Note: Catwoman's newly-created costume in this chapter somewhat resembles the suit in the Batman Returns comic.
Batgirl's perspective:
Batgirl had been sinking into the water for a few minutes. She couldn't tell how long exactly. Her groggy arms and legs had not been able to get out of her chains. She had more or less accepted her fate when she felt someone undoing her chains with skilled hands. Her left arm was pulled over the shoulder of this person, and the two swam to the land that they had been thrown from. As far from the surface as they started, Batgirl wondered if she would make it. But eventually, their heads came above water. A bit later, they were on land.
Batgirl needed forty-three seconds to catch her breath after so long underwater. Whoever had saved her life gave her the time. Finally, she said, "Thanks."
Batgirl's rescuer unsurprisingly turned out to be Batman who said in a disappointed tone, "Since you were on your own for a long time before we became official partners, I would have assumed that you knew how to escape this kind of situation."
"Time out," said Batgirl. "How did you make it? You were unconscious."
"I recovered halfway through the drive here," explained Batman. "Since I knew that they were going to throw us into the water, I was content to let them think I was still out and that throwing me into the water would kill me."
"In the meantime," Batgirl got back to what Batman was saying, "You're upset that I needed help. But last time I checked, you needed mine not long ago."
"First of all," said Batman, "This is not about me. Second, as I've said before, Robin and I might have survived without you. Third, your needing help isn't a problem anyway."
"So what's the problemo?" asked Batgirl.
"The small problem is that you don't know how to break free of bonds. That's something they teach in Gotham Police Academy. The bigger issue is that after you struggled a bit, you gave up."
"I couldn't escape them."
"You gave up after a few minutes. And I know you wouldn't have even tried to swim up if I hadn't pulled you."
Batman had Batgirl there. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'll keep my confidence from now on."
"For your sake," warned Batman, "You'd better. This won't be the last close call you ever face. You can't just quit. That is more important than people realize, especially in this line of work. Robin couldn't stop making mistakes, but he never gave up. If you can't learn determination, I may have fired the wrong kid."
"You're absolutely right," Batgirl realized. "I'll toughen myself up mentally. I swear it. And I'll keep studying survival skills."
"We'll see if you mean it."
"What about the Traylors?"
"Perhaps tonight has revealed that an openly aggressive strategy is the wrong move. We'll wait to see things play themselves out a little more. In the meantime, Alfred's got a wounded head of mine to work on. The Hog shot it. He might also check and see if whatever wore you out left any aftereffects."
The Hog's perspective:
Becky "The Hog" Traylor was morose. As she had always feared she would someday have to, she had killed a man that she really liked. That made it very difficult to sleep that night.
What was done was done. The Hog had a family business to run. It was what she had lost her "Little Bat" for, after all.
Over the next few days, The Hog used the surveillance equipment in mob union Chairman Gasper Whittaker's home office to anticipate the moves that the enemies of the Traylor family were making. With two hundred forty-three people in her employ against more than five thousand in either crime families or smaller gangs who had sided against the Traylors, minor hit-and-run attacks to slow the enemy down were the only option.
Still, this bought Al, The Hog's brother some time back in South Carolina. A week passed with no serious losses for the Traylors when The Hog got the call.
"OK," said Al. "Ah got us some hands." He avoided directly referring to the mob war just in case the FBI was listening in.
"How many?" asked The Hog.
"Do you mean all hands by that or just the hands holdin' hammers?" asked Al. Anyone listening to that would be lead to believe - or at least couldn't disprove - that this was just blue collar work he and The Hog were hiring people for.
"Cut the bullshit," demanded The Hog. "How many?"
"Seven hundred and eighty-nine," said Al.
The Hog was underwhelmed. "That ain't a third of your target."
"Ah'm sorry, Becky," Al defended his work. "Not as many were interested as Ah'd hoped. Some think the third party's cool even though he's a Yankee." That unnamed third party was, of course, Batman. "Others think we're screwed and have become self-fulfillin' prophets."
"No," said The Hog. "We're far from screwed. Get those hands inta Gotham fast but safe."
"How can Ah do fast but safe?" asked Al. "The competition'll be lookin' for any technicality that keeps us from bringin' anybody else in." Meaning, the new recruits might be ambushed on the way.
