Police work was easy. All you had to do was find someone who might know something and threaten them until they gave you what you wanted. No wonder the GCPD was full of such billyclub-happy morons.
In her case, all she had to do was promise the man at the counter that if he didn't give her a copy of the security tape from Monday night, she would have Gerard's people burn his store down. It was an empty threat, but he didn't know that.
Jeannie was right, though. Tommy had come to the bodega on Monday night with the twenty that Selina had given him. He'd bought a Kit-Kat and some other candy and then gone back out onto the street. That's when it got dicey. The bodega's camera didn't see very far out into the street, but she could see the corner of a license plate. And suddenly the likelihood that Tommy had just wandered off dropped dramatically, because Selina knew the license number.
"Gerard!" Selina shouted, barging into the bar without preamble.
"Selina, what the hell?" Papi demanded, moving to block her. "Selina you can't go back there!"
"I need to talk to him, it's important," Selina insisted, sidestepping past him and bursting into the back room. "Gerard I need to…talk to you." Selina stopped dead, her heart leaping into her throat and threatening to choke her. Gerard was in the back room all right, but he wasn't alone. Selina's mind spun into overdrive, analyzing the unexpected face in front of her, the briefcase on the table, and the files spread between them. It took her less than a second to realize who was across the table. A short, smartly-dressed man with slicked black hair and the iconic hooked nose. He was sitting, but Selina could guess that when he walked his gait would be halting and short.
"Selina," Gerard said, cool and collected as ever, but there was a layer of steel under his words. "This is unexpected."
"And you seem really, really busy so I will just come back another time," Selina said, backtracking furiously. She spun on her heel, straight into two very large men blocking the doorway. Keeping her in. Selina's already whirring mind added new variables to the equation. She was small and fast, but the two men were so big that there was no way she could get past them. She was trapped.
"Boys, please take Selina outside until I'm done with Mr. Cobblepot." Cobblepot. Oswald Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin, and a well-known Maroni man.
This was Falcone territory, which made Gerard, Selina, and every mobster in the Narrows Falcone's people. The two families had been at war for as long as Selina could remember; there was no reason for Penguin to be in Gerard's bar. In fact, it was very dangerous for him to be here at all, why would be here?
A deal. They were making a deal, that explained the paper and Papi trying to keep her out of the back – he never did that, Papi loved her and always let her in, why wouldn't he? Selina was the best.
Meaty hands clamped onto her shoulders, snapping Selina out of her pin-wheeling thoughts, leaving just one left: Gerard was going to kill her. She was his favorite, but no one was valuable enough to be kept alive if he was making a deal with the opposing team. Gerard liked her, but he wouldn't take the risk that she'd rat him out. I'm going to die, Selina thought with a rush of clarity and fear. They're going to shoot me.
"Wait," a high, wheedling voice said, and the men wheeling her out of the room stopped. "Gerard, I'm sorry, but I'm curious. Let her go." Selina was released and she staggered away from them, pushing herself into a corner of the room. There were too many eyes watching her and not enough options. "Selina, is it?"
"Answer the man," Gerard said lightly, his eyes promising murder.
"Yes," she said.
"My name's Oswald," the Penguin said, smiling at her. "But you already knew that. You knew the second you walked in, I could tell."
"Everyone knows who you are," Selina said softly. Scary, sociopathic, favored umbrellas. Selina had done her homework two years ago, when she'd stolen from him personally. Not on Gerard's orders, but he knew about it. Selina was just praying that he didn't bring it up.
"And you looked very concerned when you walked in here, Selina. Why?"
"A kid went missing," Selina said, trying to remember how to talk and breathe at the same time. "One of my kids. I know the car. I needed Gerard's help."
"One of your kids?" Oswald pushed, pressing the tips of his fingers together and leaning in.
"She's taken the St. Bart's kids under her protection," Gerard explained like Selina wasn't there. "One of the conditions that she come in as one of my reapers."
"I don't like that term," Selina said without thinking. "I'm a thief, not some harbinger of death. I steal things, and I'm good at it. Those kids are part of my price."
"A reaper with a soft spot for kids," the Penguin said, quirking an eyebrow.
"The crime war took everything from them," Selina said pointedly, forgetting her fear for a moment. The adrenaline was scraping her nerves raw and she'd never been good at keeping her mouth shut. "And they're just kids."
"So are you."
Despite he heart hammering like it wanted to break her ribs, Selina fixed Oswald with a scathing look. "You're Maroni, so I'll fill you in: Us Narrows kids don't stay kids for long." Selina expected to be marched out of the room, or shot on the spot. As soon as the words left her lips, Selina prepared to die in any number of ways.
She didn't expect him to laugh.
