Chapter 283 - My CO Stash #83 - The One-Seven by lildrummerboi (PercyJacksonXDCU) (2/2)

”Great, were they just in here? We can probably track 'em down.”

Rushman shook her head, ”No, they're older students. Juniors. They'll be in the upperclassmen wing. They have Mr. Richards right now I believe.”

Percy's confusion showed on his features as he frowned, ”I thought St. Cloud was a sophomore?” Rushman nodded at him, ”Then what the hell was she doing hanging out with juniors. I don't know about the two of you, but when I was in high school, trying to speak to upperclassmen was a one-way ticket to being shoved in a locker.”

Rushman looked Percy's enormous frame, up and down, quirking a brow, ”There is no way you were ever shoved in a locker,” she deadpanned, and Montoya snorted in agreement. ”But normally, you'd be right. However, Silver was…m_a_t_u_r_e for her age. Had a difficult time connecting with her peers. When she first joined us, it was affecting her studies. I made an arrangement with Miss's Gordon and Kane, they started tutoring her, soon enough the three of them were inseparable.” She was interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing. ”That's the lunch bell, they should be in the cafeteria.” Rushman said, Montoya looked over at her partner,

”I'll stay here, talk with Miss Rushman, why don't you go pay the girls a visit?” Percy shrugged but nodded his head,

”Take a left out of the door, pass the next hall and it will be the first set of double doors on the right.” Rushman supplied helpfully. Percy nodded his thanks and left out the class door. Rushman turned an amused smirk at Montoya, ”He has no idea that Barbara is the Commissioner's daughter, does he?”

Montoya smirked back at the woman, pulling out a pen and her legal pad, ”Nope,”

BREAK

It was only after Percy had entered the cafeteria that he realized that he'd never actually asked what the two girl's he was supposed to be interviewing looked like. Catching the eye of worker behind the counter of a food trolley, he strode over. Flashing his badge, he asked, ”GCPD, looking for Barbara Gordon and Bette Kane, any idea where I can find them?” he asked. The man behind the counter just gave him an odd look before pointing at a table near the back of the room. Sitting at the table were three girls, A pair of blondes and a redhead.

Thanking the man, who gave him the strangest expression of pity Percy had ever seen, he made his way towards the lunch table. ”Excuse me ladies,” Percy said as he approached the table. All three girls turned to look at the new man, ”I'm looking for Bette Kane and Barbara Gordon,”

”Who's asking?” asked one of the blondes, Vietnamese by the looks of her, her muscles tensing as though ready to either knife him or run away from him at the drop of a hat. Percy quirked a brow at her, those types of reactions were more common among street kids, not exactly Percy expected to see from some yuppies in an elite prep school.

”GCPD,” he said easily, ”Do you mind if we go somewhere else, I'd like to have a word with the two of you.” he said,

”Badge and i.d. please,” said the redhead, and Percy chuckled as he reached into his pocket to produce the requested identification,

”Smart girl,” he said flashing his identification,

”Thanks,” the redhead said, as she snatched the badge and i.d. out of his hand and looked over both of them carefully, ”My dad always taught me to be thorough. After all,” she looked up at him over the badge, ”It's not paranoia if they're really out to get ya,”

Percy chuckled, ”Sounds like a smart man, your pops. He a cop?” he asked, and Barbara smirked at him,

”Something like that, tell me though, are you new to the force, detective…” she stopped to look at his name one more time, ”Jackson?” she asked, as she handed him back his badge and i.d.

Percy nodded, ”Transferred in from Metropolis, today is my first day, well,” he amended, ”I guess technically last night was. Why?”

”No reason, just curious is all,” she said, far too innocently to be believable. Percy just nodded suspiciously. ”Now, to answer your question; I'm Barbara,” she pointed to herself, ”That's Bette,” she pointed next to her to a curly haired blonde with a classical European beauty to her who waved, ”And that is Artemis,” she said, point at the Vietnamese girl. She just glared harder at Percy. Definitely did not have a good relationship with cops, Percy thought to himself as he looked away from the angry girl. ”What can we help you with detective,” Barbara asked calmly,

”Do you mind if we talk somewhere else?” he asked, but the redhead just looked hard at him. Whoever had raised this girl was bringing up a hardass, he thought.

