67 Detective Barbara Gordon 9

Elise and Barbara ran right after getting out of the car.

Elise approached one of her men. "Where is he?"

"There, sitting on the bench. He's been watching our girl jogging around the block for some time now."

"Good job." Elise patted the man's shoulder before looking at Barbara, "Where...!!" who was already gone and was running towards their target. "Damn it!" Elise forgot about the deal they made that whoever gets the killer first has right to do whatever with him.

She started sprinting too.

Barbara felt kind of bad but just blamed Elise for her forgetting for a moment.

"!!" The target, wearing a beanie and glasses got up immediately after seeing Barbara rushing to him.

He didn't manage to get away, he got kicked on the stomach just before he tried to run.

"Urgh!" He groaned as he sat back on the bench and clutched his stomach. "P-Please! Don't hurt me!"

Barbara took him by the collar and shook him around. "We've got you now, you bastard." She said triumphant.

Elise arrived right after. "You cheated!"

"I didn't cheat. You were just too slow." Barbara said as she held the man.

"Grrr..."

"Anyway..." Barbara looked back at the man she held tightly and removed the beanie and glasses.

The man was blonde and he had dry lips. He had large bags under his eyes which were hidden by the frame of the glasses.

"What's your name?!"

"I-I'm Bob."

"Surname!" Barbara shouted.

"M-Mercer!"

Then, she flashed her badge. "Detective Gordon, NYPD."

"Wha-What did I do, officer?"

"Trying to act innocent?" Barbara was annoyed.

"Detective... I think he's-"

"Shut it. I'm working here." She then proceeded to frisk the man. "Where are you hiding it?"

"H-Hide what?" The man asked terrified of what is happening.

"Hide wha- The murder weapon! The knife you used to murder those innocent women!!"

"I-I didn't murder anyone! I'm innocent!"

"Stop lying!" Barbara shook him.

"Detective... I think he's telling the truth." Elise said.

"How do you know?!" Barbara snapped her neck at her.

"I just know. I think I'd recognize someone that attacked me before, alright?"

"You!"

"Eep!" The man squealed.

"What were you doing here?" Barbara asked.

"S-Someone paid me fifty bucks to sit here and wear these while I watch at the pretty lady jogging around." He pointed at the accessories and his clothes.

"Do you know where that person went?"

"I-I don't know..."

"Don't lie! Look at me!" Barbara shook him because he was avoiding eye contact with Barbara.

"I really don't know!" The man yelled back out of desperation and fear.

"What did he look like?"

"He was wearing a mask...."

"Godammit!" Barbara let go of the man and turned around. She took deep breaths to calm herself down.

Elise looked at her worried.

"C-Can I go now?"

"You can go..." Elise waved.

"Thank you!" The man started running away.

"Don't take offers from strangers again! You hear!"

Elise looked at Barbara again who was still looking away.

"Detective... you didn't have to snap at the guy. That guy looked like he was homeless."

"..." Barbara took a glance at her before turning around again. "I was agitated. I was desperately hoping that he was our guy."

"That much? For getting the wrong person?" Elise calmly sat down on the bench.

"You don't understand..." Barbara clenched her fists. "The killer spotted your men looking after the girls. He knew it was bait."

"I know that much from that man's reply."

"That's not all.... He set up that guy for us to reveal ourselves. He knows the men around the girls are just lackeys. That guy was bait... for us. To see who's after him. The fact that he could still be watching us right now is irritating me." Barbara chuckled emptily.

Elise scoffed. "What's he gonna do? Does he think he can touch me twice? Does he think he can threaten us?"

"It looks like you've forgotten your lessons from Ra's, Elise." Barbara furrowed her brows. "Hasn't he told you not to underestimate your opponent?"

"..." Elise furrowed her brows as well and has now took the situation seriously.

Inside a car parked not too far from them, a man was taking a video of them.

----

"What are those pictures you sent me?"

-It's Elise, Sir Franzese.

"I know it's Elise. Who's that with her?

-It's Detective Gordon from the NYPD. From my station, sir.

"Is she one of Callaghan's men too?"

-No, sir. But I think there's a bond between them. I hired a lip reader and we got the name Ra's being mentioned by the detective.

"Are you telling me that Callaghan has another assassin from the League of assassins as one of his men? Is he preparing for war?"

-Maybe...

"That son of a bitch! I'll get to his aces before they get to us. I'll declare war on them myself!"

----

Days later after Barbara and Elise failed baiting the killer...

"Barbara..." Tanner greeted Barbara on her desk. She's been moved to desk duty ever since she made a scene twice in a row. It's a way of showing that the Captain can still control Barbara and he wasn't playing favorites.

"What is it, Tanner?" Barbara said without even looking at Tanner.

"You've just been so busy lately."

"Well, I want to get out of desk duty as soon as possible so..."

"You're still working that serial killer case, aren't you?"

"...." Barbara ignored him and kept on typing on her computer.

"Don't worry, I won't stop you. Just be careful, okay? And call me if you need any help. I'm right here."

"..."

Tanner just sighed as Barbara kept on typing before turning around.

"Tanner..." Barbara finally turned around. "Thanks." She wore a faint smile.

Tanner just nodded and left.

"Don't overwork yourself, Gordon." The detective sergeant passed by her and said.

"I won't, Sarge. Thanks."

After work, she immediately left and headed towards the bar that Elise officially owns.

