(IC: Batman)
The Gotham City Police Department. Like most cities, one would expect the establishment to be a symbol of justice for the city. One would expect the officers and officials within it to be the only ones standing between chaos and order. Unfortunatley, Gotham isn't most cities. Which is why I'm needed...
My buisness here tonight concerns one of the few that isn't apart of the majority of corrupted officers. One who recognises that same corruption as plainly as I do. He could be an asset, if I keep a close eye on him, and his peers.
I contacted Gordon by payphone earlier, to warn him that I was coming. Better that than using a phone that could be traced back to Bruce Wayne. I warned him, because I took too much of a risk the last time we met, by coming to his office without making sure of prying eyes. So we agreed to meet on the roof.
Less than ten minutes later, I arrive, unknown to Gordon, who's waiting on the other side of the rooftop.
"You're alone?"
He jumps, a little, before turning around, seeing me on the edge. After getting over the initial shock of my prescence, He nods.
"I assumed it's what you wanted."
I return the nod, before leaping down from the edge.
"I've... thought about what you said, the other night. About the corruption... About Gotham. At first, I have to admit, I didn't nessacarily-"
"Trust me?"
"...Yes. That's... That's it. But... I had some time to consider. And..."
He sighs, rubbing the area between his eyes, under his glasses.
"I've stood by for too damned long, seeing so many people suffer. And not because of crime. But because of the officials that those people are supposed to be able to trust. Now, I don't know who you are... I don't know why you've chosen to do this. But for the first time in all my years on the force... People finally have someone they can believe in."
I listen to his words. It's... odd, hearing it. From anyone, really. But especially coming from someone who's put more years into helping this city than I have.
"You've shown results. That's more than enough to put you above alot of people in that office, down there. Even the good ones have been held back from doing that."
"I know."
"That's why, before I agree to absolutely anything... I want to know one thing."
I tense, slightly. If he's about to ask me anything I can't answer about myself, than I could possibly loose a potential ally.
"You've shown that you're not going to let yourself be held back by anyone. But that also gives you alot of freedom. I want to be clear... If I'm to work with you, I'll let you do what's nessacary in order to continue showing results. But, by no means, will I let you cross the line. No lives are to be taken. Am I making myself clear?"
I look directly at Gordon. I almost wish he could see the eyes, beneath the lenses, so I could fully convince him of the truth in my next words...
"That was clear for me long before I ever came to you."
He looks at me, for a long moment. Silence fills the air. But, eventually, He nods.
"You're here to save Gotham?"
"I'm here... To ask for your help, in doing so."
"And if I refused... It wouldn't stop you from doing what you do, anyway, would it?"
"No."
He nods, again.
"Then ...there's only one thing left to do."
An eyebrow raises under my cowl, at first. But then... I see something infront of me. An outstretched hand. Gordon's hand... held out, with welcomeness. I look at him, for a long moment, heavily considering what I'm about to do.
I'm not particularly... good, with trusting other people...
I outstretch my own gloved one, and grasp his.
...But I'm willing to try.
As we shake hands, Apart of me... as strange as it sounds... already feels Gotham mending itself back together. This is one decision, I feel, out of all the one's I've made thus far... That I won't regret.
* * *
I arrive at the District Attorney's office. Harvey Dent has been missing for twenty four hours. He was last seen brutally attacking one of the doctors at the hospital he was being kept in, for tissue damage to his facial area. And He's the District Attorney of Gotham City...
I make my way into the quiet office, looking around. If I'm to start anywhere, It's here... Where I can learn just who this man is. Maybe then I can learn where I could find him.
I look down at Dent's desk, to find the usual things. Pens, paper, documents... The standard items you would think to find on the desk of the District Attorney. I pick up a picture frame... The only object of intrest... and look at it. It's of a man and a woman. They look... happy. Dent, I'm guessing... and his wife. Also a guess.
Suddenly, I hear the door behind me. I also realise there's no time to make an exit without being seen. Damn it.
I turn my head, seeing a young brunette woman enter the room. At first, she doesn't notice me... She's carrying more documents. But she eventually looks up. The minute she sees me, the documents drop to the floor with a gasp, from her.
"Who... Who are...?"
I contemplate running out, at that point. But... I came here for information. And what better way to get it than from another human being?
I turn around, fully facing her.
"Relax. I'm not going to harm you."
"How do I know that?"
"You don't. But I haven't yet, now have I?"
She looks back, blatantly contemplating running from me. She then does something I don't expect. She closes the door, and looks at me.
"What do you want?"
I look at her, for a moment. She's... brave. I think that's the reason she didn't run and call the police. To show me that.
"Yesterday a man escaped from the hospital. Your boss, I'm guessing. The District Attorney."
"Harvey, I... know. The police are still searching for him..."
"Apparentally not good enough. He's still missing."
She raises an eyebrow.
"Are you with them? The police, I mean..."
"...No. But I'm here to help."
"What makes you think that you're help would be better than the police?"
"Because I'm not corrupt."
Something about what I just said affects her. She stares at me, for a long moment.
"If you're looking for him, why come here? Everyone knows he hasn't been in the office for days."
"Because I don't know who Harvey Dent is. And that's what I was hoping to find out."
