I stuff my hands in my pockets as I walk between the bustling cubicles of City Hall. I fight a sigh of relief when the receptionist smiles warmly at me as she finishes up her phone call. At least I won't have a struggle trying to get in to see Harvey.

"Oh! Mr. Wayne! Welcome! You can go on in," she gestures to the door before picking the phone back up to take another call. I step into the main office and close the door quietly behind me, surprised to see no one sitting behind the desk or any of the lights on.

"Uh, Harvey?" I call out, the pre-burned face of Harvey before his accident staring back at me from old campaign posters.

"Back here, Bruce!" Harvey calls from the balcony. "Take a seat, I'll be right out!"

I stare at Harvey's back as he paces out on the balcony, seemingly panicked. "No, no, no, not today," I can hear him muttering. "Stop, stop, stop. God, this has to stop."

"I, uh, never got a chance to congratulate you. That was quite the acceptance speech." I find an excuse to call out to him, to try and talk to him.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, thanks! I know you weren't thrilled about me getting back out there so soon! I'm glad I didn't listen to you!" I walk up to his desk, noticing the pristine stacks of papers, nothing out of place. "It's as good as it's gonna get," I hear Harvey mumble to himself as he steps back in the office, closing his balcony doors. "You know, Bruce, I've been looking forward to this my entire career-the day Harvey Dent takes his official portrait as mayor of Gotham. And he looks like this." Harvey carefully extracts the mask from the burnt half of his face and I feel my eyes widen at the sight. The skin covering the left half of his face is burned away, leaving charred remnants and exposed muscle. My gut twists with guilt. If only I'd been able to save them both.

Harvey lowers himself into his office chair and gestures for me to sit as well, which I do, pulling my hands from my pockets. "Glad you survived the trip up here, Bruce! You wanna tell me what's going on? I didn't keep you waiting that long, did I?"

I take a deep breath, debating how I should even begin. "I have reason to believe you're being watched."

Harvey tries to laugh it off. "You sound paranoid, Bruce." I try not to let my annoyance show. I'm tired of being shrugged off.

"The Children of Arkham are tracking the GCPD, they're likely keeping tabs on you too."

Harvey's eyes drop to stare at an empty spot on his desk, brow furrowing and teeth visibly clenched through his skinless cheek. I open my mouth to say something else when Harvey looks back to me. "I'll handle it. Thank you, Bruce." I nod, not knowing what else to do, when a drop of blood from a reopened wound falls to his desk. Harvey slams his hand down upon realizing and shoots up from his chair. "Damn it!" He shouts in anger and grabs his handkerchief to press gingerly to his face. "Those Children of Arkham jumped me. It's only getting worse." Harvey pulls the handkerchief back to see that its' covered in blood. He must've torn numerous scabs open when he removed his mask.

"It's out of control and I can't stop it."

"I heard Batman showed up to help." I offer, hoping to gauge Harvey's reaction on my inability to save him. I expect bitterness but Harvey surprises me at the level of Malice I receive in his response.

"Yeah, too late," Harvey growls. "Harvey Dent does everything by the book, to the letter of the law. But that isn't working." He growls again, sounding very unlike himself, like a whole other person. Harvey pulls his double sided coin out of his pocket, spinning it on the desk in front of him.

"Sure it is-" Harvey says to himself, sounding normal. "He's turning things around!"

"Barely," the other voice growls back. "Slowly,"

"I'd like to see you do better."

"Watch me."

"How are you going to fix this mess?"

I lean back in my seat, completely taken back by Harvey's verbal argument with himself. Like two sides of himself are fighting to win.

"Simple, easy. Curfews after dark, checkpoints at every bridge, mandatory identification cards, 24/7 video surveillance-"

"You're acting strange, Harvey," I cut in, standing from my seat. He's acting more than strange but he seems to be on a very dangerous precipice of losing himself so I know I must tread lightly.

"This whole city's acting strange!" He slams his fist down on his desk. I raise my eyebrows and the look of shock seems to pull Harvey out of his episode. "Sorry, sorry about that, Bruce. Guess I got a little lost there. Probably not getting enough sleep these days." There has to be more going on. This isn't normal. I'm afraid he might be experiencing a psychotic break under all this stress.

"Look, we're both under a lot of stress right now. We should be able to lean on each other."

"Stronger together, right?"

"It's the only way," I try to offer a reassuring smile though I don't know if it works.

We're interrupted by a quiet knock before the secretary pops her head in. Harvey immediately the burnt side of his face away from her.

"Uh, Mr. Dent? The photographer's ready for you."

"Thank you, Deborah, I'll be right out!"

Harvey delicately reattaches his face mask before grabbing his coin and flipping it, staring at the side that looks back at him before glancing up at me. "Please, Bruce. Don't tell anyone about this. If anyone finds out or thinks I'm not fit to be mayor, it's all over. Everything I've worked for." Though my gut tells me something isn't right, I can't lose another friend right now, no matter how distant we've grown.

"Your secret is safe with me, Harvey," I promise him.

Harvey releases a sigh of relief. "Thanks Bruce, I owe you. Again. Again and again." I follow Harvey to the door, watching as he fiddles with his tie before he looks back over his shoulder at me. "See you around, Bruce." I watch as he walks away, straightening his shoulders and trying to put on a confident front.

I glance around the room, preparing to leave when I notice an open-faced newspaper laying on the side table between the chairs. I don't know how I didn't notice it before. The title immediately catches my attention, reading Inside the Children of Arkham: An Interview With Their Leader by Vicki Vale. An interview with the Children of Gotham's leader? Wonder how Vicki managed to score that?

