"Hey! I thought I was gonna have to work this case without you!" Harvey looked up as he saw Jim walk through the precinct doors. "Where the hell have you been? You know what? On second thought, never mind. I don't want to know," "What do we have?" Jim asked. "A biggie," Harvey showed him the file. "Blackgate prisoner escaped while in transit to St. Mark's for psychiatric care. His name's Ian Hargrove. Clinically insane, with a compulsion for blowing things up. He exploded a bunch of old buildings around Gotham. Last one, two janitors were killed,"

"Says here he was busted out by four gunmen?" Jim read with a questioning look. "Yeah, which is odd. Hargrove never used accomplices," Harvey responded. "All right, so who did Hargrove spend time with at Blackgate? Who did he communicate with on the outside?" Jim questioned. "His entire stretch, he was isolated from Gen Pop. Never made or received phone calls. Only one visitor in those two years: His brother John," Harvey spoke as he took off his glasses and cleaned them.

Jim asked Harvey if they managed to get the address of the brother. "We do," Harvey confirmed. "Unis are bringing him in right now for questioning. We're lucky you deigned to show up," "Yeah, sorry. Took longer than I expected it to be," Jim sighed. "Girl trouble again?" Harvey queried. While Jim didn't say it verbally, Harvey could tell just by the way his partner fidgeted in his seat that there was indeed continued trouble in paradise. "I told you. Those high society dames get you all twisted," He reminded.

Jim just nodded and continued flipping through the case, brushing off the comment.

~~~~~~~~~

The first night at Wayne Manor wasn't as bad as Holly thought it would be. While Selina didn't completely stop being grabby with the expensive jewels and décor, she was starting to behave herself and even joined in the conversations between Holly and Bruce. While most of their conversations were about school and what Bruce had been up to regarding his own investigation, Selina didn't hesitate to give her input and cracked a joke now and then. Turns out Selina did have a friendly side after all.

That next morning, Bruce and Alfred went outside in the garden for Bruce's first day of training. They both put on their slightly worn boxing gloves, and on Alfred's count, they started the match. "Keep your guard up. Knock lumps out of ya! Watch your feet. Right," Alfred instructed. As Holly reached the bottom of the steps, she followed the sounds and peered outside. Bruce stumbled a bit on his feet but did his best to fight back. He knew from the very moment he asked Alfred to teach him how to fight that the butler would not take it easy on him. But the first time caught him completely off guard.

"Jab, jab, right. Lead with the Jab, jab, right," Alfred demonstrated, and Bruce followed soon after, eventually getting the hang of it. Out of the corner of his eyes, Alfred saw Holly watching them, and Selina poked her head out of the side of the doorframe with a tiny smile. With this distraction, Bruce jabbed Alfred in the gut. "Oi! Bloody hell," Alfred warned. "Sorry, Alfred," Bruce apologized, gesturing for the girls to join them.

Before Bruce could react, Alfred returned a blow, punching the young boy in the shoulder. "Hey, that hurt!" Bruce remarked, grabbing his shoulder with a gloved hand. "Yeah, it's supposed to, isn't it? Taking a punch is just as important as throwing one, Master Bruce," Alfred explained. "What you doing?" Selina asked. "Alfred's teaching me to fight," Bruce answered. Selina quirked an eyebrow as she inquired as to why. "So I'll be prepared if something bad happens,"

Selina looked around, sarcastically saying he lived in a pretty rough neighborhood when the houses and mansions were spaced out for miles and miles of vast green lands. "I'm not meaning here, in Gotham," Bruce clarified. "In Gotham, people don't fight with gloves on," Selina squinted. "So, how are your guy's rooms? Everything good?" Bruce changed the subject, looking back at both of them. "Yeah, everything's really nice," Holly nodded. "Eh, it'll do," Selina shrugged. Geez, unappreciative much? Holly internally rolled her eyes. 

