"Got something here, looks like a trap door,"
"Locked?"
"Yup,"
"In or out?"
"In,"
"Get us a battering ram up here!"
There was a tremendous bang, and the trap doors slammed open as the lock mechanisms were utterly destroyed by the ram. Percy took the point position, his weapon drawn and held in his dominant hand. He propped his weapon over his left wrist, and was holding a flashlight in that hand. He descended down the staircase slowly, panning left to right and clearing his three and nine o'clock positions. The stairs led down into a large meat locker that had been converted into something far more disturbing. To Percy's right were several large meat hooks hanging from the ceiling. Percy could see what looked like dried and congealed blood on the hooks as the light from his torch danced off the metal. To the left were several large cages. There were six in all, and four of them were empty, but there was a man and a woman laying down in the fifth and sixth. The woman was curled into a small ball, and looked as though she were barely even breathing. The man was sitting down, his back to the cage and looked like he too was unconscious. Percy quickly expanded his senses, and to his relief he saw that they were both still alive, albeit barely.
"Got two down here," Percy called out, before scanning forward and heading deeper into the chamber. Hurried steps behind him indicated that a couple of officers were heading over to the cages, but Percy paid them no mind. His job wasn't to secure the hostages, that was best left to the patrol officers. Percy was preoccupied with the end of the room. There were what looked like surgical curtains, and Percy could see what looked like large surgical lights poking over the top of the curtains. Not wanting to touch anything, Percy waited in front of the curtains, before he felt someone squeeze his arm. Heeding the cue, Percy stepped around the side of the curtain and nearly gagged.
On the other side of the bed was a surgical table. Dried blood stained the corners of the bed, and there was blood splattered over the curtains, and the floor. Dirty and bloodied bandages were strewn across the floor.
"Clear!" He called out.
"Clear!" Montoya called out as she came around the other side, flinching in revulsion as she saw the table. There were additional calls of "Clear!" around the chamber.
With a sigh, Percy holstered his weapon and pulled out a medical mask and gloves. Strapping the mask over his face, and snapping the gloves on, Percy stepped forward. On one side of the bed was a large tray. There was an array of foul and soiled surgical tools. Scalpels, forceps, scissors, and clamps, as well as other tools that Percy didn't recognize. On the other side of the table was a small refrigerator. Kneeling down in front of it, Percy opened it up, and saw that there were blood bags inside. Picking a few up, Percy inspected the tags. Each bag was tagged with a different blood type.
"I guarantee that if we cross reference these with our vics, we'll get matches on their blood types." Percy said,
"This is sick," Montoya muttered, as she examined the tools. Percy could only nod in agreement. Replacing the bags, Percy took a photo of the bags before he replaced the glove he used to touch his phone. Standing up, Percy scanned around the rest of the room. In the far corner Percy could see a large structure. It looked like a separate room, two walls jutted out from the rest of the building, with a strong, wrought-iron door. Gesturing to the door, Percy and Montoya walked over to the door. Percy tested the handle, and was pleased to see it was unlocked and he swung open the door.
Montoya swore, and Percy could only agree. The inside of the room was similar to a private office. There was a large desk butting up to the far wall. On the wall were diagrams, and pictures of the victims. Pictures of the surgery as it was happening. Pulling his phone out, Percy snapped a quick picture of the wall before he approached the desk. Ignoring the pictures for a second, Percy was far more interested in the documents on the table. There were order forms for surgical equipment, documents on how transplant surgeries are performed, as well scientific journals exploring the effects of psychedelics on pain tolerance. Taking his phone out again, Percy snapped more pictures of the documents on the table.
"Metro," Called out Montoya, who was busy looking through a small chest beside the desk. Percy walked over and looked at what Montoya was pointing at. There were several large stacks of square tin-foiled packages. Percy snapped a picture of the foils, before he pulled his gloves off, replaced them, then reached in and grabbed one of the tin-foil packages. Taking it over to the table, Percy opened the tin-foil. Inside were several large tabs of what Percy as Wonderland.
"Looks like he was doping them up so they were docile for the surgery," Percy commented,
"Easier to get a hold of than anesthetics. And if he were buying large amounts of anesthetics in all at once, it would have set off flags." Montoya added, as she took a turn at photographing the tabs. Percy walked back over to the chest and knelt down. There were more medical documents and pages from medical journals. At the bottom of the chest, was another small box. Squinting in interest, Percy reached down and picked up the box. Turning around he placed the small box on the table.
