Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Eight: The Balloonman ~

Shortly after the teatime with Alfred and Bruce came to a close, Jim dropped Holly off back at the apartment where Barbara had been waiting for her return, eager to get out and spend some mother-daughter bonding time. With the child snatchers behind bars, Jim could finally get back to the task at hand, finding the Wayne's real killer. "Hey, Gord! Some kid wants to have a word with you!" Jim looked up from his desk as one of the other detectives called from the bottom of the steps. Closing the file and tucking it under a thick book, Jim followed him to a bench where a familiar face sat, the young girl's face a mixture of tiredness and an eagerness to get out of there. It was the girl he saved back at the shipyard.

"Hello again, young lady. How can I help you?" Jim asked her. "We need to talk," she spoke bluntly. "So, now you want to talk, huh?" Jim looked over to the detective, telling him he could handle it from there, and the other detective handed him a small clipboard, containing some of the girl's information. As Jim flipped through the few pages, the girl smirked and waved bye-bye. Though Jim didn't know it, the only way he was able to talk to her was through a threat of crying out that she was touched inappropriately by the other detective. So, naturally not wanting to go to prison for a crime he didn't commit, the man ran off to fetch Jim.

"Selina Kyle, isn't it?" Jim questioned, looking up from the clipboard. "It's Cat," she corrected. Jim squinted as he remembered Macky mentioning her during his questioning. "You a friend of Macky's?" He asked. Cat squinted, before pulling a leg to her chest. "Yeah, I know Macky," She nodded. "Those bastards nearly got you twice, huh? You're quite a survivor," Cat scoffed and leaned back in her seat, looking up at him. Jim looked at her expectantly, wondering why she wanted to speak with him in the first place. It wasn't every day that a child wanted to speak with a detective for no reason. "Suppose I had something you really, really wanted. If I gave it to you, could you get me out of here?" Cat asked.

If anything caught his attention that day besides Bruce's attempts to "conquer fear," it was this. Jim took the empty spot next to her and sat down, asking her what info she had to give up. "I've been watching you and your daughter..." Cat explained. "You two are friends with the boy. You're not like the rest of these crooks," "The boy? You mean Bruce?" Jim clarified. "And what do you mean by you've been watching us?" Cat rested a hand on the side of her head, resting it against the wooden arm of the bench. This wasn't a random stalker with threats against Jim's life. To him, it seemed like the girl knew something and had a guilty conscience the longer she chose to keep the information hidden.

"That Mario Pepper guy was a patsy, huh?" Cat asked. "What makes you say that?" Jim questioned. But rather than answer, Cat held up a hand, repeating her previous request. "Could you get me out?" Jim sighed before telling her maybe he could work something out. With that response, Cat took in a breath before looking Jim directly in the eyes. "I saw who really killed the Waynes. Saw him clear as day," Jim's eyes widened at this, if what Cat was saying was true, maybe this could point him in the right direction.

But before Jim could listen to another word from Cat, he was called into Captain Essen's office. He looked back to Cat, telling her he'd be right back and to stay put. Biting back a sigh, she nodded and watched as he entered the office. Once again, the case had to be put on hold as another crime was making the headlines. Witnesses and the news outlets reported that one of Gotham's corrupt investors, Ronald Danzer had been clipped to a weather balloon and killed. When Jim and the detectives reached the crime scene, they quickly realized there was not a lot for them to go on.

There was no body, no weapon, and the only thing that could be considered evidence was the abandoned balloon cart, the inside filled with tons of bricks to keep it on the ground. "So, Ronald Danzer cheats half of Gotham out of their savings, but before he can stand trial, an unknown man clips him to a balloon? Are we calling this a murder?" Jim looked over to Harvey. "Call it a public service. Danzer was a bum. He got what he deserved," Bullock said, his tone cold and unsympathetic toward the deceased. "I'm gonna go get a Danish. It's what I deserve,"