12100/Family on the Fourth

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Family on the Fourth
Date of Scene: 21 July 2022
Location: Tricorner Docks
Synopsis: Barbara and her father meet for the Fourth.
Cast of Characters: Jim Gordon, Barbara Gordon




Jim Gordon has posed:
It's along the docks, a coffee shop that had the best danishes in the city. Jim Gordon is looking out over the sea in the afternoon across the harbor. Hot cup of coffee in one hand, danish in the other. "The fireworks are going to be beautiful tonight."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara had just arrived a matter of moments ago. She'd come on her sport motorbike that is parked out front of the shop. With her helmet deposited, and her jacket hanging on the back of her chair now she gathers up the drink that her father had already bought for her, and smiles at him across the table. "Where are you going to watch them?" She asks him, with a glance toward the outside, then back to her parent. She raises her drink up to her lips to sip from it. "I figured you'd be right where all the action is."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would smile, "Right in the thick of things. There's an even chance that something's going to happen, so I'll be with the unit on duty. It's good to see you. I'm sorry I missed Christmas." He'd made a promise to be the best father he could when he divorced. He still felt far from it. "I'm allowed to spend a little time with my favorite girl."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The words from the older one has Barbara showing him a warm smile. She shakes her head a second later. "It's fine, you know you don't have to answer to me. You know that I'm well aware of the trouble you're facing 'out there'." She responds with another glance toward the window after setting her cup down again and wrapping her hands around its base. "I do wish you had a little more time off though. You've been at this... you know... for awhile." She lets a grin encroach upon her expression for him then. "Surely you've got some qualified people to help back you up by now?"

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would close his eyes, looking across the bay, "I keep on thinking it's too damned long. Then I look at the police force and I know I can't leave until it's purged and can protect the city the way Gotham deserves." A hand would go up to squeeze Barbara's. "And never enough. And everyone that is is spread even thinner than I am."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The words, she's heard before, but they still strike her with some pitty for what her father has to go through. She accepts his hand and returns the squeeze with her own. "Yeah, but you've given the city some oxygen back to breathe with in your time. Maybe it's not your job to completely restore the ecosystem, so to speak. Maybe you just need to find some worthy proteges to carry the legacy on, and let you just have a chance to actually breathe some yourself." She counters him as she glances toward the doors when they open up, because... he's put that in her also. Always be aware of your surroundings. She watches a young man in his 20s slip in, and then just looks back over to her father.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would sigh, "You're right Barbara. It's not my job to completely fix it. But I'm going to give it my all to try. And with all I smoke, I don't think breathing's going to change." Even as he talks with his daughter, Jim keeps track of the man the same way. "If anyone's going to save the world it's going to be you. Green energy, cyber security.. You're going to make it better."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Of course this has the redhead showing a brighter smile and a light laugh. "Change the subject." She says. "Nice tactic..." She chides the man. Her drink is lifted up to her lips then again for another sip. When she lowers it, she just nods her head a single time to him. "It may not be dramatic changes, that are written about in News headlines across the intrnet. But, in my mind... any positive change is a legacy worth living, leaving and loving." She states then with another sharp smile before she lets it go again. "Speaking of which... My AI system is coming along quite nicely. I think I could set it up for you, it might help you operate your phone more efficiently." She tells him then, showing another small grin.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would laugh, "I've had a lot of practice. You're making the Internet safer. Like an old luddite like me can get the specifics. but you're brilliant, dear. I don't say that just as I'm your father and I'm proud of you. And you're making everyone safer and their lives better. I don't have to grasp the details to know it. And sure. Blasted old thing. About every week I get it looked over by someone.." The phone is picked up and taken out. He doesn't have it checked every week because it has problems. But because he's paranoid about making sure it's not tapped.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara affords him a pleased look at what he says about her, she giving his hand another soft squeeze before she eyes him pulling his phone out. That's when she sits back and reaches to get her own device out of her jacket pocket. "Here. Let me see it." She tells him then, taking it when he may relint it. Both devices are set down side by side one another on the table, Barbara's own phone completely custom made. She gets them both going, clearly knowing her father's password to his, and within seconds she has them talking to each other so her phone can inspect his. Then, she looks back up at him. "You know I'm proud of you too, right?" She says to him then in a warm tone. "I mean, I have been my whole life. I maybe had Batman and Warcraft posters up on my bedroom wall, but that's only because they didn't make Jim Gordon posters." She says with another quick grin.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would let Barbara take it over and laugh, "I just changed it and you've got it already. So much for being able to surprise you." He would chuckle. "Your old man is pretty easy to figure out." He would still keep an eye out on the man who had walked in the back, but not directly. "I know that. And that's what keeps me going. I wouldn't have been able to if you hadn't. And I'd look horrible on posters. They don't put my picture up at city council meetings for a reason."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara smiles at first, then she shows a quick frown at the last bit of what he says. "I'm sure there are other reasons they don't also..." She mutters before taking another sip from her drink. When she lowers it this time her phone beeps, causing her to drop her green eyes down to its display. She purses her lips then. "Looks like you're clean. But... hmm." She spins her phone around then, and points at it. "Someone has been tapping your line, trying to find a weakness." She indicates some Ip addresses. "I imagine these are bogus, but I could look in to it for you if you'd like?"