Percy sigh and gestured to the open seat by Artemis, and Barbara looked at her friend who nodded reluctantly, flashing a winning smile at the pair of them, Percy sat down on the empty bench. He pulled out a pen and his pad, before looking around the table, ”Is it alright with all of you if I write some notes down as we talk?” he asked. The girls all shrugged and Percy took that as consent enough for him.

”How long have the two of you been tutoring Silver St. Cloud?”

Bette and Barbara shared confused and concerned looks, ”Since the beginning of the last year, why? Is something wrong, did something happen?”

Percy sighed, he hated this part of the job but it was important to be honest with them, putting his pen and pad down he looked between the two girls, ”Yeah,” he softly, his tone taking on the gentle ”victim” tone, that Roger had used to roast him over, ”There was an incident last night.” he continued, ”I regret to inform you that, Miss St. Cloud was murdered, somewhere between one and two o'clock this morning,” he said. He had found that blunt honesty and directness was always the best course. Even with kids; kids could handle a lot more than anyone ever gave them credit for.

Bette gasped, a hand going to her mouth in muted horror. ”Oh my god,” said Barbara, ”Are you serious,”

Percy nodded solemnly, ”I'm very sorry for your loss, and ordinarily and I'd want nothing more than to let you grieve peacefully, however, the clock is ticking and we have a lot of questions unanswered, so please I need your help here ladies,” he said.

Barbara swallowed thickly, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes but she nodded resolutely, and Percy had to admire the young girl's ability to keep herself composed, ”We met her last year. Miss Rushman said that she needed help, that she was having difficulties adjusting to school here. Her family had just moved back to Gotham and she didn't have any friends.” Barbara nodded sadly, ”Our tutoring sessions usually just led to us hanging out for a few hours; talking, watching movies, just being together you know?”

Percy nodded, writing down some notes in his notepad, ”So would you say you knew her well?” he asked,

Barbara frowned in thought, ”Well enough to know that she'd been acting a little strange lately,”

That got Percy's attention, it had been where his questioning had been going, ”Strange in what way,”

”S-she um, she missed our last meeting,” Bette said, stumbling over her words slightly as she tried to fight through tears. Barbara reached next to her and grabbed her friend's hand reassuringly,

”And that wasn't a normal occurrence then?” Percy asked,

”No,” said Barbara, shaking her head, ”We usually met three times a week, it's been that way since we met; and she never once called or texted to cancel a meeting, until this week…” she said, trailing off.

Percy nodded, ”Alright, did she tell you why she had to cancel?”

Bette shook her head, ”No,” she sniffled, ”She just said that there were urgent family matters that she had to deal with and wouldn't be able to meet at all this week,”

”She didn't specify at all what those problems were?” Percy asked, continuing to write as he did so, and Bette shook her head,

Barbara frowned as she thought back on the last week, ”She did seem a little more nervous this week,” she said,

”Nervous how?” Percy asked,

”I don't know,” the redhead said, ”She was…shifty. Always looking around, constantly tense, as though she was worried she was going to get jumped at any-” she stopped talking, shaking slightly as the reality of what she said came through. Percy allowed her a few moments to collect herself before asking prompting her,

”Ok, so she seemed jumpy, scared?” he probed,

Barbara nodded, ”She would normally hang around school for a bit after class, you know study in the library or go to the gym, but for the past week she would get immediately picked up and she would go straight back to the penthouse. We tried to ask her what was wrong but she just kept telling us that she was stressed because of something going on with her parents,”

”Did she ever specify what was going on with them?” Percy asked,

”No,” said Barbara, ”Just that they were pushing her to take on a more active role in the family business. We were surprised when she didn't go with them to Brussels.”

Percy nodded, scribbling down a few more notes, ”Ok, this penthouse, have either of you ever been there?”

”Yeah,” Bette nodded, ”It was on Wealthy, 271 Wealthy. Down in Robbinsville,” she said, ”We used to study there together…” and then the poor girl broke down crying again. Leaning into Barbara's shoulder.

”Is there anything else you can think of?” Percy asked gently, ”Anything, even the most irrelevant detail could prove vitally important.”

