Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Thirty Four: You're A Really Weird Kid ~

"A staff member? That's absurd!" Dr. Lang scoffed as Jim confronted him about his theory. But of course, the director was too prideful to admit that Jim might be right and kept insisting that an inmate was responsible for what happened to Frogman and Royston. "I don't think it was an inmate," Jim held firm. "Your job is to oversee inmate security. You're not authorized to conduct an investigation of the staff!" Dr. Lang squinted as they walked down the darkening corridor. Suddenly, Dr. Lang stopped and turned back to Jim, having his own theory.

"I know what you're doing, Gordon. You're trying to force my hand. You want me to call the police!" Dr. Lang smirked, having no doubt that was Jim's plan all along. "No," Jim answered as he continued walking down the hall. "I already called them," Almost an hour after Jim phoned back to the precinct, someone had to pull up to the front gates of the Asylum. Harvey walked into the medical wing, not at all expecting to find this when he got the call something was going on. He walked over to where Frogman was sitting, following his gaze to the wall. Harvey watched him for about a minute or two, but as soon as Harvey was about to turn around, he nearly collided with the other mentally scarred inmate.

"Hey, pal," Harvey said, making Royston flinch and look up at him. "In a cow slip's bell I lie, there I crouch when owls do cry," Royston recited. "All right, I can dig that," Harvey nodded, very weirded out. As Dr. Lang and Jim walked back into the medical wing, the director was about to greet Harvey when he saw Jim standing right behind. "Jim! Partner!" Harvey gleefully shouted as he hugged him and placed a big kiss on Jim's head. "Let me take a good look at you," Harvey stepped back to see Jim in his new Arkham uniform, and inhaled sharply. "Lord have mercy, you're screwed," Harvey commented.

Dr. Lang tried to get Harvey's attention, but the detective continued to talk to his former partner, saying Jim wasn't exaggerating when he called. "Freaky as advertised," Harvey agreed. "Nobody of authority called on you, sir! This is not a police matter," The director protested. "You must be Director Dr. Lang. See, I beg to differ. This is third-degree assault, at the very least," Harvey contradicted. "A friend of yours, is it?" Dr. Lang glared at Jim. "Egregious insubordination. Your job here was already hanging on a thread. This is the end of your career in law enforcement. You can count on it!"

"Whoa! Take it easy, hot shot. Officer Gordon did the right thing. Why wouldn't he call the police? Anyone would think you'd want to keep this business quiet," Harvey defended. "Gerry... it is Gerry, isn't it? Now, did you do this terrible thing, Gerry?" "That doesn't even merit a reply. No, I did not do this terrible thing!" Dr. Lang looked stunned. "But you have the skill, though, as a doctor. I mean, you could do it, lickety-split!" Harvey pointed out. Dr. Lang continued to protest, saying he had nothing to do with this and he wouldn't have any reason to. "Why would I do this?" He asked.

"Why would anyone?" Jim asked. "Exactly, Officer Gordon. Gerry, I think we're gonna have to take you down to the precinct. You're raising a lot of questions that need clearing up in a more formal setting," "You can't do this-" But Harvey shushed the director, informing him this was now an official GCPD investigation. "You sir, will cooperate or face arrest. Officer Gordon? Would you mind going through the staff records while I take Gerry here, downtown for a chat?" Harvey requested.

"Will do, Detective," Jim saluted him, and Harvey saluted right back to him.

~~~~~~~~~

The comforting ambience from her speaker filled Holly's bedroom as she returned to work on her paintings. While she had numerous paintings to finish, this was probably one of the most important ones for her to get done. While she was at school, Mrs. Scherer approached her during art class and handed her a pink slip. Next weekend, Anders Prep was hosting its 20th annual art competition, and Mrs. Scherer highly recommended Holly participate. "In all my years as an art teacher, I've never seen someone pay such close attention to detail. You have so much potential, Ms. Gordon. The world deserves to see it," Holly recalled those words.