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spankingfemmeSo, I know it's been a long time since I posted! My last class did a number on me, but I'll chat on that in my next post I plan to make either tomorrow or Sunday. For now, the latest update in my spanking fanfic written with cat2000!
Chapter 8
Monkey Wrench
Gertrude wandered about nervously feeling quite anxious for Oswald's wellbeing, and when the twenty minutes had passed, she went back to find Jim and Barbara no longer enjoying the atmosphere of the gallery due to the current situation.
Barbara was the first to notice her walking alone, and instant worry etched her brow, "Mrs. Cobblepot? Where is Oswald?"
Looking askance she replied, "He has left. He told me that he could not stay with you because he was worried for you." She didn't elaborate, but it was obvious she was worried for him.
Jim had had a good time with Barbara, walking around the gallery and sharing a drink with her... though he immediately snapped to awareness when Oswald's mother returned without her son in tow.
Although not surprised that Oswald had taken off, Jim was disappointed that the other man had done so... particularly because he didn't believe that the other man could keep himself safe. Not for one moment. "What did he say to you?" he asked the woman, very careful not to raise his voice or do anything else that would cause her to worry even more.
Gertrude wrung her hands in obvious apprehension, "He said that he knew there were bad men that you work with that might hurt you both if they found my dear Oswald in your company." Thinking of the couple getting hurt as well as someone trying to hurt her son had the poor woman's voice warbling as she wiped a forming tear from her eye.
Jim took a deep breath and did his best to sound reassuring as he spoke to the woman. "He might not feel like it, but he's going to be safer with us than he will be on his own. Did he tell you anything about where he was going?"
Gertrude hesitated, she wasn't overly comfortable with lying, and despite what Oswald said she did think the man in front of her was more capable than Oswald gave him credit for. Still, she didn't want to put her son's safety at risk, so she lowered her eyes shaking her head sadly, "Who would want to hurt my Oswald so that he would need police protection?" Gertrude said this more to herself her anxiety driving more tears to her eyes.
Barbara was quick to pull out a tissue handing it to the woman and looking to Jim her brow furrowed in sympathy.
"I believe Oswald managed to get himself mixed up in bad company," Jim said. "I understand your worry, but he'll be better protected with us than he is on his own. There are a lot of people who are very annoyed with him right now."
Gertrude frowned not seeing Oswald as being anything but charming, "These people do not know my Oswald, how could they? He is a good boy. If what Oswald says is true, and there are corrupt policemen working with you detective, how can you be so sure you can protect my son?" Gertrude turned imploring eyes onto Jim.
Barbara interjected, "Mrs. Cobblepot, Jim has already saved your son from death once…"
Before she could say more Gertrude gasped looking quite mortified, "Death? When the detective brought him home, Oswald was hurt, but he did not tell me these bad men were actually trying to kill him… I thought they were bullying him again," she shook her head upsettingly, "He's always been harassed by heathens, but nothing so bad as this!" Her body language changed as she straightened looking quite determined now as she spoke, "Tell me the truth, what has Oswald gotten himself into?"
"He's become mixed up with some very bad people," Jim said. "It got to the point where he had to leave town for a while to keep himself safe. There are others who are corrupt in the Force. I'm not one of those... and I'm very careful about who I trust." He was now, at least.
Gertrude nodded gravely; Oswald had been gone far longer than he'd ever left home for, and he'd only been brought home by the detective. She hated the feeling of doubt that was creeping over her; she didn't want to betray her son's trust, but she also didn't want to see him never come home again. Perhaps Oswald wasn't the best judge of where he should be after all? Jim did seem to be a fine young man with good morals and a keen sense of wit about him. Finally conceding to her worry, Gertrude stated, "He wanted me to keep a secret from you, that he was going to come back home to me. I will admit, I wanted him home to, but I couldn't bear the thought of Oswald doing something that may get him killed. He is going to be so upset with me…" more tears fell from her eyes as she began to cry anew.
Barbara moved forward to embrace her in a hug of support, "Hey, hey, it's going to be okay. Jim isn't going to let anything happen to Oswald okay?"
Gertrude didn't respond as she continued to cry letting Barbara comfort her from being so caught up in the guilty feelings of betraying her son's trust.
Jim felt a bit uncomfortable, not certain what to do, and was kind of relieved when Barbara stepped forward to comfort the woman. He cleared his throat and spoke. "He'll be safe staying with us. And, of course, I will make sure he's able to come and see you when it's safe for him to do so."
Gertrude simply nodded her agreement deciding Jim seemed to be a man of his word, "Please keep my son safe detective, Oswald can be so ambitious I know that getting him to listen to reason can be so hard when he has it in his head that he is right."
"I promise he will be safe with us," Jim said reassuringly. He had no doubts that he was going to have to address Oswald running away... but he also knew that nothing he would do to the other man would cause any lasting harm or have him need to go to the hospital.
Barbara gave Jim a wry smile, "Well I guess there's no sense staying at the show when no one is able to really enjoy it any longer."
Oswald had jumped into the first taxi he could hail feeling quite clever to have finally been able to evade Jim's eagle eye. He planned to visit Maroni tomorrow afternoon to regain face for the previous incident and to realign ties that as of this point were tenuous at best due to flubbing the heist.
He frowned thinking about Friday night's disastrous outcome and the fact that it had already been two days since he had touched base with Maroni. Oswald was tempted to call him once he'd reached his mother's home, but it was already pushing 10:30 on a Sunday night, and Sunday was the one day of the week that the mobster tended to keep all things business to a minimum. Salvatore attributed this sabbatical to being raised Catholic and his need at attempting to keep up appearances. Oswald had to snort to himself at the obvious hypocrisy of it all; business could wait until the morning though.
Grinning from ear to ear, Oswald tipped the cabby a generous amount from Levant's payoff wad of cash and hobbled up the three flights of steps. Reaching on top of the door frame to grab the hidden key he'd stashed there, he unlocked the door taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh of relief. Home sweet home, he thought as he replaced the key and closed the door.
