«Checkmate!» Miriam exclaimed.
Oswald studied the board, where his king was neatly cornered between a tower and a queen. Of course, he had led the piece there on purpose, but Miriam did not need to know that. She was very happy to be learning a new game. Checkers was still her favorite (most likely because no one could beat her at it), but she tremendously enjoyed chess. She showed great promise.
«Indeed. I'm thoroughly beaten!», Oswald exclaimed, feigning surprise. «It was a good game. Congratulations!»
She beamed, gave a «did you see what I just did?» look to Gabe and Martin, and started putting the pawns back in their place.
«We'll have a rematch, won't we?» she asked.
The crime lord considered it. He had work, endless work, but Miriam had been neglected and locked in an attic for so long that she deserved to be cared for. He nodded, helping her prepare the board. They played in comfortable silence for ten minutes, then the door opened and the young woman lit up.
«Victor!», she exclaimed as the freak entered the room.
She was blushing. Oswald didn't like it one bit. That being said, so far, Zsasz had seemed immune to her charms. Oh, he liked her, and would run to her as soon as Oswald turned his back, but he seemed to be assuming a mentor's position. He had taught Miriam how to lay rabbit snares in the park, and installed bird feeders close to the trees so she could slaughter the fauna to her heart's content. She had started making wind chimes out of squirrel bones.
Oswald heaved.
«Victor. What brings you?»
The creep smiled to Miriam, with what he intended as warmth, and ended up as a predatory kind of awkwardness. Then he turned to his employer.
«Giulia is back», he announced. «She returned to her home, with both the boys. She has a shoulder wound, that's probably what kept her away.»
«I'm sorry, we'll have to continue this later», Cobblepot announced to his hostage. «I'll be back later in the day. I'm sure Martin can play with you in the meantime.»
«WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO WORK? It's not FAIR!»
«Young lady, I will not tolerate tantrums!»
Miriam immediately stilled. She lowered her head, mumbled an apology, then started hissing about her dad and how Oswald was just like him.
He crossed his arms.
She pursed her lips and started sulking.
«Very well, miss, take it that way!» he snapped. «We'll discuss this when I come back. Let's go, Victor.»
They retired to Oswald's office, and Zsasz explained what little he knew of Maroni's return: she had resurfaced at seven in the morning, in a black van, protected by five bodyguards armed with uzis. She had immediately called her lieutenants in.
«She's going to hit back», Oswald said, making a mental list of the underlings he had to contact to protect his territory. «She might attack the mansion. I'll have the security tripled. As for you, my dear friend, the contract is still on. So get out there and work on it.»
###
«It's a joke», Ryan said.
Claudia glared at her manager and pointed at the «HELP» written in mayonnaise on the dinner table. She had found the message under crumbled burger wrappings. Customers would pull that crap every now and then and Ryan would not admit that, just because it was a common prank, you could not just assume it was always one. The man who had been sitting there was a bit too old for jokes, too. He had looked about forty. He had not seemed like the kind to leave a mess either. He had been warm and polite when he had ordered (a Kiddy Box for himself so he could bring the toy car home to his son, and a salad for his grandma).
«Just clean it up», he ordered, «and do your job. I don't know if you noticed but we have other customers.»
She frowned.
«Can't we just call the cops and show them? It's not like it will take them long to cross the street! And then I can clean it up and they can check the security tapes and we'll have done a good deed.»
Her boss grabbed a dishcloth and wiped the table.
«Yeah, and maybe they can stay for donuts? Stop wasting my time.»
###
Jim's knees buckled.
«Barbara.»
Harvey froze and turned to him, paling, though not as much as Jim himself. The blond felt like the ground had been pulled from under him. His ears were ringing, and he could hear his own heartbeat.
«Don't hang up!», Barbara warned. «I hear it's not a good idea to cut negotiations short.»
The cop took a long, shivering breath, while his partner ran into Sarah's office to explain the situation in hushed whispers.
«Negotiations.»
«Well, you know how it goes. I'm a criminal, this is a hostage situation, I believe this is the part where you do as I say so I let her go intact. Well, it's a bit too late for 'intact', I guess, so let's settle for 'alive'.»
He put the phone on speaker as Harvey and Essen joined him.
«What have you done?» Jim forced out, his throat clenched.
«What do you think?»
Years of history - awkward first dates between a soldier on leave and a shy, pretty socialite; tender one-year-in evenings watching TV in a designer sofa with bare, soft legs sliding over his thighs to tempt his hands into wandering; trips to the seaside and «we should come back for our honeymoon, don't you think?»'s - faded from his mind and left nothing but murder. He was beyond fear. He needed to get the poison out, out, out, out, and if it took Barbara dying, good fucking riddance.