"What the hell is that?" Montoya asked
"No idea," Percy said, as he opened the box. But he only grew more confused as he looked inside the box. There was a small thumb drive, and a cell phone, but what really caught Percy's attention was the small stack of what looked like to Percy as memory cards. Picking up the small memory card, Percy examined it.
"Now what the hell is that?" Montoya asked again, and again, Percy didn't know. Gesturing for Montoya to take a picture, she snapped a photo of the contents of the box. Percy then grabbed the cell phone. It was an old flip phone, and Percy flipped it open. Seeing that there were several flags on the screen, Percy first clicked on the messages. Montoya leaned over to get a better look, so Percy lowered the phone in order for her to see better. Valentin had several unread messages, clicking on the first message, Percy read it quickly. It was a text from Gotham National Bank and Trust, alerting Valentin to a transfer into his account of five-thousand dollars. Percy exchanged a look with Montoya, before he exited out of the message and checked the next. This one was a transfer of funds confirmation in the amount of eight-thousand dollars. Percy's brow furrowed in confusion. He checked the remaining messages, and it was more of the same. Transfers and deposits in and out of his account in large sums.
"What the fuck?" Montoya breathed out, and Percy could only shake his head in confusion. Clicking back to the home-screen, Percy clicked to the other section that had a notification. Percy pulled up the man's voicemail, where Valentin had several unheard voicemails. Scrolling through the list, Percy found the oldest message and clicked it, Percy put it on speaker before placing the phone down on the table. The voice over the speaker was male, and had a hint of an accent.
"Hello Mr. Valentin, I'm so happy that you liked our little package. I'm reaching out to you on behalf of a client of mine who believes that the two of you could do something great together. We believe a partnership would be mutually beneficial and would love the chance to meet. Give this number a call back tonight at midnight."
"Ok…that doesn't sound good," Percy muttered as he clicked on the next message.
"Lazlo, the drop was made. Just dump it in with the cash flow and make a transfer tomorrow to the account."
Percy and Montoya shared a look with one another. "Is this what I think it is?" Percy asked,
"Sounds a hell of a lot like Valentin got conned into being a front. This mother fucker was laundering money." Montoya nodded, "Hit the next one," She ordered, and Percy did as he was told.
"Lazlo, found the guy you were looking for. Don't know what you need this shit for but I got you an in. Meet him at pier thirty-four tonight at One. Whatever you're doing with this shit, just make sure you don't get too fucked up to do your damn job."
"Think that was for the Wonderland?" Percy asked,
"Had to be," Montoya nodded, then gestured for Percy to continue. The last three messages were incredibly interesting.
"Valentin, you were short. Fix it. Now."
"Valentin, you were short again. We gave you a simple fucking job, what is going on? Don't make me call you a third time. You won't like it."
"Valentin, you dumb mother fucker, what the fuck is going on? You've missed three payments now. There are cops swarming your place, and one of my contacts says that you're being looked at for fucking murder? One of our guys even saw a fucking detective with the goddamn Major Crimes Division heading into your fucking store! What the fuck are you doing? What's going on? Call me, the boss wants to talk to you."
"Holy shit," Percy breathed, and Montoya could only nod in understanding. They fell silent for a while, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Percy was certain that Montoya was thinking the same as Percy. Valentin was working a money laundering front for someone. Unless there was someone else looking to get into the game, there was really only one person who was running the old-time mafia moves like that. There was really only one thing left for them to do.
"I think we need to have a little talk with Lazlo,"
BREAK
Percy groaned as he looked at the monitor of the interview room.
"Your bestest friend in the whole wide, world, Metro." Montoya laughed,
"Fuck off, Monty," Percy said. Valentin lawyered up the second that he had gotten to the precinct. Of course Sarah Rosthein would be the defense attorney assigned to Valentin.
"How'd the meeting with Jim and the D.A. go?" He asked,
"Well," Montoya nodded, "They're prepared to take the death penalty off the table if it means that he gives up who he was laundering for."
