City Hall was bathed in shadows. They reached out as far as they could, beckoning Ghost to join them. Colson was on his knees, hand in the air with a ringing phone. A small rover was in front of him, trying to figure out a solution. As Ghost darted around the shadows, Batman walked right through them and straight to Colson. Ghost flitted up to the balcony where she could keep watch. Leaning down in front of the man, Batman ripped the tape off of his mouth.

     "Please," Colson begged. "Please, help me. He said if I didn't do what he said, he'd kill me."

     "Who?" Ghost's whisper echoed.

     "I d- I don't know," Colson sobbed. He reached out carefully and pulled a card off Colson's chest, reading it.

     Taking a tentative step foward, Batman answered the still ringing phone. From her vantage point, Ghost couldn't see or hear anything, but when she heard Colson's panicked screams, she knew it wasn't  good.

     Suddenly, the bomb around Colson's neck buzzed and a red light glared from what Ghost could only assume was a timer. The Riddler asked a question and Colson panicked before yelling "Justice. The answer is justice."

     Another incoherent question came and Colson sobbed, muttering incomprehensible dialogue. "Ten grand," he sobbed. "Ten G's." Bribes, Ghost thought.

     A final question was asked and Colson refused to answer. Whatever the question, Ghost knew he wasn't going to answer, based on his reaction. Colson was sobbing and shaking his head. Batman was whispering something to the man and then it happened.

     Ghost wasn't sure it was real, watching the flames engulf Colson, and the blast throw Batman into chairs. She thought she screamed his name, but she wasn't sure, because in an instant, the entire police force was in City Hall and she watched in horror as they moved his still body onto a stretcher.

---

     It was raining when Ghost got to the roof. Batman was already standing there, most likely waiting for Gordon. He whipped around quickly as her feet hit the pavement silently. He'd always been good at that, knowing when she was there, even when she knew she was silent.

      "Ghost," he whispered. She was in his arms in an instant, clinging to him as if he were the ghost.

     "God, I didn't know what was going to happen to you," she whispered. "I watched it happen, I watched it throw you back at least ten feet."

     Batman hushed her and pushed her cloak down, revealing her mask. He ran a hand through her hair and held her tight. "We have another problem, Ghost."

     She sighed, knowing these words meant it would be a long night. "What now?" But before he could answer, Gordon stepped out of the rickety elevator.

     He nodded his head in greeting to Ghost before turning to Batman. "You know, you could've held back a little on that punch, man."

     "I did," Batman's tone was dry, which Ghost knew to mean he had other concerns. 

     "What does it mean?" Gordon asked. "El rata alada."

     "Rat with wings," Ghost whispered. "Stool pigeon."

     Batman snapped his fingers in realization, "A penguin could be a rat with wings, right?" 

     Ghost nodded her head, "We can go tonight and see what we find."

---

     From her vantage point, Ghost could see Kinsie and the Penguin step out of a car, the twins following behind. The first duo went inside, while the twins stood guard. "It looks like some kind of deal," Batman said through the earpiece. "It's a drops operation."

      "I thought the drops operations were all shut down after the Maroni case was solved," Gordon's voice came through.

     "It would appear that Falcone decided to keep the ops up and running Lieutenant," Ghost's eerie whisper was all but drowned out by the continuous rain. She dropped from her hiding place and snuck around the back of the cars. Crawling underneath a car, Ghost grabbed one of the twin's ankles and pulled him back, causing him to fall, face first. The other came over to investigate and Ghost rolled out from underneath, stabbing his thigh. Batman dropped down from the roof and Ghost ran around the back of the car, opening the trunk. She opened each bag, searching for any sort of evidence.

     Opening the final bag, Ghost's head spun. It was Annika. Gunshots broke out from around the back of the car and Ghost ducked around. Batman had been shot and Ghost was beginning to panic. She knew that if Kinsie and the Penguin saw either one of them it was all over. Turning to look at Batman, Ghost didn't see him, so she ran. She ducked behind more buildings and heard the familiar rev of Batman's car. After he sped off, Ghost darted around to Gordon's car and jumped in.

     "Don't follow him, Gordon," Ghost whispered. "I have a feeling this is going to get ugly."

---

     Gordon pulled up at an abandoned warehouse just as the sun was rising. Batman's car was there soon after and Ghost immediately relaxed. She watched as he pulled the Penguin out of the car and dragged him toward the building. Slamming him against a pillar, Batman pulled the bag off his head and bent down to his face. "What do you know about the Riddler?" Batman asked.

     "What?" Penguin asked. "Why the hell would I know about that son of a bitch? What is this anyway? Good cop, batshit cop?" he asked. Then his eyes settled on Ghost. "Oh the creepy girl's here too, great."

     "You're the rat, are you not?" Ghost asked.

     "The rat? What rat?"

     "El rata alada," Batman explained. "Rat with wings. A stool pigeon. That's you, isn't it?" He said it like less of a question and more of a statement.

     "El rata alada?" Penguin said. "El rata? Who the hell said that? That's the worst Spanish I ever heard. It's LA rata," he enunciated. "No habla espanol, guys? Huh?"

     "You are el rata alada." Batman muttered. "You. Are. El. URL." he looked at Ghost, who nodded in realisation.

03/12/22