«If you touch a hair on her head», he growled, «I will-»
«Come on! Do you have to be unpleasant?» Barbara cut in, and he realized with a chill that antagonizing her was the last thing he should have been doing. «I can be unpleasant too!»
«No, don't, don't, I'm sorry, I'll-»
«WILLY!» his ex called, moving away from her phone. «Make the lady symmetrical.»
There was some mumbling, some moans, a high pitched wail.
«What do you mean, symmetrical?» a man's voice asked in the distance.
«Her hands, you blind oaf. I mean her hands.»
«NO, NO, DON'T», Jim heard himself shouting.
Barbara did not answer. Instead, all he heard was muffled screams of panic that turned into a howl of pain, then sobbing. Harvey grabbed him by the back of his vest to keep him upright. He was vaguely aware of people running around him, and speaking in hushed tones. Trace that call.
«As I was saying, I wouldn't count on 'intact'. So. Are you ready to have a civil conversation, now? There was no need for hostility to begin with. I'm perfectly willing to keep this short and relatively pain free.»
«What. Do. You. Want?»
«Why, it's easy enough, darling. I get you and I give her back. How is that for a trade? I think we're long overdue for a heart to heart.»
Harvey shook his head, waving an arm in a clear «no» gesture, and mouthed «no, no, no, don't fall for that».
Jim bit the inside of his cheeks, weighting the risks.
«Me against her. That's it. No games?»
«No games», his ex replied in a sickeningly sweet voice.
«Alright», the cop said.
Harvey raised his hands in frustration.
«Good», Barbara declared. «There's a car waiting for you in front of the precinct. AND SINCE I KNOW EVERYONE IS LISTENING - do I have your attention, everyone? - my men have grenades. If anyone follows James, they will throw them at random into the crowd. Just so we are clear. Also, don't try to have a patrol car follow ours. That's what rocket launchers are for.»
Jim tried to bolt, but Harvey grabbed him and pulled him back.
«Not on my life. She-», he snapped.
Then Jim punched him, sending him reeling back, and raced down the stairs, shoving a few other cops out of the way.
«She'll kill you BOTH», his partner called after him.
That was probably true, but Jim wouldn't have bet Leslie's life on it. He pressed the phone to his ear.
«Which car?» he asked as he got out of the building.
«The dark blue Golf.»
He looked around.
«There's three of those.»
«Have your pick, they are all mine.»
One to take him away, two to make sure no one followed. He walked to the closest car. A thug got out of it, hand on his weapon. He snatched Jim's phone, threw it to the ground, and pushed the cop on the back seat. The door slammed as the car started moving. The blond found himself sitting next to another armed man, who was pointing a gun at him.
«Gimme your piece», he ordered.
Jim complied. His gun flew through the window. He was frisked, and his spare gun found. He didn't have a knife on him. His father's - the one Falcone had given him - was in a locked box at Lee's. If he wanted to escape later on, he would have to disarm one of Barbara's men.
He heard an explosion as they drove away - Grenade? - but he did not manage to look back.
The ride seemed to last for days. They stopped on the docks of the Tricorner Yards, and Jim was escorted into a Queen Enterprises warehouse. Barbara was waiting at the opposite end of the building, in a short black dress, holding a purse in front of her. Ten men were standing around her, and Butch Gilzean was among them, right by her side. His presence was not that surprising. He had participated in the robbery at the Cohen's, and Barbara needed someone with an understanding of the criminal world to organize that kind of heist. Or an abduction, apparently.
Jim left himself be walked to his ex. She had them stop ten feet away from her.
«Did you take his weapons?» she asked.
«Yes maham», a henchman replied.
«All of them?», she insisted, pointing at his ankle. «Good. Now please hold him? No, both of you. He would fight his way out, otherwise.»
Two of the men grabbed him by the arms to immobilize him.
Barbara was very good at the evil bitch act, complete with the red gloves and white boa, in a perfect Cruella De Vil impersonation. Her smile was superior and confident, her eyebrows raised with just the right hint of mockery. Then her face softened into sweet innocence. It turned Jim's stomach.
«James, dear, it's so nice to see you.»
«Cut to the chase. You wanted me here? I'm here. Let Leslie go.»
She walked up to him, acting concerned.
«You're so pale, darling. Have you been taking care of yourself?» she asked, caressing his cheek.
He jerked away in revulsion, though he was kept into place by the two thugs and couldn't move his face away from her hand. The contact left his skin as clammy as if maggots had been crawling on it. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his composure.
«Where is she?»
Barbara shrugged and moved away.
«In a safe place.»
«I've said it before and I'll say it again», he sighed. «This is between you and I. You hate me. And now I'm here, so just leave her out of it. You want to kill me, go ahead.»
She blinked, startled.
«I do not hate you.»
Well it sure looks like it, you fucking lu-
Jim breathed in again.
«You don't», he repeated.
