Time's a changing [Open]

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

The section of docks was quiet, all but abandoned and in disrepair with any buildings left infested with gang hideouts or businesses supported by a foundation of smuggling under a thin guise of legal trade, it would probably have been shut down on health grounds alone if a surveyor was ever allowed to get close to the place. Soon it was to be re-purposed by the city.

It was the sort of place where only the desperate or truly greedy would set up shop. Oswald was entirely at home there, it was practically where he began when he went looking for somewhere to trade stolen goods so long ago. They were his gangs, his smugglers, his ships in some cases and he'd laid claim to the patch for years.

He knew he wouldn't be bothered by the locals as he stood out near the water, a black Jeep with fake plates idling not far off with Mike waiting in the drivers seat. Weirdly Oswald's top hat was missing, his tux had been replaced by an adequately expensive suit and tie under the thick coat that was keeping out the breeze coming across the water. The umbrella remained, Oswald would never be without it. It was like he had tried to dress down and be inconspicuous but failed spectacularly. He still stood out like a sore thumb, particularly in that area of Gotham.

His mind was elsewhere as he stared over the water, so many things to keep an eye on, so many things going on and so many plans to arrange while there was still time.

He seemed to be waiting for someone.

[Deleted]

For GCPD officers Frank Muely and Anthony Munoz, getting the east quadrant of Gotham for a patrol assignment was one of the worst events possible that could happen to one of Gotham's finest. Officer Muely and Officer Munoz were tasked with the dockyard beat, easily one of the worst assignments that could be given to a Gotham police officer. The pair of law enforcement officers were half way through their shift. It was late afternoon in Gotham and it was time to take one more pass through the docks. Officer Anthony Munoz was usually the one that drove.  


"Turn here, there's a short cut I like to use" Officer Muely spoke up while pointing down an alleyway that was a fast track to the docks. Munoz never really took this route. Four years Munoz worked as a cop in the East Side of Gotham and he never went down this alley. He thought best not to over think it and maneuvered GCPD patrol car #23 to take a turn into the alley. Munoz kept silent, the car eventually exiting the alley. Once the car was completely out of the alley, one of main docks were in view. The two officers could now see a figure. A figure that looked like Oswald Copplepot. A well known business man in Gotham city. 


"Pull over" Officer Muely spoke up, pointing once again. This time at the man known as the penguin.  "Are you sure?" Officer Munoz questioned his partner. Even though Copplepot was known to be a criminal, he wasn't sure if he was wanted for anything specific and as far as Officer Munoz could tell, he wasn't bothering anybody. "Just do it kid." Munoz complied, pulling the squad car next to the short and robust man that stood alone in a fine suit with an umbrella.


Officer Muelly was the first officer outside of the car, slamming his door and approaching Copplepot. "Fancy meeting you here. Penguin" Muelly spoke in a almost too sarcastic tone when addressing the man. "Care to tell us what you're doing?" Muelly questioned, just before Officer Munoz joined his partners side.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

As he heard a car coming Oswald's first reaction was to start to smile. It was a short lived smile that vanished completely and became quickly replaced by a frown when he glanced back and saw the police car pulling up. That was not who he was expecting and it certainly wasn't who he wanted to see right now.

He was quick to mentally run through the contents of his pockets for anything illegal but he'd learnt some time ago to disguise anything he couldn't risk appearing in a police search. He had to reassure himself that he wasn't doing anything they could arrest him for, the urge to flee or fight was very strong. Oswald did not have a good history with random meetings with the police and it was taking a great deal of willpower just to stand there and plaster on a new fake smile for them.

He almost reached for his hat to tip it at them in greeting but a split second later he remembered he wasn't wearing it and his hand lowered again "Well, well. The GCPD" His tone sounded a little strained when Muelly called him Penguin. He hated that nickname "This is a rare sight, I thought this part of town had all but been abandoned by the city and it's loyal officers"

He was trying to be polite but he was not in the mood for nosey cops interfering and delaying his plans and though he attempted to sound like he was making a joke there was a clear edge to his words "Have you finally arrested all the bad guys and stopped for a chat?" To the well trained ear he also subtlety wasn't answering their question.

