Rebecca sat with her fellow officers around the raised platform-stage where the Mayor was to make his speech for the late Commissioner Loeb.
The parade up to the platform had mercifully been uneventful; and considering it had been a prime opportunity with the Mayor walking in the very front and centre of the procession dedicated to the late Commissioner and Harvey Dent walking right beside Gotham's leader.
Gordon and Rebecca had worried that the Mayor and Harvey might be too exposed, and had taken many protective steps to try to ensure the men's safety. The Lieutenant had insisted – and was met with no arguments from either his department or Dent's – in having armed officers lining the entire street and along the procession group. They also secured special forces to stand watch on the roofs and balconies of every building along the street where the memorial service was being held.
Perhaps because of their many precautions, but the procession itself had ended without incident. Though Rebecca couldn't shake the feeling that it was more likely that the Joker had simply opted for a different plan from the start.
And that was why, despite the fact that they had made it halfway through the event without any sign of the painted criminal, Rebecca found herself getting tenser and tenser as she waited for something to happen. Gordon clearly felt the same way as he constantly swept his eyes around the area, scanning the roofs and remaining on the lookout for any suspicious activity.
Rebecca also kept looking up vigilantly, her eyes scanning the many windows on all the nearby windows. It only made sense that the Joker – or more likely one of his goons – would be perched up where there was a better vantage point but also some cover for stealth and escape.
Yet, something kept niggling in the back of her mind – a small voice that told her the Joker wouldn't be that easy. He seemed to love throwing them off with unexpected moves that often leant towards the theatrical; a simple assassination attempt from afar didn't really fit into that pattern.
But what else could he possibly do?
With the number of police officers swarming the street, it would be very difficult for any of the Joker's men to get close on the ground. Not only were there guards placed everywhere, but as the ceremony was dedicated to the head of the Gotham police, every single officer not on watch duty was standing in the street before the Mayor to honor their late chief. Anyone who tried to get close on the ground would have to go through the sea of officers, and somehow Rebecca thought that might be noticed.
And Rebecca also knew something no-one else did: 'Batman' was also going to be onsite during the ceremony.
Since it was the middle of the day, Bruce couldn't come out in his suit but he had informed her that he and Alfred had made progress on the bullet scans – with some help from Lucius Fox, naturally. Bruce had also shared his intention to track down the prints while the memorial ceremony was taking place, and he was hoping to get to the source of the prints – the Joker – before anything could go wrong.
Rebecca hoped it fervently too – the sooner the Joker was caught, the better. He was proving to be far more dangerous than they could ever have suspected.
She was so focused on keeping an eye on their surroundings as much as possible that Rebecca barely heard the Mayor's speech to honour Commissioner Loeb. Not that it mattered; she could watch it on rerun later if she really wanted to. Truthfully, Rebecca thought the Mayor – while well meaning – was making his speech unnecessarily long.
Or, perhaps she only felt that way because she was anxious for the ceremony to end peacefully while it could. The lack of any signs of the Joker was only making her edgier and she could feel the tension growing like a thick, heavy fog in the very air around her.
It wasn't just from her, and it wasn't only from Gordon either – every citizen of Gotham was watching and waiting with fear that the Joker would deliver on his threat. The fear that had begun like a small ember with that article in the morning paper was starting to spark and fan into a flame that was waiting to burst into a wild fire the longer they waited – a wild fire of pure terror and chaos.
And they couldn't let that happen – she couldn't let that happen. Not after everything they had worked for.
"We must remember that vigilance is the price of safety."
The Mayor finally finished his speech, wrapping up with a grim nod to the crowd. At the signal, the head of the Honour Guard called, "Standby. Honour Guard, attention!"
The Honour Guard moved in smooth synchronization, lifting their rifles to their shoulders as they began their salute.
Gordon and Rebecca continued to scan the area, tensing as they realized this might be the time when the Joker hit. They were almost done, and so close to the end. Not only was it the Joker's last opportunity but it was also potentially the most dramatic timing – to hit just when people would start to think everything was fine.
"Ready; aim-"
The Honour Guard pointed their rifles into the air as they readied to finish their salute.
"Fire!"
The men fired off one shot each, before returning to their ready positions.
