I don't own Halo of Justice League; they are the property of 343 Industries and DC Comics/Warner Brothers respectively.

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GCPD Chief Commissioner James 'Jim' Gordon rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to lessen the migraine that had been plaguing him over the past few hours.

He was utterly exhausted from hours of answering phone calls and dealing with angry reporters. They had hounded him and his supervisors for answers regarding the growing number of incidents involving the destruction of multiple cash houses and private armories -all of which belonged to some of the most influential drug cartels and crime families in the city, including the Falcone and Sinaloa Cartel. While civilian casualties were practically zero, that didn't do much to lessen the chance of immediate retaliation from the affected gangs and criminals.

There was also the apprehending of Jeffery B. Loeb for multiple charges ranging from evidence tampering to assisted drug trafficking. Said man wasted no time in calling his lawyer and threatening to have the badges of all the SWAT officers involved in his arrest.

Which brought yet another question to Gordon's mind: How, and when, did the SWAT Chief attain the warrant to conduct such a raid? It certainly didn't come from him of anyone else in Gotham PD – Loeb made sure of that via his extensive connections within the Gotham PD and the Mayor's office. This meant that either someone had gone over their heads to a much higher authority, or the warrant was a complete forgery.

After an authenticity check, it was determined, without a doubt, that the warrant was completely legal.

And given that the state senator also had connections to Loeb, there was little to no chance of him authorizing such a raid under his watch.

Which meant he was at a complete dead end…unless he found something he could work with.

…

God, he needed a smoke.

He let out a sigh as he reached for his trademark wood pipe. Lighting a match, he took a deep inhale of the tobacco-loaded instrument, thankful that Barbara wasn't here to see him…

"What are you doing, Dad?"

And, of course, God just loved to screw with him.

Looking up, he saw his daughter, Barbara, standing in the doorway holding a pair of take-out containers, a disappointed look on her face. Knowing what was to come, he placed the pipe down on his desk and slumped back in his chair. "Not now, Barb. I'm not in the mood right now."

"In the mood for what? Not following your doctor's orders about your health? Not listening to me after who knows how long of telling you the same thing? Not calling to let me know where you are, or what you're doing?"

God, she looked so much like her mother when she was angry…

After a few minutes, Barbara seemed to sense that nothing she said was sinking in. Her anger soon gave way to sadness, as she took in her father's gaunt look and glassy eyes. She knew that look all to well, having seen it so many times before. She also knew that, whenever he acted this way, that meant something big had happened.

"Well, since you didn't think to call and tell me that you would be late…I assumed that meant you also didn't think about getting fed." And with that, she placed the two containers down on his desk – making sure to avoid disturbing the piles of paperwork scattered in front of him. She opened the containers, revealing piping hot Chinese food. Hardly the most nutritious or favorable thing Jim had ever had – especially in comparison to Barbara's home cooked meals - but right now, it was most heavenly thing he had ever tasted in his life.

"So, are you gonna tell me what was important enough for you to not call me, and go against you doctor's order?" Barbara's face showed no intent of giving leeway. Yet another habit she had picked up from her mother. Jim sighed as he picked up his fork (he hated using chop sticks) and dug into his dinner.

"Just the normal level of craziness that comes with the job, sweetie," he said, taking a bite of the spicy chicken. "Of course, I'm not looking forward to reading the report from last night's…surprise raid."

"Barbara raised an eyebrow. "Surprise raid? How did that happen?"

"That's one of the things I'm not looking forward to, especially the part of explaining it to the press."

"What happened?" Barbara asked, as she took a bite of Chinese noodles…

"Jeffery Loeb got arrested for drug running last night.

Then, Gordon bore witness to a spectacle that he's never seen before: Barbara Gordon, normally so calm and stoic, choking on her Chinese noodles in complete and utter shock and surprise.

The scene was made even more humorous when she pinched her nose, her eyes shut tight to hold back the tears of pain. Hacking and coughing, she grabbed a nearby tissue and blew her nose loudly, trying to clear the noodles that went up her nose during her coughing spat. She gasped for breath as she tried to clear her throat of the burning sensation.

"W-w-what?!" she stuttered, grabbing another tissue.

"Yeah," was the reply. "A few of our SWAT teams raided an illegal cannabis farm, the same time that Loeb was attending a meeting with Ignacio Hernandez."

Barbara, still recovering, could only gape in shock at what she had heard. "Hernandez? As in, the head of the Sinaloa Cartel branch here in Gotham?"

"The very same. There was also substantial evidence linking him to a number of other drug growth and import operations throughout the Gotham, some dating back almost fourteen months."

"But how? I thought he was untouchable."

"So did I," Jim shrugged. "There was no word from the Major's office – not that he would help us, anyway. Yet the warrant was authentic. Fully signed off and everything."

"Any idea who signed it off?"

"That's just it, sweetie," Gordon frowned. "We don't know. The media's been hounding me all day for answers. No surprise, given how popular Loeb was with the press. They've been demanding we turn over the 'evidence' for a second evaluation. We even caught one of them trying to break into the evidence locker during a press conference this afternoon."

"Jeez, and I thought Lois Lane was determined." This caused both to chuckle. Everyone was familiar with the woman's fiery attitude, especially when it came to getting the latest scoop.

Just then, the office door opened, and another officer walked in. "Excuse me, sir, I-oh, sorry Chief. I didn't know you had a visitor."

"Hey, Bart."

"Hey, Barb. How 'ya doin'?"

"I'm doing fine, a lot better than you from the sound of it. Did they really arrest Jeffery Loeb last night."

"Yep, and the mayor's all up in arms about the whole thing. Actually, that's why I'm here. Here's the op. report from last night's raid, sir," he said, handing Gordon a file folder.

"I thought Montoya was supposed to handle the filing tonight."

"Captain Montoya's still out on patrol, sir. She received a report about a disturbance in the Waterside district. She said she'll be back once she's checked it out."

Gordon frowned. "I thought that area was under lock down due to the rise in gang activity."

"You can thank Loeb for that, sir. He ordered the lock down be lifted a few days ago – said it was bad for morale to waste time on parenting disgruntled teenagers."

"Of course, he did," Gordon sighed.

"Also," the officer hesitated, "there's a reporter on line four. They're quite, er…they want to talk to you?"

"One of those hounds from GNB?

"Um, no…it's miss Vale."

Gordon pinched his nose in aggravation. "Alright, I'll take the call. Might as well get it over with. Sorry, Babs, duty calls. You need a ride home?"

Barbara sighed, trying not to be too disappointed. "No, it's alright. I can manage. Just try not to work too late, alright?"

Gordon gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before following the officer to the front desk. Barbara sighed in sadness, knowing full well the stress that came with her father's position. She then glanced at the report laying on her father's desk. Her curiosity winning out, she grabbed the report and began reading what had happened during the raid.

…

A few moments later, a loud cry of "HOLY SHIT!" echoed down the hall, causing more than a few officers to jump in surprise.

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So, this chapter was a bit slower from the others. I suppose you could consider this to be a sort of filler chapter. Don't worry the next chapter will be entirely action-based.

Until then, please read and review.