"Selina the reaper, defender of the children," the Penguin said, leaning back and giving her an appraising look. "I like you." He turned to Gerard, who wasn't blinking, a bad sign. "Gerard, I know this is highly irregular, especially considering how sensitive the situation is, but keep this one alive. I think she's going to come in handy." He waved his hands and the two men moved aside, opening up the doorway again. "Oh, and Selina, I'm sure Gerard will be more than happy to help you find your orphan. Won't you?"
"Of course," Gerard said silkily. "Selina, a moment?" He was standing before Selina could flee out the door. He walked with her in silence until they were out of the bar. "Selina, Selina, Selina," he said softly, pulling a gun out of his blazer and letting it hang loosely by his side. "My darling, wonderful, nosy, stupid Selina."
"Gerard," Selina started, her eyes never leaving the gun.
"Do not interrupt me," Gerard cut her off, his voice never losing its pleasant tone. "I love you like a daughter, you know I do, but you have just made some very big problems for me."
"I won't say anything," Selina promised, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Gerard had never scared her, not before this moment. He'd never looked at her like that, his head cocked, eyes narrowed and crazed, all the while his voice was polite and soft as ever.
"No, you won't," Gerard agreed, advancing on her. "Because if any word of this gets out, even a whisper, then I'm coming for you, dear. And I won't kill you, not at first. I'll do so much worse than that." Selina backed away from him until she was pushed against the brick wall of the bar. The gun that had been hanging at his side was brought up and pressed against Selina's temple. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, her whole universe was Gerard and the gun. "I'll burn down that precious orphanage of yours with all of the kids inside, and then when they're all dead, I'll put a bullet in you. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," Selina breathed, not daring to move.
"Good." Something struck her hard and pain flared white hot at the base of her skull. Selina went to her knees but miraculously didn't pass out. "Now get going, love, before I change my mind." Selina stumbled to her feet and cut a staggering, uneven path back to her apartment. She flew through the door and bolted it behind her with shaking fingers.
She was alive. But somehow, with blood dripping down her neck and her head pounding from the butt of Gerard's gun, it didn't seem like very much. The Penguin had spared her, but Selina had no idea how long that protection would last. She'd be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life, waiting for the day that they decided that she was too dangerous to have around. And they would, eventually, realize that having a witness put them in too much danger. She was safe for now, but not forever. Now, she had a deadline, an expiration date. Selina could practically feel it ticking down the heartbeats she had left.
All at once, Selina's legs gave out and she slid down the wall in a heap. She was so stupid. She'd gone into the bar looking for help and had left with a gun to her head. Worst of all, she'd just let it happen. She was fast and tough - she'd had to be to survive on her own – but Selina had just let Gerard back her into a corner. She could've taken the gun, she could've told him that she wouldn't be threatened.
Then you'd be dead for sure. Penguin or no Penguin, if she'd fought back, Gerard would have put a bullet in her and said that she had attacked him. Selina buried her head in her arms, choking back a sob. She couldn't remember being that scared, ever. What they were doing, the deal between two lieutenants of opposing crime families…it was suicide. There were rules, rules you didn't break if you wanted to keep breathing. Selina had lived under Falcone for as long as she could remember, and the war had been going on for half of her life. But if you stayed well under the radar, you stayed alive. Selina had made herself useful to Gerard in return for protection, but all of that had just gone to straight to shit.
Maybe now she had to be her own protection.
A few days went by without incident. Selina hadn't left her apartment much, only for groceries, and an easy job that had taken barely half an hour. Sudden movements didn't send her running anymore, and shadows dancing across the floor didn't make her grab for her knife – the knife that never left her person, not anymore. Then came the press conference. A tall boy with dark hair and an aristocratic face stood at a podium, speaking to a small army of reporters. Selina rolled her eyes. Bruce Wayne was on TV. It seemed that he was everywhere lately.
"I'm calling this press conference today to raise awareness. My parents built St. Bart's orphanage for children whose parents had been taken from them by gang violence. Since it opened, over one hundred children have been housed there."
"Everyone knows that, genius," Selina grumbled at the TV, starting to pick up the pillows she'd displaced in her sleep.
"But I'm not here to talk about the crime families, I'll leave that to the police." Wayne flashed a charming smile and the press all laughed with him. "What I am here to talk about is a boy named Tommy Vasquez." At the name Selina stopped short. Oh no. "He's eleven, and disappeared from St. Bart's on Monday night."
"Stop," Selina whispered, staring at the screen. "Stop talking."
