The moment Gordon arrived back at the precinct, he whisked Barbara back to his office, leaving Casey alone at her desk.

She pulled her program back up. It was still going through Park Row. She sighed and returned to the cameras at Black Gate. She did her best to bring most of the them back online but she could only do so much wirelessly. Someone had to repair them on site.

"Whoa." Casey whispered after a moment of going through cameras. The guards were leading a tall man covered in green scales down the cell block. "What the hell is that?"

"Casey."

Casey yelped and jumped. Gordon returned. He stood there, arms crossed.

"Hi Captain." She tried to smile innocently while exiting the feed.

He looked at her sternly. "You know you aren't supposed to hack into other systems without approval."

"I know but Barbara was worried! And look on the bright side, I gave the guys over there a head start on repairing their system." She said cheerfully.

He shook his head and sighed. "I understand why you did it but if you've got to understand that you can't do these things all the time."

"Are you going to arrest me?" She raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"No, Casey. I'm not going to arrest you. Just watch yourself. If other people find out about you regularly hacking places, they might suspect you've been sticking your noses in places you shouldn't be."

Casey flashed back to the pile of discs hidden under her bed back in her apartment. "I know." She whispered.

"Just be careful. Barbara's really attached to you and I don't want to see her lose a friend." He finished.

"I always am." Casey smiled.

"Good. How close are you to finding Anarky? I've been meaning to touch base with you even though I'm supposed to focus all my efforts on finding Batman." He leaned down to look at the scan.

"Well, I've traced him to Old Gotham. Unfortunately, the signal cut out before I could trace it further," she explained. "So, I designed this program to look for anything like the signal Anarky used. It's been slow because there's so many buildings in Old Gotham and the weather's been interfering. But this is still our best lead."

"I'm impressed." He said.

Casey grinned. "I should have him by no later than tomorrow. Maybe sooner."

"That's great."

"There you are Gordon."

Both Gordon and Casey stiffened after hearing the voice of the newcomer. They both turned to see Howard Brenden, the leader of SWAT and arguably the second most powerful man on the force. Or was he the most powerful now that Loeb was dead? Casey repressed a shudder, she didn't want to think of a GCPD with Branden as Commissioner. She and Gordon wouldn't last long.

"Branden." Gordon straightened. "I was just discussing the Anarky case with Wilson here."

Branden didn't spare her a glance. "SWAT will handle the Anarky case. Not those on the Vigilante Task Force who aren't even capable of catching a single vigilante."

Gordon clenched his fist behind his back. Casey looked between the two men. "I'm just making sure that we'll catch at least one person tonight."

"Of course." Branden sneered.

"I've almost found him." Casey piped up. "Will your men be prepared to go tonight?"

"We're always prepared." He looked at her coldly. "C'mon, Gordon. I want to hear all about your failure at Blackgate." Branden stalked from the room.

Gordon coughed. "Keep on it Casey. And don't leave the precinct by yourself."

"Of course. I'm finding him, reporting him, and then hopefully be on my way home."

"I hope so."

Gordon left and Casey turned back to her program. She considered starting a game of solitaire when her video feed started up again. At first, she thought it was the same recording she had already saved because it started the same.

"Oppressed citizens of Gotham, your cries for help have been heard! I am Anarky—voice of the people—here to save you from the plague of corruption that now infests this once proud city! Those fired and elected to keep us free and safe—"

Casey shot straight up and stared at the video. She did not have that saved. This was a new video, streaming live right now!

She leapt into action. She pulled her program up and started triangulating between the three comm towers. "I'm going to find you, you chatty bastard."

Searching... Her computer read. "Search faster." She hissed and glanced at the feed.

"If they don't act, I will." Anarky was saying.

She had to hurry. Most of Anarky's videos were less than two minutes long. Normal traces took a lot longer than that. "Come on." She started pleading. Her trace moved from Amusement Mile to Park Row. She was so close, she could feel it.

"Now back to your regularly scheduled programming of propaganda and consumerist garbage." The feed cut.

No. She had been so close! Casey fell back in her chair and let out a loud groan of frustration and anger. She had one chance and she blew it! Who knew when the next time Anarky would air another video? And what did he mean by destroying sources of Gotham's ruin in the video? What if he hurt more people and she would be unable to stop him because she couldn't find him in time? Her eyes became teary and her throat closed. She had one job and she screwed up.

Beep. Beep.

Casey looked up at the screen. Her mouth dropped open. She leaned in closer and read: Trace completed. A red dot hovered over the old Solomon Wayne Courthouse in Park Row.

"No way." She found him.

"YES!" She shrieked and pumped her arm in the air. "Oh, Casey for the win!"

