This Gray Weather Will Fade

“I’m beginning to feel like all you ever call me for is favors.” Cho Wang told her, slightly chuckling on the other line.

“Only because I know you’re the only one who can actually help me.” Nora smiled, fumbling with her fingers as she stood over the electricity lines and blueprints connected to the camera from Gotham Elementary.

“Alright. Send me what you have.” He agreed, and Nora smiled again, clicking ‘send’ to the large files on her computer.

She heard Wang sigh on the other end, “Is there something wrong with it?” She asked, placing her hand on her desk at the police station, looking out the window to her left and sitting down.

“No. It’s just that, it’s so simple I’m insulted.” He told Nora, making her burst out with a laugh that caused a few of the other officers to glance her way, but she paid no attention. She heard him chuckle as well on the other end. “I’m sending a map that picked up the most transmission, it’s a two block radius but you should be able to figure it out.” Cho said, just as Nora caught Gordon waving his hand at her out of the corner of her eye. Nora put up a finger to tell him to wait, but as soon as she did, he marched towards her with an envelope in his hand.

“Oh wait, I’ve got the coordinates-” Cho started to say, but when Nora saw the panic in Gordon’s eyes, she told Cho she’d have to call him back.

“No Nora, I think you might-”

“Cho, I’m sorry, there’s an emergency. Just send everything to me and I’ll read it later, thanks.” Nora rushed, moving to hang up the phone with a now frantic talking Cho on the other end.

Gordon had reached Nora’s desk just as she hung up, and he tossed the yellow envelope in front of her. Nora looked down at it with a blank expression with her hand still on the phone hung up beside her, then back up at the Commissioner.

He nodded his head towards it, “Open it.” He told her. Nora picked it up hesitantly, standing up and taking out the small photograph attached to a note.

“City Hall?” Nora asked, tossing the photograph on her desk and looking up at Gordon while unfolding the letter.

“Someone dropped it off this morning.” Gordon said, using a finger to push up his glasses.

“Did you look at the camera tapes?” Nora asked.

Gordon nodded, “Yes, we couldn’t get a good look at him.”

Nora squinted in suspicion and adjusted her weight as she began to read the note:

“Commissioner, you can hopefully assume from the photo I’ve sent you what the Joker’s next target is. I wish I could give you a specific time, but I’m sure you know, he doesn’t let anyone know what he’s planning. Unlike the fake in the school, he is planning for this to be real.

I understand this note may be hard to believe, but please trust me that I know what he’s planning up to this moment and nothing more. Like Mark Gellar, the Joker threatened my family if I didn’t agree with what he wanted me to do. I found out that he had killed them anyways. I have nothing left, and I will not continue to live like this. I’m sorry for all that I’ve done, and you will find my body by the pier. Good luck.”

“We have to get down to City Hall now.” Gordon said pointing at the note with stern and turning away from Nora.

She still held the note in her hands, sensing something wasn’t right. “Wait, I think we should have someone go to the pier to make sure..”

“Make sure of what?” Gordon spun around, his voice rising. “Make sure that he’s dead? No! We are going to City Hall now, evacuate everyone as quietly as possible, and set up a perimeter. He could be there now.”

Nora slammed the note on her desk, “And what if this is a set up?” The floor now became silent, turning towards the two now staring sternly at one another, neither showing signs of backing down. “You’re going to take some dead guy’s word that there’s not a catch to anything he said?”

“Gray, I appreciate what you’ve done here so far, I do. But I’m in charge, and we’re going to City Hall. I will not let innocent people die just because you have a bad feeling.” Gordon said in a low angered voice to her, then turned to face the rest of the unit.

“Get the mayor and the security at City Hall on the phone. Tell them to evacuate without causing too much attention. Let’s hope the Joker’s still there and he doesn’t notice anything.” Gordon commanded, but surprisingly, no one moved. They looked back and forth between him and Nora, taking in consideration what could happen if he was wrong.

“MOVE!” Gordon finally shouted, making the unit drop whatever they had and do what he had asked them to do. Then he turned back around to Nora, who was still standing behind him, going over the note in her head again and again. “Nora, you’re sitting this one out.” He told her, beginning to walk away once more.

“Don’t you dare-”

“You have no idea what you’re doing when it comes to him.” Gordon said, pointing at her with frustration and overwhelming anger after what the Joker had cost him all these years. He finally left, slamming the door shut and leaving Nora alone in the building still standing with her instinct screaming at her to ignore his orders.

She tapped her fingers on her desk, looking out the window at the incoming dark storm clouds and the unit already driving off. Without another moment’s thought, Nora slipped on her jacket, “I’m not just going to sit here.” She said, picking up her keys and leaving the building.

Nora followed her instinct first, driving to the pier and parking near the dock. She got out slowly, glancing around before shutting the door and walking towards the water. The wind immediately picked up, tossing the ends of her hair around her shoulders.

She didn’t know exactly what place she should be at, or what to look for. Nora just knew there was something off about the note. She knew she wasn’t an expert, but in all the tapes she watched on the Joker, never once would he let someone just leave because they wanted to.

Nora walked back towards her car, not wanting to waste any more time in one spot. Just as she did, she saw a group of seagulls heading for the same spot, fighting over a place to land. Nora picked up her pace to a jog, running to her car and quickly snatching her ice scraper, and then running towards the group of seagulls.

She swung the scraper at them, making them shoo away from whatever they were after. When they were finally gone, Nora put a hand up to her mouth, seeing the half-eaten body of the man who had sent them the envelope.

