It took about an hour before Percy had been able to free himself from his colleagues and he finally managed to get back into his car. Part of him wanted to just go home and sleep. It felt as though he hadn't slept in days. But Meg was still floating around somewhere, and while some of the ingredients she needed were hard to come by, it likely wouldn't take too long before she got what she wanted. So he left the precinct and made his way over to the apartment complex where Meg's older sister sometimes resided.
The apartment was an upper-crust complex, in the nicer part of downtown complete with a gate guard.
"Something I can help you with officer?" The guard asked as Percy flashed his badge. Percy reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the photo of Meg.
"She been in here recently?" He asked. The older man squinted as he took a look at the photograph,
"Yeah, she's Olivia's sister. She's been staying up in her apartment for the last few days. Said she was on a break from school or something." He rolled his eyes, "Hasn't been here all day though. She a runaway then?" He asked and Percy nodded. The guard let out a snort, and lifted the gate for Percy,
"Good luck officer," He said with a tip of his cap. Percy gave the man a thankful smile, and drove into the lot. He parked the car in an open space, and found the apartment on the first floor with relative ease. He didn't feel anyone on the inside, and after throwing down a veil of mist to hide him from mortal eyes, he pulled out his lockpicks, only to pause and frown,
"Fuck," He muttered to himself, the doors were locked with electronic locks, and couldn't be picked.
Sighing in annoyance, Percy decided he was over doing things the proper way. Trusting in his mist-veil, Percy leaned his shoulder into the door, and with a minor use of his abnormal strength, he broke the lock of the door. Pushing the door open, Percy strode into the very nice-looking apartment. The furniture alone probably cost more than what Percy paid in rent in an entire year. He walked through a small hallway into a beautiful and lavish living room, there was a large flatscreen against the wall, a small bar by the kitchen, and an enormous sofa against the wall. In front of the sofa was a small glass table, and on the table was a smattering of collected herbs. Percy recognized bay leaves and calendula flowers, but saw no sign of the acacia powder. Not a surprise, of the herbs needed, it was by far the hardest to come by, but that didn't mean that Percy couldn't make Meg's life a little more difficult. Percy grabbed a waste bin and placed it by the counter, then he jogged back down to his car, and grabbed an old matchbook. Once back in the apartment, he disabled the smoke detector and set about collecting the leaves into the bin. When all the herbs were collected, he lit a match and threw it into the bin. In a matter of moments, the plants went up in flames and dark smoke started pooling around the room.
He was torn about what he was meant to do next. The girl had to come back to the room at some point. But he didn't know when she would even be back, and while he could stay the night in the hopes of catching her, he would much rather sleep in his own bed. Sighing, he reached into an inner pocket of his coat and withdrew a piece of chalk. Walking over to a painting on the wall by the front door, Percy removed the picture from the wall, and inscribed a small sigil with the chalk. Pressing his palm to the symbol, he channeled a bit of his divine will into the symbol, and it glowed brightly for a moment. The glow disappeared, and Percy replaced the painting.
It was a relatively simple enchantment, one he'd learned a few years previously. It was simply an alarm of sorts. When someone entered the apartment and passed by the marking, it would alert Percy and he could simply vapor-travel to the desired location. While Percy detested using his abilities, he was willing to take the minor blow to his pride if it meant keeping the kid from doing something immensely stupid. He was on his way back to his car when his phone buzzed. Percy swore so loudly that the gate guard actually turned to look at him. Waving him off, Percy pulled his phone to his ear,
"Jackson," He grunted,
"You sound pissy," Montoya noted,
"Been a long night," Percy said wearily, "What's going on?"
"We got real fucking lucky," Montoya said, and Percy's heart raced for a second, "Your theory was right. Remember that pageant winner? Well the detail we assigned called it in that someone had broken into the apartment. Patrols moved in but the bastard got out through the window. Luckily the prom queen is ok, she's still out of it though. Guy's been using chloroform to knock out his victims."
"But he's in the wind?" Percy asked,
"Yup," She said, sounding as annoyed as Percy felt. "Gone. Left his car there. Patrols ran the plates, and they were stolen which is what tipped them off that something was off. They confronted the bastard but he jumped out the window before they could get cuffs around him, neither of our boys here is willing to explain quite how that managed to happen, but I supposed it ultimately doesn't matter,"
"No, I suppose not," Percy said, as he got into his car, "You said the pageant winner, right?" He asked as he turned over the ignition and his car roared to life.
"That's right," Montoya confirmed, "Remember where that is?"