His ex stared at him with horrified worry.
«No! No, no, no! And, as a matter of fact, I do not want to kill you.»
The cop frowned, confused.
«You… Don't?» he replied, the words making no sense whatsoever. «You don't?»
Then what the hell is this about?
«Of course not, James!» she exclaimed, getting close again. «I care for you. You're a good guy.»
She ran her hand through his hair, putting it back into place, tenderly. She gazed lovingly at him.
«No, no. I wish you the best. I want you to have a long, successful life. I want you to make it to lieutenant, and captain, and even commissioner. Entirely alone», she finished, the caring mask slipping and cracking into pure malice. «Just. Like. Me.»
Jim went blind with rage. That was so unfair he did not even know where to start.
«You don't get to do this!» he shouted, forgetting about the thugs standing around them. «You left. YOU left, you crazy bitch. You don't get to whine about it. You don't get to raise hell when I replace you.»
Gilzean chuckled. Barbara looked confused for a second. Then she took a step back.
«Oh, Jim. No. No, noooo», she moaned, raising her hands in annoyance. She started pacing, aggravated. «It's not about that at all. How can you so completely miss the point?»
The cop stared at her and said nothing. If he had opened his mouth, she would have lost it on him. He at least read that, even if he understood nothing else. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself. Her face grew serious. She returned to him in slow, measured steps, and stopped in front of him.
«You took Jason from me», she accused.
Jim blanched, and gaped in disbelief.
«The one person who ever loved me», she continued, in a quiet and composed tone. «And you killed him. I told you, I told you to leave us alone, but did you listen? No. You had to win. And I know you wanted to do the right thing, I do. But it doesn't fix things, does it? You took him away from me. And I'm going to be here, every step of the way, every day of your long, successful life, returning the favor.»
His blood went cold. She meant it, and she would. It was not about Leslie at all. And sending Barbara back to Arkham would not solve the problem, because she could always bribe her way out, plead her way out, or just hire someone to do her dirty work. And while he did blame her, and blamed Lennon for what he had turned her into… Montoya had been right. He had dug his own grave. It could all have been avoided, if he had thought of keeping Barbara safe from the Ogre.
«On that note!» Barbara exclaimed, grinning.
She turned away, getting her phone from her purse. She called someone. She turned the speaker on. They could hear muffled weeping.
«Willy, dispose of the lady, will you?» she said.
«Right now?» her interlocutor replied.
«Yes, right now.»
«Okay, boss.»
There was a silence, still with the underlying sound of Leslie's sobbing, then a click. Then a gunshot. Then white noise.
«Done», the man announced.
«Thank you, Willy!» Barbara exclaimed, hanging up. She turned to Jim, grinning even more. «Ding, dong, the witch is dead. Which old witch? The wicked witch!»
For a few seconds, Jim felt nothing at all. And when he did start to feel something, it was incredulity.
«You're bluffing», he murmured. «You wouldn't have done it, you…»
«I'm sorry», she replied, rolling her eyes and digging through her purse. «Are you under the impression that I have scruples at the idea of killing people?»
He swallowed, his entire body numb. She pulled a gun out and shot one of her men in the head. The side of his skull exploded and he fell to the ground, convulsing.
«Damnit, boss!» Gilzean snapped. «What did I tell you about learning to use the damn things before trying things like that?»
«Well sometimes you don't have a choice, do you?» she retorted.
The fat man rolled his eyes and shot the injured, trashing mobster in the forehead. The remaining henchmen started hesitating, some of them protesting. Barbara whirled to the most vocal, with a scathing glare.
«The job description said you could get killed! You were warned! You knew it could happen!»
«Yeah, but we kind of thought it would be by the cop», the criminal pointed out.
The coin dropped. Jim's disbelief faded. Leslie was dead.
He shook himself free from the thugs who were restraining him, tripping one to the ground and shoving the other away, and punched Barbara in the face. He followed up by kneeing her in the stomach, threw her to the ground, and dropped down to hit her again. She laughed between each blow, blood streaming from her nose and split lip. Jim raised his hand to strike again. Gilzean pressing a gun to his temple did not stop him. It took three men to drag him away. Once they got him up, Gilzean pushed him back, gun squarely pointed at his face.
Barbara curled up, giggling and coughing. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath, then she tried to sit, moaned, and started laughing hysterically.
«You okay, boss?» Gilzean asked.
She chuckled, wiping her bloody nose with the back of her hand, then wiping her hand on her white dress. She grinned, face swollen, lip split, teeth brown with blood.
«I'm fine», she replied between coughs.
Gilzean put his gun back into his holster and went to her up. She was still giggling, even hunched over, and he was carrying her full weight.
«Drop James somewhere out of town», she ordered. «Take his shoes, take his wallet. Don't hurt him. Let's go, Butch, we're done here.»
###