Rebecca had tensed as the first round went off, almost having expected to finally see an assassin somewhere in the crowd and she had been ready to leap to save the Mayor if need be. But as nothing happened, her stress only increased and Rebecca took a deep breath to steel herself as the Honour Guard readied to fire the second round.
"Ready; aim; fire!"
The guards fired once more, but both Rebecca and Gordon started as they felt something wrong. There had been extra shots fired, they were certain of it; and both looked up quickly and then around the area, their eyes darting around as they sought to find the cause.
Rebecca spotted small movement in one of the windows to the far right, and she saw some of the SWAT members aiming their smoking rifles at said window. It could be the assassin but something wasn't right - the position was just a bit far to be ideal and getting caught so easily was too sloppy to be the Joker. No, somehow… it was a trap.
A cold sinking feeling in her gut told her to look back down, and Rebecca's eyes moved back towards the Honour Guards just as the head called for the third and final time.
"Ready."
Rebecca's eyes started to move to scan the crowd but paused as she noticed something strange on the Honour Guard standing closest to the stage. His face was mostly hidden beneath the Guards' customary caps, but just visible beneath the cap were strange raised marks – almost like scars… right on the corners of the man's mouth.
"Aim-!"
As one, the 'Honour Guards' turned and aimed their rifles right at the podium, directly at the Mayor who was still standing to honour Commissioner Loeb.
Gordon saw it at the same time Rebecca did, and both detectives lunged forwards at the same time - just before the head of the Honour Guards could shout the last order… and just before the Joker and his men could fire at the Mayor.
Rebecca was fully prepared to protect the Mayor, using herself as a shield; but before she even reached anywhere near the man she found herself falling back and away when a hand shoved her roughly aside.
Gordon meanwhile used the force of pushing Rebecca back to safety to propel himself forward even faster. The force and surprise of his actions had Rebecca falling onto her side just as a single gunshot fired, followed by a few more rounds and accompanying screams from the terrified crowd.
Out of pure instinct as her training kicked in before her mind could fully catch up, Rebecca drew her own gun as she rolled upright. Remaining crouched for better cover, she instantly looked around to regain her bearings only to find absolute chaos all around.
It was utter pandemonium down below the stage as the crowds of people ran screaming while officers moved about wildly to try and catch those responsible amongst the stampede.
The stage was an equal area of activity, and Rebecca spotted with a small amount of relief that the Mayor at least was being led off safely. But then her eyes landed on the form lying prone just beside the abandoned podium and the world just stopped.
All the noise, the screaming, the shouts, the gunfire; all the chaotic scrambling as people moved off the stage while those in the crowds ran for safety - all of it melted away.
The only thing that Rebecca could hear was her the blood roaring in her ears as time stood still for her; and the only thing she could see was Gordon lying in a small pool of his own blood, his glasses askew on his lined face, and his eyes closed as he remained unmoving.
"No." Rebecca whispered.
She watched numbly as Stephens, one of their fellow detectives, reached Gordon and leant over the crumpled man to check his wrist for a pulse… before he dropped the Lieutenant's hand shakily.
"NO!" Rebecca screamed, rushing forward.
Heedless of everything else around her – she had no doubt, a small bitter part of her mind told her, that the Joker would already be long gone – Rebecca threw herself onto her superior officer. Pressing her own fingers to his neck, she tried to find a pulse while the tears welled up in her eyes and she stared down in growing horror and heartbreak as she felt nothing.
"Gordon." Rebecca pleaded while Stephens bowed his head beside her. "Jim. Wake up. Jim. Jim!"
Rebecca's hand dropped from Jim's neck, landing on Gordon's chest where she clutched at the fabric of the older man's shirt as she screamed to the heavens in a sheer agonizing cry of pain-
"JIM!"
Rebecca stood grimly beside Stephens as they waited for Barbara to open the door to her house.
It was already dusk, even though they had tried to come as early as possible. The aftermath from the Joker's attack had taken hours to organize, and even then there had been nothing satisfactory to find. One man had been captured, a schizophrenic man whom the Joker had obviously left behind and who so far hadn't offered any useful information.
Rebecca didn't know the full details on the man as Harvey had taken over questioning the as yet unidentified man; and she hadn't been interested to know. Not yet.
Because there had been something more important, more pressing, for her and Stephens to do; something that was going to be painful but the least that Gordon and his family deserved.
It turned out they didn't even need to say a word.