"I thought Jersey canned the death penalty," Percy said,
"They did. But we ran his numbers through the system." She jerked a thumb over to the screen, "Turns out our boy here's prints match up with a cold case from ten years ago in Virginia. They want him extradited for the needle."
Percy snorted then sighed, "Well even then, it's not like it'll even be admissible in any trial. Guy like him? I guarantee if we bring in the guy he was working for their defense will move to dismiss him under mental instability."
"Doesn't mean the information won't be useful," Montoya commented, "He points us in the right direction then that means we can begin putting a real case together."
Sighing, Percy nodded before checking his watch, "All right, let's get to this," He walked back into the bullpen and threw off his coat and tossed it over the back of his chair. Rolling his sleeves up, Percy grabbed the file and stack of evidence off his desk lead the way to interview room one. Montoya hot on his heels.
Percy took a second and composed himself, before he plastered a large grin on his face and swaggered into the interview room.
"Lazlo," Percy greeted happily, spreading his arms out wide in greeting. Rosthein and Valentin, who had been in an in depth conversation broke apart, "How ya doin pal? Doing all right? I'm ok, thanks for asking. Slept a little weird on arm last night but honestly, I just don't care." Percy pulled the chair out and plopped down, Montoya decided to prop herself up on the wall beside them.
Percy opened the file on the table and started tossing out pictures from the inside. One by one, photos taken from the inside of the dungeon in the basement appeared. Photos of the surgical bed, of the cages, of the documents on the table in the private office. When all the photos were on the table, Percy leaned back in his chair in a lackadaisical way, with his hands behind his head and his feet propped up on the table.
"So, I know no case is ever a slam dunk," Percy began, "But damn dude, you're really making our lives on this easy," He said as he gestured to the photos.
"Is there a point to this meeting detective, or did you just come to gloat, because if that's the case then this meeting is over," Rosthein said, and Percy raised his hands up in surrender,
"There's a point to this," He said. Reaching down to the floor, Percy reached down and grabbed the bags on the ground. He pulled up on a latex glove and pulled the cell phone out of the bag. Valentin's eyes widened, and Percy just nodded at him. "Guess what we found in here?" Percy asked as he waved the phone around slightly.
"I could play the messages," Percy said, "But I think you and I both know that's a waste of time. We want to know who you were laundering money for."
Rosthein placed a hand on Valentin's shoulder to prevent him from speaking, "Do you have any proof on that accusation detective?" She asked, and Percy shrugged,
"Right now? No. But we currently have our people digging through the business's financial statement looking for anything strange. You think we're thorough, you should see the IRS." He laughed, "Look, whether we can make the laundering racket stick or not, it doesn't matter. We have enough here to lock you up for the rest of your natural born life and throw away the fucking key. But here's the thing. We aren't the only ones who want you. You remember taking a little field trip down south to Virginia a few years ago? The name Isabelle Clair ring any bells?" It was a rhetorical question, but the way Valentin averted his eyes was enough of an answer for Percy, "Thought so," He said, "See, your prints turned up at a nasty little scene down there. Same sort of shop that we have here, they just couldn't figure out you did it. Well now they want you and they want you real bad. You know what the difference between New Jersey and Virginia is?"
"The death penalty," Rosthein finished, looking profoundly pissed. "So that's what this is?"
"It's a deal," Percy said,
"It's legal extortion," Rosthein shot back,
"What the hell are you talking about?" Valentin asked,
"See Lazlo, the D.A., you know him? Dent? Well he's a decent sort of guy. Doesn't believe in the death penalty, but he does believe in seeing justice served. So he's offering you a little deal. You tell us who you were laundering the money for, and Dent will tell the Virginians to shove it."
Valentin was silent for a second, and it took Percy by surprise that he was actually considering it. Rosthein leaned over and tried to say something but he shushed her, so she settled for sitting in her chair and glaring at Percy.
"You're actually considering not taking the deal, aren't you?" Percy asked, "Why?"
Valentin was again, silent for a few moment. When he spoke again, he was soft in tone. "What is my life worth if I cannot create. If I cannot make my art. Life is not worth living without it." Percy felt disgusted, and he glanced at Montoya, who was doing a good job at masking her own worry.
