Saturday, February 24th, 9:30 am

"So when do we get to see the kid again?"

Edward looked up from where he was cleaning out his coffee mug and shot Deirdre an indulgent smile. "I told you, Sunday. We'll all go out for dinner at that Italian Restaurant on 4th street."

Deirdre nodded and went back to reading her newspaper where she was lying sprawled on the sofa, her head in Nina's lap. Nina carded her fingers through Deirdre's hair and smiled at Edward. "Just the four of us?"

Edward shook his head and dried out the mug with a washcloth before setting it in his dishwasher. "No, Selina will be there too." He tried not to laugh when he saw Nina's face curdle in displeasure. "Now now, don't be like that. Ellen's quite fond of her, you know. I won't have you sit next to her or anything like that."

Nina huffed. "Better not. What about your lady doctor friend? Will she be there?"

Edward hadn't even thought to ask Penelope if she'd want to join them. She probably wouldn't, workaholic that she was, not to mention the fact that given her testimony yesterday, the last thing she should risk was being seen with him in public. "Well, no,-"

"You didn't ask, did you boss?" Deirdre sassed.

Edward rolled his eyes. Any quip he was about to make was cut off by the sound of his cell phone ringing from the dining room table. "Bet that's her now," Nina added.

Edward crossed from the kitchen sink to the ringing phone. "Edward Nigma, Private Investigator."

"Edward it's me."

Penelope. Any annoyance he might have shown at Nina for being right was overtaken by how shaken his partner sounded over the phone. "What is it?"

"Victor Goodman's dead."

There was a name Edward had hoped he'd never have to hear again. "No offense, but is that really much of a surprise? The man did have terminal cancer."

"He committed suicide."

Well. He hadn't expected that. "Hold on just one second, Penelope." He looked at the couch where a curious Nina and Deirdre were watching him. "I need to take this. I'll just step in my room for a bit. I'll be right out." He quickly walked down the hall into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. "There, I'm back. Now, tell me everything."

"Strange called Commissioner Gordon an hour ago and told him that Goodman hanged himself in the Arkham Infirmary. Gordon called me half an hour ago to tell me."

Edward scoffed. "Nice to see that Arkham's supervision hasn't improved. You're not going to lose any sleep over Goodman's death, are you?"

Edward could almost see the irritated expression on Penelope's face when she spoke. "Of course not, but Edward, this is serious. Gordon asked for Goodman's body so GCPD could do an official autopsy, but Strange told him that Arkham had already conducted one and cremated Goodman's body."

This was a bit concerning. Edward furrowed his brow. "I take it that's not standard Arkham practice?"

"When I worked there, we did have our coroner conduct autopsies, but we always kept the body available for GCPD or the families if they requested an additional one. I'm suspicious about the timing of this too. Goodman's been incarcerated in Arkham for two months, and he chooses to commit suicide the night of my testimony before the commission? Perhaps I'm seeing things, but this isn't adding up."

Edward rubbed his chin. A suspicious death in Arkham...this seemed...almost familiar. "You think that Strange murdered Goodman."

"That was where my mind went first, but even that doesn't make much sense. Why would Strange kill him after I testify? As far as we both know, Strange wasn't involved in Goodman's rampage, so he doesn't have any reason to silence him. Strange has sadistic tendencies for certain, but in that case, he'd let cancer kill him." Penelope let out a sigh. "I'm just thinking out loud. What do you think?"

Edward considered this. "You're right," he said. "It is suspicious. But I don't think Strange killed him. If Goodman's death was a homicide, I think Strange is covering for someone else."

"Who? Bolton?"

"Not likely. Bolton's a minor thug. He's replaceable. It would have to be someone of much greater importance to Strange. Someone who he's been working with from the beginning." There was only one person Strange would lift a finger to help.

"Edward...you don't mean...Sharp?"

He grinned a bit. He knew there was a reason he liked this woman. "Who else? Sharp would still have access to the asylum as the former warden and the current mayor. And you said yourself, Sharp did begin to implement stricter policies at the Asylum when he was the warden."

"Yes, but Edward, it's a bit of a leap from that to murder-"

"You were all but accusing Strange of murder just a few moments ago," Edward chided. "You're the psychiatrist, Penelope. Sharp chose to become as entangled with Strange as he is for a reason."

"Sharp's many things, Edward. But a murderer? Believe me, it's not that I think Sharp is a good man deep down. He's pompous, demeaning, and he takes credit for things he hasn't done. He's a coward though. It's obvious in the way that he carries himself that he uses his position of power to overcompensate for a lack of character. I just don't see him as being capable of murder."