How did she know it was that specific guy? There are tons of murders in the city now and then, you might be thinking. Nora knew right when she looked at his face, it was unmistakeable he was the one. The cuts from ear to ear formed the all to familiar menacing grin, and even sloppier make-up which was smudged unto his face, hiding the bruises from the abuse the man must’ve taken.

Last but not least, a playing card was showing slightly out of the man’s jacket. As soon as Nora flipped it over, she stuffed it in her pocket and began to take off. As soon as she turned and started running, she instantly stopped, shocked at seeing the mask she was beginning to enjoy having around.

“It’s a set up.” Nora said flatly, her cheeks becoming red from the cold wind. She instantly thought how he could always know when there is something wrong in this city, but as she thought more about it, she was taken aback, “Are you still following me?” She asked.

“Tell Gordon.” He growled.

“That you’re following me?” Nora said, moving past him and getting into her car, knowing that’s not what he meant.

As she started the car, Batman held the door from being shut, “I’ll be inside when you get there.” Nora nodded, spinning out of the pier lot and picking up her radio.

“Gordon, I found the body. It’s a setup, he had the card on him.” Nora yelled into the device.

Gordon answered back, “Did it say anything on it?” He asked quickly.

Nora replied in a somewhat shaky voice, “Yeah. Got you."

-

The two bystanders lit themselves each a cigarette and watched carefully. Inhaling the smoke in and out of their mouths, they knew he’d want to see this. It would be better than he’d ever expected.

Just as she drove away, they glanced at one another and snickered, letting fall their cigarettes and crushing them into the pavement with their shoes. They walked back into the abandoned building, sat down on the ripped couch with the others who were left behind for this task, and started to watch the news on the small screen. The anticipation of wanting to tell the news to him was overwhelming.

The Batman was back, and the new hero was working with him.

Two birds with one stone.

-

Nora reached City Hall just as the last of the workers inside were evacuated. Gordon and the unit did a job well done, because it didn’t look like an evacuation, just like he wanted.

Nora parked quickly and ran up to find the Commissioner, who was standing by the entrance looking panicked. “Gordon, who’s left?”

Gordon spun around, relieved to see Nora there beside him, “Nora, I’m sorry-”

“I’m not worried about it now, what’s going on?” She said, waving a hand telling him she had already forgotten what he had said earlier.

“We’ve been waiting for you to send in the-” Gordon was cut off by a blast in the building, and Nora took no hesitation in running inside with him yelling at her to come back.

Nora pushed open the heavy old doors and looked around frantically, knowing that the Joker and his men must be close, because the lock down had been for almost two hours and there was no way out they couldn’t be noticed.

The blast had come from the front desk of the building, it was just a big enough bomb to take out the whole first floor and the stairs along with it. There was rubble everywhere, and Nora knew she had to look for someplace that led out of there so it could be an easy escape for the Joker.

In the corner of the room, Nora noticed there was an old-fashion air duct that could possibly hold a few men in it. As she ran over to it, a flash of light came out from inside and she instantly pulled at the gate so she could get inside.

Nora suddenly felt a gloved hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at the mask she’d seen only a few minutes ago. She stepped aside, letting him pull the gate open for her, and they both looked through, seeing a few feet inside there was a drilled hole that led out underneath the building.

Just as she was about to step through, Batman held her back again. “Stay here.”

Nora scoffed and replied in her clever tone, “If you had read my file like you said you did, you’d already know that there’s no way of getting rid of me.” He said nothing, but hesitantly let go of her shoulder and allowing her to pass through.

Nora crouched through the hole, peering down into the drilled section and seeing some light below. Quickly, she lowered herself down as far as she could, but she still couldn’t feel the floor below her. Committed to task at hand, she dropped herself down, making her fall into a pool of water ankle deep. Nora knew instantly she was in the sewers. Now soaked from head to toe, Nora got up and pulled out her gun. Not willing to wait for the Batman to follow, she ran after them.

Running as quietly as she could without splashing too much water, Nora ran for awhile through the sewers before reaching a corner that had the same flashlight movement around it. She tilted her head around it, then back again. Nora saw one of Joker’s men standing on the other side, and she instantly questioned how he didn’t hear her when she fell in the water.

Nora closed her eyes, preparing herself, then came around the corner. “Hands.” She said, making the man tense up and raise his hands.

“Turn around slowly.” She told him, gun aimed where the bullet would hit his heart. He did so, turning around with ease while shaking. When he was completely facing her, Nora stared for a moment at disbelief. It wasn’t Gordon or the unit who the Joker was setting up. It was her.

There, set tightly on the man’s chest was a trigger bomb. Nora’s eyes went wide, seeing the detonator in his fingertips. In a matter of seconds, Nora dove behind the corner she was just at and took cover from the explosion, causing the whole sewer to shake.

With her hands still covering her head, Nora was about to look up when the most fearing sound reached her ears. The laugh of the Joker echoed not far from where she laid.

Nora eased herself up with her hands against the tunnel walls, her head shaking and dust still blocking any sight farther than two feet in front of her. Once again, Nora heard the familiar beeping noise of another bomb ticking, making her guess which way to take for cover this time.

Nora crouched down against the wall, once again covering her head and bringing her knees up to her chest for all the protection she could possibly get. When the blast was over, Nora’s head was ringing, and she didn’t try to move until it faded and replaced itself with slow footsteps coming towards her.

A snickering laugh was all she heard before two gloved hands grabbed the collar of her jacket and threw her back up against the wall behind her. Nora winced, and she finally heard for the first time in person the voice the people of Gotham had feared,

“So, you’re the new hero?”