A high-pitched cackle and yellowing teeth behind a wide, red grin. Hands around her throat, choking her. She's dying and she can't stop it. Casey lifts her eyes and she see green, green, green laughing in mirth over her pain and misery. She opens her mouth to scream but she has no air—
Casey shot out of bed, soaked in sweat, and fell to the floor, landing painfully on her shoulder. She lay there for a few minutes, breathing heavily and staring at the ceiling.
What time was it? She rolled up and grabbed her phone off her nightstand. 6:25 AM. She didn't have to get up for another hour. But she didn't want to go back to bed, not after that nightmare.
She stood up and rubbed out her sore spots from her fitful sleep, making sure to work on her shoulder. Three days since Blackgate and Casey still hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep. Probably still in shock, it was a big night, she tried to reason with herself. She watched someone die right before her eyes and nearly died herself. Someone did not get over that in a day.
But all she wanted was one night without nightmares or laughing haunting her mind because the stress was starting to build up.
Casey put a pot of coffee on and turned the TV on in time to catch the early morning news. It was the same old, same old thing since Christmas. Charities and donations by a Frerris Boyle jump-started the construction on the bridge. The last of the debris on the bridge should be gone by the end of today, the reports said. Then construction would begin to fix the damage but because of the weather, the bridge wouldn't be fixed until march at the latest. Which was going to make things very difficult for people when crossing between Old Gotham and New Gotham.
But as long as the bay didn't ice over, there would be ferries taking people back and forth until the bridge was finished.
"Taxi companies are probably having a heyday," Casey muttered as she dumped a load of creamer into her coffee. She took a large sip and sighed happily as the hazelnut taste washed over her tongue.
As she walked back to her couch, her eyes rested on the corner where her computer used to be. Yesterday, an Internal Affairs tech team came and took it for their investigation. They reassured her she would have it back in one piece when they finished going through it and checking all her files carefully.
Casey had made it easy on them and didn't snark at them or bemoan the loss of her computer. She knew they were just doing her jobs and if she cooperated, the investigation would go smoothly and it would put her in a better light.
In fact, her first interview was today. She was supposed to be at the precinct at nine to meet with whomever was leading the investigation. Good thing too, she was starting to get restless staying in her apartment without anything to do besides daytime tv.
She finished her coffee and hopped into the shower. After, she blow dried her hair and dressed in jeans and a green sweatshirt. She jammed her owl hat on her head and bypassed her collection of scarves. She slung a pair of boots on and grabbed her bag and keys and then she was out the door.
-x-
The ferry system wasn't as fine-tuned as Casey would have hoped. There were long lines and a lot of complaining people as they waited out in the cold. But what else could they do? There weren't any trains or anything in Gotham. What a shame too because Gotham could use something like that.
She managed to squeeze onto a ferry and stood by the exit. She rocked from side to side and hugged her bag to her chest.
Being by the exit, she was one of the first people off. Now her next challenge was finding a taxi. But as she walked up the street looking for a familiar yellow cab when she heard someone call her name. Casey looked down the street and saw Gordon waving at her.
She jogged over to him. "What are you doing here," she asked breathlessly.
"Figured you might need a ride to the station," he replied as they got into his cruiser.
"Thanks," Casey said. "I had no idea the traffic was this bad."
"Saying the morning commute has been hell is an understatement. I've got police officers stationed here because we've been having fights break out over taxis and getting on ferries."
"Oh, that sounds like fun."
He laughed. "Based on what we experienced over Christmas, I'll take this stuff over that insanity."
"You have a point."
"Did you ever find your car?"
Casey nodded. "Yeah, I dug it out yesterday afternoon. Not a scratch on it but took a couple tries to get it to start. Probably because of the weather."
"That's good."
The rest of the ride was silent until Gordon pulled into the precinct. "Listen, Casey," he started. "I'm sorry about the investigation. But IA's fair and they should treat you well. I believe that you weren't aware of what Nashton was doing. And I'm sure IA will see that too."
"Thanks Gordon," Casey said and got out of the car.
They headed in. "This place looks much better than it did on Christmas," she remarked.
"Most of the damage was in the holding cells. They're under repair right now but I was told that we'd be able to use them again by next week," Gordon said as he led Casey down a hallway.
He took her to an interview room and told her to wait in there. Casey sat down in the chair and took her coat off. This was her first time actually being in an interview room and even so, she never would have thought it would be her on the other side of the table.
She didn't have to wait long until the door opened again. A handsome man wearing a crisp, gray suit and blue tie entered. His hair was neatly done and parted and he had dark brown eyes. "Casey Wilson," He asked and she nodded. "I'm Harvey Dent. I'll be handling this case so we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the upcoming weeks."
