Man what a night. As far as missions go that was near flawless, the Riddler was dead along with his thugs, save one, and his bombs had been diffused though Alex couldn't take credit for that. Either way there was one less nut in Gotham. Today however would be rather busy. Alex had a meeting scheduled with the police Commissioner James Gordon and would then spend the day trying to get people enlisted. Alex had to wear his Service Charlies today since he was technically on duty and walked into the GCPD, removing his cover as he did so. The Commissioner spotted Alex as he walked through the door and walked over to him, hand outstretched.
"Morning Sergeant. Jim Gordon, pleasure to meet you." He greeted as Alex shook his hand.
"Likewise Sir, thank you for meeting with me."
"It's no trouble, we always make time for our service members here." He said as he led Alex to his office. "Please take a seat." He offered.
"Thanks."
"So your our new recruiter huh? Heard you were from around here, must be nice to be back home."
"Yeah, I grew up in Gotham but honestly I didn't choose to come back. My last visit didn't exactly go well…" He trailed off as memories of that night four years ago resurface.
"Hmm, I thought you looked familiar. You were a Lance Corporal back then if I remember correctly." He realizes. Now that Alex thought about it he looks pretty familiar himself, lot less gray in his hair back then.
"Yeah, I was. That was you that took her away, I remember now. Shit it's been a long time Sir." He laughed as he realized that they already knew each other.
"Ha, four years seems like yesterday doesn't it? That was a hell of a night and I don't think I ever properly thanked you for stopping Quinn that night."
"It was no trouble Sir, I just wished that it hadn't gone down that way." He told him honestly.
"I know what you mean, she seemed like such a promising young woman. It's too bad that she turned to a life of crime."
"Yeah, she was a good person, a good friend, once. But sadly those days are over. Far as I'm concerned she's dead." Perhaps that was a bit cold, but he wouldn't hide his current opinion of her.
"Yes I suppose it would be better to remember what she was rather than what she is now. I've had several altercations with her since and they weren't pleasant to say the least."
"Well hopefully someone locks her up for good, along with those other nut jobs."
"Speaking of that, did you hear? Someone offed Riddler last night. Killed his men and then shot him through heart. Wasn't some random gunner either from the looks of it, shots were too accurate." Of course they were accurate, who does he think he's talking too?
"Really? Well I can't say I'm sad to hear that."
"Ha ha, yes well at least he finally got what he deserved. But as much as I appreciate the job we can't have vigilantes running around doing our jobs for us." He continued. Alex needed to steer this conversation somewhere else before he puts two and two together.
"Anyways Sir, I needed to ask if you knew any good places for me to go recruiting." He asks.
"Oh, of course. You should try the library. Plenty of upstanding citizens spend time there and I'm not just saying that because my daughter Barbara works there." He tells him.
'Weird, is he trying to set me up with his daughter? Naw, stay focused Westbrook you're on duty here.' Alex thinks to himself.
"Ha I bet. I'll go check it out, thanks for the help Sir." Alex thanked him as he shake his hand once more before turning to leave.
"No trouble Sergeant and it's good to have you back in Gotham, I think having you here will be a positive influence on the city."
...
After last night a boring day at work was just what Barbara needed to clear her head and figure out what had happened. She knew what happened but the motives behind it, and who did it was still a mystery.
She was staring at the bullet casing that she'd recovered at the docks, a 5.56mm rifle cartridge. A quick internet search revealed that the round was the military and law enforcement equivalent of the civilian .223 round. Why is this bit important you ask? Well .223 is less expensive than 5.56 and if Barbara knew criminals they always went with the lowest bidder. There was also that partial exchange she overheard.
"…By order of the Department of Defense…"
So the shooter was definitely military. But why? Had someone with enough say in the government ordered Riddler's death? Or was this all part of something much bigger? And even if she found out who it was, could she blame them for following an order? Her dad once told her that some orders could be disobeyed for the right reason, but then again she's never been in that position before. This little casing gave her so many questions and not enough answers.
"Ahem."
Barbara looked up and saw that a man in uniform was on the other side of her desk, looking down at the casing in my hand.
"Oh, uh, sorry sir. Can I help you?" She asks, quickly stashing the casing away.
"You must be Barbara. I'm Sergeant Westbrook, the new recruiter for the Marines. I was just speaking with your father, Commissioner Gordon and he told me this would be a good place to try and recruit some people?" He asked with a smile.
"Uh, yeah yeah. Go ahead Sergeant, there's plenty of college students around here. If you'd like I could show you around." She offered, returning his smile. This guy said he was new in town, and he is military. It was a slim chance but could he be the shooter?
"I'd appreciate that and please, call me Alex." He replied. So now she had his full name, Sergeant Alex Westbrook. She'd have to look him up in the Batcave later on.
"Well this is the main desk; you could set up a booth just over there someday if you'd like." She tells him, as he nods in consideration. "So your new in town, when did you get in?" Barbara asks curiously.
"Well I wouldn't exactly say new, I grew up in Gotham, but to answer your question about two nights ago." He answered. So he lived here, cleaning up his home town could be a possible motive. "Say, what were you doing with that shell casing earlier, not planning on shooting up the place I hope?" He suddenly asked.
It was a joke to be sure, but the way he was staring at the casing earlier raised some flags. "Oh that? I found it lying on the sidewalk outside. You know how Gotham is, doesn't seem that a day goes by that someone isn't killing somebody else." She lies and he seems to buy it.
"Yeah, you got a point there. One reason I got out of this city."
"Really? I'd think your current career field is more dangerous than staying in Gotham." She tells him as she leads him over towards the reading area.
