"What a waste of time" mused Commissioner Gordon as he checked his watch. The Gotham wind beat across his face and made his body shiver. It was late. A quarter to midnight. Barbara would not be pleased. Frankly, neither was he.
"I say we give them another ten minutes" stated Detective Robert "Robbie" Gould haughtily, "and then tell them to go fuck themselves." With that, Gould lit a cigarette, shielding the flame from the aggressive wind.
Robbie Gould wasn't exactly one of Gordon's sharpest hounds but he could definitely be counted on and trusted, which said a lot in this city. Then again, he's said the same of others and that hadn't worked out too well, to say the least.
"Well, if I have to spend my night waiting on the FBI" said Commissioner Gordon, grabbing the cigarette, hurling it to the ground and stomped it out, "I could do without that."
"Not necessary, Commissioner" was all Robbie muttered.
Gordon only smiled. Gordon had scheduled a secret meeting with two federal agents, who had taken a special interest in the Joker incident that happened two months prior. Gordon had begrudgingly agreed to the questioning, on the condition that he bring a member of his highly regarded task force. The agents begrudgingly accepted that. Gordon wanted Robbie there as a precaution. There have been several assassination attempts on him in the past two weeks. It hadn't stopped him from doing his job, but he had to be careful. The meeting place was the top the Barnes Avenue apartments.
Barnes Avenue, Gordon repeated to himself with bitter nostalgia. This was the same street where The Joker made his attempt on Mayor Tony Garcia's life and where Gordon faked his death. Not good memories to have.
The door leading to the roof of the apartments opened as a man and a woman appeared. Neither were what he expected to see. He already knew one was an agent Flanagan and the other an agent Montoya. Gordon couldn't help wonder which was which.
The two shook hands with Gordon and Robbie.
"I'm Agent Flanagan" the man said and motioned to his partner, "and this is Agent Montoya. I'm sorry for our tardiness but we had some pressing matters..."
"I'm the goddamn police commissioner" Gordon shouted. "You think I didn't have pressing matters?!"
"Actually" Flanagan thoughtfully said, "we were pretty sure you did. Why did you agree to this?"
The question moved Gordon and caused him to forget his anger. Why had he come? He hadn't known until now. Now he knew the answer.
"Our city was nearly torn apart in three days. It was stopped but there was a tragedy that affected everybody in this city. It makes me question my duties and my very life. I just want this tragedy to end."
The Agents were apparently surprised by the answer and sympathized with him.
"We know what the problem is, Commissioner" said Montoya. "This so-called Batman. He was a vigilante, fighting corruption and evil in the city. Then he snapped and started killing cops, mobsters and even a district attorney he suppossedly saved."
Montoya threw her head back in cruel laughter and added sarcastically,"Though he did such a great job of that, anyway."
Gordon hated her for that.
"We want to stop the Batman and bring him in if we can" Agent Flanagan continued, "No, let me rephrase that, we will bring him in and we're going to find out exactly what happened two months ago in Gotham, because I've read the report and frankly, it doesn't make any fucking sense."
Gordon looked at their faces. There were both young hotshots to be making statements like this. So naive, too innocent to realize they were far out of line here. They would be useful to him as GCPD police but as federal agents they were a threat. He couldn't let them find out the truth. He should have seen this coming, though. He saw their bodies portray a professionalism of sorts, but their eyes showed that they were eager and excited. They had heard stories of Batman and now they had the chance to catch him. Gordon could imagine what they must feel as fellow law enforcement.
"What do you think" asked Agent Flanagan, extending his hand and looking for help.
Gordon didn't think of shaking hands with this naive agent.
"I don't think you understand what happens here nor do you have any idea what you're getting into" said Gordon, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets.
Flanagan just smiled and replied, "You have no idea who I am, Commissioner. Just wait until you see what why we're so good at our jobs. In the meantime, let us know if you have anything that could help us." Flanagan reached into his pocket, as Montoya did the same, and both produced cards that had a number that where Gordon could reach their office at.
Gordon looked them over once, learning Flanagan's first name was Ronald and that Montoya's was Renee. He decided instantly that he would never call. With that, both agents shook hands with Gordon and Robbie, then left without another word.
"I think we should call the number, commissioner" Robbie stated.
Gordon looked at him pointedly and threw the cards into the wind.
"I think I'd rather tell them to fuck off, Robbie." Gordon said before leaving to go home.
Gino Malroni wasn't a man of patience. This Victor Falcone business was beginning to piss him off. Everybody in the city knew all of his father's operations belonged to him now. Now this clown Victor Falcone, some college boy, was attacking Gino's various drug houses around the city and stealing the cash for himself. "This cash has the Falcone family name's on it" is what Victor said each time he and his boys hit another spot. Falcone. The name didn't mean anything in Gotham anymore. Malroni was the mob's first name now, as Gino saw it, and he'd be damned if he gave it back.
