"...So then we had to stop what we were doing and mobilize to Solomon Wayne courthouse, because of Mr. Genius and his brilliant idea of luring Goodman out with a press conference. By the time we got there, the freak bashed Goodman's face in with a trash can and beckoned us over to him, like he'd done us a favor. We got Goodman in a cop car and the Commish took Nigma in his car and brought him to GCPD. When we got there, I met the commish in his office and helped tear Nigma a new one."

Ward took a deep sigh. "Detective Bullock," he said through gritted teeth. "May I remind you that we requested that you keep your commentary to a minimum?"

From her vantage point, Penelope could see Bullock shrug. "Just being honest."

She rolled her eyes. Bullock had been exactly what she expected: Rude, defensive, informal, and he'd spent more time critiquing every single one of Edward's decisions on this case than he did actually explaining his own. As she'd watched him testify, she'd kept an eye on the members of the commission as well. Bolton seemed to be the only person enjoying himself, as the others had ranged from indifference to embarrassment in Greene's case, to outright anger in Ward's.

"Detective Bullock," Greene asked, reviewing her notes. "While you were in the Commissioner's office, where was Goodman?"

"He was on his way to Interrogation," Bullock answered. "The plan was for our consulting shrink to do an interview before Detective Montoya and myself conducted the interrogation."

"Detective Montoya was in interrogation at the time?" Greene clarified.

"Yeah."

"Is that standard procedure, to have only one detective present? Why didn't you go to interrogation too?"

Bullock's posture stiffened. "I needed to talk to the commissioner about the evidence we gathered in the case. Renee's a good cop. She could more than handle Goodman."

"So then, did Detective Montoya remain in interrogation while you were speaking with the commissioner?"

Penelope narrowed her eyes. So that was the strategy. Bullock's testimony was to demonstrate how problematic GCPD had been in their handlings of Goodman and Montoya would get the blame for Goodman taking her hostage. Two of Gordon's most senior, well-respected detectives were going to be made to look like fools, which would call Gordon's judgment into question. She couldn't see Bullock's face, but she wondered if he'd figured out the trap. He was quiet for a long moment before his shoulders sagged.

"No," he answered softly. "She didn't. She came to the commissioner's office to tell us how Goodman was doing."

"And how much time did she spend there?" Greene asked.

"About 15 minutes."

"I see," Greene said, pursing her lips. "So in that period of time, Goodman, a known serial murderer, was left alone with an unarmed civilian?"

Bullock got out of his chair and pounded his fist on the desk in front of him. "Oh no, you don't! You're not pinnin' this on Renee!" He jabbed his index finger in Greene's immediate direction. "She's done more good for this city than any of you ever have!"

"Sit down, Detective!" Ward shouted. "If you can't conduct yourself in a professional manner, then leave!" For a long moment, Bullock said nothing, continuing to, Penelope assumed, stare down Ward and the other members of the commission. Bolton looked at the scene with a smirk, while Councilman Roberts say blank-faced. Finally, Bullock sat down, his fists clenched. Penelope let out a breath she didn't realize that she had been holding. She had to give Bullock credit for one thing. As unpleasant as she found the man, he was intensely loyal to the few people he genuinely respected. She stole a glance to the front bench, where the other witnesses were sequestered and spotted Detective Montoya. From the glimpses she could get of her face, Penelope could see that she looked ashen, her mouth drawn into a straight line as she watched Bullock take his seat.

Councilwoman Greene picked at her sleeve, then continued on in an artificially pleasant tone. "We'll have plenty of questions for Detective Montoya regarding the choices she made. For now, let's talk about the bombing in GCPD." She looked down at her notes and skimmed through the page for a moment. "Apparently, a woman later identified as Leigh Carson planted a small pipe bomb in the waiting room of GCPD. Forensics later determined that there was a timer set for it to go off at approximately 5:45 pm. Is that correct?"

"Yeah," Bullock answered. "If that's what the lab boys said."

Greene hummed and continued on. "Backtracking a bit, you testified that yourself, Commissioner Gordon and Renee Montoya were all in the Commissioner's office while the consulting psychiatrist was conducting Goodman's interview. When did you leave the office?"

Bullock began to grind his teeth. "A uniformed officer barged in. He said that Goodman had gotten out of interrogation and he'd grabbed the shrink."