"I'm hungry, though," Selina mentioned. "Right. Well, breakfast was served at 8:00, Miss, which you slept through. Lunch shall be served at 12:00," Alfred informed, clasping his hands behind his back. "There's plenty to eat in the kitchen. And Alfred will be happy to fix you something," Bruce cut in. "No, he won't be, will he? Because it's not a bloody hotel," Alfred countered, turning towards Bruce. But Selina told them both she could figure the kitchen out before she walked back inside. "Yeah, hey, you can mind your manners as well, you cheeky little minx," Alfred called out to her.

"I should probably go and make sure she doesn't get lost," Holly excused before walking off as well. "Be nice, Alfred. Selina is our guest, and you wouldn't want to make a scene in front of Holly, would you?" Bruce warned. "Well, I'm terribly sorry, Master Bruce. Didn't realize you fancied Ms. Gordon," Alfred said with a tiny smirk. Bruce stepped back a bit, his gaze shifting to the ground before looking back at the butler. "What do you mean? N...No," he stuttered. "Well, it's nothing to be embarrassed about a bit. Only natural, isn't it?" Alfred reasoned.

Bruce brushed back a stray piece of hair before sucking in a breath. "I guess so," He shrugged. "She's one of the good ones. But keep an eye on the other one. She's a lairy one," Alfred whispered as if he thought Selina or Holly could come back at any moment. "Right? Left, left, right. Now, keep your guard up, son," They returned to their match, but Bruce couldn't regain his focus. "You know about girls, do you, Alfred?" He questioned.

"Fair sight more than you," Alfred replied. "And Selina, mate is trouble. Holly's got a strong head on her shoulders. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard she helped you before we visited Mr. Elliot, eh?" How did he figure that out? Bruce asked himself. "I heard her mention it to Ms. Kyle," the butler explained, seemingly reading his mind. "Yeah, she did. I didn't ask her to," Bruce made it clear. "That's the thing about girls like her, Master Bruce. When someone they care about is being messed with, they don't hesitate to step in," Alfred advised.

Though the young boy did his best to hide it, he couldn't deny the fact he could feel his cheeks turn pink with warmth as he and Alfred continued throwing practice punches. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm telling you, I don't know anything about his escape. I haven't talked to him," John Hargrove assured as Jim and Harvey questioned him at the precinct. "Your own baby brother busts out of prison and doesn't call you, the only person he's talked to in two years?" Harvey squinted, having a hard time believing the story. Then again, he always questioned them. "What happened? You two have a falling out?" John shook his head, claiming that they were always close growing up.

"Even after he bombed those janitors?" Jim asked. "That was an accident," John claimed. "That's what they all say," Harvey shook his head. "It's the truth. My brother's not a killer, he never was," John said, pleading with them to have a bit of sympathy. "He blew up 12 buildings in Gotham!" Harvey reminded. "Yes. Munitions factories and their offices. Places that made guns and bullets and missiles," John admitted. "I know he was wrong, but Ian thought what he was doing was good. He didn't hurt a soul until the last bombing. And he felt terrible about it. He practically handed himself in to the cops and pleaded guilty. Ian has had mental problems ever since he was a kid. My parents didn't have the money to get him the help he needed, and he sure as hell wasn't getting it at Blackgate. Look, my brother's not a bad man,"

Harvey leaned across the table, inquiring what John thought his brother was besides a murderer. "He's sick, there's a major difference," John answered. "Okay. So, who would want to bust him out?" Jim questioned. "I don't know," the elder brother shrugged. "But he needs help. You have to find him before it's too late,"

But little did the three of them know that later that night, an explosion would rock all of Gotham, and the one behind it all was none other than Ian Hargrove himself. But as Jim and Harvey suspected, he wasn't acting alone.

Back at Wayne Manor on the second day of Holly and Selina's stay, Holly got changed into one of her outfits, consisting of a black and white spotted dress and a pair of black flats. As she stood in the mirror, tying her hair back with a matching bow, Selina walked past her room but stopped as her gaze landed on the backpack resting on the bed. "You can borrow one of mine if you want. I think we're about the same size," Holly offered. "Pass," Selina declined. Alright, just figured I'd ask. 

