Oswald Cobblepot stood over his slain lawyers, the city state title deed torn to shreds and scattered over their corpses. He cried out in frustration, turning to Victor Zsasz who had entered the meeting room with him. "I meant to do this the proper legal way, and this is what I get in return?! Why are people in this town so sick in the head?"
Zsasz merely shrugged, a look of amusement on his face. If murder was indeed a sickness, then Zsasz was the unapologetic master of it.
Penguin took a quick scan across the room, apart from the slain lawyers, Ivy was obviously missing. "Guarding the lawyers was Ivy's one and only task, and her last chance... may I add. Even then, she has failed at my most basic command. Out of my immense goodwill, I allowed her to register for those classes, I even paid for them for Pete's sake. And what do I get in return? She's always late, always lost in her thoughts."
"I told you to hire Wendell instead, you didn't listen," Zsasz gently reminded.
"Wendell doesn't exactly come cheap - but at this point, I don't really care. I'm firing Ivy. Get Wendell on route, and that Fries guy too. As for Barbara, I want her torn limb from limb! And Ed... ooh I have something very special planned for Ed."
The door opened behind Oswald. Both he and Zsasz spun around, guns aimed at the sound. Tabitha stood in the doorway, unafraid of the danger those barrels posed. "I want in, Penguin. The deal you presented to Butch, revenge on Barbara and Nygma."
"Oh?" said Oswald skeptically. "And what makes the Tabby-cat suddenly have a change of heart? This stinks of a trap. Tell me, what did Barbara tell you to come here for?"
"No trap," she replied. "We've had our differences Oswald, but I'm willing to put all that aside when there're bigger fish to fry. I cannot forgive the man who took my hand, nor the woman who took Butch. And you need to get revenge for what she's done to your lawyers."
Surprised by the news, Oswald turned a ear to her, wobbling a tad closer. "Excuse me? Took Butch?"
"Butch is dead," reported Tabitha heavy-heartedly. "Shot in the head by that bitch. She's gone too far, power's gone to her head, she's completely out of control!"
"I agree!" yelled Penguin, pointing at Tabitha for her conclusion. "I only wanted to reclaim what was rightly mine. And they can't fault me for being unreasonable, I had a proper reimbursement offer. They had to refuse it completely and then spit on me with all this violence!"
"Wait," Tabitha just had to confirm. "Butch said the deal you wanted to make involved letting me run the Sirens club. Is that still on the table?"
"The Iceberg Lounge," corrected Penguin. "It will belong to me. But if you join me, I will allow you to manage it. If you ask me, you won't get better on that offer. Especially not with her."
Tabby gave it some thought, then extended her hand. "Fair enough, you have a deal."
"Jerome Valeska, Johnathan Crane and Jervis Tetch are among the missing," Officer Bailey reported after taking a count of all retained inmates against the Asylum log.
Jim wiped the side of his forehead as he reviewed the security footage on the breakout. There were about three men involved - all dressed smartly in black, and apart from one in particular, a thin mask across their eyes, hair slicked back in a similar fashion. Jim had previously encountered men in get-ups similar to these three before; the Court referred to them as Talons. Silent professional assassins who did the Court's bidding. The real question was, nonetheless, what would the Court stand to benefit from an Arkham breakout? "Do you know how much trouble these three could cause, just all on their own?"
"What should we do, sir?" asked Bailey, the concern finally showing on his face.
Shaking his head, Jim muttered to mostly himself, "If the Court is planning some major devastation in the city, maybe this is all a part of it. But how would they bend the lunatics to their will?"
"Sir?"
Speaking a little clearer, Jim asked, "Where is Harvey? It's sure taking him an eternity to get here."
"Bullock's un-contactable on his phone, Detective. We've tried dozens of times. And the line is now disconnected."
"What?" Jim exclaimed with a growl. "Why wasn't I told of this?"
"You were occupied, sir. We all were," Bailey explained, instinctively leaning away from Jim.
Gordon grit his teeth as he went on, "Is there anything else I wasn't told while I was 'busy'?"
"Alvarez called a while ago. Said Bruce Wayne has important information for the GCPD. Says it's urgent and you have to be there."
"Darn it!" yelled Jim. It was true when they say that when it rains, it pours. "I'm getting pulled in all directions. I can't be everywhere at once!"
Bailey waved a hand to calm down the detective. "We'll handle things here at Arkham. Get the inmates back in their pens. You don't have to be here."
Jim nodded, trying to get his focus back. "Alright. Call the station, ask Harper to check street cameras to track down Valeska, Crane and Tetch. Get someone else to ping the last whereabouts for Harvey's phone and call me once it's available. Meanwhile, I'm going to go get that information from Wayne."
"Yes sir," Bailey reported, taking out his phone and dialing numbers in.
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