conundrum. // a riddler fanfic

ch. 1

it never hit me how much needing someone was a bad idea. i was always co-dependent, from the word go, but it was always something i lived with, and for the most part, it got me in trouble.
being clingy was always seen as an issue, a taboo, something almost disgusting, but he saw me differently. he saw me as the person i chose to be, and i saw him as the person he wanted me to see.
it was simply a puzzle
a riddle
a conundrum
9am. the wind kicked up a fuss outside my window, demanding that i wake up, which i wasn't inclined to. i was renting out my aunties two bedroom apartment, which was bare and yellow, with a rock-like rectangle for a bed. i didn't want to leave. i hated committing to a job as important as this.
i peered out the window of our 52nd floor apartment to see the buzzing and bubbling city of gotham. i had heard about the crime this city was facing, the crippling government, the infamous james gordon. it was all the papers back at home, all the corruption, the murders, the oddballs that roamed the back alleys. it was fascinating for someone like me, obsessed with crime, murder, the phycology of the diseased mind. it was just one of my quirks.
"frankie! get the fuck up!" my enraged, middle aged, cigarette dragging aunt shouted from across the hall, as i began to hurl myself out of the stuffy bed, onto the creaking, frozen oak wood floors. there was a mirror opposite me, standing as tall as myself. i was in my underwear, black and lacy, with my short, black bobbed hair handing side by side to me. i got a good look at myself. green eyes, patched, freckled skin, a full lip that i hated, and a short stubby nose. i grabbed my glasses by my bed side locker, which were too large for my petite face, and a fawn colored robe that was placed awfully on the edge of my bed.
i began to walk briskly down the shallow corridor to my aunt waiting in the kitchen for me, food on table. she gave me an awful stare, cigarette in hand, radio blaring a dated 60s tune. the radio was clangy, and echoed each syllable of audio.
"did the manager call you?" my aunt asked with her ruffled tone as i sat down to begin breakfast. i laughed to myself. i had no clue who my 'manager' was. i didn't know if there was even a 'manager' status.
"no, but the commissioner did text me giving me my times for the week" i responded, slicing a sausage and dipping it in a great amount of ketchup.
"you know; if i were you, frankie, i'd be working somewhere else in forensics. like, metropolis! it's much safer than-"
"rose, listen. the gcpd is the best pay in all of the police branches around, i'm not bothered by the crime; sure, that's what i'll be focused on anyways" i let out a light giggle, before returning to my meal. she didn't find it funny.
there was a horrific silence afterwards, besides the operatic screeching of cutlery and the 9 o'clock news mumbling about murder and crime for the 3rd time in the past 5 minutes.
i finished my meal quickly, as i needed a fresh start to the day, and a quick one. my shift started at 10am, and the gcpd station was a half an hour walk away, as i hadn't gotten used to the transportation and only knew my way around gotham by nicknaming personal landmarks for myself. as i pushed my chair in, grabbing my empty plate to place it in the sink rose grabbed my arm tightly, and it felt like her eyes were dragging fingernails down my back. i turned to face her bulbous pupils, cigarette now in her mouth.
"i don't want you to die on me, frank" she said abruptly, which shocked me to my core. i gave her a simple, placid smile, not knowing what to say, before continuing on to wash my crockery.
the commissioner told me to wear something work appropriate, but to still have geeky style which i had no idea to what he was intending, but i picked out an olive colored t-shirt dress with a lacy collar, matched with black tights and a black cardigan in case they didn't turn on the heading in this october freeze. i brushed my hair as well as i could, and put on the slightest bit of makeup, as i didn't know what was 'too much' in gotham.
i grabbed my keys on the bookshelf in front of our front door, as i saw the figure of my aunt watching me as i left the door. she was an odd woman. she lived in gotham her whole life, and i only got to see her around christmas time. she cared about people when she wanted to, when it made her feel like the hero, and today was one of those days. usually, she wouldn't even make me a breakfast.
