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Chapter 7:

To keep Sofia busy and away from Victor, Mario had come up with the idea that Victor and his girls would keep Jim until he recovered. Victor would be his personalized babysitter. He also did it so that Sofía would stay away from them, if this had been a blow caused by her, as Mario suspected, the only sensible thing would be to put them both together, so Víctor's family and his girls would be protected by the only Gotham police who would investigate in case something happened and Jim would be protected in case someone tried to kill them, because to be honest, nobody could trust the Gotham police, not even Bullock, one of the most corrupt. If Jim disappeared there would be no one to look for him, because everyone liked to earn the extra pay they got every month to keep quiet and not cause trouble. The problem with this system was that when you really needed the police, everyone ignored you and directly asked who you thought it was, that would be the one they would put in jail, without investigating who the real culprit was. Sofia, if she was interested in taking power from the Gotham mob, she would have the police in a week. The mob families needed Jim Gordon on their side, because he was the only one who would deign to find out the truth.

This was not easy, because Jim was a terrible patient, who had just woken up, had tried to discharge himself and leave. Carmine hadn't let him and Gordon, not having the strength to really get up, had rolled onto his side, his back to him, as if he were a little boy throwing a tantrum. Later, when Carmine had been taking a nap, he had managed to get up without waking him, but he forgot that Victor, who was always with Carmine, was watching outside the door and wouldn't let him out, grabbing him and carrying him back to bed, waking Carmine up in the process. Later, Gordon started yelling for his doctor, Mario rushed immediately from the emergency room, where he had been working for hours without a break and only his professionalism prevented him from becoming irascible at Gordon's stubbornness to stay calm. To top it off, Lee was frantic because she had received a letter with a riddle asking about Gordon's health and a drawn clock and hat saying tick tack and asking about the next tea party. That worried Mario, because now Gotham's Gordon-obsessed villains were organized and going after Jim, he just hoped they'd leave Lee alone and obsess over the next clown to take to the streets, keeping Jim out of any kind of machination that would cause him more stress. By getting Jim out of trouble, Lee would calm down. Mario wanted to have the normal days that he enjoyed before Gordon came to Gotham.

Victor seemed amused by the scene Gordon was causing. Mario, tired and fed up, gave him a tranquilizer. During the time that Jim was sedated, after trying to fight off the sedatives, Carmine and Victor were able to rest, knowing that Victor's girls were guarding the access and would inform them of any problems. But when he woke up, Gordon kept insisting on leaving the hospital and going home and according to hospital regulations he had the right to ask for it, the problem was that in the conditions he was in he couldn't stay alone and Gordon had no family or friends who could welcome him. It was then that the fantastic idea occurred to him, although in reality Mario would have liked to volunteer to take care of him and thus return the favor for saving his life, he did not have enough time to do so, having a job that he had to attend and if they called him for emergencies, it would have to be at any time.

Jim wasn't sure with Mario and Mario wasn't sure with Jim, but with Victor it was different.

Carmine had organized everything, sending Victor's girls to go to his apartment and get what was necessary for Gordon to be with them for at least a week, longer if his recovery lengthened. There wasn't much expectation between them, but they knew how to follow orders and this was just a job. Jim was reluctant, but Mario knew that Victor never failed at a job, no matter how complicated it was. No matter how difficult Jim's character was, as long as Carmine didn't order him to, Victor wouldn't kill him, even if ordered to by The Penguin. The mob bosses, loyal to Carmine, some of whom should be retired, had also been placed under protection and would be living with Jim and Victor, to avoid possible hits. They would still control their part of the city, but they would do so from an unknown direction. Neither Carmine nor Mario nor Lee could leave the Falcone mansion, because that would be very suspicious and they didn't want to show weakness. Headhunter would take care of protecting him, though Mario was reluctant to let Gordon out of his sight, much to Victor's dismay. After Victor, Headhunter was the most reliable hitman and totally loyal to the Falcones, as well as being Victor's best friend.

- Yesterday I saw your sister, Mario.-said a nurse from the afternoon shift. She was already leaving, but she wanted to talk to Mario. It was one of the gossips, Mario preferred to stay away from women like her. -I was eating at the Iceber Lounge, with a thin man with a cane. You hadn't told me that your sister was seeing someone.

To someone outside the family, like Lee, this meant nothing, but to someone like Mario, this was a declaration of war coming from Sofia. She was organizing the Falcones' enemies, going against a direct order from the kingpin. Mario did not want to know this type of gossip, because they put him in the position of choosing between siding with his father or his sister. But he didn't have to ramble long. Mario would never be a snitch and loyalty to his family prevailed over anything. He loved his father, his sister and his wife, but in the end, he would always choose to be on his father's side, because it was the only way he could protect his wife. Mario was no stranger to his father's work, he knew how everything would end if there was an internal struggle within the same family. Maybe he and Lee should pack up and go on their honeymoon, so they'd be away from Gotham and all its problems and he would do it right now if he had to, except that it would be considered weakness and his father could suffer the consequences.

- Hello dad.-said Mario.-Sofía and The Penguin are in cahoots. They could strike at any time.

- We should change the plan.-Carmine said.-We could live with Victor and Jim for a few days.

Carmine hung up the phone. Mario was stunned. What was his father's plan, for Jim Gordon to protect them all? Jim Gordon was one man, but Carmine expected great things from him and Gordon couldn't achieve it. Mario would do what his father ordered and if he considered that Gordon was in a position to protect six mafia bosses and all their families, Mario would not argue with him, he would only go to the pharmacy to buy tranquilizers and sedatives, necessary when arrived the moment.