"The psychiatrist that Detective Montoya had left alone with Goodman?" When Bullock didn't answer, she pressed on. "What happened next?"

"The Commish, Montoya and I got out to the bullpen. Goodman was standing in the hall that led to the interrogation rooms and he had the shrink in a chokehold. We drew our weapons and the Commish told Goodman to let her go, that he was willing to talk to him if he did."

"And how did Goodman respond?"

Penelope watched as Bullock's fist clenched. "He didn't. Not to us, at least. He was talking to Nigma."

"Nigma?" Councilman Roberts asked. "He was still in the GCPD building? Why?"

"How should I know!?" Bullock shouted. "He was probably waiting for the reporters to get there so he could gloat about how he got Tut!"

"Getting back on topic," Ward grumbled. "What exactly was Goodman saying to Nigma?"

"I didn't catch a lot of it. Something about how he wanted to 'humiliate him'. This whole thing got started because of a stupid grudge match between those two. Then Goodman said that he was taking the shrink and leaving. Then the bomb went off in the waiting room."

Ward nodded. "Obviously, it was planted as a diversion to cover Goodman and his accomplice's escape. What happened next?"

"The blast knocked me, Montoya and the Commish on the floor. I was dazed, but I got up first. Goodman and the shrink were gone, and Nigma was taking off down the hallway towards the emergency exit. Montoya had a few cuts and bruises, and the Commish was out cold. I radioed an ambulance to help him and the rest of the wounded, then myself, Cash and a few other officers took off after Nigma. We found him in the parking lot, trying to run out. We took him into custody. Goodman was already gone."

This was the first time Penelope had heard about this. Edward had actually attempted to pursue Goodman after they'd driven off-she shook her head. That was done. She needed to remain in the here and now and she needed to remain as objective as possible.

"You detained Nigma?" Ward asked. "On what grounds?"

"He'd been making the situation worse since the moment he showed up in the museum," Bullock snarled. "The Commish didn't want him involved in the case because he knew all the trouble he'd cause. I just did what we should have done from the beginning."

"I see," Ward said. He gave Bullock a hard look. "And in the meantime, what did you do about Goodman? The murderer who had now taken a civilian hostage?" Penelope frowned a bit. First, she was 'the shrink', now 'a hostage'. Intellectually, she understood why her name wasn't being used, but the depersonalization rankled.

Bullock seemed taken aback by this line of questioning. "I-well, I put out an APB on Goodman. Then I informed Deputy Commissioner Reeves what had happened. While we waited for him to get there, myself, Montoya and Cash interrogated Nigma to see if there was any information about Goodman he was holding back. When the Deputy Commissioner arrived, we left Nigma in interrogation and went to update him and receive our assignments."

"And how much time elapsed between the bombing and the Deputy Commissioner's arrival?"

"About an hour, I guess."

Ward sighed. "An hour. An hour you spent interrogating a man who has since been officially cleared of any involvement in Goodman's crimes, instead of mobilizing to find Goodman himself."

There was a long pause before Bullock answered in the iciest tone Penelope had ever heard from him. "I did everything in my power to track down Goodman."

"Did you?" Ward asked. "Then tell me, who was it in the end who found Goodman and saved the hostage? Was it you? Detective Montoya? Batman?"

Bullock didn't answer. He couldn't really, Penelope thought. Both out of pride and because it would prove Ward's point.

Ward sat back, satisfied at Bullock's silence when Greene interjected again. "Detective Bullock. You've gone on record as not approving of Gordon's relationship with the vigilante Batman, correct?"

Bullock suddenly looked up. "Batman? He wasn't even around when this happened! What's he got to do with anything?"

"Answer the question please," Greene said in that fake tone. Penelope stole a glance at Joan, who looked back at her with an equal amount of confusion. Where was the councilwoman going with this?

Bullock finally shrugged. "I know the Commish trusts him, and I'm not gonna pretend that he hasn't done a lot of good for this city, but no. I don't. He's a vigilante. He's not accountable to anyone. And I don't trust anyone who wears a mask."

"All very valid points," Greene said. "It must frustrate you then, knowing how many times Batman's been the one to save the city from the various super criminals, instead of GCPD."

Penelope took a sharp breath. She understood now what Greene was doing. Bullock, however, didn't seem to. "Sometimes, yeah. I guess."