He ran a nice hot bath, stripping away his suit to hang it neatly on a hangar and crawling in to the warm waters groaning as his muscles began to relax. He would call Jim tomorrow to apologize for the rudeness of leaving so suddenly. He reasoned out in his mind, as he lay back placing a damp washcloth across his eyes, that due to recent developments between the two, Oswald thought it best if any communication they made to work together would remain over the phone until Oswald felt they had reached a reasonable understanding. A smile still creased his face as he thought on finally having the upper hand again in the two's relationship.
He heard the door to the bathroom creak open behind him and assumed his mother had been dropped off home. Relaxing quite languidly in the hot waters of the tub, Oswald didn't rise but stated ruefully, "I do hope I didn't ruin your evening out too much mother; I know the detective likely did not take the news well. I promise that I will make it up to you in prompt order."
Jim had taken Barbara back to their apartment before running Gertrude back to hers. As soon as they'd gone in the door, it had become clear that Oswald was back, and Jim had suggested he go and talk to the other man.
Since he knew how protective Gertrude was of Oswald, Jim planned to take care of things back at his apartment... but that didn't mean he wasn't going to have a few things to say to Oswald before they left.
Knowing that catching Oswald off guard would be for the best, Jim chose not to wait for the other man to come out of the bathroom and instead opened the door and entered, closing the door behind him. He raised his eyebrows at Oswald's comment, "You could say I didn't take the news well..."
Jumping at the sound of Jim's voice, Oswald launched up to a sitting position tearing the washcloth from his eyes. He spun around to face Jim staring slack-jawed and wide-eyed in obvious surprise.
He swallowed hard growing slightly pale as he stuttered, "Jim! I...I can explain! I'm sure this looks bad, but I... I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I don't think our arrangement is working for me... I..."
Jim crossed his arms over his chest, not taking his eyes from Oswald's face. "I don't recall telling you that you had a choice in this 'arrangement'. We both know you're in danger. Having to leave Gotham wasn't a game. You could have ended up dead. You still could." A note of frustration crept into Jim's tone... but really, he was worried more than anything else.
Oswald looked visibly nervous at the other man's obvious irritation as he stated, "Of course, you're right." His voice became much lower as he looked down unable to keep eye contact as he muttered cautiously, "But... I think I can take care of myself now and just lay low here." He hated that he felt like he had no confidence now to challenge the other man's decisions concerning him.
"Do you think they don't know about your mother?" Jim's tone wasn't threatening, just concerned. "When it's discovered that the money's gone and that you've taken it, this is going to be one of the first places they look. If you stay here, you'll put your mother in more danger. Do you want that? I think you were using your mother to make your escape... but I'm sure you don't want her caught up in this."
He hadn't really considered the fact that Fish finding out he'd taken the money might lead them back to his mother. Oswald had never told anyone where he lived, but it wouldn't be too hard to track him down considering his mother and he shared a last name.
Oswald peered up at Jim now his brow arched in concern; he didn't think Fish would hurt his mother to get back at him before, but now that Jim had brought it to his attention, he honestly couldn't predict what Fish would do especially when it came to light he was in fact still alive. She would be livid, he knew that much, and where the thought of sticking it to her before amused him, now it made his stomach turn.
A chill ran up Oswald's spine as he questioned worryingly, "Do you think my mother is going to be safe here now?"
"I think we should look at moving her to a safer place," Jim said honestly. "It won't take much effort on Fish's part to track this apartment down. I haven't told your mother about the danger she might be in... but it would be foolish to assume she's out of danger. This is one of the reasons why I told you to return the money."
Oswald looked ashamed to have not considered more thoroughly how taking the money may put his mother in danger. He supposed as much as he hated to do it, he'd have to get the money back to Fish's people before they were made aware of the exchange and more importantly the fact he was still breathing, "I think I have an idea; I know some people that could be convinced to get the money to Fish as if they'd picked it up for her… I'd just have to grease a few palms… but they could get the money to her where she wouldn't ask questions, and their not overly loyal to anyone, so I could pay them after they made the drop to keep the transaction smooth…"
He hoped Jim would find this a more suitable plan than going back to Levant whom may or may not let on to Fish of his attempt to take her pay-off. Levant may be able to be convinced through the fact Jim was a cop. It was an equal chance at risk, but the latter would be much more embarrassing not to mention make him lose a further perk which he could still exploit if need be later.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go and see those people alone," Jim said outright. "And I still wouldn't be happy about leaving your mother here. No one's targeted her yet to get to you, but the likelihood of that happening is only going to get bigger."
Oswald blanched, "I can't have an officer of the law accompany me when I go to meet with these people; they'll think I'm working for the GCPD! But... if you let me make these arrangements, my mother won't have to be uprooted..." at the mention of his mother staying at their home, Oswald frowned, "Unlike myself."
"What about when Fish finds out you're still alive?" Jim asked. "She's going to, sooner or later. I'm sure you don't want your mother to have to leave here... but you might have to consider whether it'll be the safest option."
Oswald pulled at his hair in his frustration looking down once more, "Mother has lived here all my life and then some... at least twenty-five years. She isn't going to want to leave." He was silent a moment before raising his eyes to Jim's a hint of desperation creeping over him now, "It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since I took the money, I can make this right if you let me do things my way. You're just going to have to trust me James."
Oswald hoped the other man would let him attempt to reach out to his connections. A small panic was beginning to grow within him now as it was clear getting back in contact with Maroni to further his own agenda was not going to happen meaning that he would have to find other means to secure his and his mother's safety to ensure Fish didn't discover he was in fact still alive. Oswald was a betting man, but he didn't want to lay his bet on Levant 'doing the right thing' as he didn't know the man, and he didn't have as much hope for humanity as the detective seemed to have in him.
"This isn't just your life on the line, Oswald," Jim pointed out. "You at least need to tell your mother of the potential danger she's in... let her make the decision about her safety. But if you don't say anything and something happens..." He didn't finish the sentence. He knew Oswald would understand the danger.
Looking to the door and back to Jim, Oswald's voice raised an octave, "No!" Realizing he didn't want his mother to hear their conversation, Oswald lowered his voice to an almost whisper, "I can't tell her that I've had dealings with the mob! She'll..." he shook his head his cheeks flushing, "I don't want to upset her when we can clean this problem up without her ever knowing." The truth of the matter was that Oswald knew his mother would be more than upset, her image of him would be shattered, and that level of disappointment was not something he wished to bare.