"Ah dunno," admitted The Hog. "Just get 'em in however you can. We need them."
"Will do," said Al. "Stay alive. Ah'm the only one who gets to pick on you." He hung up.
The Hog hung up herself. Well, that was disappointin'.
"Ah got the gist of it," said Joey, son of Al, nephew of The Hog. "What the Hell are we gonna do now?"
"Plan C," said The Hog.
"You sure?" asked Joey. "We Southerners know that people with uncertain loyalty can't be counted on."
"Ah know," The Hog sighed. "But we really ain't got no choice. Wait outside. Ah'll have to tell Daisy that she's in charge till Ah come back. We're payin' our new client a visit."
"What if this 'client' don't say yes?" asked Joey.
"Oh, Ah think the client will," said The Hog with a sly smile on her face.
Selina Kyle's perspective:
Selina was still working on her new Catsuit and had been since it had become known but not legally proven that she and Selina Kyle were the same woman. Selina's friend Sabisia Williams, had been forced to destroy the original costume to keep it from being traced to Selina as she went on trial. Selina had finished her clawed gloves, and often wore them to get back in practice with them, but her Catsuit was a work in progress.
Suddenly, she heard knocking on her door. "Sabisia," she said, "Don't answer that until I get this unfinished Catsuit into the closet. She did so. A young man and an extremely fat woman entered the room.
"Who'd have thunk it?" asked the fat woman. "The Catwoman is a ghetto bitch." She held out a hand. "Becky 'The Hog,' head of the Traylor family."
"Selina Kyle," Selina shook The Hog's hand reluctantly. "Not caring for racists."
"You'll have to excuse my aunt," said one of the men. "She's stuck in another generation and don't get why you wouldn't appreciate ghetto jokes like that."
"Youngsters," snorted The Hog. "Now, Ah have a proposition."
"Stop right there," said Selina, hands on hips. "I know as much about you as you do about me. And the tight spot you're in. The answer's no. I've seen some gangster movies and how many people die or get caught when they go to war."
"You really think they're all that real?" chuckled The Hog. "Besides, Ah wouldn't have lasted half this long if Ah hadn't learned from the mistakes of the Italians, Cubans, and some of your people, too."
"And I don't want any part of your gunplay," added Selina.
"You're a thief who's turned Prince Charmin' down," smirked The Hog. "Ain't it a little late to be thinkin' like that?"
"I am a thief," said Selina. "Not a killer."
"This is goin' nowhere," said The Hog. "We got a glimpse of you sewin' somethin' outside. Looked like Catwoman. If you don't want us to be concerned citizens, Ah'd be more agreeable."
"You want some of me?" asked Selina, realizing that violence was the way to get The Hog and her male companion to keep quiet. She signaled her pet cougar, Caesarion, to not interfere. "Here I come!" She ran at The Hog and performed a jump kick that didn't even budge her. In fact, its only apparent effect was on Selina's knee. The feedback of the kick had made it feel sore. "You pump that fat ass up," she realized as The Hog stood over her.
"Pleased to disappoint," said The Hog as she lifted Selina up by the arms and put her in a bear hug. "Ah gotta admit, Ah got hard feelins." No sooner had she said that when Selina began howling in pain.
"You're gonna scream louder than that if don't change your mind fast," threatened The Hog.
But Selina wasn't spent yet. She delicately planted her claws on the belly of The Hog. Good thing she wearing her gloves a lot more lately to practice the use of them "Feel these? Let go and get the Hell out with an apology or the tub of Southern fried lard spills!"
"And Ah'll crush you like a beer can," declared The Hog. "Do we die together?"
Selina heard a gun cock behind her. "No need for that, Aunt Becky," said Joey. "Join us or your beast gets it."
It was The Hog who said, "You can't do that, dear Nephew. That animal would be a family pet if she had one. We don't screw with family. But the other one's just a friend. Shoot her." Sabisia gasped upon hearing this.
"No, don't," begged Selina. "I'll do whatever you want."
"Was that so hard?" asked The Hog, releasing Selina and smiling. "Ah'll tell you about the battles Ah'm provokin' the enemy into startin'. You'll record the leaders of the opposition and give proof of their 'unprovoked' attacks on me."
"That's it?" asked Selina. A weight was off her shoulder. Sneaky recordings she could do.