Tonight was the night that Gino would meet Victor. The two would decide once and for all who would run the mob. Gino couldn't wait. The two had agreed to meet at an abandoned food processing plant on Darker Street. He had his men do a search of the house while Gino waited for Victor on the ground floor with three of his bodyguards. Victor wasn't very smart from the look of things. He was expecting more from an Ivy League student. He should have studied a little more, because if he had he would found that Gino Maroni completed most of his deals in this very factory.
Albert Ricci and Michael Anorota were on the upper balconey where they could get the high ground and spot Victor and his men before anyone else could. Gino looked up looking for any sign and instead got a shrug from Albert. Stephen Billups and Chris Tulip were downstairs wandering the former management offices.
"Why is the boss so spooked anyway" Stephen asked, "He owns this damn place. Who is afraid to walk in their own shadow?"
"Shut up" commanded Chris Tulip, "Don't you know anything? This Victor spook and his boys have been showing up out of nowhere, and taking areas like they were already there. He's not taking any chances."
A chilling voice from behind them answered, "So, he isn't as stupid as I took him for." Chris Tulip was immobilized with a single punch to his spine and fell sprawling backwards to the ground. Stephen turned, gun drawn, only to have his wrist clenched and broken. This was followed by a punch to the throat to keep him from screaming and alerting the others. He lost consciousness after the next punch.
Chris was turned over and saw his attacker for the first time. His widened and fear and his heart beat much faster than it did before. He also seemed to be paralyzed, at least temporarily.
Batman looked down at him and for a second, his look of complete hatred and contempt was unbearable to Albert. He would've begged to die to get away from that stare, except he found it unbearably difficult to talk. Thankfully, he didn't remember anything after that. Batman must have taken mercy and knocked him out.
"Where are those idiots" asked Gino to his men, not even expecting an answer. He cocked the shotgun he had handy and yelled out, "Come out you cocksucker! I know you're here! Show yourself you coward!"
As if in answer, Albert's unconscious body fell from the balconey tied by a thin black wire, wrapped all around his body an innumerable amount of times and one of the railings above him.
"That couldn't be Victor Falcone, boss" said one of his boys.
"Shut up" shouted Gino Maroni, "I know exactly who it is."
Suddenly, they heard a grunt and a sigh from above them, near the upper stairwell. The men all ran in that direction, guns drawn. They arrived just in time to find an unconscious Michael Anarota sliding down the stairs. His head was bleeding. Nick Sparks, reached down cautiously to check his pulse.
"He's alive" Nick confirmed.
"Boss" Giovanni Rizo, "We should leave with the quickness. Batman..."
"Yeah, Batman" Gino repeated, "keyword:Man. He may be Batman, but if he's a man then he bleeds like us. He'll die like Victor."
With that, Batman landed behind them with cape extended. He dropped to the ground and took out their legs with more synthetic wire, wrapping their ankles in a second. With a single button press from its emitter, they are yanked to the ground and wrapped. The only one not affected is Gino, who proceeds to take a shot at Batman. He misses as Batman dodges into the darkness beneath the stairs. Gino follows him ignoring his men's pleas, who are wrapped in Batman's binds. There is very limited space behind the stairwell, all shrouded in dark. He blindly sprays the area with blast after blast of shotgun shells. He fires six times, having to reload. As he begins, Batman rushes him from his right side.
Batman knocks the shotgun and Gino's shells to the ground and grabs him by the throat with one hand. Gino grabs arm Batman with both hands, trying to wrench himself free. When that doesn't work, he kicks Batman in the legs and abdomen but its like kicking a wall.
"Victor Falcone never existed" Batman said, "He was a character I created. Carmine Falcone did have a son, yes, but he hasn't stepped foot in Gotham since the age of twelve. Not even for his father's funeral."
With that, Batman released Gino, only to administer a crunching uppercut that broke Gino's jaw and knocked him unconscious.
Batman, after tying up Gino Malroni, goes upstairs to confirm what he had seen earlier. In the deepest crevice of the stairwell, in the plant's storage room are hundreds of stored boxes and barrels. Batman flips open a knife and slices a box open. He finds various guns and other weapons. He tears the top of a barrel with a dagger. There is nothing but pure heroin.
Outside, in the trees, Batman dials 911 on his cell phone after place an audio syndicate on it, created by WayneTech.
"Yes, this is 911" the operator chimed in, "What is your emergency?"
"Yeah" said Batman in an altered voice, "I need help. I'm at 1355 Downey Boulevard. There are men inside an old abandoned factory. There's a lot of drugs and guns. I'm shot. Please... help." Batman added a wavering voice to the call to emphasize that he had been potentially fatally shot.
"Sir, what is your..."
Batman hung up after that. However, he is a man of patience even if he doesn't seem like it sometimes. He was so patient he portrayed himself as a criminal for a week and a half, waiting for the chance to find Maroni stupid and charged enough to mess up like this. He was so patient he stole dirty money, only to burn it later. He was so patient, he waited an hour for police to show up at the abandoned food plant, making sure Maroni and his men never escaped.