Chapter 116

Oswald limps up the stairs to Natalie's apartment. It's the first day, and in his hands he holds a small box with a bow.

He comes to her door to find it wide open. Peering inside, he discovers that all of the furniture has been wrapped up, with some pieces already missing.

Just then, two burly men walk into the apartment. Oswald halts them.

"Gentlemen! ...good afternoon. Wha-...what is the meaning of this?"

The men look at each before one responds, "All of this stuff is being sent to storage."

"Bu-but the current occupant of this house is not moving-"

"Yeah, she is," one of the movers interrupts, "she was just here, actually. Came in here carrying a big folder. Said she was moving to Blüdhaven and needed all of her stuff put into storage."

Oswald wraps his mouth around one hand, glancing to the side, "Oh...oh, I see."

Moving to Blüdhaven?! That makes no sense...it must be a ruse. Throwing him off the scent, of course Trixie would try something like that. She knew he would come looking for her.

"Well, thank you gentlemen," Oswald nods.

The two movers give him a suspicious look. One of them lifts up a box and walks out of the room. As soon as the man is out of the room, Oswald attacks the one who's still in the room, flipping out his knife and stabbing him in the jugular. He falls to the floor, blood seeping out from under him. Oswald hobbles out the door, and the screams of the other mover ring out seconds later.

Oswald waddles back into the room, blood on his shirt and face. Ripping the sheet covering the desk, he starts rummaging through the drawers, looking for a clue as to where she's gone. The desk has been cleared completely, there's nothing.

He slides down to slump on the floor. Oh poor, lovelorn heart. Perhaps he should have taken more action while he could. Will he ever find such love again?

Oswald starts to sniffle, his mouth contorted down in a stretched frown. This can't be how it all ends. No...no...no…

Under one of the covered pieces of furniture, Oswald spots a loose piece of paper halfway tucked under. On his knees, he scrambles to the paper. Snatching it, he holds it up to view. It's some kind of business report from...ACE Chemicals. Why would Trixie have something like this? It's incredibly specific...that must be where she's headed!

Folding up the paper and tucking it away into his pocket, Oswald stumbles out the door, kicking one of the dead movers out of the way on the way out.

I sit in the back of the subway with Eel. For the early evening, the subway is almost eerily empty. Eel and I are the only ones on this car.

"So Trix, what got you into this business?" he asks, scooting over to the seat next to her.

I look up at him, snapping me out of a train of thought, "Huh? Why I got into this business?"

He nods, crossing his arms, "Yeah."

"Well...isn't that a complicated answer for everyone?" I chuckle.

Eel raises an eyebrow, "Alright, fair enough. My story for yours, how about that? ...I was born in Arkham Asylum."

My head jerks up, "You what?!"

"Totally true, cross my heart," he smirks, "Was born to a female inmate who died from experimental shock-therapy treatments a few years later. Never became a ward of the state though, guess I just fell through the cracks. When Arkham closed, they didn't really have anywhere for us inmates to go, so a lot of us took up with Don Maroni. Gabe too. He was on the same floor as me, but I've never really gotten along with him."

"No way," I lean in as I ask, "hang on...why did they close Arkham Asylum anyway?"

Eel shrugs, "I don't know, really. Something about Reaganomics."

The subway stops, and Eel and I walk out into the station, among crowds of people. Eel walks behind me, quiet and with his hands in his pockets. We exit the station, and stroll a block or two to the ACE Chemicals Plant. The tall, dark building looms over us, with smoke streaming out of its chimneys.

"Well, here we are."

Eel and I make our way through the ACE Chemical Plant. There was only one guard to sneak past, and he was asleep at the front gate.

"Alright, we're looking for an office of some kind," I inform him, as we walk along the numerous tall vats of mysterious green chemicals, the suspended railway having low guards between the catwalk and the steaming vats below.

All of the workers must have gone home for the night, as Eel and I pass a break room with coats still hanging on the chairs, as well as a small, unguarded control room.

"So...what exactly are we looking for?" Eel asks, as we enter an office nuzzled in the corner of the plant.