Barbara thought for a second, still holding Bette's shoulder, ”I did notice that her driver was different this week,” she said,

”Driver?” Percy asked,

”Yeah, her family has someone drop them off from their penthouse every morning,”

Percy was nodding, ”Ok, and prior to this past week, she had the same driver, every single day?” Barbara nodded,

”Do you know his name by chance?” he asked, and the pair of girls shook their heads. Sighing Percy circled some notes on his pad before. Looking up, Percy caught sight of his detective and a woman he hadn't met walk into the cafeteria, looking back at the girls Percy closed his notebook and put it away in his suit pocket. Reaching into his pants he withdrew a couple of business cards, leftover from his time in Metropolis. Scratching out the ”Metropolis Police Department” at the top of the card, he flipped them over and wrote a name and number on the back.

Handing the cards to Barbara he said, ”That is my personal cell. You think of anything else and you give me a call, day or night. Even if you just need to talk to someone, use it, my line is always open for you ok?” and Barbara nodded, tucking the cards into the jacket pocket of her uniform. ”On the back is the number for a grief counselor, her name is Sharon MacMillian. Tell her Percy recommended you and she'll help you out with anything else you might need ok?” Seeing the pair nod, Percy stood up, ”I'm very sorry for your loss ladies. But I promise you, we're going to get the person who did this, and they will see justice.”

With one last sorrowful look at the mourning teenagers, Percy stepped away from the table, and passed by the woman who had come in with Montoya. The woman gently grabbed both girls by the shoulder, and after a few whispered words, escorted the pair out of the cafeteria.

”Who's that?” he asked as he approached his partner,

”School shrink” she said, ”Came rushing into the classroom as I was interviewing Rushman. By the way, you have no idea who it was you were talking to, do you?” She asked, an excited shit-eating grin on her face.

Percy quirked an eyebrow, ”No…” he said slowly, turning to look back in time to see Miss Gordon turn back and stare at him as she was ushered out of the cafeteria, ”Should I have?” he asked,

”Nah,” said Montoya, waving it off but maintaining her smarmy grin.

”Ok…” Percy drawled before shaking it off and asking, ”Get anything out of the teacher?”

”Said that St. Cloud had been jumpy as hell all week. Was fidgety, could hardly concentrate in class, said that was nothing like how she normally acted. But that was pretty much it. She didn't have much for me besides what we already knew. How about you, get anything form the girls?”

Percy nodded, ”Told me the same thing, that she had been nervous all week, like she was scared about something. The girls told me that she had been taking a more active role in the family business, but couldn't tell me what that meant. They also gave me the address for the Penthouse the family was staying at. And get this, prior to this week, the girl always had the same driver to and from school. Then all of a sudden, there was a new guy driving her around.”

”Sounds like we need to visit the penthouse, and maybe see if we can track down this missing driver,”

”I was thinking the same thing,” Percy smirked, and Montoya threw her keys at him, ”You drive, I'll make some calls, see if the driver was individually hired or worked for a chauffeur company.”

Chapter 3

”Are you absolutely sure about that? No, no that's fine. Do you have his address on file? Perfect, yes I'm ready for it. Uh-huh, ok, wonderful thank so much for you help I really appreciate it.” Montoya ended the call and looked at Percy he pulled the cruiser up to the stop light,

”That was Ganteer's Chauffeur services, the ones the St. Cloud's had on retainer, apparently, one John Dorsett hasn't called in sick once this week. And the company swears up and down that Mr. Dorsett has been the personal driver for Silver St. Cloud since the St. Cloud's moved to Gotham.”

Percy looked over briefly, then readjusted and took off down the road when the light turned green, ”Sounds like we need to pay Mr. Dorsett a little visit. You get an address?”

”Yup, got a townhouse in the village, we'll head over after the penthouse.” Percy just hummed in agreement.

Pulling into a parking space across from the town house the two detectives crossed the street and passed over into the Robbinsville High Rise. Crossing through the ostentatious lobby to the help desk, a pretty young woman with dark raven hair and deep almond skin greeted them in a false cheer, ”Welcome to Robbinsville, looking to check in?”