"What makes you so sure that it's possible to clear this up without her being put in danger?" Jim asked outright. "You aren't going to be able to keep your survival a secret for that long. What do you think's going to happen when they start trying to use you? Or decide to kill you? It won't matter that your mother doesn't know about them. They're not going to believe you didn't say anything."
Frowning Oswald asked defiantly, "If they're going to find out one way or another, what difference does it make what angle I take? All letting my mother in on knowing what could happen will only serve to worry her senseless. I'm not sure it's possible to clear this up without a hitch, but I don't see as we have many other options; do you?"
"We don't have many other options," Jim replied. "But no matter what you tell your mother, I don't think leaving her here will be the safest option. It won't be hard to find out where she lives. Someone may have already passed that information on."
Oswald looked puzzled, "What are you suggesting then? Do you plan to let her stay with you and Barbara?" The couple did have two spare bedrooms, but Oswald was mortified of the thought of his mother also staying with them and finding out anything about Jim's 'correctional tactics' especially if it came to light why he and his mother needed to stay with them. His mother might even agree with Jim if she knew just how deep he'd gotten himself entrenched within the mob. He immediately suggested, "Perhaps she could stay with you while I stay here until all of this blows over. It would keep her away from any hazards and allow us to work together more easily without putting her in danger."
"Oswald, you will be staying with me and Barbara in either case," Jim said. "Whether we have your mother stay with us or somewhere else, the important thing is to keep the two of you as safe as possible."
Oswald gave a short nervous laugh and smiled at Jim tightly, "Of course, safety first..." His mind ticked over the possibilities that were to come next. He knew his mother did not own a car, and Jim wasn't likely to let him out of his sight again for some time. He had a foreboding sense of what the other man was likely to do to him once he got him out of proximity of his mother, so Oswald hoped that keeping her near would in turn keep any thought of a spanking from Jim at bay until the matter had hopefully been either forgotten or dulled enough for a more reasonable chat about the situation as Jim was entirely too prone to action for Oswald's tastes.
He cleared his throat speaking in his most sincere manner, "Well, if you deem it necessary for mother's safety to leave our home, we should probably let her know to pack a bag to come back to the brownstone with us right away as the hour is getting late. Once we've got her settled, I can try to touch base with those people that can go through with the trade off as I suggested earlier. Then, once we know the plan went well, we can be done with this matter and mother will be safe in her home again in short order." As an almost after thought, Oswald added, "Please... let's just keep the severity of this situation between the two of us... mother worries easily, and I don't want to make her stress unduly you understand."
"I don't think we should make any concrete decisions about how to handle what we tell your mother," Jim replied. "If telling her might keep her safe, you should be prepared to talk to your mother about this. And after we drop your mother at the apartment, we will be having a discussion," he added. He decided that he could bring Oswald back here to handle the other man taking off, since he wasn't yet sure if he could realistically respond to Oswald's behaviors where his mother could hear.
Oswald's eyes widened a bit at the implication behind the words 'having a discussion,' and he smiled weakly, "Well, if we are to head back to the apartment, mother should probably be informed. If you would, can you let her know? I'll of course need to dry off and dress and can be out shortly." Oswald was seriously regretting coming back to his mother's so soon. He should have probably anticipated the detective would have worked his mother over turning her against him. The fact that Jim had convinced her that Oswald needed his protection grated his nerves, but that was something he could work to repair later. For now, he needed to comply with Jim until he had a chance for better leverage. Why couldn't their bathroom have had a window to climb out of? Oswald thought to himself miserably.
Jim's gaze left Oswald's face, just long enough to scan the bathroom and make sure there wasn't a way the other man could sneak out, and then focused on Oswald once more. "You have five minutes. If you're not out by then, I'm coming in after you," he warned, before stepping out of the bathroom and approaching Oswald's mother.
Gertrude had been pacing back and forth feeling horribly guilty for not keeping her son's secret. Her anxious eyes lifted to the door as Jim walked out to approach her. A frown creased her brow as she asked worryingly, "Is he very upset with me?"
"He's upset with me... not you," Jim said. He paused to figure out how to word what he wanted to say and then went on. "But we are both worried about your safety. I understand you've lived here a long time, but I think it might be good for you to come and stay with me and Barbara - at least until things are a bit safer for your son."
Gertrude's eyebrows lifted in surprise, "Oh? You wish for me to stay with you as well? Are these bad men that dangerous?" Gertrude looked even more concerned now, "I appreciate that you and Barbara would go to such troubles for me and my boy. I will of course come with you as you recommend, but do you expect it to take some time to bring these men to justice? This is my home, and I would hate to have to move." She seemed rather sad as she glanced about the apartment imagining the actual notion of having to leave it behind.
"I hope that moving permanently won't have to happen, but if it gets too dangerous for you to be here, we might have to look into it as a possibility," Jim replied. "For now... if you just pack a bag with what you need for a few days. I can always come back here and pick up anything else you need."
She nodded solemnly, "Thank you detective, you are so good to us. I won't be but a moment," as she said this, she gave Jim a small pat on the arm and moved down the hall.
Oswald opened the door peering out after her, and seeing her leave quietly side stepped over to where Jim stood asking, "How did she take the news?"
Jim glanced at Oswald. "She understood without me needing to go into detail about the true danger." It was a pity the same couldn't be said of Oswald. "We'll drop her back at the apartment and then come back here to talk." He considered telling Oswald to stay here, but discarded that thought. The moment he turned his back, the other man would be off like a shot. He was sure of it.
A thrill of fear shot up Oswald's spine, he quickly looked away squeaking out, "I'll go get dressed." He quickly shuffled off towards his room to change thinking there was no way in hell he planned to come back here with Jim for his not-so-conversational talk. The man must think him a fool or a masochist!
Jim had no intention of letting Oswald make a break for it and he stepped over to follow the other man. "I think I'll keep you company while you get dressed. I'll keep my back to you," he added, the tone of his voice making it clear he wasn't going to back down on this. Oswald had taken off once. Jim wasn't going to assume it wouldn't happen again.
