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The Final Countdown: Europe
"Barbara?" Jim says as we enter his house.
"Whoa. Sweet crib. You must be one rich cop." Selina inquires.
"It's my girlfriend's place."
"Where is she?" I look around.
"I don't know." Jim replies.
"Barbara?" I call out, but I get no answer.
"So...what? I get to stay here alone?" Selina questions and I see an envelope with Jim's name on the front of it. "I'm hungry."
"Jim." I whisper and Jim picks up the envelope before taking out the folded piece of paper. "I'm sorry, Jim." I sigh and his phone rings.
"This is Gordon." Jim answers the phone while patting my shoulder. "Uh...uh, right. Yeah. We're in the penthouse. Come on up." He hangs up.
"Sounds like your girlfriend's not coming back, huh?" Selina sits on the couch with the note. "Why's she worried about Falcone?"
"None of your business." I tell her as Jim takes the note.
"So what happens now? You gonna get the charges against me dropped?"
"I will, but you're our only witness to the Wayne murders."
"You gonna cuff me to a drainpipe again?"
"No, I'm not gonna hold you against your will. GCPD, juvie—you'd just break out."
"So I do get to stay here."
"No, I have someplace else in mind." I nod before a knock on the door is made. "That's the sketch artist. We need you to describe the man who shot the Waynes."
"Wait, where am I going to stay?" Selina scoffs.
"Where I'm staying. Wayne Manor." I head towards the door with Jim.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"She said this is the man who killed your parents. She said she saw his face. Do you recognize him, Bruce?" I hand him the sketch.
"No." Bruce tells me. "What's her name?"
"Selina Kyle."
"Do you believe her?"
"Yes, I do." I nod.
"So, she saw...everything?"
"And you want her to live here with us, do you? A common street criminal." Alfred inquires.
"She's hardly older than Bruce. She's just a kid who's seen too much." I tell him. "This is for her safety. GCPD is full of moles-"
"Right, and how long would you have us put her up, then?"
"I don't know."
"No. The answer is no. Her being here will put Master Bruce in great danger."
"Alfred." Bruce says.
"She is the witness to a murder, Master Bruce. You do understand that, don't you?" Alfred nods.
"She's also the best chance we have of finding who killed my parents. Isn't she?" He turns to me.
"Yes, she is." I nod.
"Then she can stay. As long as it takes." He nods back before hugging me. "Thank you." He squeezes me and I hug him back before he stands up. "I've made my decision."
"Yes, Master Bruce." Alfred nods as Bruce leaves.
"Look, I know this is a lot. But I'm doing everything I can. Jim, Montoya, Allen and I are meeting with an ADA they trust this afternoon." I walk over to Alfred.
"Oh...a trustworthy lawyer. In Gotham."
"Look, if we find this guy, we'll need her. She'll have to testify. Go before a judge. It won't be easy. Witnesses back out all the time. The ones that stick it out do so because they care about the victims."
"We'll do our best to be nice to her, then, won't we?"
"Be as nice as you were to me and my family. And by that, I mean just be yourself, Alfred."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Call." Mister Dent flips a coin into the air as we stop walking.
"Heads." The boy says.
"Walk away, kid. Somebody up there loves you."
"Hey, Harvey." Montoya calls out as we walk over to him.
"Go. Remember your promise." Mister Dent inquires and the boy walks off.
"Jim Gordon, GCPD. I hear good things about you, counselor." Jim shakes his hand. "My partner, Brianna Brady."
"Hi." I hold out my hand.
"Harvey Dent, likewise about you, Detective." Mister Dent shakes my hand. "You look a little young to be a detective. Ah." He looks at my badge. "Assisting?"
"Yep." I nod. "That was some trick with the coin. What if the kid guesses wrong? You gonna send him to jail?"
"Teenagers, they nearly always call heads. I don't know why. Two-headed coin. Whatever works, right?" He shows me the coin and we share a grin. "So what are you assisting these detectives with, Brianna?"
"The Wayne murders."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"So who is he? Who really killed the Waynes?" Mister Dent wonders.
