Barbara's paranoia was only getting worse and worse. Holly had asked to go over to Cara's house, and work on homework and study for an upcoming test, while Jim had a few hours before he could return home. As Barbara moved around the apartment, trying to have a normal day and push everything that happened aside, flashbacks from her time held hostage threatened to scare her at any possible moment.

She kept a close eye on the locked door, fearing someone would bust it down and take her away again. Without another thought, she ran to the bedroom and pulled a wooden box from under the bed. Jim always kept a spare just in case, and when they first started dating, Jim taught her how to use one. She sat in the living room, keeping the handgun and bullets close by as she tried to settle the demons with a drink or two.

Later on, Barbara heard fumbling outside and the doorknob jiggling. She quickly loaded the gun, and with shaking hands, she aimed it, just waiting to defend herself. The apartment door opened, and footsteps entered the residence. Barbara's body locked up in fear, but her finger was still on the trigger. When the mysterious person turned the corner, she was relieved to discover it was just Jim. His eyes widened when he saw her holding the gun. "Barbara, what are you..." Jim trailed off when he saw the wine glass and bottle on the coffee table.

"I heard someone come in, and you didn't turn on the light..." Barbara shook, setting down the weapon. "So you got out my spare?" Jim questioned. "You were running late, I got nervous and Holly hasn't called back yet!" Barbara teared up. "Well, Not the best idea to be handling a firearm when you've been drinking!" Jim scolded. He placed the spare back in the wooden box along with the bullets as Barbara started crying. "It's okay," Jim embraced her. "Look, you've been through a lot. It's over now,"

"I am scared, Jim. Everywhere I go, I can feel that monster Zsasz stalking me, and I..." Barbara could barely finish her sentence as the image of that bald man pointing a gun at her back at Falcone Manor reappeared. "He's not a monster, he's just a man. I won't let anyone hurt you," Jim swore. But Barbara shook her head, asking how he could promise her that. "Tell me it'll be okay. Tell me there really aren't any monsters. Just lie if you have to," Barbara begged. "There aren't any monsters," Jim told her.

The lights flickered on as the apartment door opened again, and Barbara buried her face into Jim's chest. But as she heard the sounds of someone setting down their bags, she realized it was only Holly. "Where've you been?" Jim asked her. "I was at Cara's doing work," Holly answered. "I-I'm so sorry, Hols. I should've been there to pick you up," Barbara sighed. "It's fine. Cara's nanny offered to drop me off anyway," She hugged both of her parents, unaware of everything that had just taken place. Holly then walked over to the kitchen to make herself something quick and easy for dinner as Jim turned his attention back to his fiancée.

"Why don't you lay down and get some rest, okay? I'll be in soon," Jim whispered. Wiping away her tears, Barbara nodded and walked to their bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Jim sat down on the couch, exhausted from the long day. It wasn't easy to wait until morning to for him and Harvey to go to Sionis Investments together. Just seeing the desperation on Coleman's mother's face to find his killer was heartbreaking. To add even more pressure was the cold stares from everyone around him. What was it going to take for them all to see Jim as their friend and not their foe?

"You want some?" Holly asked, pulling Jim out of his thoughts as she offered him some crackers. "Sure, thanks," Jim nodded. Cara took a few sips of her water before continuing to eat. "Bruce came back to school today. Turns out we're in a few classes together," Holly mentioned. "Oh yeah? How's he doing?" Jim questioned. "Fine, I think. He's trying to take it one day at a time, but some jerk keeps reminding him of what happened," Holly responded. "I just don't get it. Why do people think dead bodies are cool?"

