"Problems always start long before you really, really see them."- Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects
•••
"Chief of staff!" Bird angrily repeated, shaking her head back and forth, "Can you believe that? He's known Nygma for all of like ten seconds and he's going to choose him as his Chief of Staff?"
Jim looked up from the scattered papers he'd spread out on the bed as he hunted for any sign of Jervis Tetch. Any crimes where the perpetrator had been hypnotized. Any mentions of the name Alice.
Anything at all that could give him a lead on Tetch's location.
He mildly felt like he was grasping at straws. Searching for traces of faded smoke in the air.
Barnes and Bullock both had told him Tetch was probably about as far away from Gotham as he could get; but Jim felt differently. He knew he'd eventually try and extract revenge for the loss of his sister.
Bird agreed with him, stating an obsession like that -like the one he had with his sister doesn't die even when the object of the fixation does.
"Did you hear me?"
Jim's eyes darted over to where Bird had now poked her head out of the large walk-in closet and was starting at him.
"I didn't know you wanted to be the mayor's chief of staff." Jim contributed to the near one-sided conversation that had been going on since what felt like the night before.
Bird's nose wrinkled at him and just as quickly as she'd appeared she vanished back into the closet and he started to look back down to the article he'd been reading about a string of missing young women near a college campus; that was until Bird yelled out from the closet, "I don't want to be!"
"I'm already juggling too much." She continued to complain as she walked out of the closet wearing a shiny dark gray blouse she was buttoning up as she spoke, "But just the nerve of him, you know?"
"Nygma?" Jim tried to follow.
"Oswald!" She loudly corrected with a dramatic toss of her arms out to the sides.
"I..." Jim sighed as he watched her continue to button up her shirt, "I don't know what you want me to say."
"I want you to say what you're thinking." Bird stared at him.
"I think Oswald Cobblepot has no business being mayor in the first place-" Jim freely admitted, but pulled in a breath to stop from saying anything else about that.
With raised brows he added, "And I think you should fix your shirt before you leave the house."
Bird looked down to see she'd missed a button on her blouse and she no doubt looked like a mess.
"Gah!" She exclaimed as she dropped her head back and screamed out in frustration at the ceiling.
"Hey. Take a breath." Jim said as he stood from where he'd been sitting and walked over to her and repeated, "Breathe."
"If this is bothering you so much why are you even going today?" He questioned. Looking up at her from under his brows as he fixed the order of the buttons on her shirt.
Giving him a small appreciative smile she explained, "It's the soup kitchen visit this afternoon. I have to be there. It's a photo-op thing. Good PR. And I'll be damned if Nygma's going to be in those pictures with Oswald and not me."
"Oh my god." Jim took a step back but didn't take his eyes off of her. She saw the corner of his mouth twitch as he realized, "You're jealous."
"I am not!" Bird defended, knowing it was lie before she even spoke the words.
"You are too." Jim argued.
Maybe he had been off the job for too long, he briefly thought. It had been over a week since the election results had been announced and Bird had came home angry that Oswald picked Nygma to be his right hand man.
How had he not picked up on it sooner that it wasn't just Bird's dislike of Nygma that had set her off and had her running around slightly frazzled and perpetually mad; it was jealously.
So clear now how it was written all over her.
"I am not." Bird wasn't giving up her denial.
"I should have seen it sooner... but I guess I've never seen you like this." Jim was clearly trying to hold back a laugh at her expense now, "But you are. You're jealous."
Instead of a verbal disagreement this time, she shot him an angry and joyless look before stepping out of sight in the closet again.
The urge to laugh faded as quickly as it hit him and by the time she emerged a few inches taller in a pair of dark purple suede pumps, Jim's forehead lined with his admission, "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about this."
"Ha-ha." Bird bounced her head from side-to-side in sync with her sarcastic response.
"You don't need to worry." Bird assured him as she closed the distance between them and pressed her mouth to his for a quick kiss before pulling back and flashing a smile when she added, "Even if I'm spending all day trying to get someone else's attention; I'm still coming home to you."
"Oh!" Jim snaked an arm around her and pulled her back in for another kiss when she tried to slip away, "Now who's trying to be funny?"
She chuckled against his lips before placing a hand flat against his chest to put distance between them, "I really have to go."
After another stolen kiss, Bird turned to walk away as she called over her shoulder, "And you're wasting your time scouring the crime beat like that. Tetch will show up at some point."
When she was out of sight, Jim pulled in a deep breath and nodded in agreement with what she'd said.
Bird was right, Tetch was going to show again.
Which was the precise reason Jim was trying to find him first. It was clear that he blamed him for his sister's death and that meant that when he did show -he'd be coming for revenge.
That was something else Bird had agreed with him on. She'd said herself that he'd come looking for them.
And she was right. As she usually was about these things.
Jim sat back down on the side of the bed and picked up one of the papers. His eyes scanned the page but he didn't process or retain a single word of it.
There was something else he couldn't get out of his head - Bird.
Not just in the usual way that she stayed in his thoughts either.
"I'd do a lot of terrible things to keep you safe."
Those words had stayed on his mind since the very second they'd left Bird's mouth.
There was a time when Jim couldn't understand how she compartmentalized things in her mind.
How she could assign the value of one life over another without remorse or a second thought.
He could also clearly recall the time when his own life didn't hold much value to her; she'd openly told him so.
But so much had changed since then.
Not only was he one of the most important people to her now, but he also understood more of how and why she made it such a point to hold so very few in that high of a regard.
It was because she had to.
Because he knew now that when Bird really, truly loved and cared about someone she'd go to the ends of the earth for them. Give and give until there was nothing left of herself.
So absolute in her loyalty and devotion that one might even call it a fault.
Closing his eyes, Jim pulled in a breath and attempted to refocus his concentration. This was another reason he had to locate Tetch before he came for them.
After all, if this were an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth situation, than Jervis wouldn't only be coming after Jim; he'd want to take something very dear away from him and the most important thing in his life was Bird.
•••
"You alright?" Butch asked as he glanced over to Bird who was standing by a large orange cooler where she was reading the back of an empty powder punch packet that had just been mixed into the water.
"This is a joke." Bird commented, holding the packet up as she explained, "The label claims this is a nutrition drink. Full of vitamins and goodness but it's pretty much a bag of flavored sugar."
"Yeah?" Butch blew out a breath, "Well, it's cheap."