He was doing quite a good job of pretending he didn't have a clue who either one of them was too, even as his security team was chattering in his earpiece to give him the names of the officers and any previous dealings he'd had with them. Oswald embraced any technology which made information gathering easier and then improved upon it, in this case the small camera in his tie clip and a full list of all GCPD employees was enough to quickly make him suitably informed.

Over at Oswald's car the door opened and Mike the oversized thug in a suit got out, his glare fixed firmly on the cops. A small gesture from Oswald raising his hand to stop the thug kept Mike from stepping closer and he stayed stood partially behind the car door, watching the officers and wishing for the order where he could do something about them.

Mike was known to the police simply for being an associate of Cobblepot. He was head of security at the Iceberg lounge, Oswald's main driver and bodyguard but much like Oswald he always seemed to have some connection to a crime but never enough to get charged for it. His official background complete with the relevant documents listed him as coming from a small village in Russia and living a perfectly ordinary life before he was recruited by Cobblepot for apparently no good reason. No one seemed to yet have made the connection to the serious fire four months previous to that in a high security Russian prison that had killed several inmates. After all, the inmates had all been accounted for by one method of identification or another.

[Deleted]

Officer Muely snarled at what Copplepot had to say, to him it seemed like the short and stocky man wasn't answering his question. He didn't know what to think about the Penguin being at the docks in the middle of the day wearing a fine suit rather that what he was normally known for. "I'm the one asking the questions. Penguin. You sound annoyed. You don't like that name do you. Penguin." Muely put emphasis on his words. It was rather well known that the Penguin didn't like being called 'The Penguin.' Officer Munoz on the other hand, didn't want to anger Copplepot. Munoz felt that Muely was playing with fire. One of the richest people in Gotham with a not so available past? Officer Munoz felt it was best to not anger such a man with just two officers. 

"Now how about you answer my question. What are you doing out here? You wouldn't want me to fine you for unlawful trespassing would you?" Muely wasn't the smartest cop, nor was he the cleanest. He took money from whoever wanted to pay him for whatever services a crooked cop such as himself could preform. He just might back off if the Penguin offered him a decent sum of money. Cops had to live too. 


Officer Anthony Munoz however was not crooked. Muely knew this, he did not know how Munoz would react to his partner accepting a bribe in front of him if the time came. Not that it mattered, Muely knew that Munoz would lose his life if he spoke up. Gotham doesn't have near as much corruption as it once did thanks to Commissioner Gordon, but it is still present of course. 

"Tell your friend to keep his distance, Mr. Copplepot." Officer Munoz noticed Officer Muely was too busy toying with Copplepot to notice the large man that stepped out of his car. If he didn't play carefully enough Muely would get them both killed. 


Another police funeral isn't something Gotham City needed right now.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Oswald bribed cops so often some of his staff were allowed to claim the money back as a business expense, which made very easy to identify Muely along with several cases where someone had to throw a little cash away to get rid of him. Unfortunately Muely called him Penguin again...and again. It was clear that Muely knew the name would provoke a reaction and yet he continued to poke the proverbial bear. There were cautionary tales told about Oswald's temper and that blatant disrespect was really all it took for him to consider pulling on the little threads that kept Muely's life together. Would it be cheaper to just pay the cop? Almost certainly but no one disrespects Oswald Cobblepot. He had no time to cover up shooting a police officer right now or it might be even more tempting.

He narrowed his eyes at Muely, but didn't respond vocally to the taunts of the old nickname but the irritation was clear though he was attempting to remain controlled and resist the temptation to rise to Muely's bait. His smile never shifted, like his mouth just faked it no matter what but his voice still sounded on edge "That would be an awful waste of police resources. If you must know I own several warehouses in the area and I am merely checking up on things before the city takes over the area. I do believe there is no law preventing me from standing upon a dock through which I would do business?" It was partially true, even if he wasn't really there for that he certainly did own several warehouses around the dock area even if none of them were next to that particular dock and several had been taken over by gangs which Oswald made no attempt to try and get rid of. His warehouses were however in the process of quickly being emptied, usually at very odd hours, before the city got their hands on them and went snooping around.

