"Barbara? Holly?" Jim called as he entered the apartment, noticing the lights were still on at this time of night. But as Jim walked into the apartment, he saw the three empty bowls sitting on the counter with dirty spoons inside. "Hols, you here?" Jim called out again, this time hearing the bedroom door open. "Hey Dad, sorry I had my headphones on," Holly set them down before embracing him warmly. "Still nothing from your mom?" Jim asked. "Nope. No calls, no nothing," Holly gave the usual report, which always made Jim's face fall.

"You hungry? There's some leftover chili, I can heat it up," Holly asked as he went to sit in the living room. "Yeah, chili sounds good," Jim nodded as Holly picked up the dirty dishes and walked into the kitchen to heat up his dinner. "Did you have Cara over again?" Jim inquired. Holly shook her head and turned off the sink. She couldn't keep Selina and Ivy's presence a secret from him. He'd find out eventually, depending on how long the girls decided to stay.

As she returned to the living room with his piping hot bowl, she explained to him everything, and while Jim did raise a brow at the fact Selina managed to climb seven stories up the side of the building to make herself at home, he was impressed by Holly's act of kindness. "I hope you're not mad," Holly muttered. "Why would I be mad?" Jim questioned. "I know Gotham's not as safe as the suburbs, but I just couldn't throw them back out onto the street, especially with Ivy battling a cold,"

Jim placed a hand on her shoulder, telling her it was fine, but reminded her again that not everybody in Gotham is trustworthy. "This is fine. But if you invited some grown man in here, that'd be a different story," he said. "Trust me, I wouldn't," Holly assured. "I know, you're a smart kid," Jim nodded. Holly propped herself up on the couch as they turned on the TV and put on a random show, not really paying attention to it. "So, how has work been? You didn't tell me," Holly asked, breaking the silence. "Well, I met someone," Jim spoke slowly. He wouldn't admit it, but he was cautious on telling Holly about Lee, for fear that she'd take it the wrong way. "Her name is Lee,"

"How is she? Nice?" Holly questioned. "Yeah, she's really nice," For a while, Jim talked more and more about Lee and the torturous electrical shock therapy that some of the patients were subjected to. While Holly's interest was piqued by the electrical case, her thoughts kept returning to Lee. And by the way her dad was talking about her, Holly had a gut feeling just by their brief encounters, her father's eyes were starting to wander elsewhere. And while Holly would admit that it would be hard for a while to hear her dad talking about another woman, she couldn't judge Lee right away without knowing her. "That reminds me. I need to give you this," Jim reached to the side of his belt and pulled off a keychain, and two black objects hung from them.

"What's this?" Holly asked, taking the keychain into her hands. "The suspects behind this broke out tonight. And just in case something happens, I want you to be prepared. It comes with pepper spray and a taser. You remember how to use it, right?" Jim asked as Holly unclipped the spray. "Yeah, get 'em right in the eyes," Holly remembered. "Just be careful not to shock yourself with the taser. I've made that mistake once or twice," Jim warned. Holly nodded, telling him she'd keep that in mind before setting the keychain on the coffee table.

