Wednesday, December 4th, 2008

More than anything, Gordon thought, he could use a smoke right now. More than once, he was tempted to reach into his pocket and light up his pipe, but the watchful eyes of Sharp's secretary stayed his hand. He'd been in the waiting room outside the Mayor's office for what seemed like an eternity, but a look at his watch told him it had only been ten minutes. Ha had called Sharp Monday evening after the Rogues had been processed and he was apoplectic about their attack on Nigma, and more importantly, why he had not been brought in the loop immediately. It had been so tempting to throw what Strange had done to Nigma in August back into Sharp's face, but part of being the police commissioner was knowing when to stay his tongue. With everything that he had learned the last few days, however...Gordon was almost grateful for the extra time in the waiting room, so he could think about how he was going to get through this meeting without leaping over the desk and strangling Sharp. He looked up at the sound of the door opening and frowned at the person who appeared. "Bolton."

Lyle Bolton looked smug in his new black security suit. "Morning, Commish," he drawled. "Long time no see." He jerked his thumb towards the open door. "Mayor Sharp's ready for you." The man's beady dark eyes narrowed. "And he's pissed. You'd better have a damn good explanation for what Riddle Boy did."

Gordon got up from the chair he'd been sitting in and rose to his full height, fixing Bolton with a glare of his own. "Mayor Sharp can be as angry as he wants, but I don't answer to you, Bolton."

Bolton smirked. "We'll see. By the way," he leered, "How's poor Doc Young doing?"

Gordon clenched his fists and willed himself not to react. He wondered how Bolton would react if he told him about Penelope's new relationship, and that mental image helped calm him down. "She's just fine, Bolton. Now, if you don't mind?" Bolton shrugged and moved from the door frame, allowing Gordon to enter. "By the way," Gordon asked when the two men were side to side, "Were you ever able to get your car out of impound?" Gordon had to suppress a smirk of his own as Bolton glowered, then entered Sharp's office.

The mayor was sitting behind his desk, a dark glare on his round face. "Commissioner," he hissed out.

Gordon gave him a respectful nod of acknowledgment. "Mayor Sharp." He heard the door shut behind him, then turned when he heard Bolton's heavy footsteps. Gordon turned back to face the mayor with his brow furrowed. "I was under the impression that this was a private meeting."

"Anything we have to say can be discussed around Mr. Bolton," Sharp said matter of factly. "He is my new personal security chief, after all."

Terrific. That was just what he needed, Gordon thought. A thug like Bolton in that position of power. "Very well," he forced himself to say. "It's your meeting."

Sharp sucked in a quick breath. "First of all," he said, his face reddening. "Given the events of last Friday, why was it that I was not informed of an incident involving the Rogues until after the incident was resolved!? I am the Mayor of this City! I should have been notified immediately!"

"It was a rapidly evolving situation, Mayor Sharp," Gordon said calmly. "And it was over in under two hours. As far as I've been able to determine, the only target of the Rogues we took into custody was Edward Nigma. I felt that given the attacks, it was best to keep as tight a lid as possible on the situation to prevent a panic. The people of Gotham have been through enough."

The Mayor wasn't impressed by this explanation if his pinched face was any indication. "I see," he ground out. "I see. Were you trying to prevent a panic, or were you trying to cover up the fact that once again, your giving that man carte blanche wreaked havoc on this city!?"

Gordon ignored Bolton's snicker and fixed a glare on Sharp. "That man, Mayor Sharp, is the only reason that the building we're in is still standing. I think he deserves a little more gratitude." He watched as the man's already red face turned purple, and he hoped more than anything that the Mayor would crack. Admit it, you son of a bitch, Gordon thought. You wanted this building and everyone in it to come down. Give me a reason to put you away. Sharp took a deep breath, and his face soon resumed its normal color.

"I've heard enough about Edward Nigma for one lifetime," Sharp grumbled. "Where are you on the investigation into Detective Schrader?"

Gordon was struck by the vehemence with which Sharp spoke the detective's name. Was the Mayor not as involved as he, Batman, Nigma, and Penelope believed-Penelope. Sharp had been overly paternalistic of her since before he was Mayor. He didn't know that she was a target. He could use that. "I've been working closely with Internal Affairs this past week," he said. "They've been looking into who else he may have been working with within GCPD. As of now, however, we haven't come up with any names."