The detectives showed their identification, and the smile dropped from the receptionist's face, ”You're here for the St. Cloud residence?” she asked,

”Yes ma'am,” Percy nodded,

”It hasn't been cleaned yet correct?”

The woman shook her head, ”The service doesn't usually make it up to the penthouse before noon, but when we got your call I went ahead and cancelled the cleaning for today,”

Percy beamed at her and the woman smiled shyly at him, ”That's awesome, thank you very much.” The woman just brushed off the praise, her cheeks darkening slightly. Percy missed the way Montoya rolled her eyes but Percy was oblivious to it all.

”Anything I can do to help out the…brave members of our GCPD.” She said, not even looking at Montoya,

Clearing her throat, Montoya tried to bring the woman's attention to her, but she was a little too distracted by her partner. Percy meanwhile, did turn to look at his partner, who just ignored him, ”Can we get someone to let us into the room? Please?” She added, almost as an afterthought. The woman shook free from her daydreaming and nodded emphatically, ”of course detective, one moment.” Then she disappeared into a room behind the counter.

Percy turned and shot his partner a look, she glowered back at him, ”What?” he asked,

”This going to be a thing with you?” she asked crossing her arms and looking at him, ”Cause I gotta deal with it enough from those dipshits at the precinct, so if I have to deal with you flirting with everything with two legs and a pair of t_i_t_s, I'd just like to know in advance.”

Percy's expression darkened considerably, his brow furrowed and the lines of his face curved downward, ”I don't know what the f_u_c_k you think just happened but it didn't. I don't make it a habit of trying to score on the job. I've got a bit more personal pride than that. And I'd thank you, for not lumping me in with those jackasses Cavallo and Wise.” Leaning up against the counter, he crossed his arms, his suit jacket creasing slightly with the movement,

”Look Montoya, I know we haven't known each other very long yet, but I'd like to think that I presented myself a bit more professionally than what you're accusing me of.”

Montoya just sighed, and looked away. He was right and she knew it, ”You're right,” she admitted, ”I'm sorry. It's just, being the only female detective in the squad…” she trailed off, and Percy raised his hands in the air,

”No, no, believe me I get it. You got more to prove than anyone and I respect that. Stuck in the boys club that is the GCPD,” He chuckled likely under his breath, ”You remind me of Lois actually, always trying to prove herself when she had already proven that she was the best.” He looked off fondly into the distance, but before Montoya could respond the door opened and the receptionist came walking back.

As he was turning around, Percy winked and whispered, ”And besides, I wasn't the one staring at her a_s_s as she walked away.” And with a smirk Percy turned away from the furiously blushing, and thoroughly mortified detective.

Montoya tuned out the rest of the conversation between Percy and the receptionist, her mind instead choosing to latch onto a little nugget of information Percy had dropped during the conversation. As they were being escorted by a member of maintenance to the room, her brain had reset enough for her to ask, ”Wait when you said Lois, you didn't mean Lois Lane did you?”

Percy just looked down at her, an amused expression on his face, ”Well yeah. Know any other hot-headed reporters who get into too much trouble for their own good?” he asked,

Montoya's mouth worked soundlessly, as she tried to catch up with the flow of the conversation. ”You cannot possibly be suggesting that slept with Lois Lane?” she blurted out before her brain could stop her mouth,

”Woah!” Percy exclaimed, ”Don't go putting words in my mouth Montoya, I just compared you to her is all.”

”But you do know her?” she pressed as the stepped into the elevator,

Percy shrugged, ”Yeah.” he said simply, like the fact that he was on a first-name basis with a Pulitzer winner was no big deal, ”I worked Major Crimes in Metropolis, she worked all the big stories for The Planet. Chances were, if I was called to a scene then she would be there shortly thereafter. She interviewed me a few times; even went out for drinks with her and Jimmy, her camera guy, a few times. Pretty sure they were just trying to grill me for case notes, but still.”

”I literally cannot believe what I'm hearing right now,” Montoya muttered,

She was spared from having to think anymore as they arrived at the penthouse suite. The elevator opened up into a short hallway with a single door. The maintenance worker inserted a master key card into the lock and the door unlocked, pushing the door open slightly, Percy immediately reached into his shoulder holster and withdrew his pistol.

