Chapter 9
Jim
He stood out on the building roof looking out on the City, they City that he had failed. It had been weeks since he first heard that Kate had joined up with Bane's men and were on the hunt for him and all other cops. He couldn't say that he didn't see this coming. So far within weeks she had paid house visits to everyone that he had every served with. Some had already relocated to other places in the city but others weren't so lucky. They got away with their limbs still intact but had a few bruises and broken noses. Foley had taken the news hard as did Izzo, they all knew Kate since she was a little girl. Gerry use to hold big Fourth of July barbeques at the park. They celebrated her acceptance into the FBI here at Izzo's.
He was lost in his memories when Blake found him, "Commissioner. We got a guy named Miles down stairs in the bar." Said Blake with his hands in his pockets, the cold was setting in for the evening. Jim was surprised, he hadn't heard from Miles Miller in years. "Miller?" he asked, Blake smiled. "Foley says that Izzo isn't gonna be too happy about him being here." Blake said. Jim sighed then followed Blake back down the stairs of the building. Everyone that had lived there had been moved to other parts of the city, so far they hadn't said a word about Jim hiding out in there. He didn't like putting them in dangers way. But it had to be done. It took them a few minutes to get down the bar. Jim ran into Izzo at the door carrying his shot gun.
"What the hell is this rat piece of shit doin in my establishment?" shouted Izzo aiming his gun at Miles. Jim could see that the years did there time on Miles, he was overweight, bald and smelled of cigarettes and alcohol. "Izzo put the gun down." Said Jim as Miles raised his hands. Foley and Blake just leaned against the wall and watched the scene.
Jim took another good look at Miles and saw the busted lip, shiner and the limp he had in his walk. "What happened to you Miles?" he asked and took a seat at the nearby table. Miles slowly walked over and pulled the chair across from Jim. Izzo went behind the counter of the bar and pulled two shot glasses. Miles looked over and saw Izzo, "Bourbon please." He asked, Izzo stopped what he was doing. "I serve cops at this bar; you sure as hell aren't a cop. Jim?" he asked ignoring Miles request. Jim turned to Izzo. "I'll that bourbon." He said and turned his attention back to Miles.
"Now, What happened to you" he asked looking at Miles. "Gerry's kid came by and had her henchmen rough me up." Said Miles turning his face sideways for Jim to see. Izzo came to the table with the bottle of bourbon and kindly poured the drink. "If you ask me, Kid should've killed you. You're the reason Gerry's dead." Izzo snapped as he pulled out a chair for himself. Miles sat there for a while, "I know I shamed the badge when I turned sides for Falcone's pay. But regardless I tried my best to keep you all out of the way." Said Miles. Jim smiled while Izzo and Foley chuckled out loud. "You're a lying goddamned rat. You let the greed get the best of you." Izzo snapped while he leaned back.
"She came by today and threatened me for information. I knew for the last week that you were here. I gave her a false trail." Said Miles looking Jim in the eye, "Why?" asked Jim as he took a sip of the bourbon. Miles sighed then pulled out his wallet and dug through it for a picture. "Remember that day?" he asked placing the photo on the table. Izzo looked at it then passed it onto Jim. He did remember that day. Gerry, Miles and himself had just graduated from the academy and were out celebrating here at Izzo's, he had just opened this place up and had given them their drinks on the house.
"She said that Bane had her hands tied and that there was more than one life in her hands." Miles said reaching for the picture. Blake stepped forward, "That confirms what we heard." Said Blake, Jim looked at Blake. "A few weeks ago one of Foley's neighbors came by and said that the family living in Gerry's old place was taken away by Bane's men. We believe he's using them as leverage against Kate." Jim said looking back at Miles who nodded then stood and headed for the door.
