"Is it true you were in possession of federal cold case files? Because I got a report for that right here. That got squashed by someone beyond the pale. We also have a report from a woman Alexis Shell, the woman who was removed from your apartment, she mentioned that you had a second phone that you kept.." He pauses. "That you kept in your fridge?"

You keep your face still but your heart starts freeclimbing your throat. Irons continues.

"We also have your report from a vision you had in The Narrows, I've been cleared to see your files from the Mole hunt, that basement ended up being a future murder site. Every time you came face to face with Mandragora or a member of his organization you always managed to walk away. Your only friends seem to be a Sergeant who abandoned his desk work to train you, an accomplished but under-achieving detective, a soldier with his own fair share of complaints on file, and another Officer, Banks, you convinced to implode his career to help make your case. All men with points of leverage that we've identified. Add onto that the odd hours you keep. It makes a convincing argument for whoever wants to repeat it."

"You don't think.." You start. "You think I might be stepping out on the department?"

"I can't confirm or deny that." He says with a knowing glint in his eye. That's the best you'll get from him. "This situation with Gorchakov has the brass shitting bricks and someone, very conveniently set up this trail of dominoes, and tipped it over with this."

He fetches another image. Black and white. Grainy. You sitting directly across the square from a man in a hoodie and mask with glasses. SIM.

"Anonymous tip. Told us to check the camera's for Wayne Tower's main square, even gave us a time stamp."

"Who made all these complaints about me?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

"What can you tell me?"

"That these complaints are being taken seriously. Take that as you will. I asked your Commander to let me get in front of it and talk to you directly. I have a lot of respect for Bennett and he wouldn't line himself up with someone stepping over the line. I know him."

You ease slightly. At least he has some faith in you, though how thorough he's been has you wondering how much faith he truly holds.

"But these kick up a lot of dust, I need you to help me clear it. Sign the form and I can promise you that as soon as I'm cleared I'll loop you and Tommy in on this. If you object that much then by all means take the door, but that just means they're going to assign more people than me to look into you. Leads are scarce and brass has a deathgrip on the idea that the mole issue isn't squashed."

"Why is that?"

"Horse's mouth. Gorchakov says he has one more mole we haven't found, he's demanding immunity for the name. That's not fucking happening, it would be an embarrassment to let him go free after all the shit he did. Brass wants him under Blackgate before this gets out so we don't have ANOTHER scandal hanging over us. They need a mole. Don't let it be you. Sign the paper." He looks into your eyes and leans forward, lifting the pen.

>You have no moves here, you must prove your innocence, even if it invites unwelcome surveillance. Sign.
>Stand and leave. "I appreciate the conversation, Detective Irons, but I've done nothing but try and do my job the best I can. I refuse to give up my privacy to settle admin's nerves. I didn't do anything wrong."
>Stand up and leave. You're beyond pissed. You've done nothing except try to do your best for Gotham, for the people, and for the department and all it's gotten you is a courtesy chat before they crucify you. Fuck this.
>Write-In

>>6186182
>You have no moves here, you must prove your innocence, even if it invites unwelcome surveillance. Sign.
We came here and chose not to be a cape for accountability. Can't be a hypocrite when it requires us to do things.

File: Abilities.jpg (102 KB, 728x489)

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====

Welcome back, everyone. Thanks for continuing to read if you're returning and thanks for deciding to hop in (even if it is a little late) if you're new. Also thank (YOU) specifically to the anon who thanked me last thread for running. Thank you for reading!

Thread Header Image drawn by RedWisp who did a stunning job, per usual. It's always the highlight of my day when I see any Quest Art. Please find him wherever he posts and enjoy more of their work.

If you wanna provide a header image just post in thread and I'll add it to my folder (I save all art that gets posted btw) and I'll do what I must to turn it into a title card when the time rolls around.

====

Now for the usual quest info:

PAST THREADS: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Gotham%20City%20Beat%20Cop%20Quest

CURRENT ABILITIES: See attached pic.

>>6186182
>You have no moves here, you must prove your innocence, even if it invites unwelcome surveillance. Sign.

>>6186185
+1
Mark is NOT SIM
All those "dominoes" that Detective Irons has pointed out to us can easily be addressed directly
Cold case files? Tracing SIM's history
The second phone? The former line to SIM
The basement vision? Not SIM; that one was all Gorchakov setting up and killing Free
The Wayne Tower square photo? Meeting with SIM to get info out of him
>Every time you came face to face with Mandragora or a member of his organization you always managed to walk away
What member of his organization? We only ever came across the white whale (HOLY GRAIL) himself in the smoking club, and we begged him to knock us out instead while pretending to be a dirty cop
>"Anonymous tip. Told us to check the camera's for Wayne Tower's main square, even gave us a time stamp."
>>>even gave us a time stamp
Is SIM fucking with us right now? Nobody NOBODY else knew about when we met up with SIM there except Mark, SIM himself, or Hawthorne but Hawthorne is NOT EVIL

>>6186182
>You have no moves here, you must prove your innocence, even if it invites unwelcome surveillance. Sign.
What >>6186185 and >>6186190 said.

>>6186190
Supporting this too.

>>6186182
>You have no moves here, you must prove your innocence, even if it invites unwelcome surveillance. Sign.

Hmm. Is SIM a cop?

>>6186262
We know he is, and he confirmed it to Mark himself.

>>6186190
+1
SIM's probably the other mole aka rodgers

>>6186185
>>6186188
>>6186190
>>6186223
>>6186250
>>6186262
>>6186334

Slowly. Painfully. You wrap your fingers around the pen and bring it's tip to paper, a few scratchings later and you slide the paper back across the table.

"I want to make it clear that everything you brought up could be addressed directly, easily."

"Yeah well.. hope nobody asks you for clarification. No news is good news and all that. Once your location from last night checks out I have a feeling nobody is gonna be putting much stock in all of this."

"So, that's it?"

"That's it." He says simply, his shoulders slack from their tense posturing earlier. "I hope you understand, it really isn't personal. I've seen your file and so far I think you're on track to be a fine officer."

"Appreciate it." You reply dryly.

You watch as Irons packs his files away. One by one, sliding those glossy photos back into their folder, you get one last look at Bobby and your mind can't help but to crawl over his words and pick at them like fresh scabs.

The files.. the time stamp.. reports... OFFICIAL reports. Whoever is setting you up, they're a cop. SIM confirmed himself that he works in the field, but this means he wasn't on Gorchakov's short list. A mole directly for Mandragora while Gorchakov did.. what? Intermediary between the other families? But who would he..

The file.

The fucking cold case.

There's always been a part of you that thought he was off. Something about him feels wrong. He brought those files to you.. is it possible? You see the vision again in your mind's eye, the scuffed wooden floor. The wavering beam of a flashlight. The massive hand reaching and dragging him out of his hiding place beneath the bed. It would fit.. it'd give him a reason to hate Angelo, to make him first on his rampage as a free man.

You glance at Irons who is rising from his chair, he offers his hand to shake as he tucks his case files under his arm.

>Say something about Rogers, since they're looking anyways maybe they could spare him a glance.
>Keep it to yourself, last thing you need is for it to get out that you're throwing fellow cops under the bus without a lick of evidence.
>Keep it to yourself, you don't have any real proof yet.. besides, if he is SIM you want to handle this personally.
>Write-In

>>6186699
>>Say something about Rogers, since they're looking anyways maybe they could spare him a glance.

>>6186699
>Keep it to yourself, you don't have any real proof yet.. besides, if he is SIM you want to handle this personally.

>>6186699
>Keep it to yourself, you don't have any real proof yet.. besides, if he is SIM you want to handle this personally.

>>6186699
>Say something about Rogers, since they're looking anyways maybe they could spare him a glance.
I do NOT in fact want to "handle SIM personally", fuck having a "personal" villian. I just want him dead.
We gotta get this show on the road, SIM has been out and about for way too long.

>>6186699
>Keep it to yourself, you don't have any real proof yet.. besides, if he is SIM you want to handle this personally.

>>6186699
>Say something about Rogers, since they're looking anyways maybe they could spare him a glance.

>>6186879
Supporting.

>>6186879
+1
Mark doesn’t seem like the type to make it personal anyways.

>>6186699
>>Say something about Rogers, since they're looking anyways maybe they could spare him a glance.
I don't want to risk him getting away because we didn't say something out of a desire to make it personal.

>>6186879
+1
Honestly this- if we extremely caution this with the fact the man has been contacting us as pseudo therapist holding over lives, we may have leeway

>>6186699
>Say something about Rogers, since they're looking anyways maybe they could spare him a glance.

>>6186717
>>6186879
>>6186951
>>6187026
>>6187144
>>6187356
>>6187108
>>6186935
>>6187356


You've sat on your own instinct too long. Wrong or right it doesn't matter, this is a way you can finally settle the most nagging voice in your head. Your own.

"Detective Irons, you mind if I say something actually? ON record?"

He raises a brow but slowly sinks back into his seat, he pulls his pen and pad out and nods to you.

"Sure, I'm assuming it has to do with the chat we just had."

"Yeah.. I think I may have an idea. I don't know if it's right, I don't have any proof. But I do have a gut feeling."

"I've listened to mine plenty enough to know sometimes it's worth hearing someone else's. Go ahead."

"There's an officer. Another rookie, further ahead than I am but still not in proper blues, he serves out of Gotham-By-The-Sea."

"The second precinct.." Irons echoes, scribbling on his pad. "Name?"

"Vic Rogers. Probably short for Victor, I met him back around when I was first hired. He didn't like me, something to do with me being meta. We got into a bit of an exchange."

"An exchange?"

"Words mostly. Until our TO's suggested we work out whatever problem this was in Precinct 2's gym. It has-"

"It has an old boxing ring in it, I know. I came up in Precinct 2 before getting into the Detective's circle. Who was the TO?"

"Miller." You recall after a brief pause.

"Mhm. Go ahead."

"We get into the ring and we spar.. wasn't very friendly but we weren't taking each other heads off. We trade a few shots but one of them he hits me and I get a vision."

"As in, your ability? Why did it go off?"

"Before I learned some techniques for focusing my mind sometimes I would kind of be ambushed by my visions, especially if they were emotionally charged."

"What'd you see?" He asks, his voice flat and firm. As if he were speaking to any of a hundred witnesses he's interviewed.

"Bad scene. Real bad. Kid tucked under a bed, crying, a flashlight scanning the place. It ended when a big hand came down and grabbed m-.. grabbed him." You clear your throat and continue. "Anyways, ever since that I've just had this weird feeling in my gut about him, everytime I've run into him. He's tried to be buddy buddy with me and the thing that makes me think this all comes back to him is that cold case."

"The cold case that belonged to the feds?"

"Given to me by him. Wanted my help on it, wanted me to use my shivers. Said there was a potential witness who slipped through the system, a kid."

"A kid?"

"Belonged to a prostitute who was in Mandragora's racket, I saw her die in a vision.. she died to save her son."

Irons writes furiously, not missing a word as he looks up to you, eyes telling you to continue.