It looked as though a tornado had flown through the room. Tables, chairs, and the sofa were upended, cushions were strewn across the floor, and drawers were open, their contents thrown carelessly onto the ground. Montoya pushed into the room, first, her weapon drawn as well, and Percy followed behind her, gently shoving the hotel worker out of the way as he did so.

Montoya veered to the right, heading towards the kitchen area and Percy moved left, sweeping to clear the bedrooms. He stepped carefully, doing his best to preserve the scene as he could. Percy knew they weren't likely to find anyone still in the room, but it was better to safe than sorry in an instance like this. Moving into the first bedroom, he cleared his flank first, checking behind the door before doing another visual sweep, but coming up short.

”First bedroom clear,” he said loudly,

”Kitchen clear,” was the response

Moving out of the room, Percy cleared into the second bedroom, a quick perimeter sweep cleared it as well. He re-holstered his weapon and convened with Montoya in the living room. ”This couldn't have happened too long ago.” Percy said as he approached,

”Agreed,” said Montoya, ”I'd wager my salary that this happened just after the murder.”

”Place this fancy has to have camera's, right?” Percy said,

”If not in the halls, then there's definitely some outside,” Montoya agreed,

”You just know, place like this, the manager is going to demand a warrant,” Percy added, sweeping an arm around the room for emphasis,

”Shouldn't be a problem, we've got an in, in the District Attorney's office,” Montoya said, nonchalantly,

Percy just shot her a skeptical look, ”I'm not exactly up to speed on the political landscape of Gotham yet, who do we got in the DA's office?”

Montoya just smirked as she headed towards the stairs, ”The DA himself. Harvey Dent.”

BREAK

Sure enough, the high rise's manager had demanded a warrant before he allowed Percy and Montoya to go searching through the video records of the previous night. Montoya said that it would be a sure thing and wasn't worth worrying about. Apparently, the DA was a real hardass, a cop's DA, willing to the extra mile if it meant getting a bad guy off the street. Montoya said that they'd likely have their warrant by the following morning.

The left the high rise as the forensics teams were moving in, it was likely that whatever was pulled out of the penthouse wouldn't aid in the search for their killer, but Percy was willing to be that the forensics team would be able to find something to pin the bastard to the room when Percy and Montoya found him.

So they left the high rise and were pulling up along the curb just outside the townhouse rented by John Dorsett. They had barely made it out of the car before they were accosted by an older woman and a large golden retriever,

”Excuse me, are you with health department?” she asked,

”Not exactly,” said Percy, as he reached into his shirt to flash his badge, ”GCPD, why, what's going on?”

”Oh, even better,” the woman said, before pointing a gnarled finger at the townhouse, ”I don't know what he's been doing in there, but that Dorsett is stinking up the entire neighborhood.” she said bitterly, ”Every morning I wake up and try to take Frederick out for his morning walk, but that place stinks so badly that he doesn't even want to leave the house!” the dog chose that moment to w_h_i_n_e, as if in agreement with his owner's agitation.

”What kind of a smell?” Montoya asked,

”Like something's rotting in there, like an animal or something!”

Percy and Montoya shared a worried glance, ”Don't worry ma'am, we'll take care of it.” he said and before the woman could respond, he and Montoya took off across the street. They were barely on the steps before the smell hit them, ”Holy shit,” Percy said, one hand immediately reaching down to pull his undershirt over his mouth and nose while the other reached into his holster and drew his gun for the second time that day.

”I really hate that friggin smell,” Montoya agreed, ”But I'm pretty damn sure that qualifies as probable cause for a search,” she said, her voice muffled by her own shirt. Percy grunted in agreement, before leaning back, and kicking the door in. He was a little overzealous and damn near knocked the door off its hinges, and it slammed loudly into the wall in the entrance way.

Ignoring it for the time being, Percy took point, shouting, ”GCPD, Mister Dorsett, are you in here?” There was no response. So they trekked deeper into the home. Walking passed the stairs leading to the second floor, the pair moved into the kitchen, but nothing was amiss. It looked as though it hadn't been used in some time, but apart from that, there was nothing overly suspicious. The same could be said about the living room. Turning around, Percy led point back down, Percy moved slowly and deliberately down the hall and up the stairs. The smell on the second floor was almost unbearable.

