Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Twenty One: Victor Zsasz ~

The moment Jim stepped a foot back into the GCPD, the entire precinct filled with silence and judgmental looks. "Gordon's here," One officer whispered to another. "What's he doing here?" Another one spoke. "Can you believe this guy?" But Jim ignored their snarky comments as he approached Detective Alvarez, who quietly continued his work. "Hey, Alvarez! You got any of those blank warrants that Judge Bam-Bam signed?" Jim asked. "Uh, yeah," Alvarez nodded, reaching into one of the file cabinets and handing him the requested warrants.

Jim returned to his desk, pulled out a typewriter and started printing the necessary info. No matter what had happened earlier that day, Jim was determined to make this day as normal as possible. But how could it be normal when most of his coworkers despised him and a huge target was on his back? "What the hell are you doing here?" Captain Essen whispered harshly. "I work here. It's my shift. Where else should I be?" Jim answered. "How about Alaska?" Essen suggested. As she sipped her morning coffee, she caught a glimpse of what Jim was doing and grabbed one of the blank warrants.

"Arrest warrants for who?" She questioned. Before Jim could explain his plan, she felt about a dozen eyes still closely watching her and Jim. Feeling unsettled by this, she suggested they continue their discussion in her office. And the second she shut the double doors, Jim answered her previous question. "Mayor Aubrey James, Carmine Falcone, and their close associates. On charges of conspiracy and perversion of justice in the Wayne murder case,"

"Are you insane?" Essen gaped. "Maybe a little. They're gonna try and kill me anyway. Might as well make them pay a price for it," Jim answered. "You're gonna arrest the mayor and Don Falcone. How?" Essen inquired. "My testimony is attached to the warrants. That alone is enough to indict them on a dozen counts," Essen shook her head as she sat back at her desk, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Sure, if you could execute the warrants, which you can't. If the D.A. would prosecute, which he won't. There's not a single cop or lawyer in the city who will help you," She explained.

"I think there are plenty of people willing to help me once they see it's possible to fight back," Jim spoke confidently. "You're dreaming. Nobody will help you. I won't help you! You don't think I want change just like you do?! I have a family, and so do you! Aren't you worried about Barbara and your daughter?" Jim sighed as he remembered the last time he saw Barbara and heard Holly's voice. "Jim, think about Holly. She depends on you, and if you died, I can't even imagine how heartbroken she'd be,"

Jim considered her words, but that wasn't enough to convince him to take Holly and get her far away from the city. "This is my home, this was my father's home. I'm not leaving," He insisted.

~~~~~~~~~~

Outside of Essen's office, a bald man dressed entirely in black walked into the precinct with two women dressed in scandalous amounts of black leather. The man seemed to linger and walk around the building, drawing the officers attention. He banged on a few metal desks before stepping on top of one. "Hello everyone! My name is Victor Zsasz. I'm sent here personally by Don Carmine Falcone himself on a matter of deep concern to him, so please, be respectful," He introduced himself, his hands gripping the edges of his blazer. "I'm here for Jim Gordon, only him. Everybody else, mind your business, and we're cool. So, where's Jim at?"

Slowly, everyone pointed to the office. Even though they were all supposed to look out for one another, they had no problem placing Jim's life in jeopardy. "Hey, Jim! Jim!" Victor called out. Both Essen and the detective turned around, confused by what was happening outside. Without another word to Essen, Jim handed her the warrants before slowly walking out and over to the balcony. "Hi Jim, relax. I'm supposed to take you in alive. Don Falcone wants to talk," Victor explained.