Happy snowzilla to everyone on the Northeast coast on the U.S. of A. Here's an update. Thanks for the feedback, as always! :)

(x)

Jim tried selling it. Captain Barnes wasn't buying it. "The link to the Veteran's Services is a good start, but you call the press now? We'd be rolling out the red carpet for mass hysteria. Thousands of people, veterans and their families, are seen there everyday for counseling.

What would we even tell the clients of veteran's services in Gotham to avoid? Don't sip your coffee. Don't take your meds. Don't move until we return with more applicable details and information? No. We need more." He turned to go and then turned back. "By the way, speaking of mental health services, how was-"

"Session went fine," Jim answered. "Next one's scheduled on Monday."

Barnes lightly clapped Jim on the back, an unspoken 'atta boy'. "As far as your open case goes, find more. Find it fast."

"We're on it." Jim stepped back down the stairs quickly, when he heard Selina Kyle call out,

"Hey, Gordon."

He closed his eyes momentarily before turning to address her. She sat, kicked back, looking comfortable as ever, hands still behind her back. "That get out of jail free card still up for grabs?"

Jim made his way over to her. "That depends. What can you tell me?"

"Word is there was some guy talking about this job he got offered. Someone wanted him to start collecting people off the street."

He neared her. "What kind of people?"

Selina shrugged. "I don't know." Something came across her face, and then disappeared just as quickly. "People no one else would miss if they were just … gone."

"What did they want these people for?"

"All I know is the guy I talked to said it had something to do with bad chemicals."

Jim frowned. "What sort of bad chemicals? Who asked him to start collecting people in the first place?"

She gave him a look. "Let me check my notebook. … How the heck should I know?"

Jim only half-hid the rolling of his eyes. "This guy got a name?"

"Yeah," she said. "It's Jack Gruber."

Jim's eyes widened. He felt the room go very still. "If this is an attempt at comedy, it's not funny."

Selina blinked at him and said, "I'm not joking."

"You're serious?"

She lifted her head importantly. "That's what my intel told me." She flipped back her hair, stood up, and presented her handcuffs in one swift motion. "But that's all I know. You wanna know where he is, you're gonna have to get it outta somebody else they hauled in here."

Jim accepted the handcuffs from her and said, "I know where he is."

"Yeah. Where's that?" Selina asked.

Jim sighed and said, "The same place I left him."

Selina ambled away. "Tell Tons of Fun thanks for the ride in the squad car."

He found himself saying, "They come free with every arrest." Selina slipped out the door, and Jim walked purposefully back to his and Harvey's desks.

Harvey set down his phone on the receiver. When he complained, he had more energy in his voice. "First it's the asshat down at records. Now it's a buncha nuthouse crazy shrinks won't answer their phones." When he looked up, he did a double take. He recognized the look on Jim's face. "You got something."

"Yeah," Jim said, surprised to hear himself saying it. "I got something."

"From your CI."

"Not my CI," Jim reminded him.

"Jim, if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, quacks like a duck…"

He thought, 'Then it's a Cat.' But he said, "Jack Gruber."

Harvey frowned, looking at Jim like he'd just implied that his third head needed a haircut. "That dirtbag with the electricity fetish. What about him? We put that nutjob away."

"Word has it …" Jim couldn't believe his statement started with those words. "He might know where all these people who 'left town' really ended up. It might have something to do with using or experimenting with bad chemicals."

"I don't know, partner. It's thin."

He motioned towards the Captain's office. "C'mon. We're back upstairs."

Harvey said, "Ten to one, he says it's thin."

(x)

Captain Barnes frowned at both Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock. "I don't know. It's thin."

Harvey nodded Jim a crisp 'told ya'.

Jim said, "My source has come through for us in the past. I don't have any reason not to trust her word on this."

Barnes chewed on the information and said, "Bad chemicals. You think that means this drug in the bodies of your vics?"

Jim said, "It's like Lee said. This drug isn't recreational. It's a chemical destroying the mind of anyone who takes it."

Barnes sighed and said, "Okay, I'll call the director over at Arkham and get you two an interrogation with Jack Gruber, Jack Buchinsky, whatever he calls himself these days. But we're only spending time on this because we know exactly where this lead is. For once."

They were dismissed, and Jim said to Harvey, "Stick close. We'll be on the road in no time."

He said, "Yeah, last time I checked it's not like the batshit crazy criminals of this city have much penciled into their daily schedule."

Jim sat back down at his desk. He toyed with the idea of going back over the reports he wrote on Jack Gruber's capture. Couldn't hurt. It had been months since he'd reviewed the case file.

He heard the familiar sound of clip-clopping heels approaching. That sound was followed by the slap of folders hitting a desk. Jim looked up into the face of Dr. Madeline Scott. Then he stared back down at Harvey's desk. The tabs of the folders read 'Yanagi' and then 'Torres'.

Madeline said simply, "You're welcome."

Harvey elected not to show any particular sign of gratitude. He said, "Aren't they keeping you busy enough around here without you needing to play office intern to pass the time?"

Madeline said, "It turns out I met Torres' therapist at a training a couple years ago. Figured I'd run a little interference."

"How'd you know I needed 'em in the first place?"

She smiled, saccharine sweet. "Must have been something I overheard."

Jim read between the lines. There wasn't an officer in the place that couldn't have won the prize behind door number one for answering 'Who's at the top of Bullock's short list today?' Yesterday it was Madeline. Today it was the "freakin' ridiculous" psychiatrists.

Harvey looked over at Jim and said, "Yeah, I hear there's a lot of that going on around here lately."

Jim patted his lips dryly in response.

She asked, "So how's the case coming?"

Harvey said easily, "Oh, I think we can file this one under 'gigantic flaming ball of crap'." He looked at her. "Unless you've got anything new for us?"