"Yeah," Percy said, and he waved at the gate guard as he exited from the parking lot, "I'm on my way, you there now?"
"I am, I'll get the statement from the patrols and leave you to deal with talking to the neighbors," Montoya said, sounding entirely too smug for Percy's liking.
"Yeah, yeah," He grumbled, "Rub some more salt in it, why don't ya,"
It took some time, but within twenty minutes, Percy was on the scene. Montoya met him halfway up the staircase to the fourth floor of the complex. His ward had gone off when he had been halfway there, telling him that Meg had returned to the apartment, and Percy had seriously contemplated turning around and snagging her, but he couldn't just abandon his post. Deciding that she would have to find more plants and return to the apartment at some point, he did his best to swallow his aggravation. But he was still in a foul mood when he and Montoya walked into the pageant winner's apartment.
"The victim is already on her way to Gotham General," Montoya explained, "Doc's said that she got enough of the shit to knock her out of it for a couple of hours, so we won't be getting anything out of her for a while unfortunately." She gestured over to a pair of patrol officers, who were busy talking to a pair of detectives from Internal Affairs.
"Officers Thompson and Williams," Montoya explained, "They were the ones on the detail, Williams spotted the car, and Thompson ran the plates, when they came up as stolen, they headed into the building." They arrived outside of the door to room number 412. The door was thrown wide open, and the entrance was barred somewhat by yellow crime scene tape; Percy peeked inside to see a number of crime scene technicians were roaming around the apartment. Glancing down at the door knob to the apartment, Percy investigated the handle, and the area around the door.
"No signs of a forced entry." He mused, "He pick it?"
Montoya nodded, "That's what I was thinking. Picked the lock, crept into the apartment, jumped our girl, and was about to start packing up when our boys gave him a little surprise. But c'mon, I've yet to show you the best part," Montoya gestured, inside and the pair of them ducked under the crime scene tape and into the apartment. Montoya led him through a small interior hallway and over to what was unmistakably the mast bedroom. The lights had been turned on, displaying the true mess that had been made in the chaos of the brief encounter.
The bed sheets were thrown asunder, there was a slightly dried and stained kitchen towel with an evidence marker next to it on the floor. The window looked like it had been dislodged somewhat, as though someone had kicked it roughly as they were climbing through. And most interesting of all, was spray of red on the wall, directly opposite the bed.
"Is that-" He started to ask, but got cut off by Montoya's snarl of satisfaction,
"His blood? Absolutely," She grinned at him,
"Yeah, great Monty," Percy said in exasperation, "Only we got nothing to compare it to. With how meticulous this guy has been I doubt there's a record of him in the system."
"Well aren't you just a little ray of sunshine," She observed, placing a hand on her holstered sidearm and cocking her hip out to the side. Percy sighed and rubbed tiredly at his face,
"Sorry, Monty, long night is all." He said wearily, and gestured for them to head out into the hallway, "Let's go check in with the head nerd. See if they got anything for us."
He strode out of the room and could feel Monty on his heels. They turned the corner and walked into the kitchen. They approached the head of the forensics team. He was an older man with no hair and a bushy brown mustache, Anthony Masters was a thirty-year veteran of the forensics team, and as such, he wasted no time in launching into detail about what they'd found in the building.
"I suspect that you already know that he entered through the front door," He said without preamble, "Lockpicks from the look of things. Already got a sample of the blood headed down to central for a full workup. We've got a tow incoming for the car, but initial sweeps don't look like they'll turn up anything. Car was stolen about a week ago from Camila Thomas, her statement in the record says that she never saw anything. Just that she was walking her dog, came home and her car was gone. Apart from that, we got nothing. Pretty standard fare."
Montoya asked a question, but Percy wasn't listening. As Masters was talking, Percy's attention had been focused on something on the kitchen table. There was a sandwich wrapper, with some of the crumbs of a half-eaten sandwich still in the wrapper, but that wasn't what Percy was focusing on. It was the insignia on the wrapper that had Percy's attention. An insignia that Percy recognized, one he had seen at least three other times. One of the corner's of the wrapper was half-lifted into the air, revealing an image, an image of a smiling cartoon pig.
Percy's heart started racing and he pulled his phone out. Punching in a few keystrokes, he pulled up a map of Gotham, He swiped around for a moment before he found what he was looking for. He scanned through some of the contents before his eyes widened, and his heart was racing so quickly it was starting to hurt. Tucking his phone away in his arm, he pulled his notepad out and quickly jotted down a note. He tapped Montoya on the arm quickly, and she turned to look at him, an annoyed expression on her face.
