The meeting was due to start at 8am, and Sophie walked into the board room a few minutes before that to orient herself to the space. She saw familiar faces already seated at the table, and privately wondered who, not a week earlier, had voted to suspend her. If Batwoman was right, these same people would be voting to give her leadership of the Crows.

"Ah, Ms. Moore, welcome," came a voice to Sophie's right. She immediately recognized it.

"Good morning Mr. Duncan," Sophie said warmly, turning to respond to him. Alan Duncan was an ally - that much Sophie knew. She had gone against Jacob on many occasions in front of the board, and Duncan was always the first to side with Sophie's reasoning - they both had a contemplative attitude to big decisions. Unfortunately, that thinking was a majority among the board, and she took his welcome as nothing more than affirmation of what she already knew: getting votes in her favor were unlikely. The lines had been drawn long ago, and this was certainly an uphill battle. Sophie scanned the room for Ms. Cantor, but she was nowhere to be found. Sophie secretly hoped it was because she was making some last minute deal to ensure her promotion.

Sophie settled into a chair at the far end of the conference table. A minute later, she watched Ms. Cantor walk in alone, head down. She acknowledged no one directly and quietly found her seat. Sophie tried to make eye contact to get a sense of their chances, but Cantor remained focused on the notepad in front of her. Sophie's stomach sank slightly. That didn't look like a promising sign.

It was now a minute to eight, and Sophie surveyed the room. There were nine familiar faces all sitting in wait. Nine, Sophie thought. Who is missing? She recalled the last round of meetings she'd attended and couldn't place the missing face. She rattled them off like Santa's reindeer twice before she realised who was missing: Jacob Kane.

In addition to his role as lead Crow, he also held a position on the board as its founder. This always made fighting him that much harder: he played both sides well. But now, at this meeting, he was absent. Was he also stripped of his role on the board?

Everyone was settled and sitting quietly which left Sophie on edge. Why is no one starting? She thought, wondering if it was a power play to keep her on edge. Sophie was left in suspense another ten minutes when, nine minutes after the meeting was due to start, the doors opened and in walked an all too familiar face.

"Ah, welcome, Ms. Kane. I hope you found the space all right," said standing to greet her Mr. Duncan.

Sophie sat stunned in her chair. She felt her stomach churn as she watched Kate Kane enter the room. She entered with an air of ambivalence that made Sophie's temper flare.

"Sorry, got lost for a minute. I hope you weren't waiting on me," Kate said casually, acknowledging Duncan. "Does here work?" she asked, pointing to the empty chair at the head of the conference table. She received nods of approval before settling in.

After another ten minutes of brief introductions with the newest board member, the meeting began.

"Right, so, now that we're all gathered, let's discuss the pressing issues facing us following last week's… er… events . As you're all aware, Gotham City has elected to pursue a company-wide investigation of the Crow's practices," Duncan said, beginning the meeting. "We shall review the guidelines provided by the City and take the morning to determine the necessary steps forward. First, and arguably most important, is the Crow's leadership."

Sophie tried to hear Duncan's words but her focus was on Kate who, to this point, had not acknowledged Sophie was in the room and, actually, seemed bored by the entire proceedings.

"And so if there are no objections to Sophie Moore stepping in as interim lea-"

"Actually, I have a few questions," interjected a voice. Sophie looked up from her thoughts and realized the voice was Kate speaking. She gaped in confusion. "We're here because of poor decision-making from within the Crow's leadership, no?"

A grumble of hesitant agreement rose from the board members.

"Am I missing something then? Why would we promote someone who the board has already reviewed and suspended for questionable action? I realize I'm coming into this with, like, zero background, but on paper, this seems like a terrible idea. We're trying to save the Crows in the face of scrutiny, not accelerate its demise," Kate continued with a sharp, critical tone. Her demeanor had changed drastically from the casual vibe she'd walked in with. "So, why would we put our trust in a part of the very leadership that led to this situation in the first place?"

Silence emanated through the conference room at this. If Kate had looked at Sophie, she'd see nothing but anger and hatred emanating toward her, but Kate kept her eyes focused on the other nine in the room.

"Ms. Kane raises valid concerns. We are at a crossroads, and I am not sure handing the leadership over to Ms. Moore is so wise. I've spoken with many at this table privately, and we have doubts as well." The comment came from Margaret Cobblepot.