In the completely empty room, she jumped up and did a victory dance which was just a cross between awkward arm flailing and leg kicks. "I'm the best!"

She sat back down in her chair and plucked up the desk phone. And dialed in Gordon's extension. "Come on Gordon." She muttered as it rang. It ended up going to his voice mail. Where was he? Did he leave the precinct?

She frowned and walked into the bullpen. "Do you know where Captain Gordon is?" She asked one of the officers seated at their desk.

The man didn't look up. "He went to check out a lead on a murder in the Diamond District. Someone sent an anonymous tip in."

"Thanks." Casey said begrudgingly and went back to her desk.

With Gordon in the field, she was left with one other person to call. And he was the absolute last person she ever wanted to call. But she had no other choice. Especially if Anarky made good on his promise to destroy places in Gotham.

She dialed the number and winced.

"Branden." The voice was short and clipped.

"Branden. It's Wilson in Cyber Crimes. I'm calling to let you know I have a location on the criminal known as Anarky. He's in the Solomon Wayne Courthouse in Park Row."

"And?" He replied coolly.

A cold feeling descended over her and she swallowed heavily. "I just got another fresh feed from him, sir." She said. "Anarky stated he's going to destroy places in Gotham tonight. In my personal opinion, that makes him a threat."

There was a brief moment of silence. "Alright, Wilson." Branden said at last. "We'll meet you in the field."

Casey froze. "W-what?" She squeaked. She coughed and said again, "what?"

"I want you in the field." He repeated.

"But I don't have training for the field!" She argued. "I don't even have a gun."

"So?" He replied.

Her mouth went dry. "But I—"

"Wilson, no arguing. SWAT will meet you at the courthouse for diagnostics."

Before she could say anything else, he hung up. Casey's mouth hung open. Diagnostics? Really? He couldn't have thought of something that was less bullshit-sounding?

Now she found herself in a dilemma. Did she follow Branden's orders and leave or stay and suffer his wrath? She knew Branden didn't like her but she never thought he would actually try to throw her in harm's way.

Even if Anarky or his followers killed her, the weather would. Snow still fell down constantly and the roads would be slick.

"Okay." She made up her mind. She opened her desk drawer and pulled out her phone and bag. If she wanted to stay on Branden's relatively good side, she had no choice but to head out. She put her black pea coat on and buttoned up.

Her plan was to go out there, meet Branden, and stay out the way. SWAT was armed to the teeth with the latest gear (illegally obtained, Casey guessed. There was no way Loeb could fund them like that legally.) She'll go with Branden's scare tactic. There's no way he'd do something drastic... Right?

"If Captain Gordon comes back," Casey said to the desk worker as she left the bullpen, jamming her beanie hat (gray with an owl face on the front—complete with little owl ear tufts on the top—a birthday gift from Barbara) on her head as she went, "tell him I'm at the old courthouse with Branden. We're following a lead on Anarky."

He looked at her, puzzled, and Casey shrugged her shoulders. "I will." He said. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Casey mumbled. She slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the GCPD.

She entered the parking ramps, walking quickly to her bright yellow car. Yellow wasn't the best idea as a color for a car but her mother bought it for her when she graduated college. It was her favorite color but it was too easy to pick out.

For the past three years, she'd dealt with busted headlights and slashed tires. Last year, she had to get it repainted because someone keyed it. That was fun.

She unlocked the car and slid in. Let's do this.

-x-

At close to 10:30, she pulled into a parking lot a couple streets over from the courthouse. She didn't see any SWAT members on her way over but she wasn't exactly looking around while driving there. She focused on the road and only the road. They were horrid and more than once, she skidded around corners.

By the time she crossed over the Pioneer's Bridge, she regretted leaving the precinct more than ever.

She exited the lot and set off towards the courthouse, keeping an eye out for Branden or any member of SWAT. She had to be right, he was in there somewhere.

The Solomon Wayne Courthouse was abandoned in favor of a new, larger courthouse down in the Diamond district where Loeb had better control. After all, who'd want to travel all the way into Old Gotham for a trial?

But it still looked well-kept on the outside, she noted as she peered at it from around the corner. There were people milling around the steps wearing white masks—they had to be Anarky followers. She looked around again, where was Branden?

She looked down the street for any sign of SWAT but saw nothing. The bad feeling she had earlier started to return. This wasn't good.

She checked the group of men on the courthouse steps. None of them seemed to be looking her direction and she took the opportunity to dash across the street into another alleyway. Branden could be waiting somewhere else, she thought hopefully.

