"If you do, I will kill you. Don't think I won't find a way." Edward didn't make idle threats and if it wasn't for Jim's ridiculous luck, he would have had him by now. He paused and considered what Jim had just said before frowning. "Trash girl?" Ah. See. That one was easy, the kid did not listen at all. "She went to find her friend. I met her in the vents. She really has a listening problem, just didn't seem to care what I was saying. She's probably in the basement."
"No, she never listens." That was a well-known problem. Jim sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Then I'll go to the basement. Probably have to anyway. Now let me out of here, Ed. You're wasting both our time and Hugo Strange is hard to predict. Who knows how much time we have left?" He needed Harvey at his back and he needed to somehow save them all. As usual.
"I know where the phone so just ... go left, down the hallway, go down a floor and I'm in the third room on the right." And, just in case his backfires, Edward armed himself swiftly with some sharp objects he'd stolen before lazily stretching out and poking Lucius and Bruce with his foot curiously. They should wake up soon. Or here's hoping.
He didn't feel like dragging bodies or babysitting his victims. He needed that window for escape.
Jim wasted no time. He was out the door immediately and he rushed down the hallway and the stairs, counted until three and finally opened the door to the room Edward was in, his eyes settling on Bruce and Lucius. "What have you done to them?"
They looked as if they were still alive, at least. Jim grabbed Edward by the arm, not even violently. He just didn't have time for games. "Show me where the phone is."
"They'll be fine, it was knock out gas. At most, another five. If that." He didn't give in so easily to demands, not even when Jim was grabbing onto him arm like some common brute. He wasn't aggressive as Edward was expecting but he was still waiting for that penny to drop. "The phone is in the corner booth over there." There room had a little corner for electrical maintenance and, as is common, an emergency phone.
"Tell Harvey I said hi." Edward grinning a mocking grin and, because it was bugging him, decided to add. "And you still owe me an answer to that last riddle."
Jim dragged Edward along and immediately started dialling, hoping that Harvey would just pick up his phone. He had no idea what else to do. Call the station, he supposed? He just needed someone and he had to stop wasting time, he had to go and do something. "I don't remember your riddle right now, Ed," Jim muttered, "Now is not the time for riddles."
Here he was, in Arkham, stuck with the freak that tried to ruin his life.
"You mean you don't know it and you're pretending to be too busy. Like when you stalled me out earlier. Appealing to my better nature? Adorable." Like he had one. This was not a grand gesture of change, this was a hope of escaping this literal hell hole. Which was admittedly off to a rough start. Was Jim ever going to let go of him? He gave the other a huff look but remained standing there, watching him wait for someone in that craphole to pick up.
Eventually Harvey did. He seemed pretty confused. "... Jim? How? I-- what?"
"Ah. As smart as ever, I see." Edward muttered beside Jim, clearly not impressed.
"Oh, shut up, Ed." That alone was probably confusing enough, so Jim focused on explaining things to Harvey, who really sounded a little out of his element right now. "I'm in Arkham, Strange lost it on us. He set Ed on me and Lucius and the boy and I'm going to find him. There is stuff going on in the basement. Bad stuff."
That should explain things concisely. "I need you here, I need back-up. Big time."
"Okay, partner." Well. This was weird. The weirdest phone call he ever got. Especially since he got it while Jim was standing in front of him. He knew it! He knew Jim was off. "Try not to get killed by the freakshow. We're on our way, just be careful. Don't do anything stupid."
"Ha." Well. That was meant as a joke, right? This was Jim Gordon. Mister act first and ask questions later. "Too late for that."
"I'll head to the basement." If he could figure out how to get there. "See you, partner." Jim had no idea what was up in the GCPD, but he was sure Harvey would fill him in later. He ended the call just in time to arc his eyes at Edward.
"Dealt with you pretty well." So much for stupid. He put his free hand into his pocket, retrieved a pair of handcuffs and had it closed around Edward's wrist within moments. A second later and he had the man cuffed to the radiator, well out of range of anybody and everybody.
"It's for your own good, Ed. I don't want you getting yourself into deeper trouble."
"Hey, you--you lied. You--" With his free hand, he pulled out his stole scalpel and swiftly stabbed Jim in the leg with it. It didn't go as deep as he wanted it to, it probably wasn't going to hurt enough and this asshole deserved to hurt. Like this was going to keep him trapped here, he could pick this lock in his sleep.
Hopefully. Maybe. Fuck. "I hope that hurt! I was exactly right about you. You lying little snake in the grass."
For his own good? Yeah, right. "Good luck getting into the basement without me."
"I won't forget that you cooperated, Ed. That doesn't mean I'm just going to let you walk out of Arkham." And that that was on Edward's mind wasn't exactly difficult to guess. Jim knelt down next to Lucius and tried to shake him awake with one hand on his shoulder, hoping that Bruce would just sleep through all the danger and stay safe, for once in his life.
