Chapter 11

"What the hell am I keeping you alive for?!" Maroni shouted at Oswald Cobblepot who was sat at a table inside the empty bar. Sal Maroni slammed his fist down at the bar and threw a small glass cup against the wall.

"I did what you asked. It's not my fault if he won them right back." Oswald said, playing with one of the tiny umbrellas. "He's an influential person."

"You aren't? I gave you one Goddamn task Cobblepot. Harvey Dent cannot win this election." Maroni said, turning his attention to the british ex-con. "I've got cops breathing down my throat, and knowing what will happen if he is elected is even worse."

"You got Hill in your pocket or something?" Oswald asked, staring at the umbrella. When Maroni didn't answer, Oswald looked up at him in shock. "No shit…"

"It isn't me. It's Falcone. And I've ended up allied with him… so yeah technically it is me. If Dent gets into office, we'll be dealing with the Goddamn D.A. running the city." Maroni said, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, it seems like I'm apart of this operation now. So, I'll see to it Dent doesn't end up becoming mayor." Oswald reasoned, standing up. He dropped the umbrella down onto the ground and fixed his baggy suit. He heard Maroni start to chuckle and looked over at him once he reached the door.

"You… heh… you think you're apart of this now?" Maroni asked through the small fits of laughter. He stood up and slowly walked over to Oswald grabbing him by the collar and pulling him in close. "You aren't shit in this city, unless I say so. Keep doing what you're doing, or my men will find you and throw you into the deepest darkest pit they can find. You got me?"

Maroni shoved Oswald to the door and waved his hand as a gesture to leave. Oswald stared at the back of Maroni's head as he began to sit down and the bar and Oswald cursed him under his breath. He left the bar and went out onto the street, his anger boiling up inside of him.

"Are you shittin' me?" Falcone asked, looking out the window that overlooked most of Gotham. He was sitting in his chair, his back to his desk and one of his men who was at his door. His hands were balled into fists, resting on the arms of his chair.

"No sir. I just got the report today." his goon said. Falcone punched the arm of his chair, causing the goon's eyes to go wide and quickly leave, closing the door behind him. Falcone spun around in his seat, quickly pulling out one of his disposable cell phones. He dialed a number and put it on speaker phone. While it rang, he stood up and began to pace back and forth.

"Commissioner Loeb." the person on the other end said. Falcone walked back up to his desk and put his hands on it, his face hovering over the phone.

"Arnold Flass was taken into custody. The one with me when I… did my business deal. How did that happen? How in the HELL did that happen?!" Falcone yelled into the phone. There was a long pause on the other side.

"It was Gordon." Commissioner Loeb quietly said, not wanting any of his officers to hear him. He was also filled with fear hearing the rage in Falcone's voice.

"I thought we had him handled. You said your Lieutenant wouldn't be a problem." Falcone said, calming down a bit.

"He saw the security camera footage. He's been trying to get at you and Maroni, but he hasn't been able to track either of you down. Keep your operations on the low right now." the Commissioner told him. Falcone took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

"Your lieutenant better have eyes in the back of his head. He's as good as dead." Falcone said, dropping the phone on the ground and stomping on it multiple times. Once it was a pile of broken pieces he balled up his fists and let out a roar of anger.

Bruce sat in the Batcave, the footage of Rupert Thorne's murder playing on a loop on the Batcomputer. Alfred was standing right behind him, looking away from the scene after already seeing it multiple times. Bruce took down the video and now on the screen were pictures of Falcone, Maroni, and Black Mask.

"With all this commotion with Black Mask, you've seem to have let Falcone and Maroni run free. The police haven't been able to pinpoint either." the butler said. "Master Bruce, you have your hands full with this one."

"I know Al. I need to find a way to take them all down soon." Bruce said, going back to the security footage and beginning to watch it again. "Falcone and Maroni have been rivals since I was a kid, why would they join up now."

"It clearly has to do with that man Falcone goes out of his way to shoot." Alfred adds.

"Rupert Thorne." Bruce follows up. He stands up, rubbing his temples and stepping away from the batcomputer. "Sionis seems to be one step ahead of Batman."

"He expects Batman to pop up whenever he does. It's happened every time he's attempted one of his attacks. Falcone, Wayne Enterprises, and Harvey's speech the other night." Alfred said, taking the video off the screen again and sighing in relief.

"Black Mask is alone for now. His False Face Society has been mostly put into Blackgate, some even in Arkham. He's no threat to anyone without them. Maroni is a bigger threat than Falcone, only because he's calmer. Falcone acts based on his anger, Maroni makes calculated moves." Bruce thought out loud, rubbing his chin.

"So you are going after Maroni Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

"Just keep an ear out on the police radios. I'm gonna go after whoever makes a move first." Bruce said, sitting back down at the Batcomputer.

"Flass was processed this morning. He's officially locked up in Blackgate, and probably won't be out for a long time." Sarah Essen said, dropping a file down onto Gordon's desk. He looked up at her and smiled a genuine smile.

"Wow, it's been a long time since we've seen that." Montoya teased with a smirk. She was sitting across from Gordon, taking Flass's place right under Gordon in the chain of command.

"Now we just need to know why Thorne was a target of Falcone's. It was rumored Thorne was his right hand, so why kill him. And all those other guys." Gordon asked himself, going through the case file.

"And Maroni was there too. Falcone and him hate each other." Essen said, sitting down in an empty seat next to Gordon's desk. Montoya looked up from her paperwork and leaned forward.

"They have been rivals for the longest time. The two of them joining forces could only mean Gotham's doom." Montoya added into the conversation. Gordon nodded his head. He looked through the screenshots of the security footage.

"These were all Falcone and Maroni men that were shot up too. At least their records had them arrested committing crimes for their bosses. Obviously no direct ties. Flass probably made sure of that." Gordon muttered to himself, flipping through the pictures. He looked up at Montoya, something clicking in his head. Montoya raised an eyebrow as Gordon slowly stood up. "I know what needs to be done."

Batman stood on the roof of a building, looking down at the sunroof that was partly broken. He took a step towards and looked down into the building, seeing nothing. He pressed two fingers to his ear and backed away.

"Is this the right place?" he asked.

"This is where the distress call came from, I'm not picking up anything else Master Brue." Alfred spoke over the earpiece to him. Batman nodded his head and jumped through the sunroof, sending glass flying towards the floor as he spread out his cape and slowly glided down.

"Looks empty." he spoke into the earpiece with his voice modifier now on. He looked around, noting how the bottom floor was nearly pitch black.

"Batman." a voice said from the darkness. Batman grabbed a batarang, having it at the ready. He turned around and watched Lieutenant James Gordon walk out from the darkness, a hand out.

"I think we should talk." Gordon said, raising both his hands. Batman slowly put down the batarang. "There's a lot going on, and I need some help."

Author's Note:

Just another reminder that there is a poll up on my page about who you think Batman will end up fighting in the end. I think at Chapter 15, I'll announce who had the most votes. It's interesting seeing what some people are choosing and thinking. Anyway, thanks for reading. Leave a review about what you think, any predictions, criticism, just make sure to keep it nice. See you all in the next chapter!