"This is what we have." I pull out the sketch and hand it to him. "No I.D."
"But this is from an eyewitness? That you have in safe custody."
"It's not nearly enough to go to the law with. Even if we had I.D. on this guy, it's the people who hired him we really want."
"I agree. Your eyewitness is useless in a courtroom. But the idea of your witness could be immensely valuable." Mister Dent turns on a projector as me and Jim sit down. "Ever hear the name Dick Lovecraft?"
"Sure. Billionaire." Jim replies. "Property, construction, chemicals."
"And as corrupt as they come." Allen adds.
"Falcone, Maroni, even Wayne Enterprises, Lovecraft has dealings with all of them." Mister Dent goes on.
"Since the Waynes' deaths, he's doubled his fortune.
Including a huge piece of the Arkham deal." Montoya informs.
"Lovecraft had a long feud with Thomas Wayne over deals and politics. They couldn't have had a more different vision for Gotham. I'm willing to bet my career...on his involvement in the Wayne murders."
"That's a big bet." I comment.
"I wanna use your witness to go after Lovecraft."
"How? My witness can't connect Lovecraft to the perp."
"Lovecraft doesn't know that. I'll let it leak out that we have a secret eyewitness who's going to blow the case wide open and connect Lovecraft to the Wayne killings. Lovecraft will get very nervous. And the people around him will get nervous. And that's when people start talking; you know how that goes."
"Unless Lovecraft wasn't involved in the Wayne murders." Jim tells him.
"If so, which I doubt, we still win. Whoever was involved in the Wayne killings will get their cage rattled like the dickens, won't they? I bet he makes a move."
"You like to bet a lot." I slowly nod.
"Well, what do we got to lose?" Mister Dent scoffs.
"My witness becomes a target."
"No. That's the beauty of it. We never actually file papers. We never name names. It's just a powerful story. Your witness is perfectly safe."
"And you're on board with this?" Jim questions.
"We've been on board, guys. Harvey's one of us." Montoya nods.
"I want what you want. I wanna make this city a better place." Mister Dent tells us and I share a nod with Jim.
"No names. Not mine, not my witness, nothing... just a story." I stand up.
"Just a story."
"Alright. Let's try something." I hold out my hand and he shakes it.
"How old are you, Brianna?" Mister Dent asks.
"Seventeen."
"You might just be the smartest seventeen year old I ever met."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Hey, I thought I was gonna have to work this case without you. Where the hell have you two been? You know what? On second thought, never mind, I don't wanna know." Harvey says as we walk over to him.
"What do we got?" I ask.
"A biggie." He hands me a file. "Blackgate prisoner escaped while in transit to St. Mark's for psychiatric care. His name's Ian Hargrove, clinically insane, with a compulsion for blowing things up. He exploded a bunch of old buildings around Gotham. Last one, two janitors were killed."
"Says here he was busted out by four gunmen?" Jim sits at his desk and I join him.
"Yeah, which is odd—Hargrove never used accomplices."
"Alright, so who did Hargrove spend time with at Blackgate? Who did he communicate with on the outside?" I pull my hood off my head.
"His entire stretch, he was isolated from gen pop. Never made or received phone calls. Only one visitor in those two years-his brother John." Harvey tells me.
"Got an address?" Jim questions.
"We do. Unis are bringing him in right now for questioning. We're lucky you two deigned to show up."
"Yeah, sorry."
"No problem. Girl trouble?"
"Yeah."
"I told you. Those high society dames—get you all twisted." Harvey inquires. "What about you, kid? Boy trouble?"
"No." I shake my head. "Just had a training session with Bruce earlier."
"So you're not dating that tall kid? Clark." He snaps his fingers.
"No, I'm not, Harvey." I open my bag and take out my notebook, binder and pen.
"You doing your reading, writing and arithmetic?"
"No. I'm all caught up. I've had enough credits to graduate since sophomore year. This is all the information I could gather on the case." I pick up my pen.
"Why do you have so many letters?"
"It's just three."
"From who? Wait, don't tell me. Clark." Harvey mocks.