Powering through it by holding his breath, Percy approached the door to the master bedroom. It was slightly ajar, and he could hear a buzzing sound from beneath the boards of the door. Glancing at his partner, who nodded at him, Percy pushed the door open and nearly gagged on the spot, as the smell of rank and rot, permeated his sinuses.

The room was remarkably untouched. The bed was made, the television was off, and nothing was out of place. Save for the dead body on the floor. The body with three bullet holes in it, two in the back, and one in the back of the head.

Small caliber.

A second victim.

BREAK

They had to pull the forensics unit from the penthouse and bring them over to the townhouse, leaving only patrol units back over at the penthouse. Percy and Montoya had spent the better half of the afternoon conducting interviews with the members of the community, but nobody could recall seeing or hearing anything suspicious in the last week from the Dorsett house. That was, until Montoya interviewed Stanley Winters.

Montoya learned that at roughly one in the morning last week, Winter's had been coming home from an overseas trip to London. His plane had landed late and had just been pulling into the driveway when he saw the car. He had thought it was suspicious, everyone in the village knew of everyone else's business, being so close together and all, and he thought it odd that Dorsett would be taking his company car out so late.

But he had been too tired from the travel to think anything of it. A quick look into the parking garage was enough to confirm the story; John Dorsett's car was missing. While Montoya was going over a search report with a few patrol officers, Percy put in a call for an APB on the large, black, utility vehicle. He also called the chauffeur company, in the hopes that they had a LoJack installed.

Unfortunately for the detectives, Ganteer's Chauffeuring required employees to supply their own vehicles and Dorsett did not have a LoJack installed. Knowing there would be little else for them to do until the forensics lab came back with something for them, and with it being nearly four o'clock in the afternoon, Percy and Montoya left the scene in the hopes of getting some of their paper work finished.

Percy had watched a lot of Law and Order as a kid. It had been exciting and fun and gross, all things that growing young boys loved in their television. Unfortunately, as Percy found out after graduating the academy, his favorite show as a child had not prepared him for the amount of paperwork required and the number of reports that needed to be written up. After literally anything he did, Percy needed to fill out a detailed report, explaining exactly what happened, who was there, what was done and by whom.

He understood why, detailed case files and reports ensured that policy was followed properly and it ensured to the government that Percy was actually doing what he was being payed to do. It was boring as hell though and he hated it. It didn't help that he usually got distracted halfway through and lost interest. He had a prescription to help but he hated taking the medicine, it dulled his senses far too much for him to like, and for someone like Percy, dulled senses usually led to death. Either by the person he was investigating or something…else.

Unfortunately for Percy, or fortunately depending on the perspective, he didn't even get a chance to start the looming mountain of paperwork he needed to get done. The second he and Montoya stepped into the bullpen, the door to the lieutenant's office was swing open. ”Jackson,” roared lieutenant Davis Winston, a man in his early forties, with thinning gray hair and wrinkles. ”Get in here, now!”

”The hell did I do?” Percy muttered as he changed his direction from his desk to the precinct commander's office.

Montoya shrugged, ”I have no idea,” she murmured back, as she watched the lieutenant warily. Winston was on the long list of commanding personnel in the GCPD who were suspected of being on the take. Winston and his family had long historic ties to the Falcone crime family, and while Winston himself seemingly had no record with the mob, Commissioner Gordon had him marked as a suspect. Not that Percy knew that. Nor did he know that damn near half the precinct was currently being investigated by Internal Affairs for supposedly being on the Falcone payroll.

Moving into the office, lieutenant Winston glaring at him the whole way, the door was slammed behind him. However, Percy and Winston were not alone in the office. Facing the lieutenant's desk was an older man, with deep brown hair and bushy mustache. His hands were in his pockets, pushing back the folds of the tan trench-coat across his shoulders, as he read an open file on the desk.

”Detective Jackson-” the lieutenant was cut off by the man at the desk,

”Give us the room, lieutenant,” said the man,

”Sir?” he asked confused, but the man just stared at him. Gulping, he just nodded reluctantly and left the room, leaving Percy alone with the unknown.