His line of sight went past her to where Oswald was speaking to some reporters while Nygma was taking his designated place behind the serving line in front of a large tray of freshly warmed dinner rolls.
"That drink ain't the only thing that's a joke around here." Butch grumbled under his breath.
"Right." She scoffed. "They're going to be on the front page. Pictures of them passing out hot soup and rolls. Meanwhile we're stuck at the end of the line passing out cheap punch and..." Waving a hand at the open box in front of Butch, she asked, "Whatever the hell that is."
"Peanut butter flavored wafer cookies." Butch read aloud as he plucked one of the small cookie packs from the full box. Dropping the cookies back in with an exasperated sigh he clarified, "I'm not talking about our places in this line either though-"
"I know." Bird nodded, being sure to keep her voice low, "We've been replaced."
"You've been replaced." Butch said, "I got put out to pasture. There's a difference."
"Oh, excuse me." She cocked her head to the side, "I didn't realize we were competing for whose got it worse."
"Nah." He shook his head, "I'm just saying it ain't right. We both done a lot for him and now I'm just dumb muscle and you're only here cause it looks good."
Both of their unhappy and annoyed expressions quickly snapped into wide smiles when the cameras started going off.
An elaborate set up by the press to catch various heart-warming photos of Gotham's newly elected Mayor serving food to those least fortunate in the community.
Bird overheard talk about how they wanted to do an entire two page spread covering the day and knowing the main focus of it would be Oswald and Nygma left Bird with a lasting feeling of someone reaching inside her chest and pinching her heart.
It was hours later. Nearly everyone who'd showed up at the soup kitchen had been served. Butch had taken to munching on a pack of the cookies he was supposed to be handing out as they waited for the last few people to come through the line and the media to get those last few gratuitous shots to accompany the story of how the Mayor and his staff stayed until every last hungry citizen was fed.
They looked over to see Nygma carefully fluffing up the white chef's hat Oswald had been wearing to serve the needy. Making sure their new Mayor looked picture perfect.
"Ugh." Bird complained, "I could puke."
"Not in the punch, alright?" Butch spoke up, "These people got enough problems."
"Shut up." Bird laughed as she threw an empty plastic cup at him.
Straightening her posture, Bird adjusted her dress and announced, "I'm going in."
Butch shook his head and held back a laugh of his own as he watched Bird squeeze into the photos. Literally and physically putting herself between Oswald and Nygma for the last few money shots.
It was a short time later that Bird was still hanging around the serving table.
Taking care to sneak a little boy an extra roll when she knew the cameras were on her.
"Miss Wayne." One of the last remaining reporters called out as she walked up to where Bird was standing, "How are you?"
"Tired." Bird admitted the truth with a small chuckle, "But it's worth it. Oswald and I decided before we got here this morning that we weren't going to rest until every person who came through the doors had gotten something hot to heat."
The corner of Bird's mouth twitched into a smile as she watched the young woman eagerly eating up the information from her. Scribbling it down on her notepad so fast it looked like frantic chicken scratches.
Most of the reporters had already filed out. Not wanting to stay in a place like that for longer than they had to.
Not only was it not the most pleasant smelling building to be confined in, but human suffering is hard to ignore when it's staring you right in the face.
It seemed that there were two main types of reporters in Gotham.
The first batch, taking up the lion share, would do anything for a story. Even if that story wasn't entirely true. It was all about sales being up and money lining their pockets.
Then the second group. Usually the youngest ones, really thought they were going to make a difference in the world. They wanted to report the truth. No matter how bright or grisly it was.
Bird watched her with an empathetic smile. Clearly this girl was from the second group, but it wouldn't be long before she'd convert to the first.
"I just..." The girl nervously smiled and tiled her notepad up, holding it against her chest, "I just wanted to say I think it's really great what you're doing. You and the Mayor!"
Bird graciously smiled. Her eyes cast down as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
It felt like lifetime ago, but in reality was only a matter of a few short years ago that she and her best friend dreamed of stealing away the power to run the city.
And now here they stood. He was Mayor and still secretly running the crime underworld. Excelling at both.
And Bird was in the papers nearly as much as he was. The city believed in her. Many took her word as gospel.
So strange, she thought to herself, how everyone was so easily swayed that both she and Oswald wanted to make the city a better place. That they truly cared about the downtrodden and were putting so much time, effort and money into making Gotham better.
She turned her head, looking back over to where Oswald was standing. He was mingling with some of the homeless. Going from table-to-table and offering up the extra food to anyone who was still hungry.
"You should get a shot of that." Bird pointed over in his direction as she spoke to the reporter, who looked over and then instructed the photographer with her to do just that.
Maybe they really were making the city better.
Bird considered the thought.
Though she knew most of her own motivation came from keeping her newly gained public image sparkling and keeping donations coming into the company. She had been responsible for some real change in the city -in a good way.
The same could be said for Oswald.
Though she knew his motivation was to keep the love of the people.
Which he had. The city really loved him.
Maybe the real motivation behind benevolent acts and altruism didn't matter as long as the outcome really was helping the people who needed it.
When Bird looked back over she saw Nygma was catching up with Oswald on the journey to unload every last bit of food they had and a jolt of anger surged through her again.
"Oswald!" Bird called out. Flicking an arm up in the air she waved him over to her.
With his every step bringing him closer in her direction, Bird's mind raced to come up with a plan.
Again, she'd be damned if the pictures used from the event was of him and Nygma.
She needed something big, tying her best friend to her in the public eye.
In pictures. In print.
"Bird?"Oswald questioned. A wide smile plastered on his face as he side-eyed the reporter and wondered what was going on.
"Oswald." Bird beamed. Appearing nothing but entirely genuine and happy to have her friend so close to her, "I was just about to share our exciting news and I didn't want to do so without you!"
"Oh..." His lips pulled tighter as the smile became a psychical strain to keep up.
He had no idea what she was talking about; but they were in front of a reporter with her pen at the ready and a camera pointed their direction ready to take the winning shot, "Yes, thank you for waiting until I was here with you."
"What big news is this?" The reporter asked them. Her hazel eyes wide behind her dark rimmed glasses.
Oswald turned towards the reporter who'd stolen the words right from his own mouth.
Clearing his throat. He reached up and loosened his tie. Hoping that the droplets of sweat that had beaded across his upper lip weren't near as visible to everyone else as they felt to him.