"You want a standing ovation?" I open my binder and notebook.
"Alright, keep living in your own world of denial, kid. But if one bouquet of flowers get sent here, I'm setting them on fire."
"Throw yourself in there too while you're at it."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"I'm telling you, I don't know anything about his escape. I haven't talked to him." John says.
"Your own baby brother busts out of prison, and doesn't call you, the only person he's talked to in two years?" I tilt my head. "What happened? You two have a falling out?"
"No, Ian and I are close. Always have been."
"Even after he bombed those janitors?" Jim questions.
"That was an accident."
"That's what they all say." Harvey retorts.
"It's the truth." John tells him. "My brother's not a killer. He never was."
"He blew up twelve buildings in Gotham."
"Yes, munitions factories and their offices. Places that made guns and bullets and missiles. I know he was wrong, but Ian thought that what he was doing was good. He didn't hurt a soul until the last bomb. And he felt terrible about it. He practically handed himself in to the cops and pleaded guilty. Ian has had mental problems ever since he was a kid. My parents didn't have the money to get him the help he needed. And he sure as hell wasn't getting it at Blackgate. Look...my brother's not a bad man."
"Then what is he?" I ask.
"He's sick. There's a difference."
"Okay, so who would wanna bust him out?"
"I don't know. But my brother needs help. You have to find him."
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"Good morning." Bruce says as I enter the living room with wet hair.
"Morning, Bruce." I start making my tea.
"Your mom called earlier. Wanted to know how you were doing. I said you would call her back once you were awake."
"Thanks." I grab a scone and take a bite. "Selina is still sleeping."
"Yeah, I know."
"What are you reading?" I take my mug and sit next to him before he shows me the newspaper.
"I'm guessing you and Jim are on this?" Bruce turns to me.
"Yeah." I nod. "But you shouldn't be reading that, Bruce."
"I want to. I wanna know if you're any trouble."
"If I am, you'll be the first to know. You don't need to worry about me." I sip my tea.
"Have you written back to Clark?"
"Yeah, I sent the letter last night. Why?"
"Just wondering."
"You sound like Harvey."
"So he's not the only one who's noticed Clark's affection for you. I bet Jim does too."
"Be quiet and eat your breakfast. And go to school."
"I'm developing my own curriculum. It lets me move at my own speed and focus on academic areas that interest me." Bruce informs.
"That actually sounds good." I nod.
"Are you up for a session before you leave?"
"Always. Just finish your milk." I tell him and he nods before picking up his glass while I finish my scone.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"This was bad enough when it was just a prison escape.
Now we've got five dead security guards, and the press is calling Hargrove an urban terrorist." Captain looks at the newspaper in her hand. "Did you get anything from the bomb site?"
"Forensics is still looking into it, but the entire office was destroyed." I tell her.
"Including all security footage." Jim adds.
"Yeah." Harvey sighs.
"We do know that Hargrove and his guys made off with a compound called HMX." I nod.
"It's military grade." Jim inquires. "Ten times more powerful than C-4."
"Nasty stuff." Harvey comments.
"Using explosives to steal explosives. What's that about?" Captain wonders.
"Trading up?" I shrug. "He must have another target in mind. Some place difficult to crack."
"You know what I'm gonna say. So, go, do it." She rubs my shoulder and walks away before my phone rings.
"Hello?" I answer it.
"Brianna. It's Alfred." Alfred says.
"Alfred, is everything alright? Is Selina okay?
"Well, she's safe."
"But?"
"But I'm afraid, Brianna, this isn't gonna work out.
She's a...a tough nut, this one."
"Well, look, we need her help if we have any chance of catching the Waynes' killer. Just hold onto her for now, and I'll be out to check on her as soon as I can."
"We shall patiently await your arrival, Brianna."
"Thanks, Alfred." I hang up.
"Is Selina okay?" Jim asks.
"Yeah. I gotta head there soon to check on her. She probably had a fight with Bruce. Thirteen year old stuff, you know?" I exhale before sitting at his desk and I fix my hood.
"Your mom still hate my guts?" He sits next to me.
