Bullets and Brainpower

The Balloonman IV

"Alright, you ready?" I chuckle and nod. The blueberry lands perfectly in my mouth, and I clamp my jaw around it, holding up my hands in victory. "We have a winner!" I laugh at Jerome's antics as he pops his own blueberry in his mouth. He smiles at me, reaching forward to wipe something off my lip.

"You got a little something," he says. He pulls his hand back, still smiling, and I lick my lips, blushing. "You're so beautiful." My face heats up, and I cover it with my hands. He grabs my wrists and pulls my hands away. "Stop it. You are." I chuckle and shake my head.

"Well, if I'm beautiful," I say, "you're a freaking god." He shrugs.

"I mean yeah, but..." I gasp.

"Wha...you...ugh." He laughs.

"Come on, every god needs his goddess." I groan and flop backward onto the rooftop. I hold up my wrist and look at my watch. I sigh and sit up, leaning forward and flicking some hair out of Jerome's face.

"I gotta go," I tell him. "Got a thing." He nods.

"Work or hobby?" I chuckle lightly.

"Hobby that I get paid for?" He grins and nods. "Yeah, hobby." He nods again and stands up, pulling me to my feet and kissing me softly. We make our way across town and stop in front of Fish's club. He takes my hands and looks down at me.

"Be careful," he says. I roll my eyes, and he chuckles. "I know, I know. But be careful anyway. You're not the most cautious of people." I sigh and nod. He smiles. "Okay. See you later." He kisses the top of my head and heads back towards the circus. I jog around the back of the building and head inside, going straight to the back room and changing into my disguise. I make my way toward the front room, nodding to Butch as I pass him, but stop behind a corner as I hear Fish talking to Falcon.

"You don't actually believe that Maroni had something to do with it, do you?" she asks him.

"Like you say," he replies, "people are acting crazy, and crazy's bad for business. Especially with everything on the horizon." There's a pause.

"You're talking about Arkham," Fish says. I frown. Arkham...Asylum? "I thought you had that locked up." He hums.

"Keep your eyes open." I hear his footsteps and duck away from the corner. He nods to me, smiling slightly, as he passes me, and I nod back, but as he leaves, my frown deepens. What's going on at Arkham Asylum?

~~~

I get back to the apartment before Jim and head to my room to start on my homework. By the time I finish it, it's starting to get late, and I go downstairs to find Jim groaning as he sits down. I furrow my brows.

"Are you okay?" I ask. He and Barbara look up at me, and he nods.

"Yeah," he says. "I fell is all. I'm fine."

"What's wrong?" Barbara asks him. He shakes his head. "I want you to know that you can tell me anything." She looks at me. "Cassie too." I nod as I walk over to them, and Jim sighs.

"The city's sick," he tells us. "Sick in a way I hadn't realized. When they were taking him away, this Balloonman killer, I asked who his last target was. You know what he said? 'Doesn't matter.' He meant the mayor, judges, anyone in a position of power--they're all guilty." I frown.

"But that's not true."

"It's how he feels. It's how they all feel. Everyone. That's why the city embraced him. Because we let them down. But if people take the law into their own hands, then there is no law. And we're lost. There are cops who do it. The same thing he did."

"But you never would," Barbara says. He looks up at her.

"Do you think I could?" She sighs.

"No. I know you, Jim Gordon. And I love you." She chuckles quietly. "And now I'm gonna get you a drink." She walks over to a table on the other side of the room as I cross my arms.

"How high?" I ask. Jim looks up at me.

"What do you mean?" he asks. I roll my eyes.

"You said you fell, and I believe you. But how high did you fall from?" He rubs the back of his neck, smiling nervously.

"Can't get anything past you, can I?" I shake my head, and we hear a knock on the door. Barbara walks back in, carrying two glasses of...something, and sets them down before walking to the door.

"I'll get it," she says. She opens the door and looks back at him, smiling. "Jim." It's then that I hear a voice I never thought I would again.

"Hello, James," I hear Oswald's voice say. "Old friend."

I do not own Gotham or its characters. I do however own Cassidy Alexandra, Ice, Gracelyn Ventura, and their plot, so don't steal. It's not nice.