"The Electrocutioner"! Cute. No pressure," Harvey looked at the morning newspaper, where the black and white photo contained two of their fellow officers and the electrode man. "Don't worry, we'll get him," Jim said, still focused on his papers. "And we've got seventeen hours to do so," Harvey reminded. "I love the name. It's catchy and has drama. The Electro-cutioner," Ed bounced on the balls of his feet like an excited schoolboy. "Speaking of which, given the general mode of attack, may I suggest you both wear your department-issue galoshes while you're out in the field?" He reached to the table behind him and held two sets of black rubber boots.

"Galoshes?" Harvey raised a brow. "In the event of electrical misadventure, your footwear should be insulated," Ed explained. "No, Mom! I'm not going to wear my rubbers on the case!" Harvey sighed. Jim shook his head, remembering how much of a complainer Harvey was. He held his hands out to Ed, telling him to give him a pair of the boots. And with a tiny smile, Ed handed him a set. "Seriously?" Jim just shrugged and sat back at his desk.

"All right, so what do we know?" Jim questioned as Ed walked away. "Gruber wasn't too happy with Irwin. Maybe they were partners in crime, Irwin turned on him, and Gruber took the fall," But before either men could add more info to their case, someone cleared their throat behind Jim and spoke his name. And when he turned around, he saw it was Lee. "Dr. Thompkins?" Jim asked, standing up. "My friends call me Lee," she clarified. "Congratulations, you got your job back," "Or not, depending. It's good to see you," Jim smiled.

"I know you're caught up with the escape. That's why I'm here," Lee reached into her bag and pulled out a weird-looking doll. Jim inquired if everything was okay, mentioning it must've been chaos at the asylum. "We're getting by just fine, thanks for asking," Lee assured. Having heard the entire conversation, Harvey cleared his throat, grabbing their attention. "Oh, right, this is my partner, Harvey Bullock," Jim introduced. "Hola," Harvey waved. "Detective Bullock," Lee smiled in acknowledgment.

Harvey took notice of the creepy doll she was holding and asked her who her little friend was. Looking down at her hand, Lee remembered why she was there in the first place. "One of the women in my wing is a pagan sorceress. She's very popular. The inmates make dolls to look like people that they want to curse. And then they give it to the sorceress to curse them. In exchange for extra soda and candy," She explained. "I curse you all the time, and you never give me candy," Harvey squinted at Jim.

"I asked her if Gruber had ever given her a doll to curse, and she said yes. This is the doll. His name is Mr. M," Lee handed Jim the doll. "You owe me for a double six-pack of root beer," Jim examined the doll further, his mind trying to picture the person the doll looked like as he repeated the name Mr. M under his breath. "Who does this look like to you?" Jim turned to Harvey, holding up the doll. 

Slowly, both sets of eyes widened as they realized who their next target was. A certain rival mafia boss. Quicker than bunnies, the detectives drove out to Maroni's territory to warn him about the potential threat, and just as they reached the halfway point, they got a call that there had been an attack on Maroni's restaurant. And when they pulled up to the curb, they found the mafia boss sitting outside the ambulance wrapped in a blanket with soot, and cuts all over his face and suit. "I don't know what happened. It was like a silent bomb," Maroni spoke as the detectives asked him what happened.

"You know who did this, right?" Jim asked. "Who?" Maroni returned the question, looking Jim straight in the eyes. "A few years ago, Jack Buchinsky and partners unknown knocked over four banks. Killed six people. Buchinsky went down for life, and his partners were never caught. You're one of those partners," Jim speculated. "What guy was this? Bu... Uh... Who?" Maroni tried to keep a straight face and tried to act like he had no idea what Jim was talking about. While the mafia boss didn't want to admit it out loud, he knew he was failing miserably.

"While he's out there looking to hurt you, he doesn't care who else he hurts. Women, kids," Jim leaned in closer, a hand steadily resting against the back of the ambulance. "Hey, that's not my fault!" Maroni scoffed. "Help me do the right thing here, Don Maroni," Jim pleaded. "Let me place you in protective custody," "Protective custody?" Maroni repeated and laughed. "Bait, you mean," But Jim held firm, stating that if he and Harvey caught their guy, Maroni would get rid of a dangerous nuisance, and they both would come out ahead. 

Maroni again opened his mouth, but their conversation was quickly interrupted by the groans and gasps coming from inside the ambulance. Lying on the stretcher was none other than Oswald Cobblepot. "Excuse me! Hello?! I-I must be going! Very urgent business! W... wi... wi... with Falcone!" Oswald stuttered. He was also bloodied up, but he was also shaking like a leaf before lying back on the stretcher. Maroni into the vehicle, slowly shaking his head and holding back his anger.