I pause. Why I am telling her any of this, anyway? Who is she to Dent?
"Who are you?"
"I asked you first."
"...Very well. I'm The Batman. Who are you?"
"The Assistant District Attorney."
I stay silent, for a moment. Eventually, she sighs.
"...Rachel Dawes."
"And Dent is your partner?"
"Was. The truth is, Harvey and I stopped working together about a year ago. Now I've become more of his assistant, than anything."
"Why?"
"I was doing investigations of my own, towards the corrupted officers in the Police Department, and their connection to Carmine Falcone. When they found out, they told the higher officials on the city council, and well... Now the job is more of a title, than a position."
"And Dent didn't have a say in the matter, I'm guessing?"
"He fought with them. But they threatened to demote him, aswell. I couldn't let him do it... I had to agree to their terms on my own. For his sake."
"You must have alot of faith in him, then."
"He's the best at what he does. And he's a friend... To have Gotham lose him just because of me would've been heartbreaking, for both of us. And Gilda."
"His wife?"
"Yes. We attended law school together."
"Why do you think he would brutally attack one of his doctors? Is that normal behavior, coming from him?"
"I've seen him throw tantrums, before... But nothing on that level. I could barely believe it, when I heard the report. And when I saw the doctor he attacked..."
"You were there?"
"I came to visit him while he was in the hospital. But by the time I got there, He had already escaped. They were rushing the doctor to the emergency room."
"And Dent isn't capabale of the damage you saw. Is that it?"
"No. Not at all. What I saw was absolutely incapable of being the work of Harvey Dent. If no one had witnessed the attack... I could almost say for certain that whoever did it was a completely different person."
I say nothing. But my mind is racing. Dent does something he's incapable of, according to a friend. At the same time, He's fought against the corruption in this city, from the sound of it. He sounds...
...
He sounds like me, oddly. I turn my attention back to Dawes.
"Dent's wife. Where is she, currently?"
She looks away. I raise another eyebrow, under the cowl. That wasn't the reaction I expected.
"She's... not with us, anymore."
...
Well, there goes that lead. And Dent's wife could've, most likely, provided me with information. I notice Dawes' face. She's... sad, at that fact. So am I... but for differing reasons. Either way, I don't feel particularly proud of the fact that I brought that up.
"I'm sorry."
"No... It's okay. I just... I have to get used to it. That's all."
She's my only lead, now. If I'm to get any further information, I'll have to conduct my own examination, aside from her.
"Do you have any idea where Dent would be hiding?"
"Honestly? I didn't think he was capable of any of this in the first place. So... No."
Well, that's just great. I've learned very little, and nearly nothing of which I was looking for in the first place. Damn it, this was a waste of ti-
...
Wait a minute. She was conducting an investigation against Carmine Falcone and the Gotham City Police Department?
"Didn't you mention some sort of investigation towards the police? The seperate one that you were working on?"
"Yes. It was towards their ties to Falcone. Why do you ask?"
"You recognise the corruption in this city?"
She grimaces.
"Are you kidding? It's everywhere. Falcone isn't the only one... He's just the biggest of them all. Nearly everyone that has power in this city is corrupted. The Mayor's Office, The Police Department... I think even the Fire Department is being payed off to avoid certain arson attempts, to tell you the truth."
Few people recognise the corruption in Gotham City, unfortunatley. And fewer try to do anything about it. But Dawes has done both. And while she failed... She did something that not many people in her position have done.
I need a contact within the District Attoney's office. They can provide me with information that neither Gordon nor Dinah Lance can. And I need all of the information I can get, in order to provide more of those 'results' Gordon was talking about, earlier...
Dawes still hasn't made a run for the door. That's giving me a little assurance in what I'm about to ask...
"How would you like to reopen that case?"
She looks at me with an arched eyebrow. A look I've seen on others.
"If I could, I would love nothing more than to gather more ammo against Falcone..."
"What I'm talking about isn't nessacarily an official investigation. But it's one nonetheless."
"What are you talking about?"
"In order to conduct an investigation, you yourself would have to seek the information out. But with what I'm proposing... You wouldn't. All you would have to do is gather the information given to you and be ready to use it for prosecution. The investigation wouldn't even have to be tied to you."
"And you can make that happen?"
"In exchange for information that I need."
I can tell she's skeptical, when it came to that part.
"We both want Falcone taken down. In order to do that, you'll need a partner. One that isn't tied by the same laws you swore to abide by."
She's still silent. Perhaps she's considering it. Perhaps she's finally considering running away and calling the police on me. Either way, I can tell she's listening.
"You don't have to break the law. But in some instances, in order to be free of the corruption, I've learned that bending it can be come a nessacary action. With what I'm proposing, You don't have to do that. I'll bend the rules. You follow them. We both take down the man mostly responsible for the corruption of Gotham."
For the first time, I'm actually closer than ten feet away from her. As I said before... I'm not particularly good with trusting other people.
"It's your choice."
But I'm willing to try.
* * *
I leap across a rooftop, before landing above Gotham Square. Tonight, I've recruited two new allies in this 'war' that I've started for myself. Taking out my grapnel, I fire it, and swing across the next array of rooftops.
Now, It's time to go for three...
