Chapter 17

RACHEL DAWES

The last few days had been nothing but a roller coaster for the assistant DA of Gotham City. First, there was the attack on her by Falcone's mob. It had truly shaken, and just as she had felt hope lost, he had appeared.

Gotham's rumored guardian. She had thought it to be a legend, a myth, folklore drummed up by the gangs of the city. Yet he was real. Batman was real.

For any other person, such action would have been enough, then within days of that ordeal, the Police would find Falcone and his men, beat up and chained by the ports, literally loaded with drugs.

And then there was the attack on Thomas's girlfriend. Yes, and she was calling her that no matter how much the two of them deny it. Thomas was a rather introverted person, and though he socialized and went out quite a bit, it was rare for him to get attached to someone. Selina Kyle was the first person she had seen him glance at with literal stars in his eyes.

Sometimes, she felt a similar gaze land in herself, this time from a very different person.

She had planned to visit them at the manor today, yet those plans had been spoiled as she found herself in a car with her boss as they moved towards the Narrow, one of Gotham City's most dangerous areas.

"Now, can I know where we are going?" she questioned, getting frustrated by all this secrecy, and the DA smiled like an idiot.

"Just be a little more patient. We are almost there," he said as he took a turn to the right. She frowned as she saw a number of Police cars lined up outside a building, a yellow tape border erected around it.

"It couldn't be," she gasped as she recognized just where they were and got out of the car in a daze.

"Yeah, that is one of your greatest dreams come to life. We were able to obtain warrants for Crane's arrest," he informed her, and she couldn't believe it. Doctor Jonathan Crane had been the biggest thorn in her side for years. The man was basically a get-out-of-jail-free card for the criminal fraternity of the city.

She had repeatedly tried to get warrants to contest the man's role as Arkham's leading psychologist yet failed at every turn.

"How did you do this?" she questioned, knowing that she had not seen such a filing from their office.

"He didn't," a voice cut in from behind, and she turned and found another assistant DA standing there, one from the West side.

"I did," he answered rather cockily, his white teeth shining through his parted smile as he offered his hand up.

"Harvey Dent," he replied, and she recognized that name. There had been some buzz about the new rising star in the West side, and it seems it wasn't all for naught.

"Rachel Dawes," she introduced herself as she shook his hand, and the man nodded.

"Yeah, I have heard about you; I like to keep tabs on the competition," he said with a smile, making her frown.

"Competition," she said, looking towards her boss, who shrugged.

"I am not too young anymore. I want to live a little. Plus, I think I will be content in leaving all this in either of your hands," he replied, making his intentions of retiring clear.

She rolled her eyes at him before she looked her competition in the eye.

"Crane's a crony, a slippery one. But a crony nonetheless, I will be prosecuting Falcone," she said as she smirked and turned away from him.

"Get someone like that, and then I will consider your competition," she said as she began to move towards the building, picking up a pair of gloves on the way.

"Damn! I can see why they all fear you so much," he said as he joined her side as they reached the entrance of the building.

And then a cop stepped out, dressed in rather simple clothing, his eyes tired and frustrated as he looked at both of them.

"I didn't know you made deputy commissioner Gordon," the blonde prick from the side added. Well, he wasn't a prick. But he was rather cocky.

The older man gave a grim smile as he shook their hands. Unlike her counterpart from the West, she was quite well acquainted with the man.

"I did, and let's just say my wife wishes I hadn't," he said with a chuckle as he wiped his eyes.

"Still, come in," he said as he led them inside the building, which was teeming with federal agents, policemen, and forensic experts. She could see that several of the documents and other furniture in the building seemed to have been burned.

"What happened here?" she questioned.

"What always happens," came the frustrated answer.

"Someone tattled, and our little doctor made a quick getaway. Thankfully, it seems our good doctor didn't have enough time to do things properly. Forensics tells me that they should be able to recover quite a bit of the burnt files," he said, pointing towards the stack of documents that were half burnt.

"How could it get out? I made sure everything regarding this was done discreetly," muttered Dent, and Gordon shrugged.

"It happens. There is no need to wallow over this. We have made good progress today. The stuff in here was pretty incriminating, so I don't think he will be returning as Arkham's primary physician any time soon," he uttered, making her heart skip a beat.

