Though he had long since accepted his father's rule regarding the use of lethal force against those who lacked anything resembling moral decency, Damian Wayne could not understand why his father was devoting his precious time in trying to uncover the cause of Zsasz's death.
Though he could understand why Gordon and Bullock were forced to investigate the death of a man whose mindless savagery was only surpassed by the likes of the Joker, though he could tell that Bullock wasn't putting much effort into maintaining the usual respect for a deceased person, why his father chose to give the dead serial killer the same dedication he would show to a murdered civilian continued to baffle the young side kick.
Something which his father easily picked up on.
"I realise that you have some conflicting feelings about this Robin, but you will have to set them aside for the time being. I trust that you will be able to treat this case, if not with liking, than at least with the same sort of professionalism that you would show to less….morally corrupted victims".
Scowling at his inability to keep his less 'professional' emotions in check, a lesson that funnily enough had been drilled in to him by both of his parents, Damian nevertheless nodded his head as he listened to Gotham's Police Commissioner go over the details they already knew.
"None of the security cameras have managed to pick up anything suspicious. Zsasz had no visitors, was never allowed to interact with other inmates, and had always been supervised by 5 guards whenever he was allowed out of his cell. Far as I can see, this simply might have been caused by some sort of medical anomaly".
Though he was forced to keep his opinions to himself lest he risk his father's disapproval, the young Wayne allowed a small smirk to appear on his face as he heard Bullock's reply to Gordon's theory.
"More like divine justice if you ask me. Took long enough, but I think the Almighty finally decided to step in before the freak could add another 'notch' to his belt".
Fighting the urge to nod his head in agreement, Damian resumed his slightly bank expression as his father turned towards the fedora wearing detective.
"I assure you Detective Bullock, God had nothing to do with this. However, it is highly possible that the culprit is someone who believes they are doing God's work".
Thinking back to his own past experience with such an individual, though Lewis Bayard, aka the White Knight, had first chosen to go after the families of criminals before trying to wipe out the criminals themselves, Damian had to agree with his father's reasoning.
"I'll need a copy of the medical report to give me a better understanding of what caused Zsasz's death. However, in order to prevent this from escalating, I want you to do whatever you can to prevent the news from reporting this. It's possible that the killer is seeking recognition for their acts".
"Remind you of anyone"?
Though he too shot the cynical detective a glare, one that he believed was finally developing into an equal match for his father's, Damian couldn't help but feel that Bullock's comment, while unwanted, was nevertheless important to consider since it WAS possible that this was the beginning of one of the Clown's schemes.
However, if his father recognized this, he gave no sign.
"If the killer's intention is not solely driven by a heavily misguided sense of justice, then it is highly possible that they will try this again, with less attention paid towards secrecy. This will hopefully allow us to act before they can try again, though it is possible that we may be too late in preventing another victim from occurring".
Agreeing with his father's reasoning, though a part of him, the one that preferred his mother's teaching of justice, wished for the murderer to get away with 'removing' a similar stain on Gotham before being caught, Damian mentally went through a list of all the viable suspects that could get away with murdering someone without being caught on camera.
The Joker as always was at the top of this list, for his insanity was only matched by his creativity. But he wasn't the only one who could have done this, though perhaps he was the only one to do it for the sake of amusement.
The Red Hood was also a suspect, but not a serious one. If it had been the Joker, then Damian would have more reason to suspect the second Robin. But since it wasn't Jason Todd was low on his list of suspects.
Mad Hatter, Clayface, and Poison Ivy could also have been the ones to do it since they had a track record of killing people from a distance. Though usually they preferred to be as close to their victims as possible.
And any of the staff could have done it, for they would have had access to Zsasz's cell, as well as the security system. Not to mention the fact that they could be bribed to let in a murderer just as easily as they could be bribed to keep these monsters from answering for their crimes.
He was certain his father would get to the bottom of this, for there had never been a case that he had been unable to solve, even if there were occasions where he was prevented from sending the culprits where they belonged.
The only question remaining was who would the criminal killer target next.
…
He had done it.
The middle aged bugger had actually done it.
It didn't matter that Zsasz had only been a moderate annoyance to his operations, either by killing his street workers or causing the police to temporarily increase their presence in the areas in which his less reputable customers sought to do business. The fact remained that John Dustin had actually managed to do what he said he would do.
The only problem was, his first bit of murder had attracted the unwanted attention of the Bat. Which meant that sooner or later, Mr. Dustin, a man who lacked the resources of Batman's more established adversaries, would have his personal crusade brought to an end.
Something which would unfortunately clash with his plans to expand his influence throughout Gotham City. For the more unstable personalities that could be removed, the better off his empire would be.
Of course he wouldn't lift so much as a finger to help the middle aged widower out of trouble once he was caught, except perhaps to permanently silence him so that his connection could never be discovered, but perhaps he could do something to increase the amount of time John Dustin spent on his mission.
Problem was, what would be the best way to go about this.
Thanks to his informant at Arkham, one of those quacks who recognized the value of keeping certain criminal associates from ever having their day in court, Penguin had learned that the facility was to keep Zsasz's death from being leaked to the news, which provided the question of whether he wished for the next death to remain similarly under wraps, or to be made more public.
Personally he preferred the first option since it fit better with his management style, but he could not entirely discredit the second option due to the possibility of using this situation to turn the public against not only Batman, but his allies as well.
He would hold off on making a decision until Dustin gave him a clue on who his next target would be.
For if he chose to go after someone whose body count wasn't even in double digits, the resulting death would hardly draw notice from anyone except Batman.
If however he went after one of the more heavy hitters, one who could claim at least 40 bodies to their name, then it might be prudent to provide some much needed aid.
For if there was one thing he had learned as his time in Gotham, it was that using the same trick over and over again could eventually get oneself caught.
And since his tenure as successfully 'businessman' rested on the ability to adapt to an ever changing situation, it was safe to say that he knew what he was talking about.
…..
Will end this here for now.
Sorry for the delay/shortness of the chapter, been busy XD. Hopefully this makes up for it.
Will respond to comments/suggestions/reviews later. You have my word as a fanfic author XD.