A day goes past.
Faye silently waits by Detective Gordon's desk. He's come in and out between cases for phone calls, filing evidence, and most importantly, questioning Faye on what she knows. Her head rests on her upper arms as she's leaned her body on top of the desk hoping to rest after not sleeping for a few days, but her peace is quickly interrupted by hard, fast footsteps rushing towards her.
"Faye," the familiar voice calls. She picks her head up to make eye contact with Jim Gordon. "Detective Bullock and I went to your grandfather's house-"
"My house..." She interjects.
"Yes. We went to your house. We tried to collect as much information regarding his passing as possible," he finalizes, pulling out some folded papers from his back pocket. His partner, Harvey Bullock, comes up behind with some more papers.
"I gotta say, your grandpa's got loads of papers that don't even seem to have actual significance," Bullock says, flipping through some more of the writings.
"My grandfather wrote a lot and kept track of almost everything that's happened in his life: The people he meets, the places he went, the things he saw..." Faye responded softly.
"So, how would your grandpa know the person he wants to gain custody of you? Someone he worked with or is it a distant relative?" Gordon questioned.
"You're asking questions that I would have told you the answer to hours ago if I had just know the answer," she replies, sassing the officer. Gordon awkwardly looks back at the papers, not knowing how to respond.
"You know what," Bullock starts, gaining the attention from both Jim and Faye, "I think I know someone who can easily crack down this case considering it's written in some old-english type of diction." Gordon lifts his eyebrows, following what his partner is leaning to.
Bullock places the short stack of old papers down onto his desk, turning on his heels and making his way to the forensic department. Gordon pulls out the chair in front of his desk, too concentrated to be bothered by the young girl occupying his own.
"So...who's in the forensic department that can help us find out where I'm supposed to go?" She scoffs. As more footsteps approach, Gordon turns his head and points.
"Him."
A tall, lanky man with glasses that reflect every light in the building approaches them with Harvey. His black hair swept out of his face and his lab coat so clean it's almost a mystery.
"Detective Gordon," he greets, "and Miss Faye, I presume," he holds out his hand to her, which she takes and gently shakes. "I'm Edward Nygma of the GCPD Forensics Department. How can I offer my assistance?" He states with a professional-like smile.
"Can you help us read these papers and letters so we can get Faye to where she needs to go?" Bullock asks, shoving some letters into Edward's hands. He reads through a few quickly.
"These are your grandfather's?" He asks Faye. She nods and continues to watch him sort the papers. "Was he by any chance British? Born in the early 1910's or 1920's?"
"It's her grandfather, Ed. He wasn't born yesterday," Bullock snaps. Nygma stands there awkwardly, thinking of the next thing he should say as Faye sharply eyes Bullock for his remark. She shakes it off and looks back at Edward.
"Uh..Yes. My grandpa was an Englishman," Faye says, causing Nygma to perk up his head. "Born and raised in the United Kingdom before coming to the US and meeting my grandmother." Ed smiles gently before picking up some other papers. He analyzes quickly, his genius brain working hard, turning gears and making connections. He reads between lines, gaining knowledge that one who just reads straight through would never think to consider. His eyebrows slowly raise as his thinking comes to a thesis.
"You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, but the future can never taint me. What am I?" Nygma says almost automatically, as if it's been saved in his head for years. Faye raises her eyebrow in confusion, genuinely thinking for an answer. Bullock shakes his head as he glances at her, and then back to Ed.
"Ah, Nygma, don't suck the girl into your damn riddles-"
"History." Gordon says softly, starting to follow his crazy train of thought. Ed smiles and looks at Jim.
"Precisely. And whats one of the first things that pops into your head when hearing the word 'history'?" He adds.
"War..?" Faye says uncertainly. "Wait, my grandpa fought in a war." She concludes, shaking her head a little.
"Your grandfather made plenty friends in his time in the..." Nygma looks back at the paper for a moment. "In the 'MI-6'?" Faye nods, reassuring his answer. "He wants you to go see one of his closest comrades from his time in the service." He points his finger to a sentence, showing Detective Gordon. Jim whispers something under his breath.
"Him? How can you be sure?" Jim asks, taking the paper away.
"Almost every paper written about his time in the MI-6 mentions this man's name. Words included in papers about this man are 'trustworthy', 'reliable', a 'great friend', 'honest', 'ethical', and synonyms alike." Ed hands other papers to Gordon and Bullock, allowing them to connect the dots about why this man is the one. Bullock looks at Nygma, and then an uneasy look back to Jim.
"It's a lead, Harvey. There's no harm taking a chance; Especially if we know the guy." Gordon reassures his partner. Bullock sighs heavily before turning back to the scientist.
"Listen, Ed. You're a weird guy but you're one heck of a genius," Bullock states before grabbing his cell phone and firearm off his desk, while Gordon grabs his wallet and phone, motioning for Faye to follow them out the door. As she watches and follows the two men ahead of her, Ed quickly taps her shoulder. Faye swings her head around.
"This may be the last time I see you because I promise you, I'm right about this. Don't doubt it. You're a nice girl and I just...I just want to say thank you for giving me a chance," he weakly smiles. Faye returns the weak smile.
"I hope we can see each other again, Mr. Nygma. You're an interesting guy, and I also really don't know how to repay you for helping."
"No need to give in return. It's my job. I enjoy helping other's with problems. Plus, I tend to do tons of favors for people, just because I love a challenge." Nygma finalizes. Faye laughs.
"You're a nice man. Nice to meet you, Mr. Nygma," Faye reaches her hand out, Ed grabbing it. The two quickly shake hands again as Bullock yells for Faye. She spins the opposite way of Nygma and exits the building. Faye meets up with the two detectives, getting in the car with them. "Edward seems nice. I've always wanted to work in the forensic field."
"If you ever pursue that, just promise you won't be a 'Nygma'?" Bullock says.
"What's wrong with being a Nygma?" Faye replies, laughing softly.
"He turns everything into a guessing game; Like life's just one big riddle." Bullock accuses.
"Well...what if it just is?"
YOU ARE READING
MELLIFLUOUS ➪ Bruce Wayne {Gotham}
Mystery / Thriller"I mean, the guy has to deal with one unstable orphan, and now two?" "They're more than just orphans...They're kids who still have so much to experience and to learn. Both these kids are going to become something greater and change this city, one wa...