Edward hummed. His memories of Sharp from when he was incarcerated at Arkham were still faint at best, and from his own past interactions with the fool, he'd agree with Penelope's assessment. There was something nagging at him though at the back of his mind. "When did you first become acquainted with Sharp?"

"When he moved from Blackgate to Arkham, of course. I'd never met him before that."

Edward nodded. "And before? He was the warden of Blackgate?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm just saying, there's a lot we don't know about Sharp's background. If we want to understand Strange's plan, we need to understand Sharp and how and why the two became acquainted with each other."

There was a pause on the line before Penelope spoke again. "So then we should look into Sharp's background too."

"Exactly. I can begin some research on him this week."

"One thing still doesn't make sense to me. Sharp's the mayor. Why would he risk losing everything he's spent the last five years working for to murder Victor Goodman?"

Edward had an idea what Sharp's motive might have been. He just needed to put it in a way that wouldn't alarm her. He swallowed a bit before he began to speak. "Well, it's all in the timing. Goodman was killed the night of your testimony where you detailed exactly what he did to you. And you've said in the past that Sharp is paternalistic towards you, yes?"

"Oh my God," Penelope breathed. "He killed Goodman for me?"

Edward flinched a bit at the quavering in her voice. "It's a possibility." He bit his lower lip. "Do you want me to come over?"

Penelope's voice resumed its clinical tone. "That's not necessary, Edward. Joan said she'd be coming over today. I know you still have your friends over, I don't want to take up any more of your time."

"Alright, as long as you're sure," Edward said. "I don't want to be over-dramatic, but if my hunch is correct, then Sharp may have an unhealthy interest in you. Be careful around him."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Penelope said. "I'll see you Friday."

"Right-by the way, what are you doing Sunday?"

"I'm going to be over at Aaron's home visiting. Why?"

Edward sighed. It was just as well. "Never mind. I'll see you Friday." He hung up the phone and looked at it with a feeling he couldn't quite identify. If he was right, then Sharp was more dangerous than he'd anticipated. If he was right, what might he do to Penelope if he got his hands on her-he wouldn't. Edward wouldn't let that happen. He would not lose her. Not like he lost Jonathan.

Monday, February 26th, 9:00 am

"This is Vicki Vale, reporting live from Gotham City Hall with a breaking news development. After a dramatic week of testimony, the Sharp Commission will officially be releasing their report by the end of this week. The Sharp Commission was convened to review the actions of GCPD and Arkham officials during the crime spree of Victor Goodman last December. During the hearings, the conduct of senior GCPD Detectives Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya was specially called into question. During his closing statement this last Friday, lead Commission member Phillip Ward, warden of Blackgate Prison, stated that what happened last year during Goodman's rampage represents the inadequacy of Gotham's criminal justice institutions to deal with serious crime and that the complacency of GCPD under Commissioner Jim Gordon, in particular, has led to criminals becoming emboldened. He then stated that the commission will release recommendations to get at the heart of the problem of costumed crime in Gotham. We'll keep you informed as to the latest updates here on GCNN."

Gordon looked at the badge and gun on his desk, then at the detective who deposited them with a heavy heart. "Harvey," he said gently. "You don't have to do this."

Bullock wiped his face with the back of his hand and sighed. "Yeah, I do, Jim. They got my number. I let Nigma piss me off too much and I screwed up on the Goodman case."

"Harv, there was plenty of blame to go around. I should have kept a closer eye on Nigma-"

"I'm the one who detained him. If he hadn't broken out, Doc Young would have gotten killed. I own that. I'm not gonna let you or Renee get dragged down by this too."

Gordon shook his head. Bullock was stubborn as he was loyal. There was nothing he could to dissuade him from this course of action. "What are you going to do?"

Bullock shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll be a PI too, give the green asshat a run for his money."

Gordon let out a sad chuckle. "You would, too." He got out of his seat and stepped around to the front of his desk. He grabbed one of Bullock's hands and gave it a firm shake. "If there's anything you need, anything at all, you know where to find me."

Bullock nodded. "Yeah. I know." He slowly let go of Gordon's hand and walked towards the office door. "See you around, Jim. Don't let the creeps in City Hall get to you." Bullock opened the door and walked out into the bullpen for the last time. Gordon followed him to the open door and watched as Montoya gave him a hug and some younger cops shook his hand. Gordon's fist clenched. Sharp and his damn commission had cost him one of the best officers and men he'd ever known. Why? What was his goal?

