We Were Born Sick • Gotham Fanfiction •

VIII: Back to the Nest

"A friendship founded on business is a good deal; better than a business founded on friendship." - John D. Rockefeller

~()~

Pulling a deep breath of the crisp evening air in between her nervously clenched teeth, Bird came to a stop outside of Fish Mooney's club. Today was the day she'd been both preparing for and dreading in equal measure.

Shaking her head back and forth, she turned to walk away. This sort of thing was more Oswald's area of expertise, as it was he was currently not only playing Don Falcone and Don Maroni; he was also working on pitting them further against each other so in the near future they'd begin to tear apart what the other had built.

Her best friend's ability to gain the trust of others, all while plotting their downfall amazed her. Sure, she could be manipulative when she needed too and she also held a treasure trove of secrets and intel in her mind that she'd break into to get what she wanted or save her life, but she was starting to doubt her ability to get back in Fish's good graces for the sole purpose of operating from behind enemy lines.

She considered physical strength and her fighting abilities to be her strong suit –not so much mind games.

It had to be done, she told herself. Someone needed to be keeping a close eye on Fish and privy to her plans to gain power. If Oswald could juggle keeping an eye on and manipulating both Falcone and Maroni, then surely she could play spy when it came to Fish. But there was a difference, Oswald couldn't care less about the people he was playing and she had a rather complicated relationship with the female crime boss.

After she was able to come home from the asylum Bird had been in, she'd asked her parents repeatedly who'd found her the night she'd been attacked, only neither of them wanted to tell her who it was. Only that they'd already sent thanks to the responsible party and she needn't worry about it.

After some digging and asking the right people the right questions, she'd learned that it had been Fish Mooney who'd found her and gotten her help.

It was perfect, Oswald told her upon learning the news; he saw it as a way into the Falcone crime family. If they'd walked in off the street, it would be nearly impossible to gain any sort of recognition, if anything they'd seem suspicious. But if Bird walked into the club to thank her for saving her life and managed to hit it off with Fish, then it would be a foot in the door.

Bird didn't believe it would work at the time, she was sure this crime boss working for Falcone would take one look at her seventeen year old self and send her away –especially when she had no choice but to leave straight from school and go there, meaning she'd showed up in her private school uniform. She'd never felt so out of place in her entire life, but by some miracle things fell into place that day and within the next few months she hung around the club more and more, picking up odd jobs and just making her presence known.

Over a year and a few missing umbrella boys later, both she and Oswald were not only working for Fish but were also highly trusted members of her staff.

Now here she stood, just weeks away from turning twenty and she was more nervous about stepping foot inside of the club than the first time she'd ever been there. But there was no one else to do this, it had to be her. Oswald had betrayed Fish in such a way that once she found out he was alive she wouldn't rest until he was dead.

Taking another deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, she walked back up to the door and pulled it open before she had another chance to talk herself out of it.

She looked at the waiter behind the bar, who raised his hand in a small wave before going about his business and Bird offered him a smile as she set off on her way to find Fish.