Chapter 9

"I get that a lot of the young guns don't know who he is, because he's been in the pen for so long that he doesn't have the name brand recognition of the Joker or Two-Face, but let's get one thing straight. Back in the day, when there was only one name, Carmine Falcone, there were a lot of lesser names, men you shouldn't cross. I had the bad fortune to be raised up on the waterfront. You see, Falcone was the godfather of Gotham, and wasn't nobody around that was going to cross him. Falcone didn't have problems with members of the family fighting among each other once in a while, though. Thought it was like Darwin said, survival of the fittest. So you'd have the small wars erupt between members of the lesser families in Gotham. If you hear one man tell you that Lew Moxon wasn't one of the most terrifying names on the street, then he's either a bald faced liar or a complete moron. On a list of the most infamous murders in Gotham, what are a few you would list. Did you say the death of the Wayne family? Yeah? Because guess what I was about ten years older than Brucey boy when it happened, and I still remember everything that broke out afterwards. For years, even if everyone knew the killer was Joe Chill, they also suspected the entire arrangement wasn't an accident. You have one of Gotham's wealthiest families attending the theatre, with some of Gotham's richest and famous elites, and somehow there's no security protection? You think the theatre just let them out the back door like it was nobody's business? Give me a break. Everyone from here to Metropolis knew that murder wasn't an accident, and even if it couldn't be proven, all fingers were pointing at Lew Moxon. Couldn't nobody do a damn thing about it though, not with Falcone protecting him. We never got the evidence and we could never figure out the motive, but there wasn't a person on the east stretch that didn't know the truth. Lew Moxon ordered the execution of Thomas and Martha Wayne, plus about fifty other people during the same year. Got to give it to him. Guy was ambitious. That's why he landed in the slammer."

-Harvey Bullock

Phone lines were exploding all through Gotham Central Police Department, men and women dashing around as calls were routed and detectives flew about, trying to ascertain all the details of what had happened that night. The office was a mess, a perfect reflection of what was happening on the streets at that very moment, a perfect storm full of too much chaos and not enough details. James Gordon had quickly sealed himself into his office along with Lieutenants Harvey Bullock and Gerard Hennely, along with Captain Maggie Sawyer, a recent transfer from Metropolis.

"We've got a shitstorm happening out there and it's all happening at once!" Gordon exploded, slamming his fist to the desk and simultaneously snatching up a stack of reports. Two high profile kidnappings, one Marco Vega the other Delina Fiora, both wealthy shipping moguls. Meanwhile in Old Gotham," Gordon screamed, turning about and staring out his window, to the now dark skies that had only a half hour before burned red, "We've got an explosion out on the waterfront so big we're getting reports it leveled four damned city blocks. Some people thought we were being attacked with nukes by North Korea," he continued, spinning about to face his team. "I need you all out there, now, getting all this together."

His finger jabbed out at Hennely. "I know you work quick response but you've also got a nose for special types of criminals. The super criminal type, and we both know what I'm talking about. That's why you're taking up the Delina Fiora case. Stacy's already got a file for you outside including the location and time of reported kidnapping, but suffice to say, all this has happened within an hour of each incident. Fiora's a major player in trade and shipping services from here throughout the U.S. and Gotham stands to lose a substantial amount of legitimate business if she goes down. Get me answers, Hennely."

"Yes, sir," the sharply dressed blonde man said, sensing the tension as his heels clicked together.

"Maggie, you're taking up the opposite half of the coin at Marco Vega's mansion."

She frowned, taking a step forward. "Sir, with all due respect, I think an incident like the explosion demands my attention. I've worked the worst cases in Metropolis and have done a fine job here doing the same."

"Nobody's questioning that, captain," he tersely replied, voice firm and uncompromising. "That one's mine, though. Besides, like Hennelly, you've got a nose for sniffing out these super criminal types. I don't know for sure whether the kidnappings were related but if they were, we need answers, and we need them yesterday. More than that though," he said, slapping his chest, "That explosion is mine. Old Gotham, for better or worse, is my city, and I'll be damned if I let an incident like that get past me." His eyes went to Harvey, motioning toward the door. "You'll be getting our team together. This will be our first time on the ground operating as twelve men in tandem."

