Out of the Belfry, into the Fire

Harley and Harvey Say Howdy Doody

Bullock had only left Montoya and a couple other cops on the other side of the alley to catch the runaway. This was the last thing he had expected. Yet, he had his gun aimed at Scarface in a second anyway.

"Freeze! Gotham Police!" he shouted loud enough in the hope that Montoya or somebody back there would hear him; his booming voice overtook the alley in powerful echoes, "Drop your weapons and Howdy Doody!"

Scarface just as quickly slipped behind the wall again, faster than Bullock thought the old guy holding him possible.

The stealth and strength of crazy people, Bullock had no need to remind himself.

Bullock fired, and just nicked the puppet's hat enough to send it flying, but it was enough time for Mugsy to start firing machine gun pellets now that his boss was out of harm's way.

Bullock dropped and rolled as hard as he could behind a dumpster so that he rammed into the brick wall of the old building beside it. Snow clinging to the bricks sprinkled him like a Russian Tea Cake what the slush below him had not already gotten wet, but the pellets were still firing.

"C'mon, Montoya!" he seethed through his teeth.

Then he heard a sound just as heard the pellets stop. It wasn't a good sound either. It was the sickening squeak of wet metal, and he suddenly remembered Rhino. No one stronger. Maybe not even Croc when it came to the strength of Rhino's arms, and Bane didn't count.

Bullock tried to get out of the way of the dumpster swinging down upon him like a train from above. He rolled with all his might, but it struck him.

Not his head or chest at least, but the searing pain of metal sandwiching his leg against the pavement was enough to awaken wounds from duty ten years ago. The whole alley seemed to starburst around him as he let out a cry, but his anger and years of experience at least kept him conscious enough to keep the scream short and try again for his gun however desperately.

His backup was coming. He could hear them, but he was not in a condition to fire fast enough to get out of the way of Rhino's charge at him. At least, it was Rhino himself instead of the dumpster. Bullock just got knocked out colder than the frozen snot already on the pavement a few feet away from him.

#

Bullock moaned.

Sure, it was from the pain in his throbbing skull, and the wince and squeak was from the pain in his leg, but he would have moaned anyway coming to the quick realization that whatever Scarface had been originally up to, he sure had a consolation prize for not getting it. The sound of the nearest siren being so distant meant that he had already been used for a hostage.

That left him now in the back of a psychopath's getaway car with two of the most brainlessly obedient goons this side of the Atlantic, but he had to do something. First thing, he tried to do was to pretend he was not as conscious as he was. That wasn't going to work well, though, he soon found.

"Yo, Rhino," said Scarface in that annoying old-gangster voice he had. "Give donut-gut his 'howdy doody'!"

"Right boss!" said Rhino merrily.

He socked Bullock good right in the stomach.

"O-oh!"

"Boss, they're still on our tail!" complained Mugsy.

"Just keep driving, saw-dust-for-brains, don't whine at me! We're past the bridge, take our 'snake route'; that'll help us loose 'em."

Bullock was still moaning when he blinked his eyes up to see Scarface's non-sentient face right in his.