They joined Bruce as he had his breakfast in the library. Alfred had already laid out the plates and food beforehand, and as both the girls stopped at the table, they picked up a few muffins and croissants before sitting down. "How'd you sleep, Hols?" Bruce asked, folding back the morning paper. "Slept well, how about yourself?" Holly asked before taking a bite of her muffin. "I slept okay, how about you Selina?" Bruce looked to the other end of the room, where Selina was perched on the couch. "Your house makes noise," She answered.

"Well, it's an old house," Bruce shrugged. "Detective Gordon told me you live on the streets," Selina looked at him after the sudden bring-up of the topic. "Yeah, so?" She responded. "I think he's trying to ask what it was like for you," Holly explained. Selina rolled her eyes as she told them that it wasn't as nice as it was at the manor. "Do you live alone?" Bruce inquired. "Are you going to ask me questions all morning? Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?" Selina asked.

"Yeah, we go to the same school together," Holly answered. "But I'm also developing my own curriculum. It lets me move at my own speed and focus on academic areas that interest me," Bruce told her. "Why? You're a billionaire, what's to learn?" Selina's face morphed as she never saw the point in school. "Well, that's a strange attitude," Bruce was a bit surprised. "I mean, some of it drags on for too long, but at the end of the day, it just depends on what you plan to do with your life," Holly said.

"Okay, Ms. Straight A's. I'm not looking for a lecture on school first thing in the morning," Selina grumbled. Holly went silent after that comment and continued eating while Bruce looked at her with sympathy. "So, where are your parents? Are they alive?" He returned to the conversation with Selina. "Uh, sure they're around," Selina seemed pretty skeptical. Perhaps she and her parents got separated, and that's why she had been living on her own for so long. "Where?"

If any of Bruce's questions touched a nerve with Selina, it was the inquiring about her family that did it. Selina quickly became defensive as she asked why that was any of his business. Holly tried to calm the situation, but Selina only got more and more upset. "I just thought..." Bruce trailed off. "Well, you thought wrong. I'm not an orphan! I've got family all over," Selina said before storming out, bumping into Alfred as he walked in. As he just walked and didn't know much about what happened, he wasn't sure what to do to help matters.

But Holly could see the guilt in Bruce's eyes. He hadn't meant to offend Selina, but curiosity got the better of him, and he didn't notice how uncomfortable she might've been. "She needs some time to cool off, and then hopefully she'll come around," Holly patted his shoulder. "I don't know, she really didn't like me knowing more about her," Bruce questioned. "Just give her time. I don't think she's used to being around people. People that just want to talk," Holly sighed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

With this latest bombing spreading like wildfire all over the news outlets and papers, Captain Essen was on edge about finding Hargrove and putting him and the people responsible for breaking him out in custody. "This was bad enough when it was just a prison escape. Now we've got five dead security guards, and the press is calling Hargrove an urban terrorist. Did you get anything from the bombing site?" She asked Harvey and Jim.

"Forensics is still looking into it, but the entire office was destroyed," Harvey explained. "Including all security footage," Jim added. Harvey told Essen that despite most of the evidence bursting into flames, they were able to discover that Hargrove and his guys made off with a compound called HMX. And according to Jim, it was military grade and ten times more powerful than C-4. "Nasty stuff," Harvey inhaled sharply. "Using explosives to steal explosives. What's that about?" Essen inquired.

"Trading up?" Jim suggested. "He must have another target in mind. Some place difficult to crack," Essen sighed before she sipped her coffee. "You know what I'm going to say. So go, do it," she told them. As Jim and Harvey were about to continue with the case, Jim's phone rang, and he quickly answered it. "Yes, Detective, it's Alfred," The butler replied. "Alfred, is everything all right? Is Holly okay? How about Selina?" Jim asked, fearing the worst. "Miss Gordon is perfectly okay, fantastic company. But Ms. Kyle, on the other hand, is safe," Alfred answered.