"The partnership." Bird linked her arm with Oswald's. Pressing against his side and looking pretty for the camera as the wheels turned in her mind.
She was making it up as she went.
"As you know. I've been heading up the community outreach department of Wayne Enterprises for a while now and now with my dearest friend being out city's new esteemed mayor; it just felt like the perfect time for the two of us to partner up-" Bird began.
"Yes. Of course!" Oswald chimed in. He still had absolutely no idea where Bird was going with this, but he certainly didn't want to appear that way, "We are both now in the perfect position to bring change Gotham. On a large scale."
Bird bowed her head and smiled.
She could feel Oswald literally squirming beside her and had she not been angry with him for all but replacing her with Nygma she wouldn't have left him hanging.
But she was angry. She was hurt and frankly she wanted him to feel some of what she was feeling.
When she remained silent; Oswald shifted his stance and cleared his throat again, "Bird, I think you'd be the best one to deliver our good news.
"Oh, no." She shook her head. Giving him a smile that could have formed ice crystals in his veins, "Don't be so modest. Go on. Tell her about the new feed the hungry initiative you'll be heading up."
With a sound comparable to the air being knocked from his lungs, Oswald nervously looked around the room.
Clearly he'd done something to upset his friend, though at the moment he was unclear as to what the something was.
Either way, now wasn't the time to flail and appear as though he didn't have a plan himself.
Two could play this game and lucky for him, he'd always been able to think on his feet.
"Bigger." He nodded, looking back to the reporter, "These pop-up soup kitchens are great and serve a much needed purpose, but the truth is that we need something on a larger scale. It isn't just our citizens with no place to call home that are going hungry. It's children from low income families whose only meal is the one they get while at school."
"Exactly." Bird nodded, "And the families who are forced to choose between paying the bills to keep the lights on or being able to put food on the table. Affordable and healthy food must be accessible to everyone and that is our goal."
"This all sounds incredible!" The reporter scribbled and scribbled on her notepad.
Not only was this amazing news but for whatever reason they'd chosen her to be the one to pass it along to the public, "And what do your plans include for making this dream a reality?"
The best friends exchanged matching expressions.
Bird might have been the one to start it, but now they'd both continually dug themselves deeper.
"By producing and distributing the food right here in Gotham." Oswald couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Like community gardens?" The reporter questioned. An eyebrow irked in question, "In such an urban landscape?"
"To an extent." Bird backed what her friend said. Her mind quickly going to a late night show she'd caught on TV about how a particular type of gardening was getting more popular in urban areas, "Have you heard of hydroponics?"
"Isn't that where plants grown without soil?" The reporter asked, "With water instead."
"Yes." Bird nodded, "It's the perfect solution for bringing more fresh food into a city setting."
"And that's only the beginning." Oswald added, "And with the very generous donation of $100,000 from Wayne Enterprises to start this initiative; I feel we're off to a very bright start."
Bird smiled. She'd deal with the backlash from the board of the company later on.
-Touche, Oswald.
After both of them stammering to add the project was still very much in it's infancy and they'd have more details to come in the very near future; they posed for more pictures together. Smiles wide and eyes bright.
Once they were alone and the reporter left, Oswald grabbed Bird's arm and pulled her over towards a vacant corner of the room and demanded to know, "What was that?"
Bird stared back at him. Blank expression. A few blinks. Silence.
In truth it was her establishing her territory in the public eye.
Making sure she didn't slip into the background now that Oswald was the mayor and Nygma was at his side as his trusted chief of staff.
This was her staying relevant. Both to the public and Oswald.
Now they'd have to work together to follow through and deliver on the grand plan they'd just announced.
"Why didn't we think of this sooner?" Oswald exclaimed with all traces of the anger he'd been feeling gone, "Bird. This is genius."
"Really?" Her brows lowered.
She wasn't sure what reaction she'd been anticipating when they were finally alone; but that sure wasn't it.
"Yes!"
There was a smile on his lips as his face tilted up to the sky in pride. Clearly already imagining all the good press this announcement would bring him.
He was already beloved by the people of Gotham and this would only further concrete the outpouring of support they city had shown him.
"We need to get a team together to begin work on this." He continued.
"Absolutely." Bird agreed, "I'll have my secretary cut a check."
"We must get together more often." Oswald's eyes were on her now, "We'll have the city eating from the palms of our hands."
"A few years ago we were plotting to take over the city." She couldn't help but let out a laugh. The anger she'd been feeling had long since vanished as well, "Now we're plotting to feed hungry."
"How the times have changed." He laughed with her.
"Let's get dinner soon." Bird urged, "Just the two of us and catch up."
Catching herself just short of stating she didn't want Nygma anywhere around them.
"You're not too busy?" Oswald asked her.
His eyes roamed over her face. She looked tired.
"For you?" Bird grew sentimental, "Never."
"And Jim Gordon won't mind sharing you for an evening?" Oswald asked. His eyebrows arching up and his jaw grew tense.
There it was.
The reminder that she wasn't the only one upset and jealous about having to share her best friend; he no longer had her all to himself either.
Choosing to try and maintain the friendliness of the moment and avoid an argument, Bird stated, "I'm free to dine with whomever I choose."
Over her friend's shoulder, Bird saw the last of the after lunch lingerers, who stuck around to either stay out of the elements or had nowhere else to go.
She caught sight of a woman with raven hair, cut short in an uneven bob. There was something familiar about her, but Bird didn't pay the situation much mind at first.
Oswald was naming off various events he had planned for the week. Trying to see if they had a day soon they really could meet up and share a dinner.
In truth he'd missed her. Not in the ever-present way he had when she'd fled the city months ago.
That pain had since dulled. Out of sight, out of mind.
But now the way he missed her was when she was in front of him. He'd be brought back into the past. Into the days of her being the only person he could rely on.
He tried not to dwell on it too often.
After all; it had taken years for the constant obsessive thoughts of her to fade.
But certainly there would be no harm in a nice dinner together, he thought.
Bird glanced back towards the other people in the room. Her eyes immediately seeking out and locating the woman she'd seen before.
She couldn't shake the feeling that she knew her from somewhere.
Maybe she'd come through one of the shelters at some point when Bird had been on-site?
It wasn't until the woman turned sideways, her hair tucked behind her ear revealing her profile that Bird recognized her.
She let out a loud gasp; causing Oswald to ask if she was okay, but she didn't answer.