"That's all your contribution to the war effort will be," said The Hog. "And you can trust me. A Traylor never lies. Cheat? Yes. Steal? Whenever we can. Kill? If you cross us, yeah. But never lie." She may have almost never killed, but Selina could certainly understand having a controversial values system like that.
"Speakin' of which," warned The Hog. "My family can be great friends or the last enemies you're ever gonna get. Don't even think about tryin' ta play us. There ain't no rock we can't find you under. Capeesh?"
"I capeesh, all right," said Selina. The Hog and her nephew left.
"I think you've made a mistake," said Sabisia.
"I had no choice," said Selina. "They'd have killed us both. Letting you die just for being my friend was not an option."
"Go to Batman," suggested Sabisia. "A little prison time's OK under these circumstances."
"I'm not going to prison, much less abandoning all I stand for."
"You're in bed with the mob now. That can't end well."
"Look, there's two ways this can turn out. They'll either be dead rednecks walking or be running the underworld. Either way, they won't need Catwoman anymore."
"You damn sure better be right! And you're probably not. There is no quitting the mob."
Selina sat in her couch and buried her chin in her hands. Her life may have just been ruined.
The Hog's perspective:
With the recruits Al had brought into town having taken their places in the Traylor cartel, it was time for the experienced members to carry out the plan.
"Dad just texted me," said Joey. "He ain't seen her neither."
"Ain't surprised," said The Hog. Seeing that her relatively inexperienced nephew was surprised, The Hog continued, "Catwoman's a wanted girl, Joey. And everybody knows who she is. She has to be careful not to leave anything to prove it."
"But what if that ain't it?" asked Joey. "What if she ran. Or... set us up?"
"Then she's cat food," declared The Hog.
The Hog saw a hand signal from some of her men in the distance. She gave them an "OK" hand gesture in return. One of them dropped a phone and the chase was on!
The Southern gangsters quickly got in their cars and drove away, taking only wide off-target shots at the pursuing enemies. "Faster," ordered The Hog to Joey. "Ah'll die to make sure we win the war, but Ah'd much rather see the look on the Yankees' faces when they realize we've outsmarted 'em."
Suddenly, a hiss could be heard in two tires. "She-ut," Joey pounded the wheel.
"Get out and take a look at the tires," commanded The Hog. "Ah'll cover you." They both got out. The Hog got in front of Joey with a hunting rifle. Since the plan was for her mob to look like victims of senseless attacks, illegal weapons were not options.
The Hog's pursuers were gone. Either they had been lost or something had scared them away. "It was Batarangs," said Joey.
Figures. They just won't die. Ain't all unhappy about that, though.
Batman's perspective:
"The Hog's pursuers are running," noticed Batgirl from significantly down a rooftop near The Hog's car. "They must have spotted us."
"The Hog's the key to this anyway," said Batman. "Wait a minute. She and her men ran the moment they were spotted. Made only token efforts to hit their pursuers. Wonder why they didn't care about winning this battle. Scratch that; The Hog and her nephew are figuring out that we stopped their car. Let's go."
But the attentive Hog noticed the creatures of the night dive-bombing them. "Move," she cried. Joey managed to avoid Batgirl's kick, but the heavier, slower Hog ended up with Batman's boot in her back. This knocked her several steps forward but not down.
"Ah don't know whether to shoot you or kiss you for gettin' outta that, Little Bat," said The Hog, aiming her rifle and smiling.
Trying to shield himself with his protective cape and the armor underneath was risky. Riles had a lot more power than the pistols that the Batsuit was specifically designed to repel, since they were city criminals' weapons of choice. Better to move.
Batman began dodging bullets. While The Hog's aim was true, she was not fast enough to keep up with Batman. The rifle eventually clicked. "Damnation," cursed The Hog as she dropped the gun and assumed a hand-to-hand combat stance.
Batman charged in and delivered a few punches before hopping back to avoid the return punch. He moved in again and threw some more punches and a high snap kick that knocked The Hog's face into her car. Can't give up the initiative. Batman seized her by the head and drove it into the car five times, bringing her to her knees. "Ready to talk, Hog?" asked Batman.
The Hog's answer to that was to wrap her arms around Batman to lock him in The Hug. Not fast, but because of her muscled girth, fast enough. Great! She stood up. Batman grunted as the pressure on his midsection increased.