"I'll be right back," Percy said, and before she could stop him, Percy was marching out of the apartment and down into the hallway. He left the building as calmly as he allowed himself, he refused to run, refused to allow himself to hope that maybe he had just hit the jackpot. He got to his car and opened the passenger side door. Flipping open the glovebox, he rifled around inside for a few seconds before he grabbed what he was looking for. With his possession in hand he walked briskly back into the building. Once he was back inside the apartment, he walked over to a coffee table in the living room, Montoya met him and peered around him as Percy spread out a map on the table. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was willing to let Percy work through his process.
Pulling his notepad and a pen out of his pocket Percy began checking his notes, and then writing a small "x" on specific points on the map, the process lasted for nearly ten minutes and when he was done, he stood up and looked at Montoya. His expression was calm, but his insides were raging in triumph.
"All right," Montoya said slowly, "Care to clue me in here?" She asked,
"One second," Percy said, then looked over at a nearby officer milling around the kitchen,
"Hey, Gibbons," he called out, and the officer turned to look at him. "Mind grabbing that wrapper over there for me?" The man looked confused for a moment, as he followed where Percy was pointing, before nodding and grabbing the wrapper. Walking over to Percy, the officer handed him the wrapper. Percy thanked Gibbons, then he shoved the wrapper into Montoya's hands.
"Look familiar?" He asked. Montoya gave him a confused look, before examining the wrapper. For a moment, she seemed exasperated, but then she frowned. Smoothing out the wrapper she examined the insignia on the wrapper.
"Hang on a second," She said, "Wasn't there a wrapper like this in the first car, and in Edgrow's apartment."
"In Kirkpatrick's and Henry's apartment's too." Percy nodded, "I just checked, it belongs to a butcher shop called Professor Pyg's." He pointed at the map on the table, and Montoya leaned in to take a look,
"Ok Metro," She said softly, tracing each location a finger, "Explain to me what I'm looking at here," Percy nodded and pointed at the map,
"This is the butcher's shop," Percy said, circling one of the "x's" with a finger, "And this is the first victim's apartment," he said moving his finger to another "x" that marked the Kirkpatrick apartment. Taking his pen, Percy then drew a line from the first victim's apartment to the second. "This is Allen's apartment," he added, and then he repeated the process with the other victims, until there was a full circle formed on the map.
"Each of the victims was within at least a block of this butchers shop, well within walking distance." Percy explained, "Remember the doc said that he was a butcher right? And here we have someone right stab in the middle of the killing zone."
"Ok," Montoya said slowly, "But how did we miss this in the screening of the financial statements? We should have seen this if all of our victims were going to the same place,"
Percy slid his phone across the table, where there was a review page of the shop on the screen, "Not if the shop is cash only. No paper trail, no way it shows up in a review of their transaction history."
"So you're thinking that these people come in, our boy chats them up, figures out that they fit his profile of target and then tails them home? How does that figure? How's he supposed to be tracking them?" Montoya asked.
Percy smiled, "Didn't need to track them, take a closer look," He said gesturing to the phone. Montoya looked back down at the screen, her eyes narrowed, then she snarled,
"Son of a bitch," She hissed,
"Four months ago, Professor Pyg started doing at home delivery. Set up in cash deposits at the store, you can have meat delivered directly to your doorstep and here's the kicker, the first delivery is free. So here's what I'm thinking, each of our victims goes into the shop, and picks up something. Maybe it's a slab of meat, maybe it's a sandwich, either way they end up in his shop. Once inside, he figures out whether they fit his target demographic or not. When he does, he gets them to sign up for the delivery,"
"And he knows exactly where to go to get inside," Montoya finished. A look of triumph flashed briefly over her face, before she grimaced, "This is good shit Metro, but it's weak. There's no way we can swing a warrant on all of this. This is the very definition of circumstantial." She crossed her arms and frowned, "We could sit on him, but given how tonight went, it could be weeks before he resurfaces again, and I'm not crazy about giving him an opportunity to skate on this."
"I had a thought on that," Percy said, having had an idea on his way to the car for the map,
"But I don't think you're going to like it."
BREAK
"I don't like it,"
"I said the same thing sir,"
"Commissioner, respectfully, we're working against a clock here. The longer we go without moving the longer he has to either bury his tracks, or cut and run."