Harvey pushed himself off the while, where he'd spent the meeting leaning against a portrait of Gordon's family. "Do we know whether this case involves anybody? I'm not saying anything either way about it, but couldn't this just be accidental? A huge gas explosion or something."

"You're absolutely right, Harvey, it could be accidental," Jim said as his hand went to his chair, snatching the trench coat off its back. "But that doesn't change the fact that it's still my city. It also doesn't change the fact that this is Gotham we're talking about, not to mention the damned waterfront, the place we've had our eyes glued for a week now. If you think it's a legitimate accident then let's talk about getting you into a timeshare some day."

The lieutenant almost rolled his eyes, catching himself at the last second and turning his head aside. "Yeah, I hear you. I'm on it boss."

"Well then?" he demanded, waving his hand toward the door. "Let's go!" They marched as a group into the halls of the police department, alive with an electricity it rarely saw, people dashing back and forth, dodging around each other as they rushed to phones, desks, and prepared to depart. Jim picked up the manila envelope that Stacy, his secretary, only barely had time to hand off to him as he dashed by, Bullock struggling to keep up next to him.

"We got any word on this?" Harvey asked, huffing as his burly legs carried him along, almost in a slight jog. "Injuries, deaths?"

"Paramedics are already on the scene," Gordon replied without much emotion, eyes glued on the path ahead as he weaved between people coming the opposite way. "Hundreds reported injured. Fatalaties are hard to come by, considering the fact that people at the site of the explosion have all but been vaporized."

Harvey's eyes jumped. "Vaporized? Like science fiction?"

"Already a report of a man's shoes with only a portion of the foot, the rest of it cleanly burned away."

"Hot damn. And the source of the explosion?"

"Far as what's come in, it's a chemical plant and storage facility, does special development for the government and has the stuff shipped out from the coast. Whatever happened tonight, it seems likely it started there, and the resulting explosion was so large that we're likely to have injuries coming in clear until tomorrow."

"I see." Harvey huffed as they reached an intersection, Harvey angling away for a moment, Gordon preparing to continue. Bullock stopped quickly, gesturing back at James. "Hey, I'm going to get the team ready, but just one thing. Who owned the chemical plant?"

"Technically a man named Rupert Trendon. In reality? That's just an alias Roman Sionis, the Black Mask, used to purchase the place with." Gordon turned, continuing down the hall, leaving Bullock to assembled their officers. For a minute Harvey stood there, dumbfounded, his fingers lifting the brim of his hat just slightly. "Black Mask? Got damn."

Batman ran toward the edge of the building, leaping off as a jet roared by overhead, his arm raising just as it slowed. The grapple in his gauntlet fired off, that magnetic grip in the bottom of the vehicle yanking him upward as the aircraft hovered on engines that Wayne Tech had long refused to release to the government. Batman sailed upward, arching his body so that the rope swung him toward the edge of the vehicle, his hand grabbing at the edge of the wing and as the grapple detached, his other arm grabbing hold of the open cockpit so that he could pull himself inside. The overhead glass seal pressed forward, sealing him in, the jet's hoverpads kicking off and reverting to traditional jet propulsion. In a moment he was flying forward, moving far quicker than the grapple and glide system in his suit would have allowed, the on screen scanners almost immediately switching to tracking down the last known location of Catwoman's communicator. Soon they were arching toward the ancient buildings that arced toward the waterfront, the black skies above a stark contrast to what he'd seen just minutes before.

It was almost impossible to describe, and it couldn't have been a nuclear detonation, but the severity of the blast was so astounding that he still had little idea of what had happened. "Oracle, what's the word?"

"Everything's a confused mess on the police channels Batman," came back the voice, stressed and hurried. "Think I've got a location for you though. Rupert Chemical Development and Storage out on the east stretch in Old Gotham. We've got reports of four city blocks completely leveled, hundreds injured, and probably the same in fatalities. Police are inbound." She paused, quiet for a moment. "Bruce. My dad is with them."