"Those files disappeared because I took them to an ARGUS Agent. I turned them back in and he gave me the name of the kid's mom. That's how I had the vision of her.." You trail off, your throat running a little dry.

"And you're suspecting Rogers because.. you got anything more than a gut feeling and your word against his?"

You blink a few times and sigh.

"I just know that most of your tips came from a cop, and more than one of those instances had Rogers involved. Hell he was even at the crime scene I walked around in during my vision. The only thing that doesn't track is the time stamped video you got directed too.."

"How so?"

"I was meeting.. a CI." You say, not technically lying. "The only people that knew about that meeting at the time it was happening was myself, the CI, and Sergeant Hawthorne and I KNOW Hawthorne wouldn't have tried to get me caught up in anything."

Irons sits up. His eyes were analytical before, tracking your words, occasionally you saw a small nod confirming he was even able to get ahead of you in some places of your story. But his attention is rapt now and his eyes don't have that cold gleam of a detective's mental calculus. It's pure curiosity at this point as he waits for you to bring it home.

>"I think Rogers might be the SIM Killer.."
>"I think Rogers is Gorchakov's last mole.."
>"I think if I'm worthy of being looked into then Rogers needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Something is wrong with him, I just know it."
>"That's all I got.. I know I can't influence your investigation so. I hope you find use for that info."
>Write-In

>>6188673
>I think Rogers might be the SIM Killer.
We know that sim had to have access to a certain uniform to try to stab Hawthorne. Many details suggest Vic could be in the adoptive son role in the mob. Physical details match. It's a strong lead for finer investigation.

>>6188677
This basically says that we knew we were meeting the SIM killer and that we have had a line of contact with him for some time. Should we be mentioning that? All of this is on record now.

>>6188673
>"I think if I'm worthy of being looked into then Rogers needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Something is wrong with him, I just know it."

If we just rip out “HES A SERIAL KILLER” after ranting about a vision quest it’s going to damage our credibility. Give them the breadcrumbs and they can follow the trail.

>>6188673
>"That's all I got.. I know I can't influence your investigation so. I hope you find use for that info."
Though with the caveat of saying that we think he should be investigated as well.

>>6188673
>"I think if I'm worthy of being looked into then Rogers needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Something is wrong with him, I just know it."

>>6188683
+1, prudence

>>6188673
>>"I think if I'm worthy of being looked into then Rogers needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Something is wrong with him, I just know it."
>"I think he was the kid and didn't say anything."

>>6188673
>"I think if I'm worthy of being looked into then Rogers needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Something is wrong with him, I just know it."

>>6188673
>>"I think if I'm worthy of being looked into then Rogers needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Something is wrong with him, I just know it."

>>6188953
+1

>>6188683
>>6188911
>>6188732
>>6188953
>>6189054
>>6189061
>>6189122

"I'm just saying that if I'm worth looking into then Rogers needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Something is wrong with him, I just know it."

Irons holds your gaze. His brow furrowed and his eyes themselves not giving you anything, his poker face is impressive.

"Sounds like you've been thinking about this for a while."

"It's not like that. I've just.. you ever meet someone and they just try too hard? Too hard to be friendly, too hard at their job, just they rub you the wrong way and you never know why? That's him to a T."

"I'm familiar." He offers dryly. "But I need something to bite down on, you mentioned those files. You got anything more on those that could help me find a place to get my foot in the door?"

You sigh and lean back as you rack your brain.

"I mean.. it's a long shot. But my vision I got from him at the gym, combine that with the fact he got those files somehow and dropped em off to me? I think he's the kid, the missing witness."

Irons leans forward now a touch more invested, interest creeping into the wrinkles on his forehead.

"Correct me if I'm wrong here, but you said he brought to files to you to help find the witness."

"Yeah."

"So he was essentially asking for your help in finding himself?"

You toss your hands up lightly.

"I don't know. I just.. that vision I had and the vision I had where I saw Lauretta.. y'know. It just leads me that way. But I don't have any answers for you.."

Irons sits and taps his pen against the page. Eventually he scribbles a final note and tucks it. He rises fully now and steps around the table.

"If you were anyone else.." He says, looking you up and down. "I'm gonna go have a chat with Bennett. But if it goes how I think then maybe I'll be able to find some answers for you."

He grabs the handle and gives you a final assessing look before opening the door and stepping aside.

"Thanks for the chat, Mark. You should probably get a couple paces ahead of me before I head out of here."

You nod and offer him a quiet thanks as you step out into the tan fluorescent lit hallways of Precinct 1. You take the short walk to shake off any excess jitters and ensure any trace of blood from your earlier mishap is cleared up. As you round the corner into the bullpen you see Reiner standing with Hawthorne in front of his office, a small line formed around them as Hawthorne hands out papers.

Hawthorne stands straight behind a small podium as Officers step up. He listens, checks a binder in front of him and then hands out thin sheets. Then the next one files in and it continues.

Reiner notices you across the room and subtly beckons you closer. Keeping his eyes half trained on Hawthorne. You walk over and hear the tail end of Hawthorne speaking.

-ing North Otisberg. Lucky bastard, make sure the stadium doesn't get trashed. I have season tickets." He chuckles and hands out the sheet, giving you a brief nod as you make passing eye contact.

Reiner steps out from behind the podium and speaks quietly.

"Everything good?"

"I think so, sir. I got to leave so."

"All you can ask for sometimes, I trust Irons. He puts his gut before his brain sometimes but I figured that would be a boon here." He glances over his shoulder at Hawthorne and shakes his head, a coy smile starting to form. "When watch him like a hawk and keep a boot on his neck your Sergeant makes a half decent administrator. Since you've both been off active patrols I've got him helping me with some of the more tedious parts of the job."

"Hah, I'm pretty sure he'd rather die than stay off the street forever."

"Yeah.." Reiner says, watching another sheet trade hands. "This is our marching orders for Halloween Night, assigning everyone into groups and spreading them around Gotham. One group from each department, the four departments work together, and it's almost like we have enough man power to cover the city."

"Almost?"

"Well I mean even if we pull in the weekenders and put OT behind us it's still only barely covered. Which is why I actually wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?"

"How's your head feeling? You seemed in good spirit earlier, Hawthorne said you've been seeming on the mend today. I know it's only day one but I know how resilient Meta's can be, so do you have a plan for dealing with your.. condition." He delivers the final words whispered.

>"I do actually, my symptoms are handled for now. Maybe a little TOO well. But I don't think lack of voices in my head is a cause for concern."
>"I have a plan, just kind of in the waiting stages right now. But I did get a.. treatment. It's helped a lot so far."
>"Being perfectly honest, I don't feel the best. I had something done but I think it might have hurt me in a way.. Or maybe I'm just pushing myself too hard."
>"If you're asking if I can work Halloween, the answer is yes."
>Write-In

>>6189377
>"I do actually, my symptoms are handled for now. Maybe a little TOO well. But I don't think lack of voices in my head is a cause for concern."

>>6189392
+1

>>6189377
>"I do actually, my symptoms are handled for now. Maybe a little TOO well. But I don't think lack of voices in my head is a cause for concern."
Though privately, I AM concerned. Shivers wasn't all we had, but ti was our edge. Constantine hasn't just guarded us against demonic/Apokaliptian shit he's neutered our powers.

>>6189392
>>6189392
+1
as much as I would want us to rest- I think us going out is better than us alone at home.

>>6189462
Mark has already entered his de-powered arc, hasn’t he?

>>6189711
I mean he hadn't actually tried much. We had what, one failed activation?
But yeah, it's probably full schizo or nothing. Have superpowers and die from magic brain cancer or just be normal and sad. Cyberpunk 2077 style

>>6189377
>"I do actually, my symptoms are handled for now. Maybe a little TOO well. But I don't think lack of voices in my head is a cause for concern."

Hoo. Tough choice.

>>6189717
I don't think being normal would make Mark sad based on how we've characterized him, but we may need these powers for the potential apocalyptic event ahead.

>>6189377
>>"I do actually, my symptoms are handled for now. Maybe a little TOO well. But I don't think lack of voices in my head is a cause for concern."

Can make one note that if something SUPERVILLAIN big happens, it's likely to hit our vibes. Is someone does something that hurts the city in a loud way, it's probably gonna send a more than a shiver up our spine.

Not that it's LIKELY to happen... but if it does... there's a real possiblity.

>>6189377
>>"I do actually, my symptoms are handled for now. Maybe a little TOO well. But I don't think lack of voices in my head is a cause for concern."

>>6189392
>>6189421
>>6189462
>>6189604
>>6189720
>>6189741
>>6189920

"I do actually, my symptoms are handled for now. Maybe a little TOO well."

Reiner raises a brow but you wave a hand.

"I mean, I don't think a lack of voices in my head is cause for concern. I haven't had any flare ups except for a small one earlier and I had control over it."

"No voices? At all?"

"I can kind of hear them? Like someone whispering in another room but if I try and focus in on the words they just kinda.. fade away."

Reiner takes a moment to look you in the eye, he holds the stare just long enough that you feel like you may have said something wrong when he finally breaks the silence.

"Those are symptoms but what about the cause?" He speaks casually but his tone still lowers as he says the final word.

"I have a plan, it's being worked on."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, sir. I promise if anything changes you'll be the first to know."

Reiner takes a breath and you can visibly see his shoulders relax slightly as he offers you a slight smile, a rare sight among the hard expression he seems to maintain.

"Good, because I'm bringing you and Hawthorne off the bench for Halloween."

You fish mouth for a few seconds, letting your jaw flap before you manage a:

"Thank you, sir. Really."

"Don't thank me yet, I'm sending you home for the next two days. Halloween is one of our busiest times, lock up is usually stretched to it's limits, cavalry is hard pressed to ride in, and for the past couple years punk teens aren't the folk in costume we're worried about. I think it's important to your training to take your first run at it under someone experienced."

"Makes sense to me, but why the days off? I'm feeling fine."

"One: To make sure you KEEP feeling fine. I don't need whatever treatment you got to sprout nasty side effects and leave me short a duo." You open your mouth to reply and he cuts you off with a firm hand gesture. "I also don't want to know anything. Don't ask, don't tell."

"I don't think that's what that means.." You reply quietly.

"You'd have to ask Kimble." He says, you almost flinch. Was that a joke? He carries on. "Two: You work too goddamn much and if I keep you on your normal rotation on top of Halloween then Admin is gonna wear me like a cocktail dress because our overtime pay is thin enough as it is without shelling out to rookies. You'll make up the time, don't worry."

"Understood, what about Hawthorne?"

"On your days off I'll have him help me with administration like he has, he'll be ready. Unless you want to partner up with someone else?"

"Someone else?"

"Kimble, specifically. I don't think putting Banks on Halloween is a good move so Kimble is down a partner for the day, I planned on keeping him here to keep lock-up from boiling over but Hawthorne can do that job just as good. Plus you've worked with Kimble before, to great effect."

You shift uncomfortably as you glance over his shoulder at Hawthorne and Reiner leans into your field of view.