Commissioner Gordon growled and angrily pulled his pipe out of from a drawer at his desk. Percy and Montoya had immediately called the Commissioner and dragged him out of bed. They were in his personal office at his home. He hadn't been thrilled about being dragged out of bed so early, but had perked up slightly when Percy and Montoya had explained what Percy had found. They'd also taken the time, at Percy's insistence, to bring in Hugo Strange to consult on what they'd found.
"Run it by me again Jackson," Gordon said as he took a large pull from his pipe.
"According to the Doc here, our boy is obsessive compulsive, right? He has a pathological need to pursue perfection, and to find a way to complete his project. He needs to complete it, but he also is intelligent enough to know that he needs to lie low, so he won't go looking for trouble. It was too close tonight, and even he knows that he can't roll those dice and play again anytime soon, so he's going to curb his desires and lay low. How am I doing so far Doc?" Percy asked,
"An excellent show of deductive and psychological reasoning so far, detective," Strange replied,
"Thanks," Percy nodded, "So here's my thinking. We need to push the limits of his willpower. We know we don't have even a quarter of what we'd need for a proper warrant, but I know we got the right guy here."
"Lazlo Valentin," Gordon said, as he looked down and began reading from the file on his desk, "Born and raised here in Gotham. Drifted in and out of the foster system before he was finally taken in by Accordia and Walter Valentin. Was diagnosed about ten years ago as an obsessive compulsive sociopath, with severe depressive tendencies. Took over his father's shop six years ago when his parents…mysteriously disappeared. Has been running the business ever since." He sighed, "Well he certainly fits the profile Strange put together." Percy grunted in affirmation,
"Like I said sir, Valentin is our guy, I'm sure of it." Percy said,
"Still doesn't make your little plan any less of a risk. What if he isn't your guy? We arrest the wrong damn man and our entire department looks like an even bigger joke than it already does." Gordon said,
"That's the thing sir, we aren't trying to go to him. We're trying to bring him to us." Percy explained,
"By using you as bait?" Gordon asked incredulously,
"Exactly," Percy said, "Sir, I know what I look like," He gestured at himself, "I'm just the bastard's type. I offer myself up on an open platter, give him an opportunity so juicy that he just won't be able to help himself, and then we let him come to us."
"And what if he doesn't bite?" Gordon asked, "What if you're wrong?"
"I'm not," Percy said determinately, "But even if I am, that set's us back what, a night? We start from square one and we keep hunting the bastard. But right now, we have an opportunity and I don't think we can afford to waste it."
Gordon leaned back in his seat, his arms crossed as he puffed on his pipe and he considered Percy's words. He looked over at Strange,
"Doc, what are you thinking?" He asked Strange,
Strange had been seated in a chair in the corner of the room, his fingers steepled in front of his chin as he considered the question.
"I believe…" He said softly, carefully considering his words, "That detective Jackson is correct. Mr. Valentin suffers from a particular need to finish his creation. Intellectually he knows that he must stop what he is doing, at least for the time being, but he is not thinking intellectually. He is furious. His last experiment was a failure, we know that much from the way he butchered the body. Add that to tonight's fiasco and he is growing increasingly erratic. I believe that if offered with a…sufficient candidate such as detective Jackson, then he will be unable to help himself. He will need to hunt, need to complete his experiment. He has come too far, come too close for him to quit now. But we need to work quickly, while he is still thinking erratically. If he has time cool off and begin thinking rationally, I do not believe we will be successful. If we are to move forward with detective Jackson's plan, it must be tomorrow."
Gordon didn't look pleased by the analysis.
"I'm not thrilled by the idea of putting one of my people directly in the line of fire like this Jackson." He said,
"I understand and appreciate the concern sir," Percy said,
"A respectful way of telling me to fuck off," Gordon snorted, but Percy didn't bat an eye,
"Believe me si, I can take care of myself. Besides, I'll have the cavalry waiting in the wings, we record the entire thing and I'll have a cam on me. The moment Montoya and our boys see Valentin head up to my apartment, they move in." Percy said.
"We can put surveillance up in Metro's apartment," Montoya said, though she didn't sound pleased by the idea, "Get the entire thing on camera. Metro wears the cam in and out of the shop. We'll be able to watch everything, make sure it all goes down the right way and that Metro is never in any real trouble."
Gordon sighed again and took another pull of his pipe. He exhaled deeply and was briefly hidden by a plume of smoke. When he reappeared, he was leaning forward on the desk, and his hands were folded in front of him.
"All right," He finally said, "All right. Let's do this. I'll get in touch with Judge McKenzie about getting a head-start on a warrant for the shop. Assuming Valentin is really our guy, I want this done the right way. You have a story in mind? I assume you aren't going to tell the guy you're a cop."
