October 07, 2015:
Babs gets a disturbing phone call
Gotham
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
The phone rings. Not the Bat phone. Not the secure lines. Not the Birds lines. The phone for Barbara Gorden. Which is odd really. Sure the redhead has friends but most of the people who might call her, other than business contacts, don't do so on that line. Still, it's ringing. And oddly… it's at night. It might be tempting to let it go to voicemail but the number coming back? It seems to be registered to Jake Auir. Which is not someone she knows. Or… is it?
Babs does maintain a legitimate business front - IT Security Consultant - and whilst it's unusual for the phone to ring, it's not unheard of. Of course, as soon as the number is registered, Oracles systems kick into gear and begin searching. By the time the redhead answers it, there's details displaying - known aliases, the location of the call (which is then displayed on her screens). Can we say 'paranoid much'?
"Good afternoon, Babs Gordon, IT Security Consultant. How may I help you today?" the redhead greets the caller as she takes in the details provided to her.
"Hellooooooooo Babs…" The sound of muffled struggling as if someone is gagged goes through her headset. The voice on the other end is unmistakeable. "You know, we haven't gotten much of a chance to catch up since I left Gotham. And you haven't written. Not a single card. Or even a text. You kids do that right? So I thought I might, you know… call and shoot the breeze." The sound of a gun cocking is also unmistakeable.
The traces are still running, but the redhead doesn't need the first bit of information that flashes up on her screen to confirm the identity of her caller. Paling, drawing in a deep breath, shaking slightly at the sound of the cocking gun, Babs responds "I've left you a couple of calling cards." she smirks a little, regaining her confidence ever so slowly "In the form of a low fat bat substitute."
"That's you eh? She's fun. Not easy to break." Beat. "I like a challenge." If anyone other than the Bats are up to handling Joker, though, it's May. "So, how's you, how's the family? How's Daddy dearest? Talked to him in a while. I do hope you're not the kind to break your father's heart. Have you been arguing? I'd hate for the last thing you say to him to have been in anger. You never know when the end will come, after all."
It takes Babs a few seconds to process The Jokers words and her fingers literally fly across her console… where is her father … and if anyone thought the redhead didn't keep tabs on him, they'd all be very sadly mistaken.
Can she find him? No where near where this call originated, preferably. Thank goodness, The Joker doesn't know her secrets.
"We speak regularly" Babs answers the question and then allows her voice to shake, it's not really hard to do after all "What do you mean?" She has to keep him talking to find him and work out if he might really be holding someone.
This is usually the time her father drives home. It's the one time in his day that she has trouble tracking him simply because Gotham's infrastructure is so awful thatthere isn't perfect camera coverage along the usual routes. So it… could be okay that she can't get eyes right on him. Or… it's possible the Joker ambushed and snatched him. The call does seem to be originating from a cell tower near South Hook. Or what's left of South Hook…
"Oh good. So everything's going well between you then." There's the sound of someone being painfully moved and then a thud and a cry of pain.
"So… what would you tell him, you know, if it were your last time talking to him?"
South Hook, the only place that Oracles 'eyes' are slightly impaired. Where on earth is the low fat bat substitute at the moment … Babs draws a deep breath in and waits to see if she can find her father… got to keep The Joker talking, regardless.
Knowing what she knows about The Joker, her green eyes glint … cold emerald as the calculating begins … "I would tell him that I loved him. That he was the world to me." She isn't lying either… but the words are calculated. "I would tell him how proud of him I was and how proud I am to be his daughter." Can she lay this on any thicker? Well… maybe.
As she talks, alarms are sent out to her network… can someone get to Sandy Hook, quickly? Even a trusted member of Gotham PD, would do.
Quickly, perhaps, but if the Joker has her father how much time does she have. There's the sound of the Joker's phone being put on speaker phone. Someone who certainly sounds like her father grunts, but is equally apparently gagged. "That's real touching Babs. Can tell its right from the heart, you know? Now… you just stay put. We're hearing from a very important young woman. So Babs. How's the black in your wardrobe. Might need it soon. You still have a little black club number or something I'm sure."
Gotham PD it has to be. Her network is otherwise engaged. Watching the squad car that's been despatched, Babs grimaces at the sounds on the other end. "Ddaad?" The redhead stutters. It's not really acting on her behalf. "Dddad, I love you.."
If Babs didn't despise The Joker before, she certainly despises him now. "I don't have any black in my wardrobe - I haven't planned on needing it." she tells the maniacal voice on the other end.
"Oh, well then maybe you can start shopping. E-Bay or something. I can send you something of Harley's if you don't mind a bit of red in it too. Just a splash, promise." There is no sign of Jim Gordon along his route. None. Technically he's not late for the next checkpoint but… the Joker racks the pistol and she can hear whimpering on the other end. "Tell him it'll be okay. Go ahead, Babs."
And that's when Babs finally breaks. Her hand fly over her console, entering a predetermined series of commands … she's going to overload the speaker on the phone at the other end to emit a piercing sound.
"You're one sick puppy" Babs voice might shake, it likely does … "you know that. I've got a present for you." Anything she can do to buy some time… Babs will do it… just don't shoot someone else because of her!
The gun fires as the phone speaker overloads and Babs can hear the rather distinct sound of a plastic tape recorder shattering. "Tsk Tsk Babs. We're gonna have to work on that." Her network pops up a notification, her father has made his next checkpoint. He's almost home, apparently unharmed and nowhere near the Joker. "That would have been a hell of a last thing for Daddy dearest to hear. You're gonna want to get it right when we do this for real." Beat. "Talk to you soon. I think I left something in the oven." And then the line goes dead.
He's good. Babs has to give him that. For someone who can manipulate the mind … he's a master.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Babs green eyes harden even more, glinting in the light of her monitors. One day, Joker, One day.