Unprompted, four other board members joined Cobblepot's remarks.

"So can we assume there is a consensus to reconsider Ms. Moore's promotion," said Kate.

Sophie sat stunned. This felt like a dream. What is Kate doing? Margaret Cobblepot? Is she really aligning with her? They're complete opposites. They should be at each other's throats, she thought, scanning the room and settling on Cantor, and why isn't Cantor speaking up? She realized Cantor's silence was probably because she knew she didn't have the votes. Other than Kate, five had already voiced disapproval of Sophie. She suddenly felt her chances dwindle to nothing.

"If I may," Duncan chimed in, "we are facing an unprecedented situation, Ms. Kane. While I respect your intentions, we could also argue that Ms. Moore has shown exemplary behavior as a Crow, and her recent suspension came out of questioning from the current leadership."

"So you're saying the city only passed down this judgment because of a single night of dysfunction after Ms. Moore's suspension was handed down?" Kate responded with a hint of sarcasm. She surveyed the room before continuing, "Look, there is evidence breaches in protocol have been ongoing for months if not years, and, if I'm not mistaken, Ms. Moore has been involved as part of leadership in every instance. We cannot in good faith maintain this. There is a symptomatic problem here."

"I agree again with Ms. Kane's sentiments," came Cobblepot again, "Ms. Moore is unqualified and unfit to fill the exemplary role of Crow Leader - especially now that we'll have the City reviewing every decision that comes out of its leadership."

Agreement emanated through the room. Duncan paled as he surveyed his peers, and Sophie was red with fury. This wasn't how the meeting was supposed to go. Cantor was supposed to whip together the votes, and here she sat, saying nothing to defend Sophie. And who was Kate to swoop in and make claims like this? That Sophie was a symptom of the leadership's failures?

"So my proposal is this," Kate continued, "we grant Gotham's District Attorney discretion over who will lead the Crows during this pivotal moment."

A silence fell over the board following these words. Kate observed the nine board members. She could tell they were all grappling with this idea.

"Am I hearing correctly, that your proposal is to hand the leadership of this company over to the city?" Cobblepot interjected, clearly unprepared for Kate's suggestion.

"Well, it seems there is unanimous consent leadership from within the Crows is unacceptable, so it seems in our best interest to lean into Gotham for leadership."

"That is the dumbest proposition." The voice took everyone by surprise, including the person who it belonged to.

"Ms. Moore?" Duncan said, nodding at her to continue.

"The story Ms. Kane has so eloquently woven suggests my leadership is incompetent and on par with the Crow's current trajectory. All of you at this table know my history with the Crows. I've spent the better part of a year disagreeing with Jacob on the Crow's leadership - it's why most of you voted to suspend me, no?"

Many at the table adjusted themselves out of discomfort at Sophie's directness.

"You want this company to succeed? You want the Crows to actually exist through the end of the year? Because it's not through leaning into the corrupt entity we're at odds with," Sophie continued, becoming more emboldened by the retreating looks on the board's faces. "I'm the best candidate for this position because I was at such odds with Jacob. If you want to set an example, you hire the one person Jacob wanted out of leadership, and you pick me."

Sophie scanned the room, looking every board member in the eyes. She landed onKate's last, and she felt a disgust and betrayal she didn't know she could feel for Kate. This was the woman who Sophie had placed on a pedestal for years, and in less than a week Kate had proven how undeserving she was of it.

"I move to vote on Ms. Moore's candidacy for Head Crow," Duncan spoke now, taking the opportunity to use Sophie's speech as momentum away from an alternate nominee. "Is there a second?"

Sophie stared at Kate, mentally daring her to challenge the move.

"Aye," came Mila Cantor from the sidelines.

"Lovely. It will be a private vote with simple majority rules. Ms. Moore, if you'd please wait in the hall."


Sophie was in the hall for no more than fifteen minutes when Duncan poked his head out with a grin. "You've got it! Eight to two"

Sophie was invited to return to the room for the remainder of the meeting which was two hours of far less dramatic items focused on the particulars surrounding an official audit. Sophie remained quiet, observing the conversations drone on. She made occasional glances at Kate and couldn't help but notice a sudden lack of interest on her part toward the meeting.