The woman with the short raven hair must have felt eyes on her. She quickly pulled on the hood from her jacket and made a run for the side exit.
"Bird?" Oswald yelled as Bird darted away in the middle of their trying to set up a date for their get-together.
She didn't hear him. Didn't see anyone except the woman she was chasing.
Nygma spun around just in time to see Bird run out of the exit. He looked over to where Oswald was still standing, looking both confused and hurt but her sudden abandonment.
Pushing his glasses back up on his nose, Nygma briskly walked towards the same door she'd disappeared through to find out what was going on.
When he stepped outside all he found was Bird standing in the center of the alleyway.
Her skin pale and dark brown eyes wide.
Blank expression with not even enough energy or thought left in her to blink.
She looked as though someone had zapped every conscious thought from her brain.
Nygma looked around them, trying to locate the cause of her haunted expression, but he didn't see anything or anyone.
"Bird?" He slowly stepped closer to her, "What's going on?"
When she didn't answer. He tried to crack a joke, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
With that her eyes snapped up to his face as he now stood in front of her.
Wrong choice of words, she thought as she pinned her now burning eyes closed.
She wasn't sure how she didn't recognize the woman sooner.
How she hadn't realized her supposed to be dead mother had been in the same room as her.
Lilith Wayne.
The name still haunted her.
It had been Lily. She was sure of that.
The dark hair, the side profile.
"Bird?" Nygma repeated, reaching a hand out to tap her on the shoulder and ask again what was going on.
But she got her mind and reflexes back just in time to slap his hand away and bark at him not to touch her.
With that she pushed past him to go back into the building as she internally tried to convince herself that Lily was dead and there was no way the woman she'd seen was really her biological mother.
But if it was just someone who bore her likeness -why had she run?
No, it wasn't her. Lily was dead, Bird told herself. She'd stood there and watched her die.
But then again she'd seen Oswald push Fish from a building into the river and she was alive.
Victor Fries had died and was now back among the living.
She'd watched Bridgit Pike burn to a crisp in front of her eyes and she was brought back to life.
Most alarming of all had been Theo Galavan's resurrection as Azrael.
The breath was forced from her body with the crushing realization that her mother could have been brought back to life in Strange's lab and escaped with everyone else.
Her stomach turned.
If the woman she had seen really was Lily; then she'd have to kill her all over again.
••• Later that week •••
"Hey." Bird greeted as she met up with her brother and Alfred inside the doors of The Siren's.
"There is she." Alfred smiled at her before questioning, "All alone tonight?"
"Mhm." Bird hummed, "Jim didn't want to tag along."
Not only had Jim made it clear he wasn't interested in attending the Mayor's past due victory party that night. He really didn't seem to believe it when Bird had swore that Oswald fairly won the election.
But to make the night sound even less appetizing; the party as being held at Barbara's club and she was the one hosting it.
"I can't imagine why." Alfred cleared his throat.
When Bird shot him a look, he straightened his posture and pretended to not notice her eyes were on him.
In all honesty she was surprised to see they'd both came to the party; it was clear from the expressions on their faces that they didn't really want to be there.
She didn't exactly want to be there herself and could think of a million other ways she'd rather spend her night than watching Nygma follow Oswald around like a lost puppy.
But not only would it look strange if she didn't show up; she also wanted to be there for Oswald.
This victory party was long over due; there had been an earlier planned celebration not long after election night, but due the recent trouble they'd run into with The Red Hood Gang, the night kept getting postponed for safety reasons.
Though Bird wasn't entirely sure why -considering since the small time gang had apparently re-emerged and took an interest in coming after the city's new mayor. They hadn't actually hurt anyone.
They'd ruined a few public appearances.
Most notably when Oswald unveiled the statue he'd had made of his mother and they'd beheaded it.
But despite being heavily armed that day not a single living person had been harmed.
It didn't matter anymore. The Red Hoods had been dismantled once again, just the day before, when Oswald had gotten a lead on their location and Butch made it to the warehouse before anyone else and managed to take the entire crew out.
"I'm glad you're here." Bruce stepped closer to his sister. A concerned look on his face, "I don't know if you've had a chance to speak with Detective Gordon since earlier today; but I wanted to inform you that I've hired him as a private investigator -to try and track down Ivy Pepper."
"Selina still can't find her?" Bird's eyebrows lowered.
She was sure the young redhead would turn up eventually just like she always did.
"No." Bruce's voice lowered.
"Well, if anyone can find her it'll be Jim." Bird offered with a smile.
Bruce managed to smile back and nodded in agreement. That was his thought on the matter too.
"You haven't told him anything about..." Bruce's voice trailed off, "I only bring it up because when I informed him we were no longer looking into the corruption in the company and what happened to our parents -he seemed surprised."
Bird pulled in a breath and ignored the feeling of Alfred's eyes now on her.
"I haven't told him anything about it yet." Bird sighed, reaching up to rub her forehead, "For one; I don't know what to even say. And two; anyone we tell about The Court is going to be in danger -and Jim finds enough of that on his own."
"I understand." Bruce was quick to explain his reasoning behind bringing it up, "I'm sorry if I've caused any trouble between you."
It was still new territory for Bruce to be stuck in regarding his sister's and Jim's relationship.
In the past he'd told Detective Gordon whatever he felt comfortable telling him.
But now he had to watch what he said. Think twice about whether it was something Bird had already told him or not.
"Come on." Bird nodded her head for them to follow her and turned to lead them further into the club.
When they reached the display of a large ice sculpture crafted in Oswald's likeness with the title 'mayor' etched into the ice, Bruce sighed, "How long do we have to stay here?"
"As long as it takes for you to be seen in the world, Master Bruce." Alfred explained as they came to a stop, "Being Bruce Wayne -and smiling."
"So this is our life now?" Bruce questioned, "Fake smiles and mingling?"
"Welcome to my life, little brother." Bird chimed in.
Over the past several months she'd been wearing a personable and charming persona in public around people she couldn't have cared any less about.
"I'm starting to miss the old days." Bruce admitted.
"So do I." Alfred echoed.
But this was the life Bruce had chosen.
To be one person in public and another behind the scenes.
"Bird!"
Looking over her shoulder she saw Oswald quickly hobbling over in her direction.
When he came to a stop beside her, he looked at the company she was keeping and smiled.
"Bruce. Mr. Pennyworth." He greeted, "I'm so pleased you made it!"
