Orientating the Board: A New Front Part 3

Dick's best shot at escape was the window he had come in through. It would still be a bit of a dash over there but the policewoman didn't have any weapons drawn so if he moved quickly he should be able to make it. The problem was the other officers outside. If she alerted them, it would be easy for them to get into the alley to try and cut him off. Still not impossible if he hadn't already alerted him.

"Now you're probably wondering how I knew who you were. You aren't trying to make a name for yourself like that flying alien from Metropolis or that archer in Star City." The woman shrugged. "But I try to keep my ear to the ground and there have been a lot of reports of a mysterious man with a mask helping people out when they need it."

Dick made a vague noise that he hoped implied he was following along. Running had been his first instinct but she didn't seem hostile. And wait, had that many people told her about him that she knew to recognize him?

"I suppose it's very typical of Gotham that our first hero would be one that sticks to the shadows. I can't deny my curiosity but I'll limit myself for now to just one question." She pointed at the body in the middle of the room. "Why are you interested in this? This is the first I've heard of you poking around a murder."

Projecting his voice down into that contradictory velvety-rough baritone that had become a habit now, Dick, behind his mask, spoke. "I heard the sirens and was curious about what was going on."

"Well," She smiled, "I, for one, welcome the interference of nosy do-gooders. About time! The only place that needs a cape more than Gotham is Bludhaven." She shuddered and appeared to draw a cross over herself before refocusing on the shadowy figure.

Dick straightened from his crouch and Kate watched as from the shadows, melted out a male figure. Lithe and predatorial, the dark clung to his steps as if reluctant to relinquish him from its hold.

Again, Kate mused privately, if the cities these caped crusaders popped up in reflected their homes - it stands to assume that you'd either produce something that was as bright and hopeful to stand as a beacon, or manifest the very essence of the darkness to reap justice. Looks like Gotham got the latter of the two.

"We shouldn't hang around the scene. But I was wondering - would you be willing to come with me? We could use some help that's not entirely stifled by bureaucratic red tape."

Silently, Dick nodded.

-.-.-.-

Kate was able to get the officers guarding the entrance to actually check out the potential strange noise they heard, leaving the doorway open for Dick to follow her out. As they walked down the street, Kate began explaining more about the body.

"That building it was found in was the old sewer entrance. It's not used for anything anymore but since it's still city property, they have someone go and check it out every once in a while to make sure it's not falling apart or anything. Normally the guy just comes in and looks in each of the rooms then leaves but when he showed up tonight, he just called the GCPD after the first room for, well, obvious reasons."

"The body didn't look that old," Dick said. "Maybe five hours."

"No. Which is good news for us so any clues should be fresh." Kate made a mental note that while this may be his first murder case he had done his research to be able to tell how long a body had been dead.

"The thing is," she continued. "This is part of an ongoing series of deaths that have been occurring across the city. Here, let's sit down."

They had been walking for several blocks and were now passing a small park that was empty at this time of night. Kate found a bench and sat down. Dick hesitantly took a seat next to her.

"So," Kate said. "Here's what I've got: all the victims have worked for the Falcones. The weapon has changed each time. Lately, our killer has been leaning towards stabbing, generally with something that would be easy for anyone to grab. A trident for this one is surprising since it's such an unusual weapon. It's hard to tell if this is a change in MO or if this is a different killer."

"I thought you said they were all the same?"

Kate grimaced. "I don't think it's likely but we can't fully eliminate the possibility. Most of my coworkers actually do think these are all separate cases." She rolled her eyes. "But there are too many similarities. Another possibility is choosing something so noticeable is an attempt to redirect suspicion on to someone else. The only people to regularly use weapons like tridents-"

"Are Atlanteans."

Kate nodded. "Yep. Third possibility is that the killer actually is Atlantean and just accidentally left a big clue behind on this one. We won't be able to tell unless another body turns up."

"Which we are trying to prevent."

"Of course. But that means we just have the clues we have now." She sighed, "Even if the rogue Atlantian theory is basically the most unlikely - we've probably got to start talking to people. This might spiral out into a war because - you know, defamation."

Dick frowned. If the most recent death was just an outlier then what about the others? "Did you have any other theories before tonight?"

Kate sighed. "How familiar are you with the current leaders of the various gangs in Gotham?"

"Not very. I'm new, remember?"