Barbara didn't have to be told anything; for the second the brunette woman opened her door to see the officers' faces, she knew.
She knew from Stephens's sorrowful expression and Rebecca's tear-streaked face that the day she had prayed never to come… had finally come.
Her eyes filled with tears, and Barbara choked out in a heartbreaking whisper that tugged on Rebecca's heart, "No."
"I'm sorry, Barbara." Stephens murmured. It was a pitiful thing to say; and yet it was the only thing they could say.
Rebecca bowed her head, unable to look as she spotted a familiar tuft of blond hair coming up towards them from behind Barbara. Barbara's face crumpled as she stared at the officers, but she held herself together as best as she could as she looked down when her eight-year-old son paused just behind his mother.
"Jimmy, go inside and play with your sister. Go ahead."
Barbara shooed her son away, but Rebecca – glancing up briefly – could see the boy only moved away because he, too, knew. She could see it in the way the boy's face paled and became drawn that Jimmy had realized why she and Stephens were there, why his mother was so upset – why his father hadn't come home.
Turning back to the officers now that her son was back inside the house, Barbara whimpered, "Oh, God. Oh, Becky, please say no…"
She reached out towards them helplessly, and Rebecca took the older woman into her arms. The tears she thought she'd finished crying out earlier came back as Barbara sobbed into her embrace, the woman keening while Rebecca whispered hoarsely, "I'm sorry, Barbara. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."
"Are you listening?" Barbara wept, her voice thick and slightly muffled on Rebecca's shoulder. "Are you?"
Rebecca tensed while Barbara lifted her head from the redhead's shoulder, crying in a voice that cracked more than once, "You brought this craziness on us! You did! You brought this on us-!"
Barbara choked, and she was unable to finish her words while Rebecca shushed the older woman softly. She patted Barbara's back as the woman collapsed back into tears on Rebecca's shoulder, and Rebecca's heart twisted and threatened to tear in half.
She could understand why Barbara had lashed out, could hear it in the utter anguish in the older woman's heartbroken accusations. And yet, the other part of her reached out to Bruce, who she knew probably was hiding somewhere in the shadows nearby.
Rebecca could only imagine how he was feeling, and knew he was probably beating himself up mercilessly for what had happened. To now hear Barbara's tormented and blaming cries…
From the shadows above the house, Bruce watched silently as Rebecca hugged Barbara, giving what small comfort she could even when she knew there was none she could give to soothe the burning ache that Gordon's death had left behind in his family's hearts.
Every single one of Barbara Gordon's sobs felt like a knife was stabbing him in the gut – and her words felt like someone had taken alcohol and rubbed it into the cuts. His guilt burned from inside his very core, and his anger at his own helplessness grew the longer he watched Barbara's suffering.
Bruce had easily fallen into the Joker's trap, following a false lead into the abandoned flat where the real Honour Guards had been tied up, stripped of their uniforms. Where the Joker had even laid a timed coil to release the window blinds so Bruce would have a perfect view just before the Joker's real attack on the Mayor. At least, in theory he would have the perfect view.
The sudden release of the blinds had drawn the nearest SWAT guards' attention to the window where Bruce had been, and he had been forced to duck when they had fired on whom they thought to be a potential assassin.
And the Joker had attacked while Bruce was distracted.
By the time Bruce could peer – taking care not to be seen now that the window blinds had been opened – outside, it was already pandemonium and the Joker was gone. The only thing left for Bruce was the sight of Rebecca crouched over Gordon, sobbing her heart out as she screamed for the man who had become a father figure in her life.
And now Gordon was gone.
And Bruce didn't think he would ever be able to forget Rebecca's terrible scream of pure anguish, just as he wasn't likely to ever forget Barbara's heart wrenching cries and her sharp but true words aimed at him.
With a heavy heart, Bruce turned away and took off once more into the night.
By the time Stephens and Rebecca got back to the station, a few officers had lit the Bat Signal in the hopes that the Batman would come, and maybe remind them that there was still hope.
But Rebecca knew better. The Batman would be picking a bone with someone for answers tonight; he wouldn't have time for the police. And to be honest, the police didn't really have time for him either.
It was utter chaos at the MCU when she returned, and while Stephens went to check the roof with a small shred of hope, Rebecca launched herself into the work.
