Bread And Circuses [Gordon]

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"Hey, gurllll.  How you doin?"

"Not to bad, and you?"

"You know, just kickin' it."

"Mhmmm."

The giant woman behind the counter that greeted Rooster upon her entrance into the corner store was a transgendered.  Her voice was low and her figure well worth the money she paid for surgery.  She had grown accustomed to the occasional patronage of the wry Texan.  She'd even been to her club a few times.  Each time she was by Rooster made sure she was well taken care of.  She even had a man thrown out for harassing her.  

Rooster had closed up the club at least an hour ago.  She had been about to cook herself a late meal before bed when she realized she was out of butter. A girl can never be without butter.  So there she was, wearing a pair of jeans, a simple white tank top she used as an undershirt, a pair of boots, and one of her expensive hats. She went to a fridge and got what she needed.  She mulled around the candy aisle searching for a zero bar.  After finding that she headed to the counter and asked Kofi to pull down some of her rolling tobacco.

"Oh I ordered some new ones.  I got pipe tobacco,too."

Rooster gave her a wry little smirk.

"Oh you know when I smoke from a pipe I don't put tobacco in it."

Kofi giggled demurely.

"Oooh, next time I'm up there you better hook me up gurl, VIP, G."

"Without question, momma."

Kofi looked to the door momentarily when a man entered.  She recognized him and she smiled to him.

"Morning, handsome."

Rooster continued to mull through rolling tobacco.

[Deleted]

Gordon looked at her for a moment, smiled wanly and awkwardly. He shook his head and felt the absence of the ring on his finger more than ever before. The tan hadn't entirely caught up. He understood her motivations, and frankly he knew the sort of life that he'd put her through, but it hurt sometimes. The slow estrangement, the growing distance even while under the same roof. 

The fear, the recriminations, the death threats. She deserved a normal life, a better life. . . and every day the ache stayed the same, and every night he reached over to where she used to be only to find a cold pillow. He didn't flirt with the girl, he never did anymore. It felt unfair to the memory. And there he was alone with Barbara now, a single father in a town that would kill him one day. But it was his town, and frankly that meant something. 

"Hey there. . . " he said back simply, wan and awkward smile. Can he really have forgotten so much. He shook his head and then turned to the woman behind the counter "Kofi, can I get a pack of American Reds, and some of the pipe tobacco."

He sighed and then paid for it with cash, a few quick bills. He'd loosened his tie after work, unbuttoned the top button, kept his jacket on to keep his piece concealed, but it was warm, and he felt the heat. Sometimes it never seemed to stop, but other times it ended far too quickly leaving only the cold and the regret and the dark and the thoughts. He'd always thrown himself into his work, these nights he almost never left the office. Easier to avoid the bed. 

Then again, he went home for Barbara. He cooked for her still, pancakes, oatmeal. . . a breakfast, it wasn't much, but it was his little way of showing he cared. He straightened his glasses. James Gordon was not the sort of man who stood out in a crowd,  unless he really wanted to. Right now, he could have been anyone else in the crowd, any random person. . . but of course, he was Commissioner James Gordon, and lawmen knew Lawmen. . . he glanced at the girl again, she was carrying, kept it hidden, but she knew how to handle herself, she walked confidently, nothing to hide. Law enforcement? Probably, she kept it hidden like a professional. . . not like some street punk. 

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Rooster finally looked to the man beside her at the counter that had walked in. When she looked away from him she looked to Kofi who was doing as asked, pulling down his pack of cigarettes and the pipe tobaccos to choose from.

Kofi looked back to Rooster and then to the commissioner.

"You look rough, honey, you look like you could sleep for a solid week," observed Kofi. Rooster looked back up to him, turning her head to him more fully. The eye patch was actually apparent now. The blonde was about to say something, but looked over Gordon's shoulder to see three men just steps in front of the door with masks about to swing it open. Rooster grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him hard, throwing him behind her. Before she could do anything else the men had guns out and were yelling. Kofi put her hands up and began to nervously fumble to open the register as they commanded. One trained his weapon on Gordon, commanding him to get to the floor. Rooster was grabbed by one, her back against his chest. He put the barrel of his pistol to her temple and his other hand was on her throat.

"I like her, we should take her home with us."

"We don't do that, man. Get in, get out."

"Get in, get out, that's exactly what I'm saying man."