"I had an idea on that, actually," Montoya said, and all heads turned her way, "MMA." She said simply, "Metro here is an up and comer in the octagon and is doing some training for an upcoming match. We can get our techies to put together something online just on the off-chance that he decides to look him up. But that seems like it would be juicy enough that Valentin wouldn't be able to pass it up."
"That's good," Percy nodded,
"You a good actor, Jackson?" Gordon asked,
"Not going to win any Oscars, but I do pretty well," Percy said, and Gordon grunted.
"Good enough I suppose," He muttered, "Let's get on it then. I'll have a word with our tech groups and get an order out to get your apartment covered Jackson. We're going to have only one shot at this, let's make sure we get this done correctly. All right, all of you, go home and get some sleep. I have a feeling we're all going to need it."
BREAK
Percy adjusted the sweatshirt slightly before fixing his glasses in agitation. He forgot how much he hated wearing wires and cameras. He tapped the wire in his sleeve twice in rapid succession, then he waited for a moment, and received a series of light buzzes through the wire in response. They had been up early to get started on their work for the day and Percy had been woken up by a crew from the department who began setting up surveillance equipment in Percy's apartment.
He supposed it was better to have them as a wake-up call as opposed to the alarm he set up at Meg's hideaway. There only one other buzz from the alarm all night after the first alarm, meaning that she had left at some point and had yet to return to the hideaway, which was something Percy couldn't decide was good or not. But he had to push that from his mind for the time being, he had other things to worry about.
After receiving the all clear on the crew's end, Percy got out of his car and began the block-long walk over to the butcher shop and deli hybrid. He had parked deliberately far enough away so that if Valentin had some way of surveilling the outside of his shop, he would just see Percy coming down the street and heading inside. Percy approached the outside of the shop, and made a small show of stopping and looking up at the sign over the door. After taking a moment to pretend like he was thinking about it, Percy pushed open the door to the shop.
The inside looked like any other deli or butcher shop Percy had ever been in. On one side of the shop there were several small tables where a couple of people were seated and eating sandwiches or talking. Along the wall on the other side was a display case of various different types of meat. It had a sterilized and clean feeling that left Percy feeling like he was in a hospital rather than a butcher's shop. Spying the man behind the counter, Percy walked over, extending his senses as he did so. He ignored the feelings of the people in the shop and felt around. There was nothing suspicious upstairs, just a few tenants in what Percy was sure was an office complex above the butcher's shop. So he checked down, and hit the jackpot.
He felt several bodies down in what had to be a basement. Their heartbeats were beating at a rhythm so slowly that they were bordering on being dead. This was their man, and Percy's convictions were only reassured when he got closer to the counter. Lazlo Valentin was not an attractive man. His face was disproportioned, with small and dark, beady eyes and a large and wide mouth. He was the right height and body type to fit their profile as well. But it was the man's shoulder that had Percy's attention. It was wrapped heavily in bandages and Percy was sure, based on the haphazard manner of the wrapping, that Valentin had done it himself. His arm was in a sling, and he was limping around the shop, as though he had hurt his leg falling from a great height. Percy followed the man's movements with his glasses, taking care to get his wounded arm in frame so that it was recorded cleanly.
"Hey there," Percy greeted as he approached the counter, waving slightly so as to get the man's attention. Valentin looked up from where he was cutting a slab of meat with a large knife, and looked at Percy. He'd been frowning heavily as he worked, but as he turned and looked at Percy, his expression changed. He looked Percy up and down, before a wide and almost hungry grin spread over his face.
"Afternoon," He said, and his voice was high-pitched and slightly squeaky. He hobbled over to the counter, and rested his arms on the display case, "What can I do for ya?" He asked,
"Friend of mine recommended this place a while ago, said you had the best pastrami sandwiches outside of New York," Percy said, playing up his home-grown accent with a broad grin, resting his own arms on the glass of the case as he pretended to scan the menu over the case.
"Your friend is right, I can get one whipped up for ya real quick if ya want," He said, still eyeing Percy uncomfortably,
"That'd be great," Percy said, taking his opening to start laying out the line, "I go on a diet starting next week, so I'm looking to enjoy good food while I can,"
Valentin let out a high-pitched squeal of a laugh, "Guy like you," He said with another cursory look up and down at Percy, "What have you got to go on a diet for,"
"Gotta hit my mark for a weigh-in a few weeks," Percy said absently, still pretending to scan the menu.