"I know you're worried Barbara, but nobody is more capable of figuring that situation out and getting it under control than your father is. Besides, he's not going to be alone." His eyes glanced at the direction his on-glass monitor was guiding him, shaking his head. "I'm headed the same way. Moments before the explosion, Catwoman was trying to contact me on the personal comm device I gave her. Right after that it went silent, just at the same time I saw the explosion. Looks like she was almost right next to ground zero."

"I'm sorry. I hope she's alright."

He nodded, eyes closing slightly as his jaw tensed. "She will be. She hasn't run out of lives yet."

"That a joke?"

"Not at all. If anybody could have survived that, it's Selina."

The Batwing fired through the skies, quickly veering off toward one of the many rooftops now covered in a fine layer of grit and dirt, the underbelly of the vehicle flaring to life with a spotlight that illuminated the ground. As he did, he could spot motion sifting through the grime and dust, and quickly lowered the vehicle so that it was hovering just feet above the roof. He leapt from its side even as a ladder descended from the cockpit, but by the time it had lowered he was already sliding to the slowly moving body, a gray film falling from the figure as it raised up off the ground.

"Selina!" he called, draping an arm around her shoulder as he fell to a knee, eyes burning into the side of her face. "Are you okay?"

She nodded a few times, though she was coughing profusely, unable to form words as of yet. His hands dropped to a small pouch at his belt, withdrawing a miniature flask that he held in front of her. "Water," he explained as she took hold of it, bringing it to her lips and taking a drink, swishing the liquid around in her mouth for a moment before turning her head aside and spitting it out, the thick film plastering the ground. She tilted the flask back another time, taking a drink before handing it back, her coughing finally subsiding as she gasped for air. After a moment of shaking her head, the gray film drifting down from her mask, her eyes shielded by the goggles she kept in place over her eyes, she finally turned to him, forcing an exhausted smile.

"Nice way to pick up a girl. Wish we could take this thing around instead of the limo."

Bruce frowned, eyes shooting over into the distance. "What happened?"

"Hell if I know," she said, forcing herself upward, Bataman bracing her arm as she rose back onto her legs. "One minute I'm calling you… the next…" She pointed her chin in the direction of the waterfront, where black, acrid smoke still stained the skyline, darker than the night and blocking out the lights that usually decorated the buildings on the east stretch. "Guess an explosion but that was one hell of a detonation. Never felt anything like it."

"Reports are saying it leveled four city blocks, so I'm not surprised you were almost knocked out," he said, glancing her up and down. "The Batwing will take you back to the cave so Alfred can look you over, make sure you're okay."

She almost laughed, mouth smiling in disbelief as she turned to him. "Don't give me the overprotective dad routine. Not now."

His jaw shifted as he stared at her, fists clenching slightly. "Fine. What do you intend to do?"

"Uh, maybe help you?" she said, gesturing into the distance. "In case you didn't notice the world was going to hell. You know, I was calling you for a reason. I'd just spent the night doing some investigating of my own."

"Tell me."

"What a charmer. A day ago I had a run in with the Broker, over in Black Mask's place. Said he was doing accounting work for him, but I knew from the papers I found in Great White's that he'd negotiated the land buys for both Mask and White. He wouldn't come out and say it, because come on, he's not going to sell out his clients that way."

"I already know this. Broker's been negotiating between Black Mask, Great White, and Penguin, playing all of them against each other, most likely to get them into a conflict."

"Don't sell me so short Batman," she said, hands resting on her hips. "Woman's got her ways. Broker set me up with a place on this side of town a long time ago, for a pretty decent price, and he didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart. Not saying I slept with him or anything, but I did do a night out with the man. He's surprisingly wealthy, by the way." She winked, but Batman didn't seem amused. "Anyway, I found out about the Penguin thing, too, so I've been looking into all these deals. See, Broker just doesn't do accounting work for anyone, not even Black Mask, and there was one detail that was off about Broker when I saw him that night." She tapped just behind her ear. "See, unless you've been up close with the man, you'd never notice that he had a birth mark just back her, near to his hairline. I've been that close, I know what it looks like. This guy didn't have it."