The alleyway was large and seemed to lead to the back of the courthouse (where Casey hoped there were no Anarky goons and where Branden could be) but a large gate spanned the entrance, blocking her way.

There were two options, continue to wait here for Branden or climb over the fence and look for him. The obvious answer was to wait where she was now but against common sense, she jumped up and grabbed the top of the gate.

She had never been the most athletic person having spent most of her teenage and adult life sitting in front of a computer screen. She struggled to pull herself up and flailed her legs, trying to get leverage. Finally, she manged to hook a leg over the side and ungracefully fell over the side of the fence. She let out a loud shriek in pain and surprise when she painfully hit the concrete. She brought a gloved hand to her mouth as if it would take the noise back.

Casey scrambled to her feet and retreated further into the alley but no one came to investigate. With a sigh of relief, she turned around and found herself in an open space between buildings. There were stairs leading to upwards to a walkway bordering the water and to her right, she saw the courtyard outside the courthouse... blocked by another gate.

Her back throbbed at the sight. But there was no other way around, the walkway led away from the courthouse, unless Casey wanted to chance climbing the buildings. But, she eyed the window sills on the building in front of her, the snow still came down and made everything slick. One wrong move and she'd fall down and break her neck.

Climbing over the second fence it is, then. Casey jumped up and grabbed hold of the top of the fence and worked on getting to the other side. This time, she was ready when she fell to the ground. She braced herself as she hit the concrete, thankful for the snow to brace her fall, and only a grunt escaped her.

She carefully picked herself up and brushed the snow off her coat. But when she looked up, she stopped. There was another gate in front of her. In fact, she was standing in a gated courtyard next to the courthouse. And beyond that, she could make out figures standing behind the courthouse and none of them looked like SWAT members.

Casey's heart sank. She went through all that trouble for nothing. She turned, preparing for another struggle climbing over the gate when, "hey, you!"

Someone spotted her. A few men from the group in the back broke off and headed for the gate. Casey wildly turned back hoping to clamber over the gate again but there was a screeching noise behind her.

It had never occurred to her that the gates could open. As the men came closer, Casey's heart sank deeper and deeper until it settled in her stomach. From here, she could easily see the white masks and red anarchy symbols on their clothes.

Hesitantly, she held her hands up in surrender.

"Who're you?" The one closest to her demanded.

Was it better to answer or remain silent? Casey chose the latter, keeping her mouth firmly shut.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" He said angrily. And in the next moment, he waved a knife in her face. "I'll cut you." He threatened.

She jumped at the sight. "I—I got got lost." Casey said wildly, trying to think up an excuse. "I took a wrong turn."

Even to her, that sounded stupid. And one of the others thought so too. He snorted loudly. "And what, you hopped the fence as a wrong turn?"

A third spoke up. "Why don't we take her in to see the boss? He'll know what to do with her."

"What for? We could just kill her and dump her over the edge into the water." The first retorted and Casey trembled at his words.

"Anarky said we shouldn't spill innocent blood!" The third argued. "We bring her in to see him and he can determine if she's innocent or not."

The first was silent but then he nodded. "Fine. Let's go." He brandished the knife again. "Walk forward and no funny business. Do you have weapons on you?"

Casey shook her head. You are so stupid, Casey. She thought to herself as one patted her down. He lingered on her bottom a bit too longer than she liked and let out a squeak of discomfort. "Nothing." He reported and grasped her arm and escorted her inside. So, so stupid.

The inside of the courthouse was a mess. There was graffiti on the walls, and broken chairs and garbage piled in corners. And even a bench with discarded pillows on it. Someone had been living here.

"Inside." The one holding her arm said gruffly and threw the doors open.

She was standing in the middle of the courthouse (while the outside looked well-cared for, the inside was more of a mess with all the graffiti and missing floor pieces,) surrounded by more Anarky goons.

"Well, well, well." Someone said above her and she looked up to see the man she had been tasked with finding: Anarky.

Well, I found him. Casey thought grimly. Just not in the way I had hoped.

"I was expecting someone else but this is a bit of a surprise." Anarky said and looked down at her.

"We found her sneaking around in the courtyard." One said.

"So you did. Go back outside and keep guard. I'll deal with this one."

Three men broke off and headed back out the door. Casey took the moment to look for an escape and, unless she was willing to dive through one of the windows, found none.

"So, you found me. I knew it would be a matter of time before the GCPD found their way to my base. I had hoped the police would be out of my way by now but something prevented that from happening." Anarky shook his head. "But the GCPD sent only a lowly analyst with no gun? How arrogant of them."

In that moment, Casey understood. Branden never meant to meet her out here. He never intended to come. He sent her here, hoping that she'd meet an untimely end.