Realizing I need a minute, I close myself back in Harvey's office, pulling out my phone and dialing Alfred as I do so.

"Bruce?"

"Have you seen today's copy of the Gazette?"

"It just arrived a moment ago. It seems Ms. Vale has been talking to some very interesting people. People the Batman would like to find. Do you think she would be willing to help you? She may be the only lead we have on the Children of Arkham's leader. Perhaps she could be….persuaded to reveal her source."

"Yeah, if she's been able to talk to their leader then by extension, so can we."

"Do you think she'd hand that information over to Bruce Wayne?"

"Unlikely. I stonewalled her at the GCPD after Falcone was shot. I can't afford to waste time with Vicki. Let's offer her a chat with Batman."

"Good idea, sir."

"Can you scramble the line?"

"Right away," I wait a moment before hearing a ringing begin. I take a deep breath to prepare myself, trying to think of which way is best to go at this.

"Vale,"

"I saw your story in the Gazette this morning. I want to talk."

"Who-who is this?"

"Batman,"

"I-I didn't realize that Batman was a fan of my work." She stutters.

"Didn't say I was a fan, just that I wanted to talk."

"I've been meaning to thank you. What you did at the debate….I'm not sure I would've made it out of there otherwise. I'd say I owe you one. Meet me at sundown, Cobblepot Park."

"Deal." I immediately hang up, taking another deep breath. I have to say I'm relieved I didn't have to offer her anything or have to give her an I-owe-you.

I let myself out of Harvey's office, casting the paper one last glance before leaving through the incredibly less crowded cubicle-lined hall.

I spot Vicki leaning against the statue in the middle of the park, seemingly lost in thought with a pen and coffee in hand. After quickly glancing around to make sure nobody else is with her, I jump off of my vantage point and land mere feet away.

"Strange place to meet."

"Wasn't sure you were gonna show." Is all she offers in response. "Gotta admit, part of me thought it was a prank call. Nothing is ever this easy."

"I said I'd be here, didn't I?"

"Uh, good to know." She steps away from the statue and approaches. "So….Batman, I'll skip the obvious question." Vicki walks past me and takes a seat on a park bench, staring up at me as she gets comfortable. "The Children of Arkham seem to be your latest target. We all know their methods are….extreme but what about their message?" I see Vicki pull her phone out of her pocket and begin to record. "Their leader claims that Gotham's elite have been abusing their power, often at the expense of the ordinary citizens. For the record, do you think there's any validity to what they're saying? In your opinion?"

I step towards her, glaring at the pen and pad of paper she seems to have magically produced. "I don't want this conversation recorded."

She frowns. "I thought we were doing an interview."

"Turn it off."

"Fine." She snatches her phone and turns it off.

"Their message is picking up traction, especially since the interview."

"I need to know everything they told you."

Vicki sighs, glaring at the sidewalk. "Does no one read anymore? It was a lot of posturing and grandiose monologuing, really. 'We're going to purge the city of corruption' sort of thing. Not great from an investigative standpoint, but the public will eat it up. Part of the job, you know? If that's the only reason you called me, you should really just read it yourself. They aren't trying to hide their motivations."

I scoff. "Gotham needs to know how dangerous the Children of Arkham really are. You're hiding the truth."

"Huh. My editor says the physical copies are practically sold out." She gloats. "I'd say the truth is getting out there, it just may not be the side you like. But that's why I'm here. To get the other half I'm missing."

"Where did you meet?" I demand. "How did they contact you?"

"Yeah, okay," Vicki stands. "I'm going to stop you right there. I'm not selling out a source, not even for Batman. The circumstances of that meeting are confidential. Just like this one. I'm sure you wouldn't want me telling everyone how to get ahold of you."

"You're putting the safe of everyone in Gotham at risk!" How does she not see the harm she's doing in spreading these lies?!

"Well, if you really care about the safety of Gotham, why aren't you looking at Bruce Wayne? I still want to believe he's a good guy too, but with the information that's surfaced…." I narrow my eyes. "Everyone's angry. Everyone wants him to answer for what his family did. Everyone," she steps closer. "Except for you. Why haven't you gone after him yet? No way he's just slipped under your radar. But so far, no action from you against him."

"I'm not protecting Bruce Wayne." I step closer to her but she doesn't back down, something sparking almost manically in her eyes.

"Maybe not, but in this case, doing nothing sure sends a strong statement. Don't think people haven't noticed. I don't know if maybe you have some….connection with him. Maybe there's more to the story than I realize. But you can't ignore the facts." Vicki brushes past me. "Whether he intended to or not, his family has been stealing from innocent people for years! So, what are you going to do about it? What is Batman doing to protect them from Bruce Wayne? The people wanna know."

"Believe me, I'll make sure Bruce Wayne's debt will be repaid." I have to fix my family's reputation.

"Gotham will be glad to hear it. Thank you. Good luck with the Children of Arkham. I'll be sure your message gets out." Vicki begins to walk away but she hasn't told me what I wanted yet.

I step in front of her, blocking her exit, and end up spooking her, causing her to drop her coffee. "Please, Miss Vale. Think what you want about Bruce Wayne, but I need to find the Children of Arkham before they hurt anyone else."

She sighs before looking up at me. "You're right. You upheld your end." Noticing that I'm not going to move until she tells me, she sighs again and pulls out her pen and paper, scribbling something down. "I could lose my job for this." She states before tearing the paper out and handing it to me. "Here, this is where we met for the interview. Just, please don't tell anyone I gave this to you." I give a single nod before she walks around me. I watch her leave before lifting the note.

Skytrain Depot

Highland Lane

A/N: Thank goodness this chapter wasn't nearly as hectic as the last!

Thx!

AMM