p class="MsoNormal"A forming knot on the back of Jess's shoulder was beginning to bother her. A grunt left her lips before she tossed another folder to the floor. She was getting nowhere, plus the constant nagging of batman in the back of her head wasn't helping either. She ran her hands over her face in frustration, groaning rather loudly to further express her roadblock./p
p class="MsoNormal"A knock on her door alerted her. She looked up from her hands with furrowed brows. With speed, she grabbed her gun from right beside her, hiding it behind her back. "Who is it?" She called from the entrance of her hallway./p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="FR""It's Laura!" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="FR"Jess's brain froze. /spanemLaura?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Opening the door, Jess was met with Laura Conroy, who stood in all her beautiful glory. With her red hair twisted into an elegant bun and her white pantsuit fit for a queen, Jess felt her mouth run dry./p
p class="MsoNormal""Laura." She answered, her nerves sparking a flare. "What are you doing here?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura eyed Jess for a second. "Well, you know, as the mayor's daughter, I have to check up on you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I forgot, Princess of the city and all that." Jess said, twisting the skin around her fingers in anxiousness. "Come on in before Joe Jr. sees you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"With a confused look on her face, Laura walked inside without protest. "So, I see you've been…" She noticed all the folders covering the coffee table. "Busy."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah…" Jess tucked her gun back into the safe. "Sorry about the mess."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura took in a deep breath before turning around to look at Jess. "So, I heard about the opera house."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess nodded her head. "Yeah."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And that Christmas party."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What do you want from me Laura?" Jess asked with a raised brow./p
p class="MsoNormal"The red head stood up straighter. "Nothing! I'm just wondering what you're doing going to all these places." She started to mess with her hands. "You never seemed interested when I took you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"An exasperated sigh left Jess's lips. "Because, Laura, when we went, it was always about something to do with lawyers or your father's mayoral campaign." She placed her hands on her hips. "If anything, I was your best friend when attending those stupid ass things."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You know that's not true."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh please." Jess scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "I was a plaything to you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura's eyes blew wide. "Is that what you think?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""It's what I know."/p
p class="MsoNormal""That's unfair!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess rolled her eyes. "I don't have time to argue with you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A scoff left Laura's lips. "So, I guess you don't have a problem when Bruce Wayne does it." Laura snapped back, crossing her arms with narrowed blue eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess began to pour a glass of whiskey for herself. "What Bruce and I have is between me and him."/p
p class="MsoNormal"There was a brief second of silence. "Did you sleep with him?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Taking a swig of her drink, she turned around to glare at Laura. "What the hell is this?" She motioned between them. "Is this a goddamn cross examination?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Now it was Laura's turn be defensive. "Bruce Wayne is bad news." She motioned to the newspaper on the coffee table. "He's a playboy and you don't need to… entertain his ideas."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Like I did you?" Jess asked with a tilt of her head./p
p class="MsoNormal""You chose to be with me."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Because I thought it would've been a one deal arrangement." Jess growled. "I fuck you, you fuck me, not you trying to get me to quit my job and become the thing you came home to." She smacked her hand over her chest. "I had that, and I lost him to the fucking Joker."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura crossed her arms with narrowed eyes. "Listen, I'm trying to look out for you since you obviously have problems keeping yourself out of trouble when something doesn't go right."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess gave a sarcastic laugh. "Sure."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And then I hear from my father that he approved you working with Gotham's vigilante?" She started with a hard look in her viper eyes. "Are you out of your mind?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Laura." Jess warned with her eyes slightly narrowed. "I seriously do not have the patience to deal with this right now."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You need to arrest him; he's breaking so many laws already."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You know the rules, Gordon already has permission from Daddy Warbucks to continue working with him." With a low chuckle, Jess took another sip. "You are the mayor's daughter." She shrugged with a taunting smirk. "Gotham's little princess can do no wrong."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I would watch that tone." Laura warned./p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, how about this? Instead of sitting in your little tower every day, maybe you should do what you just told me to do." The look in her eyes changed, catching Laura off guard. "But who am I to say anything? Just another poor person with no mind of her own I suppose."/p