Jim watched Miles walk out. Then turned to Blake and then to Izzo. "Kate's doing this because Bane's forced her hand." he said, Izzo stared at him. "If Miles came here chances are they had a tail on him. Jim you have to leave. If Katie's dropping lines like that, she's giving you a heads up." He said and poured another drink. Blake pulled a chair and sat down between the two men. "He's right, if that was a heads up we need to go before they get here." He said. Jim nodded then looked at Izzo. "If that's the case I'm sure she already knows that I won't say a thing. Jim, Go she wants you to stay alive." He said.
That night when curfew was in full effect they gathered what they could carry and waited for the tumbler's evening route to pass. From seeing Miles and seeing what Kate had done to him, he wasn't sure what to believe. But he had to keep faith that Kate was indeed caught between a hard place and a rock. He just prayed that Kate kept hold of who she was. From experience with the Joker and how he twisted Harvey Dent, he knew that Bane had something planned, something bigger than him and Kate. The question was who did he want the most, Him or Kate. He had a feeling that before this was over. One of them would lose themselves.
Kate
Kate was out in the alley just right outside the building door. The team had relocated to another apartment clear across town. They had been at it for weeks. She lite her fourth cigarette, she really hadn't been keeping track of how many she smoked in a day. She'd just light one right after the other. The clouds were over the city, Kate saw them rolling in earlier in the day and knew that the snow was coming. Had it really been a whole month?
"How's the hand?" asked Conner. Kate turned and saw Conner step from the shadows. She had gotten to know them a little better; as much as she didn't want to it couldn't be avoided. Considering that they now living together. Conner was the token Irish member of the team. He was from Belfast and after his brothers were all killed in a car explosion he up and ran away, he found himself in the slums of Eastern Europe starving and found work smuggling. Bane had found him then and recruited him. He spoke of a Talia who had given him the opportunity to use his smuggling and making homemade bombs. "It's fine, swollen but it'll be fine." Kate replied showing Conner her hand. Barsad showed up with clean bandages and a bottle of Jose Cuervo, "Before it festers and infected." He said. Kate snickered and held out her right hand. With her left she held the cigarette. Barsad shot a glance at her cigarette, "You've been smoking a lot more lately." He said as he un-wrapped her hand. Her knuckles were huge and throbbed. "Jesus Christ. I have never gone out on someone like that before. If I knew this was coming I would've stopped at one punch." She said examining her hand. Barsad smiled and opened the bottle then phased, "You want a drink first?" he asked, Kate nodded. "Yea." She said and took the bottle; she took two strong gulps before she gave it back to Barsad. "Ready?" he asked, before Kate could say a word he dumped almost a serving on her fist. "Urge! FUCK!" she shouted. The pain was bad. She bit her lip then inhaled a deep breath and exhaled. Barsad quickly wrapped her hand again.
"Worse part is over." Said Conner as he watched from a distance. Kate grinned then took the bottle from Barsad's hand and took another swallow. "I just remembered another place I'm sure Jim has been." She mumbled. Barsad reached for the bottle and took a sip. "What's that?" he asked. Kate hated herself for saying it out loud. "There's a bar at least a good twenty miles from here. It's called Izzo's, it's a cop bar owned by a retired cop and lives in the apartment just above the bar." Said Kate taking another drag on her cigarette. He took another sip and offered it to Kate. "He's a tough. Chances are he won't tell us a thing." She said as she felt the burn go down her throat.
She had been to Izzo's a few times with Jim. The last was when she passed her exam at the FBI Academy in Stafford, Virginia; she was back in Gotham for a few days. Jim had taken her out to dinner with Barbara and the kids then after they went out to Izzo's, "Here's to Katie the daughter of the best cop I ever knew, He'd be proud if he were here today." Izzo said as he gave the toast, the bar was packed with other cops that she didn't know but she wasn't complaining since they bought she drinks throughout the night. Kate had quite a few drinks, even though she didn't remember too much of that evening, it was the best she ever had. The hangover the next day was pure punishment. Jim had made breakfast, steak and eggs for the recovery. The following week was setting up her desk in Quantico and meeting her team. Thinking back on it, it felt like that was a million years ago and in a different life. Tomorrow would be another shitty day she concluded before she went to sleep.