Percy decided he'd take matters in his own hands. Channeling the mist, Percy layered a small compulsion on the man. "Lazlo, listen to me. I get it, really, I do. You live for your work, without it, what are you? Nothing, right? Believe me brother I understand how that goes. But you know what's just as good as finishing your work? Is spreading the word. Letting the world know of your genius, letting people know how imperfect they are. How else are they supposed to change, to become perfect? They can't do that if you aren't around to tell them how to become the truly perfect person." Percy needed his argument to sound convincing, like he was really pushing for the man to listen to him.
For a brief moment, Valentin's eyes glazed over, before the look disappeared and the mist-magic took effect. Valentin looked like he was genuinely thinking over Percy's words, truly considering them. Then, he nodded, "You're right," he said softly, "The people need to know. They need to know how flawed they are. How to correct their imperfections, and I will be instrument used to craft their instruction." Percy nodded, and pulled out a piece of paper from the file.
"Sign," he ordered. Valentin took the paper, and before Rosthein could say or do anything, he signed it. Percy took the paper back, inspected it and nodded, before sliding it to Rosthein to examine.
"I never met with the man personally. It was always through subsidiaries." Valentin said immediately, "But I was working for Falcone."
Percy controlled himself from reacting too much. From the way that Montoya stiffened, she was doing much the same. Percy leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.
"Let's start with a question of personal curiosity. Why were you missing the payments?" Percy asked,
"I needed the money for my work. I didn't care about Falcone or his little plan. I just wanted his money. I did as I was told for a while, before I began siphoning out funds for myself to purchase equipment."
"He point you int he direction of the Wonderland too?" Percy asked, and the man nodded, and Percy jotted down a note,
"Do you know if they had anything to do with the Wonderland?" Percy asked, but Rosthein interrupted him,
"That information isn't covered by the deal. Keep it to he money laundering. You want to know about drugs? We'll be wanting another deal." Percy scoffed, and crossed his arms as he looked over at her.
"You get off on being difficult, don't you?" He asked. She didn't dignify that with a response, so Percy changed gears. "You know where the money was coming from?"
"No, didn't bother to ask either," He said and Percy sighed,
"All right, how about the people you were working for. You know who they were? Any names you can remember?"
"Nope," Valentin said smugly, looking distinctly pleased to be unable to help out,
"Why didn't they kill you?" Montoya asked, and Valentin turned to look at her,
"Pardon?" He asked,
"I asked, why didn't they kill you. You miss payments for three months straight and you're still breathing? Why?"
Valentin shrugged. "Guess they really needed the money to be cleaned. I don't know, I didn't ask too many questions,"
"Are we done here?" Rosthein asked,
Percy glanced over at Montoya who nodded at him. Sighing, Percy stood up, gathering his things as he did, "Yup. Looks like we're done here," He followed Montoya out of the room, and they walked back through the hall to the bullpen. "Ok so this feels weird to you, right?" Percy asked, "Why is he still breathing. I thought that this was a mob town? Crossing Falcone seemed like it was a one way ticket to breathing through a tube or worse."
"It usually is, which the begs the question. What the fuck is happening?" Montoya said. As they arrived at their desk. Percy looked out the corner of his eye and spied Wise and Cavallo staring at him. Unable to help himself, Percy turned and leaned on the desk, as he stared at Wise. He scanned the entire room, and noticed for the first time that people were staring at him in confusion. Percy came to a decision, he decided it was high time to send a message. It was a shame that he never believed in playing it subtle. He left the politics back in Rome.
"Afternoon Marcus." He said loudly at the man, "Next time you send some of Falcone's fuck-toys, make sure they come ready to play, because there won't always be a little birdie flying around to protect them." Percy grinned broadly, "And hope you remember what we talked about buddy boy." Percy said, miming pointing a gun at the man, "Because now you've made it personal."
Wise stood up, and looked like he was about to say something, but Montoya intervened. Grabbing Percy around the arm she dragged him out of the bullpen. Percy allowed himself to be dragged off, staring down Wise the entire time. Montoya dragged him into the nearest ops room, and shoved Percy inside, before closing the door behind her.
"What the fuck was that?" She demanded, and Percy shrugged, before explaining what happened outside of Ted's and then the little showdown in the parking garage.
"Let me get this straight," Montoya said through gritted teeth, "One of the detectives in this precinct threatened you, called in a hit on you, you get your ass bailed out by a cape-"
"Hey, she interrupted before I could-"
"And" Montoya cut over him, "You didn't think to mention it to me?"