Munoz was to be honest more of a concern, a cop known to be dirty was predictable and easily to deal with but an officer who wasn't known to have taken a bribe had to be assumed to be clean and therefore someone who would actually report a crime if they saw one, perhaps even try to stop it or heaven forbid attempt to arrest someone. His concern over Mike earned him a calculating stare before Oswald calmly responded "I can't imagine you would have reason to fear my bodyguard, officer. Your intention is of course not to incite a fight here" He pointedly looked back to Muely as he said the last bit, the cop did feel like he was looking for a fight and Oswald was still tempted to oblige.

[Deleted]

Copplepot kept his composure well. Officer Munoz could tell that much. Although it was clear that Officer Muely was probably pushing a few buttons. That much was also clear. At least at this point the situation wasn't extremely escalated quite yet. Copplepot wasn't actually doing anything wrong. At least he wasn't quite yet. That way the two officers could go on their merry way. That is if Officer Muely didn't do anything stupid enough to make someone notoriously violent and his large Russian bodyguard friend angry. Munoz could tell that Muely was looking for something more than just a routine procedural stop. He never understood the man fully. Sometimes he wished that you could pick your partners. However this wasn't the case. Not in the GCPD. 

"You're right Penguin. Bringing you in would be a waste of police resources. Because you're a waste of human resources, aren't you?" Muely spoke in a very clear condescending tone. He didn't like people like the Penguin. Even if he took bribes from that sort of man. That didn't mean he had to like him. In fact he hated him. He was a short and sad little man that thought he owned everyone. Even if part of that was true, it was only for people that let themselves be owned. Muely didn't consider himself as one of them. He thought he was above the rest. Those corrupt cops that usually did tasks for the Penguin and the like. Those that put themselves in danger to make a little more on the side. Some of those police officers didn't start out as all bad. Some maybe had a sick wife or kid. Or maybe even another family member. That lead them to believing taking a small bribe wasn't all bad. People like Muely were completely different. He didn't have a family. He was a vicious drunk that was somehow still with a badge. 

It was almost as he was saying 'Kill me'. That what it seemed like. Him insulting a man like Oswald Copplepot in such a manner. 

Munoz saw that this was a very unhealthy conversation. For him and Muely both. Even for Copplepot. If he or his bodyguard lost his temper, two cops would most likely end up dead. A corrupt cop dying isn't as huge of a deal to the underworld. But when a clean cop dies? That's when everything goes sour. 

"Officer Muely. We all know Mr. Copplepot here is not known to be the most upstanding Gotham citizen. However right now he is doing nothing wrong." 

"Shut up Munoz, no one cares about this human piece of garbage. And you know what? No one cares about you. You're some boyscout who actually tries to be a 'good cop'. There is no such thing." 

"Muely, please don't let this get out of hand." 

Muely chuckled softly, shaking his head. He then took his baton and hit Munoz over the head with it. The officer fell to the ground, holding his head. 

Officer Muely then drew his service weapon, pointing it at Copplepot and his bodyguard. 

"You're so powerful, huh? Little short-stack like you makes Gotham fear your ugly shadow? Come on birdman. Make me regret pulling my weapon on you. Kill me then make a martyr out of Officer Boyscout." 

Muely must of had enough in life, or perhaps he was drunk. The one thing that was clear is that he didn't like Oswald Copplepot right now. 

"And you, don't move a fuckin' muscle or I'll blow your short stocky bosses brains on the port pavement. Don't test me. I could end you both and be hailed a hero."

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Oswald's hand tightened on his umbrella as his eyes narrowed at Muely. Well this was an interesting situation, not one he had time for but evidently the cop was not going to move on easily.

When Munoz was hit Oswald showed no surprise, he didn't so much as blink, just stood watching Muely like a hawk. It was a shame, Munoz was growing on him, he seemed like the sort of cop who would get a search warrant, the kind that was easily taken care of with lawyers. Well, there went the good cop anyway and apparently the bad cop was suicidal or an idiot. He wouldn't be the first to assume it was so easy to simply remove Cobblepot from the streets, he just had to avoid being shot as usual.

