Gotham Central. Captain Maggie Sawyer smiled slightly as the brown haired woman nodded hello to the secretaries and officers just finishing up the day shift. She strode to her office and sat down behind her desk, already considering the night's tasks. "Stacy," she called, "had any luck reaching Montoya?" Stacy leaned on the doorway as the administrative assistant sighed. "For a detective," she said, "Renee's pretty bad about picking up our messages." She hesitated, "Or she's dodging you." Maggie made a face at that, but she couldn't disagree. After Renee left the force Maggie had done her best to reach out to her, seeing her falling into a spiral of drinking and anger. But something, what Maggie didn't know, had pulled Renee out of that spiral and she now was operating as a private eye. "Keep trying," Maggie said. She looked thoughtful, "I heard a rumor she was seeing Kate Kane... can you look into it?" "Our Renee and a socialite?" Stacy raised her eyebrows. "Will do!" Maggie smiled as she shook her head, watching through the window as her officers filed in. With Commissioner Gordon back in charge they were getting much better support from city hall and morale was generally pretty high. The regular assistance of costumed vigilantes was also helping, though Maggie was of mixed feelings about that. On one hand, back when Maggie had served in Metropolis she had worked closely with Superman, even following his lead in several crises. But unlike the Batman she had found Superman reasonably open, willing to share information and assist in building cases. Batman and his allies, on the other hand, were largely secretive and covert, rarely sticking around to help cops make cases to prosecute their foes. 'Of course, I'm also under orders from Gordon to cooperate, so I guess I'm stuck,' Maggie admitted to herself as she got up to get some coffee. "Evening Captain," Ellen Yin nodded, the rookie dropping off papers for several of the night shifters. The black haired young woman was a very good patrol officer with potential and Maggie had resolved to try to help her wherever she could. Maggie picked up the pot and looked skeptically at the brown fluid, "How old is this?" David Cornwell shrugged as the night shifter said, "To be honest I just nuked my cup and chewed it." "Ugh," Maggie poured the gunk out and made more. Harvey Bullock was a big, bulky man, his expression dour and suspicious. Since his return to the force alongside Gordon he had operated carefully within the rules, but Maggie still didn't trust him. In her experience a copper who crossed the line and killed a criminal, no matter how justified, would do it again. "Harv," Maggie said as she passed his desk, "you busy?" "Not too busy for you," Harvey answered, getting to his feet and following her in. Maggie sat down behind her desk, hiding her distaste. "You've been doing good work clearing cases lately," she said. "Thnks," Harvey said a bit warily. Flashing a smile Maggie said, "As you know, the only reward for good work is more work." As Harvey smiled back reluctantly she asked, "You've met Yin?" "Apple polisher," Harvey answered automatically, "but a good kid." "I'd like you to partner with her," Maggie admitted. "She's taking the detective exam but is pretty damn green in Gotham. I want you to help her get used to the city and the sort of players she'll have to deal with." "Can do," Harvey surprised her with a smile, "kinda reminds me of when I worked with Renee back in the day." Maggie nodded, "Exactly my thought." As she handed him a edited version of Yin's file she asked, "Have you heard from Renee?" Harvey shook his head regretfully, "She still bears a grudge over... all the stuff from when I was last a cop." He sighed, "I'm hoping I can get through to her." "I'd like to get her back on the force," Maggie admitted. Again Harvey surprised her, this time shaking his had no as she firmly said, "No, it ain't gonna happen." Maggie gave him a frown, "Oh?" Harvey met her eyes calmly, "Mags, her partner was killed by a fellow cop. Well, a CSI, but you know what I mean." As Maggie reluctantly nodded he added, "And then he got away with it. No wonder she feels betrayed." "All true," Maggie conceded with a sigh. Of Course, Corrigan had been shot but not by a lawman, instead the son of Renee's partner had to fo it. It was something that still haunted Maggie, their one great failure. She met his eyes as she added, "It happened on my watch, too." Harvey said gently, "She don't blame you, Cap'n.' Maggie shrugged slightly, "I blame myself." 