Batman frowned, glancing aside and taking a step away, then back. "If it wasn't really the Broker, then who? Off the top of my head, Clayface, Jane Doe, not to mention Black Mask himself."

"I was in Sionis' office."

"So that makes Mask the primary suspect there."

"He let me get away, not that he could have kept me there, even with his goons following, so I've got to wonder why. Maybe he wants us chasing down Broker, going off on the wrong trail. Closest thing I can figure. Now, one thing worries me. He knew… details, about my business with the Broker. Things he shouldn't know, and Broker doesn't go around giving away information about clients, let alone his dates. I don't think Black Mask got that information out of him willingly."

"So somewhere out there we might have a tortured, or dead, Sherman Fine. Someone is trying to get us on his trail, when in reality Broker most likely has nothing to do with all this. This means we have a missing person that could have provided us with information on what Mask was planning. Unfortunately…" He gestured out toward the east stretch skyline, " I think we're finding out what that plan was."

"What do you mean?"

"That explosion came from a chemical plant owned by Rupert Trendon, an alias Black Mask uses for his public investments. Mask has been on a steady personnel buildup, and he's focused his men toward the edges of his territory. With the tension that's been mounting between him, White and Penguin, this gives him all the justification he needs to make a move."

"Since when does Black Mask need justification to go after territory?"

Batman frowned, crossing his arms as he stepped toward the edge of the building. "Since Lew Moxon and the old Roman Empire started making noise in Gotham again. When we first got Falcone behind bars, it came at the cost of Harvey Dent's sanity, creating the man we know as Two Face. Afterward, Carmine Falcone made several attempts to get his territory under control, but the old families weren't able to handle the influx of insane criminals like Two Face, Riddler, Joker, and the rest. This was years ago, when I was still fresh in my career. I wasn't able to keep Two Face from killing Falcone, and afterward, the Roman Empire became a shadow of its former self, just pockets of control is a city swimming with masked super criminals." He shifted back around, turning toward Selina. "Thing is, just because you bring down one man in one city, doesn't mean you bring down the family. Carmine came from an old mafia line dating back to Old Europe with more resources and money than most criminals in Gotham can imagine. I think those old elements have been pushing back."

She frowned, shaking her head. "I haven't heard anything about this. What makes you so sure?"

"Falcone was always the best at keeping his cards hidden until he was ready to get his plan underway, but he learned that technique from the family. It's not a method reserved to him alone. Earlier today, I had a chance to speak with the Penguin, and dropped Moxon's name." There was a slight smile as he recalled the event. "Penguin was too scared to really say much, but that's all I needed to know. The old family's making a hard push, and I don't think this fighting between Mask, White and Penguin amounts to anything more than what Falcone used to do. Let the families fight, let the best rise to the top, and all the while the mafia makes a profit from behind the curtains. Lew Moxon was one of Falcone's chief family heads, and one of their most ruthless. He might be the one bringing things back under their control. I don't think Penguin would have been that scared if these were ghosts we were talking about. The family's active again."

"Great. Now we've got even more people involved in this whole plot."

"Batman?" A voice interrupted his thoughts, breaking through over his earpiece. "Batman, we've got two missing persons. Think you're going to what to know who they are."

He turned aside, stepping away from Catwoman for a moment. "Oracle, it's me. What's going on?"

"Report out of GCPD is that both Marco Vega and Delina Fiora have gone missing. You know both of them as the two biggest heads of shipping and transportation in Gotham City."

"I'm aware. What do we know?"

"Honestly? The break ins at both locations are so clean that you could have done them yourself. Witnesses report a masked fugitive single handedly dispatching five, six or seven men all by himself using advanced combat techniques. We're talking about a skilled fighter with an ability to infiltrate behind police lines without being seen. At Marco Vega's house, we've got word that he nearly killed the convict known as Lock-Up. Testimony says that Lock-Up was nearly killed by his own baton when the invader choked him out with it, after stealing it off his own belt."