Suddenly Oswald's impassive exterior seemed to completely melt away a spilt second after the gun is pointed at him and he nervously chuckles, putting on his best scared look as he raises his free hand as if he was surrendering "You've made your point officer, you are quite clear" He steps backwards, away from Mike's position and towards the edge of the docks "Perhaps we can make an arrangement. What is it you would like?"

Mike stared impassively, straightening slightly as the gun was drawn. His hand flexed and he looked like he was going to move at any second but he stayed because Muely threatened Cobblepot instead of him. The boss usually wore a thin, hardly noticeable bulletproof vest and the fabric on his umbrella was an effective shield at this distance, for Mike that would be more than enough protection to risk getting shot but if the Penguin hadn't ordered the cop's death he clearly had a plan, Mike just wished he'd hurry up with it.

[Deleted]

Officer Muely usually wasn't this stupid, even for someone that was completely corrupt and on the wrong side of the system. Muely had a thing for cocain and other banned substances. Being an officer of the made accessing such contraband a lot easier than it should be. This lead him to getting the crazy idea in his mind that he could beat someone like Copplepot simply by pulling a gun on him in the middle of nowhere. As well as hitting his partner. Munoz wasn't dead but he'll most likely be knocked out for a while. Muely was already guilty of drawing his weapon unlawfully as well as under the influence of a banned substance while on the job and he wrapped it all up with attacking a police officer with a deadly weapon. That along was enough to face a ten to fifteen year stretch in prison. Whatever Officer Muely was seeing it wasn't good. It was as if he was convinced entirely that he could take down the Penguin unlawfully and be hailed a 'hero'. 

"You got cash bird-man everyone knows that. I want ten million dollars. I've had enough of this cess-pool of a town. I've had enough of working for scum like you and other psychopaths like Two-Face." Muely gripped his sidearm rather tightly. He was visibly sweating. His adrenaline was obviously in overdrive. His initial plan was to get the Penguin to give him money so he could skip town. His way of thinking is that he would get paid. After he got the money he wanted he would kill the penguin and skip town. To him it seemed like a flawless plan. He had the advantage over the Penguin and his body-guard. Cops had vests too. If the large lumbering idiot wanted to try and draw his weapon he'd have to get a lucky shot. As according to Muely's thinking he could probably kill the Penguin and his thug both. Even though he wasn't aware of the adverse affects that a drug like cocain could have on your simple motor-skills. 

"What were you waiting for anyway? Since Officer do-gooder here is knocked out and at least one of us will be dead at the end of today."

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Ten million dollars?! This cop wasn't just an idiot he was completely out of his mind! He was definitely on something if he was determined to dig a hole this big for himself! A thousand or so and Oswald might just have been able to agree to something if Muely had thrown in a little grovelling. Ok, he might have had to use the thousand fast because there was no way some cop pointed a gun at the Penguin and made demands then lived, but he just might have gotten a nice week first before he met with an unfortunate accident. Now he'd just have to die today. He'd had plenty of opportunities to turn back from this path but he just kept pushing, forcing Oswald's hand...and people wondered why there weren't more good people in this city?

Oswald kept up the act with another nervous step back and another "That's a lot of money to arrange so fast, perhaps a smaller sum, as a first payment and I can have all this mess cleared up for you? No one would come after-" His demeanour snaps and he doesn't finish the sentence, face twisting into a sneer as he shouts "Now!" and takes the finally step back straight off the edge of the docks and out of sight.

Mike might not be fully aware of the plan but he can see something is about to happen and it was probably going to result in shooting. He'd been doing this a while, he knew the boss and as Cobblepot moved away from him Mike inched back behind the car door he had been hanging back by, taking what cover he could and waiting for orders. When finally the order came Mike dropped behind the door entirely and drew his pistol, firing a couple of shots at the officer, he knew the limits of a police officer's body armour very well and he was skilled with a gun but the point was to just hit the cop and get him off of Cobblepot, he was trying to shoot him in the head regardless though. He couldn't shoot the boss if he died first. Cobblepot's car was better armoured than most, it was adapted with being shot at in mind, hiding behind a door was still far from perfect cover though.