p class="MsoNormal"With her face redder than her hair, Laura swallowed down her rage. "I can't believe you. You have no right to talk to me like that."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I can't believe emyou/em." Jess hissed. "You come to my apartment to pick a fight with me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura pinched the bridge of her nose. "I…" Another knock at the door stopped the escalating argument. Jess grumbled under her breath stomping towards the door. Without thinking, she ripped the door open to see Adonis standing there./p
p class="MsoNormal""What the hell are you doing here?" Jess asked with a raised brow. "And how did you find my apartment?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Adonis gave a smile. "I got it off Darcy." He looked to see Laura eyeing him suspiciously. "Are you busy?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Getting an eerie vibe, Jess reached for the pepper spray that was attached to the wall behind the door. "Yeah." She noticed the way he had his hands in his pockets. "You're not supposed to be looking for my home address, you know this."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, since you don't answer my text messages anymore," He shrugged. "I thought I would show up."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess nodded her head slowly. "Adonis, I'm gonna be honest with you here. Stacy here," She motioned to Laura behind her. "Is an old friend of mine, so much so that we're on a little catching up date." Adonis and Laura locked eyes for a second before Jess began to close the door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Just as she was going to close the door, Adonis' hand stopped her from doing so. He gave a little smile, licking his bottom lip. "Are you blowing me off?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Let go of my door." Jess warned./p
p class="MsoNormal"The two partook in a staring contest, one that made Laura uncomfortable. She could sense the bad intentions coming off the man in the doorway but chose to remain quiet./p
p class="MsoNormal"Adonis, letting go of the door, didn't get the chance to snap back into character when Jess slammed the door in his face. She watched him from the peephole, noticing the way he spaced out before turning away and angrily leaving through the front of the apartment building./p
p class="MsoNormal""I should go." Laura started. "It seems like you're dealing with a lot."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess clenched her jaw before slowly removing her eyes from the peephole. "I want you to call me when you get home."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura raised a brow. "Now you care?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Just do it Laura." Jess said sterner this time. From the tone in her voice, Laura knew better than to protest. With a simple nod of her head, she walked to the door. "I'll see you around."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess swallowed thickly, contemplating if she wanted to say anything in the first place. Opening the door, she gave a tight-lipped smile. "Goodnight." Laura nodded her head and left out the door without another word./p
p class="MsoNormal"After closing the door, she pulled out her phone from her back pocket and scrolled through her contacts. Even though it was late, Darcy suffered from Insomnia like she did anyway. She wouldn't mind a late-night phone call./p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Hello?"/em Darcy answered on the second ring./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey Darc, sorry to bother you so late."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"No problem, I'm catching up on Castle."/em Jess wanted to snort. She could practically see her in face mask on, hair twisted into a messy bun, fuzzy pajama bottoms, a white t-shirt, snacks all around her, and a bottle of wine by her side. She heard Darcy pause the episode. em"What's up?"/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess walked towards the window, watching Laura get into her car and leave down the road. "Did you by chance give Adonis my address?" She closed her curtains. "You've been over for Bachelor night so you, Barbara, Pam, and the Commissioner are the only ones at work who know my apartment address."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Oh, yeah, I was going to call you after this episode to tell you. He tried to ask me for it."/em She popped an orange into her mouth. "emSo, when I said no, he got all aggressive."/em Darcy scoffed. em"I threatened to pepper spray him if he didn't get the hell off my car window."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Hm." Jess hummed. "Interesting."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Why?" /emDarcy asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Just asking." Jess walked over to her couch. "I got something to take care of, I'll call you later."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Be safe."