They shook hands and he sat down in the chair across from her. "This conversation will be recorded," he said and pressed play. "December 28th, nine AM. First interview with Casey Wilson in the Edward Nashton Case. So tell me, Casey, how long have you worked for Edward Nashton?"
"Just a few months. He hasn't been head of the Cyber Crime Division long."
"And did Nashton say or do anything suspicious during that time?"
Casey shook her head. "No. He gave me assignments and we had idle chit-chat every now and then. He kept to himself like everyone else."
"Everyone else?"
"Working in Cyber Crimes mean you spend most of your time sitting in front of a computer going over codes, websites, emails, and so on. There isn't time to socialize with people when you're reading through tons of stuff." Which was true. No one ever really interacted with one another in their division because of the amount of detail they had to pay attention to.
"But you managed to keep a relationship with Jim Gordon's daughter, Barbara?" Harvey asked coolly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Did you ever use Barbara to get information on or from Jim Gordon to pass to your boss? We found some files in Nashton's computer that told us he was watching Gordon."
"What? No!" Casey protested. "Barbara and I never discussed my work. And I never asked her about what her dad was doing."
"It's kind of alarming to see a twenty-five year old hang out with a fifteen year old."
Casey flushed. "Barbara and I are friends," she said. "She's interested in computers so she hangs around a lot. We bonded over our mutual love for coding. But I've never showed her anything classified."
Harvey nodded. "Alright. Has Nashton ever shared any of his work with you? Did he ever tell you why he was giving you these assignments?"
"No. Like I said, he kept to himself in his office most of the time. And all of his assignments did not seem suspicious in any way."
"Like being assigned to find Lonnie Machin, also known as Anarky, after he threatened Jim Gordon? Why were you assigned that case?"
"I'm a senior analyst. I'm qualified in those kinds of cases. Edward told me he was working on his own projects and didn't have time for such a case." She remembered she had been really excited when she was handed the case. She had never tracked down a terrorist before.
"Uh-huh. And Nashton never told you to hand anything pertaining to your cases to him?"
"Well, I hand all my files to him and Loeb at the end of the day. They are my bosses. I don't know what they do with it afterwords… or if it even remains in the system." Casey could have slapped herself. That was not something she should have said.
"Explain."
Casey sighed heavily. "It was a well-known fact around here that Loeb was on Sionis's payroll. Anything incriminating that could put Loeb, Sionis, or any of Sionis's allies mysteriously disappeared from the system. Sometimes just days after the evidence came to light."
Harvey raised a brow. "Did you suspect Nashton having something to do with it."
Casey hesitated. Now that Harvey mentioned it, she should have suspected Edward. He was the one who had full access to the database but all this time she thought it was Loeb himself or someone else working for Sionis.
"No," she said truthfully. "I never thought it was Edward."
Harvey reached over and turned off the recorder. "I think I have enough for today. I should get the results of the searches on your home and work computers in a couple days. We'll schedule another interview after that."
"Sure," Casey said.
He shook her hand again and said, "Off the record though, I think you have a strong case."
She perked up. "You do?"
"I do. But I can't let that bias get in the way of my investigation, you understand. I'm going to look at all the facts before I make a decision."
Her shoulders slumped. "Of course."
Harvey shuffled his papers back into his briefcase and let Casey and himself out of the interview room. "I trust you have a way home?" He asked her.
"Uhh…" Casey trailed off stupidly. "I can probably catch a taxi or something."
"Good, good." Harvey nodded and walked off.
She, on the other hand, headed for the bullpen. She hoped that Gordon was still around and he could give her a lift.
But she found he was not in his office. That's alright, she thought. She could just get a taxi like she said or hoof it to the ferry.
She walked through the room and ignored the stares and whispers directed at her. She knew people would be talking about the disgraced cyber crime division. But it didn't make her feel any less horrible when she saw a few people give her dirty looks.
A hand grabbed her arm and she halted to a stop. "So Wilson," an officer by the name of Burke sneered at her. "All this time we thought you didn't want a taste but you were in Sionis's pocket, anyway."
Burke had been one of Loeb's biggest lackeys. He was a "Class A Jerk" as Casey called him behind his back.
She jerked out of his hold. "I wasn't," she said hotly. "I never took any bribes."
He smirked and rolled his eyes. "Sure you didn't. What did you get out of the arrangement? A couple fucks in a hotel somewhere? I heard Sionis had a few girlfriends on the side." He grinned at her unpleasantly. "What would it take to get you in that same position?"