Penelope could detect a small, smug smile come to Greene's face. "Well then. If the idea of Batman showing up GCPD is frustrating, then the idea of a former super criminal doing so must have been utterly galling. Isn't that why you really detained Nigma?"

"That had nothing to do with it!" Bullock shouted. "Nigma's a goddamn menace, but he didn't have any influence over how we investigated this case!"

"Didn't he?" Greene asked in a condescending tone. "From your testimony so far, I think we can conclude one very important fact. However valid your ill feelings towards Nigma are, you allowed them to taint every decision you made on this case."

Bullock moved his hand up as if to speak, but no words came out. He slowly lowered his hand and Penelope could see his head tilt downwards, looking down towards the desk he was seated at instead of looking the members of the commission in the face. She could hear low murmuring in the gallery and she knew at this moment that Bullock had been defeated.

"I think we've heard enough from Detective Bullock for now," Ward announced. "You may be excused, Detective."

Bullock got up from his seat and turned, slowly making his way back to the front bench where the other witnesses were seated. For the first time, Penelope got a good look at his face. Even from how far away she was, she could see the doubt and regret etched on Bullock's face. She almost pitied him.

"We'd now like to hear from Detective Renee Montoya," Ward continued. "Detective Montoya, please come to the front."

As soon as Bullock took a seat, Penelope saw Montoya stand up and make her way to the front desk Bullock had vacated seconds earlier. Penelope studied her appearance and her demeanor as she walked. Where Bullock was slovenly and shambled his way, Montoya was immaculate in her dress uniform and her movements were measured, almost rigid. The perfect appearance of a dutiful police officer. Penelope noticed though that her fists were clenched. Montoya sat down, her back perfectly straight and she looked Ward in the eye. Ward didn't break eye contact with her.

"State your name for the record," Ward said.

"Renee Montoya," she said through what sounded like clenched teeth. "Detective second grade."

Ward nodded. "You are Detective Bullock's partner, correct?"

"Yes," Montoya answered. "For the past three years."

"I see," Ward said. "Do you stand by Bullock's testimony for how this case was investigated?"

"Yes, I do," Montoya said. "Detective Bullock told the truth."

"Detective Bullock's honesty isn't in question," Ward said harshly. "We're not going to ask for your take on the investigation. Rather, we want you to explain your decisions on the night in question, starting with Goodman's initial arrest. Please walk us through what happened."

Montoya took a moment, then answered. "At Solomon Wayne Courthouse, Detective Bullock and I took Goodman into custody. We transported him to GCPD headquarters. Once we arrived, Detective Bullock went with Commissioner Gordon and Edward Nigma to the commissioner's office, while I took Goodman to Interrogation Room A. Once there, I conducted an initial interrogation, until Dr.-our consulting psychiatrist, arrived to do her interview."

"At which point, you left the interrogation room and went to Commissioner Gordon's office, leaving the doctor alone with Goodman. Is that correct?" Ward asked, his black eyes boring holes into Montoya.

Montoya took a deep breath before responding, no doubt wanting to avoid the fireworks Bullock had displayed during his testimony. "No," she answered. "The psychiatrist was not alone."

There was a loud murmuring before Ward cleared his throat. "Quiet in the gallery, please. Detective Montoya, please clarify your last statement. We've been led to believe that Goodman was alone with the civilian he took hostage. Was that in fact not the case? There was a uniformed officer standing outside?"

"No," Montoya admitted softly. "Another psychiatrist was present, a Dr. Joan Leland. She had previously been Goodman's attending psychiatrist when he was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. She was at GCPD assisting in the investigation."

It was the truth, but it was clear from the expressions on the members' faces that this was not a satisfactory answer. "Another psychiatrist," Ward said, contempt dripping from his voice. "Do you think Detective Montoya, that this was satisfactory protection for the unfortunate civilian?"

'Unfortunate civilian'. So the Commission intended to cast her as an anonymous, helpless victim in all of this, Penelope thought. Her fists clenched tightly and she felt her fingernails dig into the palm of her hand. She was not helpless.

"The doctor did not indicate any desire for protection," Montoya said in a crisp tone. "In fact, she had conducted similar interviews in the past, both in her work for GCPD and in her former position at-"

"The fact remains that she was a civilian, and you were the detective," Greene interrupted. "She may not have cared about proper procedure, but you certainly should have. Why exactly, did you leave interrogation?"