"Backup is on their way here." She lied. "You managed to evade the police but we found you in the end. Your terrorism is going to stop."

Anarky laughed. "A little melodramatic but you've always had a taste for being a little over the top, Casey."

Casey was stunned. He knew her name?

"I will admit, I was slightly disappointed when you decided to use your talent in computers for the GCPD. Out of everything you could have done, you sold yourself to the most corrupt police force in the country. I expected better from you."

And then it clicked. She knew why he sounded familiar.

"Lonnie?" She asked, stunned. "Lonnie Machin?"

Though he was a couple grades below her, Lonnie Machin worked in the tech department at Gotham High with her during her senior year. He was a scraggly kid who never shut up about his stupid overseas pen-pal. But he was good with computers and they let him help out in IT.

"Took you long enough, Casey. At first, I was worried when I heard they assigned you to find me but I guess I never made much of an impression on you, did I?"

Nope, Casey recalled. At most, they spoke briefly but the most she said to him was "Shut up, Lonnie."

"Oh well, it's not like you have long to live anyway. After all, Gotham must be wiped clean of corruption—"

The door behind her swung open again and Anarky stopped speaking at once. "Ah!" He said fondly at the newcomer. "I'm so glad you came."

Casey turned around and her mouth dropped open.

It was him. Standing there, wearing black armor, a mask, and a black cape was none other than Batman. She knew he existed from the reports at the precinct but this was her first time seeing him in the flesh. She could hardly believe it.

"It's an honor, really," Anarky was saying. "There's so much for us to discuss."

"What do you want?" The Batman's voice was deeper than Casey expected, and rugged too. He didn't spare anyone a glance, he just looked—glared really—at Anarky. Casey took that opportunity to edge away. If a fight ensued, she didn't want to be in the middle of it.

"I'd like to propose an alliance. I think the two of us could accomplish great things together." Anarky said smoothly.

"I don't work with criminals." At this, the men surrounded Batman gripped their weapons threateningly. "You need to turn yourself in."

Anarky crossed his arms and scoffed. "Tell you what, I'll turn myself in as soon as you do the same. But you don't consider yourself a criminal, do you? The suit. The gadgets. The sense of entitlement. You're just another rich kid atoning for his fiscal sins." He motioned to the men surrounded Batman. "Such a shame."

The one closest swung a lead pipe at Batman's head and without even looking it caught it mid-swing, and landed a series of punches and blows to the man.

Casey sprinted over to the farthest corner away from the fight, to stay out of the way, but her eyes never left Batman's form. He made fighting look so easy. He seemed to be one step ahead of the mob attacking him. Every punch was countered, pipes were yanked out of their hands and broken, and once or twice, Casey heard the crack of bones being broken.

As the last man was taken down with a broken leg and left to moan in pain of the floor, he turned back to Anarky. "It's over." He said calmly.

"Not quite!" More men jumped down and Anarky joined them, holding a stun stick aloft.

If she'd been Anarky and watched Batman wipe the floor with her men, she'd be out the door running. She winced a couple more times as he moved around the room, fighting effortlessly—none of them seemed able to touch him. Whenever Anarky came close, swinging his electric baton, Batman would jump over him and kick him down.

Finally, after all the goons were taken out, Batman landed one last hit on Anarky. He crumbled to the ground and Batman approached, kicking the baton out of his reach. He grabbed Anarky by the collar and pulled his mask off. "You're just a kid." Batman sounded off-put as he let go.

"So?" Anarky snarled. "What does it matter? I wanted to make a difference. I thought you'd feel the same."

"I do." Batman's voice was steely. "But not like this. A lot of innocent people almost died tonight because of you."

"Innocent?" Anarky yelled, enraged. "They watched as Gotham went to hell and didn't do a thing."

Didn't do a thing? Most of them couldn't do a thing. Not with people like Black Mask and Branden keeping everyone afraid with their cruelty and power.

Batman, as if sensing Casey's thoughts, said, "They're just afraid."

"No! They're weak! And so're you!"

Batman seemed to decide their conversation was over. He grabbed Anarky and when he let go, his wrists were tied together. "The GCPD will come get you shortly." He informed Anarky. Anarky didn't reply.

Casey decided now would be the best time to move. She stood up, brushing dust off her coat. But she almost froze when Batman turned to her. "Uh, hi!" She squeaked and nervously smiled. But the smile quickly slide of her face as Batman just looked at her impassively.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"Uh well," she rubbed her back of her head nervously. "I'm Casey Wilson, I'm with the GCPD. Branden told me he'd be here and as you can see," she gestured to the room, "he's not."

"Next time you have the opportunity to catch someone, radio Captain Gordon." He informed her.