"g'luck" her gothique accent rang through her paraphrasing which made me chuckle, as i left the door with a beaming grin on my face. i was so prepared to start working properly. not as an apprentice. not as an intern. as an experienced forensics officer at the gcpd.
i had no idea if i was even going to be on my own working. at the time i wouldn't have minded having to work with someone, a nice colleague to banter with whilst in the process of working.
but it really
really
really
wasn't like that.
20 minutes through walking and i got stuck by a ginormous group of protesters grouping around what seemed like an information centre. it was the first time i was up and close with a 'scene' in the outlandish city. the crowds boomed the word galavan over and over again, which to my knowledge was who was running for mayor at that time. it didn't bother me. a simple gathering of politic-ridden fools chanting a meaningless name that would get them nowhere, yet it did give a good atmosphere. i could see the station in the distance, just a few more hundred yards and you'll be there i announced to myself, as i fixated my dress and pulled down on its skirt, trying not to focus on anything else other than that building.
i began to speed walk, impulsively. i never had any good perception of time, so rushing myself was neither a benefit or crime. i didn't honestly know what time it was, the city only had one large clock and it was five minutes slow so i wasn't too dependent on it, and my watch had recently broken. i was stressing myself out for nothing, and i kind of enjoyed it.
i reached the building at what i guessed would be 9:45am, from the way the sun was positioned just above the tall building. i walked in with a hop in my step as this somewhat new surrounding faced me. i had been in the building before for an interview, but i was filled with different emotions then, negative, stressful, eager emotions. but now all i could think of was ambition, and the future.
i spotted jim gordon quickly, presumably working on a pointless case while being caught up in so much, and all the policemen i had heard about either from the news or from my gossiping aunt. i started walking up the stairs to my right up to the commissioners office when jim noticed me. he gave me an odd smile before showing his hand to me, making me grab it lightly.
"i'm jim gordon, and you must be-"
"frankie smiles" i responded, gripping his hand a little bit tighter. i tried lifting my fingers up to indicate that the handshake wasn't working, and that i needed to properly start working. jim took up on that quirky, letting go and giving yet another quick smile. i could hear rumbling from the commissioners office, most likely him noticing that i was outside his office.
"forensics?" a crooked man behind him asked, matched with fedora, shoulder length rat hair, and a cheesy beard. i looked over to see if he was either a criminal or a detective.
"um, yeah! i start today" i smiled, still unsure as to who he was. just before he got to speak again, commissioner barnes opened the door to great me with a warm smile, which, from what i gathered, wasn't his character.
"welcome home, frankie" barnes offered for me to come inside his office, then looking at the two boys behind me. i turned briefly to pick up on what they were doing, before being shuffled into his office. it was a quaint office, filled with memoirs of all sorts. i sat in a tight leather chair, leaning back, as he mirrored me.
"did you get my message?" he asked kindly, scratching his hairless head carefully.
"yeah i did, i'm happy with the times you gave me" i smiled back, although everything felt all friendly as of right now, both him and i knew that it would change pretty quickly. i gave myself another opportunity to look around the office to see if i could pick up anything odd, or mischievous, but nothing.
"mr. nygma will be here in a few minutes to guide you through the room" barnes face slightly drooped when he mentioned his name. it was the first time he was ever mentioned.
nygma.
i didn't know how to take it.
i guess i was mildly excited that i had a co-worker, and that it was also a guy, but i didn't appreciate the addition of barnes face drop.
but hey;
how could he be that bad?
i checked the clock directly above barnes head that read 10:05am. i should've started immediately, without the verification of barnes, or literally anyone in the gcpd. in the long run, i'd say it would've been better, then again, i have no idea if it was beneficial or not. there was a horrific pause of silence after the mention of his name, as i took more glances across the room to try and spot something. anything to set my eyes onto that wasn't barnes face. it would've been too awkward. i was getting odd vibes from barnes, he was different at the interview. however, i didn't question it at the time.
my ears picked up the slightest creak in the floorboards as the door got lightly pushed in. the noise of wedding shoes dancing the floor glazed my hearing. i didn't want to turn.
"commissioner barnes?"
there he was.
that little bastard.