Oswald frowned but didn't argue with the man simply speeding up feeling agitated more and more by the turn of events. He couldn't believe he'd been foolish enough to come back here with the assumption that Jim wouldn't be so pushy after everything he'd already endured with the man. He was also feeling betrayed; his mother had given him up so quickly. He definitely planned to have a long discussion with her about trust and confidence... but that was something to worry about in the future.
Oswald stormed into his room rummaging through his closet and tossing a suit on the bed to take with him and a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt from the dresser for night clothes. All the while, Oswald made no compunction about his irritation. He wore a deep seeded frown as he flung down the suit and slammed the dresser drawer closed after grabbing the sweats.
Even if Jim couldn't see Oswald's face, due to his back being to the other man, he could definitely hear Oswald's irritation. "If you hadn't shown yourself so willing to take off, I wouldn't need to keep such a close eye on you now," he said. "Your mother was really upset and worried about you." She might not know even a fraction of what her son was up to, but she clearly didn't want anything to happen to him.
Oswald growled spinning around to yell at Jim's back, "If I didn't feel like a prisoner in your captivity then perhaps I wouldn't have felt the need to escape. As for my mother, she was just fine until you filled her head with all these concerns that frankly were better left unsaid! My mother is my business, not yours!"
It felt so good to give Jim a piece of his mind. Oswald was angry on so many levels, and until now, he'd felt too subconscious of how the other man might react to his anger to let his frustrations go, but from the fact Jim had already expressed they were to drop his mother off and come back here to 'talk' Oswald had deduced that the man was likely uncomfortable with punishing him in front of his mother, and Oswald planned to use that fact to his full advantage.
Jim decided that he wasn't going to continue talking to Oswald with his back turned and moved so that he was facing Oswald. "If you were a prisoner, you wouldn't have been able to leave the apartment at all." He held in his own temper, though it was difficult not to raise his voice. "You brought me into this situation, Oswald. What did you expect to happen when you came back to Gotham? I've been trying to protect you and I'm still not even sure how much I can trust you, since almost everything out of your mouth is a lie or a manipulation."
Oswald's mouth formed in to a tight line, "I didn't ask for your protection James, and as far as I'm concerned the only person I've needed protecting from these past few days is you!"
Jim narrowed his eyes, but still managed to avoid raising his voice back at Oswald. "If you didn't want my protection, you wouldn't have come to find me even after you came back to Gotham. You could have disappeared easily."
Incensed now, Oswald spat angrily, "I wasn't going to leave Gotham; my mother is still here! You have the nerve to call me a liar and a manipulator, but if we want to speak in truths, you're not as worried about protecting me as protecting yourself and Barbara. The only real reason you don't want to lose track of me is that you're worried about Fish finding out you didn't actually kill me!"
Jim took a deep breath, trying to keep his own voice calm. "She's going to find out I didn't kill you. That part is unavoidable. What I'm trying to do right now is damage control... and not just because of me and Barbara. I haven't lied to you. If I was really only concerned with saving my own skin, do you really think I'd care enough to stop you doing something dangerous? Like when you took that money. Or skipped out from the art gallery."
Oswald didn't like that Jim was countering his argument with what Jim saw as his recent mistakes. Granted taking the money was becoming more of a headache now that he had been cut off from getting back to Maroni. Fish was going to be a problem to if Oswald was discovered he knew, and he needed to focus on that fact to lean Jim more towards his personal agenda, "Fish doesn't have to find out, and if she does, even you won't be able to protect me. I was trying to get in good with Maroni, so that she couldn't just outright kill me. That was me protecting myself and in so doing also protecting you because her finding out I'm alive can put you in danger as well as Barbara. You can't beat these people without my help James, and to do that, I'll have to play a little on the dangerous side."
Jim shook his head. "Even if you have to do some dangerous things, you shouldn't have taken off like that," he pointed out. "How well have you been hiding yourself? How many people does Fish have working for her? Choosing to stay here in Gotham is already putting me and Barbara in danger... but there are ways to fight without becoming the very thing you're fighting against."
Oswald sighed, there really was no arguing with the man. Deciding to back down for now, Oswald opted to finish getting dressed laying his robe on the bed to put on his sweat pants and tee shirt. Oswald mumbled as he gathered his suit from the bed and proceeded towards the door, "We should gather mother before she packs away the entire house."
Jim didn't bother saying anything and instead just walked to the door, waiting for Oswald to exit first, since he still wasn't sure the other man wouldn't try something like climb out the window.
Oswald moved past Jim quickly grabbing his socks and a pair of tennis shoes and putting them on before going to find his mother who was packing away the last of her toiletries.
She turned to face him with a guilt ridden frown, "I am so sorry Oswald, please don't be angry with your mother. I only want what is best for you…"
Oswald held up a hand to silence her, his tone came off as cold and clipped, "It's fine mother; I can see that you trust the word of an almost stranger over your own flesh and blood. Where I won't say that it doesn't disappoint me in your choices, I'm not angry with you. Who I am angry with is the detective for working you up so." He took in a deep breath, "We will talk more tonight when I help you get settled in mother." Picking up her bags for her, he motioned for her to proceed.
Jim was waiting at the front of the hall apparently wanting to ensure the other man didn't try to bolt from his view without the detective being able to make quick work of catching him once more. This of course only made Oswald feel more trapped. With his mother also staying at Jim's, there was no real way for him to escape his presence without also excluding contact from his mother. Even though her recent betrayal had angered him and he'd considered it almost fitting if he did leave her for choosing Jim's word over his, these thoughts were fleeting and spawn from his anger at being caught. His mother was not him, and he supposed he should have known better. This however didn't make him 'feel' any better.
The trio moved like a procession to Jim's car, and Oswald put the two large suitcases his mother had packed in the backseat behind Jim before opening the passenger side door to help his mother inside. Oswald then climbed in beside the suitcases making a point to be as far away from Jim as proximity would allow and to look as unhappy as he felt with a deep seeded frown remaining firmly intact all the while.
