Fast cars, fast women. Mind-numbingly long parties. That was Lt. Gordon's summation. He had been stuck at Bruce Wayne's celebratory party for over two hours with no end in sight. And the hero Harvey Dent, the star of tonight's extravaganza, hadn't even shown up yet.

Not that anyone seemed to notice. Everyone had their eyes on Wayne. Even Gordon watched him – one couldn't help it. The host glided through the room, effortlessly suave as he played the courteous host. He was such a gentleman at it that you almost didn't notice that he had two dates for the evening and no compunctions against snuggling up to everyone else's.

Gordon didn't approve of Wayne's lifestyle, at least the parts he saw plastered to the tabloids he only glanced at in the check-out lines. But then the paper's more reliable reports were just as embarrassing. An empty-headed playboy with nothing to do and too much money with which to do it. But while Gordon would privately sneer at the behavior and scandals of any of the other spoiled elite at this party, he could never do that with Wayne. No matter who he had grown up to be, Gordon just would never be able to judge the little boy shivering quietly in the station.

"Wayne certainly knows how to throw a party."

Gordon turned. "Dent. When'd you get here?"

The DA looked harried. Not because of his clothes – his business suit was impeccable as always. It was more in his hair that looked like he'd run his hands through it once or twice or thirty and now it refused to settle. It was also in his posture – one hand always returning to a pocket, the stiff shoulders, and the subtle shifting of weight. He looked about as comfortable at this shindig as Gordon, a point of commonality that surprised the detective.

"Just a few minutes ago. I should still be in the office working, but the mayor insisted I come. No one can say no to Bruce Wayne right?"

"Well I'm sure I'll find someone." Wayne came up behind them, a voluptuous brunette glued to his side. "Someday." He grinned, full of ivory teeth and polite insincerity. "How are you Harvey?"

"Very busy Mr. Wayne."

"Oh come on Harvey, relax. I told you I would throw you a fundraiser."

"I thought this was a celebration for the Lau trial."

Bruce handed him a glass. "Well if you can kill 500 birds with one stone, I figured I could do two."

The model on his arm pouted. "Bruce you promised me another dance."

Bruce laughed and squeezed her to him.

"If you'll excuse me gentlemen." It was the first time Wayne had even acknowledged Gordon's presence. The two of them watched Wayne escort his date to the dance floor.

"At least he didn't invite the whole Russian ballet," Harvey muttered as he took a gulp.

Gordon carefully hid a smile behind his drink. He'd heard of Wayne's "love boat" stunt a few weeks back, and the detectives in his office had - all too gleefully - gossiped that it had interfered with Harvey Two-Face's own ballet plans.

"Since when is Wayne fundraising for you?"

"Since now I guess. We had dinner together a while back – Rachel knows him," he clarified at Gordon's expression.

The beckoning of other guests drew Dent away. Gordon glanced around – there was no one else he wanted or would be comfortable talking to. He checked his watch; surely he could run away now. He'd served his time. Even the commissioner would have to admit that.

Gordon took two steps before the world exploded around him.

Dent. He had to find Dent. Gordon picked himself up and looked frantically around. People were ducking everywhere, scrambling to get away from the bullets pelting in through the shattered windows.

Armed men swarmed in from the elevators, and Gordon didn't think Wayne had his own private army.

He found him. "Dent! Come on!" Gordon pulled him up and tried to shield him as they ran. He had to use the mayhem to his own advantage. Get Dent down the hall, sneak him out.

It was useless. Three of the gunmen blocked their path. The others swarmed onto the floor, grabbing as many of the conscious guests as possible and herding them to the elevators.

All too soon they were outside and thrown into the backs of moving trucks. Over twenty to a truck, the doors locked, and they took off.

The operation had lasted maybe ten minutes.

The only thing Gordon could do was shield the ladies as they were tossed back and forth. Every bump and turn crashed them into each other. Gordon tried to keep track of the turns and the time between each one, but it was useless. For all he could tell they could be in Canada or Mexico.

A sound drew his attention. While most of the others had lapsed into shock, one woman was still sobbing. Gordon made his way through to her.

It was one of Wayne's dates. And cradled in her arms…

"What happened?" he demanded as he took him from her. Wane was unconscious, blood slowly seeping from a gash to the back of his head. "Head wounds bleed a lot," he tried to reassure the distraught date as he tore off a piece of his shirt and pressed it to the wound.

Just then the vans slowed. Everyone tensed, waiting. Gordon stood.

And then the doors swung open and sudden floodlights blinded them all. In that moment of disorientation the bad guys rushed in. A man shoved Gordon away from Wayne and tossed the billionaire carelessly out of the truck. Immediately Gordon jumped out and returned to his side. The others slowly followed.

They were in a cavernous warehouse, all steel and girders and shipping containers. Gordon had seen far too many of these in his years on the force, and now he had a decent idea where they were. The Narrows. Not that that knowledge helped anything.