"You're gonna ruin that car, varmint," complained The Hog. "Ah don't know how you survived, but this time, Ah'm makin' sure. Ah ain't lettin' go till you fall apart."
Batman believed that, but he saw a nearby fire hydrant. He inched The Hog towards it. Wasn't long before Batman heard crackling throughout his rib cage. "It's begun," said The Hog. "Godspeed, Little Bat. Wish it could've been..."
The Hog was cut off as Batman plunged to the ground, driving The Hog's hip into the hydrant. The Hog screamed in pain, but managed to pull both herself and Batman back up.
"Face it, Little Bat," The Hog gloated as she resumed The Hug on top of Batman. "Ya can't conquer my body, just my heart. And Ah ain't got the luxury of gettin' you to accept that heart. Buh-bye!"
In a desperation move, Batman began kneeing at hip of The Hog that had fallen into the fire hydrant. Ordinarily, this would be futile, but Batman hoped that hip had been hurt enough to feel that. If not, Batman was finished.
Sure enough, The Hog began screaming in pain. A headbutt knocked her to the ground. Moving a distance from The Hog, Batman ran towards her and dropped into a baseball slide at the sore rib. "No more," The Hog said, begging Batman off with her hands. Now you want to talk!
Batgirl's perspective:
Knocking Joey Traylor down from above clearly wasn't enough. He stood up soon enough, and Batgirl delivered a few good kicks to get him back down.
As Joey turned to a face-down position to get up, Batgirl stood over him and gripped the nerves in his neck. Joey initially yelled in pain before his body went motionless. Batgirl checked the muscle patterns, but no sooner was she noticing that Joey couldn't be unconscious, when she felt a elbow crash into her right jaw, knocking her down.
Straddling Batgirl, Joey stuck the same needle and serum into Batgirl's neck that she had felt a week before. Oh, no, not again!
Joey held Batgirl in place for the minute it took for the drug to make Batgirl feel woozy. "Ah don't like not knowin' my woman," said Joey. "Let's fix that." He reached for the mask and pulled.
Summoning every bit of fighting spirit she had, Batgirl kneed Joey three times in the gut. He rolled off her in pain. Getting up and pulling the mask totally in place again, she caught Joey in a Batbola as he sat up. "Oh, damn," he sighed in frustration.
Batgirl looked around to see that Batman had emerged victorious as well. Although Batgirl knew that without Batman's lecture about determination, her secret would probably be known to a scumbag. "I'm not, nor will I ever be, your woman," she spelled it out to that scumbag. Not bad-looking, but Batgirl didn't do scum.
Batman's perspective:
"You can't prove we were doin' nothin' but defendin' ourselves," said The Hog. "You struck first. So did the Falcones. You ain't won anything but braggin' rights."
"We're not above cracking skulls," threatened Batgirl. "And Joey, your hitting on me only makes it easier for me to hit on you the other way." Joey gulped.
"Only way you might get somethin' outta of us," declared The Hog bravely, "Is if we're gonna die!" Batman smiled.
"You wouldn't," insisted Joey. "You can't!"
"Don't be ridiculous," snarled Batman. "Of course I can. You're at our mercy."
The Hog burst out laughing. "Handsome, athletic, and funny. Where were you when Ah was young? The Little Bat Ah know never kills."
The two stared each other down for a few seconds before Batman turned to Batgirl and said, "Let's go." they Batgrappled away.
As the two watched The Hog and Joey replace their tires and drive home, Batgirl said, "You don't need to explain anything to me. Dad told me that unnecessary killing is barbarism."
"He's a great man," said Batman. "No wonder you've learned from your rookie mistakes and Dick didn't. You had an excellent cop to learn from. He didn't."
"I still say you were too hard on him," Batgirl insisted. Batman didn't argue. Not that he couldn't. It was just that he understood Batgirl's inability to recognize reality. Love did things to people. And I should know.
Riko's perspective:
The rednecks were in retreat. The moment they saw the superior numbers shooting at them, they ran and were right to do so.
But the fat bitch can't run forever. Her family's goin' down! I've seen to it that she won't be killed, but she'll wish she had been. When she surrenders, I'll demand that she become my maid. But not before she falls on her knees and apologizes to us and her great father for daring to sit with us!