Jim didn't say a word, barring what he needed to. He didn't tell Oswald to move seats. He didn't say anything... because he planned to say what he needed to as soon as the two of them were alone. He began driving back to his and Barbara's apartment without a word, already having decided that he still wasn't going to let Oswald out of his sight... at least until they'd dealt with what they needed to.
cat2000!Chapter 8
Monkey Wrench
Gertrude wandered about nervously feeling quite anxious for Oswald's wellbeing, and when the twenty minutes had passed, she went back to find Jim and Barbara no longer enjoying the atmosphere of the gallery due to the current situation.
Barbara was the first to notice her walking alone, and instant worry etched her brow, "Mrs. Cobblepot? Where is Oswald?"
Looking askance she replied, "He has left. He told me that he could not stay with you because he was worried for you." She didn't elaborate, but it was obvious she was worried for him.
Jim had had a good time with Barbara, walking around the gallery and sharing a drink with her... though he immediately snapped to awareness when Oswald's mother returned without her son in tow.
Although not surprised that Oswald had taken off, Jim was disappointed that the other man had done so... particularly because he didn't believe that the other man could keep himself safe. Not for one moment. "What did he say to you?" he asked the woman, very careful not to raise his voice or do anything else that would cause her to worry even more.
Gertrude wrung her hands in obvious apprehension, "He said that he knew there were bad men that you work with that might hurt you both if they found my dear Oswald in your company." Thinking of the couple getting hurt as well as someone trying to hurt her son had the poor woman's voice warbling as she wiped a forming tear from her eye.
Jim took a deep breath and did his best to sound reassuring as he spoke to the woman. "He might not feel like it, but he's going to be safer with us than he will be on his own. Did he tell you anything about where he was going?"
Gertrude hesitated, she wasn't overly comfortable with lying, and despite what Oswald said she did think the man in front of her was more capable than Oswald gave him credit for. Still, she didn't want to put her son's safety at risk, so she lowered her eyes shaking her head sadly, "Who would want to hurt my Oswald so that he would need police protection?" Gertrude said this more to herself her anxiety driving more tears to her eyes.
Barbara was quick to pull out a tissue handing it to the woman and looking to Jim her brow furrowed in sympathy.
"I believe Oswald managed to get himself mixed up in bad company," Jim said. "I understand your worry, but he'll be better protected with us than he is on his own. There are a lot of people who are very annoyed with him right now."
Gertrude frowned not seeing Oswald as being anything but charming, "These people do not know my Oswald, how could they? He is a good boy. If what Oswald says is true, and there are corrupt policemen working with you detective, how can you be so sure you can protect my son?" Gertrude turned imploring eyes onto Jim.
Barbara interjected, "Mrs. Cobblepot, Jim has already saved your son from death once…"
Before she could say more Gertrude gasped looking quite mortified, "Death? When the detective brought him home, Oswald was hurt, but he did not tell me these bad men were actually trying to kill him… I thought they were bullying him again," she shook her head upsettingly, "He's always been harassed by heathens, but nothing so bad as this!" Her body language changed as she straightened looking quite determined now as she spoke, "Tell me the truth, what has Oswald gotten himself into?"
"He's become mixed up with some very bad people," Jim said. "It got to the point where he had to leave town for a while to keep himself safe. There are others who are corrupt in the Force. I'm not one of those... and I'm very careful about who I trust." He was now, at least.
Gertrude nodded gravely; Oswald had been gone far longer than he'd ever left home for, and he'd only been brought home by the detective. She hated the feeling of doubt that was creeping over her; she didn't want to betray her son's trust, but she also didn't want to see him never come home again. Perhaps Oswald wasn't the best judge of where he should be after all? Jim did seem to be a fine young man with good morals and a keen sense of wit about him. Finally conceding to her worry, Gertrude stated, "He wanted me to keep a secret from you, that he was going to come back home to me. I will admit, I wanted him home to, but I couldn't bear the thought of Oswald doing something that may get him killed. He is going to be so upset with me…" more tears fell from her eyes as she began to cry anew.
Barbara moved forward to embrace her in a hug of support, "Hey, hey, it's going to be okay. Jim isn't going to let anything happen to Oswald okay?"
Gertrude didn't respond as she continued to cry letting Barbara comfort her from being so caught up in the guilty feelings of betraying her son's trust.
Jim felt a bit uncomfortable, not certain what to do, and was kind of relieved when Barbara stepped forward to comfort the woman. He cleared his throat and spoke. "He'll be safe staying with us. And, of course, I will make sure he's able to come and see you when it's safe for him to do so."
Gertrude simply nodded her agreement deciding Jim seemed to be a man of his word, "Please keep my son safe detective, Oswald can be so ambitious I know that getting him to listen to reason can be so hard when he has it in his head that he is right."
"I promise he will be safe with us," Jim said reassuringly. He had no doubts that he was going to have to address Oswald running away... but he also knew that nothing he would do to the other man would cause any lasting harm or have him need to go to the hospital.
Barbara gave Jim a wry smile, "Well I guess there's no sense staying at the show when no one is able to really enjoy it any longer."
Oswald had jumped into the first taxi he could hail feeling quite clever to have finally been able to evade Jim's eagle eye. He planned to visit Maroni tomorrow afternoon to regain face for the previous incident and to realign ties that as of this point were tenuous at best due to flubbing the heist.
He frowned thinking about Friday night's disastrous outcome and the fact that it had already been two days since he had touched base with Maroni. Oswald was tempted to call him once he'd reached his mother's home, but it was already pushing 10:30 on a Sunday night, and Sunday was the one day of the week that the mobster tended to keep all things business to a minimum. Salvatore attributed this sabbatical to being raised Catholic and his need at attempting to keep up appearances. Oswald had to snort to himself at the obvious hypocrisy of it all; business could wait until the morning though.
Grinning from ear to ear, Oswald tipped the cabby a generous amount from Levant's payoff wad of cash and hobbled up the three flights of steps. Reaching on top of the door frame to grab the hidden key he'd stashed there, he unlocked the door taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh of relief. Home sweet home, he thought as he replaced the key and closed the door.
He ran a nice hot bath, stripping away his suit to hang it neatly on a hangar and crawling in to the warm waters groaning as his muscles began to relax. He would call Jim tomorrow to apologize for the rudeness of leaving so suddenly. He reasoned out in his mind, as he lay back placing a damp washcloth across his eyes, that due to recent developments between the two, Oswald thought it best if any communication they made to work together would remain over the phone until Oswald felt they had reached a reasonable understanding. A smile still creased his face as he thought on finally having the upper hand again in the two's relationship.