"Yeah. Well, we're trying to get out a bit more Mr. Mayor." Alfred's response was sharp.
Utterly disapproving and his eyes didn't miss the closeness at which Oswald stood beside Bird.
Their friendship had always made his skin crawl.
"Oswald. Please." He corrected.
Bruce looked between them. He didn't care for Oswald Cobblepot either, but just as Alfred had pointed out earlier they were there to be seen.
"I never got the chance to thank you for saving our lives from the ex-mayor." Bruce did his best to put on a genuine smile, which faltered some as images from that night flooded back and he thought of how badly Bird got injured and how much worse it could have been, "We're very lucky you showed up when you did."
With a chuckle, Oswald leaned his head forward. His hand landed on Bird's arm and he pointed out, "As you know your sister is very important to me. I got there as quickly as I could."
Bruce looked between them. His eyes falling to where Oswald was holding onto Bird's arm still.
"You know, your father didn't approve of me." Oswald continued before he was able to stop himself, "Considered me a bad influence."
Bird's eyes widened and she turned her head to face him.
"I didn't know you'd met my father." Bruce admitted.
He'd known his dad didn't approve in the slightest of his sister's friendship with him.
He could even remember overhearing fights between them.
Their father outraged that she kept finding ways to get out and see Oswald, convinced something inappropriate must be going on considering the age difference as Bird has only been a teenager when they'd first met.
Arguments that would soon turn into screaming matches with Bird swearing on her life that they were only just friends and repeatedly trying to say Oswald was the only person who understood her.
For a moment Bruce felt a small pang of something like guilt.
Standing there being good-natured with the very person his father blamed for Bird's descent into a life of crime.
But even knowing their father's beliefs on the matter; Bruce felt the truth went deeper than that.
He didn't fully understand the strange bond his sister shared with Oswald, but he did know that she loved him enough to risk her life for his and that wasn't something she did lightly.
He considered something his father probably never did; that maybe in ways no one else was able to comprehend; Oswald had saved her life too.
"I met him only few times." Oswald was delayed on answering the question, "Unfortunately, they weren't pleasant meetings. Though I'd like to think that if your parents lives hadn't been cut short, so tragically, that maybe they'd have had a change of heart."
"Oh, I seriously doubt that." Alfred couldn't bite his tongue any longer.
The smile fell from Oswald's lips as he looked at the butler.
"Alfred." Bird's eyebrows raised, "Let's not forget he saved your life too the night Galavan came after us."
"It was nothing." Oswald tried to dismiss.
"Not at all." Alfred dismissed, "I found it very fortuitous you turned up when you did with that bazooka." He sarcastically chuckled, "I just felt a but sorry for Stan, the gardener -he was picking up pieces of Galavan for weeks."
With a delighted shrug, Oswald laughed and pointed out, "Oh, I can't take credit for all of it. That was actually Bird's idea. Blow him up into enough pieces that he couldn't ever be put back together again." With a wink he continued, "Brilliant, right?"
"Okay..." Bird drew out the word and smiled at her brother and Alfred before she looped one arm with Oswald's and patted his chest with her free hand as she said, "Let's make our rounds, shall we?"
"Lead the way." Oswald nodded.
Once they were out of earshot, Bruce turned to Alfred.
"What?" Alfred feigned innocence.
"Was that really necessary?"
"Thomas couldn't stand him." Alfred reminded the youngest Wayne, "And for very good reason, I might add."
"Because he thought he manipulated Starling into making the choices she did back then?" Bruce wanted clarification.
"Yes. Exactly that." Alfred agreed.
Catching sight of the look in Bruce's eyes, he pushed, "You don't think so?"
"I'm not sure." Bruce admitted, "But Starling trusts him and cares about him in a way I don't think she does anyone else. That must be for a reason."
"Ah, well, Lady Wayne isn't exactly known for her sound reasoning, now is she?" Alfred regretted the words the moment they slid from his tongue and left a bitter taste behind.
"Don't be mean, Alfred." Bruce's face twisted up.
He caught sight of Selina from across the way. No doubt she was there to pick-pocket the wealthy party-goers.
"I'll be back." Bruce announced before Alfred had the chance to say anything else.
He'd been hoping to see Selina at the party that night. Not only did he want to let her know he'd hired Jim Gordon to try and find Ivy; but he'd made the decision to let her know how strongly he cared about her -as more than a friend.
Right before his clone had left town, he'd let them know that he and Selina had shared a kiss.
At first Bruce was hurt and even angry at the news, but then he'd come to conclusion that Selina must have only kissed Five because she thought he was Bruce at the time.
Alfred didn't seem as sure as he was about it, but Alfred wasn't always right.
•••
Bird glanced around the room from where she stood at the bar.
Her brother and Selina had disappeared a while ago and she'd seen Alfred chatting up a pretty blonde just moments before; but now she didn't see him anywhere either.
Oswald was getting ready to make his speech and Bird figured she'd head out soon after that.
In truth she was feeling ignored.
Not just by Oswald either, but every time she spotted Victor Zsasz, he seemed to duck out of view from her.
As if he were avoiding her.
She didn't pretend to know why Zsasz did half of the things he did, but she'd never known him to avoid her.
Though she had spotted him talking to Nygma earlier in the night; so maybe even he was drinking the kool-aid.
Now that she paused for a minute to think about it, she'd also seen Butch speaking to Nygma earlier as well and it seemed like his presence had also been sparse.
So now she'd been left with no one to talk to and had taken to hanging close to the bar.
In fact, the only person who seemed to be paying her any mind was a beautiful tall redhead from just across the bar who seemed to be mimicking Bird's every move.
From the way she held her drink to her stance.
Bird looked back over to see the girl was still watching her. There was something a little familiar with her, but she was also fairly sure she'd never seen her before.
The other woman was dressed for the event, an expensive green cocktail dress and her long red locks laid in perfectly pinned back shiny waves.
But there was also a slight nervousness in her movements as she stood there, like she wasn't used to being at these high-society events.
Maybe that's why she kept watching her, Bird reasoned, she was trying to mimic her movements to fit in better.
Not giving it much more thought, Bird took another drink from her glass before setting it back down on the bar surface and making her way through the crowd as Barbara took the stage and demanded everyone's attention.
"Ladies. Gentlemen. Welcome to The Sirens." The blonde began, "Tonight we're here to celebrate the honorable Mayor Cobblepot. Our savor from the monsters and the new captain of fair city."