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;" align="center"_/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Deep within Wayne Manor, miles below rested the Batcave where Bruce was contemplating like he normally did. Barbara, on the other end of the phone, sighed. em"You've been quiet."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm always quiet."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She rolled her eyes. em"More than usual."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bruce released a heavy sigh through his nose. "These cases are closely related to her." He tapped his finger against his cheekbone. "I don't understand why."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"The killing style isn't as unique, comparing to the work of our regular psycho enemies." /emBarb clicked on a few keys with a hum. em"It could be someone she put behind bars. She's been in Gotham for a reasonable amount of time and one of the fastest cops to crack cases."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""She doesn't seem too fast on this one." Bruce mumbled under his breath./p
p class="MsoNormal"With another roll of her eyes, Barb clicked on her mouse. em"Listen, I understand she's a hardass, but you need to work together on this. If you can't work together, someone is going to get hurt. And by someone, I mean her."/em On the other end of the line, Bruce could hear her phone ring. em"One second Bruce."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Putting him on hold, Barbara picked up her phone to look at the caller I.D. It was Jess's photo in her simple superhero Halloween costume. "What's up Jess?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"All the girls that were killed look exactly like me." /em/p
p class="MsoNormal""We already know this." Barbara furrowed her brows, pulling up the autopsy reports of each victim. "What do you mean?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess took a sharp turn on the road, her tires burning out on the asphalt. em"I've seen these girls before, with who, I don't know just yet, but I've seen them."/em Jess, with hazard, parked in her normal spot in front of the precinct./p
p class="MsoNormal""What are you thinking of doing?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess pulled the door open, her wedding ring bouncing around on her necklace. em"I'm gonna see if there's a dirty uniform that needs to be thrown away."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"It was around four in the morning, not a single awake soul in the precinct, however Jess was certain something bad was going to happen. She hung up the phone, only to receive one from Jim. "This is Kent."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Jess, we've got a body." /emJim sounded more stressed than usual. em"It's another victim from Cryptix."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;" align="center"_/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"It was one thing to lose Cody, it was another to try and hold her composure at seeing the small sailing boat on the right wrist of the victim. Jess ran her gloved finger over her small tattoo as well, the lighthouse almost mocking her./p
p class="MsoNormal"With the light brown walls and the dark oak floorboards covered in blood, the apartment lost its warmth. It's now replaced with horrid images of what lies in malignant memories./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess swallowed thickly and squatted right beside the victim. She pulled back the blanket to reveal Laura's wide-eyed look of fear. "Goddammit Laura…" She whispered, noticing the phone in her hand with the numbers 911 dialed. "Why didn't you fucking call me."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Woah, you're not allowed here." One of the officers barked at the front door. Jess turned her gaze over at the door to see the Batman./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jim sighed. "Easy Connors, he's with me."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess only rolled her eyes and turned away. "Great." She mumbled./p
p class="MsoNormal"On terms of emotions, it still wasn't as high as when she lost Cody, but she was equally just as angry. Lost in her head about who could have done this, she practically spiraled down the list. The Conroy's has lots of enemies, including Falcone, or so they make it seem./p
p class="MsoNormal"She chewed on her bottom lip in a continuous loop of suspects she's encountered over the past until she heard the heavy sounds of black boots kissing the glass on the floor around them./p
p class="MsoNormal""She's not like most of Cryptix victims." Jess started./p
p class="MsoNormal""What makes her so different?" Batman asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""I knew her." Jess looked back down at Laura's body./p
p class="MsoNormal"She spun on her heel, motioning for the Shadow to stay by her side. "Okay, who found her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Detective Cho motioned towards the kitchen. "Her mother, says she was on her way back to drop off the family dog on the way to the airport. When she didn't answer the door, she used the key under the matt and found her like this."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess rubbed her forehead with her wrist. "What else do you have?" She watched Cho eye the vigilante and herself cautiously. She snapped her fingers to recapture his attention. "I asked you a question."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He cleared his throat and bent down to pull back the blanket. "Blunt force trauma." He motioned to where the blood seeped through her auburn locks. "Not to mention…" The detective lifted Laura's shirt to reveal her torso with the words HOMO carved into the stomach./p
