Willow

Penguin Arrested

...Known crime boss and jewelry thief Oswald Cobblepot - also called The Penguin - has been arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute and kidnapping...

Wednesday afternoon, he sent Karina to the nearest precinct to file the report in person - which she later let him know that Vincent already filed one, the police were just keeping it under wraps for the time being.

The Daily Planet had published a few photos of Verity and Lex together - Luthor and the Scarlet Duchess the headline read - Bruce printed them out for Karina to bring along with the other information she had on the duchess.

A twinge of jealousy burned in his stomach. He wanted to be the one taking her to the opera.

Gordon lit the signal.

Batman met him on the roof of GCPD's main headquarters. A gentle snowfall dampening the air. Gordon lit a cigarette, pushing his glasses up his nose with his thumb.

He adjusted his trench coat, stuffing his free hand in his pocket, "Duchess of Markovia allegedly went missing after an opera in Metropolis last weekend. She was seen leaving the opera house and getting into a chopper with Lex Luthor around one-thirty Sunday morning. There's a bit of confusion about whose jurisdiction it is, but I'm tryna sort out the details with Commissioner Henderson. It was the same night Penguin attacked the aquarium and I got a hunch the two're connected."

He hated the word 'allegedly'. Of course, they had no proof of kidnapping. Yet. At least he and Gordon shared the same hunch.

"Have you spoken to Luthor?" Batman hated to admit it, but he didn't actually think Luthor was behind it. He was a power hungry asshole, not a petty criminal. Well. He was a criminal. He just also had the incredibly annoying habit of dodging the law.

"Swears he left her at her front door. Uniforms questioned some of the staff and her brother said she went to get milkshakes and never came back. No one can confirm seeing her leave the house, but I'll get a warrant for security footage first thing in the morning." Gordon sighed, taking a drag from his cigarette, "Foreign dignitary disappearin' on U.S. soil... well it ain't good. Montoya's tryna get in touch with the Markovian royal family so they don't gotta hear the news from the press."

Now it was Friday morning and Gordon had his warrant for the Iyer's security footage. They confirmed she left the house dressed more casually, but she hadn't come back.

Impatient and frustrated, Bruce tapped into the nearest traffic cams. It took a while, but he managed to get into the server where data backed up, making a mental note to work on his hacking skills.

After the duchess was safe, of course.

Bruce clicked through the footage until his eyes went dry, fuzzing his vision. A lot of people ran the red light on the corner of Plaza and Central. There was a Big Belly Burger there, but the view of the door was obscured by a bus stop. If she was after a milkshake... He pushed away from the computer, chair screeching across the floor, and ran over to the workstation where he'd left his utility belt. In one of the side pockets was a burner phone he used to contact Gordon from time to time.

B: Big Belly Burger - corner of Plaza and Central.

G: What's a burger joint got to do with a missing persons case?

B: Milkshakes.

G: Shit.

G: Sending uniforms there now.

Bruce ran a hand over his face. He yawned. Wake up, he scolded himself. No time to be tired right now.

He aided the GCPD with a number of missing persons cases over the years. The first forty-eight hours were often the most crucial and those were long passed. And the endless sleet and snow that started up Sunday afternoon - thundering on through the week - had likely washed away any physical evidence. The circumstances were... not great.