The audience erupted in a thunder of clapping, some people were yelling in excitement and others whistling as loud as they possibly could in good cheer.
"And now..." Barbara continued, "The Mayor would like to say a few words!"
Bird looked over to where Oswald was making his way through the sea of party-goers, drawing closer to the stage with a wide smile on his face.
He wasn't just happy.
He looked to be floating on some other plane of being. A cloud nine high. All his dreams were coming true.
Bird raised her hands and clapped along with everyone else and tried to be happy for him.
After all she knew better than anyone the pain and struggles he'd endured to get to where he now stood.
But something tightened deep inside her chest. Clenching and hardening.
Like a beating heart turning to stone.
She had always been on Oswald's side; but now that he sat the top of his game -it was Nygma he'd rather have at his side.
"Tonight is a celebration -not of my victory, but of Gotham's. This is a new day!" Oswald began.
His voice trembled a little as he stood before so many people who were hanging on his every word.
He'd always wanted this, but the attention and admiration was something that would take getting used to.
Even when he'd rose up to claim the throne as king of the crime world, people only followed out of fear and not much else.
But now the city loved him. He was a hero in their eyes. They chose him to be their leader.
And he couldn't be more grateful to Ed for showing him that.
The roaring sounds of jubilation turned into screams of panic when a gun shot rang out in the room.
Glass shattered and rained down on the dark polished floor from the light fixture the bullet had struck.
"I wouldn't celebrate yet, Mr. Mayor. Red Hoods ain't finished." A voice rang out as the crowd parted, backing fearfully away from the man donning the red hood and pointing a handgun towards the stage.
Before Bird was able to make a move or intervene, an arm wrapped around her neck from behind, someone was pressed against her back and she couldn't breathe.
Squirming and struggling, she fought to get away, but the person holding her in a choke-hold was much stronger than she was.
Her body started to weaken.
Vision darkening around the edges like a sheet of paper burning from the corners in.
Her stomach lurched; feeling more nauseous by the second in her struggle for a breath.
Frantically she scratched and clawed at the arm around her neck, trying to get a hold to pull it away and free herself.
"Ed!" Oswald shrieked, confused and betrayed as his Chief of Staff joined him on the stage -but only to hold him still, making him an easier target for the enemy to shoot, "What are you doing!"
"Sorry,boss."
Oswald stopped struggling to get away from Nygma and stared with wide eyes.
He didn't need the red mask gone to see who was holding it at gun point.
"Butch?" He yelled.
With the last of her strength, Bird raised her leg and stopped down hard on the man's shoe who, she believed, was trying to kill her.
The heel spike went right through the top of the man's shoe and he yelled out in pain. Releasing his grip on her enough where she could wriggle free.
Just as she spun around to ward off any future sneak attacks, someone came up from behind him and hit him over the head. His body fell to the floor.
Holding onto her neck and gasping for a breath she looked up to see Alfred standing there, holding a serving tray he'd just taken from one of the wait staff and used to knock the man unconscious.
Another gun shot rang out and Bird spun around so fast she lost her balance from being so uneven with only one shoe still on; the other remained lodged in the foot of the man who'd nearly bested her.
Oswald looked down at him self. Expecting to see blood puddling around his feet and the pain from the bullet to set in.
But there was nothing.
It was a blank. The bullet wasn't real.
"Oops." Nygma laughed from he was still clutching onto Oswald's arm.
Butch looked down to the gun in his hand.
It had all been a set up.
Two more gun shots sounded, only these were from real bullets.
Fired by Zsasz; one into each of Butch's legs. Bringing him to the floor with a cry of pain.
It was too much too fast. Bird was still struggling for her breath, only barely aware of Alfred's presence as he pulled her to her feet to check on her.
His own tone frantic, not only at seeing the state she was in; but also in his questioning of where Bruce was.
But Bird couldn't hear him.
"The Mayor." Nygma's voice echoed through the now silent room, "Our Mayor vowed that all of the Red Hoods would be destroyed and now we have the real leader caught -red handed."
With that he left the stage and approached the badly injured Butch still down on the floor where he'd landed.
"You really think I'd give you real bullets? You are an idiot." Nygma lowly said with a sneer on his face, just loud enough for Butch to hear him before he pulled the hood from his face.
Everyone gasped as they saw who was truly under the mask.
Butch Gilzean; new leader of the Red Hood Gang.
"I will kill you for this!" Oswald screamed into the microphone in front of him.
Butch, breathing heavily from the pain looked around until he locked eyes with Bird from the across the floor.
He saw the betrayal on her face.
Hatred even.
Though he wondered if that hate was directed at him, or more towards herself for letting him back in to her life, for trusting him after he'd turned on them once before.
Butch wanted to tell her more. Tell her he'd never intended on hurting Oswald.
Explain why he'd resurrected the Red Hoods.
Warn her that Nygma was more of a treasonist than either of them had realized and that she needed to watch her back.
But he couldn't. He couldn't do anything other than mouth, "I'm sorry."
"Lady Wayne!" Alfred shook her once more.
"I'm fine-"She choked out as she finally looked at him.
"Your brother?" He repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, "Where's Bruce?"
"I don't know." Bird's eyes darted around the room, "I saw Selina earlier." She remembered, "Ch-" Her words were broken by a violent coughing fit, "Check the roof."
•••
"Thank, God." Jim exclaimed with an audible sigh of relief when he opened the door in a rush to leave Bird's townhouse and get to The Siren's lounge; and found Bird coming up the steps.
She came to a stop at the top of the stairs and faced him.
Her hair which had been elegantly pinned back for the party was mostly undone now. She looked disheveled from head-to-toe.
Literally, since she wasn't wearing any shoes.
There was a dark bruise still forming on her neck.
"I was on my way." Jim insisted.
Ever since news had broke about the attack on the Mayor's victory party, Jim had regretted not going with Bird.
Especially when his phone calls to her went unanswered and he didn't know if she'd been hurt.
He was on way rushing out of the door when she'd arrived back home.
"What happened." He asked once they were back inside and he surveyed the damage that had been done.
Mainly the bruising on her neck.
"I don't know." Bird shook her head.
There was a distant look in her eyes.
The rest of her time at the victory party had been a blur.
Alfred had found Bruce on the roof with Selina; they were both safe and not even aware of the madness had been unfolding beneath their feet.
Oswald had made another speech to the crowd and had them all cheering for him again.