p class="MsoNormal"Batman noticed the way her body tensed upon seeing it. "Oh…" Jess mumbled./p
p class="MsoNormal""Jesus." Jim finished./p
p class="MsoNormal""The killer may have changed his M.O."/p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Jess stared at the torn skin. She took out her pen from her jacket to point around the meat of the letter H. "This is ecchymosis." Jess said while motioning to the discoloration ring of purple and blue around the letters. "The skin was cut while she was still alive, causing the busted blood vessels and the bruising around the skin." She heard the calculated footsteps of Batman walk around the body./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess watched him for a few moments, studying the way he stared at certain things for long periods. He lifted the blanket on the other side to reveal Laura's foot was missing. "This was taken after she died." He said gruffly./p
p class="MsoNormal""She fought till the end." Jess mumbled before looking around the room. "Where's Adonis?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jim looked towards Jess. "Only certain officers know about this until we move her out of here."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Batman looked down at Jess for a second before looking back at the commissioner. "Who else knows."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Everyone in this room." He placed his hands on his hips. "When the mayor found out, he wanted this crime scene on lockdown."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The tv, which was on but put on mute, caught the attention of one of the officers. "Commissioner, we got something." Jess grabbed the remote off the coffee table, unmuting the tv./p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Citizens of Gotham City, I have messages for you all." /span/emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Jess placed the remote back down onto the coffee table, her eyes still glued to the screen. A person in a stitched Dread Doctor mask appeared on screen. The body build was not what she expected, then again, they were dressed, head to toe, in black and leather. With a voice modifier, it was easy to confuse the gender. em"Detective Jessica Kent, a stranger to many, but heartbreaker to few. How many more lives will you crush? How many lives will you destroy in pursuit of what you call justice?"/em He asked as Jess narrowed her eyes at the "You are the product of everything you fear. Violence, darkness, helplessness. I know you think you're invincible, but I know what makes you weak, what makes you sick."/em Jessica felt herself suck in a deep breath, fist tightening as her bones creaked under the "As you continue your little journey, confiding with your vigilante, remember the words I say. All that remains is for you to watch as I drag Gotham into oblivion with you inside./em" He finished with a growl, leaning closer to the camera. em"Goodbye Detective, I am sure to see you soon."/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"A knock on her door alerted her. She looked up from her hands with furrowed brows. With speed, she grabbed her gun from right beside her, hiding it behind her back. "Who is it?" She called from the entrance of her hallway./p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="FR""It's Laura!" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="FR"Jess's brain froze. /spanemLaura?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Opening the door, Jess was met with Laura Conroy, who stood in all her beautiful glory. With her red hair twisted into an elegant bun and her white pantsuit fit for a queen, Jess felt her mouth run dry./p
p class="MsoNormal""Laura." She answered, her nerves sparking a flare. "What are you doing here?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura eyed Jess for a second. "Well, you know, as the mayor's daughter, I have to check up on you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I forgot, Princess of the city and all that." Jess said, twisting the skin around her fingers in anxiousness. "Come on in before Joe Jr. sees you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"With a confused look on her face, Laura walked inside without protest. "So, I see you've been…" She noticed all the folders covering the coffee table. "Busy."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah…" Jess tucked her gun back into the safe. "Sorry about the mess."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura took in a deep breath before turning around to look at Jess. "So, I heard about the opera house."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess nodded her head. "Yeah."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And that Christmas party."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What do you want from me Laura?" Jess asked with a raised brow./p
p class="MsoNormal"The red head stood up straighter. "Nothing! I'm just wondering what you're doing going to all these places." She started to mess with her hands. "You never seemed interested when I took you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"An exasperated sigh left Jess's lips. "Because, Laura, when we went, it was always about something to do with lawyers or your father's mayoral campaign." She placed her hands on her hips. "If anything, I was your best friend when attending those stupid ass things."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You know that's not true."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh please." Jess scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "I was a plaything to you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura's eyes blew wide. "Is that what you think?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""It's what I know."/p