"Since those two guys broke out, do you think the GCPD's gonna call and ask for your help?" She asked. "I would hope so. They're going to need all the help they can get,"

~~~~~~~~~~

That next morning, after finally getting a night of decent sleep, Jim returned to the GCPD, hoping to make it to the debriefing on time. As Essen explained the situation to everyone in the room, Jim pressed his back against the pillar, blending into the background as much as he could. "Aaron Danzig. Six-four, 225, mental age of a young child. We believe he's under the control of this man..." Captain Essen explained as Nygma stood off to the side of the projector, showing the photo of their second suspect.

"Jack Gruber. In Arkham off a rape/murder beef. We can't find any records on Gruber prior to his incarceration, so we're guessing "Gruber" is an alias. We're sending his prints nationwide to see if we can find another name for him. Whoever he is, he's clever, angry and a grave public menace. The Commissioner is deeply concerned and he's on his way here to talk to all of you right now. You know what that means, and you know..." As Essen's eyes scanned the room, she finally took notice of Jim's presence. "Jim?"

Harvey turned around upon his name and greeted him with a slight nod. "Captain," Jim acknowledged her. "Jim, you're out of your jurisdiction," Essen warned. "Captain, this is my case," Jim insisted. "Jim, you need to get out of here," Essen gestured to the front door. As Jim was about to speak up again, Harvey jumped into the conversation and started leading him out. "The captain is right. You need to leave before the Commissioner gets here," Harvey told him. "Why?" Jim questioned.

"Because he holds you responsible for all of this, and... Oh, fudge," Harvey stopped when he saw the Commissioner enter the precinct. "He's here. And you're there. Sidestep," He and Jim hid behind the pillar and watched Commissioner Loeb walk past them and greet Captain Essen. "Officer Gordon, isn't it?" Loeb asked, not looking behind him. "Yes, sir," Jim answered. "Why are you here?" Loeb turned and scowled. Jim stepped closer and put his hands on his hips. "This is the first I've seen you down here with the rank and file. You must be desperate,"

"Follow me," the Commissioner ordered calmly. "And bring your friend, Bullock," As the two detectives followed Loeb into Captain Essen's office, Harvey muttered under his breath as Jim apologetically smiled. "I hate you," Harvey whispered. As the doors closed, Commissioner Loeb stood behind Essen's desk, glaring at them through his thickly framed glasses. "You're strangely self-righteous, given that it was you that let these men escape," Loeb spoke. "Blame me all you want. My name's already mud. Those two will still be out there, and that means you need me," Jim replied.

"James, why did you become a policeman? Your father was the district attorney," The Commissioner spoke condescendingly. "A proud station for a man of substance. You would think that would inspire a son to practice law!" "I'm enforcing the law. You want to talk about my dad, or do you want to catch Gruber and Danzig?" Jim straightened his spine, biting back the temptation to say something far nastier. "Where do you get the rebellious fire in your belly?" Loeb questioned. 

"Can I take this opportunity to say I have no rebellious fire here? Nada?" Harvey spoke up, making both the Commissioner and Jim look at him silently told him to stay out of it. "Jack Gruber is out there, planning a catastrophe. I know the man, and I know how he thinks. I know what he'll do next," Jim stepped closer to the desk. "Which is what?" Loeb asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "That I'll keep to myself," Jim answered. "I guarantee I'll bring in these two men, but first, I need you to reinstate me as detective first grade in the GCPD,"

Commissioner Loeb squinted, and after some thought, finally gave him an offer. "24 hours," he said. "You've got 24 hours to bring these men in. You don't, you can both spend the rest of your miserable careers down at Arkham. That will be all, Detectives," With this dismissal, Harvey stormed out of the office, and Jim followed right behind trying to calm him down, Harvey's evident anger. "What the hell just happened?" Harvey spat. "It's okay! It's okay. Everything's gonna be fine, Harvey," Jim assured.

Harvey shook his head, doubting his former partner's words. "We just got to catch the bad guys," Jim explained. "Okay, where are we going?" Harvey asked. "I don't know," Jim admitted. Harvey grabbed Jim by the wrist, the anger in his eyes was growing by the second. "What? You just told him you knew what Gruber was going to do next!" Harvey hissed. "I lied," Jim said, freeing himself from Harvey's grip. Neither had any idea where Gruber and Danzig were hiding out, but with their jobs dangling in front of them like a carrot in front of a mule, both men were determined to make the most out of this timeframe and put Gruber and Danzig back behind bars.

~~~~~~~~~

Holly wasn't going to lie, these past few weeks attending school had been rather quiet. Maybe it was the lack of Tommy and his gang harassing her and Bruce, or maybe this was all a silent blessing. Either way, she was grateful. As the art contest was getting closer, she became determined to finish her garden painting. As she stood at the art easel, deep in the wonderland that was her painting, Holly couldn't help but overhear one of her classmates' conversations. 

Many were talking about which paintings looked the most interesting while others secretly made bets as to whose painting would win the contest. "What about that girl's painting right there?" One of the boys, about a year younger than Holly, gestured to her painting. "She is pretty good," Another boy admitted. "At the very least, I think she'd place 2nd," A girl with a slight British accent answered. "Natasha's gonna take 1st place like she usually does,"

Natasha? Holly wondered. There wasn't a Natasha in her class. Maybe she's in an earlier period or a later one? The conversations between the group continued as some of them started comparing Holly's painting to Natasha's, stating that her paintings of the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben were some of the most remarkable pieces of work they had ever seen. "I don't think that's fair, Evie. Natasha might be good at landmarks, but her attention to detail is nothing compared to Holly's. Just look at those flowers!" The younger boy shook his head. "I feel like I'm staring at a bush of them right now,"

"You guys can stop acting like I can't hear you because I can," Holly turned around on her heel and set down her paintbrush. "It's just an art contest, isn't one of the main rules that you're supposed to have fun? Why make it so competitive?" Holly looked at the group. The two girls and three boys looked at each other with looks of 'Should we tell her?' Like they were about to expose Holly to the truth. "Must be your first time entering, Gordon. If I'm being honest, this whole competition is rigged. Every year without fail, Natasha wins over the judges, and all she has to do is smile and stand at her booth," Jasmine, the second girl explained.

"And I don't mean to spread rumors, but I'm pretty sure Natasha's parents bribe the judges so their precious angel wins," Jordan, the middle boy speculated. "You guys seriously don't believe that, do you?" Holly stepped closer. "You don't know Natasha's parents. They're super obsessed with their daughter having her paintings shown at the art gallery, and just to our luck, they're adding the opportunity for the winning painting to be shown there, along with giving out a $2,000 check,"

Holly's face contorted into one of confusion. There was no way she was going to bad mouth her competition in front of a group that would spread the gossip around like wildfire. She didn't even know Natasha, and as the old saying goes, 'You never judge a book by its cover,' so she had no room to speak. "I see," Holly nodded. "Just figured we'd let you know that you need to watch out," Evie shrugged. Holly picked up her paintbrush and continued her work, trying to block out everything she heard. Anders Prep was of course, full of gossiping rich kids, but she rarely paid attention to it.

