Chapter 63
The knife makes contact, piercing skin and tearing through flesh. Juice runs down the apple and drips down onto my face. I look up at the fruit, now held in place on the wheel by the knife. I can't help but smile, I didn't even feel the blade pass above me.
As I duck to get out of the way of the apple, Zsasz starts clapping.
"This is amazing, the both of you are progressing very well. I think I can actually take you two out sooner than I-"
A buzzing noise begins vibrating in his pocket, and the song "Funkytown" starts playing. Zsasz takes his flip phone out of his pocket and answers it, "Y'ellow."
He turns away from us as he answers his call. Ducking out from under the apple, leaving it sticking to the wooden wheel, I walk back toward Zsasz and Ann.
Zsasz quickly snaps his phone shut before storing it back into his pocket, "Ladies, our first assignment awaits. We're to pick up a James Gordon from the GCPD, Falcone wants him."
Gordon? What does Falcone want with him? Perhaps Gordon is more of a hypocrite than I'd thought.
After stocking up on some handguns, Zsasz leads us out of the warehouse and to a sleek black car. Pretty standard fare, and after all, who doesn't drive a black car in Gotham? Ann and I get in the back, while Zsasz takes the wheel.
"Now, remember what I taught you girls. Stone cold, silent. I'll do all the talking."
We both nod, before Zsasz starts the car. Ann loads her gun, it's odd seeing her in a situation like this. Before, all I knew her for was dancing.
We pull up at the GCPD, and Zsasz is the first to get out. Like a showman about to make his grand entrance onstage, he lowers his head before loading his gun directly in front of three police officers guarding the precinct. Recognizing him, they all simultaneously back off, allowing us to pass through without conflict.
Upon entering the GCPD, Zsasz fires his gun into the air, startling those in the precinct. He hops up on top of a nearby desk while Ann and I stand off to the side.
"Hello, everyone. My name...is Victor Zsasz. I'm sent here personally by Don Carmine Falcone himself, on a matter of deep concern to him so please be respectful."
He pauses for a brief moment, "I'm here, for Jim Gordon. Only him, everyone else, mind your own business and we're cool. ...so where's Jim at?"
The officers and detectives all turn their heads toward Captain Essen's office. Zsasz places his fingers on his chest, bowing slightly, "...thank you."
His voice suddenly gains a menace to it as he calls him out, "Hey Jim! Jiiiimmm…"
The door to the Captain's office opens as Gordon steps out. Zsasz gives a playful gasp, "Hi Jim, relax, we're suppose to take you in alive. Don Falcone wants to talk."
I keep my hands behind my back as I watch the spectacle. What is Gordon going to do? Knowing his stubborn nature, there's no way he would just let Zsasz take him. Then again, there isn't really much he can do either…
"Tell Falcone that we'll talk...but not today," Gordon concludes, standing by the stair railing.
Zsasz clenches his fists, "Don't be that way. Alive is a very broad category. A man with no hands, can still be alive."
"There are fifty cops in here. Try something," Gordon provokes, maintaining his usual flat expression.
"Everybody out," Zsasz immediately replies.
The cops turn to Zsasz, before glancing amongst each other. I try my best to keep a straight face, but it's becoming increasingly difficult. Can Zsasz, a hitman, a mid-tiered grunt, really do something like that?
"PLEASE?!" he shouts.
The officers begin filing out, leaving only Gordon and Captain Essen, who leans in to whisper to him before leaving herself. A smile of amusement crosses Ann's face, and I turn to her to share that brief smile before returning to our stationary positions.
"Well, how now, Jim?" Zsasz asks before whipping out his gun and firing.
Gordon ducks behind the railing as Zsasz, Ann, and myself take cover behind desks. We fire back, but both Ann and Zsasz get no where in hitting Gordon as he scrambles to escape. I move one desk up as he begins retreating to the next line of cover. I have a clear shot of him, but, should I shoot him? True, I'm disguised as Sydney, Gordon obviously doesn't know it's me but, would it be right? Sure he's been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since I arrived at the GCPD, but is that worth killing him for? And what would Barbara think? But then again, if I don't take the shot, will Zsasz notice? It would be pretty suspicious to have him wide open like this and not even try to shoot.
I shoot, and hit him in the leg, a non-fatal area. It'll slow him down, but he should be fine.
Gordon hobbles through a side door, leading to the precinct garage. He fires blindly at us, causing us to pull back, allowing him to get some distance.
We pursue him down the stairs to the garage, and in the gray concrete of the garage, we corner Gordon as he hides behind a nearby car. We split up, dividing ourselves among the rows of cars that line the garage.