They stalked out the bar from down the street all morning; No one went in or came out. Kate had Conner and Olavi posted up in the alley to see if anyone came through the side entrance that was used for delivery trucks. "No activity here." Conner said through the radio, Barsad had the radio and waited for Kate's response. Kate glanced back at the front door with her binoculars and still nothing. "Any sign of life from the apartment up stairs?" she asked on her radio. Micah and Riley were in the office building across the street from the bar to see if there was any movement in Izzo's home. "Nothing. The curtains are closed." Riley replied. Barsad waited for Kate's next move. She looked down the street to where had Johan and Arben the two eastern European members who didn't say much because of their thick accents. "Arben? Anything?" she asked. "No. Not a person in area." He replied. Barsad nodded to Kate. She looked over to Ivan; he was a short man of 5'6 with green eye, light brown hair with a beard. He hardly talked but when he did he was direct. He never smiled or least not in Kate's presence.
"Coast is clear. We'll Use the front door." She radioed back to the others. Only the three of them were to go in. the others were to keep watch on the street. Lately the people of Gotham were getting bolder with each passing day. A couple of times they were caught in the line of fire in the streets. Today they weren't taking any chances. She would've been relieved that were fighting back but not while the bullets were flying past her head.
"Let's go." She said to Barsad and Ivan. They gathered their gear and made their way across the street. The front door was locked but Ivan had the skills of a locksmith and tweaked with the lock on door knob for a minute or two before they heard the, Click and quietly they entered the bar. It was dim inside, the chairs were on the tables, and the bar was still well stocked. Kate heard movement upstairs then motioned for Barsad and Ivan to follow her to the back of the bar. There was a door that led to the upstairs. She leaned forward and checked the knob, it turned. It wasn't locked. She looked at Ivan then Barsad. "Behind this door are stairs that go straight to the second floor. On the top it comes to another door that leads right into Izzo's apartment." She explained in a quick whisper. "Who the fuck is down there?" shouted a man from the top of the stairs. Kate recognized the voice. It was Joe Izzo.
"Come on down and see for yourself." Kate shouted. She heard him chuckle. "Katie. I knew at some point you'd come and pay me a visit." Izzo shouted back, Kate waited for a second. "If you're armed I want to empty it out one at a time." She said, he chuckled again, "No need sweetheart. I wouldn't aim a loaded gun at you. I'm coming down." He said, Kate could hear his footsteps on the stairs. She motioned for Barsad and Ivan to go back in the bar. They hesitated for a moment, "I got this, if he sees you He might open fire." She said, Barsad kept eye contact then turned around and headed for the bar.
Kate opened the door to see Izzo coming on the last step. She looked up at him; his was the friendly giant she remembered even with the Beretta he carried in his hand. "Katie Messner." He said with a grin. Kate took a step back toward the bar. "Give me the gun and turn around for me." She said. Izzo smiled and held out the gun and raised his hands. "No need for that honey." He said and took a step forward. Kate stopped him when she aimed her glock17 at him. "I don't care. Turn around" She said and began to pat him down. She found a 38 revolver tucked in his back belt. "Really Joe?" she asked, "There's crazy people out there and I'm an elderly man living alone." He said smiling.
Slowly he walked out into the front of the bar, "See you brought friends." He said when he saw Ivan and Barsad sitting at the bar, they had helped themselves to long neck beer bottles. Kate placed the weapons on the table and pulled a stool out, "Sit down Joe." She said. Joe smiled and sat down at the bar with his hands on the booth. Kate put her glock17 back in the holster at her hip and reached for two shot glasses underneath the bar and grabbed a bottle of Wild Turkey from the shelf and poured herself one and one for Joe. "Thank you, you know your ol man always liked this Wild Turkey." He said raising his glass; "To Gerry Messner." he said and emptied the glass, Kate raised hers and slammed the shot and refilled their glasses.