For a moment, the stranger just stared at Percy, his gray eyes gauging Percy behind his thick rimmed glasses. After an uncomfortable amount of time passed, with seemingly neither party willing to give in to the little power play they were having, apparently the bespectacled man had enough.

”Do you know who I am?” he asked, his voice was gruff, and authoritative.

”No sir, I do not.” Percy replied,

”Commissioner James Gordon,” He said, by way of introduction, and Percy balked at that. He supposed that he should have known or at least recognized the man who was ultimately his boss, however Percy had been in a bit of a daze during his transfer, and having never met the man, had never actually done any research into his new commanding officer. It had been a mistake on Percy's part, but he had been grieving and more than a little lost. Desperate to get out of the bad situation in Metropolis and had just jumped at the opportunity presented to him by Commissioner Corporon without a second thought.

”P_l_e_a_s_u_r_e to meet you sir,” Percy said, extending a hand out to the Commissioner, but the man just continued to stare at him.

”You know why I'm here, son?” Gordon asked,

Retracting his hand Percy shook his head, ”Um, no sir, no I do not.”

The man nodded, as though that was what he was suspecting, ”I figured as much,” he said, ”This morning, you interviewed a pair of students at Gotham Academy?” he asked, though Percy felt it was more of a statement,

”Yes sir,” he nodded, ”A miss Bette Kane and Barbara…Gordon…Oh shit,”

The commissioner had the nerve to smirk at him, ”Eloquently put detective,” he said, before he leaned forward over the desk, resting his hands on the mahogany top, ”Imagine my surprise when, just a few hours ago, I get a phone call from my daughter's school. They tell me that not only has one of my daughter's friends been murdered, but that a pair of detectives, MY detectives,” he stressed, ”Had been interviewing not only members of the staff, not just students, but my own daughter.”

His eyes narrowed into slits, ”Mind explaining to me why the hell you were interrogating my daughter?” he growled.

Now Percy had been chewed out before, especially during his time in the service and even worse so when he was in the Legion. He was a bit of a smartass so it came with the territory. So, this was not the first time he had been faced with a supremely pissed off C.O. That being said, given the individuals, divine and otherwise, that Percy had managed to piss off over the years, he just could not bring himself to be all that intimidated by the Commissioner's glare. And so, he projected that front in his own posture, he remained relaxed, and calm.

After all, he hadn't done anything incorrectly, and the girl wasn't a suspect, she had freely volunteered to answer his questions. Hell, because it wasn't a formal interview, he wasn't even required to ensure she had legal supervision. So, Percy knew that he had no done anything wrong, and that this was the effort of a man concerned for the well-being and safety of his daughter. Percy could respect that, even if it was annoying as all hell.

With that in mind, he straightened his back and turned on what his boys in the teams called his, ”leader-face,” which was essentially just an icy cold glare. He wasn't one to be intimidated, even by his own boss. ”With all due respect sir, it was not an interrogation. During the course of our investigation, we were led to believe that the victim attended Gotham Academy. We followed the process which led me to the two best-friends known to our victim. I simply did what we are trained to do, I inquired about the relationship they had to our victim. I also attempted to determine if they had any knowledge which could have proven useful to our investigation. It was not an interrogation. Neither Miss Gordon or Miss Kane are suspects. If you have a problem with how I handled things than please, let's not beat around the bush and play pretend.”

Gordon just stared at him for a minute, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. Finally, his scowl turned into a smirk, and he began to chuckle. A deep, rumbling sound, like the motor of a vintage car. ”You got spunk kid. Better yet, you're not easily intimidated, that's good, lord knows we need more of that around here.” he said, stepping out from behind his desk to approach Percy.

This time, he was the one to initiate the handshake, to which Percy did accept. ”Sorry for the third-degree son, but where my little girl is concerned, I tend to lose my judgement. Just wanted to make sure she was telling the truth about you,” he said, releasing Percy's firm grip.

”Sir?” Percy asked,

”I called her, just after I got off with the school. She had nothing but good things to say about the, quote: ”cute, new detective,” told me he was nothing but professional, courteous, and sympathetic. That he even gave her and Miss Kane his personal number to call for help, and the number of a VERY well accredited grief counselor in Metropolis.” he added, with an eyebrow raise, as though asking a question.