But now that she was involved in the gossip involving her and Natasha, Holly had to know what she was like. Not because she was intimidated or feared losing the competition. But to put all the rumors aside and focus on her painting. Who knows? Maybe Natasha isn't the person people are saying she is. Maybe she's just misunderstood. 

Maybe, just maybe.

~~~~~~~~~~~

While these 24 hours might've seemed stressful for Harvey, for Jim, it was another story. He couldn't stop smiling, he was finally back where he belonged, and nobody, not even screaming criminals could ruin the day. "What are you laughing at?" Harvey asked. "Ah, it's just good to be back!" Jim answered, lying back in his chair. "Only a man from a lunatic asylum would say that. You're like a human roller coaster, except you only go down," Harvey pointed out just as a certain riddle-speaking forensic analyst stood behind Harvey and his desk.

"Wouldn't that make him more of an elevator?" Ed asked. "You have anything useful, Ed? I got a little less than 20 hours before I lose my job," Harvey looked momentarily over his shoulder before looking back to Jim with an annoyed look. " I do have something useful. I cross-checked fingerprints," Ed plopped a stack of folders onto Harvey's desk. "The clinically insane Jack Gruber of Arkham is a figment of the files. The man himself is really a career criminal by the name Jack Buchinsky,"

"How is that even possible?" Jim asked. "It's easy enough to bribe someone to change the records," Harvey answered. "Yep. Apparently, he wanted to be transferred to Arkham," Ed nodded. "That's really good work, Ed. What's this Buttinsky's deal?" Harvey inquired. "Uh, it's, uh, Buchinsky. It's all in the files," Ed stuttered before dashing off. Taking two files out of the stack, Jim and Harvey flipped through them, looking for more answers. 

It turned out there was a far deeper rabbit hole on Buchinsky than they originally thought. And when Captain Essen stopped by to see how they were doing, Jim and Harvey explained it all. "This Buchinsky dude and his partners pulled four successful bank robberies and killed six along the way before the GCPD caught him by accident. He never named his accomplices," Harvey told her. "He's in prison, he hears Arkham is opening its doors, so he uses his connections, and he gets himself a new identity as the mental patient Gruber," Jim added. 

"He must have some good connections," Essen commented. "Right, and when the rest of the nuts get transferred to Arkham, voila!" Harvey said. "So, he had partners, huh?" Essen asked. "Yeah, GCPD never identified them. They're still out there," Harvey answered. "Yep. We find them, we'll find him," Jim assured. Harvey stared at him, sarcastically saying it sounded easy enough. Of course, it wasn't going to be easy. Buchinsky clearly showed he had the smarts to concoct an entire fake identity. And if anything, he was probably warning his connections that the GCPD was going to be keeping an eye out for them.

One of the other cops then slipped a note through the metal bars of the railing, and Harvey looked at it, a grin quickly replacing his angry glare. "We've got a hit!" He said as he and Jim grabbed their coats and headed for the door. Their lead led them right to an abandoned Arkham van in the middle of the empty and closed-off road. "What do we got?" Jim asked as he squinted and looked into the van. "We dusted for prints; two sets, Gruber and Danzig, just like we thought," A member of the forensics unit told him.

"Van checks out! It was them," Jim returned to Harvey, who was focused on the electronics shop across the street. "Our man's an electronics freak, right?" He questioned. "Yeah, he is," Jim followed his partner's gaze to the neon-lit storefront. "Think he went shopping?" Harvey asked. As the two men ducked underneath the crime scene tape and walked to the electronics store, their hands went to their belts, and Harvey opened the door, and they walked inside, guns drawn. Lying on the floor in front of them was a burned and blistered young man, his eyes still wide open with fear from the electrical shock several hours ago.

Harvey stooped down to feel for a pulse, but there was none. "He's dead, fried like a doughnut," He said to Jim, making Jim shake his head, trying not to visualize that disgusting display. They walked deeper into the back, and in the unsettling darkness, they heard the sounds of a marker squeaking. And as they followed the sounds into the back of the shop, they saw the shadow of someone writing on the wall. And while neither of the detectives couldn't see it in the dim light, the man had the same burn marks on the sides of his head. "GCPD! Turn around slowly, let me see those hands!" Jim shouted, but the man was unphased and continued writing on the wall.

"Hey, hey buddy," Harvey grabbed his shoulder and flipped him around. And to their surprise, he was yet another victim, and the man continued to wave his marker, continuing to write in the air. Behind him and all over the wall, Jim saw the same written message over and over again. "I will not betray my friends,"