Vic stopped in the station after leaving the hospital. Mare was sitting in for a while. Don was sleeping, but there was the distinct possibility that he would wake up and really be able to do something. She had assigned Vic the task of telling Charlie what was going on, so all the gossip could be firmly placed by the time she reported for work the next day. No one was especially surprised to see an off-duty cop stopping in to see Charlie.
Charlie listened to the entire story before saying a word. "You mean that some unknown ex-superhero just did this, and doesn't want any publicity? Is this some kind of scam?"
"No. She- I know her, but she can't have her name thrown around. I've met her before, and she agreed to help when she heard about Don. She can't turn any cases down, but doing this kind of work exhausts her. She took no money, no favors- simply something she likes to do for an old friend."
"Tell me the name. No one else will hear, but I at least need to know this is legit before passing a story around."
"Raven of the Teen Titans."
"The demon girl?" Charlie could hardly believe it. "No, don't take this the wrong way. Kaitlin's nearly obsessed with her friend, Sunfire."
Vic nearly broke his calm front and laughed out loud when he saw Kori passing. Charlie didn't catch a very pointed glare from a redhead. "Well, it happened. Don won't be doing back-flips for a while, but he should be talking by next Tuesday, by all projections."
Charlie was about to ask some other question Vic would have to scramble to answer when he was interrupted by Alex(andra under pain of death) Sanchez and her partner's arrival. Kemosabe always looked like he had just swallowed a bitter lemon. He usually didn't glower, however. And Alex never had a problem speaking her mind. Something was wrong.
"Charlie, I'm sorry. I- I don't know what to do- I can't put this right- this hasn't ever-"
Kemosabe put a hand on her shoulder, comforting as only a partner can. "It's Kaitlin. She and the celebrated Officer Adam Smith were found having sex on the spare paper, and have been for some number of months, if the amount of debris is any indication." Only he would be that blunt- he was less diplomatic than Mare.
Charlie stared at his left ring finger, completely lost. The ring was there, but Kaitlin was gone. He had guessed, had harbored dim suspicions, but never would have guessed a fellow cop. He knew where that cabinet was. They were fifteen yards from the dispatch booth. He picked up a phone, paging Accounting. She picked up.
"Charlie, I-"
"Keep furnishings you bought, I own the apartment and have for longer than I even dated you." He sounded wooden, even after Alex nudged him in an attempt to find Charlie in the forced movements and words. "You have until 2400 hours tonight. I'll stay with a friend."
"But it wasn't anything, baby."
Charlie's face didn't change as he looked at the phone, the green speakerphone indicator gleaming brightly. "Neither was I, Kaitlin. One uniform's as good as another, it seems. I'll ask Jenny to fax you divorce papers. I told you I wouldn't stay after cheating. Monogamy isn't that much of a sacrifice. If it is, there won't be any reason."
"Chuck, you were at work. You never appreciated me. You never loved me."
"Whenever I tried, you had somewhere to go. Tell Adam your problems. This isn't about what I did or didn't do, Kaitlin. You never said a word. You slept around. This is your problem." Charlie disconnected.
"Charlie? When are you off?" Alex asked.
"Ten minutes."
"We're all going out," Alex decided. Vic and Kemosabe agreed. "Get your mind off her- that's the only way."
"You can stay at my place- I have the ever popular sleeper sofa," Kemosabe offered.
"I think I'll do that," Charlie said. His replacement was there early. She took the controls without a word, giving him a hug that was completely sympathetic. Marcia, who called herself the second-best dispatch in Gotham, had been cheated on the year before. She understood.
Vic ended up staying out about all night with the three cops. By the time Charlie had talked himself out and remembered all the times Kaitlin had made him miserable, Vic knew he had to get home. He was working the next day, and shifts with Mare weren't to be taken lightly. The others agreed unanimously. Mare was dangerous to those who showed up late. No one told him exactly how, but he had the feeling he didn't want to be told.
"Vic, before you start out your shift, Detective Anderson wanted to speak with you." Jenny didn't look up, as usual, but knew who had stopped at her desk without looking at anything more than a glimpse of uniform. "The autopsy results and forensic reports finally are together."
"Jenny, I've never seen that movie before. I really enjoyed it." Usually, he was making some outrageous comment at this point that always would fly. With a mild secretary, he was reduced to awkward clichés worthy of a C movie.
"Mm hmm. She's staying after her shift, so you should get moving. Kori has an office as of this morning- promotion. Third door on your left after the break room."
"The Mona Lisa has nothing on you, Jenny. At least historians can try venturing a guess. Are you proving something to someone?"
"No."
"Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me. Call me; the number in my profile will always reach me, if I'm on. If that number doesn't go through, a date's probably out of the question." If that phone number didn't go through . . . he didn't want to think about what happened if all systems failed.
"If I can't reach you, something's wrong with me."
"You do know what I mean, Jenny. That takes power from the same source as a bionic lung, heart, several vital organs, and all upgraded systems."
"So, if I ever decided to call you and you don't answer, assume the worst?"
"Pretty much, yeah." He felt that he had missed something, but couldn't for the life of him find what she had extracted.