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Commissioner James Gordon stood on the roof, contemplating the Bat-signal. It had become a trusted friend and occasional publicity problem to the Gotham City Police Department down through the years. Still, he knew it was good to have, especially in a crisis. "You haven't turned it on," the voice came out of the shadows as Gordon nearly jumped in surprise. He recognized the voice itself, of course, and looking around he saw those eerie white eyes staring out of the darkness, James took out his pipe, more out of practice than any need to smoke. "Not needed yet. It's been a fairly quiet night so far," he remarked. "So far," Batman said in his usual growl."Did that tip I gave I gave you on the new Ventriloquist bear out?" "Caught a fair number of her goons,:" James sounded a bit annoyed, :"but she got away from us again with those damn exploding dummies of hers." "Reily is getting more wily," Batman admitted grumpily, "I'm going to have to concentrate on bringing her down." James gave him a curious look, "With the other adventurers appearing in Gotham, I'd expect you to have more time available." A slight smile appeared on the shadowed figure's face as he said, "No matter how many of us there are, there never seems to be enough." :True," Gordon conceded, knowing how adding cops never seemed to make a dent in the city's crime rate. He looked rather sheepish, "There was something I was going to ask you...." "Oh?" Batman tilted his head to the side questioningly. "It's Oracle," James shrugged slightly, "could you remind her to stay under my radar, please?" Batman hid a slight smile. "Why can't you tell her yourself?" he asked even though he suspected why. James sighed, "I'm trying not to officially acknowledge her existence. I found out about Oracle when I was retired, so officially I don't have to concede she exists." Batman chuckled, "I'll pass the message along." "It was easier when I was just pretending I didn't know she was Batgirl," James sighed, scratching at his thinning hair. "I'd best get going," Batman moved into the light a moment then was gone, "good luck." "You too," James smiled before heading to the rood door and going downstairs. The route to his office was slowed by officers greeting him, warm expressions of trust and friendship. The Gotham PD had missed Gordon while he was gone, and much of the rank and file still wanted to offer their greetings or welcome him back. Well, everyone but the corrupt cops Gordon had swiftly uprooted on his return, in part deposing the current commissioner at the time. 'Poor Atkins,' Gordon mused, 'but when you're the man in the hot seat you can't claim ignorance. If you didn't know, you should have.' A familiar looking woman lounged by the door to his office, resembling one of many cops waiting to talk to the boss. But this red-brown haired woman was no longer a cop, and her rare appearances tended to brighten Gordon's day. "Renee!" Gordon smiled, picking up the pace to reach the younger woman's side, "come in, come in." "Thanks," Renee Montoya agreed as she followed Gordon inside. She reached into her overcoat and produced a computer disk, "Here's the surveilance on Officer Rebecca Mulcahey you asked for." "What's the news?" Gordon asked, bracing himself a bit when he saw Renee's tense expression. Reluctantly Renee said, "I'm sorry, Jim. She's still dirty." Reaching out to tap the disk she said, "I've got her on film taking bribes and returning evidence to criminals." James Gordon winced visibly, "The missing cocaine?" "You got it," Renee nodded. "I'm not sure my files are useable in court, considering my bias towards her, but it should be enough to open a investigation." "I'll pass it on to internal affairs," he agreed. James gave her a thoughtful look as he tried again, "We could really use you back on the force...." "I'm already dodging Maggie's calls," Renee rolled her eyes, "don't make me start with you, too." Giving him a wry smile she added, "I think I'm doing about as well as could be expected going private, and besides who else could you hire to look into your bad apples off the books?" "True enough," James agreed. He leaned forward, "I guess I just miss having you around." Renee gave him a surprisingly gentle smile, "Well, I'm not in a hurry. Catch me up on the gossip and I'll let drop a few interesting names in the circles I move in too."
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