Sharp nodded. "What about Detective Montoya?" he asked. "She was Schrader's partner, wasn't she?"

"She was cleared by IAB almost immediately," Gordon said. She'd been taking the attacks the hardest out of all his officers. "We've also discovered a link between Schrader and the theft of the TITAN drug in GCPD's lockup last Summer."

Sharp looked surprised. "He was responsible for that? I was under the impression it was stolen by an Officer Alvarez. Isn't that what you told me?"

"It was, but we have reason to believe that he did so at the behest of Detective Schrader." Now it was time to play the trump card. "Also," he said as neutrally as he could. "The City Hall attack was not the first time Schrader targeted Dr. Young." Sharp's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull and Gordon knew he had him. "We believe he was responsible for breaking into her apartment and causing her to go into hiding after the TITAN was stolen."

Sharp's face turned ashen and he stared down at his hands. "I see," he murmured. "I see." He was silent for a long time, and Gordon took the opportunity to look at Bolton out of the corner of his eye. The man was like a stone mass, his face blank, his large fists clenched at his sides. He looked back to Sharp to see him shake his head. "That all being said," he said in his usual, pompous tone, "I was expecting more progress!" He narrowed his eyes. "The City Council will be meeting in a special session on Monday. I expect to hear names."

"We'll do our best, Mayor. I give you my word."

"For all the good that's worth," Sharp all but spat out. "We'll be discussing the leadership of GCPD quite a bit at the council meeting."

Gordon responded with his own glare. "Will Warden Strange be facing similar questioning?"

For a brief moment, Gordon saw a flicker of doubt appear in Sharp's milky blue eyes. "He will be presenting the findings of his own internal investigation, yes. I believe that's all I wished to discuss for now. You may see yourself out, Gordon."

"A pleasure as always, Mayor," Gordon said without meaning a single word. He passed by Bolton, not even acknowledging the smug look on the man's face. Sharp hadn't given him much to work with, but perhaps, just perhaps, Gordon had managed to plant a seed of doubt into the man's mind.

Ten hours later, Gordon had dismissed his senior detectives for the evening and sat alone in his office, waiting for his visitor to arrive. At 8:30 on the dot, he heard the telltale sounds of the window opening and heavy footsteps entering his office. "How did the meeting with Sharp go?"

"Good evening to you too," Gordon quipped. He got up from his seat and rubbed the back of his neck. "The Mayor was furious about the Rogues, but mostly about how he wasn't informed right away. He probably would have danced a jig if Nigma died." Gordon looked over his shoulder to see Batman standing impassively by the window. Gordon shrugged, then reached down into his desk drawer to pull out his pipe. He was long overdue for a smoke. "He also informed me that the City Council will be holding a special session next week. Strange is going to be presenting his 'findings.'" Gordon crossed the room to the coatrack to get his matches out of his coat pocket. Once he lit his pipe, he turned to face Batman directly. "He warned me too that my leadership of GCPD will be called into question."

"Are you going to be pushed to resign?" Batman asked.

Gordon took a long drag of his pipe and exhaled. "I don't know," he said. He darkly chuckled. "God knows I've been wanting to retire, but not before I take down those sons of bitches. God only knows who they'd appoint in my place. Sharp's hired Bolton on as his personal head of security." Gordon took another puff from his pipe and frowned. "I should warn Dr. Young and Nigma. Bolton's still carrying a grudge from what happened in April. He might use his position to get back at them and Nigma's daughter."

"I'll talk to Edward," Batman said. "I'm meeting with him later tonight."

Gordon looked surprised at the vigilante, then a satisfied smile came to his face. "So you're finally working together? About time." He took another puff of his pipe. "There was one other thing I noticed during my meeting. I told Sharp about Schrader's involvement with the TITAN theft last summer and he seemed surprised."

"Strange probably doesn't keep him in the loop about many of his activities. It helps him maintain plausible deniability."

"I think there's more to it than that. I told Sharp about Schrader breaking into Dr. Young's apartment, and it was like I'd told him that his grandmother had died. I think he legitimately didn't know she was a target of Strange. He does seem to care for her, in his own way."

