The squad sent to arrest the church leadership returned empty-handed. Marco wasn't surprised. Of course those bastards had rabbited the moment things went sideways. They probably had a dozen bolt-holes set up across the city, each one funded by "charitable donations" from their terrified congregation.
He didn't have time to worry about it now.
The forensics lab at the East End Precinct had become an impromptu command center. Edward spread a large map of Gotham across the examination table, pinning down the corners with evidence markers. Marco, Darnell, Otis, Anna, and Dr. Quinzel crowded around it.
"According to Dr. Quinzel's psychological profile..." Edward began, circling several locations on the map with a red marker. "In psychology, water often represents the unconscious mind and finality. The ocean, specifically, symbolizes endings."
He tapped several points along Gotham's coastline.
"These are abandoned or soon-to-be-abandoned docks. These locations are seaside cliffs. And here..." He marked more spots. "The Sprang Bridge, Vincefinkel Bridge, Madison Bridge, and the Aparo Expressway. They are either not grand enough to feel symbolic, or they are too crowded with civilian traffic."
"What about the Trigate Bridge?" Marco pointed to a spot on the map.
"Worth checking." Edward nodded thoughtfully. "After all, she might be drawn to somewhere like the Narrows." He frowned. "But Trigate still has moderate traffic. The Robert Kane Memorial Bridge in the northeast corner is much more isolated. Although it might be too remote, she may not even know it exists."
"The first time we found her was at St. Anthony's Church," Darnell cut in. He tapped a spot on the map. "Right here. Maybe she went back there?"
Marco rubbed his face. "We'll have to split up. But finding one person in a city this size..." He shook his head. "We could pass her on the street and not even know it. That would be some real tragic bullshit."
"Actually..." Edward and Otis exchanged a look, then walked to the corner of the lab. They grabbed the edge of a waterproof tarp and pulled it away, revealing a handcart. On the cart sat what looked like a Frankenstein's monster of electronics. A computer tower had been fused together with a satellite dish, an old radio, and something that looked suspiciously like a Geiger counter. Everything was stitched together with wires, duct tape, and rough solder.
"This is a result of my attempts to analyze so-called magic from a scientific perspective."
He powered the device on. After a loud humming noise and several concerning sparks, he pointed the antenna-like attachment at Anna. Sure enough, the needle on the counter began to fluctuate wildly, and a jagged waveform appeared on a small screen.
"It can detect magical residue on Officer Ramirez." He adjusted a dial. "But I estimate the maximum effective range is no more than fifty meters. And that's in ideal conditions. The principles are quite simple once you understand that magic operates on..."
"Save the lecture for later." Marco turned to Darnell. "You are with Ed and Anna. Take the machine. Also grab one of the portable generators from the supply room, and load everything into the assault vehicle."
"On it."
Marco looked at Dr. Quinzel and Otis. "You two are with me." He pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and dialed.
"Gordon, it's me."
---
Police cars from the East End Precinct and GCPD headquarters fanned out across the city.
Marco drove his car through Gotham's industrial wasteland, Dr. Quinzel in the passenger seat and Otis in the back.
They checked every location on Edward's list.
The first stop was Miller Harbor. Marco parked at the entrance and they spread out, searching the warehouses, the loading bays, and the gaps between shipping containers large enough to hide a person.
Nothing.
The second location was a cliff overlooking Gotham Bay's northern edge. Marco stood at the edge, looking down at the jagged rocks and churning water below.
"Anything?" he called to Otis, who was scanning the area with binoculars.
"Nothing," Otis said, lowering them.
Dr. Quinzel stood a short distance away, leaning against the car. She wasn't watching the obvious places. Instead, her attention kept drifting to the spaces in between. She studied the shadows beneath the old observation platform, the narrow gap between the cliff and the access road, and the stunted trees that had been bent sideways by years of wind.
Marco grabbed the radio. "Darnell, Ed, you guys getting anything on your end?"
Static hissed for a moment before Darnell's voice came through. "Nothing at St. Anthony's. That place is still a wreck from last time. They have not even fixed the window that got blown out."
Marco kicked a rock off the cliff edge and watched it tumble into the darkness below. "Alright. Head to the Narrows next. We are checking Kane Bridge."
"Copy that. Good luck."
---
Darnell drove the vehicle through streets so narrow the side mirrors nearly scraped the buildings on either side. The roads were packed with junkies, dealers, prostitutes, and the walking dead who had given up on life but hadn't gotten around to dying yet.
Edward sat in the passenger seat, eyes locked on the detector. The needle twitched occasionally, but the readings were inconsistent. Anna leaned against the back window, scanning every face they passed.
