim is on his way to Jeremiah's bunker. Hopefully he's not too late."
He pointed to a black sturdy police van. I found it troubling that no cops were guarding it. After muttering a thank you, I walked away but was stopped when Bullock was trying to say something.
"Hey, uh...I know you're busy with baby stuffs. I missed yah around here…"
I failed to suppress a smile. "Me too. But don't complain when I came back, okay?" With a wink, I left him and rushed to the van.
Gripping the handle, I opened up the back door of the van. There were about five or six depressed prisoners cuffed inside, but no Lee. A tubby Caucasian man then looked weirdly pleased to see me.
"Guys. It's…" he stopped with a puzzled expression and gave me a once-over, scanning me from head to toe. "Wait… who are you?"
"I'm just a baker," I shrugged. I was about to ask if they have seen a pretty brunette who got caught last night, but the man cut me off.
"It's the Baker. We're safe!" he exclaimed.
"Uh, no. Not here for you." The man slumped his shoulders in despondency at my answer. "There was another woman. Queen of the Narrows?"
"Not here. Maybe a different van," a black woman wearing leopard print coat spoken.
"Thank you." I shut the door closed and pondered. Another van? But there was only one van. A scary thought appeared that involves Lee still inside of the building alone with those clowns.
Okay, Sarah. You just gotta go inside and snuck her out, okay? Easy peasy. I remembered where the old exit door is. It's where officers have some smoke breaks once in a while. I ran towards it, checking the area, making sure that there were no Jerome's fans hanging out.
Then, I heard a movement behind me and my reflex was to twirl around and get ready for a fight. A giant clown was standing before me so I rounded a kick to prevent him from getting closer.
"Hey, hey, hey! It's me!" He stumbled backwards, raising surrender palms in front. I cocked my head to the side, gawking at his appearance. About thirty minutes ago, he was green and now he's rainbow. A funky one.
"Nygma?" I let a short laugh at his appearance.
"Oh, you weren't all that different back in Amusement Mile. It was about the same situation… When Jerome Valeska's devotees were on rise."
I remembered that one as well. Bullock took a picture of me with the forensics camera after I passed out. It was comedy for him but I looked horrendous that time. It was no wonder that Jim and Alfred did not recognize me. I have white face paint all over my face, one black circle on one eye and another yellow one on the other eye. And then there were several fingerprint-sized brown spots around the ample of my cheeks and the bridge of my nose, which I assumed probably freckles. Lastly, the makeup was finished with a pair of large wide black lips. I hated the fact that Bullock have that picture and copied it and spread it around the precinct to make fun of me. I know… Bullock can be such an amazing role model. Please notice my sarcastic intonation.
"Shut up. Is that you superhero suit?" I knew he dressed like that to sneak in and save Lee.
"Dashing, aren't I?" He made a confident pose in that colorful clown outfit.
I grimaced and said, "I'm going in, too."
"No. You don't look like them. You can't get in."
I took out a red lipstick from my bag and tried my best to draw a clown smile on my face. There was no mirror so I squinted my eyes at my reflection on Nygma's glasses. Satisfied with my quick makeup, I smiled proudly at him.
"You look ridiculous," he criticized. Says the one with the getup! I snapped inwardly. "The cops are going to smoke the place and I only have two gas masks. You can't get in."
I tsked at the fact that I just realized. "You have to get her out of there. Call me once she's safe."
"You know I will." With a simper, he opened the old service door and rushed inside, leaving me in trouble about Lee and his lives.
I had waited a few minutes outside the exit after Edward get into the precinct. Just making sure he had no obstruction. I hoped he's all right. And I hoped he would find Lee. All of a sudden, a huge explosion erupted from a distance, but I could feel minor reverberations from the ground.
What was that?
It was unnerving because I didn't know what it was so I sprinted to the front of the building. The officers were readied with their weapons and arms to barge into the building. Bullock saw me and signaled urgently with his hand for me to stand back behind the police line. Cans of tear gas were discharged into the building, breaking through the glass of windows.
A few seconds later, they charged inside to apprehend the crooks, while I remained outside with Lucius, not wanting to disturb the police work, which was actually shocking to me since before all I did was intervention.
"What was the explosion just now?" I asked Lucius. Lucius paused at my face before answering.
"Bullock had sent a PC to find out. We're waiting for the update."
"Why now? Why would Jerome's fans suddenly attacked the GCPD? He's dead… and I don't think his fans would start something like this together. They must have a new leader and I think that new leader is not in that building," I surmised. "What do you think Lucius?"
"I think those people are just deranged. They worshipped Jerome Valeska. They could do anything."
I let out a tired sigh. Jerome was irrecoverable. He was way out of saving. Then, I could feel my phone vibrated in my pocket, so I quickly pulled it out. It was an unknown number but I know who it was. I walked away from the cops and answered the call.
"Edward?"
There was a pause in his reply. "I'll let you off this time," he growled, hating the name I called him. "Lee's safe."
"I want to talk to her." I waited for a while as I assumed he passed the phone to Lee. "Lee? You okay?"
"Fit as a fiddle," came her response. There was a subtle carefree tone in her voice. A small laugh left my lips as I felt relieved for obvious reasons.
"Have some rest. I bet you have a hard time sleeping in the cell last night," I said, kissing her a goodbye through the phone before snapping it close. Then I rushed back to Lucius. I can't go home now, not until I'm sure that Gotham is safe for my family.
The explosion had occurred at Jeremiah's compound, somewhere in the woods outside the city. And Jim was supposed to be there, probably Jeremiah and Bruce too. The Search and Rescue Team was trying their best to locate any survivors (or bodies) but the blast was too strong to find any remains.
