I spent that night at Colleen's place, which was a tiny studio apartment on the top floor of a walk up above a bar. Her apartment had low ceilings, probably against code, and the roof line sloped over her bed so that I could only stand up straight if I were standing perfectly in the center of the apartment. But there was a tiny ladder beside her bed which led to a reading nook with natural light from the moon that beamed in from the windows on the roof. I had to crawl to get into the space, but I was surrounded by throw blankets and pillows and books; it was incredibly cozy.
Colleen had fallen asleep immediately, her body sprawled over her bed with makeup, dress, and heels still on. I laughed, realizing she must have been more drunk than she'd let on, and removed her shoes before tucking her under some blankets. Once in her reading nook, I picked up some of the books that surrounded me: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee, Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman… anthropology books. Her graduate program must be in cultural anthropology, perhaps focusing on American immigrants. I flipped through one of them until I fell asleep.
Even though I snuck out of the apartment the following morning leaving only a sticky note thanking her for her friendship, I felt like I had built something new with her. She seemed like a troubled young woman, one that was weighing the importance of her intellect against the value of a superficial existence as a trophy wife. I felt guilty that she thought I was an example of successful high-end prostitution (which was of course inaccurate). I privately vowed to be in touch with her more; maybe I ought to convince her I was a very cheap assassin. It may keep her away from married creeps looking for mistresses…
That night, I met Daniel outside of my apartment as he came to pick me up for dinner. I dressed nice, but not for the meal; I guess I just felt nervous, like maybe it would be disrespectful to meet him in gym clothes? He parked in front of my building and popped out of the car to greet me.
"Hey," he smiled gleefully. "Didn't think you'd be out on the curb, I was hoping to meet your dad tonight." I clutched my purse tightly in front of me, glad to have something to do with my hands.
"I know," I said somberly, and he immediately sensed my mood. He slowed in his walk over to me and spun his keys once around his finger. I tightened my lips and looked down as he turned away.
"Ah man…" he shook his head as he looked down the street.
"Daniel," I tried to calm him, but he took a step back and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "It's just… not a good time for me, is all."
"Just so I know I'm not over-reacting, you're not talking about dinner, right?" Daniel smiled bashfully at me, but I knew the smile was veiling frustration and disappointment.
"No, it's not about dinner," I confirmed. He shook his head, looking down at his shoes. He looked back up at me suddenly.
"Is it that other guy?" he asked. I felt my jaw tense and my cheeks flush red; how could he know about Dick?
"Who…"
"That guy you were with before me, the one you'd dated for so long?" he asked, his volume rising as his frustration released. That's right; I'd led him to believe that it was a relationship that had kept me out of the dating pool for so many years, and not just my reclusive nature.
"No," I said.
"And it's not because of the fountain thing, right? When I was making light of the attack in Gotham Square? Because that was a mistake, I'm so sorry…" he asked, taking another step towards me. I instinctively took a step backwards as I looked down.
"No, Daniel, it's nothing you said or did. It's nothing about you," I tried to explain.
"Oh, right- 'it's not you, it's me,'" he laughed and made quotation symbols with his fingers. "You don't have to feed me a line, Barbara…"
"I'm not feeding you a line, Daniel, I just…" I said, raising my hands and trying to calm him, "I thought I was ready for a relationship, but… it's just all moving so fast, and…"
"We can slow it down," Daniel said eagerly, raising his hands to me in offer. "We can slow it down."
"Daniel…"
"No, seriously. You don't want to see me every day? Fine. You don't want me to meet your dad yet? That's okay, too. I get it. We can just… wait a while. But that doesn't mean we have to stop seeing each other altogether…"
"Daniel," I stopped him. His eyes met mine and he seemed to understand my resigned, compassionate gaze. It was over. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "I'm sorry." He began to turn away, but stopped abruptly, wiping the corners of his mouth contemplatively.
"You'll tell me… when you change your mind," he said, though I knew it was more of a question. I considered brutal honesty, but I thought it would be mean to take away the faint hope he had.
"I will," I confirmed. He nodded to himself.