Hot, white anger ripped through her and she could've slapped Burke. But instead she curled her first and snarled "fuck off," at him and stormed away from him. Behind her, she could hear him laughing at her and the back of her neck burned. She knew she hadn't see the last of him.
She exited the building and walked down the front steps. The wind bit at her face but she paid it no mind. She was too furious and upset to think about anything else.
Why her? Out of everyone in Gotham, why was she the one to get singled out? Hadn't she been through enough when she was a teenager? She groaned and rubbed her temples.
"Rough morning?" Someone next to her asked.
She barely gave the guy a glance. "Buddy, you have no idea," she muttered. "I swear, I have no idea why these people exist when the only people they serve are themselves."
"I know what you mean. Just earlier I was in there asking about damages done to my office building from the explosion on Christmas Eve. Completely unhelpful. Guess I should have done what my butler suggested and called my lawyer first."
Wait a second, butler? Casey looked at the stranger and her jaw dropped. She knew him even though she never met him.
There was no mistaking the dark hair and astoundingly gorgeous blue eyes: Bruce Wayne.
"You're… you're Bruce Wayne," she blurted.
He smiled. "Last I checked, I was."
Red that had nothing to do with the cold crept up her face. What a stupid thing to say. Of course he knows he's Bruce Wayne! He's fricken Bruce Wayne!
"Uh, what are you doing here?" There was the second thing she said that made Casey want to hit herself. What right did she have to ask the richest, most eligible bachelor what he was doing at the Gotham Police Department?
And then she realized he already told her what he was doing here: the damages done to his office building. "Oh, you already said." She felt like a complete, absolute moron and she turned away from him.
He laughed and it just made her feel all the more embarrassed. "It's okay. I'm used to people asking me the same question a couple times. Comes with owning a company and having reporters everywhere."
She glanced up and down the street but she didn't seen any reporters. "You don't have any following you right now," she pointed out.
He followed her gaze and smiled (holy crap he had a pretty smile, Casey thought.) "You're right. They're all focused on the city clean up and trying to get exclusive interviews with Ferris Boyle. This is one of the few times where I'm left all alone. It's rather… freeing, don't you think?"
Casey shook her head. "I'm not really sure. I've never had the opportunity to get reporters to follow me." But she couldn't help but wonder what would happen when the news about Edward broke. She didn't think she could take cameras following her around.
"Between you and me, it's a pain in the ass," he said.
"I'll take your word for it," she said.
Silence hung between them for about a minute. And no taxis had come down the street at all so she resigned herself to walking to the ferry when Bruce Wayne spoke up again. "I didn't catch your name, by the way."
"Oh." She held out her hand. "Casey Wilson."
He took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Casey. So, uh, what kind of frustrations did you find in there?"
"Ah..." Her mind was a whirl as she tried to come up with an excuse. "Normal frustrations, I suppose. You got some guys in there who think they should be in charge and like to push people around."
He looked back at the double doors. "Do you work here?"
She nodded. "I do."
"You don't strike me as a cop."
That got a laugh from her. "Oh god no! I'm not a fan of guns. I'm in the Cyber Crime Division."
"Cyber Crime? What kind of crime is that?"
"Well, what I can tell you is that we're the ones who can follow money trails. We go online and bust crime rings like human trafficking or pedophiles. It's about catching criminals from their computers."
Whatever he was going to say, he was interrupted by a black car pulling up to the sidewalk where they stood. "My ride's here," he said. He looked around them and back to Casey. "Could I offer you a ride?"
She was in a dilemma. On one hand, she didn't know him very well even if he was Bruce Wayne. On the other hand, she really wasn't looking forward to walking to the bridge in the cold. Oh, what the hell. "That would be great actually."
He opened the door for her and she slid in, Bruce coming in after her and closing the door.
"Alfred," Bruce said, "this is Casey Wilson. Mind if we give her a ride?"
Alfred, an older man with salt and pepper hair glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. "It's a pleasure, Miss Wilson," he said in an English accent which surprised her. "Where to?"
"Uh, just to the ferry," she said. "I live in New Gotham."
"And you work in Old Gotham? That's quite a commute," Bruce remarked.
"You live on the outskirts of Gotham so I think you've got the bigger commute," Casey replied.
To her surprise, he laughed. "Point taken."
The drive took longer than normal because of the roads and the normal route to the bridge was still destroyed. Bruce took to looking at his phone and Casey fiddled with the strap of her bag and watched the scenery go by.