Bird had felt like she was in a daze as everything continued to unfold.
Tabitha had broken out from where she'd been held hostage in the kitchen of the lounge and she and Butch had fought back.
Bird stood idly in place and watched as Butch tried to kill Nygma and nearly succeeded in choking him to death. But Oswald had broken a large bottle of champagne over Butch's head and revived his injured friend.
She hadn't made a move then either.
Just watched everything play out in front of her.
In the end both Tabitha and Butch had been subdued and by the time GCPD showed up nearly the entire crowd was gone and they'd had the still injured and badly bleeding Butch loaded into an ambulance.
Bird had left when they in the process of getting the gurney loaded.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Jim's relief at having her home in one piece faded.
"I mean exactly what I said." She unintentionally snapped at him, "I don't know, Jim. None of it makes sense."
"Was it the Red Hoods again?" Jim questioned as he followed her up the stairs.
There had been conflicting reports on the TV about what had gone down during the celebration and he wasn't sure which version of events to believe.
"It was Butch." Bird came to a stop at the top of the stairs and turned back to face him, "He tried to kill Oswald, but the bullets were blanks and then Nygma..." She shook her head, "I don't know."
"Either way..." He breathed, unsure of what else to say. "I'm glad you're safe."
Without another word to him she headed straight for the bedroom. Seeming to pick up speed as she went.
"Bird!" Jim called after her.
It took him a few moments to follow her.
He meant what he said, above all else he was glad she was home and safe, but he couldn't tell if she really was as unsure of the events of the night as she claimed to be or if she just didn't feel like sharing the details.
"Cam you just stop for a minute?" Jim said as he walked into the bedroom, "And talk to me?"
"I don't have time." Bird's eyes were more alert than they'd been even just seconds before.
She'd snapped out of it. The fog she'd been in was gone.
The lost look she'd been wearing was replaced with determination.
"You don't have time-" He started to ask what she meant, but he didn't get the chance to finish as she turned her back to him and asked, "Unzip me?"
Taking a step forward. He hesitated for a moment, feeling like he was about twenty steps behind on whatever the hell was going on with her.
But with a sigh, he reached out for the delicate zipper of her evening gown and unzipped the back of it as she'd asked.
With a whisper of a thanks under her breath, Bird shed the dress on the floor and disappeared into the large walk-in closet.
Jim wasn't sure what he expected to see when he followed her; maybe her changing into whatever she planned on wearing to bed or even just changing into something more comfortable than the confining dress she'd had tailored for the party.
But instead he found her already wearing a pair of tight dark pants, she was sitting on an ottoman in there pulling socks on over her bare feet and sliding a pair of old boots on; he couldn't remember the last time she'd worn those.
"You're going back out?" He quickly realized.
Concern giving way to anger; clearly she was keeping something from him.
"I have to." She defended, barely glancing in his direction as she grabbed a black tank top and pulled it on over her bra. After grabbing her favorite leather jacket from it's hanger, she turned back to face Jim as she said, "I don't have time to explain it right now, but I need to talk to Butch."
"Okay." Jim stood his ground, "Then explain it on the way."
"You're coming with me?" Bird arched a brow.
Jim nodded -though he wasn't entirely sure why she seemed so surprised.
He certainly didn't intend to let her take off on her own; not after she'd already been in a fight for her life once that night.
"You can sit this out." Bird assured him.
Jim's brows furrowed.
It wasn't as if it was in Bird's nature to ask for help, but it didn't fully dawn on him why she was letting him know he was off the hook until she tripped the switch to reveal the false wall at the back of her closet.
"Bird." He shook his head from side-to-side in disapproval, "If you need to talk to Butch, then talk to him, but you don't need to do it like this."
The panel slid open and revealed the vast weapon collection to the only two people who knew it was there.
"Don't you get it?" Bird asked while she pulled her hair hair up and then wrapped it into a tight bun so she could easily slide a ski mask on to conceal her identity, "Butch betrayed Oswald. He's never going to make it to the hospital."
Grabbing up her balaclava she stuffed it in the pocket of her jacket before grabbing a gun and then leaning down to pick up a plastic case from the floor.
Jim recognized it as as the holder for the portable tire spikes.
Her plan was starting to come together right in front of his eyes now.
She was going to lay a trap for the ambulance and ambush the crew.
This was the very same plan she'd offered up the day they'd planned on breaking Karen Jennings out of GCPD custody.
The same plan that he, Bruce and Alfred all agreed was too extreme and dangerous.
So instead they'd planted a large bag of cash in the road and ambushed the officers when they stopped the van.
This was reckless. Dangerous.
She was risking not only Butch's life, but the lives of the emergency response workers in the ambulance.
Along with putting herself in a fair amount of danger considering there had to be at least one armed officer since Butch was under arrest.
"You with me or not?" Bird questioned.
Jim didn't say anything as he stared back at her.
The clothes she was wearing.
The look of determination in her eyes mixed with a gleam of excitement.
She was about to do something bad and wasn't holding onto any hesitation in doing so.
It reminded him of the first few times they'd crossed paths.
Back when she'd proudly proclaim that not only was she a criminal; but she was exceptional at it.
When he still didn't say anything, Bird gave him an understanding smile.
Walked up to him and planted a kiss on his lips before pulling back and casually saying, "I'll be home later tonight."
Spoken as if she was heading into the office to finish some paperwork before an important deadline and not about to pull off a heist.
She'd barely made it out of the room before he'd grabbed a ski mask for himself and darted after her.
Back then, before they were together and she'd act like this it would get under skin. He'd feel like they were on a different planets.
But it didn't feel that way anymore and at the moment he couldn't tell if that was good or bad.
It was startling, to say the least, when it dawned on him halfway down the stairs that not only was he going along to make sure she didn't get herself killed; but also to prevent her from killing anyone.
•••
By the time they were in place, hiding in the shadows under an overpass with the strip of spikes spread across the road, Jim understood why she'd been so insistent on speaking to Butch directly; along with why she'd answered his questions of what happened with an 'I don't know'.
Something was definitely off with the entire situation.
He still wasn't sure it required this much of a risk to talk to him, but Bird was right, he was never going to make it to the hospital.
They had only been a few minutes ahead of the ambulance on it's way to Gotham General, which didn't leave much time for talking or even second-guessing before they'd need to spring their plan into action.
"Showtime." Bird said under breath as she reached up and pulled her mask down over her face which only had an opening for her eyes.
