Primadonna

3|Lunch at Juliet's

Jim hasn't been the same. He's acting all strange- as if he's hiding something.
I can't be mad at him for not telling me what's going on with him. I've kept things from him as well.

Tonight, as I was going to make myself some tea to help me fall asleep, I met Barbara in the kitchen. She was taking out Chinese takeout from a bag.

"Oh, hey- I ordered some Moo shu. Do you want to join us?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a third wheel." I say, grabbing one of the containers.

She laughs, "Of course not. Come on, Jim was just telling me about this crazy case he got at work. There are people out there kidnapping homeless kids."

"What?" My eyes go wide.

"That was my reaction, too." She shakes her head.

She walks back to the living room. I grab a water before joining her.

"So what's this about children getting kidnapped?" I ask as I sit down.

"You said they drug them with a big pin? That is so creepy. And they're targeting kids?" Barbara gets right back into the topic.

"Really? That is so fucked up." I shake my head.

"Yeah. But you don't want to hear this stuff. It's depressing."

"What do they use them for? The children?" Barbara asks quietly.

"Nobody seems to know. And we can't say a damn thing to the press- Bad PR."

"Yes, because kids' lives are less valuable than their public imagine." I roll my eyes.

"I can't believe the system is so corrupt."

"You have no idea." Jim shakes his head.

"What do you mean?" Barbara looks up and down at Jim.

"No. You know, figure of speech, I guess."

"Did something happen that you're not telling me about? These last couple of weeks... you've been different, troubled." Barbara looks at him with concern.

I should be showing the same concern as her, but I wouldn't know how to help him.

"Hmm. No. Been having trouble sleeping, I guess." He shrugs.

"The newspapers must get anonymous tips all the time."

"Oh, sure, yeah." He looks back at her, "You mean, call it in myself?"

She nods.

"Oh, my god, that would be perfect. Then you wouldn't get in trouble at work." I nod in agreement.

He laughs, "No, I can't do that." He shakes his head.

Barbara smirked and looked at me. We shared a smile and stood up as Jim drank from his beer. We go over to the phone, and she makes a call.

"Gotham Gazette. The newsroom."

"Wait. No." Jim stands up and walks over.

"Hi. Listen, I can't talk long. Somebody is abducting homeless children off the streets, and the cops are trying to keep it quiet. Go talk to Captain Sarah Essen of the GCPD. She has got a kid in custody who can tell you the whole story."

"End the call."

"I gotta go." She holds up the phone to Jim.

"Listen to me, Barbara, Angeline." He looks at the two of us. "When I tell you stuff, that's just between us. You can't do that, what you just did."

"But it was the right thing to do." Barbara shakes her head.

"That's not the point."

"Well, what is the point?"

The room is filled with high tension for a moment.

"You're right. It was the right thing to do." He grabs the phone. "Don't do it again, okay?"

"Yes, boss." She salutes him.

He looks at me expectantly.

"Never again." I put my hands up.

Time Skip

The next day everyone talked about the 'Child Snatchers'.
I know it wasn't smart, since Jim could get in trouble at work, but part of me is happy they're calling out the Mayor. That man needs to be held responsible, after all, he does nothing to help Gotham's citizens.

The Mayor was fast to react and pointed the finger at the GCPD.
But unlike him, my brother does a good job. He found the missing children, and when the kid snatchers stole a whole bus of children, he found them too.