"Shut the fuck up and focus."

"But look-AAAAHHHH!"

Rooster had played the part of the frightened woman well. She took distraction of them talking to get her hands close to his wrist. Once the moment was right she grabbed his wrist and twisted it savagely, an audible crack filled the room as his wrist snap.

The other two men looked over. Kofi took this opportunity to bound into the room behind her. All three men looked over to see her gone. The one keeping an eye on Gordon bound over the counter and began to try to open the door.

"BITCH! OPEN THIS DOOR! YOU BETTER BE GETTING THAT SAFE OPEN."

The two uninjured men were too distracted, the one with the broken wrist was cradling his arm. Rooster took the opportunity to disappear into an aisle nearby. She quietly reached under the front of her shirt and pulled a gun from the bottom of her bra. She checked to make sure it was loaded and looked at the man who had been trying to buy some cigarettes.

"Cover me while I head that way?" she whispered.  She noticed he was carrying as well.  Something about him just screamed out lawman to her.  He always looked familiar.  She had seen him in something.  Maybe the newpaper or television.  She didn't have the luxury to figure it out right now.

Rooster indicated she wanted to go to the other side of the store. She just needed him to distract them so she could go unnoticed.

"Where the fuck did the other two go?" asked one of the robbers.

Rooster gave a smirk.

"Well there's the cue." she whispered. And with that she began to make her move, gun in position, safety off.

[Deleted]

"Oh you know, trying to keep busy. This town doesn't leave a lot of time for sleep." And then of course crime went down. It happened quick, thugs, not professionals though, they talked too much, planned on the go, had to be reminded to stick to the plan, this made them dangerous. The professionals treated these sorts of robberies like a business transaction, quick, painless, in and out with the money, not a lot of risk to civilians. As a cop he hated hearing "stick to the plan" or "shut up and focus" it was like hearing "We're going to play Russian Roulette with bystanders"



He was pulled aside quick, pushed to the ground. She was fast, slightly faster than him. She'd noticed the problem just before he did, he felt the gun on him, shaking he started going down to the ground. Brown coat, long moustache, glasses, he didn't look the part of a hero. He looked like an old man these days, more and more. . . gray was entering his hair, creak was entering his bones, he went down slowly, hands lowering as he lowered to the ground, close.. . very close to the holster.



They had hostages, this would be dangerous. . . Three men, too many to cover, and no cover right now, they had him dead to rights, but seemed not to notice him. This would be easier if they let her go, bide time and hope for the best? Wait for a chance. . .



Rooster gave him that opportunity, his guard's eyes off him, the gun came out and he moved behind cover. He looked at her as she suggested flanking, then smiled saying "Well, I'd hate to step on your moment, but I suppose I'll play distraction. Be careful."



He nodded once and then waited for a moment, before shouting out. "You messed up, boys. This is the police. Drop your weapons and surrender now, don't make this harder on yourself than it needs to be. You're all under arrest, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you do not have one, one will be provided to you." That'd make things easier later, if and when they fought back, he could fire his sidearm without any questions later that he didn't warn them. It would tack resisting arrest onto any sort of charges they might have if they didn't give up now. More importantly it would keep their attention onto him.



His pistol was out, he saw the men in the mirror on the corner, it gave a good tactical view of the room. Rooster was keeping near the walls, out of view of the mirror, the two were looking around desperately, the man with the broken hand cradling the extremity.

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Rooster did not take long. She was fast and mean. She had to hand it to the fellow lawman, he certainly had quite a commanding presence, especially when he was reciting Miranda rights.

The robbers froze up a little when the older man began reciting those right. The one with the broken hand seemed like he was going to comply, already getting down and ready to accept his fate. One of the others began to bolt for the door. The third, the most aggressive, aimed his pistol at Gordon and took two shots at him. Before he could unload his clip a shot caught him as well as his fleeing friend. She nabbed the one that shot at Gordon first, shooting his pistol out of his hand, causing him to drop his gun and go to the floor to scramble for his pistol. She stepped out of cover and opened the door, aiming at the one getting away.

She had a bit a smug smile on her face when the one getting away hit the ground after she shot him dead center of his left butt cheek. He dropped his dun as well, but it slid far out of his reach.

Rooster turned to see the man on the floor had his gun pointed at her, ready to pull the trigger.