In The Web Of Gotham

The Second Act

Peter had spent a few hours after he got home sorting through the information that he had....borrowed. Scrubbing through all the footage from the GCPD. Lo and behold....he found an issue. A whole 5 minutes missing from the impound lot's video footage right before midnight. Then he checked the key card reader, and found a set of credentials used 5 minutes before midnight. Then he cross-examined the number with the known database for police IDs with clearance for the impound.

Over the course of the next few days, Peter agonized over as many details as he could get his hands on. As well as taking into account the details he was not allowed to get to. Slowly but surely building a whole series of reports and files. He was tracking down as many leads as he could dig up. He rarely tried to get in touch with Batman for any information about his research. As Peter felt this was something he needed to do himself. Ultimately, it was Peter's fault for getting Ian Hall killed. It was Peter's actions that put Ian Hall in the line of fire. The thing that made him angriest was that whoever did this did it with him in the room, and he was none the damn wiser.

Then came the day. Peter had asked the commissioner to call a meeting with everyone in the office at the precinct before closing time. Once he did, Peter walked into the room. Carrying a bundle of files, cool as a cucumber which was genuinely unnerving to those who knew him as the nervous coffee boy. The few that weren't paying attention were snapped to attention when Peter slapped down a large photograph of the Scare Truck onto the desk.

"This is a truck that was turned in by one Ian Hall 3 weeks ago following an initial interrogation by yours truly. He was treated for a powdered Scare dose, and brought into Interrogation Room 3 for further questioning. The truck he was driving was emptied of its contents. Those contents mind you being 30 crates of Scare in powdered form within gel capsules and liquid form for intravenous injection. The truck was then moved into impound for further investigations about it, who it was registered to and the circumstances regarding it's rental and/or purchase. The crates of chemical nightmares being filed as 'sent to forensics to analyze' and moved into storage. Ian Hall himself was put into Holding Cell 5 while further investigation proceeded," Peter began. Setting the piles of files onto the desk.

"These are the facts that we all know about, and the stuff we can all double check by consulting our own official records. Of which, you can see here," Peter continued, sounding like a lawyer as he handed out from one big bundle a copy of the respective files he was just referencing.

"Now, a few hours after this truck had been brought to the impound. Not even a full DAY after Ian Hall turned it in. The truck itself was missing from the impound lot a few minutes after midnight. A few hours after the truck was reported missing from impound. Ian Hall was released from holding on grounds of inconclusive involvement due to the truck's sudden disappearance. The 30 crates of Scare that was in the truck and in forensic storage was also missing. The official report saying due to recent developments, the chemical compounds needed to be stored elsewhere to avoid a mass panic event due to improper temperature management in the current storage environment. Once again, everything I said you can verify by looking at the files I handed you. Which are copies of the official report filings that reside in our computers," Peter continued, watching the faces of the officers and detectives who were reading the reports.

"But if you've been paying attention to the last few weeks. You know that quite frankly, some stuff has happened that isn't making sense with the facts on paper. The truck that was missing from the Impound suddenly arrives at the Diamond District, being driven by the Banedoleros with no indication that the truck or the gate to impound was tampered with. It was like they were just GIVEN THE KEYS after someone STOLE THE TRUCK. The Scare that was allegedly being moved to safer storage was actually being kept in the truck and basically given to the Banedoleros so they can move it to Santa Prisca for god knows why. As if all of that wasn't enough, Ian Hall was found dead with evidence of a massive Fear Toxin overdose. Not Scare, the street drug mind you. FEAR TOXIN, the weaponized variant that was administered directly into his heart by one can only imagine was the actual Scarecrow. Who then left Ian Hall in the Ichabod Pharmaceuticals warehouse as it itself was set on fire and bombed into non-existence from the inside due to mass sabotage from within where all deterrent systems became active fire hazards and fire accelerants rather than fire suppressions," Peter kept going, handing out another pile of files. The report regarding the Banedoleros somehow getting their hands on these supplies that should have been under lock and key. He sounded like he was getting angrier and angrier by the second, or at least more passionate by the second.

"Now, I was trying to get in touch with Ian Hall's estranged family. Since I thought that his ex-wife and 2 children, and his elderly mother had a right to know that their former husband, father and son respectively was dead. Although, I kept getting ran around with that information being on a need to know basis. Apparently, the Gotham City Police Department's resident superhero doesn't need to know where a victim's family is!" Peter shouted, looking around at the other people in the building. Some of them look upset at the fact that a man died at all. Some of them looked angry that Peter was not able to tell this man's remaining family what had happened to him. Some were trying to compare the notes between the two reports they were given and trying to find the issues.

"So, I felt it was only right to the memory of Ian Hall and the sake of human decency and justice that I try and solve what ended up being his murder. So I looked at the information we had, the information that you're all currently looking at now and for the life of me. Something was not looking right, but I couldn't figure it out. So I regret to say I had to do some underhanded things to get to these remaining piles of paperwork," Peter warned, looking at the remaining piles and just staring at them contemplatively. It was a silence that hung in the air for a staunch few minutes. Then like a crack of thunder, Peter began again.

"With that in mind, let's begin. I first started by accessing the security cameras within the precinct itself to try and pin down where the point of failure was in the security. However, to do so I needed access to the raw footage stored within the servers of the GCPD. To do so, I swiped access to the server rooms and used an infiltration tool to copy and transmit every piece of unredacted raw data to my computer at home," Peter started. This raised complaints from the GCPD's IT departments and even got a rise out of Officer Keaton.

"That was the coffee spill?!" He asked.

"Well Officer Keaton, I couldn't frankly trust anyone in the building. Ian Hall was an informant that only we knew about, and the only way that these series of events could have unfolded the way they have is because someone in this room has betrayed their badge for a payday. I couldn't make it obvious that I was looking for something, lest I suddenly be put in a burning building having a fear induced heart attack as well," Peter explained, handing out copies of records including entry and exit notifications and string upon strings of numbers. Along with timestamps and photographs with more timestamps on them.

"For the time being, I would request that we rely on Batman and his due diligence to handle Gotham City. Frankly, we as the GCPD have a more critical matter in our midst that we need to resolve. NOW,"