no rest for the wicked [jason todd]

three

THE AIR

was a mix of tension and patience, two unlikely foes who didn't work well together at all.

"The undercover mission you're to be working is off books and records completely," the Commissioner said, standing up. He took a sip of his coffee and looked up at her from under his eyelashes. "You'll be paid directly from me and not GCPD, who's going to temporarily remove your officer file and put you on leave. If you choose to accept it," he began, "and that sounds cliché, this mission is yours. You'll have a new, temporary identity and we're going to work with your current-- er, look."

Tye leaned forward, giving a firm nod. This wasn't some opportunity of a lifetime, a way to her picture-perfect happy ending, but it was new. It was a fracture in her day-to-day schedule, specifically requested by Jim Gordon, and she sure as hell wasn't going to turn it down. "Who am I competing with? Surely you've got other better-trained officers or the job."

"The mission is yours, should you choose to accept it, which it seems you did," Jim picked up another file, thicker, and handed it to her. "No competition. I want you to work this."

Pausing, she scanned the file. TOP SECRET was written in all capital letters on the front, circled a couple times for emphasis. She flipped it open and scanned the first page. Gathering information about the Red Hood, the whisper she'd went toe-to-toe with. Actually, they hadn't fought at all, but...

She swallowed nervously. "You... Need me to work at a strip club?" She mused, looking up at Jim. The man immediately looked taken back, pointing rapidly at the job title. "Bartender," she clarified, shaking her head, "not gonna work. If this is really gonna work, I need to be able to get close to the girls. If anyone knows something, it's gonna be them and the customers. The bartender doesn't get me close enough to both of them."

"You're saying you..." Jim began, looking positively awkward in his current situation. "You want to be a dancer?" He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "I'll have that arranged. You'll start tonight, hopefully. For the rest of the day," he slid a card to her. "You have an appointment with a hair colourist and licensed stylist, they'll get your nails done -- you need to look the part. You'll also come back here to pick up your new ID card with a new name and your falsified background. After that, I'll see if I can find someone to give you some tips on... Er, dancing."

Clearing her throat, she turned away. "Don't... Uh, tell me superiors or co-workers? Please?" She scanned the card with her eyes and then ducked her chin. "The first one seems to be soon. I'll head on my way then."

For only a brief moment, Jim stood, lifting his coffee to his lips to take a sip. "Tye," he said, "your new name, the one you're going to use? Briar Jessops. We've got all the ID figured out for you in the file. You can look it over during your appointments if you have any time. If you don't, I'm sure you'll have time later this evening to give it a glance."

Tye grimaced, pulling her shoulders together and looking at the door. "Is this really a good idea?"

"Is anything ever a 'good' idea?" Jim offered, giving a nod as she glanced over her shoulder. "You can go. Get a coffee on the way or something. Give yourself some time to digest before the appointment."

Tye glanced out of the window, watching the snow start to fall. She gave a gentle sigh and looked around, tugging on the windbreaker she was wearing. She hadn't been prepared for the snow. She tugged up her hood, giving one last nod, and stepped out of the room. She headed out from the station to her old, beat up looking red car, gently drumming her fingers along the side until she got to her door. "Better not discuss this on the next phone call to my mom," she muttered.

It might not have been the best idea, granted, she told her mother a lot of personal things. She had lots of family members, and she was particularly close to all of them.

She opened her phone, sitting in the driver's seat of her car, and scrolled through her emails. Junk, some of the ones like 'YOU'VE WON A FREE CAR! CLICK THE LINK TO FILL IN YOUR INFO!', and some other dumb promotional emails for restaurants that she'd stolen free wifi from.

Her phone gave a little ding and she checked the message, having to double check she wasn't crazy. Unknown sender, sure, usually spam, but this wasn't.

'Hi! This might sound weird but my name's Barbara Gordon. I heard that my dad set you up with some weird undercover thing and I thought I might be able to help you digest any outstanding information. I'll meet you at your first appointment! If you don't want to talk, feel free to dismiss me.'

How did she even get Tye's number?