Percy crossed his arms and glared back, "I'm sorry if I was a little preoccupied in catching our serial kidnapper, torturer, and killer." Percy snapped back,
"That's not the point Jackson," Montoya snapped, "You and me?" She said pointing between them, "We're the only detectives in the entire fucking precinct not in someone's pocket. We need to have each other's backs. That's what partners do."
Percy frowned, and averted his gaze, "Look, Renee, I get that, and I was going to tell you about it but I genuinely got distracted. I'm not trying to keep you out of it, I promise." He sighed and scratched behind his ear uncomfortably, "I'm sorry for not telling you about it. Next time something happens, I'll keep you appraised. I promise."
Montoya stared at him for a moment, before she nodded, "You'd better." She said, then glanced at her watch, "We need to go talk to Jim about this. And fill him in on all this new bullshit." Then she looked up at him, and her eyes narrowed, "What did you mean when you said 'remember what we talked about?' There something else you're not telling me?"
Percy shifted uncomfortably, but decided to be honest. Montoya was right, they were partners, and likely all the other had in the entire precinct that didn't want them dead or worse.
"Might have threatened him a little," Percy said with a wince. Montoya just stared at him. The she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You're fucking hopeless Metro, you know that?" She said, and Percy chuckled awkwardly, "C'mon dumbass, let's go talk to the boss,"
BREAK
"Jackson you alright in the head?"
"I think so sir,"
"Do you? Because I'm not sure about that at the moment."
"Sir-"
"This ain't a game son. These people are serious. They got the manpower, resources, and lack of basic humanity to do some seriously twisted shit to you if you cross their paths." They were back in Gordon's office, and Montoya had just finished debriefing Gordon on what Percy had told him. Percy wasn't surprised that he hadn't heard about it, Percy had purposely refrained from filing the full details of the exchange in his statement. And nobody had bothered to pull the tapes from the garage to see if his story checked out. Once Percy said the words 'Black Canary,' any deeper thinking went out the window, such were the power of capes in America these days.
"I know it's not sir, and I appreciate the threat they represent," Percy said,
"I don't think you do." Gordon said, "I get it son. Hotshot like you, four tours with the SEALS, cowboy like you probably thinks he's invincible. But this needs to be a wakeup call for you son. This could have been a lot worse for you." Percy refrained from saying that it could have been a lot worse for the other guys, but he figured the commissioner wouldn't have liked to hear that.
"Any idea why you have capes following you?" Gordon asked, and Percy shrugged.
"I asked but she said that she was just, 'in the neighborhood,' but I'm not buying that." He said,
"Probably the bat making sure you're clean," Gordon huffed, "He's territorial like that,"
"I noticed," Percy said dryly.
Gordon let out a weary breath. "We'll deal with that when we need to I suppose. For now, keep your head on a swivel. I've lost a lot of friends to these bastards,"
"Aw, didn't know you cared sir," Percy snarked.
"Can it, Jackson," Gordon said, as a light appeared on the phone on his desk. Gordon lifted it to his ear, "Yes? Ah, yes, send him in," He said, and replaced the phone. Percy arched a brow but waited patiently. A moment later, the door to the room opened and a man walked in. He was a little over six feet tall. His dark brown hair was styled professionally, and he had bright blue eyes. Dressed in an immaculate navy suit with red-power tie, Percy got positive vibes from the man immediately. He was playing with a coin in his hand, transferring from finger to finger smoothly.
"Jim," Greeted the man jovially,
"Harvey," Grunted Gordon cordially, before gesturing over at Percy and Montoya. "You know Renee already,"
"Hey Harv," Montoya waved from her chair,
"How's it going Renee, mom doing all right?" Dent replied,
Montoya shrugged, "Well enough. Parkinson's a bitch though."
"And this is Detective Percy Jackson." Gordon introduced. "Jackson, this is Harvey Dent, Gotham's District Attorney," Percy rose from his seat and plastered a smile on his face as he gripped the man's hand tightly. He gripped back firmly.
