"Dan! Where's Rorschach? I can' find him anywhere."
Dezzi almost pushed Dan over rushing into the door. She had scoured the city high and low and found neither hide nor hair of Walter.
"Murph, Murph. Murph! Calm down! You mean you don't know?"
He grabbed her shoulders and held her still and took notice of how wide her eyes were, how worried.
"Know what, Dan? Know what? What don't I know?"
"Rorschach's been captured. They've got him locked up. It's all over the news."
If it was the only thing that the threat of nuclear war had blessed upon society, it was the gift of 24 hour news. There was no waiting for the six am news now for any late night speed chase or press conference you were on scene moments after live. "What?"
"Dezzi, calm down." "How did he get caught?" "Remember Moloch? They said he shot him." "And you believed them?!" She found it hard to control the level of her voice. "Well I…" "Dan!" "Well! I didn't really think much of it! But, I mean, when you say it like that." "I told him not to go alone." "You knew he was going to be there?!" "Yes!"
She let out an exasperated sigh. "This is just fucking great. I've got to go." She headed toward the door but her hand froze when the TV in the other room caught her attention. Rorschach, or Walter, a name that Nite Owl had difficulty accepting, was plastered beaten and bruised on the 9'o'clock news.
'Walter Kovacs, Rorschach, has been apprehended and is being held as a dangerous criminal under two murder charges that we are certain of right now.'
An angry snort came from the small woman at Daniel's door. "This is what we've come to?"
Dan didn't bother going after her. Knew there was no point. Knew because what she had mumbled to the TV was exactly what he'd asked Walter's bruised eyes when he'd appeared on his screen. Dan shook his head and returned to the desk drawer he'd opened before Dezzi barged in and looked back down into it. A picture of the Minutemen laughed in his face as he tossed newspaper clippings of the Comedian's death and a bent up picture of the Watchmen he used to carry in his wallet. The time-line of the Comedian stood out the most as Dan began closing the drawer.
"Look how far we've come."