Who is this guy? And how does he know Dad? Holly wondered as her mother invited the strange man into the apartment. Holly noticed his limp as he walked but kept her gaze focused on his face as he thanked Barbara for letting him in. "I'm Peter. Peter... Humboldt. Lovely to meet you at last," He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Peter," Barbara replied. Peter looked over in Holly's direction, walking over to the sofa. "And who might you be, little miss?" He inquired. "I'm Holly," she introduced herself, shaking his hand as he held it out. "Pleasure to meet you," Peter smiled.

"Holly and I never get to meet any of Jim's friends, cause he never tells us anything," Barbara chuckled, as did Peter. "Mm. Men," He shrugged. "Don't I know. Would you like a drink?" But before Barbara could take a step towards the kitchen, Jim entered the conversation, leaving Holly to sit and watch. "No, he's a work friend. It's a work thing," He insisted. Holly could smell the tension in the room as "Peter" stuttered, explaining how he just got back to Gotham and had an idea to talk about with Jim. But as he turned to look at Jim, the subtle but evident message of "You need to leave," was clear.

"I'll walk you out," Jim said, placing a firm hand on Peter's shoulder as they walked out, the door closing behind them. "Wasn't he a nice guy?" Barbara questioned, breaking the awkward silence. "Eh... I guess so," Holly responded, both unaware of what was happening below them outside.

~~~~~~~~~

"I told you never to come back here!" Jim growled, grabbing Oswald by his shirt and pushing him against the concrete pillar. "I know. I know. I-I apologize. But I-I just wanted to speak with you!" Oswald stammered. Jim looked around every once in a while, hearing the sounds of police sirens wailing off in the distance. To Jim, it felt like at any moment Falcone would appear out of the shadows and discover the truth. "No! If Falcone finds out you're alive, he'll kill us both!" Jim warned.

Still under Jim's tight grip, Oswald's eyes started welling up with tears of fear. Despite Jim's warning to never return, he couldn't bear to be away from the city he had lived in his entire life. Gotham was Oswald's home, and it always would be. "I should've killed you. I should put a bullet in your head right now!" Jim's knuckles popping under the pressure of his balled fists and anger. "But you won't, Jim Gordon," Oswald spoke with confidence. "Because you're a good man. You may very well be the last good man in Gotham, and that's why I want to help you!"

"I don't want your help," Jim shook his head. "No, no, but you need it! That vile creature Fish Mooney, Don Falcone, the police... not even your own partner trusts you. They will always hide the truth from you! But not me. Never," Oswald insisted. "You saved my life!" Jim let go of Oswald and started to walk away, cursing to himself and wishing he hadn't. Out of the corner of his eye, Oswald saw an empty bottle lying in the street and grabbed it. "Kill me now or trust me!" Oswald shook the bottle in Jim's direction. Without warning, Jim smacked the bottle of his hand, shattering it on the concrete below them. As he turned to walk away again, Oswald still kept talking.

"I told you there's a war coming, Jim. There will be so many deaths," Oswald limped over to him, grabbing the rolled-up sleeve of his shirt. "So many. Do you want to save Gotham? I can help you! I can be your secret agent!" "Yeah, until Falcone finds out you're alive," Jim scoffed. "Nobody looks for a dead man. That's the best part," Oswald contradicted. Gordon looked around again and stepped closer, asking Cobblepot what he meant by the supposed war. "Why will there be a war?" He questioned. "Well, as you know, war is just politics by other means. And isn't politics just money talking?" Oswald hinted.

"Talking about what?" Jim inquired. Cobblepot chuckled at Jim's naivety before whispering the answer into his ear. "Arkham, of course." Just then, the sounds of women whooping and hollering down the street caught Jim's attention. And with this distraction, Oswald disappeared before Jim could question him further. Now, he was left with about a dozen questions but no answers. What did Arkham have to do with this incoming war? And why would it play such a significant role?