"How did you even get this warrant?" she suddenly felt curious and questioned her West side counterpart, who shrugged.

"Well, my office has been tracking several of his past patients, and one of our leads finally turned up, the man gave some rather damning information about our little doctor friend, add to that his rather suspicious banking history, and I got my warrant," he said proudly, and she smirked. That was good work. She had tried something similar yet had failed to turn up anything.

"Nice job," she muttered as she turned towards Gordon, who, for some reason, kept looking between the two of them.

"So, who is the head of Arkham now," she questioned, hoping that Doctor this time was not someone corrupt.

"That would be….AHHHH!" her head snapped toward the side, and she found a rather well-dressed woman on her back. Her glasses fell to the side, as she winced in pain.

"Are you fine?" she asked as she rushed to help her up, as Dent handed the blonde woman her glasses.

"Yeah, it was just a little slip," she said, seeming rather embarrassed about this slip-up as she put on her glasses and smiled at her.

"I am just a bit clumsy," she apologized as she shook her head. She would take clumsy over criminal any time of the day.

"Dawes, Dent. Meet the new head Head of Arkham. Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel," Gordon interrupted as they shook her hand, and honestly, she didn't know what to feel about her. She seemed rather timid for someone who would be dealing with the criminally insane.

"A woman," Dent intoned, making her frown.

"Is that a problem for you," she questioned, and Dent raised his hand.

"No, of course not. I actually prefer working with women," he said as he gave the woman a roguish smile, making her blush.

She rolled her eyes. The sense of doubt still lingered on in her heart.

"She is one of the best psychologists in the country. No one has a better understanding of the criminal mind than her," Gordon added, seeing through her, and she nodded. It seems she had his seal of approval. That had to mean something.

"Gordon. We have a problem," a voice called out from one of the rooms, and Gordon moved towards the man. Daniel Craig, the head of forensics.

"What is it?" Gordon questioned as she made to follow him. Behind her, the two blondes seemed engaged in rather lively chat, evident by their frequent chuckles.

"Look there," he said as he pointed towards what seemed to be a hidden mini fridge.

AN empty hidden fridge.

"Whatever was inside there has been taken away," he said as he pointed towards the empty fridge.

"What could it be?" Gordon questioned, and the Forensic expert shrugged.

"I don't know, but it sure is suspicious," he said, and Gordon nodded.

"Still, I will have samples taken from it, though I wouldn't expect much," the man added, and Gordon nodded.

"Ok, maybe we will find out something in all the documents," he said, and the man nodded as they moved back, and the two blondes were still engaged in a rather elated conversation.

"So, that will be all, Gordon," said Dent, and the man nodded.

"Yeah, that will be all," said the older man as Dent turned towards her.

"Now, I am planning on taking Dr. Harley here out for lunch, as a prescriptive apology for all the future troubles I am gonna cause her," and she was surprised by the man's quick moves.

"I was hoping you would join us," he offered, and she thought about the offer. And she knew that after this, she was gonna be stacked with work for days, so perhaps she could indulge a bit and scope out her competition.

"Sure, why not! Let me get my bag," she said as she moved past him, heading towards Fink's car to get her bag.

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The same morning, in Wayne Tower, a redhead walked into the building, coffee in hand, dark circles around her eyes as she rushed past the staff and into the elevator. She came out on the fourth floor and moved into a specially built lab. A lab that only had one employee.

Her.

She put down her bag, and just as she was about to tie up her hair in a bin, she stopped when she saw a package lying on the table with a single sticky note attached to it.

~Need antidote. Fast. Keep Secret~
Bossman

And she rolled her eyes at this, knowing that only one person in this whole building had the audacity and the temperament to leave a message like that.

She opened up the package and frowned as she saw that it came with an NDA. A surprise yet something which was not unheard of, yet she didn't hesitate to sign it, for she knew that the person behind this had no hidden agenda.

And then she began to work, for it was rare for her to get some actual work. Though that was to be expected, for Wayne Enterprises didn't really deal with a lot of plants and toxicology, and that was exactly her whole memo.

Head of Botanical Research and Toxins.

Dr. Palmella Isley.

0000

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