"Don't worry about him, if anything he's lucky I'm giving him the chance to go out in the first place. I got quite the email from city hall about him earlier." He shakes his head. "Every time he's close to getting off my list he does something that sticks him back up. But you both have been showing me you took our talk seriously, so I'm willing to loosen the leash a bit if you want."

>"Respectfully, I can't imagine doing this with anyone other than Hawthorne, sir."
>"Kimble is a good cop and I trust him but I think it'd be better to do this with my Training Officer."
>"I can partner up with Kimble, Halloween sounds like it'll be hectic and there's nobody I trust more when things get hairy. He's proven himself more than once with me."
>"Why not send us out as a three-man unit? Shores up any weakness I bring as a rookie and I get to learn from two sources at once."
>Write-In

>>6189982
>"Respectfully, I can't imagine doing this with anyone other than Hawthorne, sir."

We’re not ditching the old man, not after all this time.

>>6189996
+1!!!

>>6189982
>"Respectfully, I can't imagine doing this with anyone other than Hawthorne, sir."

>>6189982
>"Respectfully, I can't imagine doing this with anyone other than Hawthorne, sir."
>"Plus, I'd rather he'd be thinking about his revenge for the Gotti suit where I can see him plotting."

>>6189996
+1

>>6189996
>>6190021
>>6190038
>>6190075
>>6190170

"Respectfully, I can't imagine doing this with anyone other than Hawthorne, sir. I'm not ditching him after all this time."

Reiner smiles warmly, a truly rare sight, and nods with approval.

"Good man, Officer DeLucia. Good man." He says simply.

"Besides.. I got him into the Gotti outfit so I know he's going to be plotting something."

"He did it again this year?" Reiner says, casting a short glance back as Hawthorne hands over a sheet. His smile eases back into his usual stoniness as he approaches Hawthorne and extends a hand for the stack of papers he's holding.

Reiner sorts through them slowly, shuffling them as he searches through until eventually he plucks out one, then two, then three. He hands the bundle to Hawthorne and jerks his head over his shoulder.

"Go talk to your rookie, you're off bench for Halloween. These are your options, don't take too long." He speaks gruffly and immediately turns his attention to the next officer, scanning the sheets and handing it to him before gesturing to the next.

Hawthorne looks over the pages and nods slowly, he glances at Reiner as if to say something but holds it. Instead giving an appreciative grunt as he steps off to the side with you.

"I don't know what you said to him, but I appreciate being out of the dog house." He mumbles quietly. "So you and me working your first Halloween huh? Wish I could tell you it's gonna be fun."

"I remember what you said, I know it's rough."

"Yeah well, we'll see how you do. Commander gave us some of the gentler spots at least, but that isn't saying much, so sorry to tell you we won't be spending the night in the Narrows."

"What spots do we have then?"

Hawthorne leans in and fans out the pages. They provide a cut out of a city map, a few dark circles marking problem areas, and a small list of known gangs or criminal elements. He points to each page as he speaks.

"First up is probably the easiest, in terms of being straight-forward at least, the Diamond District. Neighbors with Wayne Tower, a lot of stores, and a lot of storage for tech and whatever else Wayne hawks. We go here and it's a night of B&E's, Robbery, and punk ass kids tagging."

He slides that sheet to the bottom and taps the next.

"Here we got Tricorner, the industrial docks, it's got a little more presence than usual considering the Commissioner lives in the area but most of the stuff going on here isn't far from the diamond district. People cracking cargo containers, tagging ships.. but the entire city knows how this goes. Police condense more in the city proper, meaning some scumbags like to use the chaos as their chance to bring in 'imports'."

"Imports? Like what?"

"Girls, drugs, weapons. Sometimes men. Usually it's one of the old timers leading it up, Maroni or Falcone, but with them out of place there's a nice fat power vacuum waiting for someone to ship in some muscle, guns, or drugs so they can fill it. Or.. maybe with management out the window that's all on hold. We won't know until we know."

"Right, and the last one?"

"Best for last, or worst depending on your view. Southern Financial District. Bunch of office buildings, part of the clump that orbits City Hall. Usually pretty safe, north district and City Hall are gonna be swarming."

"But you said SOUTHERN Financial. What's that mean for us?"

"It means one of two things. A whole lot of dick-holding and watch checking or this is one of those Halloweens some animal tries something at Blackgate. Look at this circle here, see what it covers?"

"The bridge to Blackgate Isle. So it's essentially prison watch?"

"In a way, Halloween especially we always get someone trying something. Last year it was nothing at all, but the year before that it was some fruitcake in a van with enough tannerite to put a hole in the middle of the bridge, or the front gates."

"Was he trying to do a prison break?"

"No clue, he punched through the blockade and hit the bridge. About half-way through he must have saw the lights waiting on the other end cause he took it off the shoulder and into the water. We recovered the vehicle with him in it."

"Dead?"

"Oh yeah." Hawthorne snorts, shaking his head slightly. "So it's the spot with the biggest ratio of 'nothing to 'something' out of our options. Got a preference?"

"You don't wanna pick?"

"Son, I've been picking for years, besides you're the one going into this for the first time. I want you to pick something you're confident with because I need you on your A-Game. Don't think about what'll make you look best or give you the best learning experience. Pick what you think we'll be good at."

He hands you the papers and after an insistent shake you take them, sliding the crisp pages as you look them all over..

>"Let's do the Diamond District, my track records with robberies is perfect. Let's see if it holds."
>"Tri-corner, for all the time I lived in the city I've never been down there. Never a reason to cross the bridge, maybe it'll shake my shivers out of their stupor."
>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."
>Write-In

Two day time skip incoming after this vote and the next update, so start thinking about what you want to focus on in that time as we may breeze over it a bit (unless you guys care to get some SoL content) next update will set us up to return on Sunday with Halloween.

Let me know what you think about the skip and if you'd rather get normal update-type delves into it or just the cliff notes. I also wouldn't mind hearing what you guys are expecting out of Halloween in Gotham, are you excited to see what happens? Or are you worried that 'happening' may be something horrible? Regardless, I'll see you soon.

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>>6190724
>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."

We’ll be okay. After all, nothing ever happens.

>>6190724
>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."

>>6190724
>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."

>>6190724
>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."
Watch us sense a pitch black fed boat bringing in some secret shit into Blackgate

>>6190948
Maybe it would be bringing someONE in. A dishonorably discharged crayon muncher, perchance. Nah the feds would definitely be smuggling in a bomb or something to let all the inmates escape to discredit Dent and his efforts.

>>6190724
>>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."

>>6190957
But isn't Dent trying to give them Blackgate? Why would the feds fuck with Dent if he's working with them?

>>6191144
You really think feds wouldn't double-triple betray people who are working with them for seemingly no good reason? Why settle for Blackgate doing Capone shit when you could oust Dent and get your own plant in office? And still get Blackgate when you stonewall any investigation.

Remember, to think like a fed you must imagine both incompetence and ambition. With a healthy helping of hubris.

>>6190724
>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."
>>Also, uh, Batman's doing some shit around there that I can't get into and probably won't affect normal folks, but if it does...

>>6190724
... I almost want the city to pick for me

Tri-corner feels like a place the shivers would feel the history of without getting lost in the sauce (compared to black gate)

No need to go full action or to lay back.

>>6190724
>>"Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if something happens, especially there, that's where I wanna be."

Update will be late today, it's certainly leaning one way but maybe this extra time will draw out a few lurkers. I'll still be updating today just not entirely sure when, I'll let you know if anything else changes.

Update tonight. Apologies.

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>>6191510

>>6191510
No need for apologies. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm just glad to be part of such a great quest for free.

>>6191510
QMs are some of the most humble creators on the internet. You don’t have to apologize for not providing us free content, we’ll be here whenever you’re ready.

>>6191510
No worries, QM. Waiting warmly!

>>6190739
>>6190880
>>6190932
>>6190948
>>6191138
>>6191190
>>6191382

"The Southern Financial District, watching the bridge does sound boring but if anything happens, especially there, that's where I want to be." You say, handing the other two forms back. "Can't say I'm not curious to check out Tri-Corner though, such an old part of the city.. I've never been there either."

You trail off as you stare at the page, taking in the information, you furrow your brow and look back up to Hawthorne, who's been watching with a neutral expression. He nods once.

"Right well, bridge is as good a spot as any, I'll mark us down with the Commander." He casts a glance over his shoulder at the shuffling line of Uniforms and turns back to you. "Next couple of days you might wanna ask Kimble if he's free to help you out. Commander is drowning in shit right now and I've been helping him paddle."

"You've been volunteering? With Admin work?"

"Meh." He waves a hand dismissively. "More like voluntold. Still though, never quite knew what he had to put up with, I owe him a hand after adding to it for the past however many years."

You small and let out a single subdued laugh. The noise draws his eye from the corner.

"What?"

"Nothing, you're just getting soft."

He rolls his eye and lets out a huff of air.

"I just don't want to give him a reason to keep me parked at my desk, you're just scared to be on your own, ain't you Bambi?"

"Commander actually gave me the next 2 days off, wants me to go into Halloween fresh, make sure my head is really feeling better."

"Two days?" He says, his brows arching high. "Stingy bastard told me to 'pick it up' during my lunch the other day.. But he's right. Take the time, son. Halloween is a 12 hour shift, so make sure you're rested."

You give him a nod.

"Yes, sir. I'll see you Friday."

"Mhm, what do you plan on getting up to?"

>"What else? I have a new lady friend and time off for once."
>"Might be nice to get out of the city actually, visit my parents for a bit since it's about that time of year."
>"Practice, if things really are as wild as you say then maybe I need some hours at the range."
>"Might go see some of our.. mutual friends. Mainly just to check on them and Basshead."
>Write-In

>>6192026
>>6192110
>>6192126
>>6192136

Appreciate the sentiment but I like to try and hold myself to certain rules. By writing and running this I made a commitment to you guys so if I don't see it through it's something worth apologizing for. The warm words are really nice though considering I was drawn away from my screen by some life shit that keeps cropping up.

Additional second vote:

==Do you want detailed posts for Mark's days off or do you want me to glaze over it doing a single 'snapshot' style update and advance us to just before Halloween?==

>Let us play through Mark's time off.
>Tell us about Mark's time off and skip to Halloween.

>>6193411
>"Practice, if things really are as wild as you say then maybe I need some hours at the range."
Here's hoping they let us take an AR in our warbags come Halloween. Before shit pops off I mean.

>>6193424
>>6193416
>>>Let us play through Mark's time off.
Almost forgot about this second bit

>>6193411
>"Might go see some of our.. mutual friends. Mainly just to check on them and Basshead."
>"What else? I have a new lady friend and time off for once."
Both if possible, but in that order of priority if not.

>>6193416
>Let us play through Mark's time off.
I like downtime character-building scenes.

>>6193411
>>"Practice, if things really are as wild as you say then maybe I need some hours at the range."
>>6193416
>>Tell us about Mark's time off and skip to Halloween.