"Can I kiss you? One more time?" he asked. I tightened my lips and looked down at my hands; it honestly was a request I cared little about. I could've kissed him, I didn't mind. But I knew what I wanted, and I didn't want to lead him on. He let out a belabored sigh. His hand quickly darted down to one of mine and he raised it to his lips. He kissed the back of my hand softly, and I could feel him inhale as he lingered over my fingers. "Call me, gorgeous." I smiled and nodded coyly back at him. He got in his car and pulled away quickly. I retreated upstairs to our apartment. Dad looked at me with his keen, fatherly eyes; he knew something had happened down there, and he also sensed that I wouldn't want to talk about it. He brought me a coffee mug full of ice cream to eat as we watched TV.
"Was he nice?" Dad finally asked as we watched Lucille Ball in black and white reruns. I stabbed the spoon into the frozen mound of chocolate and let my eyes dart over at him.
"Yeah, he was," I confirmed. Dad nodded to himself, looking down at his own ice cream.
"Then he'll be okay," he said as he shoved a spoon in his mouth. "You will, too." I nodded as I swallowed a spoon of ice cream.
"Thanks, Dad," I smiled. That night, as I lay in bed, I opened a new message to Dick. I stared at the blank screen that waited for my input, but I didn't know what to write. There was a gulf between us, and I didn't know what I could possibly text to bridge that gap. I closed the message again, and went to sleep.
The next morning, I bought two coffees and strolled into the Bludhaven police precinct for the third time. The same desk sergeant manned the front desk, and he picked up the phone to call back for Officer Grayson before I'd even reached the desk. I thanked him demurely and waited to see Dick; but it was Amy that stepped forward behind the desk and waved me down the counter to a separate window, where she leaned closer to the plexiglass partition that separated police from citizens. "Hey," she greeted me, "he's uh… in the middle of something right now." I felt like I had something caught in my throat. He wouldn't speak to me? He sent Amy to deal with me instead? I felt like an idiot. Maybe I was too late, after all.
"Oh," I finally forced out.
"I could give him a message, if you want?" she offered, and I could tell the offer was intended with genuine kindness. I forced a smile back at her and put the two coffees on the counter.
"Yeah, um… that would be… thank you. Just… tell him, I…" I stalled. Tell him what? Tell him I was sorry? That I wanted to talk to him? That I wanted to make this right? "Nothing," I stammered out, almost laughing at how pathetic I felt. "Nothing, just… give him the coffee for me, if you could."
"Okay," Amy answered with soft eyes that made me feel infinitely more pitiful. I turned to go, but she stopped me by calling, "Oh, you forgot your coffee."
"Oh, that's not mine. That's… for you," I explained awkwardly.
"Oh," Amy looked down at the cup in surprise.
"I just… I didn't realize you were Dick's partner. So… it's kind of hard to explain, but… I kinda owed you one," I shrugged. Amy's mouth opened as if what I'd told her had shed light on a mystery.
"Oh, so that's…" Amy started, but her thoughts continued internally as her eyes darted around, and she looked sheepishly up at me. "I hope you're not… because of me…"
"No," I quickly waved away the thought. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I just… needed to make it right." Amy nodded back at me understandingly.
"I'll tell him you wanted to talk to him…"
"Don't worry about it," I tried waving her away. "Have a good one."
"Yeah, you too," she called kindly after me as I left the precinct and made my way back to the train. I wished my phone would ring, but Dick didn't call.
He didn't call the day after either, and by Wednesday afternoon I was beginning to go crazy with wondering why he wouldn't call or text. I clung almost desperately to the knowledge that Dick would be picking Jason up after he spent some time with me at WayneTech, and that maybe I'd get a brief moment with him.
Jason arrived at the office around 4:00 and we set about preparing for what we predicted to be a busy weekend. The opening of Penguin's Iceberg Lounge was set for Saturday, and it was widely publicized that all of Gotham's most popular socialites (excluding Bruce Wayne, Vicki Vale, and a few other of Oswald's enemies) were set to attend. That meant Gotham's criminal population knew exactly when those wealthy targets wouldn't be home, and thus their homes would be easier targets.
"Hopefully we can set up a patrol map around the city and catch some of the burglaries in action," I suggested as we dropped pins of known attendees on the map.
"You working Saturday night?" Jason asked as he worked diligently at my side.
"Of course," I confirmed, assuming he meant work as Batgirl. "Big night."
"Sure, sure," Jason started, and I predicted the prodding comment before he made it, "I just didn't know if you and Daniel had any plans." I could see his goading smile out of the corner of my eye, and I considered carefully how I ought to respond. I didn't want to lie or withhold the truth from him; in truth, I was hoping that if I told him what had happened, he'd pass that information on to Dick. But it also wasn't his business, and I didn't want to fill him in on all the details.
