BAE Chapter 30

Summer arrives at the penthouse in her usual blazer. She looks good, but hardly glamorous. She’s approaching this as work. Her hair is done nicely, but she has made no extra effort with it.

Barbara is the opposite, but Summer takes the view in coolly. It’s not clear that she even notices the subtle bulge in Barbara’s dress. She knows, of course, but she’s not looking. She shows no surprise when Barbara seats her not in the big dining room, but in the kitchen. Summer seems amused to find herself eating delivery Chinese food rather than something fancy.

She’s good with chopsticks, but unimpressed by the dim penthouse and wholly focused on business.

“You came out of nowhere, Ms. Gordon,” she says between bites of broccoli and beef. “You’re on the books. You’ve had this internship for more than a year. But no one had ever seen you around Wayne Tower. It doesn’t add up.”

“I’ve had trouble deciding what I want to do with my life,” Barbara replies. It’s not a lie.

“What do you mean?”

“Having the police commissioner for a father isn’t easy. You’d think that it would be a perk. It’s not,” Barbara says frankly. “My Dad’s constantly in danger and bleeding for this city. He’s friends with the Batman. What do you think it’s like, growing up with that?”

Summer seems intrigued. “I really can’t say,” she replies.

“I internalized some of it. I grew up thinking that I was supposed to be a cop or something. That I was supposed to be helping. Dad wants me to be a doctor or a lawyer.” Barbara clicks her chopsticks. “Prosecutor, no doubt. He’d love it if I was DA just as he retired or something. I don’t know. I think I got so lost in Dad and the Batman that I lost track of myself and what I wanted.”

“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned Batman.”

“You don’t get it. Dad’s the one who turns on that signal. It’s always the Batman with him. The Batman’s like an uncle, although I only got to meet him once.”

“That is so fascinating,” Summer says, gazing across the table. “I never thought of it that way. The Batman is a big part of Commissioner Gordon’s life.”

“Unfortunately,” Barbara grumbles.

“You don’t support the Batman?”

“Not at all. What about the Robins? He endangers children. He’s trying to help, but ultimately the example that he set has done this city more harm than good,” Barbara says firmly.

“A lot of people believe that Gotham couldn’t survive with the Batman. Or the Batgirl,” Summer adds innocently, taking another bite. She swallows. “I understand that she’s the only one who’s been seen out and about lately.”

“These other bats are no better,” Barbara assures her. “Frankly, they’re worse. Say what you want about Batman, but he’s competent. These others? Unknown quantities. I don’t like it. Dad should crack down. Get all the masks off the street.”

“Gotham is barely holding its own against these people with the police and the Batman more or less cooperating. If they go to war, who’s left to man the watchtower?” Summer asks, taking a sip of wine.

“Maybe it’s time that we ask the police to do their job for once,” Barbara suggests.

“That’s a little harsh on your father, wouldn’t you say?”

“Dad made compromises to save people. I don’t blame him for that. But where does it end?”

“I doubt that anyone has a good answer for that,” Summer admits. “We seem to have gotten off the subject of your internship at Wayne Enterprises.”

“Noticed that, huh?”

“Noticing things is my job.”

Barbara sighs. “You want the truth? Once I started to realize what was happening to me, I turned and ran. It’s possible that I ran too far.”

“You’re trying to be the opposite of your father.”

“Maybe something like that,” Barbara concedes. “I’m making it up as I go.”

“You must be good at it. People say that you’re a favorite of Lucius Fox.”

“Mr. Fox is the only man in the world that I can look up to as much as my father. He’s trying to make this city a better place the right way. That’s why he’s always on his own against the board of directors. He’s always proposing things that might make them all slightly less rich.”

Summer nods. “I’ve heard that he isn’t a team player. Why haven’t they pushed him out yet?”

“He must have a friend in a high place.”

“Bruce Wayne? I know that Fox was on good terms with Wayne’s father.”

Barbara shrugs. “Probably. But that’s none of my business.”

“Ms. Gordon, you’ve been given the use of Mr. Wayne’s personal penthouse. It looks to me as though you’re well on your way to a lot of things becoming your business, so to speak.”

“Easy come, easy go.”

“That’s an interesting thing to say. Is it possible that being a victim of the Seed attack has changed the way that you look at things?”

This is Summer’s first mention of it. She sees the look on Barbara’s face and quickly clarifies. “I’m not interviewing you right now, Ms. Gordon. This conversation is to determine if an interview on the show would be a good idea.”

“For you or for me?”

“Both, naturally. Gotham will want to know about one of its rising stars. And you’ll want to shape the conversation if you can. But back to my question. You’re so confident and you’re on in your twenties. You’re on your way up, but you don’t seem like the type to count your chickens before they hatch. Were you always like this?”

Barbara laughs. “No. But I don’t think it’s the Seed attack that did it. It hasn’t changed my brain chemistry or disillusioned me or anything. Maybe on some things.”

“Such as?”

“Such as, the old me wouldn’t have been even slightly tempted to be interviewed by Vicki.”

Summer cocks her head. “And the new you?”

“I considered it. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Let’s not leave it. You chose your agenda over that temptation,” Summer says without any sign of judgment. If anything, she seems to approve. “I’m here to find out exactly what that agenda is.”

“So you can help?”

“Possibly.”

Barbara snorts and puts down her chopsticks and her container of noodles. “The short answer? It’s exactly what it looks like. There’s a lot of money to be made at Wayne Enterprises and this could be my ticket into high society. I want to help Gotham without a mask.”

“You want to become politically active,” Summer says, her eyes lighting up.

“I want to have resources,” Barbara replies coyly.

“Not as a candidate. As a donor. Like Wayne. That takes a lot of money.”

“The money’s there for the taking.”

“As Two-Face keeps reminding us.”

It’s working. Summer is taking the bait and reading fiction between the lines. She’s smart and she’s doing her job by inferring a narrative that makes sense.

“Truth is, I haven’t decided what I want it to look like,” Barbara admits. “But I’m going to figure it out.”

Summer nods, pleased. “Ms. Gordon, this has the makings of a good story.”

Barbara laughs. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” As she says it, the Bat Signal lights up the sky outside the window behind Summer. Barbara’s smile falters. If that light is on, it’s likely that Dad’s the one who threw the switch.

Should Barbara respond to the signal?

Or have Alfred send Kate?