"I know the truth about Midway City."
Amanda Waller was a women who did not experience panic.
To panic suggested an inability to keep control and she had learned long ago that this was a weakness she could not afford in her line of business.
So as she had stared at the anonymous message which had appeared on her screen followed by instructions to meet her at a specific restaurant she would have described herself as concerned at best.
Not panicked.
At all.
The moment it had appeared she had been sent into an overdrive of possibilities. The incident at Midway City had been over six months ago and the reconstruction of the city was still underway but all physical evidence of her involvement had been eliminated by both her team and her own weapon. There were no survivors. She knew that much.
Even the fact that someone had managed to penetrate through some of the best security systems in the world to contact her was worrying in itself and she was now left to assemble the pieces of the possible culprit.
The level of skill which would be necessary to hack the systems allowed her to narrow her suspicions down to a select few almost immediately. Of those few, she was then forced to assess whether any of them could have any ties with either Midway City or Task Force X but in failing to discover anything immediate without arousing suspicion with her investigation she had found in necessary to accept the invite.
Settling down at the dinner table, she glanced around the empty restaurant to ensure that they were truly alone before setting her hard gaze on the man lounging in the opposite seat, his hawk-like stare already on her.
"Edward Nygma."
Tilting his head towards her, Nygma gave her the smallest nod and straightened his back slightly.
He had slipped off her radar over the last few years and as she took in his appearance she was unimpressed to find that very little had changed. The tacky green suits were still in place as was the matching green bowler hat. No visible sign of those trick canes which he employed to protect himself but she had no doubt that he was armed in some way. He would be stupid not to and Nygma was not known for his stupidity.
"Ms. Waller," he rolled her name off his tongue with an easy charm, "Amanda, may I call you Amanda?"
She felt her eye twitch and her voice was steely, "Call me whatever you want Nygma. Makes no difference to me." As much as she would love to just have him killed, she needed to know what he knew.
Shrugging as if unperturbed, he pushed a small glass towards her. "Well then, Amanda, I am certain you are aware of why I have invited you here tonight." He paused, "But before we start would you like a drink? I am afraid they do not sell virgin blood or whatever other beverages a devil like you would most likely prefer so you may have to make do."
"Cut the shit Nygma, what do you want."
She would not listen to his bullshit if she could avoid it.
Swirling his own glass, he narrowed his eyes slightly at her apparent rudeness before calling out smoothly, "When you possess it you wish to share it but if you share it, it will be gone."
Damn him.
"I will not play your games. To which secrets are you referring."
A whirlwind of possibilities were flashing through her mind, if Nygma had hacked her system and stolen information then this could be more trouble than expected.
He could be killed easily enough but he was also aware of this fact and had no doubt backed up whatever information he possessed to prevent it from being lost by his unexpected end at the hands of an assassin. Her rampant thoughts were soon cut short as he spoke again.
"Did you honestly think you could use my technology and I would remain unaware."
The bombs.
That was the connection which she had missed.
The explosives which Task Force X had been implanted with were a redesign of some of Nygmas' old technology which had been unsuccessfully employed in many of his schemes to kill the Gotham Bat. How could she have been so foolish to have overlooked that?
Placing a hand on the table casually, she raised an eyebrow.
"That nanite technology become governmental property when you were interred at Arkham and we were free to use it as we saw fit," her tone was bored, "But as far as I was aware their use in the field was not public knowledge. How d-?"
"Our mutual friend Slipknot," he answered mysteriously before elaborating with a false sadness, "I had planned on hiring him for a small task I needed accomplished and I was surprised to discover he had passed away. One quick look at his autopsy sheet and I instanty recognised the work of my nanite explosives. Nice work by the way."
He stopped long enough to raise his glass to her before draining it and continuing.
"After that it was simple enough to follow the trail. I will give it you, Amanda, you certainly know how to cover your tracks. I almost gave up but a genius always finds a way and I was eventually able to work out that you were somehow involved with the attack in Midway City. Just how many lives were lost due to your actions? Do you even know? But that's irrelevant at the moment, I am certain you wish to know what I want in exchange for my silence over your involvement. Just know that with one phone call I could have everything collapse around you. A modern day Samson if you will."
He finished his small speech with a wide grin which showed each of his pearly white teeth.
She so looked forward to wiping that grin off his face permanently.
"Samson?" She offered an unpleasant smile of her own as she gazed over his scrawny frame which struggled to fill the suit it was placed into. Noticing her look, his expression soured.
"Poor analogy, Nygma. If anything, in this case you would be the Delilah figure." She contested, "Sneaking in like a serpent and taking that which does not belong to you before slipping away again. A thief."
"My bombs, my property." He countered swiftly, his face smug as though he had just presented her with a checkmate.
In that moment she understood that this was it. All the proof which Nygma had was that his explosives had been used in the incident and from that he had extrapolated some strenuous links to her involvement.
He knew nothing of importance.
Or at least, not enough to cause any real damage.
"I see."
She pursed her lips as she pulled out her phone and placed in gently in the centre of the table.
"Do it."
"What?" His face was a picture of sudden confusion.
"Use it. Reveal what you know to the world. Pull down my temple. But I want you to understand that when you do there will be consequences."
Her tone was utterly calm as she stared directly into his face. "But before you do, I want you to know that I once considered you for Task Force X." She revealed. "However, you could not be counted on in the field due to a mixture of physical weakness and inability to work with others. It was determined that the entire source of your power lay in your mind."
She saw a hint of pride pass through his face and before he could open his mouth, she pressed on.
"But this is Gotham, Nygma, and a genius is born every other minute. Should my involvement in Midway City ever become public knowledge, I admit that I may have some questions to answer but this will not be my end and I as I rise again I will ensure to destroy the only power which you possess."
Scoffing with doubt, Nygma flared his nostrils. "Kill me all you want Amanda, the truth will be out and you will not survive the scandal."
Laughing an empty laugh, she picked up the glass he had knocked towards her and poured out a healthy measure of one of the available bottles of whiskey.
"Kill? You misunderstand me. Death is too simple for you, what I was referring to was a full transorbital lobotomy." She tapped the side of the glass with her forefinger. "A complete removal of everything which makes you an individual. Administered by the best doctors which money can buy to ensure that my instructions are followed to an expert level."
"No more riddles."
"No more cognitive thought."
"Just a sad and hollow husk which used to resemble a person"
She tilted her head as she watched him visibly flinch at her words. A man as arrogant and prideful as Nygma would find this a fate worse than death itself. His loss of self.
"Admittedly it may take me a small amount of time to regain my position but Midway City is only a small blip on an otherwise spotless record. I will survive this. And every single moment I continue to survive will be worth it knowing that you are suffering a more terrible fate."
Watching as Nygma summoned what was left of his bravado, she allowed him to make one final stand off.
"You wouldn't dare."
Splaying her hand in an inviting gesture towards the phone, she smirked slightly.
"Try me. Whatever worth you may potentially have can easily be replaced. Your caped crusader will no doubt oppose my plans but that would involve him discovering my intent and reaching you before my men can. Are you a gambling man Nygma?"
She left him to work out his odds and she could detect the exact moment in which understanding hit him. His lounging position had stiffened into something altogether more uncomfortable and the cocky look which had graced his face since she entered had been replaced with one which was a potent mixture of hate and mistrust.
This would not be the end of this particular issue, she was aware of that, but it was a good feeling to be able to place the arrogant Nygma temporarily under her heel with nothing more than a few serious threats.
Inclining her glass to him, she finally took a sip of her drink.
It tasted like victory.