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would take a moment to glance over at his daughter, glancing at her quizzically as she would murmur to herself. "Lovely. If someone's managed to get into my phone then the entire department could be compromised.. Or every single thing I'm working on. Thank you, Barbara. was this done recently?" The way her dad's moving it's something if she doesn't get him to -sit- he'll be after right away.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara just glances around the coffee shop quickly as that man who'd come in gets his order and starts for the doorway again. She then looks back to her father's phone. "It looks like it happened after you changed your password." She notes before looking to hers and pointing to the dates on the display. "Did you tell anyone that you changed it? They may have thought it meant you had opened up some weak points in the system..." She shakes her head gently side to side again. "I can keep track of this though, remotely, if you're okay with that?"

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would shake his head, "No, not at all. I change them every month and I just did this one last week." He has a frown on his face. "And I've been not using those old familiar things as cues for them." No birthdays, no anniversaries, no events. "And please do." The man stands out to Jim, but he hasn't done anything more than be in a coffee shop.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara shows him a soft grin. "Don't let it keep you up at night." She reassures him. "My security system is already protecting your phone. These people, whoever they are, likely just have a program running on it's own to just sorta look for weaknesses now and then. Remember Jurassic Park?" She asks with a return of her grin. "The dinosaurs testing the fences? Same thing, basically. So don't worry. I'll keep the electricity on." She reaches out then to pat his hand, before she pushes his phone back to him.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would just smirk behind his mustache at his daughter, "Isn't that when they eat the lawyer hiding in the portapotty?" He would quip over. "And can you tell if the previous intrusions were successful? I'll have to start backtracking through thngs and see what else in the department might be compromised."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The lawyer joke makes Babs laugh softly. "I suppose. but if I were to liken you to anyone in that film, I don't think I'd pick that lawyer guy..." She smirks warmly at him before she pulls her own phone back and starts to scroll down the log of attempts from the outside link. AFter a few seconds she shakes her head. "None of them got through." She says, before looking back up to him. "But, you know my system only protects your stuff. Not the rest of the police infrastructure... So I can't vouch for all of that."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would nod slowly, "And I'm not sure I'd trust anyone inside the department to handle something like this. Outside.. A subcontractor could be where it got in from. I'll try to make sure everyone gets a cybersecurity briefing. I hate to put this on you Barbara, but can I ask you a favor?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs shuts her phone screen off to give her father her full attention, something she's made sure to do since she was a teenager. "Of course." She says to his questsion with a quick smile. "And... I still think you need to put together a team of people you can trust... Sort've like... your own 'Untouchables' thing. Elliot Ness." She grins at him, since that's a movie he introduced her to ages ago.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would smirk, "I have a few. The list includes Bullock, Montoya.. I know what you say about Bullock, but he's a good man and his heart is in the right place. And he's a damned fine detective." Just the list of people that qualify for that is depressingly short.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Another quick smirk is showing at the mention of Bulloch. "If you trust him, then I trust him." She says with some reluctance to her voice. "I know that 'shining examples of Gotham's finest' aren't rushing to join the ranks of the GCPD... But I think there has to be some within it somewhere, who are just afraid to speak up, out, and are maybe being overlooked. But..." She sighs heavily then and just raises her cup up for another sip. "Maybe I'm being idealistic..."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would smile, "And that's why I do this job. Because someone has to make it so my girl can see the good in people. And I want people to look at tehir cops and see good people, protectors. Not thugs who shake them down."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Once more, Babs reaches out to give her father's hand a soft squeeze. "And you're doing a good job. Just don't let it make you completely crazy. A little crazy? Mmh... well, maybe that's fine." She says with alight smile following her words. "So, fireworks then. Barbecue and some beers with your cop buddies?" She asks him next.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would laugh, "Barbara, this city makes us all a little crazy. It's part of the culture. Anyone who can't take it picks up and leaves to somewhere sane, like Metropolis." he would tease. "And over the weekend there will be something. You're more than welcome to attend."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Two quick nods come from the redhead then. "I'd enjoy that." She replies to him. "Plus, hey... I wave goodbye to my 20s here in a couple months too. You're going to have to be there for the party for that. I think we're going to throw something at the Clotcktower, but I gotta talk to the others about it first some. I don't want any surprises... I've had enough surprises in my thirty years already..."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would just laugh, "Fair. I take it that I should stop any plans I had started setting in motion on the matter?" Maybe he did have something, maybe he didn't. "You're the strongest willed person i've ever met, Barbara. Eveyrthing life's thrwon at you and you can still stand tall and proud. And no grey hairs yet."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
This gets another faint smirk from Babs. "Well... surprises from you? I guess I could handle that much." She says then before shaking her head softly. "I'm lucky to be standing at all." She then says a bit grimly, considering her past, and the wound she sustained which put her in a chair for a long time. She knows its a sensitive subject for him though, let alone herself. "But, thank you. I do it because I've had good role models." She says in that warm tone too, before her eyes go up to her own forehead. "I better not be greying yet... My red still gets me a lot of free drinks at the pub." She then snaps another grin at him.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would take his hand up to squeeze Barbara's shoulder. "You're the strongest person I've ever met. Even with what you went through, you recovered. You're still going. You still have faith in people and can see the best in them. That's why you're going to change the world for the better. That kind of drive. And I hate to break it to you but I started as soon I was i ncollege and haven't stopped since."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara smiles throughout what he says to her, then laughs softly at the last part there. "Yes, well, I guess that is a pretty big hint as to where I have garnered my own sense of drive, and dedication, huh?" She responds while raising her left hand up to prop her chin up on it. "Guess we're both in for this until we collapse in a heap somewhere, someday, some how?" She smirks again at that then.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would smile, "Seems like it. I think I have at least another couple decades in me. Well, if I wasn't in a high stress job and copmensating for it by smoking. That's probably cutting it back quite a bit." He would poke some fun at himself. "And I'm glad that I get credit for something in the family genes."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Another smirk graces Barbara's lips then as she considers her mother after he says that. She looks toward the coffee shop counter, then back to him. "Couple decades? I'll have a way to transfer you in to a computer by then, so don't worry. You're not going anywhere." She says with a happy expression shown before she reaches for a napkin from the dispensor on the table by the window. "Maybe by then we'll have robot cops who can't be corrupted too." She idly says. "One of my friends is a pretty damn stellar robotics designer. You should see the drones she's unleashed on the Tower some time... You might ask her to make some for your own needs."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would throw his head back and sigh, "What is it with robots? That just seems like the next big thing. But who am I to say? I saw a cell phone and thought 'this thing is like a brick, no one will ever want one' and I'm sure if I was back another generation I'd have said the same thing about computers. And I thik we're a ways away from taking the human element out of police work, for all the issues it has."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara smirks at her father then before shaking her head softly side to side. She reaches up behind her ear and taps the back of her head where she has the neural implant that lets her walk again. "These things are going to replace these... you know." She says to him, then tapping the phone that sits in front of her. "It's all going to be done inside our heads, likely before the next twenty years are over too. We're going to be sitting here some day having a conversation without even moving our lips." She tells him with a little laugh. "Though, yours, I imagine will break a lot, and be filled with odd apps that I have no idea how you managed to even find, let aloned download." She teases him. "What are you going to do when you don't have a phone screen to break either?"