He heard the door to the bathroom creak open behind him and assumed his mother had been dropped off home. Relaxing quite languidly in the hot waters of the tub, Oswald didn't rise but stated ruefully, "I do hope I didn't ruin your evening out too much mother; I know the detective likely did not take the news well. I promise that I will make it up to you in prompt order."
Jim had taken Barbara back to their apartment before running Gertrude back to hers. As soon as they'd gone in the door, it had become clear that Oswald was back, and Jim had suggested he go and talk to the other man.
Since he knew how protective Gertrude was of Oswald, Jim planned to take care of things back at his apartment... but that didn't mean he wasn't going to have a few things to say to Oswald before they left.
Knowing that catching Oswald off guard would be for the best, Jim chose not to wait for the other man to come out of the bathroom and instead opened the door and entered, closing the door behind him. He raised his eyebrows at Oswald's comment, "You could say I didn't take the news well..."
Jumping at the sound of Jim's voice, Oswald launched up to a sitting position tearing the washcloth from his eyes. He spun around to face Jim staring slack-jawed and wide-eyed in obvious surprise.
He swallowed hard growing slightly pale as he stuttered, "Jim! I...I can explain! I'm sure this looks bad, but I... I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I don't think our arrangement is working for me... I..."
Jim crossed his arms over his chest, not taking his eyes from Oswald's face. "I don't recall telling you that you had a choice in this 'arrangement'. We both know you're in danger. Having to leave Gotham wasn't a game. You could have ended up dead. You still could." A note of frustration crept into Jim's tone... but really, he was worried more than anything else.
Oswald looked visibly nervous at the other man's obvious irritation as he stated, "Of course, you're right." His voice became much lower as he looked down unable to keep eye contact as he muttered cautiously, "But... I think I can take care of myself now and just lay low here." He hated that he felt like he had no confidence now to challenge the other man's decisions concerning him.
"Do you think they don't know about your mother?" Jim's tone wasn't threatening, just concerned. "When it's discovered that the money's gone and that you've taken it, this is going to be one of the first places they look. If you stay here, you'll put your mother in more danger. Do you want that? I think you were using your mother to make your escape... but I'm sure you don't want her caught up in this."
He hadn't really considered the fact that Fish finding out he'd taken the money might lead them back to his mother. Oswald had never told anyone where he lived, but it wouldn't be too hard to track him down considering his mother and he shared a last name.
Oswald peered up at Jim now his brow arched in concern; he didn't think Fish would hurt his mother to get back at him before, but now that Jim had brought it to his attention, he honestly couldn't predict what Fish would do especially when it came to light he was in fact still alive. She would be livid, he knew that much, and where the thought of sticking it to her before amused him, now it made his stomach turn.
A chill ran up Oswald's spine as he questioned worryingly, "Do you think my mother is going to be safe here now?"
"I think we should look at moving her to a safer place," Jim said honestly. "It won't take much effort on Fish's part to track this apartment down. I haven't told your mother about the danger she might be in... but it would be foolish to assume she's out of danger. This is one of the reasons why I told you to return the money."
Oswald looked ashamed to have not considered more thoroughly how taking the money may put his mother in danger. He supposed as much as he hated to do it, he'd have to get the money back to Fish's people before they were made aware of the exchange and more importantly the fact he was still breathing, "I think I have an idea; I know some people that could be convinced to get the money to Fish as if they'd picked it up for her… I'd just have to grease a few palms… but they could get the money to her where she wouldn't ask questions, and their not overly loyal to anyone, so I could pay them after they made the drop to keep the transaction smooth…"
He hoped Jim would find this a more suitable plan than going back to Levant whom may or may not let on to Fish of his attempt to take her pay-off. Levant may be able to be convinced through the fact Jim was a cop. It was an equal chance at risk, but the latter would be much more embarrassing not to mention make him lose a further perk which he could still exploit if need be later.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go and see those people alone," Jim said outright. "And I still wouldn't be happy about leaving your mother here. No one's targeted her yet to get to you, but the likelihood of that happening is only going to get bigger."
Oswald blanched, "I can't have an officer of the law accompany me when I go to meet with these people; they'll think I'm working for the GCPD! But... if you let me make these arrangements, my mother won't have to be uprooted..." at the mention of his mother staying at their home, Oswald frowned, "Unlike myself."
"What about when Fish finds out you're still alive?" Jim asked. "She's going to, sooner or later. I'm sure you don't want your mother to have to leave here... but you might have to consider whether it'll be the safest option."
Oswald pulled at his hair in his frustration looking down once more, "Mother has lived here all my life and then some... at least twenty-five years. She isn't going to want to leave." He was silent a moment before raising his eyes to Jim's a hint of desperation creeping over him now, "It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since I took the money, I can make this right if you let me do things my way. You're just going to have to trust me James."
Oswald hoped the other man would let him attempt to reach out to his connections. A small panic was beginning to grow within him now as it was clear getting back in contact with Maroni to further his own agenda was not going to happen meaning that he would have to find other means to secure his and his mother's safety to ensure Fish didn't discover he was in fact still alive. Oswald was a betting man, but he didn't want to lay his bet on Levant 'doing the right thing' as he didn't know the man, and he didn't have as much hope for humanity as the detective seemed to have in him.
"This isn't just your life on the line, Oswald," Jim pointed out. "You at least need to tell your mother of the potential danger she's in... let her make the decision about her safety. But if you don't say anything and something happens..." He didn't finish the sentence. He knew Oswald would understand the danger.
Looking to the door and back to Jim, Oswald's voice raised an octave, "No!" Realizing he didn't want his mother to hear their conversation, Oswald lowered his voice to an almost whisper, "I can't tell her that I've had dealings with the mob! She'll..." he shook his head his cheeks flushing, "I don't want to upset her when we can clean this problem up without her ever knowing." The truth of the matter was that Oswald knew his mother would be more than upset, her image of him would be shattered, and that level of disappointment was not something he wished to bare.