"Maybe he does, but we can't count on that to get him to denounce Strange," Batman warned. "He's in too deep now."

Gordon sighed. "You're right, as usual. Still, any wedge we can drive between the two."

Batman didn't so much as nod before he spoke again. "What about your investigation into Schrader? Any leads so far?"

The police commissioner was far too used to Batman's brisque nature to be put off by it. "IAB cleared Montoya quickly. They've also been questioning everyone here at headquarters who came in regular contact with Schrader, as well as cops at his old precincts, but the man kept to himself. It's been hard finding anyone who really knew him. He didn't have anyone on the outside either. IAB's looking through his cases to see if there were any irregularities, but so far, they haven't found any." Gordon took another puff as he shook his head. No doubt Schrader had been recruited precisely because he knew how to cover his tracks.

"We'll have to look into it from a different angle," Batman said. "We know the signs of dirty cops."

Gordon shut his eyes. Fifteen years ago, he couldn't throw a rock in the bullpen without hitting a dirty cop. Had he really made any difference cleaning up GCPD in the past decade, or had the rats simply gotten better at concealing themselves? He opened them and continued. "Montoya's been assisting with the investigation, at her own insistence. She took hearing what Schrader did harder than anyone else in this building." She could barely even look at Penelope the times the two women had been in the same room in the past few days. "She and Cash are looking into anyone in GCPD headquarters who's been absent in the last few days."

"Any names?"

"There's two that have come up, both of them beat cops. Barney Jacobs called out sick Sunday, hasn't been seen or heard from since. His partner, Mark Dietrich doesn't know where he is. The other one, Talbot Shaw, we've been having trouble nailing down his exact movements the last few days. He's been reporting for duty, but there are gaps of time during his shift we can't account for. So far, I haven't let IAB in on this yet, or Mayor Sharp." If Strange had collaborators within GCPD ranks, there was a strong possibility that they were in IAB as well.

"Good," Batman acknowledged. "If Strange's men sense the net closing in, we could lose them. I'll look into it tonight with Edward."

Despite the situation, Gordon had to chuckle. "You and Edward Nigma, working together to root out dirty cops. Now I've seen everything." He turned to empty the content of his pipe in the trash can by the door. "Let me know if you need anything else from my end-" he turned back to Batman only to see that the vigilante was gone. "Typical."

The Iceberg Lounge was once again filled to the brim with clientele, but that did little to soothe Edward's nerves as he was escorted through the club. Oswald had called him that morning, asking for a meeting. Against Penny's wishes, Edward had agreed. The man wasn't stupid enough to try anything after what had happened with the other Rogues, he'd assured her. No doubt he wanted to throw himself at Edward's feet and beg for forgiveness. She hadn't been convinced and deep down, Edward was ready for trouble. It couldn't be helped, however. He and Oswald had unfinished business.

Edward followed Oswald's restaurant manager, Marco he thought the man's name was, through the dining room and past the great tank. A few finely dressed patrons were distracted from the penguins and seals long enough to gasp and point at him as he walked past. More than one had tried to come up to him asking for pictures and autographs, but he'd had to decline. Business first, unfortunately. At the very least though, Oswald wasn't likely to try anything in front of the patrons. Finally, they reached the owner's table, under the great chandelier. Oswald was sitting in his usual seat, surrounded by his men, smoking a cigarette. The surrounding tables were clear and Edward noticed a half dozen more security guards between Oswald's table and a few patrons crowding around for a better look. The fact that Oswald was willing to meet in the open instead of in the privacy of his office calmed Edward's nerves. "Mr. Nigma's here, Mr. Cobblepot," Marco said as the pair stopped at the table.

"Very good Marco," Oswald said. "You may return to your duties." The manager gave a brisk nod and walked back towards the front of the house. For a long moment, Edward stayed standing, one hand in his pocket, the other on the head of his cane. Oswald stared straight up at him, waiting for him to break the ice.

"Oswald," Edward said in a clipped greeting.

"Edward," Oswald responded. He gave Edward the once over, raising an eyebrow as he saw the visible bruises on Edward's face. "You don't seem the worse for wear." The old crook took a long drag of his cigarette and idly let out a breath of smoke. "Well," he said nonchalantly. "I do hate to say I told you so-"

"Bullshit," Edward interrupted.

