Business Partners • Nygmobblepot

Mr Penguin and the Riddle Man

"I've decided to take up on your offer," Jim announces to Oswald over the phone the next morning.

"Wait, really?"

"Well... no."

Jim hears a small, confused laugh, and he can imagine the look on Oswald's face in his head. "Then why did you call me? How did you even get this number? I thought you didn't save my contact."

He looks around to make sure no one is listening to the call. Harvey Bullock is sitting in the seat opposite him, knowing what's going on. A punch never came to Jim when he told him, but a whole lot of shouting and some stressed out arguing did.

"You will not be working for the police department, not exactly. Your job here is going to be nothing more than a cover up, understand?"

"A cover up for what?"

"We need information on Mooney, and we need it on Falcone. Sal Maroni too, if possible, though I don't expect you've met more than a few times."

"I... knew him. But you expect me to, what? Just check in with them all every day and ask how it's going? Ask them to spill the beans whenever it's convenient for you? As soon as you let me in it'll become public knowledge."

"What you already know is useful."

"You don't even know what I already know."

"You've been working with the other side of Gotham for years; you know enough. But as everyone else is concerned, in or outside the GCPD, you're a criminology student."

"They'll know it's me. And don't I need some kind of a degree to-"

"Listen. I don't care. You're well aware I know how to cover things up if I ask the right people. You start at four," he snaps.

"Four?!"

Jim hangs up.

"How'd it go?" Harvey asks, noticing that the way he put down his phone looked and sounded a lot more like slamming it down on the desk.

"How you'd expect it did."

"And is that good or bad?"

"We probably won't know until he shows up."

---

Snitching on Fish Mooney to the police and not getting hunted down and killed right after is going to be hard, Oswald thinks. He'd better keep his distance. From Mooney, mainly. The last (and only) time he snitched on her he got beaten up with a chair, and his new walk is going to be a permanent reminder not to get caught for that again, ever. Of course it won't stop him from... talking... so that's all he's going to take from his own advice.

It genuinely shocks him how easily he had won Jim over. He would've thought it would take a few days, weeks and maybe even a few deaths. But less than twenty four hours after he first re-appeared and announced his survival to the public, and he's officially with the GCPD.

Well, as official as he can get taking in mind the fact that he's only there for the cops' benefit. And his own safety. But they don't know that.

Just the thought of him being found by Mooney and her crew again terrifies him. They can kill him just like that, and despite his desire to just kill her one day, he knows it isn't going to happen, not as long as she has the advantage.

Taking that in mind, it occurs to him multiple times that he doesn't have a real side when it comes to good and bad. He's a bad person, but the others like him aren't like him.

Bad with good intentions?

No.

His intentions are never that great.

---

At four o'clock on the dot, there's a knock at Captain Sarah Essen's office door, where her and Harvey are currently talking about the previous day's matter. Jim walks in with the subject of the conversation shortly after.

"This is the guy," Harvey mutters.

"I can see that."

"As you already know," Jim begins, "this is Oswald Cobblepot. And as we've already discussed, he'll be working with us from now on, and us alone." He says the last part rather harshly, and the emotion in Oswald's eyes changes slightly at those words. "Are you sure there are no problems with the arrangement, Cap?"

"I'm just gonna trust you on this one, Jim," Essen replies simply. "If you really think this is our only way of information getting through to us, then we'll give it a shot. Welcome to the team."

"It's an honor to be working here, really," the new recruit chimes in, holding out a hand. She shakes it reluctantly.

"On that subject," Jim carries on, "you'll be working purely in the medical examination field. Forensics. We don't want you... interfering with our main team. And, just to make sure, we'll have someone watching over you at all times."

"You really don't trust me, do you?"

"No, no I don't. The person you'll be working with is Ed Nygma, who's our forensics investigator. It won't come as much of a surprise to us if you end up being good at helping him out with the C.O.D findings."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know. I'll get Nygma."

There's an uncomfortable silence in between his departure and re-arrival, which mainly consists of Oswald staring at nothing particular in the room with a blank expression on his face, Harvey glaring at him every few seconds as he did so, and the Captain glancing at the door hoping Jim comes back before one of them starts an argument with the other.

After what seems like hours, Jim returns, this time with an awkward-looking man wearing glasses following suit.

"Detective," Ed says with a smile when the door behind them closes, greeting Harvey. "Captain," he adds, nodding slightly to Essen. He narrows his eyes a little in confusion when he sees Oswald stood with them, like it shocks him that he's actually in the room. But he smiles again only a second after. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Your new partner. He's... undercover, mainly," Gordon replies.

"He's on our side?"

"He'd better be," Harvey adds gruffly.

"Nygma, Cobblepot. Cobblepot, Nygma."

At these words Ed turns to Oswald, eyes lighting up with excitement. "I am not alive but I grow, I don't have lungs but I need air and I don't have a mouth but water kills me. What am I?" he asks.

"What?"

"It's a riddle."

Oswald says nothing.

"Do you like riddles?"

"No, actually, I don't."

"So do you give up?"

He stares back at him, looking mildly amused.

"Fire. The answer is fire. It can grow in size, air is a component of fire and water makes it die down, essentially killing it."

"Fascinating," Oswald says sarcastically.

"He's always like that," Harvey says, shaking his head and gesturing to the riddle man.

Ed's cheerful expression falters, even if he's used to these kinds of comments.