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>>6189981
>Be Reiner
>Invest into a super powered officer
>Couple months in he comes to you and says he neutered his powers
absolutely scammed lol

>>6193562
Oh man, This Is The Police?
Is that a mod or what?

>>6193411
>"What else? I have a new lady friend and time off for once."

>"Practice, if things really are as wild as you say then maybe I need some hours at the range."

>>6193411
>"Practice, if things really are as wild as you say then maybe I need some hours at the range."
THE GUN IS GOOD
>Tell us about Mark's time off and skip to Halloween.
I'm good, boss

>>6193562
They all told him "bro your visions are kinda creepy and you lose yourself (in the music, the moment), you better go get that checked by somebody", and he went straight to Batman with it, and it worked. Reiner can complain all he wants, but in the end Mark literally did what the others advised him to do

>>6193574
>Is that a mod or what?
Just a fanart
>Reiner can complain all he wants
I think Reiner himself never actually complained. He *wanted* a meta in his roster, he was clear about it.

>>6193611
+1

>>6193411
>>"What else? I have a new lady friend and time off for once."
>>6193416
>Tell us about Mark's time off and skip to Halloween.
Allison isn't a very melodramatic love interest, so I don't think we would need to vote on anything with her. It's not like she has a moral dilemma attached. One update should be enough for Mark's free time

>>6193557
>>6193590
>>6193611
>>6193757
>>6193849

'Snap-Shot' of time off wins, along with Practicing at the range and maybe a brief visit to Allison.

"Practice." You answer resolutely. "If things are really as wild as you say then I might need a few more hours at the range.. I have a question actually. About our gear."

"Shoot."

"Can we request a rifle in the bag? I know you have your own, but maybe I could get one too? I was working with one the last time I went to shoot and did pretty well with it."

"Hm.." Hawthorne grunts, stroking his stubbled chin. "I'll talk to Kimble, he's in good with the armory boys, we're low on em for sure what with Dent wanting to 'de-militarize' us. But if there are any floating around he'll be able to get us one."

"I'll keep practicing then, worse comes to worst maybe I just borrow yours?"

Hawthorne barks a solitary laugh and sighs.

"Maybe when you've got more notches in your duty belt, rook. I'll tell Kimble to put his back into convincing em. What else you got planned?"

"Uh.. nothing? Not really at least, I have something planned for before work but.."

"Nothin? You're gonna spend your days off with your nose still sparking off the grindstone? You gotta take some time off or you'll blow a fuse."

You raise a brow and Hawthorne furrows his.

"What?"

"Just a bit ironic coming from you, sir."

He lets out a snort and shakes his head.

"It ain't irony when someone who's been there tells you not to follow em, son. It's a warning. I don't have..." He clears his throat and for a moment a strange look in his eye flits by. "Your shift is always gonna be waiting for you, not everything else will. Like uh.. what's her name from the bar? Alice. Sweet girl."

"Allison." You correct gently. "Hm. Maybe you're right, I'll see if I can't find some time for her. I don't know how the FD handles Halloween."

"About as busy as us. If she's got the time too, you should both take it, trust me." He gives you a slap on the arm and you just nod. Something about his tone..

"Anyways." He continues. "You said you had something planned before work?"

"Ah just a thing I like to do before big days. Graduation, moving, that kinda thing."

"Mind if I come along? I can come by your place in the shop and pick you up."

"In the shop?"

"Yup, every Halloween I park outside the city at a buddy's place and take the train in."

"Why?"

"You really think I'd leave my baby parked on the street during the one night a year anything short of a fire is getting ignored?"

"Why not park it here?"

"Eggs. Bologna. Toilet paper. Paint." He ticks off his fingers as he goes. "And that's the squad cars we don't keep in the garage underground."

"Understood.. uh, sure. I'll ride in with you as long as you don't mind making a stop."

He waves a hand and glances over his shoulder, seeing the new line of Officers off their lunch break lining up. He sighs.

"Alright, I should get back to it. Get out of here, and spend some time with your girl for Christ's sake."

You give Hawthorne a nod goodbye and head for the locker room to get back into civvies and enjoy a little time off..

>Roll 1d100 (Best of 3)

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Additional vote:

>What do you want to do with Allison on your day off? (Ice Rink, Coffee, Meeting the Parents, etc.)

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>6194220
>>6194221
Cafe/bakery crawl date. FD & PD live and breath baked goods and coffee. Good opportunity to share experiences as gothamites and get to know each other.

Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>6194220
I’ll second >>6194233
a cafe crawl sounds fun

Rolled 48 (1d100)

>>6194233
+1

>>6194220
Rollan

>>6194233
+1, but drive to her station so that her coworkers can finally meet and inspect us. Might as well make some friends there as well.

>>6194252
Ah yes, let the alcohol-fueled hazing rituals commence!

>>6194233
+1

>>6194220

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>>6194233
>>6194239
>>6194247
>>6194252
>>6194748

You get changed quickly, your brain running through the days ahead and picking bits of time like plots of land. An old habit, all this planning, you had so much structure as a kid and now on your days off you almost feel like you don't know how to.. be. You shake it off with the shudder that rolls over you as the glass doors of the Precinct lobby opens to frigid Gotham air, the sun hanging low in the sky. As you get into your car and start it up you pull out your phone and make a quick call.

"Hey! What's up?" A cheery voice answers.

"Just got off work, got some unexpected free time my way the next two days."

"Ooh." She coos. "Sounds nice, have any plans?"

"I was gonna ask you that actually, you free in the next two days? I heard you guys have your own prep you do."

"Yeah, it's a lot but at the same time we don't exactly patrol. It's more like just being ready to go, lots of drills, getting our times low."

"So busy?"

"So.. no." She laughs. "Benefit of being smaller than a fridge is that I'm quick to suit up and ship out. My times are good, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking something different than usual, maybe a cafe crawl?"

"A cafe crawl? Like a bar crawl?"

"Exactly, but beer in the morning is frowned on for some reason." You muse with mock confusion. "So I figure we could go for the other part of our food pyramid. Coffee and donuts."

"Hmm sounds pretty good.. except donuts are more of a cop thing."

"I've had a muffin."

Her laugh floats through the phone and you can't help but smile. A tiny part of your mind thinks back if this was how you felt when you first met Nia.. but it's a part so small you don't even hear it.

"Alright, you sold me. Cafe crawl day after tomorrow?"

"Perfect, I was gonna get some time in at the range anyways tomorrow."

"Great, I'll see ya then."

"Alright.. bye."

You hang up and tuck it in your cup holder, still smiling..

====

Something about the smell of brass and gunpowder wakes you right up. 8am right at opening you're at the doors, coffee in hand, and an agenda in mind. A familiar old face greets you as the doors are pulled open from inside. The bristles of his moustache raise in surprise as Will Church opens the doors. But without any question he simply steps aside and gestures to you to come in. He walks slowly behind you before overtaking you and scanning a small card that opens the sealed interior doors. You glance at the desk.

“Nobody in this early except me. I’ll log ya, so don’t get your freedom briefs in a twist.”

Following him into the familiar chamber with walls loaded with firearms and he slides behind the glass counter, leaning down and picking up a thermos off the ground which he drinks from deeply before setting down. He gives you a firm nod and jerks a thumb at the wall.

“You’ve been here before, what’re you looking to get your hands on.”

“Rifle.”

“AR platform? Again?”

“Yes, sir. Hoping to use the M4 again if you’ve got it ready to go.”

He grunts and turns to his wall, taking his time pulling down a freshly wiped down weapon.

“I show up early and make sure everything’s up to my standard. Full white glove.” He runs a hand down the spine of the rifle before setting it down and reaching beneath the counter, he comes up with a familiar ammo box and he pulls out a few dull plastic magazines. He slides one to you.

“Make yourself useful, boy.” He mumbles as his aged hands get to work, expertly loading rounds, by the time you top off your own magazine he’s filled two. “This’ll be enough for now. I’ll get more set up for you as you’re shootin.”

His words are stiff and rushed, most of the time he speaks he keeps his eyes away from yours. It’s only when you sling the rifle and head for the range doors that he calls out again.


“Hold on a minute.” His voice is firm but it doesn’t have the spine of confidence behind it. “I wanted to uh.. The last time you were here I was a bit harsh with ya. Said some things about Mitch that might’ve been more true for me than him. I just wanted to say that I sat with it for a bit and you may have had a point, I’ve talked to him since and if he’s not selling bridges.. well then you’re on a plenty fine track with him.”

You pause for a moment and study his face. Despite his earlier avoidance he holds your gaze firmly now. Slowly you nod.

“Don’t worry about it, Will.”

“Also.” He interrupts. “Not proud of it, but I promised you I’d get a long gun assigned to your shop and I never started the paperwork. I was making more heat than light after our talk..”

You pause again and screw up your face.

“Huh.” You say before smiling with a shrug. “I completely forgot if I’m being honest.”

You see his moustache curl up at the ends as he chuckles.

“Well it's no excuse, I’ll make sure you get one.”

“Sounds good, Will. Feel like giving me a few more pointers on the rifle? I haven’t had any practice since we worked on it last time.”

He grumbles and slaps the lid of the ammo box shut as he shakes his head.

“Damn kids, no attention spans, you gotta put time into your weapon. Like a new skill. Or a wife.”

He guffaws and slaps your back and you follow him, chuckling along.

=====

(ROLL: 78)
Your day off yesterday flew by, Will taught you some good lessons when he learned you were going to be working Halloween. He shared a few stories, no costumed encounters as it was a bit before his time, it shocked you to find out that this has always been a bad time of year for the city. Even more paradoxical was it seemed every Halloween despite the previous years there were only more and more people going out at night.

“You need to learn some practical skills.” Will asserted.

You ran drills practicing point shooting, moving between targets while maintaining fire, and ‘Combat Awareness’ which boiled down to: Will barking street names and demanding directions from one area of Gotham to another as you fired on multiple paper targets as accurately as you could, randomly telling you to cease fire before quizzing you on how many rounds remained in your weapon. He even busted out old reliable, the hostage target, and you only went through a civilian once, so that was good. But now you replace the sharp sting of gunsmoke and brass for the deep thick aroma of coffee and sticky sweet pastries.

Allison meets you at the premier GCPD cafe, a small truck that’s just off the exit before the precinct.

“Starting off strong.” She says, raising her eyebrows dramatically. “Buy two get one hour of free parking?”

“Relax.” You joke. “This is the fuel that drives the GCPD, thank you very much. C’mere.”

You approach the small metal window, the line filled with a few Officers you recognize, you lean and smile at ‘Chess’ the man who runs the truck who returns it. His eyes beaming behind his coke bottle lenses.

“Chess, lemme get a small black coffee with a pump of mocha and uh.. You doin the churro donut today?”

“You know it, Officer Mark.” He says, leaning back with tongs and a thin paper bag. “Where’s the big man?”

“Working, it’s my day off.”

“You gonna be out tomorrow night?”

“Planning on it.”