Oswald's eyes flashed and he jabbed his finger up at Edward. "Well, I did bloody well tell you so, now didn't I, you reckless egomaniac!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend you're not enjoying this, you crooked old bird."

Oswald glared at him for a moment, then let out a loud snort. "Perhaps a bit."

It was as if a weight had lifted off of both men. Edward let out a short bark of laughter and shook his head. He sat down in the offered seat, though he kept his cane propped up against the table and within reach. "Well, Oswald. It's your meeting."

"Quite." Oswald took another drag of his cigarette before he spoke again. "In the first place," he said slowly, as though the words pained him. "The last time we spoke, I may have given you the impression that I didn't care about your personal happiness, or that I saw Dr. Young as a burden on you. I want to assure you that my only concern was that you think things through and try not to be so brazen. I deeply regret that our disagreement may have led to your unfortunate experience at the hands of our former brethren."

This was as close to an apology as Edward would ever get from the man. "Well," he said. "I can admit that I should have taken your warnings about the Rogues a little more seriously." Edward leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I meant every word I said about Penny and my daughter. From now on, they come first, and I will do what I need to do to keep them safe. I love them, Oswald."

Oswald nodded. "Of course. Love is indeed a many splendored thing. In my experience, however, it can also be a double-edged sword. You need to look no further than many of our mutual acquaintances for proof of that." Edward opened his mouth to object, only for the rotund man to raise his hand. "And with that, I will say nothing more about your dear doctor. There's too much at stake for us to spend time squabbling. Truce?"

Edward wet his lower lip, then nodded. "Truce."

Oswald visibly sighed in relief. "Excellent." He snapped his fingers and Edward froze, only to relax when the guards withdrew and a waiter appeared. "A bottle of my finest whiskey." The waiter scurried off and quickly returned with said bottle and two glasses. "Now," Oswald said jovially. "Tell me everything that happened."

Edward took a long sip of whiskey and began recounting the tale, starting with his abduction from his office and ending with his and Batman's meeting the night before. Oswald listened intently, puffing away at his cigarette. "...So after we shared our intel, Batman said that he was going to speak with Gordon regarding his investigation into Schrader. We're meeting later tonight to discuss whatever he finds out."

Oswald nodded. "And our arrangement?"

"You didn't come up, but I got the sense that our vigilante 'friend' would prefer it if it continued." Edward shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to start telling him about the racketeering and the shark you had in your basement." He gave his friend a pointed look. "Not unless you give me a reason to."

"Noted," Oswald said. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you were compiling intel on the other Rogues. Let's hope that Harvey never decides to call your bluff." He then pushed his chair out and got to his feet. "Come, there's something I wish to show you."

Edward raised an eyebrow but followed Oswald, cane firmly in hand. The pair walked towards the back of the lounge, past Oswald's personal office, and towards a doorway that Edward recognized as leading to the basement. "You didn't get another shark, did you?"

"No," the man answered, and Edward was struck by how serious the man was. He looked out of the corner of his eye and realized that three of the guards had followed them. "Don't be alarmed," Oswald said. "I wouldn't have called you out here if I wanted to do you harm. Not when you have a Bat in your pocket, as it were."

Edward forced himself to smirk. "If you tried, there wouldn't be anything left of you for Batman after Penny and Ellen got through with you."

Oswald let out squawking laughter. "From what I've seen of those two, I believe it." He opened the basement door and led the small procession down the narrow steps. At the bottom of the stairs, Edward saw a small group of figures standing in a dim pool of light. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Edward heard the sounds of muffled sobbing, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It sounded like he was walking in on Oswald's men dealing with a 'problem.' Was Oswald trying to send him a message? They reached the bottom of the steps and the men in the basement moved back, acknowledging their boss. Now that Edward had a clear line of sight, he saw the source of the noises. Sitting tied to a chair, duct tape covering his mouth was a young waiter Edward vaguely remembered seeing around the Lounge. His face was even more bruised than Edward's was, and half-covered in blood from a gash on his forehead. The waiter made eye contact with him and trembled, making even louder noises of fear.

Edward sharply turned to his friend. "What is this?"

