no rest for the wicked [jason todd]

one

TYE MELROSE 

wasn't the most skilled officer of the GCPD. She tried her best when she could and never tried to wind up in dangerous situations. As a matter of fact, she tried to avoid them, but working in homicide usually ended up bringing her right towards the crime instead of away from it. She usually ended up struggling to get a gun away from a guy, freaking out to bomb squad that if they don't disarm the bomb, someone's gonna die, or interrogating some sicko who smirked when she brought out crime scene photos.

Man, she hated her job.

She didn't, that was a lie, but she hated the nights where she wasn't needed and someone asked her to do some patrolling around town. Her routes usually ended up bringing her to danger, even when she prayed to keep safe.

Now, for example, when she couldn't reach her gun after the man in the alleyway had disarmed her. He had one hand on the button of her shirt, already having loosened her tie, and Tye grabbed his arm. She swung away, pushing him so hard against the wall that he made a pained groan. She dove for her gun, aiming at him, and stood back up. She pressed him against the walls, retrieving the cuffs from her belt. "You're under arrest for the assault and attempted sexual assault of an officer," she said, "you have the right to--"

"Rot in hell, scumbag," she heard a low, robotically altered voice say. She jerked away from the man she'd been arresting, only when she heard the bullet enter his skull. She looked around, seeing a figure in the distance, and swallowed around the lump in her throat.

The Red Hood, a man she definitely didn't want to mess with. Instead, she drew her gun up and held it toward where he was standing. "That's murder," she said, "it's a crime."

She could just about hear the smirk in his voice. "Aw, and what're you gonna do about it, sweetheart?" The altered voice said, almost like a man who'd bought one of those dollar apps, the ones that made your voice unrecognizable.  He stepped towards her and she clutched the trigger tighter, her hands shaking.

This wasn't just a man. This was a man that they whispered about at crime scenes. He was a myth almost as much as the boogeyman, except Gotham City's myths were usually real. The Batman and his Robin were real, and a man like this, he was as real as she was, standing right in front of her with a weapon aimed easily at her head. He wouldn't miss and she knew it, so she didn't dare take her own shot at him.

"Shut up," she said, "I'll shoot."

To prove a point, she jerked the gun in his direction. "Let me past," she demanded, "I'm an officer. I have the right to return to my squad car alive and report back to my higher-ups. Someone needs to get the man that you so carelessly shot back to the morgue. I mean, by this point, you're as sick as he is."

The Red Hood swung out, pressing a heavy hand against her throat, her back flush with the brick wall behind her. "Don't compare me to that scum," he said sharply, his voice sounding less distorted when he talked quieter, "but for your information, angel face, I'm much, much worse."

Admittedly, she thought she'd return to the station, explain to her lieutenant what happened and then just go home. Instead, they phoned the tired, exhausted Police Commissioner Gordon, who trudged his way in and directed her straight to his office, complaining about how he had a lunch to get to tomorrow with his daughter. 

"I'm sorry, Commissioner," Tye apologized quickly, waving her hands, "I wasn't going to bother you. I thought I could report straight to Lieutenant Montgomery but they called you and..." She trailed off, swallowing. "Why'd they do that, again?"

"I have a personal contact with the Batman," Gordon said, sitting down in his seat. His glasses were sitting on the bridge of his nose although he pushed them up, glancing at Tye. She was nervous, although she reminded him of himself. She seemed like she could be a real spitfire. "Which, actually, comes in quite handy. I'd like to notify him of the incident. If it isn't a bother, I'd like you to accompany me."

"To the... Signal?" Tye said, nervously swallowing as she glanced at the commissioner. "Sir, I have a patrol to finish."

Gordon gave a brief nod, rubbing his moustache before he decided, "Officer Yaeger will complete your patrol then. Come with me now. This is considerably more important than the rest of a routine patrol."