"But?" Jim pressed, having a hunch there was a but involved somewhere. "But I'm afraid, Detective this isn't gonna work out. She's a tough nut, this one," Alfred spoke. "Well look, we need her help if we have any chance of catching the Wayne's killer. Just hold onto her for now, and I'll be out to check on her as soon as I can," Jim swore. Alfred held back the sigh in his voice as he told the Detective they'd be patiently awaiting his arrival before hanging up.

With this new worry on his mind, Jim tried to power through the files on Ian Hargrove and find answers that could connect the dots on his whereabouts and prevent another bombing from happening. But the pressure of both pending situations was getting the better of him, along with the fact that Barbara might not be coming back home. "Hargrove's contacts and phone records from before he went to Blackgate," Harvey set a box of folders and call logs on Jim's desk.

"Uhuh. Yeah," Jim nodded in acknowledgment as he rested a hand against his head. "You all right?" Harvey asked. Jim tried to brush it off and claim that he was fine. But Harvey gave him a long look that said, "I know you're lying, Jim," and the Detective finally caved in. "Barbara left," Jim sighed. "Left left?" Harvey queried. "Yeah, and I don't know where she is," Jim spoke truthfully, the worry evident in his voice. "It's a ploy. She wants you to set a date. It's a standard move. She'll be back," His partner assured.

Hopefully... Jim silently prayed. "Do you play video games?" Ed suddenly snuck up behind Harvey and scared the living daylights out of him. "Ed, don't ever do that again!" Harvey warned, glaring at him. "My apologies, Detective. Do either of you play video games?" Ed returned to his previous question. But neither Jim nor Harvey answered as Ed answered his own question. "I do, I love video games. I find that each one presents a new challenge, a puzzle. It's a lot like detective work in that way!" Ed babbled.

"Ed, get to the point," Jim glanced over to him, wanting him to leave them to their investigation. "Oh, sorry. Uh, I had a chance to analyze the shrapnel from the security office. And I found something," Ed explained, showing them the tiny evidence bag. "It's a nameplate. It was damaged in the bombing, but you can still read the information. It's from an abandoned metal factory here in Gotham," Jim briefly looked at the bag before handing it to Harvey.

"That's really good work, Ed. Thanks," Harvey nodded to him. Ed's smile got even wider as he thanked them before Jim and Harvey drove off to the factory, drawing their guns the moment they stepped out of the car. The deeper they walked into the factory, the more they could hear the sounds of someone fidgeting with what sounded like metal and spare parts. Turning the corner, Jim and Harvey found their suspect sitting at a table constructing another bomb.

"GCPD, freeze!" Jim called out, making Ian jump in his seat. "Don't shoot! You found the nameplate, thank God," Ian sighed with relief. "Is anyone else here?" Bullock asked as they stepped a little closer. "No, but they'll be back soon! Please, you got to help me! They broke me out of prison, they kidnapped me, they told me they'd kill my brother and his family if I didn't help them!" Ian explained. 

Harvey and Jim removed the ankle chains from Hargrove's legs as Harvey asked what he meant by 'They.' "Russians. One of their names is Kasyanov. They're planning something against Falcone," Ian added. "Falcone?" Jim repeated. "It's a big job, a vault. That's why they needed me to build explosives," Just then, the sounds of heavy footsteps were getting closer to the three of them, and Ian quickly turned around to see that his kidnappers had returned.

"Get down, get down!" Ian shouted, and they quickly jumped down and took cover. Ian was left with no way to defend himself, so the only thing he could do was shield his head and only hope that no bullets or shrapnel would hit him while Jim and Harvey took cover in multiple hiding spots and popped out every so often to fire back at the snatchers. While some snatchers fired back at the detectives, the other few unlocked the chain around Hargrove's waist and rushed him out of the factory as they piled into the car, taking Hargrove with them.