Thursday, February 29th, 9:00 pm

Sharp sat in the plush chair behind his desk, reading over the document Ward had handed to him two minutes ago. The longer he read, the redder his face got and the more nervous Ward became. He furtively glanced at Dr. Strange, who was sitting behind Sharp, an impassive expression on his face. This did little to settle Ward's nerves. Finally, Ward spoke. "You'll see that Greene and Roberts went along with our recommended changes to the parole process for Arkham inmates-"

"Yes, and not much else!" Sharp shouted, crumpling the paper and throwing it towards the wastebasket in the left corner. "This isn't even half of what I asked for! What about the TYGER program?"

"Given the City's budget, it isn't feasible right now-"

"There's nothing in here about Gordon either! You both said you were going to use this commission to force him out!"

Ward took a sharp breath to avoid saying something he'd regret to the mayor. "I told you, Quincy. We can't quite get rid of Gordon yet. Your little friend from Arkham made it quite clear to me what would happen if we did."

Sharp shook his head furiously. "You must have misunderstood her. She wouldn't-"

"For God's sake Quincy! She all but said what her intentions were!" Ward shouted, pounding his fist on the desk. "She's not the woman we knew from Arkham anymore! She's a threat! You need to acknowledge that!"

Sharp shook his head again. "She's being misled by Gordon and his lackeys at GCPD. She'll come around. You'll see. I am her benefactor. She would not betray me." Ward sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Was this genuine affection for Young, or was this another one of Sharp's delusions? Or was he just being stubborn?

Before either Ward or Sharp could anything else, Strange stepped forward and placed his hand on Sharp's shoulder. "Patience, mayor. Patience," he soothed, his Teutonic voice low and slow. "I told you at the beginning that it would not be a quick process. I have it on good authority that Bullock has resigned. That will leave an opening for us to take advantage of. Why don't you go lie down?"

Almost robotically, Sharp stood up. "Yes," he repeated. "I think I should go lie down."

Strange smiled. "Good night, Mayor."

"Yes...Good night..." Sharp slowly walked out of the office and towards, Ward presumed, his bedroom.

As soon as the mayor was out of earshot, Ward looked at Strange. "What have you done with him?"

"Nothing drastic," Strange replied. "I've merely taken the liberty to up the dosage on his medication. After the incident with Goodman, I thought it was necessary."

Ward didn't fully believe the man but decided it was prudent not to press further. Instead, he sighed. "Quincy's right though. It's not exactly what we hoped for."

"It is a setback, yes, but it's not a total loss. We still have important provisions put in place."

Ward nodded. "Is it true about Bullock resigning?"

"Yes. It's not being reported on, but I have a source in GCPD who confirmed it. I have a man in position to take Bullock's place. If nothing else, we will have eyes and ears in GCPD to monitor Gordon's activities."

Ward let a small smile come to his face. It might not be exactly what they wanted, but it was a start.

Friday, March 1st, 9:30 am

"This is Summer Gleeson with a breaking news bulletin. The Sharp Commission has officially released its recommendations! We now to live to City Hall, where chief commission member and warden of Blackgate Prison, Phillip Ward, is addressing members of Gotham City's press corps, including our own Vicki Vale."

"...The Sharp Commission makes the following recommendations: 1. The Parole Process at Arkham Asylum must be overhauled. Patients should receive a minimum of five years of treatment before any consideration of parole. All parole decisions must receive approval from the Warden of Arkham Asylum. 2. Any released inmates of Arkham must make themselves available for further treatment at any time requested by the warden of Arkham Asylum, or be in violation of their parole. 3. Any deviation from a treatment plan will be considered a violation of parole. 4. Any association with any of the super criminals in Gotham City will be an automatic violation of parole. 5. All current and future Arkham inmates will be required to remain on a specially created registry for ten years after their parole and must report their status to any employer or law enforcement official without being asked. Furthermore, the Commission makes the following recommendations for inmates of Blackgate Penitentiary, Stonegate Penitentiary, Gotham City jail and Gotham County jail: 1. As with Arkham Inmates, all paroled inmates from these institutions must make themselves available to their parole officers and to correctional officers when requested. Any association with any of the super criminals in Gotham City will be an automatic parole violation. Any crimes carried out in service to the super criminals must come with an automatic sentence enhancement. Finally, any individual apprehended committing a crime while in any kind of mask or costume will face an automatic five-year sentence enhancement in addition to any other fines and penalties. The Sharp Commission will send these recommendations to Mayor Sharp for his approval before going through the proper channels to ensure their passage. Thank you."