"Why are you hiding, Jim?" Zsasz taunts as he weaves through the row of cars.
I make my way to the next car, and I spot Gordon just on the other side of the car. I slowly begin creeping closer, pretending I don't see him. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up, Zsasz will notice that he's right behind me and I supposedly do not see him.
Just then, a car comes screeching into the garage, pulling up by Gordon.
"Get in!" Renee Montoya shouts from the driver's seat.
He scrambles into the car as we shoot blindly at it, and the car speeds off, making a clean getaway.
Zsasz sighs, before turning around and heading back to the precinct. A female officer enters the garage, "What are you doing here?"
Raising his gun, he shoots the woman point-blank, firing at her until she falls to the ground. Leaning over the woman, he takes out a razor blade and pulls up his sleeve, revealing several marks cut in tally marks on his arm. Plunging the knife in, he cuts deep, the expression on his face contorting into a strange show of pleasure.
"Twenty-four," he mumbles to himself.
He cuts himself whenever he kills someone? Perhaps that can be used to my advantage…
He gets up from looking down at the dead body. Placing the knife back in his pocket, he continues walking back into the precinct, "Another one liberated."
With my disguise still on, I enter my apartment through the front door. Someone's taken out an end table and placed it in the middle of the room. A large, red rotary phone sits on the table, along with a plain index card labelled "Trixie". I pick up the index card, which also contains a number written out in detailed cursive. Spinning the number into the phone, the phone rings for a few seconds before someone picks up on the other end.
"Evening Trixie. How was your day?"
I purse my lips, I'd recognize that voice anywhere, "Oswald, what are you up to now?"
He chuckles, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, my dear, you assume too much. I have a surprise for you, meet me at the apartment building between Menville and Stephens. Apartment 93. Recognize it?"
To be honest, I don't. Why there? I've never had an association with the place, and as far as I know, neither has he. Either way, this is Oswald, so I'll play along for now.
"Your friend Edward's here as well, say hi Ed," there's a shuffling sound, before several muffled screams ring from the speaker.
Ed?! My first instinct is to hang up the phone and run to get there as soon as possible, but knowing Oswald, he likes to talk, and if I let him talk for just a little more, he might reveal some crucial information. But...what do I ask?
"...why are you doing this?" I ask.
There's a slight pause before he explains, "You've been unfaithful, Trixie. And I demand restitution."
"Unfaithful?!" I react, "Oswald, Ed and I are not together, we're just friends. He likes someone else, not me. And besides, we're not together either."
"We'll just have to see about that."
He hangs up, leaving a dead ring on the other end of the line. I hang up the phone, and rush to the bathroom to remove my disguise. Removing my makeup, I the rip off my mask, my normal features returning.
The address isn't too far off, I can make it in about ten minutes if I run. But...even if I had my motorbike from my dream, it feels like I can't make it on time. Although Oswald never set a time ultimatum, it feels like I'm racing against a clock, one that could run out of time at a moment's notice.
The address leads me to a dingy apartment building, where I race up the many flights of stairs to the ninety-third apartment. My feet are pounding by the time I climb to the correct floor. Reaching the door labelled ninety-three, I kick down the door.
Oswald sits at a small coffee table, sipping from a china tea cup, as if he'd perfectly anticipated when I would enter. Other than his presence, the room looks normal, an average apartment cluttered with various pieces of old, dull furniture. Where's Ed?
Setting down the cup, he brushes off his suit, "Trixie, on time as usual."
"What did you do to Ed?!" I bark at him, entering the room and circling around him.
He chuckles, "You've forgotten your manners sweetheart. Don't I get a hello?"
I pounce him, slamming his head into the table, "I don't have time for this, Oswald. What did you do to him?!"
"You care so much for him...why can't I have some of that affection?"
I roll my eyes, "Are you insane?"
A mischievous smile crosses his face, "Perhaps, love can easily equate to insanity."
"Just tell me where he is."
He drags a finger from his lap to the nearby door. Running to the door, I fling it open. It opens up to reveal a closet, and a tall, thin man hanging by a thick coil of rope.
Author's Note:
Erik-is-my-angel1234: Awe, thanks so much. I always get excited whenever I release a new chapter because I can't wait to hear what you guys think of it
Fuchsia Grasshopper: I think Zsasz's other origin stories are all interesting. I wouldn't mind the show taking him in a new direction, since every other mass media interpretation of him has always taken some kind of liberty. Personally, my favorite interpretation is the one in Batman Arkham City, and I definitely plan on incorporating elements into his BOAF interpretation. As for Natalie, she can certainly handle dangerous situations, it's just emotional situations where she has more trouble
Thanks! :)