"I don't know, Hols. Some people... their minds are just darker than ours," Jim answered. Holly just shook her head and rested her head on her dad's shoulder. "I'm worried about mom..." Holly sighed. "I know she probably thinks I'm ignoring or unaware of what's going on. But I just don't know how to help her without triggering her," Jim wrapped his arm around the small of Holly's back, kissing her forehead. "I'll help her through it. You just try to keep her company, okay?" Holly nodded as she felt herself begin to doze off and eventually fell asleep on the couch.

~~~~~~~~~~

That next morning, after making sure Barbara was okay and dropping Holly off at school, Jim and Harvey met up and drove to Sionis Investments, hoping to find the man with the missing thumb. As they walked into the everyone seemed to be working at the same time, working away on their typewriters and picking up incoming phone calls. But the closer Jim looked around the office, things didn't seem normal. Most, if not all the men inside the office had some cuts or bruises on their faces. As one man walked by, Jim noticed the healing gash on his forehead. "Something tells me we came to the right place," He turned to Harvey.

"Mr. Sionis will see you now," A well-dressed woman spoke from behind them. The detectives followed her down the long corridor, and at the end of it, the woman opened the door that led into her boss's office. While most bosses might have a few fancy plants and a comfortable chair or two in their offices, Sionis's office was nothing of the sort. Inside stood all sorts of fancy items and ancient weaponry. "Richard Sionis," the boss shook Jim and Harvey's hands. "James Gordon. This is my partner, Harvey Bullock," Jim introduced themselves.

"How can I help you, detectives? I don't have much time," Sionis asked, checking his watch. "You know this man, Coleman Lawson? He might have interviewed for a job," Jim pulled a small photo of their victim. "Sorry, no," Sionis shook his head. "Did any of your employees miss work yesterday? Any of them show up today with an injured right hand?" Jim questioned. Sionis looked confused, saying he didn't take roll call, so he didn't know. "So you don't mind if we check then?" Jim asked. "Perhaps you can tell me what all of this is about,"

As Jim was speaking with the boss, Harvey stood off to the side, his gaze shifting occasionally from his partner to the unusual decorations. No one keeps dozens of weapons in their office unless you are in fear for your life. "Coleman Lawson was killed two nights ago. The man who did it had your firm's card in his pocket," Jim explained to Sionis. "Well, there's a thousand ways he could've gotten that," The man responded. "What's with all the warrior baloney?" Harvey asked, picking up one of the daggers and unsheathed it.

"It inspires me," Sionis turned around, putting the knife back in its place. "High finance is tough business. In order to succeed, you have to be a warrior," "No, you don't. You have to be a good businessman," Jim corrected. "Warriors fight wars, it's different. So, you fancy yourself a killer? Have you killed people, Mr. Sionis?" Sionis smiled and claimed that he only killed people metaphorically. "So all of this is just juvenile playacting?" Jim inquired. "Exactly!" Sionis nodded. "Thus speaks a man who's seen actual combat. You've killed people for real, haven't you? True killers are easy to spot,"

"Yes, they are," Jim agreed. He then looked around, also taking notice of the unusual masks hung up on the walls. "Why all the masks? A shrink would say you're hiding something," Jim pressed on. "To the contrary. A mask hides the face but frees the soul. A mask speaks the truth," Sionis directed the detective's attention to one in particular. A black mask with a small braid on the back of it. Jim continued asking Mr. Sionis why his male employees had so many injuries, but Sionis brushed it off, saying that their touch football games got a touch aggressive.

"You're a liar, Mr. Sionis," Jim confronted. But rather than get defensive back, Sionis turned back to Jim, claiming to see a bright fire in his eyes. "You must miss the battlefield desperately. I imagine killing gets quite addictive," he sneered. Jim grabbed Sionis by his tie, pulling him in until they were almost head-to-head. "You murdered Coleman Lawson, didn't you?" Jim growled. "Prove it then!" Sionis challenged. "We will," Jim vowed, letting him go before storming out. Harvey followed his partner but not before turning back to Mr. Sionis, saying he'd give him a good cop routine, but it wasn't in his tool kit.

Jim went back into the hallway, trying to compose himself. Mr. Sionis was able to see through him like he was a freshly polished window. The flashbacks of his time during the war reappeared again, some of which he never hoped to see ever again. As he was about to walk out and wait for Harvey to come out, Jim noticed a red trail leading somewhere. He followed it to the double doors of the men's restroom and pulled out his gun, bracing himself. He slowly opened the door, seeing someone in another mirror reflection washing his hands. "GCPD, turn around slowly!" Jim yelled out. The man complied, slowly turning around to reveal that the blood trail was from a double nosebleed.

"Let me see those hands!" Jim told him. The man slowly put up his hands, revealing they were covered in blood. Out of the corner of his eye, Jim saw another man come out of one of the stalls, and to Jim's surprise, one of his hands was bandaged and missing a finger. "Don't move!" Jim pointed his gun at the second man. But before Jim could do anything else, the man pushed him up against the wall and tried to make a run for it, only to be hit in the head by Harvey as he pushed the bathroom door open.

Harvey looked down to see what had happened as well as the young man sitting on top of the sink, shaking like a leaf. "You should've waited for me," Harvey warned, helping Jim to his feet.