Montoya took a deep breath. "Goodman had been unresponsive in my initial interrogation," she answered. "He'd also sustained minor injuries in his earlier scuffle with Nigma. At the time, I didn't think I would get anywhere with him, so I went to the Commissioner's office to tell him how Goodman was and to wait for the doctor to be done with her examination. I had only intended to be gone for a few minutes."

"A few minutes," Greene repeated, that smirk back on her face. "Long enough for Goodman to grab the woman and blow up the waiting room at GCPD."

"Goodman hadn't presented himself as a threat and the building was full of armed officers," Montoya defended. "No one could have predicted what Goodman was going to do."

"As one of the detectives in charge of investigating the case, you should have," Greene pointed out. "Or at the very least, taken greater precautions. Or were you under the impression that even if Goodman did somehow escape, Batman would have solved the problem for you? That seems to have been GCPD's usual pattern for the past few years."

Montoya jerked back as if she was about to get out of her seat, but she froze and remained seated. Good, Penelope thought. Don't let yourself be baited like Bullock was.

"Moving on," Ward interjected. "After the bombing, you backed up Bullock's response to Goodman's escape, correct?"

"Yes," Montoya answered. "He was the most senior detective present once the Commissioner was taken to the hospital. Until Deputy Commissioner Reeves arrived, I followed his instructions."

"Including detaining Nigma?" Ward asked.

Montoya paused. "Yes," she answered. She sounded regretful, Penelope noted. Bullock had clearly been motivated by his resentment of Edward, but why had Montoya gone along with that? Loyalty to Bullock? Anger about what had happened to Gordon? Whatever it was, it seemed that it wasn't a factor anymore.

"Why?" Ward asked.

Montoya paused again, seeming to collect her thoughts. "You have to understand," she said softly. "In the past, Nigma was fond of playing mind games with the authorities, including us and with Batman. He never lied outright, but he never told the whole truth. Even since he reformed, he still wouldn't share information about cases without heavy prompting. It's part of his pathology."

"His pathology?" Greene repeated snidely. "Are you a psychologist as well, Detective Montoya?"

"No," she answered with a hard tone. "But I am a detective with almost ten years experience on the force. The simple truth is, given our past experiences with the man, it was impossible for us to trust him."

"So you stand by Detective Bullock's actions then?" Ward asked.

A long pause filled the chamber before Montoya responded. "It was a bad situation," she said. "Two officers had died, many more were injured, including Commissioner Gordon, and a person I personally respect as a colleague had been kidnapped by a serial killer. We were angry. In the heat of the moment, mistakes were made." Montoya spoke louder. "But I still stand by my partner, and by GCPD."

Another round of murmuring spread through the chamber and Penelope felt her heart sink a bit. Montoya had been basically gift-wrapped an opportunity to throw Bullock under the bus and get out of this relatively intact, but she was just as loyal to him as he was to her. The Commission would likely recommend that they both resign. If they both were forced out, Gordon would lose the two most loyal detectives he had. He'd be vulnerable to whatever attack Sharp or Strange had planned for him. She turned to Joan and watched the older woman dab at her eyes. Finally, she heard Ward speak again.

"Thank you, Detective Montoya. That will be all." Penelope watched as Montoya got out of her seat and walked back to the front bench, her head held up high. As she approached, the assembled police officers, Bullock included got up to give her a standing ovation. The sound of a gavel broke the noise. "Quiet in the gallery!" Ward called out. As soon as the room was silent, he continued. "For now, I think we should take an hour break. When we reconvene, we'll hear testimony from uniformed officers from GCPD, as well as other witnesses to Goodman's rampage."

The room almost instantaneously erupted in chatter as people got out of their seats. Bullock and Montoya got out of their seats and made their way to a side entrance just by the front benches. Penelope got out of her seat and moved to follow them, pushing her way through the crowd. She caught sight of them as she exited the chamber and walked briskly to catch up to them. "Detectives!" she called out.

They turned and looked at her, Bullock with annoyance and Montoya with genuine surprise. "What are you doin' here?" Bullock asked. "The Commission bringing you in too? You gonna tell everyone how we screwed up and let you get kidnapped?"

Penelope ignored Bullock and looked directly at Montoya instead. Montoya couldn't meet her gaze. She'd barely said a word to her since Penelope had returned to her work consulting with GCPD. She'd thought at first that the detective had been angry, but now she realized that she was ashamed. "I never blamed you for what happened, Renee," Penelope said. "Not for a minute."