Jason sensed something in my long pause and turned to look at me, so I lifted my fingers off the keyboard and gazed vacantly down at the keys. "Daniel and I aren't really seeing each other anymore," I said, my eyes darting at the notes around my keyboard as if I were working harder than before. I felt Jason swivel in his chair beside me, and looked up to see his hands folded in front of him, a cheeky smile on his face.
"Dish," he insisted. I rolled my eyes as I failed at stifling a laugh at him, then tried to return to my work. But a pressure on the side of my chair came from Jason kicking my chair so it would swivel. I tried resisting for a moment, but knew he wouldn't let it go- I allowed him to swivel my chair around until I faced him. "You broke it off?"
"There was nothing to break…" I started to shrug him off.
"So you dumped him? Cold… why?" he asked, leaning forward in his chair.
"Jason, it's not…"
"Not a big deal, sure. So what, was he too clingy? He seemed very clingy."
"He was fine, it just wasn't a good fit."
"What kind of fit? I'm assuming we're not talking about a physical fit here, right…"
"JASON!"
"I'm just clarifying! Like a personality fit, right? He's too clingy, too serious…"
"No…"
"Not serious enough? Doesn't read enough? Not good enough at his job?"
"Jesus, Jason, it wasn't…" I began to answer, and to my surprise Jason actually slowed down enough to listen to my response, "It wasn't one thing, it was just… lots of small things."
"Right," Jason said, swiveling his chair back and forth as his fingertips pressed together in front of his chest. "And that's all?" My eyes darted back and forth.
"Did I need another reason?" I asked.
"No, no…" he started, and I blushed as I again predicted what he would say next, "just wondering if maybe you were interested in someone new." He had been in the control room of the Augmented Reality chamber when Dick had revealed his jealousy of my relationship with Daniel. Of course, he was expecting this to be the start of a relationship between us. But this is where I needed to draw the line; this is where the conversation became too personal.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Jason," I said as I turned back to my keyboard, continuing my work. Jason lingered with his chair pointing at me as I resumed dropping pins on our map.
"Right, right, of course… no idea, I'm sure…" He eventually resumed his work without another teasing word, though I could see his teasing smile out of the corner of my eye as we worked. When 5:30 rolled around, I closed down the computer as Jason collected his things.
"Dick's upstairs," Jason said in an aggressively teasing tone, "if you want to walk with me?" I smiled at him, acknowledging the bait and refusing to verbally respond to it as I grabbed my things and walked with him to the elevators. I walked him out of the lobby and we saw Dick's motorcycle at the curb. My stomach did a flip and I felt chills on my scalp; it was the first time I'd seen him since I'd broken up with Daniel. I was excited and nervous as I looked him over in his jeans and black leather coat.
Dick proffered Jason a helmet in greeting, and looked up to me with serious, professional eyes. "How'd everything go?" he asked me. I felt my throat tighten as I realized he wasn't going to acknowledge what he'd confessed to me this weekend, nor the coffees I'd brought him and Amy on Monday. Maybe I was too little, too late.
"Great," I answered without emotion, trying to force myself to keep my personal emotions separate. "We should be nice and ready for Saturday," I said.
"There's some Bludhaven folks on the list too," Jason said through his helmet to Dick, "we sent you a map of addresses to put a watch on."
"Thanks," Dick nodded at me. I nodded back as a professional courtesy. He opened his mouth to say something else, but his eyes dropped and he closed his mouth again. I felt my spirits fall.
"Well, I'll see you later," I said, unable to keep myself in the uncomfortable moment any longer.
"Oh, and Barbara," Jason called to me through his helmet, shouting to be audible, "don't let the breakup getcha down!" The muscles in my jaw and cheeks tightened as my face grew hot and red, and I watched as Dick's eyes darted curiously to Jason. I turned away quickly before Dick could bring his gaze back to me and started hustling to the Urbarail station.
Jason was a good kid, but he was an expert at humiliating me. I owed him one for that.
Despite Jason ousting me right in front of Dick, the radio silence between us continued. It was hard to pay attention to it when I had so much to do to prepare for the disasters that could strike when Penguin opened his lounge on Saturday. I promised myself that I would make Dick my priority on Sunday; even if the outcome wasn't what I wanted, I couldn't go another whole week wondering what Dick was thinking.
