[X] Shake his hand.
[X] You received a call from a man named Harvey Dent.
A relieved sigh escaped you as you leaned back in your couch. The rice boiling and the meat sizzling made a satisfying aroma to help with your mood. The remote clicked and your television turned on for some background noise.
The tie around your neck was loosened as you poured a small glass of whiskey for yourself. You weren't much of a drinker, you had this bottle for a year and it was barely touched. Even though you held the vice of smoking, you kept yourself relatively healthy besides that. You needed to be in shape for your own peace of mind.
Your cellphone rang and you picked up.
"Hello, Detective Yoker?" A man inquired over the phone. "My name is Harvey Dent."
"Harvey Dent?" Your fingers typed away on your laptop that sat on your coffee table. Your search results reminded you of why you heard the name before. "What does a big shot DA want with me?"
Harvey laughed. "You give me too much credit detective. I'd like for us to meet
face to face."
You rubbed the stubble of your chin. "What for?" What would a lawyer want from you?
Harvey hummed in thought before answering. "I've asked around about some of the decent folk on the force. Your name came up a few times. I'd like to talk about Gotham's future. Say in two days from now?"
"Uh..."
"Great! Pleasant speaking with you detective, I have to go now so just drop by my office when you have the chance." The call as ended before you could even object.
Lawyers, what an annoying bunch. He made sure you wouldn't be able to refuse over the phone by excusing himself. You shouldn't show up, just to spite him.
The cellphone was tossed onto the table as you got up to check your food.
-
James Gordon pulled up to his partner's apartment building. He was worried, he hadn't heard from Yoker since yesterday, and the detective was late to work today. James exited the police car and approached the front entrance's stairs. The sound of something being knocked to the ground stopped him in his tracks. He stepped away from the stairs and made his way to the alleyway next to the building.
Three men were beating on a man near a dumpster, the man in question was the one he was looking for.
"Hey!" Gordon yelled as his hands slipped into his pockets quickly and began to jog over.
The tallest of the men looked over with a scowl. "Buzz off before I-" the man wasn't able to finish as a fist covered in brass knuckles cracked against his skull.
"Shit! Bobby!" A man with a pipe was alerted and took a swing at Gordon. Easily the young detective swayed to the side, he avoided the pipe completely. His attacker overextended his swing and his lower jaw crashed against the detective's fist.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
The last attacker fell to his backside, shuffling away from the man who just took out his friends. Gordon turned, his face and aviators splattered with blood. He stood, walking away from the body.
"Lowlife scum." the detective growled through his teeth. He dragged the man to the side of the building and slammed his body against the wall.
The man's eyes quivered in fear.
"You're going to answer me while I break every bone in your body."
-
"
Some broad dressed like a bat paid us-!
Argh!" A scream tore through the air.
You groaned as you regained consciousness, your hand held your head. Your hand became damp and you squinted your eyes as you observed it.
Blood?
That's right, you think you remembered now. You woke up late, your alarm seemed to have stopped working sometime last night. After getting yourself prepared for the day, the moment you stepped outside you were hit from behind with what felt like a steel pipe. Although you were resiliant, after being taken by surprise even you couldn't fight off the three thugs that beat you down.
A scream and what sounded like a harsh snap made you pull yourself to your feet slowly.
"I'm sorry, stop!" Two men were unconscious on the ground, another was eating his teeth for dinner.
Gordon's fist was stopped as you gripped his wrist. He quickly turned, ready to swing, but his eyebrows rose behind his aviators. His face and sunglasses were splattered with blood.
"That's enough James..." You held onto him as your hand strained against his arm.
"Enough!? They could have killed you!" He shouted as he released a ball of spit at the whimpering thug. "Scumbags like him never learn!" Another kick to the side of the man made contact.
You dragged Gordon back, before he found himself rolled onto his stomach. Your arms were like a vice as you held him in a half-nelson hold. "It's alright! Calm down!" you had never seen Gordon this worked up before, but you've handled this kind of anger before in others. He just needed it out of his system. "This isn't the way, James." his struggling lessened as you tried to get through to him. " If you go too far down this path you won't be able to leave it! You'll be no better than them!"
Gordon shuddered as his sunglasses fell from his eyes.
His face was full of sorrow as his eyes welled up with tears. "My daughter is going to be born in this city, sir." He let out as his forehead rested against the ground. "Every day I worry I might not see my wife again! What kind of place is this to raise a family!?"
There wasn't an answer you could give him, so you waited it out. You stayed in place as Gordon released his frustration with shouts and tears. All you could really do was let your presence be known.
Eventually he calmed down as his face laid on the concrete. "I'm fine now, please let me up, sir."
You released your hold on him and got up. Gordon picked himself off of the floor and wiped his face. You picked up his aviators and held them out to him. As he reached for them, your palm gripped the back of his neck. "Look at me..." He complied as his now red eyes observed you. "You have a daughter and a wife, people you love. If you work hard you can help make the city better, a place where you would be fine with them living in, don't sell yourself short."