Soon after, the meeting was adjourned and the board members rose to part. Sophie lingered only a moment to accept congratulations before making her leave. She looked around and noticed Kate had already left. Sophie gathered her jacket and exited into the hall where she saw Kate's familiar silhouette walking away and toward the elevators.

"So that's how it's going to be, is it?" Sophie called to her, heated anger building inside. She felt a ringing in her ears as she watched Kate pause mid-stride.

Kate turned to look back at her. "Sorry?"

"In there - all of that - that -" Sophie began, frustrated and unsure how to put her feelings of being backstabbed in front of the board into words.

"All of that what, exactly?" Kate responded, her face empty of emotion.

Sophie stared, completely lost for words. Who are you right now? Sophie wondered. Her anger fell away into sadness. She felt a hopelessness about what just went down even though she had walked away with the victory.

"Ms. Kane? A word, if you don't mind?" came a voice from behind Sophie. "I've got a few ideas I'd like to discuss with you about reallocating funds given these compounding restrictions."

Kate's eye remained unmoved from Sophie's gaze as Margaret Cobblepot walked up to the two. Sophie continued searching Kate for some sign she was remorseful about how she threw Sophie under the bus but found none.

"Of course, Margaret," Kate said, finally breaking contact to address Cobblepot. "Excuse us," Kate said to Sophie before the two began walking away. Sophie stood frozen for a moment longer, trying to piece together what the last thirty minutes had just been.

"Congratulations Ms. Moore. A well deserved job," came Mr. Duncan's voice. He had appeared beside her as Margaret and Kate left.

"Thanks," Sophie said. She suddenly didn't feel accomplished in the position. Instead, she felt lost.

"We almost lost that for a moment, didn't we," Duncan chuckled, nodding in the direction of Margaret and Kate. "Margaret can be quite the stoneall."

"Margaret? Are you kidding? What about Kate," Sophie interjected with more annoyance than she meant to reveal, "She came in with mutiny on her mind."

Duncan stood silently for a moment, a small smirk glimmering in his eyes. He always reminded Sophie of a slimmer, middle-aged Santa Clause. He dressed like a college professor and had a full beard peppered with greys and round wire spectacles propped low on his nose for reading.

"That's an interesting perspective, Ms. Moore," Duncan mused before turning to leave.

"How do you mean? Were we not in the same meeting just now?" Sophie rounded on him, confused at Duncan's words.

"Sophie, my dear, consider Margaret and her flock. They came to the table with their minds made up. Nothing Ms. Kane said persuaded those five to do or say anything they weren't already planning," he said softly, "but it did reveal where they stood before we could cast the vote."

Sophie stared back at Duncan unmoving. "Are you suggesting Kate was helping?" Sophie accused, "You're giving too much credit to Kate's failed attempts at keeping me out of the Crows."

Duncan sighed lightly, "Well, let's not dwell on that too long. Regardless of the 'how', your promotion is much deserved - I have the utmost trust you'll carry us through this review," Duncan said, bringing a lightness back to the conversation, "Now, if you please, I must be off. I have a lunch date I cannot be late for."

Sophie gave Duncan a parting wave and found herself experiencing many things: frustration with Kate, relief for the position, annoyance with Margaret, hope for the Crows, and confusion for Duncan's words: it did reveal where they stood.

Sophie wasn't ready to give Kate any credit for her new position, but she was ready to get back to work.


Sophie had been watching the clock all day - she was due to meet Batwoman at seven, and she hadn't had a moment of privacy since entering the Crows facility. She'd been pulled into meeting after meeting, giving guidance to different teams leading the various cases around the company.

It was 6:30 before Sophie found a moment to slip away. She went to her new office and logged into the Crow server, glancing at the door with slight paranoia. She wasn't exactly authorized to enter Arkham's server without an active case to log it to, but she didn't know how else to quickly retrieve the information Batwoman could use.

She quickly scanned the system for Duela Dent's files and confirmed she had been released early with years left on her sentence by a Dr. Butler. For good measure, she quickly skimmed his profile as well and performed a high-level download of his case studies.

Now was the tricky part. While she had a printer in her office, official documents pulled from private servers were to be printed in public areas. It was a bureaucratic hurdle to show 'transparency' within the system, and Sophie suddenly wished it didn't exist.

She glanced out her window into the open working space below. No one was there, so she took the opportunity and sent the documents to print. She quickly descended the stairs to the printing station and impatiently watched each individual piece be printed. She felt a nervousness at the risk of being caught but felt she could easily explain it away without much suspicion.