Chess leans forward and drops the warm bag in your hand and slides the cheap paper cup forward.

“On me today, boss.”

“What? Chess c’mon man you know I can’t be taking things from people. It’s against protocol.”

“Then how about I just charge it to Officer Hawthorne’s tab?” He says with a wink.

You glance at Allison who watches your back and forth with a petite grin and you decide that maybe today you can be Mark instead of Officer DeLucia.

“That works for me, man.” You reply back.

As you both walk away Allison turns and waves.

“Bye Chester, pleasure meeting you.”

You suppress a laugh and take your first bite of the donut.

“What? Did I say something funny?”

“His name..” You swallow. “Isn’t Chester.”

“So Chess is a nickname? Is he a Central Park hustler or something?”

“No uh..” You chuckle again. “Hawthorne told me ‘He looks like he’d play chess.’ when I asked him.”

Her lips wobble as she contains her own smile.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“The boys in blue.. The guys in red. You’re both so.. Simple.”

You look up from your second bite, cinnamon-sugar falling from your face like a trickle of sand.

“Thimple ith bad?” You say through a mouthful of donut.

“Not always, sometimes it’s actually really..” Her hand stretches out and gently flicks the grains off your lips with a thumb. “Cute.”

She snags the donut from your hand before you can react and gives you a small peck, donning the sweet coating of your shared breakfast on her own lips now..

“Now though, I’m gonna show you what a real coffee looks like. Ever had a red-eye?”

“No, is it good?”

She doesn’t reply, only giggles as she takes a small bite of the donut herself..
=====

Author notes below:


Turns out brevity doesn't come as easily to me as I thought lmao.
I kept it short(ish) and sweet(er) trying out a few things. Would love to know what you guys think about the quality of this as a little 'montage' just displaying the important bits and sliding over the rest.

The update will come tonight as the Halloween shift begins and we will see what comes to pass. Chatacter Vote Question as well if you wanna vote..

>What's Mark's "perfect breakfast"?

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>>6194989
Update looks great

Ask her how her ladder is like. Do they act like dads or big bros?

>Perfect Breakkie
Baked eggs and chorizo with good sourdough

>>6194989
I enjoyed it Very sweet, very cute. Good work, QM

>perfect brekkie
Going to break with Italian-American tradition here and say a three-cheese omelette and a jam-covered English muffin, plus the coffee order he just placed.

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>>6194989
Two scrambled eggs, some rice, and a few slices of Portuguese sausage

No, I have no idea how an Italian-American born and raised on the East Coast learns about a Hawaiian style breakfast to make it his favorite breakfast meal. Neither do I care. I fucking love Portuguese sausage and I miss having it as a regular breakfast item, along with pork buns and Loco Moco.

>>6194989
Two thick slices of french toast, Italian sausage, and a Colorado omlette.

Your eyes flutter open as you let out a low groan and extend your limbs. You hear a few pops and cracks as your body adjusts to movement once again, you blink the blur from your eyes and roll over to grab your phone off the nightstand. A text sent at 6:32 sits in the center of your screen from Hawthorne.

"I'll be there by 8."

You glance at your clock and sigh as you wipe the sleep from your eyes. Seven o'clock, plenty of time for a shower. You slowly rise out of bed taking the chance to stretch a few of your more stubborn muscles, especially the ones in your legs. You spent most of your day with Allison yesterday and walked a good line through the center of the city. As you turn the dial and hot water begins to sputter up to a solid spray you sigh contently. The past two days have been great, you were worried about being tense but the lack of whispers and ghost sensations actually finally allowed you to relax. You've also been managing to sleep deeply and fully, no more strange dreams or off-putting women offering you grim fortunes. You feel the water with your hand and step in, letting it envelope you. Whatever Constantine's magic did, it worked.

You remember how worried you were, moving back after all the time away, after you had already started planning a life in National City. Now you've met a lovely woman, made new friends, new mentors, you've fully embraced Gotham as your true home. Where you were always meant to be, sometimes at night you'd wonder about what life would be like if you had never come back... but those thoughts are fewer and farther between now. The only fly in the ointment that still buzzes in the back of your newly muted mind:

What the hell is SIM getting up to?

You don't give yourself too long to linger on that troubling thought, better to focus on the job today. You step out, towel off, and get into uniform. As you set the cap firmly on your damp hair a firm knock hits the front door. You hustle over and open it to a mildly less grumpy than usual Hawthorne.

"C'mon in, sir. Just gotta grab something." You say, jogging shortly to your kitchen and pulling open the freezer.

“Pack a’ peas? Too many drinks last night, eh?” He asks, stepping inside.


“Ha. No, I kept busy like I said, the range a little.. thing. With Allison.”

“Oh yeah? You two goin steady?”

“Yeah, sure. I took her out for an egg cream and invited her to the sock hop next week.” You joke, as you pull a bottle from the back of the freezer.

“I don’t know how you fucking kids talk, ghosting and situationshits.”

“Ships” You correct.

“It’s all shit to me.” Hawthorne chuckles, gravelly and cut short as he raises his brow at the bottle. “Bit early, no?”

You look down at the spare Amaretto you had bought, a thin layer of white frost barely hiding the amber fluid within, you lift it by the neck and shake your head.

“Not for me. I told you, old tradition for big days. Ready to head out?”

“Sure..” He says slowly, still eyeing the bottle. “Where’re we stoppin?”

“Gotham Cemetery.”

====

Leaves crackle under foot as you make your way across the clean cut grass of the cemetery, curled leaves of brown, red, and orange spread across it, you can’t help but feel some peace.

“You know, it’s weird.” You say quietly to Hawthorne. “My Shivers would never act up when I came to visit.”

Hawthorne remains silent, letting you speak.

“I felt that way when I talked to him too, he just.. Seemed like he understood, even though there wasn’t a way in hell he could.” You laugh bitter-sweet. “That was his thing, had a way of making you feel like he went through the exact same thing..”

You slow to a stop in front of an unassuming marble gravestone, small and clean with rosary draped over the top and some dried flowers at the base. The words, engraved into the stone, read boldly:

‘Giuseppe Nicola DeLucia - Ad Finem Fidelis’

You kneel, setting the bottle gently in the grass, before sealing your hands together, shutting your eyes, and whispering a short prayer.

“O St. Joseph, who accompanied Jesus and Mary in all their journeys…” You begin before trailing off into whispers.

Hawthorne opens his mouth for a moment but decides instead to let you have your moment, watching from a few paces back until you finish. As you open your eyes and let out a soft “Amen” he steps forward and joins you. You uncap the bottle and pour a small bit into the ground before adding some to the cap and tilting it into your own mouth. You turn and glance up at Hawthorne.

“It’s not enough to do anything it’s just what we did.”

“You did this before he passed?”

“Sometimes, usually before we moved, started when I was around 16. This was our ‘private communion’, course he’d always have a glass and I’d just get the cap. But it made me feel grown up.”

“That’s uh.. That’s real nice.” Hawthorne’s voice catches slightly and he clears his throat.

You just smile and cap the bottle. Leaving it next to the gravestone. You let out a slow sigh and just as you always feel, the warmth from the Amaretto slides down until it sits in your chest as a wave of calm is draped over you. You slowly stand up and nod to Hawthorne.

“Thanks for taking the time to let me do this, sir. My head’s in the game now.”

“Of course..” Hawthorne says, speaking lightly. You see his gaze linger on the stone for a few moments. A strange emotion bubbling behind his eyes.

“Son, do you-” He clears his throat, speaking again more steady now. “Would you mind if we made another stop, Mark?”

>”Of course, sir. Where to?”
>”Are you sure we have time? We start at 9 sharp don’t we?”
>”Maybe you should go alone, I’ll stay here and take some extra time. As long as you need.”
>”Everything okay, Hawthorne?”
>Write-In

>>6195651
>>”Of course, sir. Where to?”

>>6195656
+1

>>6195651
>>”Of course, sir. Where to?”

>>6194989
I liked this. Long is good. Calmer scenes only amplify higher stakes ones by comparison.

>>6195651
>>”Of course, sir. Where to?”

>>6195651
>>”Of course, sir. Where to?”
His wife probably

Excited for halloween in gotham, whatever dark evil bullshit it's gonna be this time.

>>6195287
4300 Pacific islanders live in NYC according to a quick Google, so perhaps Gotham has a similar number. All it takes is one of them, or someone who's been there and appreciates that breakfast, to start a cafe or diner.

>>6195651
>>”Of course, sir."
No need to ask where. We know. No Shivers needed.

>>6195651
>”Of course, sir. Where to?”

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>>6195656
>>6195660
>>6195666
>>6195723
>>6195848
>>6195890
>>6195922

You don't need shivers to see where this is leading. You just offer a reassuring smile and nod.

"Of course, sir."

Hawthorne just grunts, his eyes scanning the leaves as he walks deeper into the cemetery, you feel a tickle run down your spine but it quickly blends in with the chilled it that seeps between the gaps in your uniform and body. After a few minutes of walking Hawthorne slows to a stop, in front of him lies a headstone of simple grey rock.

You offer a gentle hand to his shoulder and he angles his head towards you, his face a complex mix of emotion but one you see more than anything is shame.

"Mother, Daughter, Friend." Hawthorne says emptily, his words cold as the breeze itself.

You shift your eyes and register those words as the one on the stone.

"Mother?" You ask quietly.

Hawthorne nods.

"A son." He says, his voice tight. "We don't.. we don't really talk all that much these days."

"Oh." You mumble, unsure of what to say.

"Yup." He replies.

You both stand there in silence, the space you occupy feeling endlessly vast. Slowly Hawthorne takes off his hat and holds it low in his hands, his fingers kneading the material as he stares, his eyes unblinking and shimmering with moisture despite his jaw being locked in a pained grimace.

"I didn't pick that. You know. The words for her." He gestures with his hat to the stone. "After Suzy.. I just dropped it all. Focused on getting my hands on that fat prick. Missed her funeral. Stopped coming home. Only time I ate is when Grey brought me something.”

“Your son?”

“He was about to graduate, had a couple scholarships lined up, Suzy wanted him to go to Gotham U. Stay close.” He clenches his hat in his hands, his weathered knuckles fading. “He ended up going to Coast City though, guess there wasn’t much left here for him.”

Hawthorne trails off into silence again, his shoulders relaxing with a sigh as he finally closes his eyes.

“Sorry.” He says simply.

>”You wanna take a second to say something? I can give you some privacy.”
>”Want to say something? I talk with my Grandfather sometimes.. It helps.”
>”It isn’t too late, you know? Maybe once we get off shift tonight you should reach out, give him a call.”
>”What made you settle into a desk? By the time you took me on as my TO it looked like you had stopped your hunt.”
>”Hard to imagine you as a dad, why’d you never bring him up before?”
>Write-In


Probably going to do an update this weekend to make up for the missed on a few days back, keep an eye peeled for one tomorrow. Enjoy the Hawthorne lore that definitely isn't a precursor to anything. Please make use of the write-in if you have any other parts of his background you want to know more of. See you soon..