"No." I scoff. "My father used to do this everyday and I know I'm scaring her with all of this. But that's the job. To protect those who can't protect themselves." I nod.
"Hargrove's contacts and phone records from before he went to Blackgate." Harvey slams a huge box on the desk.
"Uh-huh. Yeah." Jim nods as we take the files.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah." He nods again. "Barbara left."
"Left left?"
"Yeah."
"Where'd she go?"
"I don't know."
"It's a ploy. She wants you to set a date. It's a standard move. She'll be back." Harvey assures.
"Do you play video games?" Ed walks over.
"Ed, don't ever do that again."
"My apologies, Detective. Do you guys play video games? I do, I...I love video games. I find that each one presents a new challenge, a puzzle. It's a lot like detective work in that way."
"Ed." I raise my eyebrows.
"Oh, sorry. Uh, I had a chance to analyze the shrapnel from the security office. And I found something. It's a nameplate." Ed hands me a bag. "It was damaged in the bombing, but you can still read the information. It's from an abandoned metal factory here in Gotham."
"That's really good work, Ed. Thanks." I nod.
"Thank you, future detective."
"We'll play a game sometime, yeah?" I pat his shoulder.
"Uh, y-yes. I—I would really enjoy that."
"Cool. Let's go check this out." I get up.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"GCPD! Freeze!" Jim orders as we stop.
"Don't shoot!" Ian raises his hands. "You found the nameplate, thank God."
"Is anyone else here?" Harvey asks.
"No, but they'll be back soon. Please, you gotta help me. They broke me out of prison, they kidnapped me, they told me they'd kill my brother and his family if I didn't help them."
"Who's they?" I question.
"Russians. One of their names is-is Kasyanov. They're planning something against Falcone." Ian stands up and Harvey cuffs him.
"Falcone?"
"Yeah. It's a, it's a big job, a vault. That's why they needed me to build explosives. Behind you! Get down, get down!" He pushes us back and I see multiple men with guns.
"Kid!" Harvey grabs me.
"Jim!" I shout before the three of us fire our guns.
"Help me!" Ian yells and I keep firing as I see a man lead him away.
"Brianna!" Jim bellows as the men leave the room.
"I'm fine!" I start running and they follow after me.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Do you have any idea how many angry phone calls we've been getting this week? Got a terrorist out there." Mayor James inquires.
"And that's our fault?" I question.
"Brady." Captain warns.
"No, no, please. You tell me, kid—how is this my fault?" Mayor James crosses his arm.
"Well, for starters, you have the mentally ill housed at Blackgate, a prison with no facilities for them. So, you send them out for treatment, which was exactly where Hargrove was headed when he was broken out." I slowly nod. "And only Bullock gets to call me kid. Mayor."
"I want him found."
"Yes, sir." Captain crosses her arms.
"Today." Mayor James leaves.
"Yes, sir. What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing, why?" I wonder and she sighs.
"By the way, Hargrove's brother John, I went ahead and put him and his family in protective custody." Captain informs.
"That'll help." Harvey says.
"Yeah, only problem is—Hargrove doesn't know that." Jim adds.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Got it!" Harvey says as Jim pours his coffee and I make my tea.
"Yeah?" I reply.
"Meet Gregor Kasyanov. Long rap sheet. Worked for Nikolai before he died." He hands me a file.
"Who does he work for now?" Jim wonders.
"Beats me."
"Alright. Hargrove said it's a big job, right? A vault.
Somebody's gotta be bankrolling it." I inquire.
"Yeah, someone with cash and pull and beef with Falcone. Problem is in Gotham, anyone with cash and pull has beef with Falcone." Harvey tells me.
"Hmm. So, who is it?" Jim questions.
"Let me know when I come back with lunch." I pat his shoulder before walking off.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What about the explosives?" Harvey questions as I sit on the desk next to Jim while eating my sandwich.
"It—it's a very specific type. It's highly volatile, and it's very difficult to manufacture. It's for one use, and one use only. To penetrate iron." Ed holds up a block of iron.
"Like a vault in a bank." I nod.
