Disclaimer: see Chapter 1.
CHAPTER 26: Crime Solved
Bruce Wayne's Mansion
" How long have you known my little brother was using your companies, Bruce ? "
" Not long. Lucas might have been a bastard, but he lived up to his family name, Lex. He was damn intelligent. I wouldn't have found anything if I hadn't known what to look for. "
" Chloe has made another finding, Bruce. An association between the Chinese mob and a German Crime Syndicate. They were using Lois' sister Lucy to deposit the laundered money in Swiss banks.
" Your sister-in-law's decoded the e-mails, hasn't she ? Don't look at me like that, Lex. I would have been sloppy if I hadn't had the contents of your brother's laptop analysed. "
" I would have done the same in your shoes, Bruce. But there's a small detail that wasn't in the e-mails. Gem smuggling. "
" Precious stones ? "
" Yes, the Germans are involved in it. "
" Well, now it all makes sense. The Chinese mob had a large scale operation on the Manchurian plains but extensive mining has depleted the area. They were planning on moving the whole thing to the Da Hinggan Range with the idea of locating new mines to exact the gems their clients are so desperately asking for. It's a multi-million-dollar business, Lex. "
" Mining ! Why haven't I thought of it before ? Have your people analysed all of my brother's e-mails ? "
" They're working on them now. Why ? "
" Chloe traced an unidentified account with which Lucas used to correspond. It's located in Beijing and most of the information they exchanged had to do with the ' Terra ' project. "
"With ' Terra ' ? "
" You said the Chinese were trying to locate new mining areas, right ? Our satellites would have sped up their search. They would only need Lucas to provide them with the codes to correct the orbit and, voilà, they could use them to find their mineral deposits. God, Bruce ! All these deaths and so much suffering for a deposit of stones. I don't know if I'll be able to forgive Lucas for what he's done. "
" The hit man and the managers of Yang are already in custody. Now, we'll have to hand over everything we've got to Interpol and the Germans. I know what you'd like to do , Lex, but believe me nothing's going to bring your bride-to-be and your unborn child back. Leave justice in the hands of the Judiciary, my friend. "
" Justice isn't served in a courtroom, Bruce, " snapped Lex.
" What are you going to do, Lex ? Kill them ? Hire a hit man like they did ? You said it yourself: all this killing for a few pieces of stone Think of what you have, Lex, not of what you've lost. "
" They've taken everything from me, Bruce, " said an emotional Lex.
" Is that true, Lex ? " asked Gotham's billionaire, looking up to the first floor of the mansion where Chloe was occupying a room.
What's your opinion on this Lex and Bruce têtê a têtê ? Go to the following chapter for the plot moves forward.