>>6196196
>”Want to say something? I talk with my Grandfather sometimes.. It helps.”

>>6196196
>>”Want to say something? I talk with my Grandfather sometimes.. It helps.”
>>”It isn’t too late, you know? Maybe once we get off shift tonight you should reach out, give him a call.”

>>6196255
+1

>>6196196
>>”Want to say something? I talk with my Grandfather sometimes.. It helps.”
>>”It isn’t too late, you know? Maybe once we get off shift tonight you should reach out, give him a call.”

>>6196196
>”It isn’t too late, you know? Maybe once we get off shift tonight you should reach out, give him a call.”
Dispatch, please play "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin.

>>6196255
+1

>>6196293
+1

>>6196196

>>6196196
>>Write-In
>Stand there in silence
Idk man, I can't deal with emotional old people

>>6196196
>”It isn’t too late, you know? Maybe once we get off shift tonight you should reach out, give him a call.”

Heavy.

>>6196379
+1

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>>6196255
>>6196259
>>6196293
>>6196590
>>6196541
>>6196379
>>6196769
>>6196602

"It isn't too late, you know? Maybe once we get off shift tonight you should reach out, give him a call."

Hawthorne grunts in reply, eyes still locked on the ground.

You awkwardly shift a bit in place before you speak again, lower this time.

"Want to say something?"

"Yeah I'll.. I'll call him."

"Good.. but I meant here."

He gives you a glance from the side of his eye and raises a brow.

"Not much for praying."

"I didn't say pray, just talk. Sometimes when I visit my grandfather I don't pray. I just talk, tell him about my life, try and think about what he would tell me, it helps."

Hawthorne holds your gaze for a moment before his tired eye slips away back to the ground, he nods.

"Mind giving me a minute then?" He grumbles.

"Yes, sir."

You take a short walk before finding one of the benches that dot the grounds and settling down. The cold wood creeps through your pants but you keep yourself occupied, enjoying the peace and quiet. Before too long a firm hand grips your shoulder.

"Let's get to work." Hawthorne says.

You look up and can just tell, he seems a little more relaxed, you don't linger on or mention the fact you can see the dampness still beneath his red eyes. You just nod and stand, tugging your cap on snugly as he does the same. Without any other words you both silently head to the shop..

====

Precinct 1 is a madhouse. You thought things were busy before the sting but this is another level, the bullpen is simultaneously a ghost town and a highway, the most you see your fellow officers is a few seconds at a time as they enter to retrieve a paper or bang something out on a keyboard. A large corkboard sits in the center with a series of laminated head shots and small descriptions. The top reads boldly:

'BOLO'

Your eyes scan over a few of the faces and stop on one displaying a man with thick sunglasses and a cigarette. The photo is fuzzy and gray, likely taken by CCTV, Hawthorne notices and nudges you.

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"Bounty Board. Some bigger names like to try and use Halloween to move around, get lost in the noise."

"Is that an alias or occupation?" You ask, pointing to the bold text beneath his photo: HITMAN.

Hawthorne snorts.

"Both. Pain in the ass murderer, did some work for the families putting down rival wiseguys, at least he had the common courtesy to avoid civilians. Still, with the vacuum we made pulling Fatty out of play, means there's a non-zero chance he comes back to pick up a check."

Your eyes scan down the board, picking a few more familiar faces, Dr. Crane: The Scarecrow. Your eyes hit another and you point again.

"Wasn't this guy in the Arkham break out?" Your finger lingers on a laminated headshot of a man with a stovetop hat. "Jervis Tetch."

"Goofy fucking name." Hawthorne growls. "Goes by Mad Hatter, real basket case who we picked up after a string of kidnappings, all of em young and blonde."

"Mad Hatter? Like from Alive and Wonderland? So the girls.."

"He wanted an Alice, yup." Hawthorne "Sick fuck, we got him gift wrapped with the right side of his ribcage pushed in. First time I didn't really mind The Batman."

You frown and stare at the image, a strange feeling washing over you as you turn your eyes away from the poster as Commander Reiner walks up to you both, wearing his own crisp uniform with two dangling medals. You recognize one, The Gotham Cross, the same commendation Banks received. He sighs and plants his hands in his pockets.

"I got an assignment for you both, tonight you'll be on bridge duty but until then I need some more bodies for City Hall's Trick or Treating event."

Hawthorne groans but otherwise doesn't protest. You pipe up.

"Really? They stopped doing that when I was a kid."

"Well Dent is bringing it back, him and Wayne, and they want it to go well which means some GCPD. It's an easy assignment."

"It's fluff." Hawthorne grumbles.

"It's your job." Reiner counters firmly. "And it's not fluff. If anything happens at that event it's nothing but children, parents, and most of City Hall. So take it seriously."

Hawthorne scowls but accepts this. He nods as Reiner turns to you.

"I'm only offering this to you as a courtesy because I know you BOTH have history with the Mayor." He gives Hawthorne a particularly long glare. "So I've got two spots, one closer to the steps of City Hall and one by the entrance, about as far from Dent as possible."

"I think Dent and I might actually be.. alright now." You offer lightly.

"Not me." Hawthorne replies.

Reiner sighs.

"Look, just pick your position. By the Hall or by the Entrance. I'm extending a courtesy to you two since you've been working hard to get back in line. I've appreciated it. So pick one or I'll stick you by the porta-johns."

>Be positioned by City Hall
>Be positioned by the Entrance
>Be positioned by the Porta-johns
>Write-In (Basically if you wanna also ask Reiner anything use this too)

>>6198215
>>Be positioned by the Entrance
>Write-In (Basically if you wanna also ask Reiner anything use this too)
"I'm guessing there's going to be private security with Bruce Wayne around?"

>>6198215
>Be positioned by City Hall
>"Any notable guests at the event besides Dent?"
>"All the candy's been screened I assume?"
>"Any particular type of candy you'd like from the event sir?"
That last one is a joke, but who knows? Maybe Reiner has a sweet tooth?

>>6198215
>Be positioned by City Hall

>>6198203
I really, REALLY hope we don’t have to wear Gotti tonight, if picrel’s associates are patrolling the streets for Halloween…

>>6198231
+1

>>6198215
>Be positioned by City Hall
>Write-In (Basically if you wanna also ask Reiner anything use this too)
>>"I'm guessing there's going to be private security with Bruce Wayne around?"

>>6198288
kek

>>6198231
>inb4 "candycorn"

>>6198565
>candycorn
I'd vote to turn in our badge right then and there.

>>6198231
+1 plus the question above this post asking if there's going to be private security for Wayne.

>>6198572
I bet the Joker eats candycorn.

>>6198288
>>6198324
>>6198331
>>6198601

"We can handle City Hall." You say confidently. "I've already been there for him twice, no point acting like a stranger now."

Reiner nods, satisfied.

"Good to hear, I'll pass it on. Check in with Perry, Sergeant." He says to Hawthorne. "If anything changes he's your point of contact, he'll provide you the frequency for the event."

"Understood." Hawthorne grunts.

"Any questions?"

"Only one, sir." You say quietly. Reiner raises an eyebrow.

"Go on."

"Any particular type of candy you'd like from the event?"

Reiner stares at you for a few moments before shifting his glance to Hawthorne, who only gives the slightest tremble as evidence of his held chuckle.

"How about I give you a jawbreaker." Reiner says flatly, but with a barely perceptible smile.

You glance down and contain your own laugh as Reiner begins to turn, but freezes. Extending another finger.

"Oh yeah. You." He holds the finger directly at your chest. "I got the paperwork clearing you for a long gun, it seems the armory lost an old request form and it popped back up. I've passed it along and it should be in your war bags. I hope you don't need it but.. something tells me this is going to be a Long Halloween."

Reiner turns as he finishes and walks away. Hawthorne lets out a sigh and leans back, causing his back to pop, he laughs gently.

"You heard him, rook." He says. "Go grab your bag and let's saddle up. Sooner we get there the sooner day care is over."

You follow Hawthorne in silence as you both prepare to hit the street...

====

The street is packed. Hawthorne spits whispered curses as he flicks your lights on and pulls the PA system's handset off the dash.

"Make way. Make way, GCPD." He says calmly, lowering the device before muttering. "Assholes."

The mass crowd clogging main street slowly parts as your shop rolls through to the staging area, a cordoned off parking lot containing all the cars for GCPD Officers. A traffic cop in a bright white vest lifts a wooden plank and you roll into a parking spot.

"This place is stuffed." You mumble, glancing around. "I haven't seen this many people out at once except for New Years.."

You step out into the scent of fried foods and the sound of hundreds of voices speaking at once as citizens flow downstream towards the steps of City Hall. Your eyes go wide as the sound hits you and you look around.

"You're gonna catch flies, rook. Close your mouth." Hawthorne offers walking to the trunk. "Don't tell me this is your first time being in a big crowd."

"No.. it's not that. I just.. this is what it sounded like."

The trunk opens with a hiss as Hawthorne cranes his neck around.

"Come again?"

"In my head. When Shivers was just.. passively going. This is what it sounded like.."

You close your eyes and focus your hearing, trying to draw in on a single voice in the entire crowd, only to smile when you find it impossible. The waves of chatter overlapping and running over one another.

"Wow." You mutter. "I could never tell before."

You glance back to gauge Hawthorne's reaction only to see him absent, bent over at the waist digging through the trunk. He leans back, a black strap hanging loosely from his rifle as he pulls it from the trunk, his eyes slide across the weapon from barrel to butt and a familiar grin shows up on his face.

"Hello gorgeous." He says fondly before sliding the strap over his head.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" You say quietly, moving closer to the trunk. "I mean, there's a lot of kids around."

Hawthorne pulls a magazine free from his bag and clicks it into place.

"Settle down, son." He grumbles. "You act like I haven't been handling these things since you were in pull-ups. Besides, I want it to stand out."

You furrow your brow.

"Why?"

Hawthorne grins wickedly and lets the rifle hang at his side.

"Dent wants to de-militarize us? Fine. But he's gonna be on the front page with me right there, rifle in hand. I'm sure that'll bring up some uncomfortable questions from reporters, the buzzards."

"Are you serious?" You ask, shocked. "You want to carry it as a form of protest?"

"I want to carry it while I still have the chance. If it lights a fire under the Mayor's ass that's just a bonus." He glances down into the trunk and nods. "You could carry yours too, take her on her maiden voyage, not to mention it's for a good reason. We have these weapons because we need them, because as you found out firsthand nine mil isn't doing anything against a nutjob with a flamethrower."

You glance down at your war bag, still securely zipped.

>"Alright I'll do it. I mean, he's been attacked twice over now. It'd be irresponsible not to be prepared.."
>"I'm in, especially if it means messing with Dent's job the way he's messed with mine."
>"You're on your own with this, sir. I respect the message but.. I need to think about my future. Who know's how long Dent will be mayor."
>"No way, the last thing I need is to finally get in the paper as "Dent's opposition within the GCPD" or whatever other spin the Gazette will put on it.
>Write-In

Don't worry anon who wanted to ask about Wayne by the way, I haven't forgotten you.

