Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Two: Fish Mooney ~

The rest of that night drained on for hours and hours as Holly watched through the passenger window as Jim and Bullock investigated the scene, helping piece the events leading up to the double homicide second by second, step by step. She tried to stay up as best she could but fell asleep, lying across the backseat. It wasn't until around sunrise that everyone wrapped up investigating, and when Gordon and Bullock returned to the vehicle, Jim gently shook his daughter awake.

"Hey, I'm sorry it took so long," He apologized. "It's okay. You're just doing your job," Holly assured. "How about we stop and grab some breakfast?" He offered. The girl nodded as a smile spread on her face. The thought of pancakes at 6 in the morning sounded very appetizing. As they stepped into the half-full restaurant, they sat at the metal counter, the two men ordering cups of coffee while Holly waited for her blueberry pancakes.

"Listen hot shot, do me a favor. Don't start talking to witnesses until I say so. Especially you," Bullock looked to Jim and then Holly. "What is your problem?" Jim questioned. "Yeah, why are you acting so-" Before Holly could finish her sentence, Jim firmly patted her shoulder as a way to tell her to stay out of this. But she couldn't unshake the feeling of her dad's coworker treating them like they were gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. "My problem, soldier boy is you two just caught us a gigantic flaming ball of crap," Bullock explained.

Jim looked over curiously, asking how he did that, to which Bullock replied, "You guys have never heard of Thomas and Martha Wayne?" The last name rang a bell in Holly's head as Bruce told her back in the alleyway, but aside from that, she didn't know much about his parents. "The Wayne Foundation?" Jim asked. "Yeah. Two of the richest and most powerful people in Gotham. You can't even begin to imagine the pressure if we don't close this thing quick," Bullock responded, slipping just a hint of alcohol into his coffee cup.

"So, let's close it quick then," Holly replied. "Kid, you're too young to understand this. The perp could be any one of the 10,000 mopes out there. This isn't some random street robbery, this is a double murder!" Bullock sighed. "I know that, but I'm just saying if we want to close the case fast, we should start interrogating some people," Holly clarified. Bullock scoffed as she looked at her dad, who silently agreed with her statement.

The restaurant's door opened, a tiny bell rang above it, making all three of their heads turn. A woman and a man dressed in black and gray entered and sat at opposite ends of the counter. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Montoya and Allen from the Major Crimes Unit," Bullock said with a smile. "This is my new partner, Jim Gordon, and his... daughter Holly,"

Jim looked over his shoulder to Allen, saying it was nice to meet them, while the other two detectives barely acknowledged their presence. "You're on the Wayne's, huh? Terrible thing," Montoya shook her head. "Do you have any leads?" "Nope, we're just getting started," Bullock answered. Allen wasted no time in offering to take the case off their hands. It was almost like they had a feeling the GCPD would be under a lot of pressure to bring Thomas and Martha's killer to justice.

Jim and Holly's eyes widened at the offer. There was no way they could hand it off like it didn't matter. They made a promise to Bruce, and they were going to do whatever it took to keep it. "Why do you want it?" Bullock squinted at Allen. "Have you found any leads?" Montoya and Allen shook their heads, claiming they just wanted some press action. With that response, Bullock was skeptical about giving it up, though he was trying his best to hide the fact he was scared.