~~~~~~~~~

That next morning at the GCPD, Harvey didn't seem to mind that his partner was late. And the fact that nobody was supposed to assign them a new case that day made it easy for Harvey to enjoy this brief moment of peace. He took a sip from his steaming cup of coffee and flipped to the next page of the newspaper as he propped his feet up on the desk. It didn't take long for Harvey to become engrossed with the latest articles, and he didn't notice Captain Essen approaching his desk, despite her calling out to him. She pushed his feet off the desk, finally pulling him out of his focused state.

"Hey, I'm working!" Harvey insisted. "Caught a double homicide. You're up," Essen spoke bluntly. "No way! Alvarez hasn't done a case all week. It's his turn!" Harvey reminded, which made the nearby Alvarez look up from his desk. "Well, Alvarez put in double overtime last week," The Captain clarified just as Jim approached his desk, his mind still swirling from Oswald's late-night visit. "Captain," Jim acknowledged her before taking his seat. 

"Councilman Ron Jenkins and his aide were found dead in a parking structure this morning. Still waiting on the M.E.'s report, but their wallets and jewelry were missing," Essen spoke as she handed them both the file. "A councilman? Maybe it's a political hit," Jim speculated. "Nah, no one hits councilmen. It's cheaper to bribe 'em. You kill 'em, and another bum with his hand out just takes his place," Harvey detailed. "Sniff around city hall if you want. Smart money says this was just wrong place, wrong time," Essen suggested before leaving the two men to their work.

Harvey groaned as he placed his hat on his head. But unlike their previous cases, he had an idea where he and Jim could start investigating. And it didn't take long for them to bring a potential suspect in for questioning. And with both detectives reprising their roles as good cop and bad cop, Harvey leaned across the interrogation table, a hint of venom in his voice. "Come on, Nicky, don't be modest. You're the crown prince of parking lot muggers. No one's got a bigger rep,"

"I'm on sabbatical. I didn't kill no one!" Nicky protested his innocence. "Then why'd you have a shank in your backpack?" Jim asked as Harvey held the weapon up for Nicky to see. "Protection," Nicky answered honestly, but Harvey wasn't buying it. "Councilman Jenkins was murdered. We know it was you!" Harvey hissed, holding the knife close to Nicky's cheek and making him shiver. "We've got witnesses!" "I swear to God, I didn't do it!" Nicky vowed. As the realization this was their suspect crossed Jim's mind, he walked out of the room as Harvey called for him to come back.

But as Jim returned to his desk, he was greeted with a large box marked as evidence. Confused as to why it was there, he walked over to the balcony and called out to Alvarez. "What's this?" Jim asked him. "Evidence from your crime scene. A couple of unis just dropped it off," Alvarez explained. As Jim dug through the box, briefly scanning the files and books inside, there was one piece that caught his eye. It was a pamphlet, the title reading in bold letters, Arkham District Development Proposal.