"Weigh-in, huh?" Valentin said, unconsciously licking his lips, "You, uh, you a wrestler or-or something?" He asked, and Percy could feel his heart start to beat faster, not in nervousness, but in excitement.
"Nah," Percy said dismissively, "MMA. I'm on the junior circuit right now. I win the next couple of fights and I'm going to get my shot at the show." He said, summoning as much faux enthusiasm as he could. By the way the man's heart was beating, and the amount he was sweating, Percy had him.
"W-wow," He stammered out, "That's, ahem, that's very impressive, good for you,"
"Thanks," Percy said, and then checked behind him for a moment and spied an empty table in the corner away from the windows, "Why don't I get that pastrami sandwich, and a bag of the jalapeño chips and a bottle of cola." Percy said, fishing in his pocket for his wallet. Pulling it out, and he slapped a twenty down on the counter and gave the man a wink, "Keep the change boss," He said,
"Thank you, sir." He said, absently grabbing the money as he watched Percy walk away, "That'll be right up."
Percy threw a wave over his shoulder and perched himself at the table. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he sent Montoya a text with a fish emoji followed by a fish-hook.
She wrote back immediately,
This is our guy.
I know, you get a good shot of the shoulder? Percy replied,
Got it beautifully. What's with the lunch order? She asked,
Part of the plan. Just trust me on this, Percy replied, as he closed out of his messages and went about pretending to check his email.
A few minutes later, and a delicious-looking sandwich next to a plate of chips and a bottle of cola was set down in front of him by a smiling Valentin. Percy gave the man a smile and thanked him. Valentin took a step back, but didn't leave, he looked like he was waiting to see Percy's reaction. Playing to what the man wanted, Percy lifted the sandwich to his lips and took a large bite of the sandwich. Serial killer or not, the man made a great fucking sandwich. Percy let out a slightly exaggerated moan of delight as he chewed, and closed his eyes in content. He chewed for a few more seconds before he opened his eyes and looked over to the eagerly watching Valentin.
"Holy shit, tastes just like I'm back home," Percy said with a wide grin. Valentin seemed to positively vibrate in excitement,
"I'm so glad you like it," He said, as he nervously played with his apron, he looked like he was barely containing himself from saying something. Percy had a feeling he knew what the man wanted, so he decided to lay out a little more rope for the man to hang himself with.
"All your meat this good?" Percy asked as he picked up the sandwich for another bite.
"Oh yes, oh yes," Valentin nodded excitedly, "It's all just as good-better, in fact. You should try our pork loins! Forgive me for saying so, but they are the best cuts in the entire city,"
"I believe it, if it's even half as good as this is," Percy said with a laugh as he took another bite. This was his opening, the man was practically frothing at the mouth for Percy, but had just enough self-restraint to keep himself from acting on his urges. So, Percy decided to make the decision for the man,
"Hey, got a question for ya" Percy said, "I'm going to need a hell of a lot of good lean meats for my diet the next few weeks, but I'm not going to have the time to run out for meat. You don't do deliveries, do you?" Valentine froze for a moment, and Percy was halfway tempted to begin compelling the man before a nasty and wide grin formed on the butcher's face,
"We do indeed sir," He said, his voice dropping in tone slightly. He sounded like a man on the verge of something incredibly exciting and couldn't control himself, "Would you like me to fetch an order form?"
"That'd be fantastic man," Percy said, as he came to a decision. Setting his sandwich down, Percy wiping his hand off on his pant leg before extending it to the man, "Name's Percy by the way, Percy Johnson," He said, using the false name that the tech gurus had used when putting together Percy's fake online profile. Valentin gripped Percy's hand in his own,
"Lazlo Valentin," the killer said. His grip was tight, but Percy didn't mind, using the skin-on-skin contact and the shake as the impetus for his action, Percy used a minor magical compulsion through the mist. He wasn't forcing Valentin to do anything; he was simply encouraging the man to do what he wanted to do. The spell was rather simple in nature, as it simply made the target more susceptible to acting on their urges, and not consider the consequences of their actions. Valentin wouldn't be doing anything he wasn't already seriously considering; Percy was just adding a little insurance to make sure the man followed through on what he was planning.