"Naw, fighting ISIS is pretty much like fighting the gangs around here except they gotta thing for explosives and cutting people's heads off, those sick fucks." He says as they stop walking.
"I suppose your right, I guess. Anyways most of students hang around here during the lunch hour."
"Cool, I'll make sure to stop by then. How many of your peers do you think are interested in signing up?" He asks as they continue walking past the bookshelves.
"There's a few I could think of, I'll be sure to tell them you'll be stopping by occasionally."
"That'd be greatly appreciated."
"So, you hear that someone killed the Riddler last night?" Barbara asks, waiting to gauge his reaction.
"Yeah, your father told me about it when we spoke. Can't say I'm upset, guy was domestic terrorist and by all rights he had it coming. I understand that the guy who did it broke the law, but your father and I are in agreement that Riddler had it coming." Damn you dad! Spoiling everything! Oh well, he did have a point. Barbara looked around and found that we'd ended up back at the front desk.
"Well Sergeant, Alex, I mean this is the end of our tour. I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other huh?"
"I guess so. Thanks for showing me around, I'll try not to be a nuisance." He smiled before handing me a stack of business cards. "Here's some of my cards and feel free to call if you need anything, alright?" he says with a smile as he turns to leave. Did the guy Barbara suspected of being a killer just hit on her? Those business cards did conveniently have his personal number on them.
"Yeah, totally. See you around!" Barbara calls out to him as he walks through out the front door. It could have been the uniform but suspect or not he was pretty good looking…
...
After work Barbara headed over to the Batcave so she could look up Sergeant Westbrook in Bruce's database. She sat down behind the computer and typed in the good Sergeants name. In a matter of seconds his record jacket became open to her.
Westbrook, Alex, S
Present Grade E-5 (Sergeant)
USMC, Active Duty
MOS: 1371 Combat Engineer
DOB: 01/13/92
COB: Gotham
Date of Enlistment: 01/01/2010
EAS Date: 01/01/2014
Date of Reenlistment: 01/01/2014
Current EAS Date: 01/01/2018
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 166 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Awards
Medical Records
Education
Basic Training Record
Baisc Individual Record
Record of Emergency Data
Leave and Earnings Statement
Incident report 09/05/2012
An incident report? Interesting. She clicked on the link, opening the report.
On this date 20120905 Said Named Marine LCPL Westbrook was involved in an attempted escape at Arkham Asylum, Gotham City. SNM was on post deployment leave visiting Dr. Harleen F Quinzel at Arkham Asylum. On the evening of 20120905 the criminal known only as the Joker was brought into Arkham Asylum by the vigilante Batman. Upon seeing her patient being brought in Dr. Quinzel had a breakdown and fled the Asylum, unbeknownst to SNM. SNM stayed in Dr. Quinzel's quarters when an explosion was heard followed by alarms at around 2300. Following the explosion SNM attempted to locate Dr. Quinzel, not knowing that she was responsible for the explosion and subsequent escape. Believing Dr. Quinzel to be in danger SNM joined Arkham Security in the following vehicle pursuit, engaging Dr. Quinzel's vehicle with an M16 assault rifle. The pursuit ended at approximately 0115 when SNM shot Dr. Quinzel's right hand, resulting in her losing control of her vehicle and flipping several times before crashing into a store front. SNM pulled Dr. Quinzel as Arkham security and GCPD Officers secured Joker. Upon learning the truth of Dr. Quinzel's involvement SNM turned her over to GCPD Lieutenant Gordon, James. SNM was then brought back to GCPD HQ and held for questioning before being released to his platoon commander Lieutenant Asher, Anthony at 1230 on 20120906. SNM is currently pending return date to Gotham City to make witness statement at Dr. Quinzel's trial, date pending.
*Edit 20130115: LCPL Westbrook has stated that he was aware of Dr. Quinzel's role as Jokers psychiatrist but was unaware of how her constant exposure to her patient had affected her mental state. As of this date Dr. Quinzel has been deemed mentally unstable and scheduled for treatment at Arkham Asylum. SNM has been returned to active duty at 1st CEB and awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for preventing the escape of a dangerous criminal.
*Edit 20130201: LCPL Westbrook has been placed under suicide watch by his squad leader. Dr. Quinzel's breakdown combined with the trauma of seeing his friend LCPL Daniels, Austin killed in an IED strike in Afghanistan has resulted in SNM becoming distant from his peers and engaging in anti-social behavior. As of this date 20130201 SNM has been denied the use of alcohol while off duty and denied access to firearms and munitions during training. SNM has also been assigned to speak with the Battalion Chaplain twice monthly for psychological evaluation until SNM is determined to be fit for duty.
*Edit 20130601: CPL Westbrook cleared for full duty by Battalion Chaplain. SNM was promoted to the rank of Corporal following last psychological evaluation and given the position of fire team leader.
So, Alex had been friends with Harley Quinn before she went crazy. Dad had told me about that night four years ago, how a Marine home on leave had stopped the Joker from escaping Arkham. He said that when Quinn had been handed over that the Marine had the saddest look on his face, and after reading this report I'd believe it. Barbara couldn't imagine what it'd be like to come back from war only to have your best friend turn on you like that, must have been terrible. As revealing as this report had been it didn't paint Alex as the Riddler's killer, if anything he'd be gunning after Joker for what he did to his friend. She felt kinda shitty, having pried this far into his personal life behind his back but she had to make sure that it wasn't him right?
Barbara closed out of the file and shut down the computer before heading home, having made no progress on solving this case.
...Mission Complete...