Chapter twenty two- poison

HARMONY'S POV:

"Fox, this is Harmony Jackson, if it weren't for her I can't say I would be here right now," Gordon introduced me to a older, dark skinned man with a deep gleam of intelligence on his face. We made it to Wayne Enterprises and Gordon was receiving care from one of Bruce's friends, who called for us a nurse to help pull the bullet out of Gordon.

I was still worried though, pacing around the room pulling out my hair. Batman pretty much saved us again, another tally mark to add to the things I owe him, but I wish I could know where Bruce was. He hadn't called me back and no one knows where he is.

We told him that we would meet at the building, he was almost at the scene so he should have turned around. What if he went looking for me and got himself hurt, or worse, killed.

The nurse finally pulled the bullet out of Gordon, and then she cleaned the wound for stitches, at least he would be okay. That counted for something.

"I'm sure the GCND wants a statement from you," I warned Gordon, knowing Vikki Vale and her crew would be searching high and low for any information on the attack of police headquarters.

"I don't have much more information on what's happening then they do, for Christ sake it seems pretty cut and dry, Joker took down the police force, and now we've got to call in the national guard, maybe even resort to Marshall law."

"I don't think he just blew up the police station for fun," Fox suggested.

Gordon winced at the pain of his wound and then looked confused sitting up to look at Fox "pardon me, but this is the Joker were talking about, you know? The one that blew up a hospital, has killed hundreds, maybe even thousands, and you don't think he may have blew up my police station just for the heck of it?"

Fox shook his head "look I'm sure he enjoyed it, but he wouldn't make a play so big as to take down a ten story building with hundreds of cops if he wasn't going to do something even worse, soon."

"What do you have in mind?" I asked.

"The happy juice, the police were working on a cure so he stopped them, distracted them, disabled them, and now he's got a clean shot at any place he wants, orphanage, hospital, heck even the city water supply is available for contamination."

Gordon looked like a ghost figuratively and literally "I'm going to have to make some calls, including the GCND, Harmony if you wouldn't mind, maybe you could give me a few pointers on what to say to an entire city of people, scared out of there mind."

"Hopefully Batman can help out," a new voice joined the conversation.

It was Bruce, he had a long bloody scratch down his chest, but other than that he was completely fine looking, alive, well, and here with me. I ran over to him and squeezed him hard, not letting go, wanting to smell his familiar expensive cologne and shampoo. He returned the gesture and hugged me back, kissing my forehead.

"I was scared I sent you into a death trap," I told him on the verge of sobbing.

"I made it out fine, I got cut by some glass but I'm fine, and I'm here."

"Bruce, I don't know what I would do without you. I love you."

"Me too Harmony, me too."

Fox was looking over at the both of us, particularly at Bruce, giving him a 'we need to talk' kind of look.

"One moment," Bruce told me following Fox into another room, leaving me and Gordon alone again, with the nurse who had just finished sewing him up.

"what do you say we get out in front of this before it gets any worse," Gordon asked me.

"Saving the city wasn't in the job description."

"I'm promoting you to my head of staff, or right hand man when this is all over, if I make it through."

I smiled "the offer is nice but I'm fine being just a photographer, it's in my blood."

"That's a shame, I haven't met someone as trustworthy as you since I met the dark knight."

"Batman? You trust him?"

"With every bone in my body, you may not know this but he saved my sons lives from Harvey Dent, I owe him a debt that I can never repay, the least I can do is trust him."

"You ever try and find out who he is?"

"Don't care, as long as he's out there, there's hope."

Bruce came breathlessly stumbling out of the room he followed Fox into and was leaning on the wall for support. I rushed over to him and held his tear eyed face in my hands, pressing my finger along the top of his ear.

"Bruce? what's wrong?"

"It's too late... I'm too late" He said ominously.

Gordon stood up "too late for what?"

Bruce looked up straight "he did it, 100 hotel guests killed at the Marionette, he pumped the stuff through the water treatment system, an old friend of my fathers, the owner, he died."

Gordon fell back down into a seat chest exposed and glasses in his hands. He ran is hand through his hair and bowed his head. All of the sudden he lost it, standing up and throwing everything off the table where he was getting the bullet pulled out. He knocked over the chair and yelled like a wild animal, I couldn't bare to watch it much longer.

