Gotham was euphoric. The Joker's rampage had been put to rest and, for the past week, the city had been almost defiantly, decadently joyful. Gotham's finest had done it all.

The mayor, Commissioner Loeb, Gordon, and Harvey were constantly in front of the cameras. Lieutenant Gordon would join Loeb with press conferences, updating the city on the state of the Joker investigation. While the grandiose updates were few and far between (no identification yet to be made of who the Joker actually was, no news on the identity of his assassin), the news that Gotham PD had perhaps thwarted an attack on a major hospital kept the reporters excited and satisfied.

And Garcia reminded Gotham of all of their hard-won victories. Five hundred of Gotham's scum locked away, almost every mob family brought to their knees by the deaths of their bosses (the mayor glossed over the fact that it was the Joker who had contributed to those circumstances), and now the killer clown who had been terrorizing the city for months was a threat no longer.

The mayor kept Harvey going at a breakneck pace: news updates, GCN interviews, press conferences, speeches around the city. It was almost as hectic as his days of campaigning for district attorney. Only this time Harvey was attempting a (hopefully subtle) endorsement of someone else.

Every chance he got, Harvey attempted to rehabilitate the Batman's reputation. How it had only been with his aid that GPD had been able to capture the clown's assistant Thomas Schiff, and in so doing, had stopped the attack on Gotham General. How Gotham's hero had worked tirelessly to capture the Joker, and then he couldn't even bring himself to murder the Joker himself; this man was no villain.

The mystery of the Joker's assassin oddly almost added to Gotham's euphoria. Major Crimes denied they had shot the Joker, and even the Bat's fiercest critics couldn't pin this murder on him. Suddenly, Gotham had a new mystery on their hands – maybe even a new hometown, unsung hero. Reporters gave half-hearted speculations day in and day out, but there seemed to be an unspoken, city-wide agreement to just… embrace the unknown of it all. Just someone following in their first hero's footsteps.

Every once in a while, Bruce would make an appearance, supporting Dent and the mayor, making it seem as if Bruce were a coward who only backed the city when it was safe to do so. It soured Harvey's stomach, but it was the play Bruce wanted. And the public didn't seem to resent it; they remembered that Bruce Wayne's butler had been a victim in all of this as well, and easily forgave the playboy's seeming cowardice.

No, in all respects, everything was progressing smoothly. As Bruce had put it in one interview, the city was feeling a little safer, a little more optimistic.

…

Bruce shook his head as he spied on Alfred watching a recap of his and Harvey's latest speeches. Alfred had been determined to start some work again, claiming to be feeling much better, and was slowly ironing Bruce's shirts. But ever since Bruce and Harvey had appeared on the screen, his butler's ironing had gotten slower and slower, while his smile just continued to grow. Bruce wanted to laugh; he'd never seen the man so happy. "What has you in such a good mood?"

Alfred glanced over in surprise. He tried to contain his smile. "Is my survival not a good enough reason?"

"It's an adequate reason, but your timing's a little delayed."

"Some people call that shock, sir."

"I'd call it lying through your teeth, but since you've barely recovered from being an invalid, I'll let you have this one."

"Very kind, sir." His butler's eyes seemed to soften even further. "It's over, Master Wayne."

It was. Bruce couldn't fully take it in. The Joker who'd been threatening him for months was gone. No longer a threat. The criminals they'd put away with the RICO case were still locked up. Granted, Maroni had immunity, but as he'd told Harvey, they still needed something to do. Taking down one final mob boss could just be a hobby, not a full-time endeavor.

"And we didn't even have to burn the forest down," Bruce murmured.

"A much better outcome, indeed, sir." Alfred turned off the TV. "Any leads on the sniper?"

"No. Gordon keeps running into dead ends." Bruce sighed. "And Lucius had already destroyed our surveillance program after we arrested the Joker."

"You did tell him he could."

"Yes, but is it too much to ask that he be a little slow on the execution?"

"You know, Master Wayne, with the Joker finally dead…" Here Alfred hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Perhaps the time has come for the Batman to take a rest?"

Or even hang up the mask for good, Bruce finished the thought.

But. "We still have to figure out who murdered the Joker."

Alfred looked at his charge, the man who'd sacrificed so much for Gotham, and voiced the unspoken thought of millions of its citizens. "I think every person in Gotham is fine with not knowing."