You didn't believe a word that came out of your mouth, but it wouldn't help anyone to be negative. You hoped it would help Gordon feel better, hopefully the words reached him.
"Ha..." Gordon breathed out as he placed his aviators over his face, back where they belonged. "Your always so composed sir."
"I'm as cool as a cucumber, Gordon."
Gordon couldn't help but laugh. "That was awful."
You rubbed your chin, maybe a pun would have been a better choice.
-
After arriving at the station, Chief Lazlow called for you in his office.
The door was shut behind you, as usual the chief was at his desk overlooking paperwork but someone else was there as well. A young woman, with a GPD detective badge strapped against her chest holster.
He didn't question the cuts on your face or the bandage over your forehead. "Yoker, this is Vanessa Stolz, she's a rookie, so I'm leaving it to you and Gordon to show her the ropes." Chief Lazlow explained.
She had a fierce stare, though you wondered if she was cut out for the job. If you could estimate she was five foot four inches, you practically towered over her. "Isn't there someone else? Why do you keep handing me the rookies?" If she was offended by your words, she didn't show it.
First Gordon, now this young woman. You weren't a babysitter.
"Stolz, give me a minute with this knucklehead." He waved her off.
Vanessa Stolz placed her black coat over herself and nodded. "Yes, sir." She passed by you without another word and closed the door behind her.
Chief Lazlow leaned back in his seat and sighed, his hand rubbed his forehead. "Francis, Gotham is a shit hole." You snorted in amusement, that was a nice compliment to the city. "I've got people who are supposed to uphold the law being bought off by criminals. Politicians an' celebrities can do whatever the hell they want. The people don't trust us at all." He began to sharpen a pencil he pulled out from his desk drawer. "I don't mean to beat a dead horse, we both already know this. You're one of the good ones left who actually do their damn job. I've been pushing to get new, younger faces in here, to replace these assholes who wear my city's badge."
That probably meant he was met with resistance from people above him.
Lazlow pointed his pencil towards you. "I don't want these rookies coming in here an' being messed with. I don't want them becoming corrupt just because it's what everyone else does. I'm not going hand her over to Bullock or Montoya, so just show Stolz how things work for now. Take her out on a patrol with Gordon."
Even though you wanted to you didn't sigh. You understood his reasoning even though it just meant more work for you. "Yes, sir." You accepted as you headed for the door.
"Don't give her a hard time Yoker! That also means to ease up on Gordon too!"
You didn't give an acknowledgement of his words. As you exited the office you found Stolz standing against the wall, probably waiting for you.
"Let's go, you're with me and Gordon."
She followed without a complaint.
-
The three of you sat under a diner's awning, shielded from the light rain. Coffee and sandwiches for dinner, though it wasn't too late, your watch read 7:00 pm. Gordon decided you all should take a break.
"So, Vanessa, where are you from?" Gordon questioned with a bite of his large sub. You exhaled smoke, a bit curious as well.
"Gotham, but I lived in Metropolis for a couple of years for college." she explained with a sip of her beverage. You wondered just what made her decide to come back.
"Any family?" Gordon questioned.
You noticed her grip was slightly tighter over her cup. "No."
"Ah." Gordon seemed extremely apologetic after the mood seemed to tense up. "I didn't mean to bring up something so sensitive."
"It's fine." She replied easily and the conversation was killed into an awkward silence. Gordon liked to jump the gun when meeting others. Some people didn't want to become friends with everyone they met. Some just wanted to be left alone, you could already tell your new underling was this way.
"We need to get back." You swallowed the last bit of your sandwich and stood up.
"I'm driving." Gordon volenteered as he tossed his garbage in a trash bin.
-
A soft snore inturuppted the silence of the drive. Gordon was passed out in the backseats. You turned your attention to the young detective looking out at the city from her side of the car.
"Don't think too badly of Gordon." You brought up as you turned the corner of a street. You saw Stolz look at you with a small amount of curiosity. "He has a kid on the way. He probably doesn't get enough sleep."
"I guess a happy guy like him would tire himself out." she stated with a small amount of amusement in her voice.
Was Gordon happy? After today you weren't so sure. Keeping up a facade of happiness can be just as dangerous as just sinking into negative feelings.
Your thoughts ceased as something crashed into your vehicle, sending the car tumbling through the streets. You groaned and shook your head, the car was turned upside down. You released the seat belt still holding you to the seat and landed with a grunt on your back. "Gordon! Stolz!" You coughed out, but they were out cold.
"You think we got em?"
"Eh, gotta check to make sure. The Bat don't like no loose ends."
The click of a gun alerted you. You quickly crawled out the window and leaned back on the car. You couldn't tell how many there were, and your head was ringing. You pulled out your gun and thought of a way out of this situation.
What did you decide to do?
[ ] There was an air freshener can in the dashboard, combine that with your lighter and you had a surprise flamethrower waiting to be used.
[ ] For some reason, Gordon kept ping pong balls in the cars. You could rig that with the wrappers from the candy bars Stolz bought to make some smoke bombs.
[ ] Write-in
