A Clever Fascination

Chapter 5 - Bitter Rain

Explaining to Gordon that 'there was no bomb' was proving to be difficult on Kit's end. He really wasn't happy with how she handled the situation and he was right. She'd not only gone against his orders but she had broken protocol completely. Still, she wasn't backing down, even if she had to lie through her teeth.

"It was a bomb threat, Valentine! What part of that doesn't seem important to you?" Jim was currently reprimanding her in the middle of the rainy street. Outside of the library and in full view of everyone watching. "I told you to call me when you left the interrogation room. You were given the location and you disobeyed my orders-"

"Jim, you said yourself you thought Zsasz was lying. And he was, I just had to prove it. There is nothing here, check the building!" Kit shrugged, shivering slightly in the rain.

"You were out of line, kid. Do you even realise that you could've died today?"

She wouldn't have died. It was the officers and staff of the GCPD would have died, had she not shown up in time and played The Riddler's game. But Jim couldn't know that. Since he was testing her, this felt personal. Less to do with her job and more to do with her mind. Maybe that's why she felt she could hide this.

"No, I wouldn't have. You were right and so was I, he lied. There isn't a bomb in the library-" Technically that was all the truth but he still cut her off.

"But what if there was! Christ Kit, you're young and I don't wanna see you on the slab, alright? You're too smart to be pulling stunts like that." He looks exasperated, his glasses covered in raindrops.

Kit felt bad for worrying Gordon but she had no regrets, knowing what she did. Kit was safe from the bomb the second she left the station. If she hadn't figured out where to go and done what she did, the precinct could have been a pile of rubble by now. The fact it was all a test for her specifically, meant that she wanted to keep it from Jim as much as possible.

"Someone has to be first on scene." That was true. Plus, had things not turned out the way they had, the bomb might've gone off.

"Not the rookie." He shook his head.

"I'm not a rookie anymore, Jim! It's months since I've been considered a rookie, so stop it. I'm a detective. And hell, I'm a better officer than half of the bent cops you have on that squad!" Kit emphasised the reason Gordon trusted her so much; she was legit.

"You-"

"I did what you would've done in the situation."

Had he been in her position, he would have done the same thing. Jim had made plenty of reckless decisions in his time. But she'd barely had her badge a year, he was blinded by worry for her doing something that would get her killed.

"Valentine, I'm putting you on leave for a week. When you come back to work we'll discuss this again. Don't make it any worse for yourself," Jim expected an argument. He expected her to tell him he was wrong and fight his decision or try and making him see things differently. But Kit didn't start an argument. She just stared at Gordon with a black expression on her face. Mentally she was kicking up a storm but her exterior showed no signs of a commotion.

She didn't reply.

"Hm." She hummed in quiet judgement.

Of course, Gordon didn't know about the real bomb. If he did, he would trace it back to Nygma, finding out Edward's interest in the woman and then she was in trouble. He couldn't know. Even if she'd saved all their asses, the sentiment remained. She ran into the situation believing there was a bomb.

"Valentine."

"Yes?" Her eyes showed slight recognition at hearing her name.

"My decision is final, alright?"