"𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬"

𝟕𝟓. "𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐦𝐞"

I walked inside the department, holding Marie in my arms. Part of it was to comfort her, part to make sure no one shoots me. I entered the main room, but no one was inside.

"Jim Gordon!?" I exclaimed. Nothing happened for a few seconds.

Then I heard speedy footsteps, and soon, Bullock walked out of one of the second-floor rooms. He looked down at me and frowned with confusion.

"Clown-girl?" I noticed his hand slowly neared his holster. I sighed.

"Greetings, Bullock. Can I talk to Jim?"

"Jim, come here for a sec!" He yelled out.

His eyes did not leave me for a single second. Gordon walked into the room and cocked his eyebrow at my presence.

"Grace? What is it?" He asked suspiciously.

I placed Marie on the ground and she immediately wrapped her short arms around my leg. I placed my hand on her head and started stroking her hair.

"Grace?!" I heard a confused voice from behind them and soon Bruce walked into the room. I smiled softly.

"Hi, Jim. Hi, Bruce." I tilted my head to greet them. Bruce quickly stepped down the stairs.

"Who is that, Grace?" Marie muttered quietly. I opened my mouth to reply, but Bruce was quicker.

"I'm Bruce Wayne." He stopped right next to us and smiled down at Marie. She returned it and waved to him shyly. I squatted next to her.

"Hey, how about you stay with Bruce for a second and I'll go talk to Jim, huh?" I proposed with a smile. She frowned a bit.

"I'll be right over there, Sweetie." I pointed to the balcony.

"You'll be able to see me the whole time." I assured her. She nodded with agreement. I smiled, stood up and looked at Bruce.

"You're ok with keeping an eye on her?" I asked.

"Of course." He nodded. I frowned a bit.

"Bruce, I'm sorry for lying about-"

"It's all right. I understand why you did it." He interrupted me and smiled softly.

"You're a good person, Bruce." I smiled weakly.

"If you ever need my help, just tell me, ok? I will do anything." I said honestly. He nodded.

I smiled with gratitude, patted his shoulder and headed towards Jim and Harvey. I quickly walked up the stairs. Bullock was still keeping his hand on the gun.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I sighed.

"I'm not taking any chances." He scoffed.

"Who is that girl?" Jim asked me.

"I found her in an alleyway behind a dumpster. Her parents were killed. She was all alone and scared. You'll take her, right?"

"Yes, we already assumed people would be coming here."

"I doubt many will come. The second a civilian steps outside, they're as good as dead."

"At the hands of your lovely boyfriend, I'm assuming." Bullock snarked. I glared at him.

"Jerome is not as much of a monster as you make him out to be." They both looked at me with derisively raised eyebrows. I groaned with slight irritation.

"Yes, he's crazy. I'm not denying that. But you don't have to worry about him anymore. You should worry about Jeremiah."

"You better hope not." Harvey snarled and stopped gripping his gun. I rolled my eyes.