Batman: A Murder of Crows
Part 1
James Parrish
The sun had barely set and already Dom 'The Maestro' Janis's gang, the Black Shadows, was at work on their latest shipment of contraband. Dom watched his men as they scurried about their duties. All of them carried small arms and every one of them looked nervous and shaky.
Gotham harbor had been quiet for weeks. In light of the city's new shipping laws, ships had to be inspected for any form of illegal goods and nighttime patrols were becoming more and more common.
Not to mention that Gotham's illustrious defender of the night was targeting Dom and his gang.
"Any sign of him on the motion detectors?" The Maestro asked his lieutenant, John Wills. The latter shook his head.
"No sign of him boss," he told Dom casually and without fear. "We're clear for now."
Dom nodded and returned to watching his men work.
His thoughts turned to his nickname. People called him 'The Maestro' because of his day job as the conductor of Gotham's symphony orchestra.
How did I ever get into this line of work? He thought. Dom didn't dwell on the thought though.
One of the motion detectors made a beeping noise, making everyone jump and reach for their guns.
"It's a bird," John told everyone, "not a bat." That drew a few nervous laughs from the men, but then more motion detectors began to beep.
A murder of crows began to swirl around Dom and his men. There must have been thousands of the little black creatures flying all around the Gotham harbor. Dom heard a splash, and then bursts of gunfire. Men screamed, and then a large black shape bowled into The Maestro.
He was then grabbed at the throat by a black gloved hand. Then Dom found himself looking up into an unfamiliar face.
The mask had no features save for a small engraved raven on the forehead. In every other way, the man looked like the Dark Knight. Yet it wasn't him.
"Who are you?" Dom asked him as best he could.
The vigilante smiled. "A murderous crow." Then he snapped Dom's neck.
"What have we got?" said Commissioner James Gordon, directing the question at one of the nearby detectives, a young girl by the name of Tasha Donnel. She was new, but she was already one Gordon's best.
"Twelve dead," Tasha replied. "Blunt force trauma killed those five men over there." She indicated five men near a large stack of crates. "One drowned in the harbor and the rest went down with gunfire."
"What about the Maestro?" Gordon asked her.
"Broken neck," replied Tasha. "Some witnesses reported seeing a bunch of black creatures flying around. Some say crows, but others…" She paused, biting her lip. "Well, other's say they were bats."
Gordon shook his head. "That can't be right. There has to be more evidence here. Sweep the harbor again."
"I did, Commissioner…nothing."
"The Crow," said a deep voice from the shadows nearby.
Gordon turned toward the shadows and saw Batman's unmistakable silhouette. "Scarecrow?"
"No," Batman replied. "The man goes by the name of Crow. He's referencing a murder of crows."
"How do you know that?" asked Gordon.
There was a pause. "I've been tracking the man as best I can. He's a professional killer, and he's targeting Gotham's criminal underworld." Batman stood up from his crouching position. "He leaves no evidence, and he's fast and efficient. Even Deadshot isn't as good as this guy is."
Gordon turned back to Tasha. "Sweep the harbor again, detective." Tasha nodded and walked away.
"How can you be sure that this isn't Deadshot?" Gordon then said.
"It's not the same M.O.," Batman replied. "Deadshot kills his targets at a distance. This guy was up close and personal."
"But he still used guns."
Batman ignored the statement. "This man is probably trained in martial arts and has experience in single combat."
Gordon nodded and looked back at the police cruisers in the distance. "I guess Deadshot's going to be given a run for his money, huh?" He looked back to find that Batman was gone.
"Every time," he muttered to himself.