"Mm-mm, no, they're all steel. No one makes anything out of iron anymore. Not for...a hundred years, at least."
"The Gotham Armory." Harvey realizes.
"Yeah. Yeah, they have those iron vaults they used to keep the gunpowder in." Jim says.
"A few years ago, a private investment group bought it."
"Ten to one, Falcone's behind it." I finish my sandwich before getting up.
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"You're surrounded! There's no way out!" Harvey shouts as we step out with our guns raised.
"Drop your weapons!" I demand as two police cars pull up.
"Don't do it! Get back!" Kasyanov orders.
"Hargrove! Ian Hargrove! Your brother and his family are safe. We have them in protective custody." Jim informs.
"If he runs, shoot him!"
"Don't shoot!"
"You shoot him, they shoot us!"
"Drop your weapons!" I demand and Ian steps forward with his hands up before a phone goes off and my eye widen. "Get away from the truck!" I drop my gun and grab Ian. "Everybody down!" I pull Ian down to the ground with Jim as the bomb goes off, causing a huge explosion. "Ian!" I shout as my ears start to ring and I grab his arm. "Ian! Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Thank you." Ian tells me.
"Ah." I hold my ears before closing my eyes. "Ah!" I fall back and I feel Ian pull me into him.
"Hey, you're okay." Jim places his hands on my shoulder. "You're okay."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"No tear in any tissue—inner or outer. But her ear is definitely infected. She has what is known as a primary blast injury." Doctor Cod pulls the tool away from my ear. "I'm gonna prescribe you some ear drops for the infection and antibiotics so it doesn't spread through your body. You take both of those two times a day for a week and it should all be cleared up."
"Thanks, Doc." Jim nods.
"Of course." She rubs my shoulder before leaving the room.
"See? Just some eardrops. Seven quick days. You're gonna be just fine, kid." Harvey pats my shoulder.
"Yeah, I know." I nod.
"I'll go check back with the Doc." He leaves before my phone goes off and I jump as an ache passes through my ear. "Morning, Alfred." I answer it.
"Ah, Brianna." Alfred greets.
"I've been trying to get out there. I'm sorry, uh...is everything okay? Is she behaving herself?"
"Well, uh, not really, no. That's alright."
"It is?"
"Yes, well, she's...a breath of fresh air, I might say."
"Glad to hear it. I'll be out there as soon as I can."
"Very good, Brianna." Alfred hangs up and so do I.
"Don't worry, my mom's not gonna be mad at you again. It is cold in Gotham. Lots of germs flying around." I tell Jim before slipping my phone in my jacket pocket.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Brianna. You have a minute?" Mister Dent walks over to me as I sit at Jim's desk.
"Uh, yeah." I nod.
"I met with Lovecraft."
"How'd it go?" Jim walks over.
"He was scared. He's involved, alright." Mister Dent inquires.
"Scared isn't proof." I tell him.
"You didn't see him. Told the same story in a few other spots. All the big players will know by now, someone will start talking."
"If and when they do, neither of us makes a move without talking first. We move together on this." Jim says.
"Absolutely. Hey, nice work on the Hargrove case.
You saved the poor guy's life." Mister Dent pats my shoulder. "You're a regular saint."
"Thanks. Uh, we'll be talking again soon, I hope." I nod.
"You bet."
"Thanks, Counselor." I grin and he walks off.
"Here." Jim hands me a warm compress.
"Thanks." I take it and place it on my bad ear.
"Finish up with Hargrove?"
"Yeah." Harvey heads over. "He's on his way to Arkham."
"Arkham?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"Mayor's directive. He's taking all the criminally insane inmates from Blackgate, sending them to Arkham, so they can get appropriate treatment."
"That's nuts. Appropriate tr—the building's two hundred years old." Jim informs.
"Welcome to Gotham." Harvey retorts. "Oh, and get this—Hargrove said that the bomb that blew up the money wasn't his."
"Whose was it?" I question.
"He didn't know."
Of course not.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
🪐🌙✨🚀🌌☄️
even harvey knows about our baes
babies🥹
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