…

Rachel hurried into the restaurant, eager to get a quick bite before she had to get back to the constant chaos of these last few days. Placing her order at the counter, Rachel turned around and saw him. Maroni. Still in his same spot, trying to show the world that nothing had changed. But he only had his bodyguards standing around to keep him company now. Her lip curled in disgust.

She found herself calling out to him. "Are you enjoying your prosecution-free life?" she asked, pointedly glancing at his empty table.

Maroni looked up from his meal and a slow smirk spread across his face as he recognized her. "Why, Miss Dawes, I thought you were always the one who enjoyed making as many deals as possible."

Oh, Rachel tried to hide her wince as he brought up old ghosts. She'd tried to shove the whole travesty of Joe Chill's plea bargain as far back in her mind as possible. But it had always haunted her. Bruce's face as she told him that Chill was going to walk free (how she still thinks it had been the right call), his dead eyes as he'd shown her the gun and what he'd wanted to do. What she had inadvertently pushed him into.

Bruce had wanted to kill Chill then, but Falcone had done the job for him.

And now here was Maroni doing the same. She shook off the memories. "I didn't think you really needed to have the Joker knocked off."

Maroni's smirk widened. "Oh, Miss Dawes, I'm surprised at you. You think I ordered the hit on the Joker? The man who took out my competitors for me?" Maroni dusted off his suit as he stood up. "I'd take a closer look at your head of Major Crimes, if I were you," he murmured as he brushed by her out the door. "Never thought he had it in him."

Rachel stared after him, ice creeping up her veins at the implication. Maroni thought…

Gordon had ordered the hit?

…

Gordon pulled into the parking space. He hesitated, trying to tell himself he was wrong. But he wasn't. It had been days since the Joker was shot dead, and Gordon's hunches had only intensified.

He had no real proof. Maybe, just maybe he was wrong. With a sigh, he killed the engine and got out.

Either way, it was time to find out.

.

Harvey looked up at Gordon's quiet rap on the door. "Any news?"

"No, there's still no match on fingerprints, bloodwork. The man's going to be buried a ghost."

Frustrating, but hardly surprising. Harvey and Gordon had been involved in multiple meetings with Loeb and the mayor, and the inability to identify the corpse of Gotham's serial killer was a constant point of contention.

But something else seemed to be bothering Gordon. "What's on your mind?" Harvey asked.

Gordon seemed to hesitate then plunged ahead. "Harvey, when you were in Internal Affairs, did you ever investigate Stephens?"

Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't that.

Harvey could feel his pulse jump, a dull hammering in his ears. Still, he answered truthfully. Truthfully but cautiously. "Stephens? Occasionally."

"And what did you find?"

"Why are you asking?" Deflecting with his own question, when he should have just answered, but it was normal enough. Gordon didn't seem to think anything of it.

Gordon shrugged. "He's been acting differently the past couple of days. And when I thought about it, he'd been acting off since the day the Joker was shot, and I…I think he's dirty."

Harvey understood the sacrifice Gordon was making. Over twenty years on the job and Gordon had never, ever, ratted anybody out. Now, he was shedding that code to come clean to Harvey.

The irony was bitter on his tongue. "Gordon," Harvey began, "I'll be the first to admit I distrust your team, you know that." The jab was required but it hurt to say. "But I don't think he's corrupt."

Gordon didn't seem to be swayed. "Then why is he acting so strange?"

"Family problems, health issues, who knows? But that's good news, right? It shows he's not a good enough actor to be on the take."

Gordon shook his head and sighed. "Well, maybe so. But I felt I had to let you know. After all, you're our White Knight."

He'd said it with a smile, but…

Harvey barely paid attention as the lieutenant said his goodbyes and left. Gordon had come here seeking information on Stephens. Hadn't he?

But he hadn't dug for very long. He'd basically accepted Harvey's answers without a second thought. And that wasn't the detective Harvey knew. He thought he had learned not to underestimate Lieutenant Gordon. The man was quiet but sharp.

Harvey had seen him in action only a few weeks ago; Gordon had spent just five minutes thinking through the logic of the Joker's attempted murder victims and accidentally unmasked his partner in the process. No, if Gordon was serious about wanting to investigate Stephens, he wouldn't have taken possible family problems as the answer and left it at that.

So what had been his goal here?

Harvey felt a frisson of unease. Gordon had been watching him these past few days. Never when they were on camera together. But before or after… Always out of the corner of his eye, so discreetly Harvey hadn't thought anything of it. But now.

Gordon knew the truth.