Introduction
So many things have changed in the past few months. When I first returned to Gotham; I was barely making ends meet as a schoolteacher, living in a dangerous part of town and a stone's throw away from a dangerous mobster. I often felt as if I was adrift in the vast ocean, hoping to someday find a haven or land. Oswald Cobblepot became that haven for me. He swooped back into my life, despite our parting ways years ago. He gave me shelter, protection, clothing, occupation, friendship, and now affection. The cynical part of me was wondering at what price did these gifts come; surely, he was wanting something in return. And what could I offer him? I was an average looking, dull-witted, and a weak woman; but I would try hard to make a difference, not only to Oswald but in this city. Soon after we started dating, Ozzie offered to get me my old job back, but I couldn't get a job by deceitful means or by intimidation. Although he seemed annoyed at my response to his offer, I held firm in this decision. Instead, I started volunteering at a homeless shelter, which gave me a method of benefitting the city and my time singing at the club gave me a chance to help with his business; thereby providing at least a little repercussion to his generosity.
For a while, this was enough to occupy me. Now that Ozzie and I were officially in a relationship, he insisted on giving me a protection detail. This meant that anytime I left the apartment, one of his associates would accompany me. I appreciated his concern for me, but I didn't like the idea of being under watch all the time. Despite their relative silence most of the time, I could feel their scrutinizing gaze with every turn I would make. I've always valued my independence, at least periodically. However, I also understood that this was their job, so I attempted to make the best of the situation by getting to know them. All of them seemed to have been led into a path of darkness and violence in order to survive in this city; most were former gang members and jail birds. The only associate that I would never see was Butch, since he was constantly with Ozzie. During various conversations, men told me about why he had a scar on his head and the twitching that I noticed before; Victor Zsasz, a professional assassin that was formerly Don Falcone's number one hit-man, brainwashed Butch to be Ozzie's servant. This broke my heart and I wanted to help him somehow. No one should be kept against their will... I wracked my brain trying to find a way to release him from his mental prison. Even if it would take Oswald's man away from him.
A few times at the homeless shelter, I was harassed by a few of the men that stayed there as well as some that volunteered there. They would try to touch me, say vulgar things to me, etc. But I saved from the harassers by Ozzie's associates, often simply by intimidation; but as a result, most people at the shelter became afraid of me. When I interacted with the children, their parents quickly took them away and admonished them for 'bothering' me; men and women would avoid eye contact with me and speak with me as little as possible. So, with a heavy heart, I decided to end my volunteer work there. It was no good for me to frighten those in need, so I assured the director of the shelter that I would continue my support by different methods. Although I wanted desperately to continue to serve the citizens of Gotham, I knew that I now had a reputation that would be almost impossible to overcome. I handed the director of the shelter my nametag and shook his hand.
The car was waiting for me outside of the shelter, and one of Ozzie's new associates was waiting for me. Jay was a younger man with long, dark hair and an eyepatch covering his right eye. He was one of the quieter men in Ozzie's entourage, so I didn't bother to strike a conversation with him in the car. As we were riding in the car, I tried to think about how to fulfill my promise to the director of the homeless shelter. After a while, inspiration finally struck; just in time for the car to arrive at my next destination.