Catwoman's perspective:
It is highly ironic that this story switches to Catwoman's point of view on that note. She had breathed a sigh of relief as Batman made his comeback against The Hog. Batgirl was another matter. If Joey had slit her throat, Catwoman would be celebrating that night!
At any rate, Catwoman had her footage of the battle and chase in which the Falcones had cast the first shots. So far, so good. This will lead to arrests that will change the balance of power in this war.
The Hog's perspective:
After changing cars on the way back to the hotel, The Hog finally declared, "If that ain't the ugliest successful mission ever, what the Hell is?"
"Key word's successful," said a peppy Joey.
"If Cats did what she was supposed to," said The Hog. "Drive us to her apartment, dear nephew. She better have the footage or we're puttin' her down."
And in time, they arrived. "Wait here," ordered The Hog. "If Ah ain't back in half an hour, leave without me."
"Why would she filet you?" ask Joey.
"She ain't a gangster," explained The Hog. "She's a thief. Thieves can be unreasonable."
"Then Ah'm goin'," said Joey.
"No," said The Hog sternly. "No, you're stayin' and that's that."
"OK," said Joey reluctantly.
The Hog ascended the elevator and entered Selina Kyle's apartment. There was Selina. Caesarion was lying down. Sabisia was presumably asleep.
"I got it," Selina held out a phone for The Hog. Not trusting Selina, The Hog took the phone and turned on the videos. It was three attacks with a lot of faces of opposing gangsters captured on video.
"Good work," The Hog smiled and bowed formally to Selina. "We should need only two or three more of these attacks."
"But won't this evidence be suspicious, coming from you?" asked Selina.
"Hadn't thought about that," The Hog had to admit. She sighed. "Just do what your supposed to. Ah'll let you know if we need anymore."
"You mean this wasn't a one-time deal?" asked Selina.
"That's not a nice thing for a family friend to say," The Hog made it clear how it was now.
Bruce's perspective:
Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon were pondering on the mob war a few days later. Many other skirmishes had occurred, with the same result that Batman and Batgirl had witnessed personally.
"It doesn't make any sense," said Barbara. "The Traylors keep starting fights, then immediately run. Why? I realize they're outnumbered, but they don't even try to do a little damage before retreating."
"I know," said Bruce. "It doesn't make sense. She must have some plan we're not seeing.
"What plan?" asked Barbara.
"Criminals can be a creative lot. The archcriminals in particular. Whatever The Hog's planning, we'd better figure it out if we plan to make her testify."
Selina's perspective:
Selina handed another phone over to The Hog. "OK, Hog," said Selina. "This is it. What now?"
"Before we deal a blow to the leadership of the enemy," said The Hog, "It's time to deal with the one guy who can screw this up and make us cry ourselves to sleep."
Selina had an idea what The Hog could have meant by that. "Batman," she said.
The Hog nodded. "Get his attention. Tell him you're on his side. Lead him to the warehouse on Morechester Avenue. We'll be waiting to catch him in a crossfire from above. You'll be there to keep him in range."
Selina was sickened by this. She was asked not only to be involved in murder but murder of a man she liked very much. Enemy or not, she liked him. "Is this necessary?" she asked.
"Yes," said The Hog. "He's been a thorn in my side. And Ah can't afford that. Not when Ah'm about to pull the greatest military upset since the Mexican Revolution!"
"You know," said Catwoman, "For someone who admits to not be very educated, you sure know history."
"That Ah know," said The Hog proudly. "But Ah might be more educated than you. You got doubts about doin' in Batman. If he had the chance, he'd have put you in jail, right?"
She had Selina there. She nodded.
"So what's the problem."
Selina couldn't answer. Anything she thought of seemed inadequate.
"And if you get any second thoughts, remember your friend. Ah wouldn't want anything to happen to her myself."
Selina got the message. As the night dragged on, Selina thought on this. She really had no choice. She briefly considered turning to Batman, but no. He'd had his chances to accept Catwoman for who she was, and couldn't. This seemed to be the only choice.
The only problem was, how could Selina live with that choice?
Batman's perspective:
Batman and Batgirl had dispatched a trio of burglars when Batman saw a crude Batsignal in the sky. "Let's see what this person wants with me," said Batman.
