Crazy for You - Valeska Brothers x Female OC (Gotham)

43. The Loonies Are In The House

Jeremiah's P.O.V

Samantha stands in between me and Gordon's gun, her arms outstretched.

Although she's much shorter than me and Gordon could shoot me without any trouble, I really respect her for her actions. But I don't want her getting hurt.

"Move out of the way," I whisper to her.

She stays still.

"I'll be fine, just move out of the way. Trust me on this."

She sighs, before hesitantly moving to the left.

"May I put my hands down now, gentlemen?" I ask Gordon and Bullock, who look at each other wearily. "Please?"

"Apologies, Mr Wilde, you took us by surprise," Jim says, putting his gun back under his coat and into his pocket.

"It's understandable," I shrug, stepping past Sam and moving in front of my desk, not breaking eye contact with Gordon. "You can call me Jeremiah. That's the name my mother gave me. You solved her murder, and Captain Gordon, I owe you a debt of gratitude for that, and for putting Jerome in Arkham, where he belongs."

"He never mentioned you before," Jim ponders.

"No," Sam answers sadly, "he never did."

"From the letters my mother sent me, he never spoke of me after I left," I add on.

"Left where?" Detective Bullock narrows his eyes.

"The Circus. They hid me away to protect me from him. See, we were always different, Jerome and I," I lean on my desk. "From an early age, I showed a proficiency for maths and design, and Jerome the mutilation of alley cats. On my tenth birthday he held a cake knife to my throat. A few weeks later, he lit my bed on fire. It was like living in a nightmare. My mother knew, eventually, one day he would succeed, so... one night, my uncle came to my room while Jerome slept and told me that he was taking me away. I had no idea where, but I kissed my mother goodbye, told her I love her, and I never saw her again."

I do not fail to notice Sam slightly fidget at my accusations of Jerome. I doubt she completely believes them.

"He took you to St. Ignatius," Jim states correctly.

"Got a new name, new life, where I was finally able to live without fear. But in my heart, I knew one day Jerome would come for me."

"Well, that day is today, pops."

"We have reason to believe Jerome knows where you are. We need to move you both to a safe location until we can apprehend him," Gordon says.

"That won't be necessary, gentlemen," I reply, and Sam gives me a worried look. "I have spent the bulk of my life preparing for this eventuality. I am safest here in my home. And so is Sam."

"Not anymore," Jim shakes his head. "Jerome knows the name of your proxy. He got it from your boss just before he executed him."

"I heard about Jerome visiting Allan Hayes. It's tragic. But the proxy's name I gave to Allan was a fake."

"You're lying," Jim counters, throwing me off guard when he turns to look at the monitors.

"I beg your pardon?"

"There's something about this guy that's fishy," Bullock scratches his beard, his eyes laced with suspicion.

"Security cameras outside were turned on, so why are the monitors in here off?" Jim questions.

Samantha looks at me with the same look as before.

"I don't see why that is any of your concern. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm a very busy man."

"Yeah, I'm sure that you are," Gordon walks up to the monitors.

"Please don't touch that!" I stiffen up. "That's very sensitive equipment."

Before I can argue though, he flips the monitors on, and there my brother is, on the screen.

Sam lets out a little yelp, holding her hands to her face.

Jerome stretches his legs, as if he's doing yoga, and then notices that the camera is back on.

He grins, waving at it.

Harvey scoffs, "Oh, yeah. I'd say that's pretty damn sensitive."

----

Sam's P.O.V

The temptation to slap Jeremiah across the face is straining my mind.

He didn't even tell me that Jerome was here. I was goddamn crying last night because of the thought of him, and he then allows him to be in the same building as me? The nerve of some people.

"You need to take us to your brother," Jim is just as shocked as me.

"I can't do that," Jeremiah denies him.

"Please, don't make this any worse, Jeremiah," I sigh sadly, in which he sends me a tiny glare.

"What if he's nuttier than the other one?" Harvey asks Gordon.

"I am nothing like Jerome!" Jeremiah snaps.

"Do you want me to put you in a cell next to his? Because that is where this is heading," Jim warns him.

"And then what, Captain Gordon? You couldn't hold him, Arkham couldn't, I can. And I will make sure Jerome never escapes again."

"No, no, no. Jerome comes with us. And if you wanna make this easier on yourself, I suggest you stay the hell out of our way."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Harvey shouts, turning all our attentions back to the monitors. "The loonies are outside!"

On one screen, there is someone dressed up in rags, creepily looking like a scarecrow. On another one, there's two people. One of them is a guy wearing a waistcoat and hat, while the other is someone I recognise. Ecco.

"No, no," Jeremiah rushes over to the monitors and his keyboard. "No, no, no. How'd they find me?"

"Must've followed Jerome. We need to move now."

All of a sudden, the lights go out, changing into a dark red.

"This is not good," Bullock states the obvious.

"Is there another way out of here?" Jim asks Jeremiah.

"Yes, but I'm not leaving Ecco."

"He's right," As much as I hate to agree with him at the moment, I don't want to leave Ecco. "We can't leave her here."

"The loonies will use her against us!"

"She's devoted her life to me," Jeremiah shakes his head.

"We get you two out of here, and we can come back for her. Deal?"

Jeremiah sighs, slightly nodding, "As a child I was obsessed with labyrinths, so I designed my house like one."

"You mean this place is a maze?"

"Easy enough to get in. I'm the only one who knows the way out," he taps a button under the bottom of his desk, causing a new door I didn't know was there to slide open.

"Stay close to me," he says to all of us, but I can tell it was directed at me.