Calling Cardinal

Girls Night Out

"Barbara, I already told you I'm not interested in gang activity."

She invites herself into my home. "This is a personal visit. I know you're walking the straight and narrow with tall, dark, and two-faced."

"Two-faced? Harvey's the nicest man I've ever met."

"Men like that always have a dark side. The men who've seen it are terrified of Mister White Knight. Just ask around. You'll see."

"I think it's time you leave."

"I came to ask for your help," she struts into my kitchen, pausing to look at the picture of Jim and me as children. "Tabitha and Butch have gone missing, and I've learned how much you care for that overgrown sack of hammers."

Missing? A sense of dread fills my stomach. That's why he hasn't reached out to me since the engagement party. I've called him every week or so but never heard back. Is it possible he finally escaped the city with Tabitha?

"And you're sure they didn't just leave you?"

She rolls her icy blue eyes. "I'm sure. Will you help me find them, or not?"

I can't say no. Butch has been by my side through everything. I will not leave him in his time of need.

"I will, but that's as far as I'm going."

"Great," she grins. "I'll start around Park Row. Can you get the Narrows?"

"Until I have to go to work. Unlike you, some of us have to keep up appearances. If they aren't found, we'll meet up here at eight tonight. Sound good?"

"I just knew we'd be on the same page." She kisses my cheek. "Toodles, Cardinal."

When the door closes behind her, I retrieve the black leather get-up I wore back in Indian Hill. I put every piece on, including the black mask that fits perfectly around my eyes. The last thing I need is a rumor that Harvey Dent's girlfriend was beating information out of the Narrows's thugs.

I pack a bag of my daily clothes and the things I'll need for my job in case I can't get back in time. It's going to be a long day.

My journey starts at the docks. Staying as quiet as I can, I force into each shipment container. There's no sign of Butch anywhere. Just the usual drugs, prostitutes and weapons. Next, I move to the bars.

As daylight finally begins to rise over the horizon, I run into one of Oswald's many thugs. Maybe he knows something. Quickly, I disarm him and pull him into an abandoned bar. He wriggles and fights under my grip to no use. He's trapped in my web.

"Where is Tabitha Galavan?"

"Who?"

I slam his head into a pillar and step on his head. "What about Butch Gilzean?"

He screams. "Last I saw, Edward Nygma was with him! I swear that's all I know."

What would Ed have against Butch and Tabitha? It's a weak lead, but one I'll have to follow tonight.

"I hear Penguin doesn't really tolerate squealers."

I release the scream I've held pent up for weeks. The thug explodes into nothing but an unrecognizable pile of organs and shattered bone. I prepare myself for the guilt and shame to come, but it doesn't. After that, I ready myself for the horrifying realization that I killed a man without any remorse to come, too.

It doesn't.

I change in a public bathroom near the GCPD and start my day.

"Hey," the new captain greets me with a box of donuts. "Do you have any idea why Penguin might've called a press conference?"