Saturday night, I sat in the Batcave at the computer, watching the monitors displaying the outside of the Iceberg Lounge. The twinkling lights of cameras made the dilapidated old museum look charming, and the red carpets and elegant finery worn by entering guests must have been everything Oswald had hoped for. Reporters and photographers took pictures of Gotham's finest entering the party, and a small mob of envious guests who wished they were on the list stood on a red carpet behind a velvet rope, hoping they may be able to partake in the celebration.
"Anything to report?" Batman asked as he fitted his cowl over his head.
"Nothing exciting yet," I answered, "but it is only 10:00. There's a lot of night left ahead of us."
"Most attendees will be arriving in the next hour; that's when the burglaries will start," Batman said. "Time to head out." He took the Batmobile and I took my motorcycle, and we went separately to cover our different patrol patterns. Batman's patrol pattern had him driving past some of the nicer neighborhoods with better security stations, ones we likely didn't need to worry about as much, before heading through Gotham mainland's Diamond District and the Coventry. My patrol pattern would start at the opposite end of the city on Bleake Island, then circle through Founders Island on my way to Miagani Island. We would meet up in Park Row, near enough to the Iceberg Lounge that we would be able to swing in quickly if there was any trouble but still out of sight of Penguin's thugs.
The patrols proved to be fruitful and productive. I busted a robbery in progress in The Cauldron, and another in Drescher. I noticed as I was swinging past that at Oswald's family mansion, Cobblepot Manor, security had been increased around his house. His guards were dressed in fine suits, and these goons were openly carrying automatic weapons. I kept moving; any burglar bold enough to attempt a robbery on Oswald's turf tonight would have their hands full.
Miagani Island, which housed the entertainment district, was still too busy at this hour for most burglaries. I did my rounds of the island, checking on the expensive townhomes and lofts from adjacent rooftops, but everything seemed untouched so far. Even at 1am, it was still too early to tell if they would be burglarized.
"Alfred," I called into my communication device on a private channel to the Batcave, "how's news looking?"
"No surprises yet, Miss Gordon," he answered coolly.
"And Jason's with you?" I asked.
"I'm tracking police scanners, just like you asked," Jason confirmed with an annoyed tone. "Any surprise robberies, I'll let you know."
"Thanks," I smiled as I looked out over the bridge to Old Gotham. Park Row was just a stone's throw away and, beyond it, the Bowery and Penguin's lounge. I could see the spotlights circling in the dark sky above from even my distance. I tightened as I let out a sigh; I was sure we still had a stressful, long night ahead of us. No way were we getting out of this night without some scrapes and bruises.
I made my way back to Bleake Island, where I had hidden my motorcycle in an alley during my patrols. I climbed back aboard my motorcycle and began to make my way to Mercy Bridge towards Old Gotham, when Alfred clicked on over my communication unit.
"Batman," Alfred started, letting me know I was being looped into their channel, "we're seeing indications that something is going on at Cobblepot Manor. Perhaps your attention is required."
"I was just there," I called back into the communicator. "He's got armed thugs covering the place. Did a fight break out?"
"No," Alfred stammered, "it seems a great many of his men have been incapacitated." I furrowed my brow as I turned abruptly away from Mercy Bridge and towards Perdition, which would lead me to Cobblepot Manor.
"I'm on my way," I said.
"I'll be there in five minutes," Batman said, and I could hear the pained groan of someone on his end of the line. I guess he'd found a robbery to stop first.
When I neared the fire station by Cobblepot Manor, I ditched my bike in the alley and scurried onto the rooftops. On first glance, I thought security had been called off; the armed thugs I'd seen before had disappeared and the outside of the mansion was seemingly vacant. But upon closer inspection, using my detective mode, I saw the bodies of the men had been carefully stowed in dark corners, in crawl spaces under the manor, and behind the fence. Someone had taken them all out and carefully hidden their bodies.
"Who's done it?" Batman's voice came from behind me as he landed on the roof. I clicked off my detective mode as I turned to face him, enormous and tall in his Batsuit.
"Whoever it was, they're a pro," I said, gesturing for him to take a look. "They've hidden the bodies well; pedestrians wouldn't be able to tell anything happened here."
"They've taken the guards out silently, keeping other guards unaware of their presence as they've moved through the manor," he noted as I watched his detective mode scan the property. The lights in his cowl flickered off and he turned to face me. "Head over to Park Row and keep an eye on Penguin. I'll take care of Oswald's cat-burglar."