Oswald took another long drag of his cigarette and looked at the waiter with half-lidded eyes. "When Batman informed me of your abduction, he also told me that the Rogues would not have been emboldened to do so unless they knew about our disagreement. I don't need to be a vigilante to know that meant I had a rat. Luckily for me, he made himself known." The waiter shuddered and a fresh wave of tears came out of his eyes. Edward forced himself to maintain eye contact with him. "You were the person who was nearly killed," Oswald continued. "As a token of goodwill, I leave this man's fate entirely in your hands, Edward. Say the word, and I will dispose of him."

Edward stood still, staring at the pathetic wretch in the chair. Not so long ago, he would have shot him dead without a care in the world. How old was this waiter? 21? Maybe 22? Not that much older than Ellen. The daughter that this man had almost taken him away from. Edward took a step forward, stopping when he was right in front of the man. He ripped the tape off his mouth, causing him to hiss out in pain.

"Please," the waiter choked out. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Not. One. More. Word." Edward bit out. The man bit his lip, trying not to cry harder. Edward sucked a quick breath in through his nose, forcing himself to calm down. "Why?" he asked.

"My mother's got a lot of medical bills," the waiter said in a rush. "Two-Face was paying me to give him information about Mr. Cobblepot. It wasn't anything personal, I didn't know what they were going to do to you, I swear to God-"

Edward raised his cane and the waiter fell silent, trying to shrink away from the blow. "'Wasn't anything personal'?" Edward asked. "Do you really think I care that it wasn't personal?" The waiter started to sob again and Edward looked at him with no small amount of disgust. He remembered in July of the informant who had betrayed him to Bane. He'd disappeared somewhere into the Gotham Underground, and Edward hadn't been in the emotional state to look for him. Now he was presented with a golden opportunity to remind that man and anyone else who got ideas the fate that awaited those who betrayed the Riddler...but he wasn't the Riddler anymore, was he? "You've caught me at a transitional phase of my life," he said, at last, lowering his cane. "Five years ago, I would have murdered a man for far less than what you've done to me." A tremor ran through the waiter's body and Edward realized, much to his dismay, that he almost pitied the young man. "I believe that you didn't intend for me to be abducted and killed." He saw a flash of Penny and Ellen in his mind. "But I was not the only person you endangered," he snarled. "And if I spared you, what sort of message would that send to Gotham? That there aren't any consequences for trying to kill me? I'd be dead by the end of the week." He looked behind him for a brief moment to see Oswald and his men watching him intently. The word about what he did tonight would spread. Killing the man outright was out of the question. He had too much to lose to throw it all away by killing this worm. "I could simply walk away and leave you to your former employer," he said, turning back to the waiter. "No doubt he'd make quick work of you. But even if I wasn't the one to do the deed, I'd still be responsible for your death, and you're not worth having on my conscience." The waiter let out a tiny gasp and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank-" Edward cut him off with a backhand.

"I said I wouldn't kill you. That doesn't mean you're walking away from this unscathed," Edward hissed. He looked over his shoulder at one of Oswald's men. "Does anyone here have his wallet?"

"Got it right here," One of the enforcers said, tossing him a small, beaten up wallet. Edward opened it to find it empty of cash and credit cards, but the man's ID was still inside, as was his social security card. Edward took both of them out and threw the wallet to the ground.

"I'll be keeping these," Edward said, pocketing both cards. "From now on, you're going to be on my watchlist. If you leave Gotham, I'll know about it. If you try to change your name, I'll know about it. If you get married, I'll know about it. If your mother racks up another couple thousand in bills and goes into collections, I'll know about it. You will never make a move for the rest of your miserable life without me knowing about it. Do I make myself clear?" The waiter nodded choppily, his face ashen gray. "Good." Edward unscrewed the top of his cane and pulled out the long, thin blade. He cut through the man's bonds, then tipped the chair over, knocking him to the ground. "Now get out."

The waiter pulled himself to his feet and ran like a rabbit out of the basement. Edward turned to take stock of the room. Half of Oswald's men looked disappointed that they weren't going to see a bloodbath, the others looked shaken. Oswald himself had an unreadable look on his face before he gave Edward a nod of approval. "I must say, you showed that man more mercy than I would have," he said. Then he snorted. "Although, perhaps mercy is too strong a word."

Edward sighed. He still had Batman to deal with tonight. "I need another drink."