She felt slightly intimidated by him now that they were in an enclosed space. They were from two different worlds: he from the upper class and she from the lower middle class. He probably never had to worry about paying college tuition or getting a student loan paid of on time. What was it like to live in that lifestyle, she wondered. Was there a set price on clothes he had to pay? Did celebrities look down on other celebrities if they paid less than five-hundred dollars on a pair of pants?
Well, she could ask him but that might be weird. He hadn't asked her what it was like to be poor so why should she ask him what it's like to be rich?
"I think that's me," Casey said when the ferries came into view.
"I guess it is," Bruce said.
Alfred pulled over and Casey opened the door. "Thanks for the ride," she said.
Bruce gave her another smile. "It wasn't a problem on my part. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime."
She gave him an odd look. "Again?"
"At the GCPD. I imagine I might be back there again to give a statement and such about my building."
"Oh," she said. "Okay. See ya then."
She closed the doors and walked towards the ferries to get in line.
-x-
Bruce watched her leave. "Did meeting her get you what you needed?" Alfred asked mildly as he drove off.
"I got some insight into her situation though not from talking to her," Bruce admitted. While the officers in the precinct weren't helpful as he waited around for someone to talk to about his building, he was able to scope out how the building was working after Christmas.
It was obvious that many of the officers were in free fall from Loeb's death. They only had Branden to protect them but if Gordon made Commissioner, then Branden was screwed. He saw many officers approaching one another in the halls and talking in hushed overtones. Based on what he saw in Casey's files, many of the men outside SWAT were on Loeb's and Sionis's payroll and with Loeb dead and Sionis in jail, they had no income.
People were terse and on edge and most were unwilling to deal with him. He did hear some dark murmurs about the cyber crime division but nothing concrete about Nashton or Casey. However, he did see the man who headed the investigation: Harvey Dent.
Harvey Dent was a character who needed watching, Bruce decided. Dent had the drive to root out the criminals in the department. If Dent received some pushing here and there, he could go far in helping the city.
But Dent was not the person Bruce was concerned about however. It was Casey. Approaching her was easy but he could tell she was a little intimidated by him. But she quickly warmed up to him when he turned up the charm. She did not tell him much about what was going inside but judging by her comment about the officers, they were targeting her. He made a mental note to go by her apartment when he went out at night to check up on her until things settled down.
"What is your plan of action from here? Batman certainly can't do anything for this investigation," Alfred remarked.
"I find Enigma," Bruce said. "He's the one the GCPD wants." Enigma would blow the investigation open and he was another link to Sionis. If Nashton helped Sionis go down then they would take the fall and Casey would be safe.
As long as she proved to Dent she was innocent. Or is it as long as Dent finds Casey to be innocent? He made another note to look into Dent more thoroughly later to make sure he wasn't doing any dealings under the table.
"What about the party you're hosting for Ferris Boyle in three day's time? Are we still hosting?"
"We've already got the cooks and the wait staff," Bruce said absentmindedly. "The invitations went out two months ago."
"So we are still doing it."
"Yes." Bruce confirmed.
The award ceremony for Ferris Boyle winning the Wayne Foundation Humanitarian of the Year was on New Years' Eve. Instead of hosting it in the Royal like usual, Bruce offered up his own home as Boyle was a special case.
Bruce had never seen someone use his company to help the people of Gotham like Ferris Boyle. GothCorp was paving the road towards making new food sources for areas hit hard by disasters and was on it's way to helping solve food shortage around the world. Boyle deserved the award and Bruce was proud to be giving the award to a man like him.
A man Gotham desperately needed, Bruce thought. He was one of the few men willing to do some good in Gotham. Hopefully Boyle would inspire others to start helping Gotham get back on its feet.
"You know Alfred," Bruce said slowly. "I think I might bring a date to the party."
"Oh? Is it that Russian ballerina? She was certainly interested in you."
Bruce chuckled. "No. I think I'll see if Casey will accompany me."
Alfred smiled. "I think that would be a grand idea. She seems like a fine, young lady."
"You haven't really met her yet, Alfred," Bruce said. "But I believe she'll bring a refreshing change of pace from the usual crowd."
"The usual crowd of high-end society or the scum of Gotham?"
"Both, in fact."
"I hope you are correct sir. But how are you going to get her to come?"
Bruce smiled. "I was thinking coffee."
-x-
And now Casey and Bruce have officially met! So let's see how their relationship is going to progress from here on. Dent is the one heading the investigation so will everything work out for Casey or will Edward's transgressions bury her? And three days away from New Years'. Excitement is on the horizon.
Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See ya in chapter twelve!