Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Thirty One: Never Mistake Bravery for Good Sense ~

Jim stood outside the door that led inside Lovecraft's condo uptown with his gun drawn and ready to fire. He kicked the door once, and almost instantly, the lock broke and swung open. Despite the loud noise, Jim quietly stepped into the property, his eyes scanning the room for any spot Lovecraft could be hiding. But the condo was dead quiet, too quiet. As Jim walked towards the bedroom, Lovecraft popped out from his hiding spot behind the curtains, also pointing his gun.

"GCPD! Drop it," Jim instructed. Almost instantly, Lovecraft lowered his weapon and kicked it over to the detective. "You're under arrest. Conspiracy to commit murder," Jim said as he tucked Lovecraft's gun into his belt. "Murder? Me, murder?! Look, what are you talking about?" Lovecraft looked shocked. "You put a hit out on Selina Kyle!" Jim spoke. "No, not me! The same people that came after her came after me too!" Lovecraft swore. "They attacked me on the street! Why do you think I'm hiding in here?!"

"Why would they come after you?" Jim asked, not believing a word Lovecraft was saying. "Why do they ever come? Cause I know too much!" Lovecraft answered. "Cut the crap. Who are you so scared of?" Jim continued to aim his gun. "You have no idea, do you? You think I'm the big wheel. When it comes to the crunch, kid, I'm nobody, just like you. And the people who really, truly run this city, they're watching you huff and puff and run around crusading, and they are laughing at you!" Lovecraft stuttered. "You're so deep in the maze, you can't see over the wall!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" Jim scoffed. Lovecraft gestured underneath his bed, saying there was a briefcase containing important files. Though Jim still didn't trust him, he let Lovecraft take out the briefcase, and show him the contents. With the front door busted open, Jim kept looking back to the entrance and then to Lovecraft just in case someone had the bright idea to show up. "Right before the Waynes got killed, there was a run on Wayne Enterprises stock, like somebody knew something bad was gonna happen," Lovecraft said, pulling out a few papers. " So, I figured I deserved a cut, and I started digging,"

Before Lovecraft could explain any further, Jim's ears perked up at the sound of the front door creaking open, slowly he walked back into the hallway to see the woman and the remaining male assassins approaching him, their faces etched with determination. "I've come for that man. You need not get hurt," The woman stated. Jim slowly put his hands up, still holding his gun as he tricked the assassins into thinking they were taking Lovecraft so easily. But the second the male assassin walked past him, Jim pinned his arm behind his back and pushed him onto the floor.

The female assassin was quick to get the jump on Jim just as he turned around to see her charging towards him. They both struggled just as Lovecraft caught wind of what was going on, and gathered the files, and ran off to another section of the condo. Jim and the woman continued fighting, trying to knock one another to the ground as Jim threw punches and kicks her way. Sometimes, he hit her, sometimes he missed, and other times, he was on the receiving end of the blow. The woman jumped Jim from behind and wrapped an arm around his neck, choking him as she wrapped herself around him, like a spider trying to web its unsuspecting prey.

Jim tried to fight back as much as he could, but the woman's grip was stronger than he thought, and within a few seconds, everything faded to black as he was knocked unconscious. "That was nice. Let's do it again sometime," The woman whispered, untangling herself as she ran off to meet up with the other assassin. It might've been only minutes or maybe even an hour since Jim had been knocked unconscious, but as he came to, he felt the vibrations of his phone and answered the call from Harvey.