"I'll be right back with the order form," He said, his beady eyes dilating in excitement, as his heart was racing. Valentin turned around and limped off to the back of the shop, as Percy's pocket buzzed. Checking his phone, Percy saw he had a message waiting for him from Montoya,
Got him
BREAK
It was the waiting that was the worst part, Jim Gordon decided. The anticipation that something could happen, but not knowing when or even if it would happen. Gordon had seen the footage and had to say, that Jackson, for his part, had played things perfectly. Valentin had bought into what the kid was selling hook, line, and sinker, and had been all but salivating from the moment he had first laid eyes on the man. Gordon initially had no doubt in his mind that Valentin would take the bait, but as the hours stretched on, and the moon rose higher and higher into the sky, he wasn't quite as sure. It was well-past midnight now, and there had been a team marking the shop since Jackson had left, but they hadn't seen hide or hair of the man.
Gordon groaned and stretched his arms over his head, and tried to get more comfortable in his chair, which was a bit of an impossibility. He had always hated stakeouts, they were among the most boring aspects of the job, but what he hated more than that, was having to spend a stakeout in the back of a tech van. Stakeouts were uncomfortable under good circumstances, but in the department issued surveillance vehicles, they were nigh unbearable. He tried to distract himself by looking at the monitors of Jackson in his apartment. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at seeing him comfortable and relaxed in his apartment while he was stuck in the back of a crammed surveillance van. Though he supposed it wasn't his neck on the line if things went poorly, but it was Jackson's.
Gordon had insisted that he be part of the operation, much to consternation of much of the top brass. But Gordon had approached his posting to the Commissioner in much the same way he had his entire career. He wanted to be at the front. He needed to be part of the action, and he refused to sit back, and watch as his people were put in harm's way without him to watch over the operation.
He was jolted back to consciousness when the radio beside him chirped to life,
"Movement," Came the high voice of Thailer Montgomery, "By the back entrance, don't have a good look at it from here, someone have a visual?"
"Got it," Came the gruff voice of Alex Constance, "It's definitely our boy. He's wearing his go-to-get-up. Got eyes on a black hoodie and a pig mask." Gordon's heart raced as he pulled the radio closer to her,
"You get that people?" He asked into the radio,
"Got it Jim," said Montoya from her place in the SWAT van.
"Loud and clear, boss," Jackson said, as he flicked the lights off to his apartment, and got into position in the bedroom. Gordon put the radio down, and out of habit he pulled his weapon free of its holster. Checking the chambers, he replaced the weapon and watched as Jackson did the same with a hidden gun in a holster on his back.
"Just got into a car," Chirped the radio, "He's heading out now. Going south on Fifth."
"Tail him, three car lengths." Came Thailer's voice.
"Check,"
The radio fell silent, save for the occasional update when the car turned down another road. Gordon knew the streets of Gotham well enough to know that Valentin was heading right for them. Like a fly right into the spider's web. Gordon could feel his pulse quicken with each passing moment. He always got a good adrenaline rush going right before the shit hit the fan. Even though he wasn't going to be part of the action, it felt good to be doing real work like this again.
"Contact," Said one of techies in the van, and Gordon's head whipped to the surveillance cams over the street. A black sedan had pulled out onto the street; it drove slowly up to the curb outside of Jackson's apartment. Gordon snatched the radio up, and pressed the mic,
"All team's, be ready to move." He announced, as he fingered his weapon once more.
"T-1, check," Montoya called in,
"T-2, check," Called in Howard Branden, leader of the second team,
"B-1, check," Jackson said.
"Switch the indoor cameras to night-vision," Gordon ordered the techs, who complied immediately. Gordon watched as the inside of the apartment suddenly became awash in a phosphorescent green light. He could see Jackson standing on the other side of the door. They had set up a dummy in the bed, and the plan was to catch the bastard in the act of trying to take Percy, before taking him down.
"Targets on the move," One of the tech's announced, as the door to the sedan opened, and Valentin climbed out. He checked both sides of the street, before he creeping his way into the building, Gordon waited for him to disappear inside the building before he pulled the radio up.
"T-1, T-2, move." He announced, and he watched in another camera as the doors to the vans opened and the two teams swarmed out. Montoya leading the first team, her weapon drawn and level. They moved with swift precision up the street. Once they were at the building, T-2 split off and encircled the building as T-1 entered the building. From the camera inside the apartment, Gordon watched as the door was opened and Valentin crept into the room, before he closed the door behind him, and locked it. He glanced around the apartment for a moment, before he noticed the door at the end of the hall leading to Jackson's bedroom. There was a click, and Gordon checked the comms to see that Jackson had just shut off his radio. Good boy, Gordon thought, better not to leave anything to chance.
"Target is in the apartment, be advised, he locked the door. Gonna have to break it down." Gordon announced, and watched as T-1 entered the building, where he lost sight of Montoya.
"Check," Montoya called back in.
