Part Four

"Make sure this man gets immediate attention." Gordon screamed as paramedics carried Harvey away on a stretcher, the skinned half of his face forcing the commissioner to look away in disgust.

The Joker had sent them all a message, a declaration of intent, and they had received it loud and clear. Gordon sighed uneasily. "I guess that ends Harvey Dent's political aspirations."

"Hey, commissioner, we just got a call." Bullock exclaimed running up from behind his boss.

"What now?" Gordon hesitantly asked.

Bullock wasted no time in blurting out the message that had been relayed to him, "Somebody broke into the art museum after the ceremony ended, managed to bypass security and made off with over a dozen of their most expensive pieces." Gordon began to laugh forcing Bullock to rock his head back in shock, "Boss, are you okay?"

Gordon rapidly shook his head, "I need a new job."

Placing his fingers against the steel fence the Joker allowed a toothy grin to creep across his face, "I've been meaning to get a new place." He exclaimed staring at the abandoned carnival grounds, overrun with vegetation and stray animals. "A little cliché, but I'm a sucker for this sort of stuff."

He climbed up over the fence and landed past the barrier. Like a prospective buyer he began scouting the place out checking every nook and cranny, keeping his hands firmly gripped on his blade, should there happen to be an unlucky vagrant on the premises.

"This should do quite nicely." The Joker declared happy with the grounds, "Now all I have to do is get the Bat's attention."

"Mr. Wayne?" A voice pierced the silence that had pervaded the empty office. "Hello, sir; are you awake?"

Bruce snapped into action, the world appeared as a blur to him. "W-what is it?" He asked rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Sir, Mr. Takagi has been waiting for an hour." The secretary informed him while gently helping her boss to his feet. "I think you overslept."

"Overslept?" Bruce checked his wristwatch only to see how much time he had lost. "Thank you, um, inform him I'll be down shortly." He ordered heading to the coffee machine while the secretary quickly slipped out.

Bruce was sure that this gossip would sweep through the company, news of this nature had a way of doing that, and he was also quite positive that the cause would be attributed to his well-known drinking habits.

Of course they could never have guessed the real reason. He had been out to four in the morning out on patrol, exerting himself to the limits of human endurance. Even now he fought the burning temptation to roll back into his seat and catch some very much needed hours of rest.

But he couldn't do that; he needed to be both Batman and Wayne, even though he would have preferred the first of the two, the latter provided him with resources, contacts, etc, that he needed to keep up the lifestyle that the former required.

Maybe he'd see and if he could get in contact with Ms. Kyle. The sting of her rejection still bothered him, after all, she hadn't realized how much he had changed in the last several weeks, how greatly focused his life had become, but then he remembered Selina's words, her accusation of never being a part of his plan and realized despite it all, she was right.

Even now, when he envisioned his life, she wasn't there, Bruce couldn't picture himself with Selina and now being Batman had only complicated things. With a heavy heart he sighed and forced himself to be content with a hot cup of coffee for the time being.

The bus stop pulled into its destination and began to take on passengers. For the driver this was possibly the hundredth time he had done this, going along the same route day in and day out. After all this time he had developed a sort of sixth sense about the people he carried about.

He could tell which pairs were couples, he could tell who was looking for a seat next to an attractive young lady, who wanted to be alone and so on. The driver watched as some regulars and new customers filed in. The bus driver always looked the new ones up and down to get a feel for them. One of them caught his eye, he seemed edgy and unbalanced. With a wide smile he greeted the driver and sat up close to him staring at the wheel with his eyes, full of anticipation.

The driver shrugged it off, just taking him for one of the city's more oddball citizens which came on this route from time-to-time. Unfortunately, what he failed to realize was that this passenger was no ordinary citizen; the Joker was riding on his bus.

Gordon remained silent while the mayor talked him down in the middle of the entire station for every officer to see. "Do you have any idea what a disgrace you are to law enforcement? Jack Napier has killed over a hundred people and tonight Harvey Dent lies in a hospital bed, horribly disfigured because nobody here can get their asses in gear. A man in a bat suit did better than you, a man dressed up as a bat for the love of God!"

"I understand that." Gordon replied, "We're doing our best but these budget cuts have crippled us, even the Federal investigators couldn't get anywhere on this case."

"No more excuses." The mayor snapped back furiously, "I want Napier in a jail cell or you'll be out on the streets looking for a job. Do you understand me, commissioner?"

"Yes." Gordon answered back like a wounded pup, "I understand."

Bruce listened to the woman on the other line anxiously awaiting her reply only to be discouraged by it moments later. "I see, Ms. Kyle checked out recently. Did she say where she could be contacted at?" He inquired reaching over for a pen and paper only to stop mid-way through his motions, "Oh, I see. Thank you very much."

The sound of the phone clicking into place seemed to emulate the end of this relationship. She was gone and he very much doubted he'd see her again.

Alfred quietly entered the study, "Sir, I will be leaving for the night."

"Very well, Alfred, good night." Bruce responded rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Sir, if I may make a suggestion." The butler interjected diplomatically, "Your father had a bad habit of allowing his drive to complete a given task or goal become slightly obsessive and I can see that trait in you."

Bruce grimaced, "Is there a point to all of this?"

Alfred put his brown coat on rather casually, "He took vacations. May I suggest the same for you?" Placing his hat on top of his crown Alfred gently nodded his head, "Goodnight, sir."