Cobblepot

Officer Alvarez approached with two men in tow, his face expressionless. One was Cuevas, the burly carjacker in the leather jacket, and the other was Hargrove, the spectacularly unlucky explosives prodigy.

"Hey, this kid's practically pissing himself." Wilson waved at Hargrove with obvious amusement. Though the Black prisoner's complexion gave little away, his lips were so white he looked as if he had a stub of chalk between them, and his legs wouldn't stop shaking.

"All right, stay sharp. Don't screw this up." Li Jie checked Cuevas's pulse, found it reasonably normal, and signed the transfer paperwork. Visibly relieved, Alvarez wasted almost no time retreating behind his desk.

"Is he always this eager to get back to work?"

"Maybe he's busy looking at J. Jonah Jameson's photo spreads."

Li Jie and Wilson exchanged a grin and were about to escort the prisoners to the parking lot when they noticed three people strutting across the station lobby toward them.

Leading them was a short man with a hooked nose, a black umbrella in his hand and a slightly oversized gray suit wrapped around his frail frame. He wore a black bow tie, his fringe was damp, and his face was pale. He limped as he walked, like a tree leaning in the wind. His smile was warm, almost obsequious, but his eyes were sharp as ice picks as they darted over the group.

"Good afternoon, officers," the short man said, his voice brimming with warmth and courtesy. "I'm Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. Mr. Falcone learned that you would be taking these two gentlemen back to the East End and is very concerned about your safety on the road. He specifically instructed me to bring a few men to assist you with this... ah... important escort assignment. Heh."

He bowed slightly, his movements a little stiff, but Li Jie was even more nervous than he was. Even with his limited knowledge of comics, he knew this was the Penguin, the future emperor of the underworld. He might not look like much now, but once he put on weight, he would be something else.

"Uh... Mr. Cobblepot, please thank Mr. Falcone for his kindness. But transporting prisoners is the Gotham police's responsibility. We have established procedures."

He wasn't surprised that Falcone had sent someone to oversee things. The Roman's reputation was at stake, after all. But actually teaming up with gangsters to escort prisoners would leave them taking the blame down the line. Who knew when someone might dredge it up?

"Of course, of course, officer." Cobblepot's smile grew even warmer, sincerity written all over his face. "We fully respect police procedure. We're merely... ah... providing a little extra security to ensure that no regrettable 'accidents' occur along the way. We'll simply follow behind you and won't interfere with your duties in the slightest. I'll wait for you outside."

He waved and left the lobby with his two bodyguards, whose jackets bulged at the chest. Li Jie let out a breath and was about to call his partner over when he noticed Wilson standing frozen in place, looking dazed.

"Hey... hey!"

He raised his voice a little too much, drawing stares from all around. Only then did Wilson snap out of it. He gave Li Jie a long look, shook his head, and said, "Let's go!"

The two pushed the prisoners out of the lobby and found three Crown sedans lined up in the parking lot, each carrying several gunmen. Without a word, Wilson loaded the prisoners into the rear compartment and secured them to the fixed restraints. Then he climbed into the passenger seat, grabbed Li Jie by the collar, and snarled under his breath, "What the fuck is going on? Why are Falcone's men involved?"

"Because those four guys were sent by Fish Mooney to abduct Hargrove and blow up the Roman's vault. The Roman wants the witnesses back so he can clean house." Li Jie hooked a thumb toward the rear compartment. "Hey, relax. Bob said nobody can beat Falcone. Betting on this side should be safe enough."

"What the fuck? How did she dare? No wonder everyone says that bitch is crazy." Wilson's eyes widened, but he also let out a long breath. He released Li Jie's collar, then tugged it straight. "Don't take it personally, brother. Mention Falcone and I get a little nervous. I'll buy you a drink later."

"Don't get too careless, either. Fish might not give up that easily. You and Bob both said she's crazy." Li Jie turned to look outside. The three Crown sedans were ready to roll. "Otherwise, why would the Roman make such a big production of this?"

"Don't worry. My guess is he wants to bring that witness back and give Fish a supposedly open and fair trial in front of the family council. Those people in Europe love that routine." Wilson stretched against the seat back. "To be precise, that bitch isn't really crazy. She's spoiled. She always thinks she should get whatever she wants. But now she either surrenders or runs, or she's dead."

Reality seemed to bear out his expectations. The drive back to the East End Police Department was unexpectedly quiet. They led the way in the Chevrolet G20 cargo van, with Wilson in the passenger seat, keeping a wary eye on both sides of the road and the rearview mirror. Cobblepot's three Crown sedans followed at an unhurried pace a few dozen yards behind.

No vehicles suddenly lunged out, no cold glint of a sniper rifle, no roadblocks. There was only Gotham's murky afternoon sky, its rundown streets, and a scattering of numb-looking pedestrians. The drone of the engine and the sound of tires rolling over pavement repeated monotonously, making them drowsy. Gradually, the somewhat dilapidated East End Police Department building appeared at the far end of their view. Li Jie eased the van into the parking lot behind the station, and Cobblepot's convoy filed in after him.