I open the nearest filing cabinet, "Anything pertaining to the Kean family."

"The Kean family? Whatcha doing snooping through rich people's stuff?"

I shake my head, "It's complicated."

In the bottom cabinet, I pull out a folder titled "Classified". Hopefully this is what I'm looking for.

I open up the folder. Bribery, fraud, money laundering, unpaid overtime, well, if I don't find anything here about the Court of Owls, I could always drop this off at the Gotham Gazette.

"Hmph...you know, I've always wonder why people keep these owl statues. Penguin has one too, personally I think they're best left on rooftops," Eel comments, examining the owl statue sitting in the corner of the office.

I jump up and spot the owl statue, "That's it!"

I run over and clasp both hands on the owl statue. Its eyes don't have that unnatural red glow, it's not a camera. After fiddling with the statue for a little bit, I realize the head is loose and twist it off. Looking into the statue, I spot a small yellow gemstone sitting at the bottom. I pick it up and hold it to the light. It's pear-shaped, but slimmer and more curved in size. What is it for?

"Wow Trixie, if we were here for jewel burglary you could have just said so. I don't judge," Eel chuckles.

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect us to find...this. But it's relevant to our case, I'm going to take it," I figure,

before slipping it into my pocket.

He laughs again, "'Our case'? What are you, a cop?"

My expression becomes worried and embarrassed, "Uhm…about that..."

"Well...well," Oswald's smooth, mid-pitched tone comes from the office entrance.

Eel and I whip around to find Oswald and Gabe standing in the doorway, Oswald clutching his umbrella and using it for support while Gabe aims a gun at the two of us.

"I never thought it'd be the two of you, to betray me. Well...maybe Trixie, but what can you do? The things you sacrifice for love."

I start to back up, assuming a defensive stance, "Oswald, this isn't what it looks like-"

"I know exactly what it looks like! You move out away from me and move in with that lowly thug! ...I can protect you Trixie, what do you have to gain by leaving me?" he stamps his umbrella down, his head low.

Everyone in the room waits silently for Oswald's move. He's going to kill me, I know it. I glance around, he's blocking the only way in or out of the office, the only way to escape is through him.

But just as I place my hand on one of my concealed knives, a sound comes from Oswald. His head still bowed, he starts to sniffle, as a single tear rolls down his cheek. Both Gabe and Eel have uncomfortable expressions, as if they're listening in on a conversation they shouldn't.

Oswald's vulnerable, now's my chance to slip past him.

I slowly start walking up to him, "Ozzy...I'm...so, so sorry. Believe me, I don't feel anything for Eel I-...I just wanted to help him-"

Oswald's hand jerks out, latching onto my wrist. With surprising force, he pulls me toward him, and wraps me in his embrace.

"...Gabriel, kill him," he demands, pointing to Eel.

Gabe marches up to Eel, "Sorry buddy."

Gabe cocks his gun toward Eel, but Oswald shakes his head, "No...that's a far too merciful death."

Securing the gun in his pants, Gabe goes up and punches Eel in the stomach, and after Eel starts curling back, Gabe hoists Eel up, throwing Eel over his shoulder. Oswald pulls me along as we follow Gabe out of the office and onto the factory catwalk.

"And now...you find out what happens when you dabble with other men," Oswald chuckles, keeping a firm grip on me.

Glancing to Gabe, Oswald points down to the large chemical vats below, and without hesitation, Gabe throws Eel over the edge of the railway. I can't turn away as Eel screams the whole way down, until his body splashes into one of the chemical vats.

"No!"

Author's Note:

KlausCarolineLover (Chapter 3): Dawe, that's cute, and at that time Oswald didn't have his limp, so it might actually have been competent

Langley21: Heyo! I thought no one knew who Patrick "Eel" O'Brian is, so what happens to him in this chapter would come as a total surprise (I was actually worried that some people might confuse him for the Joker). It's good you like Eel and Natalie's interactions, since they're fun to write. I've been trying to plan Season 2, and right now it's unclear how much Natalie will be involved. But regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)

Thanks! :)