p class="MsoNormal""That's unfair!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess rolled her eyes. "I don't have time to argue with you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A scoff left Laura's lips. "So, I guess you don't have a problem when Bruce Wayne does it." Laura snapped back, crossing her arms with narrowed blue eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess began to pour a glass of whiskey for herself. "What Bruce and I have is between me and him."/p
p class="MsoNormal"There was a brief second of silence. "Did you sleep with him?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Taking a swig of her drink, she turned around to glare at Laura. "What the hell is this?" She motioned between them. "Is this a goddamn cross examination?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Now it was Laura's turn be defensive. "Bruce Wayne is bad news." She motioned to the newspaper on the coffee table. "He's a playboy and you don't need to… entertain his ideas."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Like I did you?" Jess asked with a tilt of her head./p
p class="MsoNormal""You chose to be with me."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Because I thought it would've been a one deal arrangement." Jess growled. "I fuck you, you fuck me, not you trying to get me to quit my job and become the thing you came home to." She smacked her hand over her chest. "I had that, and I lost him to the fucking Joker."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura crossed her arms with narrowed eyes. "Listen, I'm trying to look out for you since you obviously have problems keeping yourself out of trouble when something doesn't go right."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess gave a sarcastic laugh. "Sure."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And then I hear from my father that he approved you working with Gotham's vigilante?" She started with a hard look in her viper eyes. "Are you out of your mind?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Laura." Jess warned with her eyes slightly narrowed. "I seriously do not have the patience to deal with this right now."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You need to arrest him; he's breaking so many laws already."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You know the rules, Gordon already has permission from Daddy Warbucks to continue working with him." With a low chuckle, Jess took another sip. "You are the mayor's daughter." She shrugged with a taunting smirk. "Gotham's little princess can do no wrong."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I would watch that tone." Laura warned./p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, how about this? Instead of sitting in your little tower every day, maybe you should do what you just told me to do." The look in her eyes changed, catching Laura off guard. "But who am I to say anything? Just another poor person with no mind of her own I suppose."/p
p class="MsoNormal"With her face redder than her hair, Laura swallowed down her rage. "I can't believe you. You have no right to talk to me like that."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I can't believe emyou/em." Jess hissed. "You come to my apartment to pick a fight with me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura pinched the bridge of her nose. "I…" Another knock at the door stopped the escalating argument. Jess grumbled under her breath stomping towards the door. Without thinking, she ripped the door open to see Adonis standing there./p
p class="MsoNormal""What the hell are you doing here?" Jess asked with a raised brow. "And how did you find my apartment?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Adonis gave a smile. "I got it off Darcy." He looked to see Laura eyeing him suspiciously. "Are you busy?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Getting an eerie vibe, Jess reached for the pepper spray that was attached to the wall behind the door. "Yeah." She noticed the way he had his hands in his pockets. "You're not supposed to be looking for my home address, you know this."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, since you don't answer my text messages anymore," He shrugged. "I thought I would show up."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess nodded her head slowly. "Adonis, I'm gonna be honest with you here. Stacy here," She motioned to Laura behind her. "Is an old friend of mine, so much so that we're on a little catching up date." Adonis and Laura locked eyes for a second before Jess began to close the door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Just as she was going to close the door, Adonis' hand stopped her from doing so. He gave a little smile, licking his bottom lip. "Are you blowing me off?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Let go of my door." Jess warned./p
p class="MsoNormal"The two partook in a staring contest, one that made Laura uncomfortable. She could sense the bad intentions coming off the man in the doorway but chose to remain quiet./p
p class="MsoNormal"Adonis, letting go of the door, didn't get the chance to snap back into character when Jess slammed the door in his face. She watched him from the peephole, noticing the way he spaced out before turning away and angrily leaving through the front of the apartment building./p