After two minutes and thirty-seven agonizing seconds later, the files were printed, and she quickly slipped them into a folder and made to leave when she came face-to-face with Margaret Cobblepot.

"Ms. Moore," Margaret Cobblepot said with some surprise. She observed Sophie's shocked face and noticed the folder in her hands. "Working late?"

"Uhm - ye-yes," Sophie finally said.

"Which case?" Cobblepot pressed, sensing Sophie's discomfort.

Sophie found herself searching for a case, any case, that would explain her use of the public printer when another voice joined the duo:

"Meg, I know you need to get going, but I thin-"

Sophie's panic doubled as she recognized the voice before she saw Kate round the corner into the work space. They must have been in the conference room, Sophie thought, panicking suddenly. Your first and last day as Lead Crow.

"Sophie," Kate said. Her tone landed as both a question and accusation.

"Ms. Moore was just briefing me on her caseload," Cobblepot announced with the kind of tone saved for Bond villains. Kate noted the folder in Sophie's hands and understood what she was up to.

Kate broke into a small laugh, "Meg, you're going to be late if you keep this up. You can't stop and talk to everyone on your way out if you plan to make the opera on time."

As though remembering, Cobblepot's posture straightened, "Yes, well. We can chat more another time, Ms. Moore. Kate, today has been an absolute pleasure. Keep me posted once you're settled in."

"Settled in?" Sophie asked, regretting her instinct to ask.

Margaret Cobblepot turned to Sophie, "Ms. Kane has volunteered to oversee the day to day on behalf of the board. Since we don't know how long this review could go on for, the board finds it best to have more presence in the goings on within the facility now that Jacob has been benched. Kate will be our eyes and ears performing our own sort of internal audit." Margaret revealed a malicious grin at this. "But yes, Kate, you are right - if I don't leave now I'll miss the first act again. My husband will be completely beside himself if I'm not there on time."

Kate struggled to not roll her eyes as Cobblepot made her exit. After an entire day with that woman, Kate wondered how anyone could be married to her for 33 years. She was ignorant but insistent. Nothing the woman said aligned with Kate, and negotiating with her was a challenge unlike anything Kate had ever encountered before. That Cobblepot had plans was a blessing in disguise; without it, Kate wasn't sure she'd be able to slip out with enough time to meet Sophie later as Batwoman.

She knew she was short on time, but she also had an uncomfortable feeling over how Cobblepot had baselessly started interrogating Sophie. She had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time Sophie would face a spontaneous audit that could jeopardize both Sophie's position and her work with Batwoman.

"So what's the case," Kate asked, picking up where Margaret had left off. She tried to maintain a tone of authority. While the last thing she wanted was to fight with Sophie again, she'd rather Sophie hate her than be caught off guard again by a Margaret figure in the future.

The afternoon had made Kate realize she needed to keep her wits about her in Margaret Cobblepot's presence. While she was ignorant, she was also well-connected and knew how to get her agenda pushed through. At the moment, that agenda included proving Sophie was unfit for her promotion.

The morning's meeting had created enough confusion among Margaret's core that they overwhelmingly voted in Sophie. Being unable to regroup after Kate's suggestion of offering the job to GCPD meant they voted blindly for what they thought was the better option. That was a short-term solution but didn't guarantee Sophie any permanence on the job. A single slip-up could put Lead Crow to another vote, and Kate was sure Cobblepot's crew would be prepared with a back-up plan.

"Oh, not you too," Sophie said, trying to bluff her way out of the conversation. "I've got work to do and this is a waste of my time," she said, brushing past Kate.

"Sophie, do not walk away from me. I'm serious about this - if those case files aren't related to Cro-"

"We're following up on some loose leads," Sophie responded, stopping mid-stride and turning to face Kate.

"So you're saying it's formal Crow business?" Kate pressed. "Because I've seen the list of active cases, and there is nothing related to Arkham on any of them."

Sophie wasn't sure how Kate knew the files were Arkham related, and she wasn't in the mood for Kate's interrogation tonight. "Are you babysitting me now?"

"If by 'babysitting' you mean 'auditing you before Gotham City does' then yes, consider me your new babysitter," Kate responded with an air of superiority that Sophie found off putting. "So I'll ask again: is this formal Crow business?"