"Getting anything?" Darnell honked the horn to scatter a group of men blocking the road. One of them stumbled and face-planted on the asphalt. He sighed, put the vehicle in park, and climbed out. He grabbed the guy by the back of his jacket and dragged him to the sidewalk.
"Fucking junkie," Darnell muttered, climbing back in. "Move it or lose it, people!"
"There is something." Edward frowned at the screen. "Turn left here. The signal got stronger for a moment. Now it's fading again."
They followed the signal deeper into the Narrows, turning down alleys that got progressively narrower and darker. The detector gave intermittent alerts, but every time they chased the reading, it led nowhere. Sometimes it pointed to a homeless person curled up in a doorway. Other times to a pile of trash or an abandoned building.
Once, a strong signal led them to a small gang performing some kind of ritual in a basement. The gang members looked up, saw three cops, and went for their guns.
The firefight lasted about ten seconds. Darnell and Anna had Remington shotguns. Edward pulled a Glock from under his jacket and fired. The gang members immediately threw down their weapons and hit the ground.
"Hands behind your heads!" Anna shouted. "Do it now!"
Darnell zip-tied them while Edward calmly reloaded his pistol. They left the gang members hog-tied on the floor and kept moving.
"Ed, you sure this thing actually works?" Darnell wiped something unidentifiable off his face. "We have turned the Narrows inside out. All we have done is stir up trouble and found jack shit."
"Science requires verification," Edward said calmly. "At minimum, it proves the search direction is correct on an energy level. The precision and interference resistance simply need improvement."
They spent another hour combing through the Narrows.
---
Marco stood at the entrance to the Robert Kane Memorial Bridge, leaning over the railing and looking down at the river far below. His phone rang.
"Gordon. Tell me you have got good news."
"Negative," Gordon said. "Nothing on our end, although we did pick up a few muggers. You?"
"Nothing." Marco sighed. "Hey, random question. Was Barbara like this during her teenage years? Running off, being dramatic?"
There was a pause.
"She's very independent," Gordon said. "But she wouldn't pull something like this. She would rather stay home reading."
"That just means you don't pay attention to her," Marco shot back.
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing. Forget it." Marco hung up. Hearing about someone else's well-behaved kid only made him more irritated.
"Captain!" Dr. Quinzel suddenly opened the car door and called out. "Message from Edward's team over the radio. They are getting signals near Trigate Bridge. Intermittent but relatively strong. They cannot pinpoint the location."
Marco and Otis jumped back into the car.
---
By the time Marco's convoy met up with Edward's assault vehicle at the Gotham side of Trigate Bridge, full night had fallen. Streetlights flickered on across the span.
Edward was waiting for them, the detector sitting on the hood of the vehicle. The needle was jumping erratically, and the waveform on the screen looked like a seismograph during an earthquake.
"The signal first appeared here," Edward explained, pointing to the screen. "But it is extremely unstable. We drove back and forth across the bridge once. The signal strength changes, but the peak seems to be somewhere around the middle section."
Marco looked around. Cars moved steadily across the bridge. A few joggers and tourists walked along the pedestrian path. Everything looked normal. There was no sign of Raven.
"Could she be in one of the cars?" Otis suggested. "Or maybe she already left?"
"The signal is drifting, yes. But it has remained in this general area the entire time." Edward shook his head. "She should still be on the bridge. Or..." He looked down at the pavement under his feet. "Inside the bridge."
"Inside?"
Marco stomped hard on the road surface. "You mean under the deck?"
Dr. Quinzel stepped out of the car and observed the surroundings for a moment. Then she pointed beneath the bridge deck, where massive steel support structures disappeared into shadow.
"There," she said quietly. "It's the perfect place for someone seeking exile."
"If you say so." Marco grabbed Dr. Quinzel's arm just as she started to move toward the edge. "Hold on. Otis, check it out first."
Otis jogged over to the side of the bridge. There was a rusted chain-link fence with a section torn open. Behind it, a narrow metal staircase ran upward along a massive support pillar, leading into the deep shadows beneath the main span.
He stood there for a long moment, staring into the darkness. Then he turned and walked back, nodding to Marco.
"She is down there."
"How do you know?"
"I can feel her shadow."
Marco stared at him. "That's the weirdest thing you have said all week, and we have had a really weird week."
Dr. Quinzel looked between them. "What..."
"Come on." Marco ducked through the torn fence and stepped onto the staircase.
Below them, the river churned. The wind howled, whipping through the steel framework. He gripped the railing and focused on the narrow walkway ahead, refusing to look down. After what felt like an eternity, they reached the central section beneath the bridge's main span. There was a maintenance platform here. Beyond the railing was nothing but air and water.
He stopped.
At the edge of his flashlight's glow, a small figure sat wrapped in a dark cloak. She was perched at the very edge of the platform.
"Nice work, Doc. You found the lost raven."
---
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