I understood immediately who we were dealing with; Catwoman knew how to rob a place without making a mess. When considering who to target for a robbery tonight, she must have bypassed the party's guest list and gone straight for the host. Not a bad idea… if you're unafraid of his wrath. But before I could leap from the rooftop, my communication unit pinged on again.
"Sir, there's been a 911 call made from the Iceberg Lounge; a waitress has been killed," Alfred noted. I turned back to Batman; here came the disasters we'd been waiting for.
"How?" Batman asked into his communication unit as he walked away from the edge of the rooftop overlooking Cobblepot Manor and towards me.
"With an acidic weapon, it seems… and… oh dear," Alfred hesitated. "GCPD security cameras on the exterior of the museum are showing… sir, it's Joker. And I believe that may be Harley Quinn with him…"
Before Alfred could finish his sentence, Batman was diving off the rooftop towards his car.
"I'm en route now. Track their location, don't lose them," he directed Alfred as I heard the rumble of the Batmobile below. "Batgirl, take care of Catwoman- then join me in pursuit." I dove off the rooftop and flicked on my detective mode, searching for a sign of Catwoman. I couldn't see any sign of her heat signature in the house, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. She was more of a techy than she let on; she had a good suit, and I wouldn't be surprised if she found a way to cloak her heat signature. I tucked my knees in and kicked through a window on the second floor of Cobblepot Manor, freezing upon landing to listen for Catwoman.
I had landed in an open concept library on the second floor that overlooked the great room. It was subtle, but the dropping of something fragile came from the bottom of the stairs. I hurried out of the library and dove down into the great room, freezing in my squat to see my target.
She wore red goggles that presumably had similar traits as my detective mode, and tufts of her black hair poked out from under her perky-eared helmet. Her suit was unzipped far enough that I couldn't keep from questioning how her breasts remained in it. And in her hands, she held a black bag stuffed full of things I could only assume were not hers.
"I'm disappointed," Catwoman said as she strode slowly behind a large leather couch, putting something between us. "I thought the big guy and I had something special. Now he's sending his new girlfriend to check up on me."
"Not my boyfriend," I said as I followed her movements, taking small steps closer as I did. "And I'm not checking up on you. I'm stopping you."
"Please," she waved me off with the familiarity of old friends, "it's Cobblepot's things. Which means they probably aren't really his in the first place."
"Cobblepot's or not," I shrugged my head to the side, "I'm not letting you walk out of here with things that aren't yours."
"Isn't there something more important you should be doing?" Catwoman groaned as she slowed in her walk, and I saw her claws emerge from her gloves. "I hear Two Face had plans for you tonight. Don't tell me you stood him up."
"What plans?" I asked, unable to resist the bait. She smiled confidently.
"I didn't realize you'd be so focused on little old me that you'd forget to take care of those sweet little shop owners," Catwoman said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a large, fine silver watch, looking at the time. "If you hurry, you might still be able to help them."
This was a trap. She was just trying to distract me. But at the same time, I didn't think she was lying. This would be the perfect night to go after the last shop, especially if Two Face wanted to take me down. Batman and I would need to split up to cover the Iceberg Lounge and any other incidents, and the only way Two Face had a chance of taking me out is if Batman wasn't with me. But I couldn't just let Catwoman go.
"Two Face will have to wait," I said. "I'm not going anywhere." Catwoman let out a sigh and dropped the duffel bag.
"Fine," she grumbled, pouncing on top of the sofa in a low crouch. "But don't let your boyfriend get grumpy when I use you like a scratching post." She leapt at me and I spun with her weight to throw her to the ground behind me.
"Batman," I called into my communication unit, "Two Face is robbing the bodega on Bleake!"
"On it," a voice called back, but I didn't have time to respond. Catwoman leapt back up and flipped over me, her feet planting on my back for a moment before she used me as a springboard, knocking me to the ground. I hurried back to my feet in time to see her grab her duffel, pounce onto the railing of the second floor bannister, then swing herself over. She was making her escape. I grappled up after her and tackled her to the ground, knocking the duffel out of her hand. I threw her towards the bannister, ensuring I blocked her from the broken window she could easily escape from.
She hurried forward, swinging her clawed hands at me. I dodged one swipe, then another, then blocked her attack with an elbow and pushed her shoulder back as I swept her ankle. I landed on top of her, a hand pinning one of her arms overhead as my other arm pressed down across her clavicle, pressing her to the ground.