Gordon's blood was pounding in his ears, and he licked his lips in nervousness as he watched Valentin creep towards the door. Valentin tested the knob for a minute, before he slowly and carefully opened the door. Gordon's eyes jumped to where Jackson was standing. He stood poised, and calm. As though this were just another day at the office. For a kid like him, someone who'd seen some of the shit he'd probably seen, it probably was just another day at the office.
"T-1 stacked," Montoya called in,
"On my mark," Gordon responded quickly. His neck was slick with sweat, as the familiar thrill of the hunt overtook him. This was what he was made to do. This was what gave him life. In mere moments, they would have their man.
BREAK
Valentin strode forward with the kind of single-minded focus of a man possessed. He was so close, so very close to perfecting his art. Maybe one or two more attempts and he would be set. He still had some canvasses to work with before he got to work on the fighter. This Percy Johnson, he would be Valentin's crowning achievement. The man was already close to the perfect specimen. The most perfect blend of brawn and beauty. He needed only the brain and he would be complete.
His palma were slick and he did his best to control his breathing. It would not do to wake the man before Valentin got the jump on him. He was no fool, he knew that in a fair fight he wouldn't stand a chance against a professional fighter. But he was too clever for the brute. He gazed upon his victim, his heart racing and his blood thrumming in excitement. Ignoring the pain in his leg, Valentin launched himself at his target. In a smooth and practiced motion, he covered the face of his victim in his towel. He fought to cover the man's face, and to make sure that the rag cover both his face and nose. But…something was wrong. After a second of smothering the large man, Valentin realized that Jackson wasn't fighting back. They always fought back, and a man of Jackson's strength and size should have been fighting back. No, this was wrong, it was all wrong. He whipped the rag off Jackson's face, and Valentin's eyes widened in horror. He gazed down, not into the eyes of a man, but of a makeshift manikin, with no face whatsoever. He only had a moment to process the reality of the situation, before something large and heavy collided with him. All of the wind was knocked right out of his lungs, and he was thrown off of the bed, before falling in a heap on the ground, with a tremendous weight on top of him.
Instinct took over and Valentin tried to fight off his attacker. He thrashed and clawed, and his fingers dug into something fleshy, and the person on top of him grunted as Valentin's fingers dug into skin, but it was of no use. There was a loud crash and the sound of pounding footsteps and from his position on the floor, Valentin could see the glow of flashlights in the hall.
He was suddenly flipped onto his stomach and he was dimly aware that someone was talking, but he couldn't hear anything. He felt the rough plastic of restraints on his wrists. He felt a hand grab the mask around his face and he struggled even harder. He craned his neck and tried to bite at the fingers pulling his mask free of his face, but he was unsuccessful as his mask was pulled free from him. The door to the room was kicked open and a flood of bodies came into the room. Valentin hissed in discomfort as several flashlights pointed in his direction and he was temporarily blinded. He felt someone approach and kneel down in front of him, blinking away the light, he squinted and saw a pretty, young, Hispanic detective smirking down triumphantly at him.
"Hey there Valentin, been looking for you for quite a while." She turned her smirk at the beast who was still perched on top him, before nodding. A weight released itself from on top of Valentin, and a strong hand gripped around the back of Valentin's shirt and pulled him up. The woman, still smirking triumphantly, said, "Your op Metro, you get the honors."
"So happy you said it," came a painfully familiar voice. Valentin turned his head and to his horror, Percy Johnson, if that was even his real name, was standing there, a painfully tight grip on Valentin's arm, and a shiny GCPD shield glimmering around his neck.
"Hey there Lazlo, gotta tell ya, you should have stuck to the sandwiches."
AN: And there we have it! Kuddos to everyone who guessed Professor Pyg a while ago, you were right on the money! This was a lot of fun to put together. It's honestly so fulfilling to reach one of these conclusions, and I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did. Still have several chapters left in the roster, and several story-lines left to close before we're done, so I hope you're strapped in and ready for some fun stuff. For those hoping for a bit more Percy-Cape interactions, don't worry, there's going to be some really, really good stuff coming your way starting soon. Thanks for all the love and support, you all have been so awesome and I'm thrilled ya'll enjoy the story as much as I do. Oh! And I'm finally on discord, I joined a group with a bunch of other awesome writers and readers from a plethora of genres and fandoms, so if you enjoy shooting the shit and talking about our works, come and check it out, you can find the server in my profile. As always, if you read this and like it, but haven't checked out my other stuff, give it a read, I think you'll probably enjoy it. Stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll see you all next week!