They went to top of the skyscraper on which the light was being cast. It was Catwoman, who turned off her projector upon seeing Batman and Batgirl. Catwoman was in a new, cruder costume.
"What have you lured us here for?" asked Batman.
"I know you're looking to get the cooperation of the Traylors against the other mob bosses," said Catwoman. "I have it."
"Then let's see it," demanded Batman.
"Not so fast," Catwoman waved a finger disapprovingly. "I don't have it with me."
"Why not?" asked a suspicious Batgirl.
"The Traylors are smart, despite those funny accents," said Catwoman. "I have to be careful in how I handle the evidence I have against her."
"Now, isn't that convenient?" Batgirl frowned and put her hands on her hips.
"You think I'm leading you on a wild goose chase?" asked Catwoman.
"I think you've made a deal with them and are leading us to our deaths."
"Enter the self-righteous white girl," sighed Catwoman.
Batman held a hand out in front of Batgirl's face. "Catwoman has a lot of faults," said Batman, "But murder is not one of them. We should check this lead. The worst that can happen is getting pranked."
"I don't trust her," said Batgirl. "I don't see how you can."
"Who said I did?" asked Batman. Nonetheless, Catwoman rode in the Batmobile with them and directed them towards the warehouse where she said the evidence was.
Since the Batmobile was a two-seater, Catwoman sat in Batman's lap. Batman heard Batgirl whispering to herself, "He and I are gonna have a talk about the kind of person he's attracted to."
Catwoman lead Batman and Batgirl into the warehouse. All of them had their nightvision lenses activated. "Where is it?" asked Batman.
"Have patience," said Catwoman, her voice now less passionate.
Suddenly, Batman heard guns cocking from above. He looked up and around to see that on elevated platforms throughout the warehouse, no less than twenty-three gangsters were aiming machine guns, complete with searchlights, at him and Batgirl. "Hands up," said Al Traylor. Batman and Batgirl raised their hands.
"Looks like your hiding place has been discovered," said Batman to Catwoman, whose hands were still down.
"I'm sorry, Batman," apologized Catwoman. "They have... a hold on me. I had no choice."
"What do you mean?" asked Batman.
"Face it," said Batgirl. "She's turned on us like I said she would."
"Close your eyes," suggested Catwoman. "It won't hurt as much."
"Hold your fire," Batman heard The Hog's voice. Catwoman seemed pleasantly surprised to hear that.
The Hog came down stairs, three phones in hand. "You want to talk?" asked Batman.
"That's why you're still alive," said The Hog.
"We've gotten out of some tight spots in our time," said Batgirl.
"Oh, there ain't no reason to bring back that cliche," said The Hog. "Ah've come to make an offer you can't refuse."
"Try us," said Batman.
"These phones," explained The Hog, "Contain evidence that other gangsters attacked us." She gave Batman the phones. "They'll put away over seventy men, includin' a lotta leaders of other mobs. They're about to become disorganized and lose confidence in the small gangs that ain't picked a side yet."
Batman and Batgirl looked over the videos in the phones. Sure enough, video of the gangsters attacking could be found, complete with faces.
"Now that you know it's the real deal," asked The Hog, "Why don't you take that shit to the cops?"
"Because we don't like this?" asked Batgirl.
"What ain't to like?" asked The Hog. "These are common enemies of ours."
"What happens now?" asked Batman.
"Ah'm about to make a new underworld," said The Hog. "There ain't gonna no more mob unions. Just the Traylors. Every gang has to pay tribute or... let's not even get into that. And a Russian sumbitch who shall remain nameless wasn't caught on tape. When Ah'm finished with him, he'll wish he had been."
"And if we refuse to go along with this?" asked Batman.
"Then we shoot you and take this to the police ourselves," said The Hog. "Choose good."
"Why aren't you doing that anyway?" asked Batgirl.
"Because Ah can't be sure either the cops or courts would buy it, comin' from me," said The Hog. "Ah mean, they probably would, but Ah can't leave nothin' to chance right now."
"A slim chance is worth letting us live?" asked Batman.
"Not really," explained The Hog. "Ah got a tiebreaker. It was a last-minute change of heart, Ah confess, but Ah feel like Ah owe you one, Little Bat. You pulled my fat ass outta the fryer on at least one occasion."
"Don't remind me," said Batman.