"Arkham,"

~~~~~~~~~

As the day turned into night, Jim once again visited Wayne Manor. But rather than talk to Bruce, Jim hoped to speak with Alfred privately. "I need information about the Wayne plan for Arkham," Jim requested. "Well, it's the Wayne... plan in name only now. When the Wayne's died, Falcone stepped in. He's backing the plan now. And he stands to make quite a chunk of change if it passes," Alfred said as he finished polishing some nearby glasses.

"But Councilman Jenkins was backing Falcone's plan," Jim mentioned. "That's right," Alfred nodded. "Then he was killed because..." Jim trailed off, hoping Alfred would fill in the blank.  "Because, Detective, there is an opposing plan," Alfred added. If anybody were to be opposed to Falcone's plan, it was none other than Don Maroni himself. Anytime one mafia boss wanted something, the other would do their best to take and claim it from their rival. "Maroni's making a play at Arkham!" Jim realized.

"Are they related?" Bruce asked from the doorway of the library. "Bruce, how are you?" Jim asked as the youngster sat across from Jim while Alfred grabbed the plans Bruce's parents had made before their deaths. "A new Arkham Asylum will serve the mentally ill of Gotham in ways the present asylum never can. Those poor, sick souls deserve our help." My mother wrote that," Bruce looked up from the paper. "She and my father fought for years to get a new asylum built. They thought that if they could help the city's least fortunate, it would show there was hope for everyone. I just don't want my parents' dream to die with them,"

"I understand that, Bruce. But this isn't just about the asylum," Jim explained. "If there is a fight between Falcone and Maroni, this could be the spark that ignites a citywide gang war. Innocents will die, and whatever little faith people have that the police can protect them... it will be crushed," "So you have to stop it," Bruce spoke. A look of discomfort spread on Alfred's face as Jim leaned back in his seat, taking Bruce's words in. He was right, he had to stop it. He had to do whatever it took.

Suddenly, Jim's phone started buzzing, and he reached into his pocket and answered it. "Hey Jim, it's me. We got a call. Councilmen Zeller has been abducted," Harvey spoke on the other end. "Listen, Gordon, Zeller's one of Maroni's guys," Though Jim did his best to push it away, he could feel his stomach form into knots. If something were to happen to either of Falcone's or Maroni's men, it could be the spark of the dreaded violence.

But much to Jim's dismay, this was only the beginning.

Hours later, the whereabouts of where Zeller was taken had been traced back to the old asylum, but unfortunately for the GCPD, another councilman had been killed. But unlike Jenkins and his aid, Zeller had been burned to death inside a metal container. The only thing that remained of the man was charred remains, scraps of his clothes stuck to his burnt flesh. "Two councilmen dead in as many days. This can't be a coincidence. You were right, Jim. Politics have to be driving this," Essen commented as two medical examiners worked to free the corpse from his chains.

"I never said he was wrong. I just wanted him to be," Harvey commented, which made Jim roll his eyes. "All right, genius, any other insights?" Jim nodded at his partner's question, bringing up the Arkham vote. "How do you know?" Harvey questioned. "Arkham is more than just a land deal; it's a war between Falcone and Maroni. These councilmen were on opposite sides of that war," Jim explained. "So, who crossed who first?" Bullock queried. 

"The way I see it, Maroni struck first. He had Jenkins killed to change the vote his way. Then Falcone retaliated and had Zeller killed to change the vote back. Burning the body was Falcone's way of sending a message," Jim described. Captain Essen sighed, saying she'd send out guards to all the remaining councilmen and the mayor until the situation was sorted out. Harvey's suspicions arose at his partner's sudden knowledge of everything going on between the mafia bosses and the Arkham project, but just as he was about to question Jim, Ed was eager to speak with them. Most likely to ask them a random riddle regarding the case.

"I have a paradox for you!" Ed grinned at the detectives. "What is it?" Harvey asked, secretly dreading having to answer another of his complicated riddles. "Well, a paradox, Detective, is when you have..." But Harvey cut Ed off. "I know what a paradox is, smartass. What is it?" He sighed. 

Ed flipped through the papers attached to his clipboard, reading the medical examiner's report on the double homicide. "These are the medical examiner's reports on the murders of Councilman Jenkins and his aide. Both victims sustained fatal puncture wounds to the skull via the eye socket. The weapon was some kind of metal spike," He explained, showing just a few of the autopsy photos. A mix of graphic and disturbing but also fascinating. At least to Ed. 

"So? What about the weapon?" Harvey ushered for him to go on. "Councilman Zeller also has wounds from a metal spike. It's an extremely unlikely coincidence, don't you think?" Ed asked. "So you're saying Zeller, Jenkins, and the aide were killed by the same person?" Harvey inquired. "It would appear so, wouldn't it?" Ed quickly nodded. Jim couldn't believe he was hearing. How could someone work both sides of Falcone and Maroni without either of them finding out who was responsible?

"This is nuts," Jim commented. Harvey chuckled with sarcasm, reminding him that things like this only happen in Gotham. "Come on, we're going to see a friend of mine," Harvey gestured.