Sophie Moore was currently standing in Crows HQ, listening to Crows Commander Jacob Kane's latest rant about Batwoman, since he'd been on a warpath ever since the new vigilante had started taking Gotham by storm since her debut in upstaging the Crows in that missing persons case she'd brought to her, not that Jacob knew that part. Nor did Sophie ever want him to find out, especially since the Crows had been getting crucified in the court of public opinion for not doing anything to help the kids the Candy Lady had been abducting for years, something that Sophie didn't necessarily disagree with, since she was the one who'd leaked the case to Batwoman in the first place.
Speaking of Candy Lady, Sophie couldn't help but think about how the same girl Batwoman had rescued had been adopted by Kate Kane on the same day. That seemed like more than just a coincidence to her. Not to mention Batwoman surfacing around the same time Kate took over Wayne Enterprises, the Huntress's return to Gotham around the same time as Helena Wayne, it all seemed to be connected to her, but if her theory was right, it wasn't her place to pry. She hadn't earned that right.
"Someone better tell me something about what's going on in this city? I do not want the people of this city putting their faith in some masked criminal." Jacob Kane said angrily.
"With all due respect sir, why don't we just let the freaks kill each other?" Agent Russell Tavaroff asked.
"Yeah, because that would go over real well with Gotham when we're already being crucified by the public for not giving a damn about that missing kid while Batwoman did. Vesper Fairchild would be even more complementary of us than she's already been." Sophie said dismissively, wondering why the hell Commander Kane had hired him, since she'd actually served with Tavaroff while she was in the military and he'd been even more of an ass than he was now. In her opinion, Russell Tavaroff had no business being involved with any kind of law enforcement, but it wasn't her call to make, even though unlike her boss, Sophie didn't buy that the death of Cora Lewis had been an accident and she couldn't believe that Jacob Kane did.
"She's right, we don't need that press right now and even if it weren't for that, there are too many civilians to risk getting caught in the crossfire when these lunatics go head to head." Jacob said and Sophie rolled her eyes, knowing that her boss was already in a bad mood because of what Vesper Fairchild had said over the radio after Batwoman had rescued Ryan Wilder. Calling the Crows racist and entitled who only cared about people with shiny objects, not the city itself, unlike Batwoman, who'd made her debut by saving an innocent child. And it didn't help that Batwoman wasn't the only one getting some love from the public, since while Jacob Kane was still being crucified, Kate was being called a true hero for taking in a young orphaned girl, though Kate had already made it clear that she was not doing it for the press and anyone who published otherwise would find themselves dealing with Wayne's legal team.
"We need to stop this before anyone gets hurt. We need to find the Joker and all of his accomplices and Batwoman and throw them all back into their padded cells in Arkham. I want you all to hit the streets and man the tiplines, I want eyes in the sky and ears to the ground, the second we get a hit on any of these maniacs, including Batwoman and her associates, call it in. And I want someone to decode the Joker's first clue, so we'll at least know which maniac we're gonna lock up first." Jacob said as the Crows split up and Sophie noticed an encrypted message on her computer that simply read to come to the Bat Signal tonight. She had a feeling she knew who it was.
"You're late." Sophie said later on that night when Batwoman arrived at the building.
"Sorry, needed to be sure there weren't any other crows nearby." Batwoman said.
"The Crows don't know I'm here, I'd like to keep it that way. What's this about? I'm assuming it has something to do with the Joker's insane challenge to you?" Sophie asked.
"I know the first competitor." Batwoman said and Sophie just chuckled.
"Of course you do. Who is it and how can I help?" Sophie asked, knowing that this stuff was above the Crows paygrade, not that her boss would ever admit it.
"Cluemaster, aka, Arthur Brown, I believe you should be familiar with that name, since you're the one who arrested him." Batwoman said.
"Yep and now the rest of the Joker's clue makes sense. I should've put the pieces together myself." Sophie said.
"Don't beat yourself up, these clues were meant for me to solve, not the Crows. What's important now is that we keep the population safe and take Brown down before he hurts anyone. The clue also said that his attack would be personal. Do you have any idea what that might mean?" Batwoman asked as Sophie's eyes went wide.
"His daughter Stephanie. If nothing else, she might be able to provide us with some insight into her father's mind." Sophie said.
"We think the same way, the Huntress is already en route to her. But do you really think he'd hurt his own daughter?" Batwoman asked.
"I don't know. I think that we need to consider any possibility." Sophie said.
"Find a way to convince the Crows that Cluemaster is the villain they need to be looking for and have them clear the streets. Do not tell them you got your information from me and if you need to get in touch with me again, use this." Batwoman said as she handed Sophie a phone.
"What's this?" Sophie asked.
"Consider it a personal bat signal. It's an encrypted phone that only dials one number and can only be used by you." Batwoman said.
"Sweet, personal connection. I'll let you know if I dig anything else up on my end. Get this guy and end this game before anyone gets hurt." Sophie said.
"I plan to." Batwoman said as she jumped off the rooftop.