"Gordon," I spoke quietly at first standing next to Bruce still. He made no effort to notice me, still wildly acting out.

"Gordon!" I said this time with more authority, though my meek voice couldn't carry much weight, still it did enough damage as Gordon stopped, looked at me, and then fell to his knees sobbing. It takes a lot for a man as hard as the police commissioner to fall on his knees and cry in front of everyone.

Bruce brushed past me and started walking out of room, silently, but I chased after him, clasping a firm grip around his much more built arm. He turned back at me, with emotionless rage, not toward me, but through me, as if he had something to do and I was merely an obstacle in his way.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to do something."

"What could you possibly have to do at a time like this!" I said with just as much conviction as his eyes held.

"I can't tell you," he breathed.

My heart sank down into my stomach, what couldn't he tell me? From the start I thought he was an open book, honest and kind, maybe a bit egotistical, but even that seemed to lose merit the longer I was with him.

"Why," was my only response, heart broken and crackled words that left my lips.

"I can't tell you," he repeated, vocally more stern, but emotionally weaker.

He yanked himself from my grasp and walked toward the door firmly grasping the handle.

"You put me in the middle of this and now your just going to leave, and not tell me anything! You can't leave again, not now, I can't do this without you Bruce!"

He only paused to hear what I said, and then he left, without a word or even a hint to me, closing the door behind him and leaving my trust for him behind as well. I felt like crying, I felt like breaking things, and yelling as Gordon had moments before. I was stronger than that, people had been through worse than me. Moments ago I would have told myself that this wasn't my problem, that I was an observer and a photographer, I take images, not intervene.

That was no longer the case, Gordon had just recently elected me to be his right hand man, and I was maybe still dating a huge name in the word of business and politics, I had a bigger role now and I wasn't going to play victim for the rest of my life.

First thing first I walked over to my purse which lay on Bruce's desk, pulled out my cell and found Daisy's number. While pressing call I pulled Gordon off the floor and started to clean up the penthouse office.

"Harmony, I can't talk right now it's chaos over here," Daisy's frantic voice spoke.

"Daisy I'm calling you about a story you need to get on the air, now."

"Well don't keep me waiting?"

"I'm at wayne enterprises right now with the police commissioner and he needs to make a statement ASAP."

"Holy fuck, what are you doing with the police commissioner?"

"I sort of work with him, hurry up and get a crew over here, there are lives at stake!"

"I'm on my way," she hung up.

I put my phone down and threw Gordon's bloody shirt and blazer back at him "get dressed your going live in a few minutes."

"I don't have anything to say, I'm not the mayor, I don't have any authority left, I'm useless."

I don't recall what I was thinking the seconds before I slapped him across the face, whatever it was it worked, because Gordon fired back at me with an angry growl. I had to admit, the defense training, the overcoming of my past, all of it made it feel ten times better to just let it lose.

"Your not useless, the people of this city look to you to protect them, they expect to be safe from the danger that constantly surrounds us by you, not batman, you are the one who really deserves to be in front of this. We may need Batman, but we also need a real person to restore order. Giving up, means, it means that the Joker's won, and I simply won't stand for that!"

Gordon looked down at the mess he'd made, and then at the bloody clothes in his arms "give me your cell."

"What for?"

"I'm calling in the army."

----------------

I could see the spark in Gordon reignite as he stood injured and afraid, in front of a large crowd of fearful people, just as strong as he was before they'd seen him the way I had. To them he was a leader, to me he was a man, weak and tired of his futile efforts to try and restore some sort of sanity to the city that had been spiraling out of control since I could take my first steps.

Daisy stood by his side with a microphone in front of Gordon's lips and a camera behind her shoulder. She said right before going live that she was happy to see me and glad I was okay, which made me slightly regret being so isolated toward her. She was a decent person.

"Help is on the way, serious firepower is headed for us, and this city is on lockdown from this hour til I find the Joker, and have him put down for good," Gordon didn't hesitate to say he wouldn't take the Joker alive. Suddenly Gordon looked at me and signaled me to stand closer to him. I did as he order and stood right behind him, my hair in a tangled matt, my clothes torn and stained, and my skin dry and cut up.

"We must work together, everyone must work together, we have to stop this terrorism in its tracks or we will face the end of Gotham."