p class="MsoNormal""I should go." Laura started. "It seems like you're dealing with a lot."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess clenched her jaw before slowly removing her eyes from the peephole. "I want you to call me when you get home."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Laura raised a brow. "Now you care?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Just do it Laura." Jess said sterner this time. From the tone in her voice, Laura knew better than to protest. With a simple nod of her head, she walked to the door. "I'll see you around."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess swallowed thickly, contemplating if she wanted to say anything in the first place. Opening the door, she gave a tight-lipped smile. "Goodnight." Laura nodded her head and left out the door without another word./p
p class="MsoNormal"After closing the door, she pulled out her phone from her back pocket and scrolled through her contacts. Even though it was late, Darcy suffered from Insomnia like she did anyway. She wouldn't mind a late-night phone call./p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Hello?"/em Darcy answered on the second ring./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey Darc, sorry to bother you so late."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"No problem, I'm catching up on Castle."/em Jess wanted to snort. She could practically see her in face mask on, hair twisted into a messy bun, fuzzy pajama bottoms, a white t-shirt, snacks all around her, and a bottle of wine by her side. She heard Darcy pause the episode. em"What's up?"/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess walked towards the window, watching Laura get into her car and leave down the road. "Did you by chance give Adonis my address?" She closed her curtains. "You've been over for Bachelor night so you, Barbara, Pam, and the Commissioner are the only ones at work who know my apartment address."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Oh, yeah, I was going to call you after this episode to tell you. He tried to ask me for it."/em She popped an orange into her mouth. "emSo, when I said no, he got all aggressive."/em Darcy scoffed. em"I threatened to pepper spray him if he didn't get the hell off my car window."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Hm." Jess hummed. "Interesting."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Why?" /emDarcy asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Just asking." Jess walked over to her couch. "I got something to take care of, I'll call you later."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Be safe."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;" align="center"_/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Deep within Wayne Manor, miles below rested the Batcave where Bruce was contemplating like he normally did. Barbara, on the other end of the phone, sighed. em"You've been quiet."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm always quiet."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She rolled her eyes. em"More than usual."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bruce released a heavy sigh through his nose. "These cases are closely related to her." He tapped his finger against his cheekbone. "I don't understand why."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"The killing style isn't as unique, comparing to the work of our regular psycho enemies." /emBarb clicked on a few keys with a hum. em"It could be someone she put behind bars. She's been in Gotham for a reasonable amount of time and one of the fastest cops to crack cases."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""She doesn't seem too fast on this one." Bruce mumbled under his breath./p
p class="MsoNormal"With another roll of her eyes, Barb clicked on her mouse. em"Listen, I understand she's a hardass, but you need to work together on this. If you can't work together, someone is going to get hurt. And by someone, I mean her."/em On the other end of the line, Bruce could hear her phone ring. em"One second Bruce."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Putting him on hold, Barbara picked up her phone to look at the caller I.D. It was Jess's photo in her simple superhero Halloween costume. "What's up Jess?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"All the girls that were killed look exactly like me." /em/p
p class="MsoNormal""We already know this." Barbara furrowed her brows, pulling up the autopsy reports of each victim. "What do you mean?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess took a sharp turn on the road, her tires burning out on the asphalt. em"I've seen these girls before, with who, I don't know just yet, but I've seen them."/em Jess, with hazard, parked in her normal spot in front of the precinct./p
p class="MsoNormal""What are you thinking of doing?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess pulled the door open, her wedding ring bouncing around on her necklace. em"I'm gonna see if there's a dirty uniform that needs to be thrown away."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"It was around four in the morning, not a single awake soul in the precinct, however Jess was certain something bad was going to happen. She hung up the phone, only to receive one from Jim. "This is Kent."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em"Jess, we've got a body." /emJim sounded more stressed than usual. em"It's another victim from Cryptix."/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;" align="center"_/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"It was one thing to lose Cody, it was another to try and hold her composure at seeing the small sailing boat on the right wrist of the victim. Jess ran her gloved finger over her small tattoo as well, the lighthouse almost mocking her./p
