Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Fifty Two: Everyone Has A Cobblepot ~

Flass's voice continued to ring in Jim's head as he stormed into the building and dashed towards Loeb's office, despite the protests of his secretaries. As the office door slammed closed, Loeb looked up from his current paperwork, not at all surprised to see Jim standing at the other end of his desk. "Ah, Detective Gordon. I had a presentiment I might be seeing you," The Commissioner spoke nonchalantly. "Arnold Flass is a murderer," Jim spoke bluntly, skipping the pleasantries. "He belongs in jail,"

"Detective Flass was legally exonerated. The judge heard testimony, the case is closed," Loeb responded before sipping his coffee. As the Commissioner leaned back in his chair, a smirk forming at the corner of his lips, it took a lot of willpower and strength for Jim not to attack him right then and there. "You used your connections to orchestrate his release," Jim leaned across the desk. "You perverted the system!"

"Petulance and naivete are a bad combination. Know when you're beaten," Commissioner Loeb stated. "I was knee-deep in the Flass investigation. There is no one with enough credibility to trump our evidence," Jim snarled. Loeb stood up and opened one of his drawers, grabbing a cassette. "I do enjoy when unwavering certainty is undermined by the truth," Loeb spoke as he pressed play. As the blank TV screen flickered on, a black-and-white image floated onto the screen. And the so-called witness who came forward was not who Jim was expecting it to be.

Harvey.

The older man's gaze shifted away from the camera; he looked tired and worn down. Like he was worried about something other than coming clean on the tape. "Look in the camera, state your name and why you're here," The man behind the camera instructed. "My name is Detective Harvey Bullock, and I presented false evidence against my fellow GCPD detective, Arnold Flass," Harvey sighed. Why? How could he do this? He knows Flass is guilty! Jim's gaze shifted to where Commissioner Loeb was standing, his arms folded across his chest. Shaking his head, Jim stormed out of the office, vowing to get answers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the precinct, that toxic concoction of anger and betrayal continued to run through Jim's veins as he waited for Harvey on the upper level of the precinct. "Hey, there you are. Aw, dude, I feel like a herd of cattle had a dance party in my head last night," Harvey chuckled, rubbing his temples. "Why the hell would you lie to exonerate Flass?" Jim glared.

Harvey paused and slowly turned towards Jim, eyes blinking furiously. But before he could even open his mouth, Jim interrupted. "Don't lie, I saw the tape," he warned. "I'm not denying anything," Harvey stated. "I did what I had to do. If I didn't do what Loeb told me to do, I would've lost my job. Probably gone to prison," "What does he have on you?" Jim questioned. But rather than answer, Harvey looked away, trying to avoid the question. "Harvey..." Jim prodded.

"Do you honestly think you're the only one who had the orders to take a punk down to the end of a pier and put a bullet in his head? Huh? The difference is my Cobblepot didn't come back," Harvey snapped. "Who did you kill?" Jim asked. "Some scumbag mobster," Harvey whispered. "Caught him coming out of the club one night, and my sergeant put a gun in my hand, held another to my head. And said, 'Make a choice,' I decided to keep breathing,"

"Damn it, Harvey," Jim groaned. "What are you gonna do, arrest me? Go ahead, arrest me. but don't stop there," Harvey challenged. "Half the cops in the GCPD have a Cobblepot, and Loeb has the goods on all of them. That is what Loeb does," "Well, it ends now," Jim vowed, turning on his heel. "Jim, going after Flass was bad enough. Going after Loeb is suicide, plain and simple," Harvey warned. "So what? Am I supposed to stay quiet? Fall in line like the rest of you?" Jim squinted. "That would be a good idea," Harvey nodded.