From the other side of the docks though there was no splash to be heard but a scraping sound and squawk of pain as Oswald came to a halt above the water, hung on the side of the docks from his umbrella. He'd managed to wedge a spike coming out of the umbrella handle between two of the large cut stones that made up the docks and near dislocated his shoulder in the process. He braced himself against the slippery side of the dock and waited, straining to hold on and trying not to grunt against the effort and give himself away but drawing a gun to point up at the top of the docks. He didn't fancy being a sitting duck in the water, he wanted to be able to shoot whoever came looking for him just in case he didn't like who it was.

[Deleted]

Everything seemed like it was going fairly well for Officer Muely. That was until Copplepot executed his plan. At first Muely looked around, however he didn't have enough time to respond. Copplepots bodyguard had already started firing at Muely. He did his best to fire back, although someone that is under the influence doesn't have the best aim. He wasn't sure if he hit the giant goon at all. Even if the target was big enough, even behind cover. Muely though had received several shots to the chest. He was hit in the chest area a total of four times, the vest was only strong enough to stop three. Whoever was working for Copplepot knew enough about vests to target the same area. Muely was on the ground, bleeding to death. "You little bastard! I'll get you Copplepot" Muely dropped his service weapon, the crooked officer was trying to reach for it while shouting obscenities under his breath. 

A grunt or two was finally heard. Officer Munoz was finally starting to come to. The gun shots might have inspired him to get up faster. Or maybe Muely didn't hit him all that hard. It didn't really matter, Muely wasn't obviously in a state of right mind. He was bleeding out, while Officer Munoz picked himself up off the ground. "Ugh, What happened?" The officer asked, looking around. It didn't take him long to see his partner on the ground with his weapon just out of reach. He also noticed that Copplepot was hanging off the edge of the docks and his Bodyguard was at the ready. Hopefully the actions of his partner didn't inspire them to be violent to him as well. Munoz never asked to be partnered up with a loose cannon like Muely. "Munoz! Shoot them, shoot them now! There is an officer down, it is your job!" Munoz shook his head. "Be quiet or you'll get us both killed." 

The officer walked over to the edge of the dock, offering a hand to Copplepot. Hopefully he'd take it and not shoot him in the process. "Let me help you. I hope that you can tell that I don't want this situation to get more out of hand than it already is."

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Oswald clearly heard the exchange of gun fire and waited for the aftermath. He employed Mike for situations like this, if the man failed him he may as well have been dead so he had little concern for his thug's well-being, he just wanted this situation contained.

While the armour plating of the car came in to play and several panels would need bullet hole evidence removed due to the wide spread shooting of the inebriated officer Mike was not shot, one was close and hit the car door, another went just over the car door and ended up in the wall of a warehouse somewhere behind him, it was nothing that made the big man's aim wavier though and his shots bunched nicely together to penetrate the officer's vest.

Mike didn't appear from cover until Muely was down and separated from his gun and even then he gave it a couple of seconds to check Muely didn't have a second gun to pull "He is down" he said calmly but loudly for Oswald's benefit as he walked towards Muely, gun still trained on him.

The grunt from Munoz made him stop though and though he kept the gun on Muely he didn't advance further and tried to consider what the boss wanted him to do in this situation. Killing cops was irritating to clean up, Penguin might want them alive, he might be happy to make a deal with Munoz, he might be mad if Mike shot the other cop. The hesitation was enough time for Munoz to at least make it clear that he didn't seem to be interested in continuing the fight which did make Mike disinclined to shoot him. He did not however like him going towards Cobblepot and while the aim of his gun changed to Munoz just in case he did still circle Muely, keeping out of arm's reach so he could kick the cop's gun further away.

Oswald almost relaxed when it seemed Mike had taken care of Muely but the addition of the third voice complicated matters as Munoz woke up. He seemed to be the calming voice of the pair, the reasonable sober one. He hadn't made this happen, he hadn't asked to be Muely's partner or get knocked out, he just had the unfortunate pleasure of being a witness to a police shooting caused by his own partner.