”I helped her with a missing person's case when I was still on the beat,” Percy answered the unasked question.

Gordon nodded, ”However, I need you to understand something here,” he said, the stern look coming back over his hard features, ”The St. Clouds are a very influential family, almost as active in the community as Wayne is. That their kid was murdered in an alleyway is going to be big news. I've been on and off the phone with the mayor all damn day about this.” he grumbled, shoving his hands back into his pockets, ”This case is taking a priority until it's solved, you and Montoya are not to take on any new cases until you have this thing wrapped up in a pretty pink ribbon for us.”

Percy nodded, though he wasn't exactly happy about it. Not to disparage the dead, but it seemed wrong for him and Montoya to ignore any other potential cases to work this one, just because the girl's family was politically powerful. It wasn't something he hadn't had to deal with before, but it still couldn't stop Percy from hating the situation. Money made things move, and in a town like Gotham, that was doubly true.

Gordon clearly saw Percy's grimace and sighed in understanding, ”Look son, I get it, believe me I do. Wasn't that long ago that I was in your shoes. I don't like this any more than you do but you know how these things go and to Mayor Hill, reputation is everything.” He looked down for a second before meeting Percy's eyes again, ”So I need to know where you are so far with the case,”

Percy nodded, before he proceeded to fill the commissioner in on what had been happening so far with the investigation, when he was done with his oral report Gordon was silent. ”Alright, I'll check with the forensics lab, in person, and put a press on them to get your case to the front of the line. You should have what you need in the morning. I'll also give Dent a call, see if he can help expedite a warrant on the hotel, that shouldn't be a problem but a little pressure on the right judge will go a long way towards making all of this happen a little faster. In the meantime, I want you and Renee to focus on finding that car, and figuring out who the hell was driving that little girl around for the last week.”

Percy nodded, ”I'll check back in with the chauffeur company, see if they had any kind of records on where they were going on a daily basis, and I'll see if anyone at the hotel saw anything.”

Gordon nodded appreciatively, ”Do that, any luck on getting in touch with the parents?”

Percy shook his head, ”Not yet, I was going to try again, with the time change, it should be about mid-day over there and hopefully I might be able to get ahold of one of them. I left about seven messages this morning.”

Gordon hummed in thought, ”You let them know it was about their daughter?”

Percy nodded, ”Yessir, at this point it feels like they're deliberately dodging my calls.”

Gordon quirked a brow, ”Think they had something to do with it?” he asked,

Percy shrugged, ”I try not to apply motive or speculation to something until I have all of the facts.”

Gordon grunted in agreement, ”Good man, you start applying theories to the crime and you begin to try warping and twisting the narrative to fit your theory.” Gordon was quiet for a few seconds before he nodded at the door, ”All right detective, that'll be everything for now. But I want updates on all of this, progress reports once a day until we find the son of a bitch that did this.”

Percy nodded in agreement, ”All right Jackson, you're dismissed, and send Renee in after ya, I need to have a word with her too.”

”P_l_e_a_s_u_r_e to meet you sir,” Percy said as he opened the door to the office and stepped back out into the bullpen. He caught sight of the lieutenant, staring at him from his place perched against Cavallo's cubicle, but Percy ignored him. Walking back over to his own station, he sat down, tapping his partner on the shoulder,

”You still employed?” Montoya asked, not looking up from her work,

Percy just glared jokingly at her, ”Yes, I am.” he said, ”Thanks for the heads up about Gordon's kid by the way, good looking out.” she just looked up and smirked at him. Percy rolled his eye before jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the office, ”Your turn,” he said, and Montoya looked at him confused, before glancing around Percy at the office.

”What about?” she asked warily and Percy shrugged, ”Not sure, probably just wants to talk over the case with you.”

She just shot him a look before getting up from her station and making her way to the office, not willing to not have the last comment, Percy said back to her, ”Or maybe he wants to grill you over your lack of partner loyalty.” He grinned cheekily when she flipped him off in response. Taking his sport coat off, he flung it over the back of chair and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up, pulling the stack of paperwork closer to him.

It was going to be a long night.