She needed the distraction, and the force needed her. Every cop and civilian who had been at the memorial parade needed to be questioned for potential connections to the Joker, and every scrap of potential evidence had to be reviewed and filed.
Rachel was also there to help, the DA office having joined forces with the police in the investigations, but the sisters barely had time to check on each other before they each fell neck-deep into their respective work.
"Get records on those fingerprint analyses next, and hand me those copies from the earlier ones now." Rebecca ordered as the team hurried about, swarming every corner of the office. "These checked out, but send them over to Ramirez and Assistant DA Dawes to confirm as well. We cannot afford to lose him again."
"Yes, ma'am." The two officers moved off to do as she'd ordered.
One took the sachet of analyses over towards the team that was in charge of researching information on all the identified prospective suspects and witnesses, while the other – who had handed Rebecca the latest copies of findings – took the files on the witnesses she'd cleared over towards Ramirez and then Rachel.
"You're starting to really sound like a Sergeant now, Dawes." Stephens commented as he entered, carrying a large stack of papers himself, and Rebecca answered as she rubbed her face, "Someone has to."
She looked around, her heart clenching as she added dejectedly, "With Gordon gone, it's up to us now."
"You're doing good, Dawes." Stephens responded, awkwardly shifting his papers so he could pat her back firmly. "And Gordon would've been proud."
"Thanks, Stephens." Rebecca sighed, and Stephens nodded as he shifted his papers in his hands.
He paused, and added as he glanced around, "So, I see the Assistant DA, but where's Dent?"
"Probably investigating in his own office." Rebecca sighed as she opened yet another file. "He took charge of the suspect we caught; or, well, the suspect he caught."
"Yeah?" Stephens asked, raising a brow. "Well, I guess he always did have an irritating way of doing things on his own – sometimes rather questionably."
"You really don't like him?" Rebecca asked, glancing up at Stephens, and the man shrugged.
"Well, let's just say before he was 'Gotham's White Knight', Dent didn't get his nickname amongst the MCU for no reason." He replied vaguely.
Rebecca also raised a brow, but before she could comment, Rachel had hurried over, saying in a harried voice, "Becky, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Er-" Rebecca began, glancing at Stephens, but the man waved them ahead.
"Go on – you can take a two minute break, and I have to get through this now anyway." He indicated his pile, and Rebecca nodded gratefully.
"I'll back in one-and-a-half." She promised as she followed her sister to the only semi-secluded corner in the bustling station.
"Rach, what is it?" Rebecca asked in concern as she noted the nervous aura around her sister, and Rachel explained, "Harvey called me."
"Did he find anything?" Rebecca asked, frowning, and Rachel shook her head as she answered, "No… and yes."
Rebecca's frown deepened before she became alarmed as Rachel explained quickly, "Harvey called because he found my name as the Joker's next target."
"You're not serious." Rebecca said, blanching.
But Rachel replied grimly, "Unfortunately, I am. Harvey wants me to get somewhere safe, but I don't think I can go home; where we live isn't exactly a secret and it's not secure. And I'm worried that you'll get tangled in this as well, especially after what happened to Gordon, and-"
"I'll be fine, I'll be here the whole time." Rebecca interrupted, her blue eyes steeling as she met her sister's gaze. "It's you we should worry about right now."
"Harvey said the same thing, but there's nowhere for me to go with both of you working." Rachel answered grimly, but Rebecca corrected, "Bruce can take care of you."
"Becky-" Rachel began to protest, but Rebecca interrupted firmly, "You can't disagree, Rach. His penthouse is safer than our flat or even Harvey's place, and we can be sure to trust him and Alfred to keep you safe."
Rebecca glanced around meaningfully at their surroundings, where they knew somewhere they had a mole - or several moles.
Rachel's lips pursed; but she also had other reasons to see the appeal in Rebecca's propositions so she nodded at last.
"All right." Rachel said decidedly, while also secretly making a firm resolution inside her mind. "I'll text you when I get to his place so you'll know I made it there safely. You should also come to Bruce's and not go home – just in case."
"If I get to go home." Rebecca answered as she looked around at the many officers rushing about with files and phones in their hands as they tried to deal with the aftermath of the Joker's attack.
"You can't not sleep forever." Rachel answered, hugging her sister briefly. "I'll see you later."
"Don't forget to text me." Rebecca reminded, and Rachel promised as the two sisters parted, "I won't."