p class="MsoNormal"With the light brown walls and the dark oak floorboards covered in blood, the apartment lost its warmth. It's now replaced with horrid images of what lies in malignant memories./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess swallowed thickly and squatted right beside the victim. She pulled back the blanket to reveal Laura's wide-eyed look of fear. "Goddammit Laura…" She whispered, noticing the phone in her hand with the numbers 911 dialed. "Why didn't you fucking call me."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Woah, you're not allowed here." One of the officers barked at the front door. Jess turned her gaze over at the door to see the Batman./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jim sighed. "Easy Connors, he's with me."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess only rolled her eyes and turned away. "Great." She mumbled./p
p class="MsoNormal"On terms of emotions, it still wasn't as high as when she lost Cody, but she was equally just as angry. Lost in her head about who could have done this, she practically spiraled down the list. The Conroy's has lots of enemies, including Falcone, or so they make it seem./p
p class="MsoNormal"She chewed on her bottom lip in a continuous loop of suspects she's encountered over the past until she heard the heavy sounds of black boots kissing the glass on the floor around them./p
p class="MsoNormal""She's not like most of Cryptix victims." Jess started./p
p class="MsoNormal""What makes her so different?" Batman asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""I knew her." Jess looked back down at Laura's body./p
p class="MsoNormal"She spun on her heel, motioning for the Shadow to stay by her side. "Okay, who found her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Detective Cho motioned towards the kitchen. "Her mother, says she was on her way back to drop off the family dog on the way to the airport. When she didn't answer the door, she used the key under the matt and found her like this."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess rubbed her forehead with her wrist. "What else do you have?" She watched Cho eye the vigilante and herself cautiously. She snapped her fingers to recapture his attention. "I asked you a question."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He cleared his throat and bent down to pull back the blanket. "Blunt force trauma." He motioned to where the blood seeped through her auburn locks. "Not to mention…" The detective lifted Laura's shirt to reveal her torso with the words HOMO carved into the stomach./p
p class="MsoNormal"Batman noticed the way her body tensed upon seeing it. "Oh…" Jess mumbled./p
p class="MsoNormal""Jesus." Jim finished./p
p class="MsoNormal""The killer may have changed his M.O."/p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Jess stared at the torn skin. She took out her pen from her jacket to point around the meat of the letter H. "This is ecchymosis." Jess said while motioning to the discoloration ring of purple and blue around the letters. "The skin was cut while she was still alive, causing the busted blood vessels and the bruising around the skin." She heard the calculated footsteps of Batman walk around the body./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jess watched him for a few moments, studying the way he stared at certain things for long periods. He lifted the blanket on the other side to reveal Laura's foot was missing. "This was taken after she died." He said gruffly./p
p class="MsoNormal""She fought till the end." Jess mumbled before looking around the room. "Where's Adonis?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jim looked towards Jess. "Only certain officers know about this until we move her out of here."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Batman looked down at Jess for a second before looking back at the commissioner. "Who else knows."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Everyone in this room." He placed his hands on his hips. "When the mayor found out, he wanted this crime scene on lockdown."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The tv, which was on but put on mute, caught the attention of one of the officers. "Commissioner, we got something." Jess grabbed the remote off the coffee table, unmuting the tv./p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Citizens of Gotham City, I have messages for you all." /span/emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Jess placed the remote back down onto the coffee table, her eyes still glued to the screen. A person in a stitched Dread Doctor mask appeared on screen. The body build was not what she expected, then again, they were dressed, head to toe, in black and leather. With a voice modifier, it was easy to confuse the gender. em"Detective Jessica Kent, a stranger to many, but heartbreaker to few. How many more lives will you crush? How many lives will you destroy in pursuit of what you call justice?"/em He asked as Jess narrowed her eyes at the "You are the product of everything you fear. Violence, darkness, helplessness. I know you think you're invincible, but I know what makes you weak, what makes you sick."/em Jessica felt herself suck in a deep breath, fist tightening as her bones creaked under the "As you continue your little journey, confiding with your vigilante, remember the words I say. All that remains is for you to watch as I drag Gotham into oblivion with you inside./em" He finished with a growl, leaning closer to the camera. em"Goodbye Detective, I am sure to see you soon."/em/span/p