Bullock didn't lose hope, which surprised me. He had faith that the captain of Gotham Central was still alive out there. He persisted on the investigators to keep on surveying the area for any clues of Jim. Some of the officers even tried to oppose him due to previous episode of Pyg's police slaughter. Thankfully, Harper backed him up, saying that Jim trusted him than any of them, so they should listened to him this time.
When the officers dispersed, I approached him. "What about Alfred? Have you contacted him?" I asked him, who looked like out of his wits at the moment.
"Can't get him through," he grunted. He took out his handkerchief, passed it to me and pointed around my lips.
Oh, the lipstick, my inner-self realized. I wiped the stains from the my cheeks.
"I'll go and check the Wayne Manor," I suggested, still rubbing the fabric against my skin.
"Okay, but bring someone with you. Bring Alvarez," he directed as I nodded. I returned his handkerchief but he recoiled from it so I put it in my pocket. I'll clean it for him, I thought. "There he is."
We glanced at the muscular man as he rushed towards us with a troubled expression. I wished he won't give us any bad news.
"Harvey," he called. "Jeremiah Valeska wasn't inside the bunker when it blew." I felt slightly relieved when those words escaped his mouth. So that means that Bruce is safe as well, right? But Alvarez still has a bothered look on his face.
"How do you know?" questioned Bullock.
"'Cause he's outside and he's not alone."
The way he say it like it was grave, instead of pleasant news. But we jogged out anyway, to the main entrance of the GCPD. The cold air hit my face as I exited the building. What we have before us was a precisely lined up troop of armed and uniformed persons with Jeremiah stood at the front. He appeared to be very different since the last time I saw him. Before he was scared and fidgety but now he was confident and charismatic.
"What the Hell?" Bullock burst out.
"You might not recognize Jerome's followers, as I've given them something of a makeover." Jeremiah began in a peculiar speech pattern. "But I assure you, they're as loyal to me as they ever were to him." Is it just me or he was paler than usual? I thought. "More so. 'Cause I accomplished something my brother never could: killing James Gordon."
Then the troop chanted something quickly. It sounded like Jeremiah's name.
"You're a liar!" Bullock roared, pulling out his Glock, pointing it to him.
Following Bullock's lead, all the other officers outside pointed their weapons towards the enemy as well. I glanced at the bystanders who were watching this whole thing and I was scared for their safety.
"Not so fast." Jeremiah pulled out a small device from his pocket and displayed it to us. That thing is a remote, I mused. "I have bombs planted around the city, just like the one that killed Jim Gordon." The troop chanted Jeremiah's name again. Bullock and other detectives stepped down the stairs, slowly approaching Jeremiah, while I remained at the back. "All you need to know is, if I hit this detonator, Gotham is blown back to the Stone Age."
"If I pulled this trigger, your brains are blown through the back of your skull," Bullock responded, not backing down.
"Dead man's switch. You're familiar." The cult leader walked even closer to the detectives. "It's another little something I took from my brother, except mine's a bit more advanced. You shoot me, my thumb loosens, and then boom, boom, boom, boom." I could not see Bullock's face but I could see his hands slightly faltered. "Now, you will do what I say."
"You're more sick than your brother." I could hear fear in my pal's voice.
"Don't compare me to that short-sighted psychopath," Jeremiah ridiculed. I let out a tiny sour laugh and felt that he took a glanced at me for a while before returning his attention to Bullock. "He just wanted to destroy things. Me, I'm a builder. I'm gonna create a new Gotham in my image. But every artist needs a black canvas, so… all of this has to go. I detonate the explosives in six hours. I want the city empty when I do."
"You need us to evacuate Gotham in six hours? That's impossible!"
"Then everyone who dies screaming, who watches their loved ones crushed before them, will have you to thank, Detective Bullock. Look… nobody has to die." He was staring at his remote and I had a bad feeling with this. "I know seeing is believing and I do want you to believe me, so…"
He pressed the switch. A second later, an explosion was witnessed before our eyes. Some bystanders screamed in horror while we dreadfully watched the clock tower crumbled. Black smokes risen up to sky to join the dark clouds.
No...
Worried, I sprinted towards the collapsed building as I heard numerous car alarms from distance. I could hear Bullock barked orders. There should be people in the tower and around it. Cold sweat covered my palm as I thought of dead bodies. Casualties. More casualties. A few patrol cars whizzed passed me towards my destination.
Once I arrive there, smokes still covered most of the wreckage. I bit the inside of my cheek when I saw a few limbs under the rubble. It was hectic. The officers who arrived earlier had created a police line so that civilians could not enter. The structure has not completely crumbled down and was still in fragile state. It could collapse more anytime soon.
"You have to extend the police line. The building's gonna crumbled more," I shouted at the officers. Officer Kang, who I remembered the one who took my statements for the rape, acknowledged my notice. The police line finally broadened so that no more civilians would get hurt. I had to really yell at the other civilians to move back.
With the hectic situation, the paramedic and fire brigade arrived. Officer Kang had let me in to help them bring out a few survivors away from the ruins. One woman had both of her leg crushed under huge debris. She was quickly rushed to the hospital. Then, I heard a voice of a man in pain. I approached the voice with a few other paramedics.
But an uninjured man appeared in front of us. He was wearing the same attire as Jeremiah's minions but his face seemed familiar. I heard scuffling behind me and turned around. The paramedics were lying unconscious on the ground. I wasn't sure if they were still alive or not.
"Officer Ka…" my scream for help was cut off as the back of my neck was hit and I slipped into unconsciousness.