"Don't make this more difficult," I cautioned her, my knees gathered under me between her legs.
"Difficult?" Catwoman smiled, "this is fun." Her unpinned hand darted up and grabbed a fistful of my hair and I prepared for her to pull hard to get me off of her; but she did the opposite and pressed my head down towards her, our lips close to touching and our chests pressed together. Her legs shot up around me and threw my weight beneath her. Her hand left my hair and grabbed my other hand as it dropped from her chest. She smiled seductively down at me, our faces still so close our noses could touch. "The apple didn't fall far from the tree," she said, the pressure of her holding my wrist down at my side firm but not painful. "You're just like the big guy- just as much fun to play with."
"I'm not letting you out of here with that bag," I said. She rolled her eyes with a smile.
"And just like him, you're a wet blanket too," she groaned. She raised her gaze and planted a soft kiss on the tip of my nose, then flipped over me. By the time I sat up, she had flipped out of the manor- but she'd left the duffel bag on the ground beside me. I leaned up and unzipped the bag, seeing small sculptures and antique finery glistening from the bag- but I didn't see the large, silver watch she had pulled out earlier. She'd managed to get away with something for her troubles. I darted a glance from the destroyed window to the furniture downstairs that we had all but ruined; Penguin would be furious, even though I had spared his bag of trinkets.
Well… you're welcome?
I grappled out of the manor and dialed Alfred's communication unit. "Alfred, call GCPD- let them know Catwoman attempted a burglary at Cobblepot Manor. His things are fine, but his men need medical attention and he'll be in need of some repairs."
"Of course, Miss Gordon," Alfred answered. "Good work."
"Did Batman catch Joker and Quinn?" I asked.
"He is still in pursuit, Batgirl," he responded. "They've escaped the lounge in a car, after pieing the faces of several guests. Batman is tracking them through the city."
"Then why did he say he'd go after Two Face?" I asked as I swung down to my motorcycle in the alley.
"He didn't," Alfred answered. "Nightwing did."
"Nightwing?" I asked, and my nerves grew tight. Dick was going after Two Face, alone?
"Batgirl," Jason's voice came through over the comm unit. "Your phone's been blowing up- someone named Colleen has called you like nine times."
"What?" I asked, panic rising in my stomach for Colleen as I kicked the bike into high speed towards Bleake Island. "Alfred, patch me into a call through my comms unit." The phone rang twice before the line connected.
"Barbara?" Colleen's voice sounded panicked, and the noise of loud voices shouting and shrieking behind her cluttered the line.
"Colleen, what's going on?"
"It's crazy, I need help! They're not letting us leave!"
"Who's not letting you…"
"I'm at this lounge opening, that guy I met at Lucid invited me- and some guy straight up killed someone, and now the owner's not letting us leave…"
"You're at the Iceberg Lounge?"
"They have guns, they're not letting us leave, I am freaking out, what do I do…"
"Colleen, take a group of guests and go into the bathroom. Lock the door, don't come out until the police come," I directed her as I sped towards Bleake Island. Colleen and everyone at Iceberg Lounge needed help, but Penguin wouldn't physically assault any of his guests at the opening of his own lounge, would he? Two Face's targets were in far more immediate danger.
"I just want to go home," Colleen was crying on her end of the phone.
"Stay away from the lounge owner. Go into the bathroom. I'll call the cops," I advised her as I drove over Perdition Bridge again. The phone call with Colleen ended abruptly.
"Miss Gordon, I have already called the police and informed them of the situation at the Iceberg Lounge," Alfred chimed in.
"He's got guns on his guests," I said into the comm unit. "They're still in danger."
"Nightwing is already in combat on Bleake Island; it seems Two Face brought a substantial force to be dealt with, likely in anticipation of your interference," Alfred said; i.e., Nightwing couldn't do anything to help with the Iceberg Lounge situation. I was almost to the bodega, and I could only think to do one thing.
"Jason," I said nervously. "Take a comm unit. See if you can take out some of the armed guards and evacuate some of those guests."
"Seriously?"
"We don't have time," I ordered. "Get down there, keep hidden. Don't let anyone see you- silent takedowns only. Clear a path to evacuate those guests and get out of there. And you can't let Batman find out you're there; he thinks you're involved with Joker, he'll come for you."
"Got it," Jason confirmed, and the comm unit clicked off as I approached the mob of men fighting outside of the Bleake Island bodega.