"I'm not telling you. Why would I tell you anything? You don't share information with traitors." He couldn't wait to have another crack at Jim. God, he let him out of his death trap for nothing. Sure, he'd be in the same sort of situation either way but at least Jim would be dead right now. "You can't just use me. I'm not Mr Penguin, I'm not that easy." Cheap shot, he did like Oswald but... it was true.
Lucius stirred a little and raised a hand to sluggishly rub at his eyes. What the hell?
"You will help me get down to the basement. You don't have to be easy, you just have to want to stay alive." Maybe a threat or maybe simply connected to what would happen should Jim not manage to stop Hugo Strange in time, he'd leave it up to Edward to decide. For now he focused on Lucius, holding a hand out to steady him.
"You've been knocked out." Courtesy of Ed Nygma. "Bruce is all right, he's still unconscious. Lucius, we need to get down to the basement. Do you know how to get there?"
"I do not." Admittedly, he was just waking up and all, he might have been able to make an educated guess or two but without blueprints, some time and a little investigating, it was hard to be certain. He eyed a sulking Edward and then looked at Jim, blinking through the haze. "Not to my knowledge, at least."
"I do." Edward smirked, feeling that telltale swell of pride from knowing a secret. Having knowledge others didn't have. "And you'll never guess it. Not in a million years."
Huh. Jim looked at Lucius for a moment and then just turned to look at Ed, smiling suddenly. "I'd love to guess it though. How about a hint?"
He had one genius on his side, waking up, another genius who couldn't help playing by certain rules cuffed to the radiator. That had to be an easy enough case to crack. "How do I get down to the basement, Ed?"
"That's -- that's--" Exploiting his inability to want to give a hint in the form of a riddle? Yeah, very much so. "If you want me you’ll have to share me but if you share me I will be gone. What am I?"
"A secret but we already established that." Lucius didn't even seem to take a second to think about the riddle. It was just another kind of language for him.
"You can see me, but you cannot touch me. With the flick of a switch, I enter your home. With another, I leave you alone." Damn. He couldn't help it. How did he know? He was both angry and thrilled... and a little turned on.
"Electricity. Electric? It's for the lift, isn't it? To go down to the basement." So they were looking for a manual control panel. He relied that information to Jim before turning away to inspect Bruce. "I'm unsure if I could locate it, of course."
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He didn't feel like dragging bodies or babysitting his victims. He needed that window for escape.
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They looked as if they were still alive, at least. Jim grabbed Edward by the arm, not even violently. He just didn't have time for games. "Show me where the phone is."
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"Tell Harvey I said hi." Edward grinning a mocking grin and, because it was bugging him, decided to add. "And you still owe me an answer to that last riddle."
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Here he was, in Arkham, stuck with the freak that tried to ruin his life.
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Eventually Harvey did. He seemed pretty confused. "... Jim? How? I-- what?"
"Ah. As smart as ever, I see." Edward muttered beside Jim, clearly not impressed.
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That should explain things concisely. "I need you here, I need back-up. Big time."
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"Ha." Well. That was meant as a joke, right? This was Jim Gordon. Mister act first and ask questions later. "Too late for that."
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"Dealt with you pretty well." So much for stupid. He put his free hand into his pocket, retrieved a pair of handcuffs and had it closed around Edward's wrist within moments. A second later and he had the man cuffed to the radiator, well out of range of anybody and everybody.
"It's for your own good, Ed. I don't want you getting yourself into deeper trouble."
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Hopefully. Maybe. Fuck. "I hope that hurt! I was exactly right about you. You lying little snake in the grass."
For his own good? Yeah, right. "Good luck getting into the basement without me."
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"Why? How do I get into the basement?"
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Lucius stirred a little and raised a hand to sluggishly rub at his eyes. What the hell?
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"You've been knocked out." Courtesy of Ed Nygma. "Bruce is all right, he's still unconscious. Lucius, we need to get down to the basement. Do you know how to get there?"
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"I do." Edward smirked, feeling that telltale swell of pride from knowing a secret. Having knowledge others didn't have. "And you'll never guess it. Not in a million years."
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He had one genius on his side, waking up, another genius who couldn't help playing by certain rules cuffed to the radiator. That had to be an easy enough case to crack. "How do I get down to the basement, Ed?"
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"A secret but we already established that." Lucius didn't even seem to take a second to think about the riddle. It was just another kind of language for him.
"You can see me, but you cannot touch me. With the flick of a switch, I enter your home. With another, I leave you alone." Damn. He couldn't help it. How did he know? He was both angry and thrilled... and a little turned on.
"Electricity. Electric? It's for the lift, isn't it? To go down to the basement." So they were looking for a manual control panel. He relied that information to Jim before turning away to inspect Bruce. "I'm unsure if I could locate it, of course."