"Well well, I do believe it's Harvey Dent.," a smooth voice mocked out of the shadows. A dapper older gentleman stepped into the light. Tall, darkly handsome, perfectly tailored and pressed suit. Gordon didn't recognize him, but he'd lay even money on him being an associate of Maroni's.

The leader surveyed the party guests with pointed indifference. Then with a smile he stepped back, and the minions moved. Harvey was immediately shoved next to Bruce Wayne's prone form, and almost all the young ladies were shuffled to the side. The wealthiest and powerful of Gotham's elite were placed next to Dent.

Then the gangsters were pulling Gordon over to the lessers.

"Wait," the leader raised a hand. "Don't you recognize Gordon, Batman's friend?" His lip curled. "The honest cop. Put him with the others."

And with that the two groups were thrown into their separate holding containers.

"Any idea who these guys are?" one of the younger millionaires was the first of the group to speak.

"My guess would be criminals," offered Harvey.

Great, they were already sniping at each other. Gordon rubbed his eyes. This was shaping up to be a great kidnapping.

"What I want to know is where was Wayne's freaking security? These guys just waltz in and kidnap all of Wayne's guests and nobody lifts a finger to stop them!?"

Gordon instinctively pulled Wayne a little closer to him. Since he had been with him in the truck, it had been an unspoken assumption that he would take care of the playboy in here as well. And Gordon could admit he liked not feeling completely useless in this situation.

Time passed slowly. The other men shuffled around, stretching their legs. Gordon and Dent stayed together. Dent was quietly analyzing what the bad guys' motives were, who they were working for, etc. Gordon listened, letting the DA talk, adding his own thoughts only when needed. It was comfortable, almost familiar. They'd become a surprisingly good team, him and Harvey Two-Face.

"Shouldn't he be awake by now?" Gordon was surprised both at the observation and at the slight note of genuine concern in Dent's voice.

"I think so, but I'm not a doctor."

"No one is. You'd think one person in this trust fund guild would have been a doctor."

"His father was."

Just then the billionaire groaned and shifted.

"Mr. Wayne?" Gordon reached out. "Mr. Wayne can you hear me?"

The billionaire's eyebrows furrowed. "Gordon?"

The policeman was stunned at the recognition. "Yes, Mr. Wayne. How are you feeling?"

Immediately Wayne stiffened. A beat. He opened his eyes. "Where am I?" His voice had changed in some way that Gordon couldn't pinpoint.

The same young, vapid heir piped up from where he was sitting. "You're in a warehouse Bruce. Surprise."

"Why?"

"Some bad guys came in and interrupted your party and kidnapped all your guests. We need to have a talk about your security."

Gordon turned. "Not right now, okay?" His voice was soft but final (Barbara referred to it as his 'domestic dispute' voice), and the young man shrugged and backed off.

Wayne painstakingly pushed himself into a sitting position; Gordon put a hand out to steady him.

"How do you feel?"

Wayne stifled a groan. "Not bad."

"You've got a hard head Wayne I'll give you that."

Gordon looked at Dent disapprovingly.

To his relief Wayne didn't appear bothered by it. Closing his eyes he rested his head on the wall. "Any idea who the bad guys are?"

Gordon added another makeshift bandage as Wayne's movements restarted the bleeding. "Dent here thinks they're criminals." He couldn't resist.

"I guess the district attorney would know."

Dent just scowled at them.

"What do they want?"

"So far they haven't said. They just separated us into two groups, with the VIPs in here. Ginger and Mary Ann are with the others."

At that Bruce opened his eyes. "Who are Ginger and Mary Ann?"

Gordon had the grace to look embarrassed at his unprofessional phrasing. "Your dates for the evening."

Dent snorted. "Really Gordon?"

"Well what did you want me to say? Bimbo #1 and Bimbo #2?" Gordon snapped at him, and then he realized what he said. He winced. "My apologies Mr. Wayne. I'm sure they're…lovely girls." Dent shook his head at him. He was digging himself in deeper and deeper.

A smile tugged at the corners of Bruce's mouth. "You should have said that in the first place Lieutenant; I would've understood you a lot faster."

Wayne suddenly straightened. "Rachel. Where's Rachel?"

Harvey put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax Bruce. Rachel wasn't even at the party. She was able to keep working on the case," he couldn't help adding.

Bruce looked around the room, finally looking at who was in there. "And Alfred?" he asked slowly.

"He's not here, and I didn't see him with the others. I don't know."

Bruce's face tightened, but after a moment he nodded. "And how did these criminals break into my party?"

Gordon took over the report. "One, maybe two shot out the windows from another building, and about twelve gunmen rode up the elevator."

A perfectly groomed eyebrow lifted. "I guess we do need to have a talk about my security." He frowned. "And why don't I remember any of this?"

"Well, according to" Gordon stumbled a bit and finally settled on, "Mary Ann, you two were near a window when it exploded and it knocked you out."

The billionaire just stared at him. "Seriously?"

He muttered the next under his breath but Gordon caught it.

"Alfred will never let me live that down."