~~~~~~~~~

"And then Mr. Jones told Robby that unless he brought enough food for everyone in class, he couldn't eat in there. So, you know what he did?" Cara asked Bruce and Holly as the three walked to their next classes. "I dunno, what did he do?" Bruce questioned. "He reached into his bag and pulled out a stack of crackers, crushed them, and sprinkled them all over the desks. Then after that, he sprinkled the rest on the teachers and said, "Now there's enough for everyone!" Cara chuckled under her breath. "Classic case of malicious compliance," Holly replied. 

"Sounds like a waste of good crackers," Bruce pointed out. "Right? Well, I'll catch up with you guys later!" Cara waved to both of them before running down the hall. Holly and Bruce walked up the staircase leading to their shared history class. If anything else came out of being in the same class with Bruce, it was also that this class would be free of Tommy Elliot. And after what happened between him and Bruce the day before, Bruce definitely needed the break from him. "So, what are you working on in that book?" Holly gestured to the book Bruce clutched tightly at his side.

"Just some charcoal drawings, I find it therapeutic when I'm not working," Bruce explained. "Working on what?" Holly asked. Bruce hesitated for a moment. Should he tell her about wanting to speak with the board at Wayne Enterprises? Half of him wanted to tell someone besides Alfred what his plans were to get the slightest crumb of closure. But the other half wanted to keep it quiet for fear Holly might not understand. But before he could decide, they were both stopped by that familiar condescending voice. "Hey Brucey!" Tommy sneered before looking Holly up and down. "Hi, Middle Class,"

Holly fought back the urge to roll her eyes. This teasing was getting old, and it was just a matter of time before Holly had enough. If her little auditorium speech didn't work, something far better had to. "Doesn't matter what class she is," Bruce spoke up. "And it's Bruce, no Y," Tommy and his gang looked at each other and laughed. "No parents either, so I can call you what I like," Tommy snickered. "Get out of our way, Tommy," Holly tried to squeeze past them, but it was no use.

"Heh, a bit of snobby jerks, aren't you two?" Tommy looked Bruce's way. "For an orphan," he jabbed. Bruce was trying to keep calm, but even he couldn't deny he felt the ball of anger inside him grow larger and larger. "You're being very unkind, I don't understand why," Bruce looked up at him. But Tommy continued to taunt them. "Boy, you guys are weirdos. I bet your mother must..." But before Tommy could finish his sentence, Bruce slapped him across the face. "Don't talk about my mother..." Bruce warned, his voice growing dark. Tommy chuckled and wiped his cheek, even though there wasn't any blood to wipe off.

"Oh really?" Tommy towered over Bruce threateningly. "Boys, I think it's time we teach Brucey and Middle Class how to show some respect," The other guys nodded and agreed. Bruce didn't want to fight, especially now since the odds were stacked against him and Holly. But Holly didn't care about the other boys. Her main focus was on Tommy. She wanted to show him that she wasn't just some girl who was gonna let him walk all over her.

"Come on, Hols. Let's just get to class," Bruce tried to grab her hand, but Holly didn't move, continuing to glare at Tommy. "Look at her! What are you gonna do? Use your mean stare to hurt me? Oh no! The pain!" Tommy mocked her. Holly then started laughing, which stopped Tommy and his gang as they looked at her like she was crazy. "You're so stupid..." Holly's grin fell as she let go of one backpack strap, and with as much force as she could muster, she aimed right for Tommy's head. The satisfying thump of the backpack hitting his face was loud enough for the people below to hear it. Tommy was unable to catch his balance, and he smacked the cold tiled floor. This time, the cut on his face was deep enough to make him bleed.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" Holly smirked. Tommy was lucky she only had a few textbooks that weren't too heavy. If there were more, it could've been bloodier. The other guys looked at each other, clueless what to do, and it seemed like Holly scared the living daylights out of them. And they should've been scared. They had no idea what else she was capable of. 

"You coming or what?" Holly asked Bruce as she walked up the steps to History. As Bruce followed behind her, the shock from what just happened stayed with him. Maybe he wasn't alone after all.