And while Jim wasn't buddy-buddy with Oswald, there was no way he was going to sit back and let Maroni beat the living daylights out of him, or worse. After more convincing, Don Maroni finally gave in to being placed in protective custody. As Harvey and Jim took him back to the precinct, all eyes were on them when they spotted the mafia boss. Some of them even shuddered as he walked past them. "Alright, make yourself at home," Jim said, pulling up an empty chair before he and his partner returned to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cab came to a stop on the gravel road. And she reached into her purse to pay the driver, Barbara stepped out with her suitcase and walked up the concrete path. With Montoya gone and Barbara continuing to avoid her inevitable return to the city, there was only one place left for her to go. With a shuddering breath, she rang the doorbell and not long after, a darkly skinned man opened the door and asked what she was doing there. "I'm Barbara, Barbara Kean," She responded. "My parents, they live here,"

The man nodded and let her inside, and Barbara walked into the sitting room, where her parents were having their usual afternoon tea. Mrs. Kean looked up from her cup, her sharp gaze immediately locking with her daughters. "Barbara, darling. Don't just stand there, come sit," She gestured to the sofa across from her. Barbara leaned her belongings against the wall and made herself a cup, silence again filling the room. The only thing that could break it was the faint classical music from another room in the mansion. 

"It's very nice to see you, Barbara. Isn't it, Everett?" Mrs. Kean turned to her husband. "Y... Yes, very nice," Mr. Kean nodded, holding his saucer as he took a sip from his teacup. "It's nice to see you too," Barbara half smiled. "You've been well, I hope?" Mrs. Kean inquired. "Yes, and you?" Her mother set down her tea, saying that they were splendid. It wasn't until the sunlight peered into the hallway that Mrs. Kean saw the pile of her daughter's things. "Are you staying the night?" She asked.

"If that's all right. In fact, I thought I could stay a few days. If that's..." Barbara trailed off, contemplating if she made the right choice by coming here again. Even though her parents 'cared' about Holly and wanted only the finest for her, they never seemed to show the genuine love and affection Holly and Barbara deserved. "Oh, I see. Yes, of course," Mrs. Kean nodded. "I'm sure you're going to be frightfully bored. But stay until the weekend, by all means," 

Barbara hid the immense relief when she heard those words with a slightly wider smile as she thanked them. "How's that young man of yours? James the policeman? All well, I hope?" Mrs. Kean raised a brow. "Yes, he's well, thank you," Barbara spoke. "And what about Holly? Is she still working on her little paintings?" Barbara nodded, briefly explaining some of her daughter's recent work without going into too many details, remembering her parents were quick to criticize everything with an extensive explanation. "Yes, she's still an artist,"