"Nice to finally meet you, sir." Percy said, pulling his hand away,
"Likewise," Dent said with a shinning smile. "Nice to finally put a face to the name." He strode around Percy leaned against the wall by Gordon's desk, and Percy sat back down in his chair, "You've been bust detective, barely in Gotham a month and you've already closed two large cases, and helped fight off the single-largest villain-based attack in the city's history…" He paused, and he continued to play with his coin, "Hell of a job Mr. Jackson,"
"Thank you sir," Percy said with a nod,
"You're welcome," He said, "So, how'd it go with Pyg? He take the deal?"
"Yup," Said Montoya casually, "Hook, line, and sinker."
"Did he know anything?" Dent asked,
"Just that he was working for Falcone," Percy said, and Dent nodded, almost as though he was expecting that,
"Christian or Sal?" He asked, and both Percy and Montoya looked at him in confusion,
"What do you mean? Christian is in charge of the family isn't he?" Montoya asked,
"Oh for fuck's sake," Dent said, sending an exasperated look in Gordon's direction,
"Don't give me that look Harvey," Gordon, "Bullock is working the Falcone case. Up until literally four hours ago we had no reason to suspect to that the family was involved, we were scrambling and we didn't have time to get the story straight."
"Someone mind clueing us in as to what the fuck is going on?" Percy asked.
Dent sighed and looked pointedly at Gordon, who just glared but sighed resignedly and nodded,
"Ok," He began, "So it turns out, we weren't the only ones hurt during that mess a few weeks ago. Bullock has been running an investigation into the Falcone family for months. Outside the purview of the Feds. He told me that they were pretty hurt by the attack. A hell of a lot of their boys were killed by the plants. Businesses they owned or were collecting from were either substantially damaged or outright destroyed. The point is, they're hurting in a real bad way. From what we've been hearing, there are…factions within the family that are looking to move. Specifically Christians younger brother Salvador. Bullock told me that Sal's been real active and vocal about the direction of the leadership."
Gordon pulled out his pipe, lit it, and took a deep pull,
"Bullock tells me that he's been making moves that are pretty fucking far off the reservation. Moving on turf but not kicking it back up to Christian, getting into…trades that the family has been traditionally separate from, such as drug. Or rather, one drug in particular."
"Wonderland," Percy said, as realization hit him, "Fuck me,"
"Bingo," Dent said with a nod, "You get anything on that,"
Montoya snorted, "Rosthein cock-blocked Metro here before he could even get the sentence out, said it wasn't 'part of the deal' and if we wanted that, Valentin would need another deal,"
"Shame he isn't going to get it," Dent said, "Sick fuck like that can rot, that's the justice he deserves." He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, "So we don't know which Falcone Valentin was working for. That's fine, not the end of the world. I assume you can still work with this?"
"Yeah," Gordon grunted,
"So what are we looking at here?" Percy asked, "Are we staring down the barrel of a full-scale civil war?"
"Worse," Gordon commented, "Bullock tells me that Sal has been making moves on the Triads and the Russians. We could be looking at not just a civil war, but full on gang war here."
"Awesome," Percy said sarcastically under his breath,
"A situation made all the worse, when one of the only detectives I think I can trust, is deliberately pissing off the head of one of the families." Gordon said with a glare,
"What the hell is that supposed to mean," Dent asked, looking between Gordon and Percy.
"Wonderboy over here," Gordon said, jerking a thumb in Percy's direction, "Had a little run in with Wise."
"Did he now?" Dent said, turning to look at Percy, "And what did he want?"
Percy snorted as he looked over to Dent, "Told me to get on board with him and Falcone or get dead."
"Not in so many words I assume," Dent observed,
"Not so much," Percy affirmed,
"What'd you say?" Dent asked,
"I told him the fucking pecking order, and where he and Falcone fall in it." Percy snarled. He understood the paranoia and the need to interrogate him, but he was starting to get annoyed with everyone assuming he was on the take. "So I told him if he threatened me again, no one would ever find his body,"
Dent whistled and laughed, "I think I like this one, Jim," He said, looking over at Gordon who just grunted, "Where'd ya find him,"
"Metropolis," Percy said,
"Didn't know they raised anything but boy scouts over there," Dent commented jokingly,
"Part of the reason I left," Percy said back,
"All right," Gordon said, getting them back on track. "That is, unfortunately, as much as can be done for today. All the new revelations aside, you two did a hell of a fine job on this one. It's always a good day when tried and true police work wins the day. Take the rest of the night and the weekend, and celebrate, and come back on Monday refreshed and ready for whatever fresh hell Gotham has in store. Dismissed," Percy and Montoya stood up, and nodded respectfully at the two men.