Penelope switched off her radio, let out a long sigh and brought her fingers up to massage her temple. Across the desk from her, Edward was sitting back in his favored chair, watching her intently. "Well," he said in a breezy tone. "I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that the Arkham recommendations won't become retroactive, otherwise I'd be in a fix. What do you think?"

Penelope dopped her fingers and gave him an incredulous look. "What do I think?" she asked. "It's a complete overreach, that's what I think! Arkham Asylum is a mental asylum, not a prison! I could understand stricter protocols for the super criminals, but the majority of the inmates in Arkham aren't there because they're criminals! They're meant to be treated and reintegrated into society, not-" she let out an irritated huff. Edward's face had kept its curious expression and she bit her tongue to avoid from snapping at him.

"Notice who and what wasn't mentioned, however. GCPD. Gordon. Your testimony and your threat to Ward did something."

Penelope clasped her hands in front of her and looked down. "Not enough. Aaron told called me on Monday and told me that Bullock resigned."

"Good riddance. That's not on you. Bullock's resignation was a natural consequence of his own stupidity."

"He's Gordon's right-hand man, Edward."

"If I hadn't managed to get word to Selina about being detained, you would be dead. Because of Bullock. You don't owe him a thing-"

"It's not about Bullock, Edward! It's about Gordon, about GCPD as a whole! I don't like Bullock anymore than you do, but you have to-" Penelope paused. Edward had only begun his investigation after being directly attacked by Strange. The GCPD, Gotham City itself, Edward could care less about. He wasn't the heartless, irredeemable criminal she'd thought he was two years ago, and he had proven he did care about individual people, but it was a far cry from that to caring about the greater good. She worried her lip and continued in a cooler tone. "Bullock's resignation, no matter how much you think he deserves it, is a loss. And it's something Sharp and Strange are going to take advantage of."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I realize that. Which brings me to what I originally going to share with you." He reached down to the briefcase at the foot of his chair and placed it on Penelope's desk. He opened it and pulled out paperwork, which he neatly piled next to the case. "I managed to uncover some juicy details about our illustrious mayor." He looked up at her and his face grew uncharacteristically serious. "I think both of us have been underestimating Sharp."

Penelope felt her stomach sink. "What do you mean?"

Edward tapped his fingers on one stack in particular. "This is Sharp's biographical information. He comes from a military family and applied to West Point himself."

Penelope took the stack from Edward and began to thumb through the paperwork herself. "Applied...he didn't get accepted? He would have been the first of a long line of men in his family not too. That could be at the root of his overcompensation."

"He did not. You should see why."

Penelope looked through the stack and found a psychological evaluation. She gave Edward a sharp look. "Edward, this is strictly confidential. How did you-"

He gave her an impish shrug. "It's me, remember? Read on."

Penelope looked back at the file and read out loud. "'During evaluations, Sharp displayed symptoms of a schizophrenic personality disorder. He denied it when asked and has refused any further diagnosis or treatment.'" Penelope reached up to brush at her bangs. "Well, this is illuminating, but I'm not comfortable using Sharp's mental illness against him."

"Go on."

Penelope shook her head and continued to read. "'Beneath a pompous, self-important demeanor, Sharp is a cipher. He is psychologically susceptible to-'"Penelope's breath caught in her throat. "'to molding especially at the hands of an authority figure. He is not fit any sort of military duty.'" Penelope let out a shaky breath. "Oh God. Strange isn't just working with Sharp, he's working through Sharp. He's a puppet master."

"That's not the worst of it, Penelope."

Penelope scoffed and looked up at Edward. "What? What else did you find out?"

Edward bit his lip, then gestured to the other stacks on her desk. "I took the liberty of going through the lists of patient deaths from before Sharp arrived at Arkham and after."

Of course. If Sharp felt secure enough to kill Goodman, he must have done it before. "And?"

"In the twenty years Jeremiah Arkham served as the head of Arkham Asylum, there were three patient suicides, all of which were independently confirmed as such by the GCPD Medical Examiner. There were three patient suicides the first six months alone of Sharp's tenure. So, either Sharp was indirectly killing people through his reactionary policies, or-"

"He was killing them himself," Penelope finished dully. How had no one caught this? How did no one see this? Where had she been? "This is my fault. All of it. I was so focused on that damn experiment, my own career, I didn't-"

Penelope nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a pressure on her hands. She looked down to see Edward's gloved hand covering them, awkwardly petting them. "Enough of that," he scolded. "That won't get us anywhere. Put everything that happened out of your mind and treat him like he's any other patient or suspects you have to profile. What does all of this tell you?"