Jim covered his own face and pulled in a deep breath as he looked down to the remote in Bird's gloved hand.
Just as the ambulance was going to drive over the trap, but pressed the button and the razor sharp blades deployed. Shredding and releasing the air out of the tires as the heavy vehicle went right over the spikes.
There was some swerving as the driver struggled to maintain control but luckily they managed to keep from wrecking.
Once the ambulance was stopped, the doors flew open from the back and a uniformed officer jumped down to the street. His service weapon drawn.
The officer must have been new. Not only did Jim not recognize him, but he looked terrified and his hands were shaking.
He was easy enough to disarm, and Jim did just that before cuffing the officer with his own set of cuffs.
It was quick and easy, almost a little too easy how quickly they'd taken over the ambulance.
The two EMTs, rookie cop and driver were all laying on their stomachs on the safety of the sidewalk with their hands either zip tied or cuffed behind their backs.
No had gotten injured and Jim was reminded of something Bird had said the night they'd broken into the Internal Affair's evidence room at the station to try and clear his name. The muggers they'd ran into after along with the woman they'd saved.
"We make a pretty good team."
He heard her voice in his head from that night.
And she was right. They did make a good team.
Only he wished they were doing something better with those abilities than taking people hostage and destroying city property.
When the loading doors of the ambulance opened again. Butch shook his head and blew out a sigh. His eyes falling to where he his wrist was cuffed to the metal base of the gurney.
"I knew it." He grumbled with defeat turning his voice to gravel, "I told 'em. I told 'em we'd never make to the hospital."
Bird tucked the gun she was carrying into the waistband of her pants and pulled her mask off.
"You?" Butch couldn't hide his shock -or sadness, "Penguin sent you to finish me off?"
When Jim removed his mask as well, Butch continued to voice his thought process, "Or not... Wait, what's going on?"
When neither of them immediately answered he questioned, "You here to save me or kill me?"
"I don't know yet." Bird answered honestly at the exact same time Jim said, "Neither."
Bird looked at him, her eyes falling to the blood soaked bandage over one of the bullet wounds on his leg where his pant-leg had been cut off to give EMTs access to the wound.
"What happened?" Bird asked, "I keep going over it in my head and you know, my first thought is that you wouldn't do this... but then my mind keeps going back to the night you handed Oswald and I both over to Galavan."
"Bird, you gotta believe me." Butch pleaded, "I never planned on hurting Oswald, okay? That's not why I hired the Red Hoods. I can explain."
"Yeah?" Jim questioned, looking back at him before checking their surroundings from the windows on the door, "You better talk quick then. Oswald's people are probably right behind us."
"Okay, listen." Butch began as he held up his non-cuffed arm, the one with a metal hand in place of where flesh and bone used to be, "I gave Penguin everything. I used to be someone in this town and then that pencil neck'd son of a bitch came along and suddenly I'm nothing. Nada. It ain't right."
"I know." Bird agreed, "Oswald shoved us both to the sidelines for Nygma."
"I was done with bein' pushed out." Butch explained, "I was gonna make Penguin respect me again. See that I'm his right-hand guy and not Nygma. I had it all planned and no one was gonna get hurt. I was never really planning on hurting Penguin."
Jim listened in silence as Butch explained his motives for getting the Red Hoods to go after Oswald.
Suddenly more of the news lately made sense. Like why the new Mayor kept being heckled by the gang but never got hurt when they'd been no strangers to violence in the past.
He was also struck with the thought that Butch seemed just as a jealous over how attached Oswald was getting to Edward Nygma as Bird was.
Something Jim couldn't begin to understand but he didn't have time to question.
Butch explained how Nygma had figured out he'd brought the Red Hoods back and approached him with an offer. Kill Penguin and they'd take over the city together.
He'd refused at first. He didn't want to betray or kill his boss, but then Nygma had threatened Tabitha's life. Had her currently being held in the kitchen by Zsasz as he brought up his proposal.
But it had all been a trap.
Ed had turned Butch's own plan against him.
Gave a him a gun with blanks to do the deed so his double-cross would be exposed in front of everyone and both Nygma and Oswald would emerge looking like the heroes.
Bird hung her head. She believed him.
He'd been driven to a point of desperation when he'd been shoved aside by the boss he'd been loyal too; and then once again when they threatened Tabitha, who he believed to be the love of his life.
"Hey." Jim got their attention, "We've got company."
Both he and Bird moved to opposite sides of the interior of the ambulance and waited for the person to open the doors to hop up inside.
"Tabby?" Butch breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was fine.
Once GCPD had hauled him off he didn't know what had become of her.
Tabitha aimed her gun at Bird, mistakenly believing she was there to kill Butch for his attempt on Oswald's life.
"Drop it."
Tabitha looked over to where she could now see Jim had a gun and trained eye on her.
"You've got to be kidding me." She rolled her eyes.
"It's okay." Butch assured her, "They're just here to talk."
Slowly, Tabitha lowered her weapon and Jim followed suit.
"Bird." Butch drew her attention, "I'm telling the truth."
"I believe you." She admitted, "What I don't understand is why you didn't come to me. I was right there, Butch. If you had come to me and told me what was going on-"
"You'd have done what?" Butch bellowed with a laugh.
"Talked to Oswald about what a traitor Nygma is-"
"He wouldn't have believed you." Butch cut in, "You'd have gotten yourself hurt or worse, killed, trying to get in the middle of that."
"I mean, you did literally jump in front of a bullet for Penguin before." Tabitha pointed out.
"A bullet you fired." Bird snapped back at her.
With a smile spreading over her lips, Tabitha cooed, "And here I thought we were moving past that."
"I didn't want anyone to get hurt." Butch said, "Not Tabby, not you... not even Penguin but I had to make a choice and I did what I thought was right."
"Oswald isn't going to rest until you're dead." Bird said in a sorrowful tone, "He will never stop hunting you."
Turning to Tabitha she added, "Which means you better hide him somewhere no one will ever find him. Somewhere that even I don't know about."
Jim opened the door to the ambulance when Bird started towards him.
"Hey." Butch called after her, "You need to watch yourself. You've always had a blind-spot when it comes to Penguin and now Ed Nygma's got his trust. He got me this time... you could be next."
Hopping down from the ambulance, Bird turned back one last time to her old friend and nodded in parting, "Goodbye, Butch."
•••