Title: Bird of Prey.
Fandom: Nolan-verse Batman.
Pairing: Jim Gordon/Bruce Wayne.
Categories: Action, Angst, Case File, Dark, Drama, Hurt/Comfort.
Length: Epic.
Warnings: A *lot* of violence, mentions of drug use, prostitution (which involves dub-con) and non-con, OC deaths, illness as a result of psychological trauma.

Author on LJ: jane_potter
Author Website: Jane Potter@ Ao3

Author's Summary: "A new Mafia kingpin. A vigilante in exile. A commissioner without allies. Half a year undercover, deep in the heart of the criminal underworld. Half a year to redeem Batman, salvage a broken partnership, and-- maybe-- save Gotham."

Review:
A new Mafia boss threatens Gotham city and Bruce Wayne decides to fight the spreading wave of criminality from within. Assuming a new identity, he goes deep undercover and becomes an enforcer for the Mafia, a position that will put him in considerable danger, physically and mentally. Thankfully he is not alone: Jim Gordon refuses to be kept in the dark and offers his support and friendship.

I've been waiting for the author to post the last chapter on Fanfiction.net (for all of those that would rather download a single file instead of going through 24 different parts) so I could rec this story, which is absolutely brilliant. While I'm not put of by angst or even the occasional dose of drama (especially if followed by a happy ending), I'm not usually a fan of darker fics. Perhaps because the fandom itself is a bit darker than my usual fare, "Bird of Prey" really worked for me. Yes, there's quite a bit of violence in the story, but it is always used as an important part of the plot and never just for the shock value.

The thing that really made me enjoy the story, besides the interesting plot, was the portrayal of all the characters. The OCs are interesting and fleshed out. The unbeatable Major Crimes trio of Stephens, Bullock and Montoya is fantastically written (Montoya, in particular, is beyond awesome). Barbara Gordon is, thankfully, not painted as a villain and the dissolution of her marriage with Jim and his increasing involvement with Bruce don't feel forced. Last, but certainly not least, I couldn't fail to praise the author for not ignoring the effects of such a long term "undercover operation" on Bruce and how he and and Jim deal with them.

All in all this is a wonderfully crafted story about the sacrifices people are willing to make for the things they believe in and the consequences thereof.

Bird of Prey
@LJ : here (link to the first part - every chapter has a link to the next) or here (link to last part, with links to the previous 23 chapters).
DW Post (wich links to .doc and .pdf files)
Bonus Post (with references, deleted snippets, character information and fic timeline).

Short "Prequels"
Merry Christmas, Comissioner.
Happy New Year, Batman.