She entered the bar and made eye contact with the bartender.

The bartender gestured with his head and pointed at the back room to signal that Elise was there waiting for her.

She nodded and headed straight to the back room where Elise's office was.

"Yo." She greeted as she walked in the office.

"Det-" Elise cleared her throat while she closed her laptop that says 'First name basis' on the screen. "Barbara."

"Well, that's weird..."

"Huh? What is?" Elise tried her best to act aturally.

Barbara narrowed her eyes but shook off her head afterwards.

She was going to say that Elise didn't call her detective or by her surname anymore but decided not to pay it any mind.

"Anyway, I came here because you haven't contacted me yet about the killer."

"Because we haven't gathered anything new yet. He really didn't slip up after that time he screwed up."

"Me too. I was trying to find the times he slipped up before, but it's not like unsolved murder cases will have a note saying that the victim's hair tie was removed after she was killed." She sighed.

"..." Elise couldn't think of anything to say.

An awkward silence fell in the room.

"W-would you like a drink?" Elise finally had the courage to say something and reached for the bottle of gin near her desk.

"Sure, why not." Barbara replied. As she watched Elise pour drink in two glasses, she had the urge to ask something. "Hey, Elise."

"What is it?"

"How did you end up in the league of assassins?"

Elise was taken aback by the sudden question but answered it nonetheless. "... I was an orphan picked out by Talia in an orphanage. I was chosen just because I was the only kid who has never gotten sick." She moved the glass of liquor towards Barbara.

"How is it living there? I only heard stories from my master and it was very... bland. I figured it was just because of his personality." She said before taking a drink.

"Well, I think it's just like he said. We didn't do any leisurely activities. We eat, drink, and train. The only time we were able to go out is when we do missions."

"I feel bad for you now, but I don't feel bad about my teacher. I think that kind of lifestyle suited him."

Elise chuckled.

"What about your life here in new york?"

"...I don't know. I think I've only ever worked my whole life."

"Really? Does Callaghan treat you like a slave?"

"No, he doesn't. But... I don't think I've found something I like doing."

"Anything? Do you watch TV?"

"I do. The news channel."

"There's entertainment news there. You haven't found something you're interested in?"

"W-Well, I wanted to go to the zoo one time when it got featured on the news."

"Did you go?"

"I did, but I was there to..." Elise glanced at Barbara and decided to be careful with her words. "...to do a mission. I enjoyed it for a while though."

"You didn't come back?"

"No..."

"What?" Barbara shot up out of her seat. "I have an idea..." She smiled at her. "Why don't we go now?"

"Isn't it closed already?"

"I'll handle it." Barbara winked. She finished her glass and grabbed Elise.

She pulled her out of her office.

"Where are you going?" The bartender asked them.

"W-We're going to the zoo. You're in charge, Stan."

Stan, the bartender, watched his boss get dragged by Barbara out of the bar.

----

"We're closed." The guard said to the two girls in front of him.

"We're police officers." Barbara flashed her badge. Elise widened here eyes but she immediately tried to act natural. "A dangerous suspect was seen running towards this direction. Have you seen anyone?"

"I haven't seen anyone."

"Can we inspect the place just in case?"

The guard scratched his head. "Would you take long?"

"I don't know. If you can give us a map, maybe we could finish earlier."

"Okay, come with me." The guard started leading the way.

Barbara turned around and mischivously smiled at Elise.

Elise was chuckling as she went along with Barbara's whims.

The guard gave them a map of the zoo and two flashlights.

"Where do you want to go first?" Barbara asked Elise as soon as the guard left them on their own.

"I-I don't know."

"Hmmm... What animal did you see that made you want to go here in the first place?"

"I-It was a red panda." Elise replied in a shy manner.

Barbara smiled. "Then, let's go there first."

After having fun looking at the red pandas and even sneaking into their enclosure to take pictures of them, they checked out the other animals.

There was an Alpaca, a Baboon, a wild cat, they even saw a sea lion.

Then, they decided to rest at the carousel they happened to find while walking around.

"By the way, you haven't told me much about you yet, Barbara. I just know you grew up in Gotham and your father is a police commissioner." Elise said while leaning on the guardrails.

"Eh. It's boring anyway." She only meant the parts she could say.

"You meeting your teacher sounds interesting though."

"I... met him when I was out at night. I got into trouble. I bit more than I could chew. It was a good thing that he was there to rescue me."

"What were you doing?"

"I don't think you need to know." Barbara said.

"Come on. You basically know what I do even though we talk about it vaguely."

"Fine... I'm going to trust you, okay?" She chuckled because she couldn't believe that she's trusting a criminal with her secret past. "I liked to play hero back then."

"You were a vigilante! Were you a famous one?"

"I... don't know. Haha."

"Oh my god! Have you worked with the Batman?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Really?! How is he with others? Doesn't he scare you? Something inhuman roaming around Gotham."

Barbara laughed at her. "He isn't a monster."

"What? He's metahuman though, right?"

"He isn't" Barbara chuckled.

"So, he's just a man in a bat costume?"

Barbara was laughing until they heard footsteps coming towards them.

"You guys are having fun."

A man smoking a cigar holding an automatic rifle revealed himself. Behind him were about a hundred more men holding rifles.

"Who are you?" Barbara scowled.

Elise touched her shoulder. "Run..."

"What?"

"Run! They're Franzese's men!"

Ratatatatatatata...