"I don't-"

Edward's hand gave her own a light squeeze. "I'm certainly the smartest person I know, but I can't look into the human psyche the way you can. You're an intelligent psychiatrist. Act like it."

That may have been the most touching thing Edward had ever said to her, awkward as it was. Penelope nodded, took a breath, then withdrew her hands to look over Sharp's psychiatric profile again. "Contrary to popular media perception, schizophrenics aren't any more likely to be violent than the rest of the population. However, Sharp's denial of his condition and his refusal to seek treatment suggests that he is ashamed of it. The overcompensation in his behavior likely stems from deep self-loathing. He projected this self-loathing onto the patients at Arkham Asylum hence the harsher policies and his behavior towards them. He always seemed disinterested at best and disgusted at worst. By killing patients, he's actually trying to kill the sickness he sees in himself. At some point, he crossed paths with Hugo Strange-"

"And Strange found a willing puppet," Edward finished with a smirk. "See? I knew you could do it."

Penelope scoffed. This man really was impossible. "We still can't prove anything. And now two dangerous men are controlling policies in this city."

"True," Edward shrugged. "But now that we have a better sense of who they are and what they're capable of, we can prepare for it." He smiled at her. "Right, partner?"

Despite herself, Penelope felt a small smile come to her own face. "Right." She looked down at the stack of papers again and tapped her finger on her desk. "There's still something I don't quite understand. The provision about criminals in costume."

Edward furrowed his brow. "I'll admit, that is something that stuck out to me too. I mean, the kind of person who puts on a costume to commit a crime isn't the sort of person this kind of deterrent works on. The only person who might care about this is-" Edward's eyes lit up and his mouth dropped open. "Of course," he muttered. "Of course! How did I miss this? How did I miss this?"

Penelope leaned forward in her chair. "Miss what?" Edward got up and began to pace up and down her office, almost as if he hadn't heard her. "Edward?" she asked louder. "Miss what? What are you talking about?"

Edward suddenly looked at her. "Sharp and Strange are targeting Gordon. Why? What do they gain by that?"

"What do they-well, they get rid of the one city official who would stand up to them-"

"No, there's more to it than that! Don't you see? Who has Gordon sanctioned for over ten years? Who has he protected? Who would find himself without an ally in Gotham City if Gordon resigned tomorrow?"

Penelope brought her hand up to her mouth. "Batman? Sharp and Strange are targeting Batman?"

Edward clapped his hands. "Exactly! One thing I've never forgotten Penelope. Eventually, everything in this city leads back to Batman."

Penelope sank back against her seat. "Why?"

Edward rubbed his chin and Penelope tried to ignore the excited gleam in his green eyes, the same gleam she'd seen when he was her patient in the not too distant past. "What are Strange and Sharp up to that they think me, Gordon and Batman are a threat to? That is a riddle, isn't it?"

Friday, March 1st, 9:30 pm

Bruce sat in his chair at the head of the dining room table in Wayne Manor. Around him sat Dick, Tim, Damian, Stephanie, and Cassandra. Alfred stood by his side. "Barbara?" Bruce spoke into the cell phone in front of him. "Are you there?"

"I'm here," she said over speakerphone. "What's going on Bruce?"

Bruce cleared his throat. "The Sharp Commission released its recommendations today. Mayor Sharp and the City Council will have them implemented by the end of the month at the earliest. The provision about the criminals in costume is troubling."

Tim sat straight up in his seat. "That's really about us, isn't it?"

Bruce nodded. "That's what I believe, yes."

To Bruce's left, Damian scoffed. "What do we have to fear from City Hall?"

"Damian, my father will have to enforce this law," Barbara's voice crackled through. "Whether he wants to or not."

Dick sighed. "What's the plan then?"

"Be vigilant on patrol. Try not to go alone if at all possible. Stay in communication with me and each other at all times. And if you see law enforcement, back off. Don't get into a situation where you end up in a confrontation with them. Understand?"

Dick, Tim, Stephanie, and Cassandra nodded. Damian huffed. Barbara then asked the question that Bruce hoped he wouldn't have to answer. "What about Jason?"

Bruce sighed. "I'll try to talk with Jason. In the meantime, don't approach him or the Narrows."

"No problem there, Boss," Stephanie saluted. The rest of the team voiced their agreement as well.

Alfred looked mournful but said nothing. Bruce gave his partners a nod. "Good." They all had work to do.