Montoya looked up in surprise. Then she smiled wanly. "Thank you," she said. "I appreciate that."

Bullock looked like he'd been slapped. He then tipped his hat to Penelope. A rare gesture of respect. "If the Commission does call you," he said. "Just say what you have to say. We won't take it personally." Then he and Montoya left, walking out the front entrance. Penelope felt a small smile come to her own face. Despite their failings, they were good detectives. They didn't deserve this. She then turned to head back into the chamber to find Joan and almost collided with the last person she wanted to speak to.

"I thought I saw you in the crowd."

Penelope froze. Standing in front of her, a cold smirk on his face, was Lyle Bolton. "Hey, Doc. Long time no see."

Penelope quickly schooled her face into its default neutral, cold expression. "Bolton."

Bolton chuckled a bit. "Oh, come on. We're not at Arkham anymore. You can call me Lyle."

"I'll call you what I like, Bolton," Penelope emphasized. "What do you want?"

Bolton's face darkened for a moment before he plastered what he must have thought was a charming smile on his face. "I just wanted to say hi to an old friend. Is that a crime?"

"Really? Where is this old friend?" Penelope asked. "It certainly wasn't me."

Bolton shook his head. "Still as cold-hearted as ever I see," he said. "That's what I like about you. Really."

"I frankly could care less what you like or dislike about me," she said. "I have somewhere I need to be. Get to your point, Bolton."

Bolton shrugged. "Sue a guy for trying to be friendly. I just wanted to give you a heads up: Ward and the City Council members want you to testify too."

Penelope had expected that. They likely wanted to trot her in front of the world as the poor, pitiful damsel who GCPD had let down. She furrowed her brow. She'd show them just how much of a damsel she was. "When?" she asked.

Bolton actually looked surprised. "You-you actually want to testify?"

"If the Commission wants me to, I will comply," she said, folding her arms. She couldn't look too eager."When?"

"This Friday, after we hear from the rest of the cops," Bolton answered. "You'll be the nail in the coffin for those bozos."

Or so you think. "Very well. Tell the rest of the Commission I'll be prepared to testify."

Bolton shrugged. "Suit yourself. Me? I was gonna be a gentleman and try to keep you out of it. In case, you know, you're still traumatized." He leered at her then, eying her like a piece of meat. "Tell you what, we can discuss your testimony tonight, over dinner. My place or yours?"

The presumption of the man almost made her strike him. Not even Edward at his most arrogant had ever spoken down to her like this. She smirked then and leaned towards Bolton. "I would sooner have a dinner date with Victor Zsasz than ever let you anywhere near me." she hissed.

Bolton's face reddened and Penelope took a step back, in case he got violent. "You stuck-up bitch-"

"Dr. Young!" A voice rang out. Penelope turned to see Bruce Wayne approaching the pair of them. "There you are! Joan and I wondered where you got to!"

Penelope quickly latched onto Wayne's arm, taking advantage of the escape. "Bruce!" she said. She then turned to Bolton. "Bolton, I'm sure you know who this is."

Bolton's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Of course! Mr. Wayne!" He turned to Penelope with a strained smile. "You didn't tell me you knew Bruce Wayne."

"Well, I did say that I have places to be," she said. She guided Wayne towards the exit. "We're still on for lunch, Bruce?" she asked in the most honeyed tone she could come up with.

She was relieved when Wayne played along. "Of course! I know a little cafe just a block down." The pair walked out the front entrance to City Hall, leaving Bolton visibly angry behind them. Penelope had to stop herself from shaking her head.

As soon as they walked out of Bolton's line of sight, Penelope separated from Wayne. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I needed an excuse to get away from him."

"Not at all," Wayne said jovially. "To tell the truth," he said softly. "I saw the two of you getting into it from inside. I thought you might need an escape."

Penelope looked at Wayne with genuine surprise. He clearly was more thoughtful than he let on in his television appearances. "Thank you," she said.

"No problem," Wayne said. "You know, there really is a nice cafe just a block from here. Let's go get a bite to eat before the Commission starts up again. My treat."

Penelope was about to say no when she remembered from Joan had told her about Wayne. He'd implied that he left Arkham's board because of the direction Sharp was taking the asylum. He may have some valuable insight. "Alright," she said. "But I'm paying for my share."

"If you insist," Wayne said. Then the pair walked off together.