As one, they turned and headed towards the door, Percy opened it and led Montoya out of the office, closing the door behind him, they walked to the elevator.
"Grab a beer?" Montoya asked, "Or something stronger, I still see those fucking pictures every time I close my eyes."
Percy considered for a moment. He still needed to track down Meg, but she hadn't tripped the alarm yet, so Percy figured he had some time yet. And honestly, he could do with a tall glass of rum right about now.
"That sounds phenomenal."
"I know just the place," Montoya said, and led the way out of the building.
BREAK
The door closed behind Jackson, and Gordon let out a heavy breath, and closed his eyes. There were days he really missed being just a simple detective.
"Jim" Harvey said urgently, and Gordon opened his eyes, and nearly groaned when he saw the familiar black-clad vigilante standing by the now open window.
"You even believe in doors?" Gordon asked in exasperation. He could feel a migraine coming on and reached into a drawer on his desk. Grabbing a box of aspirin, he popped three into his mouth and washed them down with a gulp of water.
"So, what's going on?" He asked. Batman didn't say anything, he just approached the desk, and placed an object on the desk. An object that Gordon knew very well.
"What is that?" Harvey asked curiously,
"The encrypted key from the St. Cloud case," Gordon said, picking up the small device and examining it. "You stole it," It wasn't a question.
"I told you that you needed to upgrade your security protocols," Batman replied smoothly,
"Like that would even stop you," Gordon said wearily, placing the drive on the table. "You cracked it then?"
"It's data file, not a key." Batman explained without preamble. "Photos, videos, and recordings of dealings the St. Cloud's had on Christian Falcone. It's evidence of every time the family was threatened, bribed or extorted. There's a video Falcone threatening the family himself. Telling Grace St. Cloud that if she didn't buy in, she and her entire family would be die."
Harvey let out a whistle as he picked up the piece. "Why not hand it over?" He asked, "Give this to us? Let us go after Falcone?"
"Because the department is so secure," Batman replied dryly.
"That's an awful lot of work to go to just store a couple of videos," Gordon commented,
"That's because there's more." Batman explained, "I don't know how, but Grace or Alexander but they got a hold of a lot more. The entire Falcone Black Book is in there. At least what was there prior to the attack."
"Black Book?" Harvey asked, confused, as he put the device back down,
"It's a listing of the entirety of the Falcone family's accounting. Every business, loan shark, broker, and accounting of every member in the family." Gordon said, a small amount of awe in his voice as he stared at the piece,
"That's real?" Harvey asked,
"We learned about it from an informant." Gordon explained, "Found him a day later with a rat shoved down his throat."
"Ok," Harvey said, "But why the hell would they write all that down? Seems like a serious fucking risk if that falls into the wrong hands."
"An operation as large as the Falcone's needs to have some sort of accounting of everything just to keep track of it all." Batman explained,
"This is a fucking gold mine," Gordon said, tapping the device, "None of it would be admissible," Harvey said, "No way in hell," "Doesn't matter," Batman said,
"Start looking into them. Sit on them. They'll slip up, they always do. Have you brought Jackson into the fold?"
"We're working on it. You trust him?" Gordon asked, "You're having him tailed apparently. Care to explain that."
"I have my reasons," Batman replied, "But it's unrelated. He's good and he's clean. I suggest bringing him in. We can use the animosity between him and Falcone to our advantage."
Gordon and Harvey shared confused looks, "How?" Gordon started to say, but when he looked back, Batman had already disappeared. Rolling his eyes at the theatrics, Gordon just slumped in his chair, staring intently at the device on his desk.
"He's a bit of an asshole, isn't he?" Harvey said,
"You don't even know the half of it."
AN: Thought that would be the last we heard of old Falcone? Guess again! I got some fun stuff lined up in the next couple of weeks, starting with the next chapter. Percy meets with an old friend and has some very interesting conversations with some characters we really haven't seen much of. Hope you guys are ready for it! Thanks again for all the love and support you all have shown, and I'm glad you're all enjoying the ride as much as I am. As always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week!