Oswald still had his gun pointed up at the top of the docks as Munoz appeared and made his peace offering and little speech, essentially asked Oswald to trust him to help fix the situation.
Sometimes you don't get what you ask for. Oswald shot him in the head.

[Deleted]

When Officer Munoz was shot, he was forced back back on the docks. He then lied there, dead. The Officer was dead on impact. He would have been quite surprised, if he didn't die instantly. At least it was a painless death. For the officers of car #23 today was not a good day. Officer Muely was bleeding out on the docks. Officer Munoz, the man who did not want to take a shortcut was dead. The Penguin without a doubt would hide the bodies. However hiding an entire squad was a very hard thing to do. Officer Muely heard the gunshot, still trying to hold on to his life. "Holy fuck, you shot him?" It now dawned on Officer Muely that he made a huge mistake. He not only got himself killed, but someone innocent killed as well. He was under the influence, sure. Though now it was starting to wear off. Only now Officer Muely is really realizing the mess he made. The bleeding officer said nothing more, just lying there. Ready to accept his fate. 

Officer Anthony Munoz never asked for this. He wanted to be a cop, he wanted to help people. He had a wife, a thirteen year old son. He wanted to make a difference in Gotham city. He wanted to follow Commissioner Gordon. That's what he wanted. He did his very best to uphold the law. Even while his partner Muely, tried to turn him to the other side. Of course he received offers. Anthony always refused them though. He grew up in a foster home on the wrong side of Gotham. Became a police officer right at 21, graduated the academy with flying colors. Now his career was over. You can't always get what you want. 

Even if what you want is the right thing.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

If Mike was surprised it didn't show, the boss was clearly angry and he didn't have a great deal of compassion or trust for cops, even on a good day he just hated them. Mike was quite happily satisfied with one less cop to deal with, the Penguin couldn't even make killing him Mike's fault even if it would probably still be his problem to clean up. He didn't help Ozzy up from the docks though, the exercise would probably do the pudgy man some good and the more time it took the more time Cobblepot had to cool off.

As Oswald clawed his way up over the side of the docks he still looked pissed though and rolled the shoulder he'd strained on the way down as he heads back to Mike and Muely "What do I pay you for?!" He yelled at Mike, swinging his umbrella at the larger man and narrowly missing slicing him open with the blade that was currently stuck sticking out of the handle, jammed in place from the drop over the docks. Mike backed up but made no attempt to really retreat, if the boss wanted to actually hurt him he wouldn't have missed.

Oswald's face was twisted in rage as his attention shifted back on to Muely "I shot him? You're the one who got him killed. All you had to do was move on but you thought you'd be clever, you got greedy and needed teaching a lesson, this is what happens when you try to be clever" How many people did he have to kill to threaten in this idiotic city to just get people to do what he wanted?! Normally the lesson would suffice or the revenge slower. To truly break a person took time, planning, patience. Oswald had no patience to give today and a very dangerous crime scene to have cleaned up "It's clear though you are not the type to learn" He snarled the words out before swinging the blade on his umbrella in to Muely's head.

With both cops dead Oswald pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe down the blade and unstuck it so it retracted back in to the umbrella as he headed back towards the car "Have a crew down here now. They need to disappear and so does their car" Mike merely nodded before typing in a number on his phone and giving the code 9882C before hanging up again. Two dead cops and a car to get rid of, no location given so Oswald's security would take it from Mike's position at the time of the call.

Since going 'straight' and caring about his reputation Oswald had placed a lot in to the cleansing of crime scenes and the providing of alibis. The cameras at the Lounge would be edited to show that he had never left work that day, several staff would happily vouch for this. The police car had any tracking systems quickly and expertly removed before being stripped for recognisable parts and left in a bad part of town where it was soon set on fire by the locals. Muely and Munoz were transported out of Gotham as fast as possible, their wallets and ID burnt along with their clothes while they themselves went to a pig farmer with a woodchipper who Oswald knew wouldn't ask questions and wouldn't talk to cops.