"I tried but he was off doing something else and I couldn't get a hold of him."She tried smiling but it seem to freeze on her face.

He was so intimidating, standing there in his black suit. If she was a criminal and saw something like him come for her in the night, she'd wet herself, cry, and pass out.

On the floor, Anarky snorted. "Captain Gordon. I gave him a chance to get out but he'd rather sell his services to corrupt bureaucrats. This city disgusts me."

"Oh my god, shut up Lonnie!" Casey snapped.

Batman ignored them both and headed for the back door, no doubt going to find more crime-doers.

"Wait!" Casey called, chasing after him. But when he turned to her, she stopped. He has pretty eyes, she thought. They were light blue that were piercing thanks to the black cowl.

"Uh..." She fumbled around for words. "Thank you." She finally blurted. "We've been trying to get him for months. And..." she flushed, "no matter what my bosses say about you, I think you're really what Gotham needs."

Batman didn't say anything but he merely nodded and left.

On the floor, Anarky sniggered. "Oh yeah, a man like him is exactly what Gotham needs. He'll just lock up the criminals and wait for them to escape again so he can go after them. He's won't do what's necessary to end the crime in Gotham. He's weak."

"Shut up, Lonnie!"

-x-

Batman didn't waste any time getting back into the Batwing and heading off for Lacey Towers in the Coventry District. He open the communication channel between him and Alfred. "Send an anonymous tip to the GCPD about Anarky's capture." He told Alfred.

"At once, sir."

"And do one more thing for me. Find all the information you can about one Casey Wilson in the GCPD."

"May I ask why, sir?"

"She was in the courthouse with Anarky."

"And you're trying to see where she falls in the way of justice?" Alfred asked. "Ah, here we go. Casey Rebecca Wilson. She is a senior analyst in the Cyber Crime Division in the GCPD. And it seems she was tasked with tracking down Anarky two months ago. That might explain why she was there."

"Anything else?"

"No, it seems her record is clean. I believe she followed Captain Gordon's stance against corruption in the force. She's not very popular amongst her peers. I have notes of various death threats made against her. And there was even one incident with a cat... oh dear. That's repulsive."

"What?"

"Someone stole her cat and returned it to her with its innards strewn all over her front door."

Any suspicions Batman had of her being with the mob dissipated with that last comment. She was honestly trying to do her job. And besides, no one affiliated with the mob would ever go outside wearing that ridiculous owl-shaped hat.

"Thanks Alfred. That's all I need." He was approaching Lacey Towers now. The murder there, needed his attention.

-x-

The moment Anarky was led out of the courthouse and into a police cruiser, Gordon turned his full I-can't-believe-you-did-this-I'm-so-disappointed-in-you-explain-yourself-now face on her.

Casey took a precuation step back. "I can totally explain." She blurted.

"I managed to track Anarky down and I tried to reach you but I couldn't get through so I had no choice but to call Brandon because it sounded like Anarky was going to do something really bad and Brandon told me he'd meet me in the field and he wanted me out there," she babbled, "so I decided I would meet him out in an alley."

"But I made absolutely sure to tell someone where I went in case you came back because I was suspicious of Branden. And Brandon wasn't outside when I got here so I tried to find him but Anarkey's guys found me instead and brought me inside and then I realized why he was so familiar because he went to the same high school as me, though a couple grades younger. His name's Lonnie Machin, by the way. But Batman came and beat everyone up and I saw him. He's real, Gordon! He made real short work of everyone in there, you should have seen him! It was like something out of a kung-fu movie and—"

"That's enough Casey." Gordon held his hands up. "I figured Brandon was behind this when I got the call from you. I'm disappointed that you listened to him and came out here, you could've gotten yourself killed. But, you found Anarky and helped bring him in without killing yourself."

He led her out of the courthouse and over to his own police cruiser.

"My car's over there." Casey feebly pointed down the street.

"We'll get it when this storm's over. It's probably halfway buried by now." Gordon replied. "And I don't want you driving in this."

"I made it over here, didn't I?" Casey said, indignant. She didn't tell him she almost died a couple times.

"Yeah and the roads are getting more slippery and dangerous by the hour. I'm taking you back to the station so you can file a report and then I'm taking you home."

-x-

And that wraps up chapter three! The night is just getting started. Will Casey be able to go home like Gordon wants or will obstacles get in her way? Stay tuned!

Next chapter, Batman investigates Lacey Towers and infiltrates the GCPD. Perhaps a second meeting will occur?

Nevertheless, Batman and Casey haven't seen the last of each other.

Reviews, favorites, and follows are love. See ya in chapter four!