>>6198965
>"Alright I'll do it. I mean, he's been attacked twice over now. It'd be irresponsible not to be prepared.."
If Dent objects, let him have the "if only the demilitarization was lighter so we could have had these to stop Firebug, huh?" or similar

>>6198965
>"Alright I'll do it. I mean, he's been attacked twice over now. It'd be irresponsible not to be prepared.."

Heh.

>>6198965
>>"Alright I'll do it. I mean, he's been attacked twice over now. It'd be irresponsible not to be prepared.."

>>6198965
>>6199004
+1

>>6198965
>"Alright I'll do it. I mean, he's been attacked twice over now. It'd be irresponsible not to be prepared.."
Yeah no, in Gotham, it's definitely a little more reasonable for a cop to run around LARPing as a soldier.

>something tells me this is going to be a Long Halloween
Oh boy here we go
>>6198965
Surprisingly hard choice for what it is.
>>Write-In
>>(Do not take the rifle) Dent seems to be quick to tag you as an "enemy" if he sees opposition from you, real or perceived. I'd like to keep that door open, at least for now.
And hey, if taking the gun wins, we promised Banks we'll walk the beat with him forever anyway.

I do wonder what was that strange feeling we almost picked up from a mad hatter picture

>>6198965
I support taking the rifle- but why not the best of both worlds: we just carry it in the duffle bag- that way we still have it AND we have plausible deniability as to us having it.

>>6199332
>Man is going to stand in full cop uniform in front of the city hall with a suspiciously rifle-shaped duffle bag
Come on now

>>6198965
>"Alright I'll do it. I mean, he's been attacked twice over now. It'd be irresponsible not to be prepared..."
I can't imagine even most people who want to defund or demilitarize police IRL would have the same stance on a comic-accurate, meta-filled Gotham City Halloween.

>>6199131
Though I imagine Dent's solution to the above dilemma centers on his work with ARGUS.

>>6199367
>Though I imagine Dent's solution to the above dilemma centers on his work with ARGUS.
And I wonder how that's gonna work out for him when a bunch of spooks who give precisely zero shits about Gotham are the only people with the tools to do ANYTHING, much less protect and serve.
I can see nothing but shit coming down the pipe, best we can do now is hold our nose and get ready to say "I told you so".

>>6199004
>>6199006
>>6199007
>>6199109
>>6199131
>>6199367

You lean down and unzip the bag, pulling eagerly at the zipper.

"Alright, I'll do it." You open the bag and see your very own rifle, clean and ready. "I mean.. he's been attacked twice over now. It'd be irresponsible NOT to be prepared."

You hoist the weapon out of the trunk and sling it's strap across your chest, shooting a small glance at Hawthorne you prod a little.

"Right?"

"Damn straight." Hawthorne replies. "Maybe if we save his life again using these things he'll get a bit of a better understanding of why we need em."

You carefully plug a magazine into place and ensure your safety is on. You close the trunk and take a few small steps, testing how it sways on your side without a hand to hold it. Hawthorne steps forward and grabs your hand, placing it firmly on the weapon.

"One hand on at all times." He says firmly, taking his own hand away. "You were right to put the safety on but anyone familiar with one of these is gonna be able to flick it and squeeze off a round faster'n you can say 'Freeze' so keep a hand on it and an eye on anyone who's within arms reach of you."

You nod, a little embarrassed but taking his words seriously. You twist the strap so the rifle hangs more flush against the front of your body and you find a comfortable place to rest your hand on the back of the grip. You look to Hawthorne for approval and he gives you a thumbs up before jerking his head.

"Let's walk down then, see what we signed up for."

====

The crowd is dense, but unsurprisingly, you manage to move through it with relative ease. Whether it's the uniform or the conspicuous weapon, people seem to give you a bit of breathing room as you meander towards City Hall. You glance up as you walk beneath a large banner proudly reading:

'GOTHAM CITY CANDY WALK! Proudly funded by Wayne Enterprises.'

"Sir." You say casually, receiving a grunt as acknowledgment. "Who's running security for Wayne you think?"

"I doubt he's here." Hawthorne replies.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"For one this place ain't swarming with TV crews, you'd think he gives em dinner scraps the way they follow him around, if pretty boy was here there'd be a photo op every fifteen feet. That's not even mentioning the trouble he's having too."

"Trouble? What trouble?"

Hawthorne stops and gives you a glare framed by a furrowed brow.

"You wanna be in the paper so bad, why don't you try reading one? Wayne's been catching flack from people about the Firebug incident."

"Wait.. I think I did hear about that on TV. They said his suit was Wayne Tech?"

"Mhm. Apparently Wayne's been asleep at the wheel for a while now, his company put out the usual crap PR statement about looking into it but Wayne's been quiet as a ghost and not for lack of trying. Seems he can stay out of the way of a camera after all."

"But what are people giving him a hard time for? I mean, Firebug used a suit that Wayne-Tech makes, what's the big deal?"

"Didn't realize you were such a fan."

"It's not like that, I've talked with him before. You even said yourself he wasn't what you thought, he paid your hospital bill."

"Mhm, and I appreciate that but I also know that stuff like a bulletproof suit doesn't fall out of the sky. If it was stolen or something then they'd have mentioned it in their press release, but playing dumb has people think that Wayne isn't running as tight a ship as he used to." Hawthorne grumbles and shakes his head, you can see genuine disappointment and irritation in his expression.

"You seem to feel pretty strong about it yourself, sir."

"Eh. Everyone my age basically watched him grow up through the news, he was proof that Gotham could get to anyone and nobody wants to see a kid suffer. So we rooted for him, and he became Gotham's darling, for a while at least. Then the parties, rehab, and all the typical shit that comes with being a twenty something with too much money. That was nearly thirty years ago now and he's still in the same spiral. Some of us were just hoping Wayne'd grow up eventually."

"Sounds a little more than just 'rooting for him', sir."

Hawthorne shrugs and scoffs.

"Yeah well, there was a time people thought we'd be getting Mayor Wayne. A guy who understands personally how it works down here and what it's like. Then he came around and supported Dent, King Yuppie." He shakes his head and lets his sentence die off as he spots something. "Rook, look there."

You follow his gaze to a small group of men, two men and two teens, you narrow your eyes as you look at the younger of the group and you mumble.

"Is that?"

"Some old friends." Hawthorne growls, setting off on a walk.

You trail behind him, keeping close as you take in the details. One man, definitely an adult, face covered with a red ski-mask and an anarchy symbol on the forehead. In front of him are two very familiar young men, the other half of the Anarky Crew that Caesar was running around with. As you both approach you hear their conversation, muddled by the crowd, die the moment they lay eyes on you. The two teen's eyes like up with recognition but they say nothing.

"Officers." The masked man states, giving you an up nod. "Problem?"

"Yeah." Hawthorne growls. "Your mask. Take it off."

The man raises his hands and looks around.

"Is it not Halloween, Officer? Am I breaking some kinda law?"

"Halloween or not, you're wearing gang colors." You say confidently.

"A gang?" The man says, craning his neck around. "I don't see no gang, just a couple friends hanging out. Enjoying the festivities."

"Yeah, pig. We ain't no gang." One of the teens pipes up.

You hear a dull thud aa a swift slap connects to the back of his head.

"Show some respect for the Officers." The Masked Man says firmly.

"Enough." Hawthorne barks. "Take the mask off and put your hands behind your head, I'm giving you a pat down."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, punk-ass. I know you're packing something, they always are." Hawthorne says.

"Sorry Officer, but I don't think that fits probable cause and I don't think the Mayor is big on stop and frisk anymore either.."

"My probable cause is that eyesore on your forehead."

"This?" His fingers lightly taps the Anarchy symbol. "This ain't a gang symbol, officer. It stands for Apples.. yeah I'm dressed up as an apple."

He circles his head with his pointer finger and smiles.

"See? Red and round. Just like an apple."

"I'm not doing this with you. Turn the hell around." Hawthorne says.

Head Mask steps off the curb onto the street as the crowd bends around you, a few people slowing to rubberneck, he holds his hands by his hips but his fingers spread and his hands empty.

"And if I don't go along with this unconstitutional search?" He says quietly, eyes flicking down to your rifles as he smiles smugly.

The two teens quietly share a glance and let out excited whispers as they watch, enraptured.

Hawthorne's jaw sets and you see his hand tense as you move to step in.

>"You asked for probable cause and we gave it, if you don't consent to the search then that means we have to put you in cuffs and send you to the station, all above board."
>"Or we handcuff you anyways and ship you back to the precinct where you'll spend all of your Halloween in a holding cell piss puddle, by the time they uncuff you and say sorry the day'll be over. It's easier if you comply."
>"Or we make you. Simple as that, ask your little friends there if you think I'm lying."
>"How about we slow this down.. how about this: you give us your name and some ID instead, how's that?"
>Say nothing, let Hawthorne handle this.
>Write-In

>>6199558
>Leave Hawthorne to his search and keep an eye on the other punks. They clearly came to start shit.

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>>6199556
>"You wanna be in the paper so bad, why don't you try reading one?

>>6199560
+1

>>6199560
+1 be his other eyes

>>6199560
+1

>>6199558
>Say nothing, let Hawthorne handle this.

Ya know, I just realized something.
We have walked into a public event with kids everywhere, armed with rifles, and immediately told a group of people to submit to a search, with Hawthorne saying some pretty typical cop shit out loud (no offense).
I think Reiner is gonna have a conniption chewing us out when we get back to the station.

>>6199558
>"How about we slow this down.. how about this: you give us your name and some ID instead, how's that?"
Keep an eye on the kids, they're gonna try something.
They're already trying something here, I bet going for some Police Brutality stuff

>>6199789
Us? This was Hawthorne's call. He's the TO.

>>6199848
Do you honestly think that's going to spare us a dressing down for the immensely shit optics we just displayed here?

>>6199558
We've been pulling our Boy Scout Mark persona and it worked before, but we mostly used it with civvies who don't know shit/care about it (Like the guy on the Yatch club) or people who are into our same type of job but they don't get the same rules (The guards in the prison)

This type of guy is like the ones you see in videos who are either a nuisance or they're on the right, and the first group always trying to always look like the second one. If this guy is of the first group, he surely has some flowchart with some strong laws that he knows how to tell when needed and some that are more shakey that he pulls out if he's really struggling.

I suggest that we either

1. Boy Scout Mark on this guy so hard he gets embarrased (And owned with facts and logic)
2. We let Hawtorne do his stuff while looking to the other kids.

My problem with option 1 is that with the example that I said earlier on Mark being a boy scout, I even don't know if he really, REALLY know what exact, minute clause would let him win the legal argument against this idiot, or if Mark basically does the same that I explained before. Hell, I don't even know if Mark knows the laws slightly more than this guy to pull it off. It would be cool if QM could come here and clarify if Mark really knows his stuff or not.

