Bat, Cat, and Coin

Selina V

The news of the Catwoman spread like wildfire not just across the East End, but across all of Gotham. Stan was arrested, and the mugshot of his clawed face was on the front page of every paper in the city. Within a month, the GCPD had busted a half-dozen prostitution rings, tipped off by emboldened women who believed that the Catwoman protected them. The sex-trafficking industry that had flourished in crime-riddled Gotham crumbled overnight.

Selina herself was in awe of the impact. "I told you," Holly said proudly, nudging her as they looked at yet another headline.

The girl had agreed to live with Selina free of charge, but insisted that she would start paying for herself as soon as possible. In the meantime, she made up for her lack of rent by facilitating the spread of the news throughout the East End and reassuring women who thought that the Catwoman was too good to be true. In fact, she probably did more to contribute to the collapse of sex-trafficking in Gotham than the Catwoman herself did.

Officer Bradley figured it out quickly, but kept the Catwoman's identity secret. They saw each other a few times over the course of that month—all of the encounters planned in advance—and he kept her up-to-date on opinions about the Catwoman within the GCPD and the D.A.'s office.

"They're afraid that the Catwoman encourages vigilantism. We don't need a bunch of copycats scratching up people's faces," he told her over lunch at a café not far from his precinct.

"What if the faces deserved to be scratched?" Selina mused, only half-joking.

"That's assault and battery. The guilty are just as much protected by law as the innocent are."

"In this city, they're even more protected."

He gave her a look.

"I'm just saying, Sam, the Catwoman has done more to undermine crime in Gotham in a month than the GCPD has done in a year."

"I notice that she hasn't hurt Mr. Falcone's business at all."

Selina pursed her lips, returning his look. "He isn't involved in that industry."

"But who do you think supplies the drugs that are pumped into those women's veins?"

Selina looked away.

"Why are you defending him, Selina?"

"I'm not."

"What's your connection to him? You said that it wasn't a first date conversation, but this isn't our first date anymore."

She winced. They hadn't actually labeled any of their get-togethers, and she was keen to avoid doing so. But of course he had been thinking of it that way.

"You were tailing his daughter in the park that day. You knew that he would help you when you asked for it."

She hesitated. "Do you remember what his daughter looks like?"

Sam stared at her, confused by the question. After several seconds, his eyes widened.

She leaned forward. "Listen, Sam, you can't tell anyone. He doesn't know that I know. No one can know."

He blinked several times, his gaze drifting away from her. She gave him time to get over his surprise.

"Yeah, that would put a pretty big target on your back," he muttered finally.

She smiled gratefully at his understanding.

"So he... you..."

"I didn't find out until last year. The night we first met, in fact."

He blinked. "Is that why you were..."

"A mess that night? Yeah."

"But he knows?"