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would sigh, "That's going to end up horribly. I can think of so many ways, even with all good intentions. Mark my words, that's something every single television show I've ever seen agrees on. Putting metal parts in your brain and plugging it to whatever teh Internet is in twenty years can't end well for humanity."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
As it so happens a police cruiser is pulling up outside. It isn't stopping though, it's just stopping at the intersection and then moving to take a right hand turn. Babs notices it quickly before she looks back to her father and smirks again at him. "Maybe. Or maybe those shows just want to retain an audience so they dream up the worst scenario possible." She says teasingly at him again. "People like me? We're going to make sure it goes smoothly... I hope, at least."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon looks up and over, taking a glance to memorize the dispatch number of the car, tagging it by the liscence. Focusing on recalling if they were assigned to this side of town. "Well, someone has to pick up the mess that my generation made of things. Sorry for what the Baby Boomers did."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara shakes her head softly side to side before smiling at him again. "There were good things done too. That's the point, I think. To keep pushing toward a better tomorrow, right?" Once more her coffee is sipped from before she dabs at her lips with the napkin she picked up moments ago. "So don't worry, things are getting better." She says then, ever the optimist.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would nod, "People can be good and bad. Most meet somewhere in between. I'd like to think that we leave the world a little better than we came into. I try. I'm not sure how much I succeed. But it's everyone putting in their own way. Not everyone's going to be a heroic cop like your father."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Well they're missing out, in that case." Barbara replies to him with another warm smile for her father. "Well. I guess I shouldn't take up much more of your time. I'm supposed to do some... safety checks of my own tonight." She speaks of her patrols as Batgirl. "It's going to be a wild one, I think, and with the heat wave... people might be a little extra crazy, looking to blow off steam with explosives, you know."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon would glance at Barbara, "Of course. I suppose that's something I should get on myself. Because the citizens have to be merry on every other day of the year, they could cook up something extra special for tonight. Good tos ee you Barbara. I'm sorry it took so long."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Once Babs has her things gathered up, she steps around the table to put a hand on his shoulder and then give him a kiss to his cheek. She leans in to hug him then. "Be careful tonight, and if you need anything for your phone, or security assistance for the rest of the very-trustworthy co-workers of yours... Just let me know. And you never have to apologize for anything to me." She tells him with a smile.