"Melodramatics. Go on, now, talk to Kori. Mare will have your tail if you're late for duty."
"I don't have a tail," he said as he left for Kori's new office, trying to have the last word and betting he wouldn't. When Mare was concerned, even just from the mention of her, he never did seem to have such a thing.
"She won't mind- she'll find something. You don't want to know what she did to one partner. Just . . . never promise to do her a favor without knowing what she wants."
"What did she do?"
Jenny only went back to her paperwork. "You don't want to know."
"We have a very bizarre story here, not completely pieced together." Kori went directly to business, where most people would say "hello." She had no time to waste, was technically done with her shift in Internal Investigations, and had dinner scheduled with Dick in about an hour.
"Let's hear it."
"Vic, you and Mare have investigational priority on the case. There is a chance of bias, but we want people who know what they're up against. We need field officers that can have that, even if you are a rookie."
"What are we dealing with?"
"At the scene, we had three dead people. The one killed by the unknown perpetrator died by the same blade to kill a string of people. There is only one common thread- all, at some point in their lives, worked for Slade or were working for him. The woman strategically follows a target for hours before making her hit."
"So, we need to find an assassin."
"She's a vigilante."
"There's a difference?"
"She gets nothing. She doesn't like killing, by all patterns, doesn't want attention, and is sane, by estimates from all experts. She's like Batman, or-" she paused for a moment- "Nightwing, but with far more extreme methods. She would be overpowered by her victims, and has no superpowers or technology that has been shown. There is a key difference- she will take no credit or send anyone to jail. She just kills."
"How do we find her?"
Kori threw a stack of papers aside, ruining the relative neatness of her new office, the size of the average broom closet. "I have no idea, Vic. Just- watch for her. I've organized a stakeout that may or may not work, where we think one of Slade's bomb producers will be. She's a little under five and a half feet, built light, decent with technology, hand-to-hand, and disappearing, if past cases are any example."
"So, she could be about anyone."
"Exactly. She isn't in legal trouble- actually, she's classified as a vigilante. She focuses only on one criminal, and Renee actually talked to Batman about her. He went to Oracle- Oracle keeps getting beat to the scene by the girl. They gave her a tentative okay, so Batman isn't kicking her out of Gotham. Still, she knows things before Oracle." Kori still couldn't believe it.
"I'm guessing that's unusual?"
"Extremely. She's the only person in Gotham to beat Charlie to the source. We've looked around the department. We have three dispatches- one's too junior to get anything but the easiest shifts with one of the most trusted holding his hand, Marcia checks out, and Charlie would vouch for either of them."
"Radio scanners?"
"It's inside. She knows before Charlie can even say anything on the radio."
"So, it could be anyone?"
"Any average-height female, yes. Mare's too tall, and that goes for me, too. One guy went as far as to accuse Renee Montoya." From Kori's tone, this was unthinkable. In her opinion, such troopers shouldn't be allowed near the senior detective. "The last guy to challenge her was out cold when I tapped him on the shoulder." That wasn't bragging. That was the truth. Kori tried to hold back a little, but it was difficult. "So, there's two less to look through. She's not carrying a gun- she's been shot at, almost hit, from what we gather, and she didn't return fire. She's either throwing us off or unarmed."
"You know when I got this job, I thought I'd be a typical rookie."
"Vic, let me put this the way it should be. You're half robot. You were one of five teenage superheroes. You have a partner who personally tangled with Slade and is as mad at the villain as Dick, and that's saying something. You're talking to an alien. Atypical doesn't even begin to cover your life."
"Just one question- is there any surveillance of her?"
"Just two. One's grainy black-and-white, and her hair doesn't show up as anything. She's pretty pale, if that helps- besides her height, that's all the feed gave. The second shows her in color and the new uniform; full-body unitard, boots, gloves, a full-face mask, and a hair-cover."
"All we have is that she's short and white?"
"She could be Asian, too- anything, if she's into disguise. Don't rule out anyone- except, Mare would tell us if she did it, and orange skin is really hard to conceal. One more thing- the vigilante goes by Morrigan. It was engraved on a knife left on the scene after a hasty escape. Jenny tried running matches- all she gets is that it's a last name of Welsh or Gaelic origin."
"Why am I hearing all this today?"
"We're guessing her next target. Nightwing gave us the lead, through Oracle- something she found herself, not through the contacts she has. Me and you and Mare know- he'll release a tip about Slade's accomplice in just about an hour. You and Mare will be there."
"Got it. I'm on my way."
"Don't be late."
"I keep hearing that."
"We feel obligated to warn rookies- Mare is on time, or else."
"Or else what?"
Kori just shook her head and nudged him out of her cramped office. He crashed into the wall at a high velocity- both he and the wall held. The department was used to displays of inhuman strength, and her surroundings mirrored that.
"Sorry!"
"I'm used to it by now, Kori. It's like the whole Superman thing- you're probably used to some higher gravity, so here, your muscles are much more efficient. Just- get the room to stop spinning and my circuits to stop spouting unneeded facts like that, and I'll be fine."