"He's just a kid," Wayne continued. "A kid that lost everything to the violence in this city. It's the least we can do to find him and bring him home. I will be personally offering a reward for his safekeeping, and his photo and the number to call if he's seen will be distributed." Wayne cleared his throat, hesitating before looking straight into the camera. "Someone told me recently that not everyone lives on White Hill. I was born into wealth and its time that I did something with it, just like my parents. Which is why, in addition to the reward, I will be throwing a charity gala at Wayne Mansion to raise funds for another orphanage like St. Bart's in the city. Thank you." Wayne stepped off of the podium and was ushered away by a gray-haired man in a trench coat, leaving Selina staring blankly as the picture cut to a photo of Tommy.
"You idiot," Selina breathed, the severity of what he'd done rushing at her in full force. "You idiot!" She surged forward, smashing her fist through the screen. If Gerard saw this….when Gerard saw this, he'd know that Selina and Wayne had both been at St. Bart's, he'd think that she told him something. And he'd thrown a fucking press conference to tell the whole world that he, the crown prince of Gotham, was looking for one of Selina's kids. "You killed me."
It only took them an hour to come for her. "Selina!" It wasn't a voice she knew, but that didn't matter. "Come out or we'll break down the door!"
"Jesus, don't be so dramatic." Selina said as she opened the door, the picture of nonchalance despite the blood dripping from her knuckles. "What do you want?"
"You are in big trouble." She didn't know him. He wasn't one of Gerard's, as far as she knew, but that didn't mean much. Finding hired muscle was easy these days. And he wasn't alone. There were four of them, all crowded on her doorstep.
"Yeah, I'm thinking about getting it tattooed on my forehead," Selina shot back. This was easy, this was her territory. Mouthing off to goons who were bigger and stronger than her. Goons didn't scare her like Gerard and Oswald Cobblepot. They didn't have any real power, they had big fists they barely knew how to use. Fists didn't scare her.
"You are coming with us."
"No." Selina said. "Nice try though." The guy cracked his knuckles and advanced towards her. Selina danced away from him, ducking away from his fist when he swung at her. He was slow, laughably slow, and it didn't take much to avoid him. Falling to one knee, Selina pulled out the blade she'd hidden in her sleeve and jammed it into the man's leg. He howled as blood gushed from the wound, hitting the ground hard. "God dammit, you're messing up my floors," Selina sighed, twirling the knife in her fingers. She was good with knives, always had been. The easiest way to get into bags was by slashing them.
"You…bitch!" the man spat at her. Selina rolled her eyes.
"I didn't hit your femoral, you're not going to bleed out." Selina said before turning her attention to the rest of the goons, all of who were staring at her. "Who's next?"
"I don't think that will be necessary." Selina froze, all bravado vanishing as Oswald Cobblepot appeared. The remaining men jumped out of the way to let him pass. It seemed Selina wasn't the only one afraid of him. "May I come in?"
"Looks like you're already in," Selina said, steeling her nerves and willing her voice to stay steady. She was strong. She wouldn't let herself be scared. "Why stand on ceremony?"
Oswald smiled, waddling through the doorway. He must have really mangled his leg once upon a time. He slowly made his way to where his man was on the ground, still clutching his leg and his smiled broadened. "I knew I liked you, Selina, right from the start. And this is lovely work. You didn't mention that you were a blade girl."
"You didn't ask."
"But this business with Bruce Wayne…" Oswald said like she hadn't spoken. "You should've told us."
"And Gerard would've shot me."
"He wants to shoot you now." Selina felt her heart pick up. Then why hadn't he done it yet? "But I still think you could be of use to us, especially in light of your delightful affinity for pointy objects. I also think you're too smart to talk to someone like Wayne. Thing is, we don't know if we can trust you." Well if that wasn't a two-way street, Selina didn't know what was. "So we, Gerard and I, are going to offer you a deal. Bruce Wayne needs to know that he can't speak out against the crime families. He may be Gotham's golden boy, but business is business."
"I'm not an assassin," Selina said. "If you want to kill him, send someone else." She was toeing a very dangerous line, but Oswald only smiled wider.
"Oh no no no, Selina, that's not what I want at all. Killing him would start a riot. Everyone loves the Waynes, and now that young Bruce has started this campaign to find poor orphan Tommy, there would be outcry." The Penguin shook his head. "No, killing him would be too messy."
"Then what?" Selina pushed when he paused, presumably waiting for her to ask.
"Well, people do get so attached to their personal belongings, don't they? Especially when they're all they have left of their dearly departed mother and father." Selina's heart sank further. "Let's remind young Bruce how it feels to lose his parents, hm? Maybe when he has nothing left of them, he will learn his place in this city."
"Fine." Selina said, knowing full well that she had no choice. The Penguin nodded, looking pleased, and stood, making for the door.
"And Selina?" he said, pausing at the exit. "If you fail, I will let Gerard have you." He chuckled like it was some kind of joke. "He's fond of knives, like you. And that man, for all of his pretense of civility, is an artist when it comes to taking people apart."