Bruce shook his head, looking first out to the waterfront, then back toward the wealthy edge of the island, toward the bridges that led to the glittering spires of New Gotham. "I've got three crime scenes and not enough time. My priority is investigating the explosion at the Rupert Chemical plant, but both Vega and Fiora were big names on the waterfront." He glanced over at Catwoman. "You said you wanted to help, didn't you?"

"I don't call it a night before two in the morning. I'm a party girl like that."

He nodded, turning his attention back to the earpiece. "Catwoman's going to investigate the Fiora crime scene. I'm going to touch down at the chemical storage and see what I can find, then head out to Vega's place as soon as possible."

"I've got an alternative idea."

"I'm listening."

"I didn't mean to go behind your back, but…" She paused, hesitating. "I contacted Nightwing earlier today, and told her I thought this case might be getting a bit too big for one person to handle. She said she'd be willing to help, if you wanted it. Only thing is, she wants you to put in the call."

His teeth grit, head snapping downward. "Barbara."

"I know, Bruce, you didn't want her on any more cases, but she led that team in the Thanksgiving Eve riot. She's got what it takes, and you know that better than anyone. Don't let your pride get in the way."

"Fine," he growled, hand dropping to his side. "I'll be in contact soon."

Catwoman stepped up beside him, looking slightly amused. "You look like you have a problem."

"Not a problem, just a personnel issue." He motioned out, toward New Gotham. "How fast can you get out to the Fiora mansion? You should know where it is, since it's out on the East End."

She shook her head. "I've had dinner with old Fiora a few times. Why? What's wrong?"

"She's gone missing, apparently at the exact same time as Marco Vega. Both of them have heavy investments in the trade and shipping industry here in Gotham, so I need quick information on this, since the police aren't just in the habit of turning over evidence."

"You've got it. I'll take the car." She glanced over the edge of the building, frowning. "If it survived. Who do you have tackling the Vega scene?"

"Nightwing."

"Really now?" she asked, seeming surprised. "I didn't even know you two were talking these days."

"We're not. That's my fault, but…" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'll handle it."

"Yeah. I'm going to take a look and then get back here as soon as I can." She thrust a finger into his face, though it was playful enough. "Don't get into too much trouble without me, I'm tired of missing out on all the fun." With that she stepped away, taking a moment to look down the length of the building before taking a step off, falling away toward ground level. He didn't need to check to see if she'd survived. Selina was an acrobat, and could do amazing things even plummeting several stories to the ground.

His eyes turned toward the Batwing, his feet quickly taking him forward and leaping upward, into the cockpit, the glass dome sealing shut over his head as it almost immediately began to thunder upward, the hoverpads beneath the aircraft forcing it into the air. Soon the plane was blasting across Gotham, the scene below looking ever more like a battlefield. Heavier and thicker piles of dirt and grime were piled upward, pieces of buildings tossed across the streets while glass littered the concrete. Lights flickered in and out as power intermittently shut down, the street lamps fading to darkness for long stretches before light reappeared. Then, coming directly at him, was the rising fumes and black smoke seeping from the remains of had once been Rupert Chemicals. The scene was far worse than he could have imagined. The building itself, as well as many of those in the surrounding areas, were little more than piles of rubble. In scattered spots, the walls of some structures jutted out from the carnage, tall and unstable frames of what had once been buildings, huge swatches of metal shafts, steel beams and other unidentifiable debris formed massive pathways between these bare remains of the explosion. The damage was so widespread and the debris so high that emergency vehicles were unable to penetrate very deeply, and the rescue staff were forced to the edges for the meantime, pulling victims delicately from the wreckage while, far above, the Batwing hovered, its onboard sensors scanning the ground for any life.

"Put that call into Nightwing," he said quietly as he looked down on the sad display, the lives lost already counting up in his head. "This is going to take all my attention."

"Alright Batman."

He sighed, waiting as it went through. Whoever had done this had killed and injured hundreds. His ability to forgive was being tested.