"Sorry," laughed The Hog. "Didn't think you'd take it so personally. Here's the deal, Dracula and his bitten girl. Between the crossfire and Catwoman tryin' to keep you in the crosshairs, you can't win this fight. And even if you do, Catwoman's the only one who's wanted. True, we'd have shot at you, but no witnesses. You'd have to testify and be forced to unmask. Even if you somehow can do it, is it worth it?"
Batman and Batgirl went silent. That's a good point.
"But if you do this for me," smiled The Hog, "Organized crime won't be the same for some time. After Ah destroy the other families, Ah'll be left with a more busted-up underworld then the Southern economy after the Civil War. Again, choose good."
"Batman, no," Batgirl objected to what she seemed to sense that Batman was considering.
"It's preferable," said Batman. "Like she said, there's no rewards in beating the odds this time." He turned to face Catwoman. "But before we go, I want to speak with you."
"Leave her alone," demanded Al. "She's a family friend now." Figures. There is no quitting the mob.
"Let him," said The Hog. "Ah love me a good romantic tragedy."
"You were going to let them kill us," said Batman. "I thought you had a heart behind your ugly profession. I see now that I was wrong."
"I told you before," said Catwoman. "They had leverage. I had no choice."
"Of course, you had a choice," said Batman. "And you chose to sink into the lowest recesses of criminality rather than come to me. I used to respect you. I even looked the other way once or twice before when I could have put you away once and for all, but those days are over."
Catwoman looked away. "She's not sorry," said Batgirl. "Just another performance of hers."
"I agree," said Batman. "Let's go."
On the drive to GCPD HQ, Batgirl said, "That sucked."
"I don't know," disagreed Batman. "As much of a mixed bag as this is, there are certain advantages of there being only one organized crime game in town."
"Cut off the snake's head and the body dies," realized Batgirl.
"That's right," Batman confirmed that this was what he meant.
A few minutes later, Batgirl said, "I take no joy in being right about her." Batman turned to her and nodded.
Riko Dimiquen's perspective:
Riko and the ten other bosses woke up the next morning to bad news. The police came to arrest hundreds of their people. No boss was arrested for longer than a day, but the second and third in command of all eleven organizations were awaiting trial, along with the fourth in command of seven organizations. Most of them got bail, but it hardly mattered. They were too hot to be seen at the site of any battle. That meant that mob union leadership was devastated.
And by the next Monday, that devastation had been felt. Deprived of field leaders, the unions were disorganized to the point where they could no longer fully function. As a result, sixteen of the twenty-two battles fought over this time period were won by the Traylors. Worse, the unions were losing an average of seventeen men per battle. Becky "The Hog" Traylor had lost only six people so far.
Neutral gangs had seen enough. Each day after Monday brought more reports of gangs siding with the Traylors, eliminating the unions last great asset: numbers. On Thursday, the Traylors were finally ready to stop the border attacks and enter enemy territory. Four crime families were driven out of their territories and into Chairman Gasper Whittaker's.
For most, Saturday is the greatest day of the week! Riko's was dismal. Another meeting of the eleven bosses, three of which had been replaced after the originals were killed, commenced. How could she be so lucky? If the cops hadn't apparently been at the right place at the right time to catch our people but not hers, the trailer trash never would've had a chance! But now she's pinned our backs to the wall.
"As you all know," said Gasper, "The Hog is gaining a rapidly increasing advantage. Suggestions?"
"We fall back here," Riko motioned to the floor of the Gasper-owned department store in which the meeting was being held. "She's ready to threaten us in too many places."
"The problem with that," said Madro Vasquiz, boss of a Hispanic crime family, "Is that we'll be abandoning all of our territory but Gasper's. And by now, The Hog's strong enough to defend it. If she keeps it for longer than a couple months, we won't be able to finance ourselves. When we run low on ammo, Jesus save us all!"
"Be spread out thin and die now," summarized Gasper. "Or get starved here and die later. We need a third option." But thirty-seven minutes passed with no third option being offered by anyone. However, Gasper's phone began going crazy. He checked it, but did not look pleased.
"What is it?" asked a melancholy Riko.
"I'm getting texts from crews throughout the unions," said Gasper. "Some of them have surrendered. Others have switched sides. 'They'll kill us!' 'Don't make us kill you.' 'I'm really sorry.'"