Sophie gritted her teeth, "Let's call it prospective Crow business."

Kate stared back at Sophie. She knew the folder was full of information about Dr. Butler. She also knew if City Hall found out the Crows were investigating unauthorized casework, there would be hell to pay. Kate couldn't outright say it, but Sophie was in a tight spot helping Batwoman, and she needed to be careful.

"In what way? You know we aren't allowed to do speculative work if it hasn't been authorized by a private client or GCPD. Do you want the Crow's investigative rights permanently suspended for 'prospective' side projects, Sophie?" Kate said. "Are you ready to ruin the company and the careers of everyone here for that?"

"No, that's - that's not what I'm trying to do." Sophie defended. She was caught off guard by Kate's accusation, and realized she wasn't wrong: she was being careless. Yes, as Lead Crow she had access to a treasure trove of information, but this kind of reckless decision making and rule breaking was exactly what got the Crows into this position in the first place. Granted, Sophie felt this was different than using explosives in a civilian zone, but that wasn't the point.

"Who's the job?" Kate asked in pretend ignorance.

"Duela Dent," Sophie said begrudgingly. She wasn't eager to reveal more information than she needed to.

"Duela Dent? Why does that name sound familiar," Kate continued pretending. "Any relation to the Dents?"

"She's Harvey's niece. We think she's been involved in a string of killings since her release from Arkham."

"We?" Kate asked, testing Sophie. Kate wasn't trying to be belittling, but she also knew that she was risking a lot in Sophie if she didn't get her stories straight. A slip like that to Cobblepot could mean she suspected other Crow's were in on it or, worse, someone outside the Crow's was. Either case would be bad news: unsuspecting Crow's would be roped into a review or Cobblepot would find reason to kick Sophie to the curb.

"I think it, and I'm a Crow, so we should be tackling this," Sophie clarified quickly. She realized too late her word choice was a dumb mistake, and Kate was the last person she needed nosing around.

"Hmm, well, if this is Harvey's niece, you should just go to the source. If there's any chance of tarnishing the Dent name, that'll be something Jessica Dent will want to stay on top of," Kate said, making reference to Duela's sister. It was common knowledge that Harvey only had one sibling, Jessica, so Kate wasn't giving too much away by suggesting it.

"Yes, but asking Jessica Dent to take us on will bring all sorts of unwanted press. Since last year all new cases are required to be submitted to GCPD for record," Sophie challenged in return. She wasn't sure why Kate was suggesting something so obviously unworkable.

"But the Crows still offer two-week pro bono services for speculative works, right? Those don't need to be formally submitted to GCPD - it's only once that cycle ends and they're paying clients that you need to document it," Kate considered out loud. "If you think there's something there Sophie, I trust your gut. Go see her tomorrow and get the form signed. After that, this can all be above table," Kate said.

Sophie stared at Kate in slight amazement. She hadn't expected Kate to help, and she definitely didn't expect her to come up with a loop hole. After the morning's meeting Sophie saw Kate joining the board as nothing more than a thorn in her side, but she was starting to see that perhaps Kate's severity was layered: her intensity came from wanting to see the Crows get out of this hole and she still had the conviction to track down the bad guys. Maybe the old Kate is still in there.

"Thanks," Sophie said, and both her and Kate softened for the first time in days.

"Sure thing," Kate said with a half smile. She then glanced at her watch and realized she was ten minutes late to ensure Batwoman met Sophie on the rooftop by seven.

Sophie noticed the panic on Kate's face as she observed the time, and her heart sank slightly. "Late for something?"

"Actually, yes. I've got a - it's - well it's a -"

"A date?" Sophie asked, fighting the empty feeling in her chest.

"Kinda, yea…" Kate surrendered. She didn't like lying to Sophie, but Luke's warning rang loud in her ears: she had to keep up appearances. "Have a good night, Sophie," she said, backing away to leave.

"Sure," Sophie said, trying to smile in return as she watched her heartbreak walk away. She had spent the last few days in denial of Kate's words - that it was all a bad dream. She blinked back tears threatening to betray her hard exterior as she watched Kate turn out of sight, and she realized she might have lost her chance with her.


Hey cool people, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. A special thanks to everyone who has written a review - I love reading all of your feedback (the good and the bad!) I'm

Stay safe out there!

All my affection,

EQT.95