Bob was already waiting, looking less than pleased. Several of his trusted officers stepped forward and escorted the prisoners out of the van. Leaning on his black umbrella, Cobblepot limped up to Bob with the same humble, ingratiating smile. "Chief McGinnis, thank you for having your officers deliver these two gentlemen safely. Now, please hand them over to me. Mr. Falcone is waiting for them."

Bob considered it for a moment with a cigar between his teeth, then waved for his men to release them. Prisoners disappearing from the East End Police Department was certainly embarrassing, but that had been part of the agreement with Central Headquarters. Besides, he had already made a fortune from this affair. A few reports to argue over were hardly worth quibbling about.

Terror plastered across their faces, the two prisoners were shoved toward the car door Cobblepot's men had opened. The Penguin stepped forward and whispered something into their ears with a smile. Their expressions shifted several times before finally settling down.

"Tsk. This guy really knows his stuff." Standing off to one side, Li Jie watched Cobblepot work, then nudged Wilson. "You were right. Fish Mooney didn't dare make a move. I thought a spoiled woman would be harder to deal with."

"What else did you expect? It's not like she isn't afraid of dying. If it were just the two of us, maybe. But attacking the Roman's convoy?" Wilson rubbed his hands together. "Brother, pour me some of your tea. I have to say, that was an easy few thousand bucks."

"Stop talking! Damn it, every time you open your mouth now, my heart starts pounding!"

Li Jie watched Cobblepot approach Bob farther away. They spoke quietly for a while, with Bob shaking his head repeatedly. Cobblepot's smile never changed, but he bent even lower, took out his phone, dialed a number, and offered it to him. Bob accepted it with respectful nods and bows. After saying a few words, he hung up, glanced around, and walked toward Li Jie.

"We're screwed!"

Wilson gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"Cobblepot represents the Roman. Only three things could make Bob refuse the Roman: his life, his money, or taking the blame. Falcone probably doesn't want to kill him or take his money, so the old fat bastard's about to make us the scapegoats." Li Jie drew a deep breath as Bob approached with open arms and an enthusiastic smile.

"Boys, you did a wonderful job. I want to express my..."

"Don't hug me. Your clothes are covered in cigar ash. If there's nothing else, we're going back to the office."

"Ah... ha-ha, no problems. Everything's fine." He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "The Roman wants us to send someone to escort them to the family estate on the Upper West Side."

"Are you fucking insane?" Li Jie's mouth twitched as he narrowed his eyes and looked Bob up and down. "Openly providing protection for gangsters? If you want to get yourself killed and make headlines, be my guest. Leave me out of it."

"Hey, it's not that serious. I've worked it all out. I'll assign you a patrol route, and you follow behind them. Each side goes its own way, no connection between you. Your van doesn't have the Gotham Police Department insignia on it anyway." Bob pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away sweat that wasn't there. "Damn it, that penguin-looking kid actually put me directly on the phone with Falcone... sir. Honestly, I didn't have the guts to refuse."

"Fuck! So we're cannon fodder scouting the road for them?" Wilson came over too. "You agreed to it. Go yourself!"

"Hey, you can't do this." The cold wind had turned Bob's face a pallid blue-white as he looked up at them. "We agreed on a price."

"That was the price for bringing them back from Central Headquarters. We've finished the job." Wilson sneered. "And you haven't even paid us yet!"

"I'll pay. I'll pay."

Bob muttered almost neurotically to himself, forcefully blew out a smoke ring, then turned to Li Jie. "Jay, if this goes wrong, we could all be finished. Think about Turner. I don't want to die quietly in some alley like he did. I imagine you don't want that either, do you? Huh?"

"You're right." Li Jie nodded. "But this job carries too much risk for too little reward, so..." He lowered his head and stared hard at Bob.

"You'll have to pay more!"

Bob's face instantly went from pale to soy-sauce brown. Li Jie was almost afraid his blood pressure would blast through the top of his skull and shoot all the way up to the third floor.

"Dream on, kid! We already agreed on a price. You bunch of deal-breaking bastar... what? You don't want cash?"

Bob's cursing cut off abruptly. His eyes shifted as he gave Li Jie a suspicious look.

"Then what do you want?"

"A promotion, the authority to form an independent squad or temporary team of four to six people, permission to submit separate requisitions for weapons and equipment, and... a few other things I haven't thought of yet." Li Jie counted them off on his fingers. "And you won't lose out, either. Whenever there's something to be gained down the road, you'll get your share."

"None of that should be much of a problem. Your promotions to Police Officer II have already been approved. Making Detective won't be difficult either. The precinct can arrange an assessment next month. But Police Lieutenant... you haven't been here long enough. You need at least a year on the job." Bob considered it, smoke streaming from his nostrils. "The rest is negotiable... wait, you're not planning to cause some major disaster, are you?"

"Think about how much you walked away with at the negotiating table. If you want more next time, we need more leverage." Li Jie leaned in and lowered his voice beside Bob's ear again. "If Falcone thinks we're worthless, he won't offer much to thank us or win us over."

"Bastard. Why do I always think you make sense?" Bob nodded. "All right, we'll do it. Once you come back, we'll..."

"Let's discuss that if I make it back alive." Li Jie quickly cut Bob off before he could jinx him. "Right now, I need to talk to Cobblepot."