"Sorry don't walk the dog," screamed Riko. "I'm gonna be the one who kills them."
"You'd have to enter The Hog's territory," said Gasper. "Good luck."
"Then what do we do?" asked Riko.
Gasper was near tears. "She's got us."
"No," Riko refused to believe that he was at the mercy of woman, and a woman of the South at that. But he thought some more and realized that there was no escape. "Lucky bitch."
"I think she somehow set us up," said Brent Hill, an Irish boss.
"Yeah," agreed Gasper. "That was her trump card. She played it and won. I'll phone her. Tell her I want a meeting at her place."
"You mean we're surrendering," said Riko, disagreeing without being able to explain why.
"Think of it as making peace with her," said Gasper.
She's gone from hopeless to making us beg for mercy! How the Hell did she do it?
The Hog's perspective:
The Traylors were in one of the stores of the newly conquered territories. The Hog had gotten the declaration of surrender, regardless of what Gasper Whittaker chose to call it. The sound of a beaten man was music to her ears.
The Hog walked out of her office to meet the others. "Ah was just on the phone with Whittaker," she declared. "He and the other bosses are comin' here to give up." Everybody cheered.
Al walked over to The Hog and hugged her. "You've done it," said Joey. "You've won us the war and gotten us the whole damn Gotham underworld!"
"Ah'm proud of all of us," said The Hog. "We've faced tough odds and smashed most of our enemies."
"The only threats to us," noted Yuji. "Are The Batman and local government."
"Wonder how long they'll last now that every city rat in town calls us 'boss,'" grinned Daisy.
"Now, now," cautioned The Hog. "Let's make it official first."
In time, the bosses arrived in The Hog's office. "Be proud, pissants," gloated The Hog. "You couldn't bear the thought of a Southern woman in your ranks. Now... you're under that Southern woman's power."
"Name your terms," said Gasper. None of the bosses looked like they would buck almost any The Hog demanded.
"First and foremost," The Hog laid down the law, "All of your businesses belong to the Traylor family forever. Non-relatives in your organizations work for me for the next six months. After that, they should know that quittin' still ain't a a good idea; this'll be the only game in town. You and the rest of your families have until Wednesday to get the Hell outta town. If any of you sumbitches are ever again found anywhere in the Northeast - which you would be - that sumbitch is goin' for a nice, long swim." The Hog held out here hand. "Kiss it if we've got a deal."
One after another, the bosses kissed The Hog's hand. Riko Dimiquen was last. "You too," ordered Gasper. Riko kissed it.
"Hope you hate this piece of hen shit as much as Ah do," suggested The Hog. "He started this war. It's his fault your businesses are mine now. On second thought, Dimiquen, come here tomorrow afternoon. Ah've got a surprise for you."
The Hog wore a maid's outfit, complete with classic hat, to work the next day. So he wanted me to be a maid, did he?
Riko was shocked to see what The Hog was dressed as. "You were spying on us?" he asked. The Hog nodded. "How?"
"Would it matter?"
"No."
"Then let's skip to the good shit." The Hog turned on a TV. Riko watched helplessly as his primary place of business was bulldozed.
The Hog saw that Riko's eyes were welling up. Taking some tear in her right index finger, The Hog licked it. "Mmm..."
"You beat me," whimpered Riko. "What more is there to prove? To any man alive?"
"Tell the truth," insisted The Hog. "If you won the war, you were gonna make me your maid. Ah'd have to do degradin' work for you until one of us was dead, right?"
Riko nodded.
"Ah'm just returnin' the favor. We Southerners don't forget our friends. Or enemies, as well. Shouldn't have made the second choice, Russian."
"Y-you've had your fun," Riko could barely speak through fear and tears. "J-just let me m-move a...way."
"Uh-uh," said The Hog. "You started this war. Ah think you deserve worse than humiliation." With that, she put Riko in The Hug.
"N-no," cried Riko before screaming in pain.
"You are one pathetic piece of shit," said The Hog with contempt. "Beggin' for mercy. You don't even deserve a good death. But Ah don't have the heart. You were right about one thing. Ah guess Ah am a little soft." With that, she increased the pressure, driving Riko's ribs into his heart.
"Will that be all, sir?" The Hog asked in a mock maid voice to the corpse of Riko.