"What makes you so sure that it's possible to clear this up without her being put in danger?" Jim asked outright. "You aren't going to be able to keep your survival a secret for that long. What do you think's going to happen when they start trying to use you? Or decide to kill you? It won't matter that your mother doesn't know about them. They're not going to believe you didn't say anything."
Frowning Oswald asked defiantly, "If they're going to find out one way or another, what difference does it make what angle I take? All letting my mother in on knowing what could happen will only serve to worry her senseless. I'm not sure it's possible to clear this up without a hitch, but I don't see as we have many other options; do you?"
"We don't have many other options," Jim replied. "But no matter what you tell your mother, I don't think leaving her here will be the safest option. It won't be hard to find out where she lives. Someone may have already passed that information on."
Oswald looked puzzled, "What are you suggesting then? Do you plan to let her stay with you and Barbara?" The couple did have two spare bedrooms, but Oswald was mortified of the thought of his mother also staying with them and finding out anything about Jim's 'correctional tactics' especially if it came to light why he and his mother needed to stay with them. His mother might even agree with Jim if she knew just how deep he'd gotten himself entrenched within the mob. He immediately suggested, "Perhaps she could stay with you while I stay here until all of this blows over. It would keep her away from any hazards and allow us to work together more easily without putting her in danger."
"Oswald, you will be staying with me and Barbara in either case," Jim said. "Whether we have your mother stay with us or somewhere else, the important thing is to keep the two of you as safe as possible."
Oswald gave a short nervous laugh and smiled at Jim tightly, "Of course, safety first..." His mind ticked over the possibilities that were to come next. He knew his mother did not own a car, and Jim wasn't likely to let him out of his sight again for some time. He had a foreboding sense of what the other man was likely to do to him once he got him out of proximity of his mother, so Oswald hoped that keeping her near would in turn keep any thought of a spanking from Jim at bay until the matter had hopefully been either forgotten or dulled enough for a more reasonable chat about the situation as Jim was entirely too prone to action for Oswald's tastes.
He cleared his throat speaking in his most sincere manner, "Well, if you deem it necessary for mother's safety to leave our home, we should probably let her know to pack a bag to come back to the brownstone with us right away as the hour is getting late. Once we've got her settled, I can try to touch base with those people that can go through with the trade off as I suggested earlier. Then, once we know the plan went well, we can be done with this matter and mother will be safe in her home again in short order." As an almost after thought, Oswald added, "Please... let's just keep the severity of this situation between the two of us... mother worries easily, and I don't want to make her stress unduly you understand."
"I don't think we should make any concrete decisions about how to handle what we tell your mother," Jim replied. "If telling her might keep her safe, you should be prepared to talk to your mother about this. And after we drop your mother at the apartment, we will be having a discussion," he added. He decided that he could bring Oswald back here to handle the other man taking off, since he wasn't yet sure if he could realistically respond to Oswald's behaviors where his mother could hear.
Oswald's eyes widened a bit at the implication behind the words 'having a discussion,' and he smiled weakly, "Well, if we are to head back to the apartment, mother should probably be informed. If you would, can you let her know? I'll of course need to dry off and dress and can be out shortly." Oswald was seriously regretting coming back to his mother's so soon. He should have probably anticipated the detective would have worked his mother over turning her against him. The fact that Jim had convinced her that Oswald needed his protection grated his nerves, but that was something he could work to repair later. For now, he needed to comply with Jim until he had a chance for better leverage. Why couldn't their bathroom have had a window to climb out of? Oswald thought to himself miserably.
Jim's gaze left Oswald's face, just long enough to scan the bathroom and make sure there wasn't a way the other man could sneak out, and then focused on Oswald once more. "You have five minutes. If you're not out by then, I'm coming in after you," he warned, before stepping out of the bathroom and approaching Oswald's mother.
Gertrude had been pacing back and forth feeling horribly guilty for not keeping her son's secret. Her anxious eyes lifted to the door as Jim walked out to approach her. A frown creased her brow as she asked worryingly, "Is he very upset with me?"
"He's upset with me... not you," Jim said. He paused to figure out how to word what he wanted to say and then went on. "But we are both worried about your safety. I understand you've lived here a long time, but I think it might be good for you to come and stay with me and Barbara - at least until things are a bit safer for your son."
Gertrude's eyebrows lifted in surprise, "Oh? You wish for me to stay with you as well? Are these bad men that dangerous?" Gertrude looked even more concerned now, "I appreciate that you and Barbara would go to such troubles for me and my boy. I will of course come with you as you recommend, but do you expect it to take some time to bring these men to justice? This is my home, and I would hate to have to move." She seemed rather sad as she glanced about the apartment imagining the actual notion of having to leave it behind.
"I hope that moving permanently won't have to happen, but if it gets too dangerous for you to be here, we might have to look into it as a possibility," Jim replied. "For now... if you just pack a bag with what you need for a few days. I can always come back here and pick up anything else you need."
She nodded solemnly, "Thank you detective, you are so good to us. I won't be but a moment," as she said this, she gave Jim a small pat on the arm and moved down the hall.
Oswald opened the door peering out after her, and seeing her leave quietly side stepped over to where Jim stood asking, "How did she take the news?"
Jim glanced at Oswald. "She understood without me needing to go into detail about the true danger." It was a pity the same couldn't be said of Oswald. "We'll drop her back at the apartment and then come back here to talk." He considered telling Oswald to stay here, but discarded that thought. The moment he turned his back, the other man would be off like a shot. He was sure of it.
A thrill of fear shot up Oswald's spine, he quickly looked away squeaking out, "I'll go get dressed." He quickly shuffled off towards his room to change thinking there was no way in hell he planned to come back here with Jim for his not-so-conversational talk. The man must think him a fool or a masochist!
Jim had no intention of letting Oswald make a break for it and he stepped over to follow the other man. "I think I'll keep you company while you get dressed. I'll keep my back to you," he added, the tone of his voice making it clear he wasn't going to back down on this. Oswald had taken off once. Jim wasn't going to assume it wouldn't happen again.