>>6199558
>"How about we slow this down.. how about this: you give us your name and some ID instead, how's that?"
I hate to throw off Hawthorne's groove or make him think we're second-guessing him but, man. The optics. And we're surrounded by civvies.

>>6199558
I don't even wanna engage with this guy. But it is odd. He slapped a teen who went for "pig", but refuses to take off the anarky-themed mask.
Picked a weird hill to die on. Hawthorne *is* good at hurting people's pride, so it might just be that.

>"How about we slow this down.. how about this: you give us your name and some ID instead, how's that?"
>"Apple costume is cool and all, but anarky-themed merch worn in proximity to city administration buildings or government officials makes you a number one suspect, you understand. It's an easy mistake to make."
Idk, try to be real with him. They *did* came here to start shit, but they could reconsider.

>>6199977
It's bait. This guy is totally just a fucking shitter. Maybe even trying to get a lawsuit that'll get a settlement out of court if he's a real smart cookie. Otherwise he's probably just being a tard. Look around for some idiot with a smartphone.

>>6199984
Something to consider is that he's clearly smarter than his compatriots, which means he has to know how this was going to go down. That to me smells like a diversion.
But a diversion for what? What are we NOT seeing?

>>6199984
I actually wonder how it works in murica. Are there symbols you can't wear by law?
I mean I doubt the "A" in a circle classifies, anarky didn't even came up with it, it's an old one. Bet it's on lots of t-shirts.
>>6199989
You know what, we should try shivers. Surely they aren't completely gone. Surely.

>>6199993
>I actually wonder how it works in murica. Are there symbols you can't wear by law?
No, but don't expect to anything good if you wear a swastika or some shit.

>>6199558
>"How about we slow this down.. how about this: you give us your name and some ID instead, how's that?"
This reeks of some sort of shitty Johnny Somali "Pranktube" bullshit to me... Shame we can't do the same to this guy here.

>>6199995
...Do the same thing South Korea is currently doing to Johnny, I mean.

>>6199994
I'm pretty sure all symbols and writings are permitted under freedom of expression so long as you are on public property. Though I know that feds will show up if you flash recognized terrorist group stuff. But Anarkists probably aren't classified as a recognized terrorist group. For whatever arcane gubmint reason. Probably still classified as a street gang despite having all the hallmarks of a terrorist organization.

>>6200009
>But Anarkists probably aren't classified as a recognized terrorist group
>Tfw I remember the lab they had that is a joint venture with scarecrow
Wonder what did the detectives sent there found. Grey passed the info along iirc

>>6200016
They found the stolen nudes of Mister Freeze. The sight chilled them to their bones.

>>6200009
>I'm pretty sure all symbols and writings are permitted under freedom of expression so long as you are on public property
Correct. What is also protected under the first amendment is people's reaction to those things in public spaces, but that doesn't really come up until people start throwing bricks and chairs and whatnot.
>But Anarkists probably aren't classified as a recognized terrorist group
Bit fucking odd, but I suppose it lets the GCPD deal with them a little more efficiently. Imagine if they had to coordinate with the feds and get approval every time they wanted to raid an Anarchist drug den or something. FUCKING THANKS DENT YOU SHITHEAD YUPPIE

>>6200033
>What is also protected under the first amendment is people's reaction to those things in public spaces, but that doesn't really come up until people start throwing bricks and chairs and whatnot.
Yeah. You can talk all the shit you want (without outright stating you're going to cause them harm) to that guy in the Klansmen getup but the moment you put your hands on him you've committed a crime. Hopefully that doesn't change. I see what's happening in Europe and it hurts my eyes.

>Imagine if they had to coordinate with the feds and get approval every time they wanted to raid an Anarchist drug den or something
That's probably where he'll wind up getting his weed from now that needle-dick got spooked. Fuckin' Yuppie Dent.

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>>6199560
>>6199573
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>>6199619
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>>6199995
>>6199850


You keep quiet, but something about this stinks. While Hawthorne has his stare down with the man in the mask you let your eyes wander.. The two teens who used to run with Caesar have something.. off about them. You remember the last time you saw them, typical punks, but looking now they seem. Different. Confident. Your eyes go for the usual locations first, a quick glance at the waist, ankles, and pockets doesn't show any strange lumps.. So no guns or.. wait.

Your eyes freeze. The loudmouth of the two, the one who called you pig, he wears a slightly oversized flannel that hangs loosely from his shoulders. The wrinkles and folds pull one side down more than the other and a slight glint catches your eye. A camera lens.There’s a click somewhere deep in your unconscious when you spot it, peeking just above a breast pocket, as a memory of something Wallace said comes rushing back to you. You swallow harshly and turn just as you see Hawthorne take a step and let loose a:

"Enough of the clown show."

You step backwards, lightly bumping Hawthorne's shoulder as you step half between them.

"How about we slow this down.." You start, holding a hand up to Hawthorne and giving a flick of the eye to the two young men.

"How about I break my foot off in his ass?" Hawthorne counters.

"Sir." You say firmly. Your eyes flicking again to the two young men and now a small gaggle of people watching with more interest.

Hawthorne looks around and you see some of the heat in his face fade away as he lets out a huff. He grunts and nods at you to continue, turning around, you speak politely to the masked man.

"How about this, you give us your name and some ID instead, how about that?"

"For what?" He replies, scoffing. "I ain't done nothing."

"Yeah, man. Why're you fuckin with us?" The one without the phone shouts.

You glance around and see more people starting to look over. Hawthorne shakes his head slightly, staring daggers at the teen.

"How about you brats get out of here and quit interfering in police business, unless you want me to make a call to your mama."

Hawthorne's threatening taunt actually makes something click for you. In the silence of your mind the idea stands out like a sore thumb.

"How old are you two boys?" You ask, turning from the masked man entirely while keeping your body squared up with his.

"We don't answer questions." One of them spits. Out of the corner of your eye you see the mask shift as he smiles slightly.

"That right?" Hawthorne growls. "Well we ain’t asking, it's an order. How old are you and where are your parents?"

"What's it matter, Officer? We can't just enjoy the day?" The Man asks, raising his voice slightly.

"The matter." You swivel and tell him to his face. "Is that per City Ordinance all minors have to be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or older."

"I'm over eighteen, Officer." He replies with a mocking laugh. "Do I look underaged?"

"From where I'm standing you look like a big fucking baby." Hawthorne says, hard edge returning to his eyes as a smirk forms.

"That's your opinion." The man says, but you hear the irritation in his voice building from the consistent mockery. "But I'm far above that age limit, a family friend of these two."

"Then you won't mind proving it by handing over an ID. You know, so we can confirm?" You ask with a sly grin.

Hawthorne takes your lead and moves past you fully. Positioning himself so you're back to back, trading suspects.

"And if he's not willing to hand it over then that means you two brats are going to GCPD holding until we find out mommy and daddy's names and have em come pick you up." He speaks in a low threatening tone.

"Sir." You say firmly, an idea striking you. You raise your voice, using his same trick. "I just need to confirm you know these two YOUNG boys, sir! Can you please provide me some ID?"

"What the fuck?" He mumbles suddenly, his eyes flicking back to you.

"Please, sir. I'm only asking to confirm the safety of these minors." You raise a little higher on the last word and you see his cool demeanor break as anger flashes in his eyes.

"Ay, shut the fuck up!" He mumbles harshly in a rush. Tucking his chin as he reaches down to his pocket, you slide your finger over the trigger guard and warn him.

"Slowly."

His eyes flick up and he scoffs, a disgusted annoyed sound, but he complies. Moving steadily he draws out a wallet and dips his fingers inside. He draws a thin laminated card and you watch as it slips between his fingers and clatters to the pavement below. The moment your eyes break from his to look at the card you see his sneakers pivot and twist as he makes a move to run. You glance to Hawthorne as you instinctually move to follow and you see he's dealing with his own situation. Looks like they had the same idea. He holds his rifle close to his body as his only free hand wraps tightly in the collar of the one boy's flannel while the other tugs on his friend's arm to pull him free. But Hawthorne's grip is iron and he's already got the teen on his tiptoes, dragging pale sneaker tips across pavement as he pulls him closer.

>Hawthorne has the kids handled, at least one of em, take off after the Mask yourself.
>"Leave the kids, he's running!" Take off after the Mask with Hawthorne.
>Let him run, end of the day the kids are more likely to break and tell you something than he is.
>Let him run, the crowd is too dense to do anything without serious risk. Pull your radio and put out a notice for him.
>Swing your rifle like a club, try to catch him in the back of the knee.
>Draw your stun-gun and aim..
>Lift your rifle and fire, aiming for a non-vital area.
>Write-In

>>6200009

I'm going with the canon of Anarky having already been dealt with (I believe I mentioned the specifics in an early thread) and what's left now is basically a bunch of edgy teens and scumbags who took his branding.

Original Anarky and his goons? Domestic Terrorists for sure, and that's why he basically got Black-Site'd after being turned in by Batman (per Arkham Origins)

If you guys have any other questions I can iron out I'd love to hear em. Just reply to this.

>>6200135
>>Hawthorne has the kids handled, at least one of em, take off after the Mask yourself.
>>Write-In
"Someone stop that child molester!"

We've already got the publics attention and hes bolting at the suggestion hes done weird shit to them.

Time to capitalise on that attention.

>>6200135
>Hawthorne has the kids handled, at least one of em, take off after the Mask yourself.

We just had to take this stupid fucking rifle with us…

>>6200201
+1

>>6200135
>>6200201
+1

>>6200201
+1

>>6200131
>Hawthorne has the kids handled, at least one of em, take off after the Mask yourself.

I also regret taking the rifle.

>>6200135
>Hawthorne has the kids handled, at least one of em, take off after the Mask yourself.
Leave the cardio to the Rook, I see you Hawthorne. Anyways...
>>6200251
>I also regret taking the rifle.
I don't, this is a good learning experience. Mark might look into SBR'ing that bitch to make it less cumbersome in the future, among other things...

>>6200201
+1

>>6200201
+1, kek.

>>6200135

>>6200141
Oh, so they ARE just a gang who took the ideologial branding of the local unabomber. Makes sense.

>>6200201
>>6200209
>>6200225
>>6200249
>>6200251
>>6200517
>>6200567
>>6200584

Gonna need some rolls from you folks for the update later.

>1d100 Best of 3 (Bo3 because that fucking write-in kills me)

>>6200698
Essentially, the equivalent of the Joker Goons from Dark Knight Returns where they've basically canonized Anarky and try to 'carry on the mission' but they aren't actually organized at a real level.

Appreciate the question, I have a lot of 'My Gotham' lore that I've set up in my head but haven't had a place in story to let some of it be known, so I was happy to see something I had actually pre-thought about be brought up.

Rolled 86, 26, 62 = 174 (3d100)

>>6200837

>>6200838
>>6200837
Fucking fucked up my roll formatting, my bad...

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>6200837

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>6200837
Bo3, damn
>>6200840
incredible

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So uhhhhhh
no crit fails right?

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>>6200840
...fuck me.

>>6200841
stupendous

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>>6200840
>>6200841