"The Falcones recently had a change in leadership. The old leader, Carmine Falcone, had been running the group for the past thirty years. He built them up from a mid-level gang to one of the great powers of the Gotham underground. He's gone now."

"As in retired or dead?"

"Dead, presumably." She grit her teeth in frustration. "We don't know for sure. He's been missing for the last month. His son, Michael, who he was grooming to take over the family business is nominally in charge."

"Nominally?"

"The police don't know exactly what kind of power struggle is currently happening. But there has been very little word about some of the higher ranking members of the gang. If Michael just wanted to take over, there was no reason to get rid of his dad. He was going to leave it to him anyway. But despite some surprising quiet it seems to have been a relatively smooth transfer of power. Michael might be in charge or he might just be a figurehead."

"And what do you think?"

"I have two theories but not a lot to back up either of them. First of all, I doubt whatever change of leadership the Falcone's had… it probably wasn't as peaceful as it first appeared. It was abrupt afterall. Someone could have easily seized their moment. This could be an opportunity to remove further obstacles. Or the other alternative is that it's completely unrelated to all that. It's not unsurprising that the Falcones would have a lot of people with grudges against them. It's probably just one person striking back as opposed to a group since these mostly seem to have been opportunistic hits. The only question would be why now?" She had begun talking faster as she went along, speaking in a rush to get her theories out.

"I...see." Dick took a moment to process this information. He had been aware of Gotham's gangs but had never had much need to think about them before now. There was a lot to take in and this was just about one case concerning one group. There had always been an awareness of the underworld outside of the Owls, but he had been so intrinsically tied to the Stygian world that he'd tunnel-visioned on the elements of the underworld outside of them.

"You've stumbled into a larger world than you thought you would."

"So it seems." He acknowledged warily.

"One step at a time then, we can't go looking gift horses in their mouths now, can we?" Kate smiled as she slipped a USB from the inside of her jacket, leaving it on the bench under the pool of light from the streetlamp. She watched as a - was that claws - hand emerged from the shadows to pluck it from where she had left it.

"That's everything we've managed to digitise about the case. I was going to bring it home with me but I can just make another copy at the office tomorrow. So far it's just been a small circle of groundwork cops that I've been in contact with - that we know for certain that are clean. I mean, the older Gordon is clean too, but he's higher up - so he's no longer dealing with the corruption on our levels." Kate stared into the dark and nodded. "Officer Gordon, the younger, Barbara, would probably be a good point of contact if you can't reach me. If all else fails, Detective Montoya would probably be able to help…"

"Why are you so convinced I can help?" Dick interrupted her. "I've just been stopping muggings so far." At least, as far as she knew.

Kate looked away. "Honestly? I was hoping you'd be willing to work with us from when we first heard about you. The GCPD has a lot of corruption problems that make it hard to get work done within the system. For those of us willing to bend the law a little, keeping justice as the ultimate goal…" She sighed again, before turning back to face him. "We wear a badge, therefore there are eyes on us - but you. You can go and wade firmly into those murky waters without fear of a court martial or a media firestorm."

-.-.-.-

The lilac-eyed boy squeaked as the door to the Atlantean delegation office opened, and he near-dove behind one of the numerous potted plants planted in the small meeting room he had turned into something of his private home-schooling area.

It really wasn't like he could precisely study water-sorcery in the school most diplomats' children attended. There was also that pesky thing he had with dehydration - although Arthur was right, he was learning to tolerate the surface more and more as he grew older.

Still, knowing he could just dunk himself into the salt-water pool just behind the large tinted glass doors was comforting.

"Garth?" Donna poked her head in. "I was having a bit of trouble with the incantation translation so Diana basically told me to shove off and come to you about it. Also! I heard a bit of gossip!"

Garth peeked out from the desk, "Problems with incantation?"

"I've been trying to translate between the differences in the codex and the point at which Themiscryan and Atlantean split from Ancient Greek. Given that the language used for Atlantean sorcery is almost the same as Ancient Themiscryan - I figured I'd skip wrecking my brain and come to the guy who actually knows what's being said."

Garth smiled at his friend. "And the gossip?"

"Oh! I'm not surprised it hasn't made its way up to you guys yet. I mean, I only heard because Agent Trevor was brought in by FBI's Agent Katherine Kane - something about tridents being used by a series of murders in Gotham."


AN: Thanks once again for reading! If you'd like to contact us via tumblr, my handle is eastoniablogs! Reviews appreciated!