Oswald frowned but didn't argue with the man simply speeding up feeling agitated more and more by the turn of events. He couldn't believe he'd been foolish enough to come back here with the assumption that Jim wouldn't be so pushy after everything he'd already endured with the man. He was also feeling betrayed; his mother had given him up so quickly. He definitely planned to have a long discussion with her about trust and confidence... but that was something to worry about in the future.
Oswald stormed into his room rummaging through his closet and tossing a suit on the bed to take with him and a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt from the dresser for night clothes. All the while, Oswald made no compunction about his irritation. He wore a deep seeded frown as he flung down the suit and slammed the dresser drawer closed after grabbing the sweats.
Even if Jim couldn't see Oswald's face, due to his back being to the other man, he could definitely hear Oswald's irritation. "If you hadn't shown yourself so willing to take off, I wouldn't need to keep such a close eye on you now," he said. "Your mother was really upset and worried about you." She might not know even a fraction of what her son was up to, but she clearly didn't want anything to happen to him.
Oswald growled spinning around to yell at Jim's back, "If I didn't feel like a prisoner in your captivity then perhaps I wouldn't have felt the need to escape. As for my mother, she was just fine until you filled her head with all these concerns that frankly were better left unsaid! My mother is my business, not yours!"
It felt so good to give Jim a piece of his mind. Oswald was angry on so many levels, and until now, he'd felt too subconscious of how the other man might react to his anger to let his frustrations go, but from the fact Jim had already expressed they were to drop his mother off and come back here to 'talk' Oswald had deduced that the man was likely uncomfortable with punishing him in front of his mother, and Oswald planned to use that fact to his full advantage.
Jim decided that he wasn't going to continue talking to Oswald with his back turned and moved so that he was facing Oswald. "If you were a prisoner, you wouldn't have been able to leave the apartment at all." He held in his own temper, though it was difficult not to raise his voice. "You brought me into this situation, Oswald. What did you expect to happen when you came back to Gotham? I've been trying to protect you and I'm still not even sure how much I can trust you, since almost everything out of your mouth is a lie or a manipulation."
Oswald's mouth formed in to a tight line, "I didn't ask for your protection James, and as far as I'm concerned the only person I've needed protecting from these past few days is you!"
Jim narrowed his eyes, but still managed to avoid raising his voice back at Oswald. "If you didn't want my protection, you wouldn't have come to find me even after you came back to Gotham. You could have disappeared easily."
Incensed now, Oswald spat angrily, "I wasn't going to leave Gotham; my mother is still here! You have the nerve to call me a liar and a manipulator, but if we want to speak in truths, you're not as worried about protecting me as protecting yourself and Barbara. The only real reason you don't want to lose track of me is that you're worried about Fish finding out you didn't actually kill me!"
Jim took a deep breath, trying to keep his own voice calm. "She's going to find out I didn't kill you. That part is unavoidable. What I'm trying to do right now is damage control... and not just because of me and Barbara. I haven't lied to you. If I was really only concerned with saving my own skin, do you really think I'd care enough to stop you doing something dangerous? Like when you took that money. Or skipped out from the art gallery."
Oswald didn't like that Jim was countering his argument with what Jim saw as his recent mistakes. Granted taking the money was becoming more of a headache now that he had been cut off from getting back to Maroni. Fish was going to be a problem to if Oswald was discovered he knew, and he needed to focus on that fact to lean Jim more towards his personal agenda, "Fish doesn't have to find out, and if she does, even you won't be able to protect me. I was trying to get in good with Maroni, so that she couldn't just outright kill me. That was me protecting myself and in so doing also protecting you because her finding out I'm alive can put you in danger as well as Barbara. You can't beat these people without my help James, and to do that, I'll have to play a little on the dangerous side."
Jim shook his head. "Even if you have to do some dangerous things, you shouldn't have taken off like that," he pointed out. "How well have you been hiding yourself? How many people does Fish have working for her? Choosing to stay here in Gotham is already putting me and Barbara in danger... but there are ways to fight without becoming the very thing you're fighting against."
Oswald sighed, there really was no arguing with the man. Deciding to back down for now, Oswald opted to finish getting dressed laying his robe on the bed to put on his sweat pants and tee shirt. Oswald mumbled as he gathered his suit from the bed and proceeded towards the door, "We should gather mother before she packs away the entire house."
Jim didn't bother saying anything and instead just walked to the door, waiting for Oswald to exit first, since he still wasn't sure the other man wouldn't try something like climb out the window.
Oswald moved past Jim quickly grabbing his socks and a pair of tennis shoes and putting them on before going to find his mother who was packing away the last of her toiletries.
She turned to face him with a guilt ridden frown, "I am so sorry Oswald, please don't be angry with your mother. I only want what is best for you…"
Oswald held up a hand to silence her, his tone came off as cold and clipped, "It's fine mother; I can see that you trust the word of an almost stranger over your own flesh and blood. Where I won't say that it doesn't disappoint me in your choices, I'm not angry with you. Who I am angry with is the detective for working you up so." He took in a deep breath, "We will talk more tonight when I help you get settled in mother." Picking up her bags for her, he motioned for her to proceed.
Jim was waiting at the front of the hall apparently wanting to ensure the other man didn't try to bolt from his view without the detective being able to make quick work of catching him once more. This of course only made Oswald feel more trapped. With his mother also staying at Jim's, there was no real way for him to escape his presence without also excluding contact from his mother. Even though her recent betrayal had angered him and he'd considered it almost fitting if he did leave her for choosing Jim's word over his, these thoughts were fleeting and spawn from his anger at being caught. His mother was not him, and he supposed he should have known better. This however didn't make him 'feel' any better.
The trio moved like a procession to Jim's car, and Oswald put the two large suitcases his mother had packed in the backseat behind Jim before opening the passenger side door to help his mother inside. Oswald then climbed in beside the suitcases making a point to be as far away from Jim as proximity would allow and to look as unhappy as he felt with a deep seeded frown remaining firmly intact all the while.
Jim didn't say a word, barring what he needed to. He didn't tell Oswald to move seats. He didn't say anything... because he planned to say what he needed to as soon as the two of them were alone. He began driving back to his and Barbara's apartment without a word, already having decided that he still wasn't going to let Oswald out of his sight... at least until they'd dealt with what they needed to.