"We're very happy. Very happy,"

~~~~~~~~~

Not long after Don Maroni and his bodyguards arrived at the precinct, he made himself at home as he propped his feet up on an empty desk, joking around with some of the cops and his men. "You guys are, like, hungry for this. What do you guys do here for excitement?" He chortled. "Remember that joke about the, uh, what is it? The two cops and the undertaker that go on a fishing boat," Maroni's booming voice filled every inch of the precinct, and it quickly reached where Jim and Harvey were standing as they looked out from the balcony.

"When you use a tethered goat as bait, shouldn't the goat be out in the jungle and not in the house?" Harvey squinted. "This house is the best-defended spot in Gotham," Jim answered. "Buchinsky is crazy... and arrogant and resourceful. Wherever Maroni is, he'll come after him. He'll enjoy the challenge," Harvey didn't admit it out loud, but Jim was right. Buchinsky would stop at nothing to eliminate his target, and where there's smoke, there's fire. The second The Electrocutioner stepped foot into the precinct, and before he could even lay a hand on Maroni, they'd be waiting for him.

As the wait for the Electrocutioner turned from one hour to five hours of endless waiting, everyone continued their business as usual, with a few easily distracted cops still listening to Don Maroni's conversations. Suddenly, a loud hum filled the air, and everyone looked up to see electrical currents traveling across the big metal beams holding the precinct together. Not long after, the lights flickered on and off, and sparks of light fell to the ground. The second anybody in the GCPD touched metal, a zap of electricity coursed through their bodies, and they fell to the ground. The voltage may not have been enough to kill some of them, but it did knock them into unconsciousness.

Realizing what was happening, Jim got as far away from his desk as he could and hid as the precinct was engulfed in darkness. Buchinsky was here. Two heavy sets of footsteps entered the precinct, and just as Jim expected, the Electrocutioner and his puppet walked over the bodies of his comrades, shining a flashlight as they searched for the mafia boss. "Ah. There's the one. Under that funny-looking fellow there," Buchinsky pointed out to Aaron. "Take him to the truck,"

Buchinsky studied the bodies around him, and his look of devilish joy dissipated into one of disappointment. "The bodies aren't cooked, just stunned," Buchinsky sighed. "I expected more... "oomph!" Jim quietly stepped out of his hiding spot, aiming his gun behind Buchinsky's head. "You want "oomph", Jack?" Jim cocked his weapon as Buchinsky turned around. "Ah, Officer Gordon," Buchinsky looked down at Jim's insulated boots. "Nice shoes,"

"Detective Gordon," Jim corrected him, shifting his gaze between Buchinsky and Aaron. "Hands up, both of you," But neither of the men did so. "Uh, you might wanna drop that," Before Jim could have a chance to react, Buchinsky twisted a knob on his electrical box, and a bolt of electricity shot out of it, pulling Jim's gun away until the detective couldn't hold onto it any longer. With this distraction, Jim was unprepared to fight back when Aaron grabbed him behind and threw him onto a desk like a ragdoll. As Jim was about to get up and fight back, Aaron picked him up and slammed Jim down again.

"Why fight me, Gordon?" Buchinsky crowed. "Who here deserves your protection? Any of them?" Jim kicked Aaron in the face, and with another two blows, Aaron finally let the detective go as he brought his hands to face, grunting at the pain of his bloodied and fractured nose. "All of them!" Jim locked eyes with Buchinsky. The glasses-wearing sociopath scoffed at his response. "Even Maroni?! Please! Just let me kill this false friend and get on with my life. All this fight and for what?"

Jim was still panting with exhaustion, vowing he was putting Jack back into Arkham. "That's closer to the mark, now isn't it, Jim? You need to win, don't you? You pretend to care about the law, but in your heart, it's all primitive ego. And you lust for blood and power. You just hate to lose," Buchinsky stepped closer, pressing another button on the electrical box. "You know what? You're right," Jim nodded while he slyly reached behind him, and threw a cup of water on the electrical box. On immediate contact, the electrical box short-circuited, and Buchinsky looked down and desperately tried pressing the buttons. But nothing worked.

"I do hate to lose," Jim finished. Surprisingly, when Buchinsky realized his electrical game was over, he didn't try to run or protest his innocence, but instead, he held out his wrists with a sickening grin as Jim cuffed him, ready to be taken back to the asylum.

~~~~~~~~~~

Flashing lights from the press and camera crews filled the precinct the next morning as Captain Essen, Commissioner Loeb, Jim, and Harvey posed with the cuffed Buchinsky and Aaron for the front page. Reluctantly following through with their deal, Commissioner Loeb reached into his blazer pocket and handed Jim his badge back. "Congratulations, young man. A new day," Loeb said with a fake smile as the newspaper continued taking their pictures.

As Loeb held his hand out to Jim, the detective leaned in close and whispered. "Next man that tries to take away my shield, one way or another, I'm gonna make him eat it,"  The Commissioner's eyes widened at Jim's response, and he quietly shuttered as he asked Jim to repeat himself. But rather than do so, Jim shook the Commissioner's hand for another photo. "New day, Commissioner," Jim smiled. Eventually, the camera crews filed out of the building, and Harvey sat on top of a desk, trying his best to hold back his developing grin.

"I hope you have some nasty pictures of him because I bet what you said was very, very rude," Harvey smirked. "I'm done being careful," Jim stated. "You think you've been careful so far?" his partner questioned. "Men like Commissioner Loeb are never gonna trust me," Jim explained, but Harvey repeated his previous question. "So why play nice?" Jim spoke. "You think you've been careful so far?" Harvey asked again. Jim rested a hand on his shoulder, assuring Harvey he knew what he was doing. "Let's go grab a beer," Jim offered.

Harvey's brows peaked with interest and surprise. "Now you're messing with my mind.  I need something stronger than a beer," He said. With a tiny smile and their shifts about to end, they figured it couldn't hurt to have a celebratory drink or two.

A/n: Hey everyone. I just want to apologize for the lack of updating POD for the past three weeks. I recently started a job that has me working wonky hours on random days, so my writing schedule's been thrown out of balance. While I'm gonna continue posting chapters into the new year and beyond, the days I update will vary depending on my work schedule. But I didn't want to leave you all hanging, so I decided to squeeze in the rest of episode 12 into this chapter.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate it, and I hope your winter holidays are going well! I'll see you all in the next chapter!

With love,

Dusk Marie 🦇💖