Madeline leaned against the black metal railing, making herself comfortable. "You know, according to those documents, both Torres and Yanagi were receiving similar treatment. They'd both been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder within the last month or so."

Jim leaned in closer to her, drawn in by the conversation. "Is that uncommon? They were both being seen by Veteran's Services. No doubt plenty of their soldiers come home with those symptoms."

Madeline nodded. "That's true. Both men no doubt saw things that you just can't unsee. But it seems only recently they came in for treatment. Which to be honest really isn't that unusual either. It's not like most people just can't wait to be seen by a therapist."

No kidding, he almost said. Jim thought about all the possible roads he could take, different questions he could ask. It would have entailed explaining the details and purpose of the drug to Madeline, and Jim realized that he wasn't sure that he wanted his therapist having front row seat to both his work life and his private life. He also knew his best chance of keeping the city's residents alive was to take advantage of every possible medical perspective in this case. He would have started asking Madeline questions, if Captain Barnes hadn't approached their desks, interrupting their discussion.

Barnes announced, "I just got off the phone with the head psychiatrist at Arkham. He talked to Gruber to let him know he should be expecting you." Barnes set his stare on Madeline. "He says he wants to talk to you."

Jim moved to look the Captain in the eye. "Sir? Who does he want to talk to? Me or Harvey?"

"Neither of you." He looked back at Madeline. "He's requesting to speak with you, Dr. Scott. He says if we put him in a room with anyone else he's not gonna say a word."

Jim watched the news hit Madeline. Confusion set up camp on her face. Then Jim's attention turned to his partner. Harvey's jawline tightened and his face hardened.

His partner quickly said, "You just get me in that room with Gruber, Cap. He's gonna say a whole lot more than he thinks."

Barnes shot Harvey a stare. "The rules aren't new, Bullock. You're just not used to hearing them enforced. We do all interrogations by the book, especially when it concerns collaborating with the other institutions."

"Right," Harvey said, an edge to his voice. "Because there's no institution that respects the dignity and rights of nutcases like a lockup for the criminally insane."

Dr. Scott spoke up. "You said this person wants to talk to me? And his name was…"

"Gruber," Barnes said. "After the phone call with the warden, I took a look at his file. You knew him by a different name. Jack Buchinsky."

She was all but struck by the spoken name. "Yes," she said softly. "I treated him when I worked as a therapist for Blackgate Penitentiary, six or seven years ago. Back when they had an in-house therapy program anyway." She looked confused again and said, "Wait, how would he even know I'm here?"

Jim put it together quick. "Turns out the one thing they do let you do in the psych ward is watch daytime television."

Barnes must have absorbed the information from Gruber's file well, because he said, "His treatment with you progressed for two years. In that time, did you establish any kind of connection with him?"

Dr. Scott replied, "As much as anyone can establish a connection with a criminal who has psychotic traits, a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, a rap sheet including rape and murder, and frankly an acute case of assholism."

Harvey couldn't seem to help himself. "Is that the same or just similar to jackassitis?"

She sent him a warning stare.

"None the less," Barnes said. "It would seem he believes he did develop a therapeutic relationship with you. If he's asking to speak with you now."

She sighed and said, "I can see how it might look that way. But, I ended his therapy abruptly. It wasn't my finest moment. My best guess is he'd like to share a few words with me on that."

Jim spoke up. "We believe he may have information regarding this case we're working. A source of mine said that he knows about this drug that was slipped to Yanagi and Torres."

Madeline looked at Jim. "You think he might know who's responsible."

Jim nodded once.

Barnes kept the conversation on point. "Dr. Scott, in your professional opinion, do you have any reason to believe that if you talked with Jack Gruber that it would further our investigation of this case?"

She said decisively, "Yes, I do."

Jim, Harvey, and Barnes all stood momentarily surprised by the answer.

Madeline continued, "Over two years, I did learn to understand some things about him. I can't make any promises, but if it could help stop anyone else from being killed by this drug, I'll talk to him."

And with that, Harvey Bullock had enough. "Like hell you are."

Madeline spoke softly, as if trying to reason with him. "Harvey…"

Harvey turned to Barnes. "Cap, we've tried playing along and trying to talk sense into crazy before. Look at what happened with Barbara Kean. No offense, Jim."

Madeline and Jim shared a glance. Madeline looked away.

Barnes said, "Barbara Kean left the station, under your watch I might add. Gruber's in a locked down facility, monitored heavily by camera surveillance and armed guards, who as you suggested are just looking for a reason to take someone down."

Harvey said, "Believe me when I say this is going to be is a fantastic waste of time. We don't need it. We've got other leads."

Barnes challenged him. "What other leads?"

He rephrased. "We will get other leads. Just get us back out there on the streets. Let us work."

"Save it, Bullock. You'll be back out there in a matter of hours." Barnes made his decision. "But we investigate this first."

It seemed to take all of Harvey's mental energy to keep his mouth shut.

Jim asked, "When do we leave?"

Barnes looked down at his watch. "Right now. Dr. Scott, you'll need to be debriefed and read up on the Jack Gruber case file before we arrive."

Madeline looked from Harvey, to Jim, and finally she looked at Barnes. She decided, "I'll ride with you." She followed Barnes upstairs, no doubt to receive the Jack Gruber file and collect her briefcase.

Jim said, "Harvey, you know this is our best lead."

He relented. "Yeah. I know."

"So, why do I get the feeling from you that you'd rather be dusting off closed files in records than seeing this interrogation with Gruber happen?"

Harvey ran his fingers through his hair.

Jim realized the answer and spoke it aloud, "Right. Like you said. It's complicated."

He got himself together and they headed out to their car. "Believe me, Jim, when I say you have no idea."