Chapter 11: Find Gordon

Batman pulled off his cape and cowl as the computer scanned the envelope for explosives.  Carrie descended the stairwell with a tray of food.  “How’d the Calvin Klein model team perform?” she asked with something on the edge of disdain in her voice.  “Carrie, what’s wrong?”

“What makes you think anything is wrong, sir?”

“You’ve been on edge ever since Selena came by, and now you’re lashing out at the FBI.  I may not be the greatest with social cues, but I’m still a detective.” He tapped away at the computer, pulling up an image of his suit’s gauntlet as it performed a scan of the fibers in the armor.  She didn’t answer directly “Look…” she pointed at a satellite image of Arkham “I’ve been looking at this since you’ve been out. The night of the big break out, there was activity in the cemetery behind the asylum.  Looks like a handful of men digging up a grave.”

“Carrie.  There is a very good reason I don’t take you out in the field.”

The computer began chiming that a message was coming in.  “It’s Gordon’s phone.” Bruce said, answering. “Yes Commissioner?” he said as Batman.

“Batman, this is agent Drake.  Commissioner Gordon has been kidnapped.  Security footage shows it was Two-Face and Killer Croc.  She was taken outside Mayor Wayne’s office.”

“I understand.  Are agents Grayson and Todd with you?”

“Yes…they don’t know that I called you.”

“I appreciate that, but right now we need a team effort.  Bring them to you and put me on speaker.”

                Agent Drake approached Grayson and tapped him on the shoulder while the senior agent yelled into his own phone.  “Look, I don’t care who you have to wake up, we sweep the city.  This is…what the hell do you want Tim?”

Drake held up the commissioner’s phone.  “It’s Batman.”

“I’ll call you right back.”  He ended the call and motioned for Todd to join them.  “He wants to talk to all of us.” Putting the phone on speaker he said “Alright Batman, we’re all here.”

“I’ve scanned the envelope for explosives, neutralized the nerve gas emitter and am about to open it.  I’m sending you copies of everything I find to your smart phones.”

“How did you…” Todd asked.

“Because I’m Batman…” was the only answer.  “Its documents that seem to implicate Councilman Bleak in the Arkham break out.  Apparently he’d taken over the Maroni crime family after Two-Face killed Sal Maroni.  All of this seems to indicate his attempt at a land bid for Arkham Asylum, if he can unleash enough chaos in the city he can claim that land and mine it for natural gas, essentially securing billions of dollars for retirement.”

“Councilman Bleak would willingly kill hundreds if not thousands of people for money?” Grayson said in disbelief.

Batman sighed.  “Before he became Councilman Bleak, he was Joe Chill, a low level enforcer for crime boss Carl Grissom, and assisted in the robbery and murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne.  Yes, he’d kill people for money.”

“It almost seems too neat.” Drake mused.

“Neat or not, we bring in Bleak, maybe we can get to the bottom of all of this and get Gordon back.”

“Bleak, or Chill…” Batman said with severity in his tone “Owes a line of warehouses by the docks.  Only one is listed not in active use, closed for renovation.”

“How soon can you meet us there?” Grayson asked.

“Fifteen minutes.” Batman said.

                Rain began to fall on Gotham, giving is a slick, black sheen to the streets.  Batman drove with intense purpose, cutting waves of water into the sky with the car.  The streets were deserted the air quiet outside save for the steady fall of rain.  Any other vehicle would have had difficulty gripping the road, but the military grade tires of the car held tight even on the sharpest of turns.  Taking a hard right, he saw the FBI van and three police cruisers approaching from the opposite direction.  They pulled to the back of the warehouse, distant sirens indicating that the cavalry was fast approaching.  Two helicopters swopped in from above.  Special Agent Grayson exited the SUV, sidearm already drawn.  Commanding officers from various police units approached him, awaiting instructions.  “Keep the building surrounded, eyes on all exits.  Nothing gets out.  Do you understand?” He enunciated each word as if talking to football players before the big game.  There were sounds of agreement and the group broke to disperse the instructions to the rest of the officers.  He could see Batman already on the roof slipping in through a skylight.  “Damn he’s fast.”

“How the hell did they find us?” Joe Chill growled as he grabbed for an assault rifle.  “Looks like your land deal fell through, eh Mr. Bleak?” Eddie said from the shadows.  He emerged wearing his typical glasses but a green Hawaiian cut shirt.  “You and those freaks just better do what you’re paid to do.” Joe grumbled, he positioned the rifle towards Gordon.  “Oh, we’re going to do just that.  Exactly what we were paid to do.”

“Nothing sinister in that…” a woman said from the window.  She was crouched and the low slight hit her eyes making them glow.  She was dressed like a tight leather clad cat and she spoke as smoothly as silk.  “Catwoman?” Joe Chill exclaimed.  “What is this, a senior’s center?” Eddie remarked as he pulled a pistol from his waist band.

“I just want the commissioner; I don’t care about what else you did.”  Joe stood and aimed his rifle.  Catwoman snaked out a whip that caught him at the elbow, sending the shots wide.  Eddie backed away with a smile.  Catwoman leaped from the window and caught Chill by the waist, knocking him to the floor.

Harvey and Croc circled the center of the warehouse.  “So this is how it ends?” Duela said.  “Not with a wimper, but a lot of small bangs.”  The skylight shattered and Batman descended, catching Croc across the back of the neck.  He landed and flung out a batarang that caught Duela in the shoulder.  Raising up, he looked at Two-Face.  “Harvey…please.” Batman pleaded “You can still come back.”

In the darkness of the warehouse a chuckle rose.  It was ancient, and powerful, and seemed to push back all other sound so that all you heard was the steady, then rising laugh.  It was a laugh that froze all who heard it, as if the air around them were the open sea, and the laugh was a single shark fin, swimming just out of reach, but clearly hunting.  It was a laugh devoid of humor, of joy, of compassion, a perversion of everything laughter should be.

“No.” Batman whispered.

“Dear God in Heaven…no.” Harvey shook his head and aimed his assault rifle into the darkness.

Up in the office, the commotion was paused by the sound.  Catwoman moved away from Chill, as he sat on the floor, wide eyed, his heart pounding in terror.  “It…it can’t be.”

Catwoman wasted no time.  She moved to Gordon who had finally regained consciousness.  She looked at Eddie.  “You gonna try and stop me?”

Eddie smirked and holstered the weapon “If you are good at something, never do it for free.  You weren’t in the contract.”

Catwoman shook away the confusion and slashed apart Gordon’s bindings “Come on, this is no place for a lady.”