"I'm not gonna lie honey, I had Jim here a few days back. But he flew the coop." he said and finished his shot and grabbed the bottle. "I figured he'd come to you." Said Kate staring at Joe, "You're not gonna catch him sweetheart. He knows better. He also knows that you wouldn't be doing this unless these thugs had leverage on you." He said as he pointed to Ivan and Barsad.
"You can try to beat it out of me, but I'm not saying a damn thing. I had respect for your ol man and my loyalties are with the badge." He said and poured his glass again. Kate smiled. "I know you won't, you're a cop right to the very end." Said Kate and took the bottle and poured again. "But I can't risk him returning to you for help and shelter." Said and grabbed the bottle and threw it the floor. "You do what you gotta do honey." He said as Kate handed Barsad and Ivan a few other bottles. They broke a few more and took Joe outside the bar. Kate grabbed the lighter and a bottle with a torn up rag and lite it.
They watched the place go up in flames. Joe didn't say a word as he watched his business and home burn down. "We should kill him." Said Barsad, Kate kept her eyes on the flames. "No. like he said, his loyalties are with the badge. We keep a tail on him for a few days." Said Kate still staring the flames watching it devour everything it touched. "Let him go." Barsad ordered. Kate didn't bother to see Joe walk away. She kneeled down and continued staring ahead. She was lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the tumbler pull up.
"I see your efforts have improved." The familiar mechanical voice boomed behind her. Kate didn't move or tremble in fear as she had before, "It's called giving the dog a bone. He'll eventually get back to Jim." Kate replied and stood up from then turned around to see Bane standing there. "And the other?" he asked grabbing onto the neck of his vest, "Miles was a rat. I'm sure he came here to give Jim a heads up. That was my mistake." She said. Bane tilted his head, "Perhaps you can finish the job now." He said and waved his hand. From behind him Kate saw the others pull Miles out from the other tumbler, He had taken another beating. His shirt and jacket had blood on them. His lip had dried blood. "We found him along with a few other of Gotham's finest." Bane said as Miles was forced to his knees before Kate.
Kate looked down on Miles. "We meet again, just as you said." He said looking up at Kate. She took a deep breath, this all came a little too quickly than she wanted. "I promised you that the next time I saw you I would kill you." Said Kate. Miles laughed then suddenly he began to cry, "It was me." He said, Kate blinked at him, "What?" she asked.
Miles continued to cry, "It was me, I was the one who told Falcone that your father was bad for business. He figured everything out; he found out that half of the department was in the drug business with Falcone. He threatened to have us turned over. I couldn't let him do that." Miles said with tears rolling down his bloodied face. Kate reached for the glock17, "You?' she asked fighting the tears that threaten to fall. Miles nodded, "Falcone wanted you're family to be made an example of, but when he picked the guys to do the job. I told them just to take out Gerry." He cried. Kate's jaw tightened, "You son of a bitch." She said and raised the glock to his head. Miles curled up at her feet, Kate kicked his hand away, "I'm so sorry." He said. Kate's hand shook as her finger froze on the trigger. "Did Jim know?" she asked with the gun shaking in her hand. "No, Gerry hadn't told Jim a thing. That's why he couldn't solve the case; he didn't have to the motive." Kate wanted to let out her relief but held in her breath, "Who did the job?" she asked. Miles pulled himself back up from the ground. "A couple of guys Falcone hired. Jim has the names." He said and looked up at Kate. "I'm sorry." He said again. Kate exhaled then squeezed the trigger.
Kate saw her breath in the cold air, it was cold but she didn't feel it. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. She felt her heart breaking but she didn't have the tears that she felt earlier. Her hand had stopped shaking she realized. "Greed takes it hold on everyone." Bane said behind her. Kate turned and faced Bane, "Let me hunt down these men. Let me finish them off first, then I'll get Jim." She said looking at Bane who was as solid as stone, "Justice is yours to take." He said without hesitation. For once Kate didn't feel the fear she had felt for so long, instead she felt absolutely nothing.