CHAPTER 4
Turning Tide
WRRRRIIIIIINNNGGG!
He could hear the ringing sound again. It wouldn't stop. It kept on ringing. His drunken eyes remained impassive caring less about the noise. He could hear only the ringing and that gave him an oddly satisfying peace. He shouldn't have fought with the big guy. He shouldn't have deliberately dumped the beer on him.
His grizzly stubble was painted with blood oozing from his broken front tooth. The bartender offered him an ice pack. The bartender never liked him since the day he started drinking in this bar. That was like twenty five years back. Twenty five years of unbearable bottled pain. He stopped caring about anything. He lost track of time.
His son's death changed him into a whole different person except that he decided to stick with the only profession he knew. Gotham has changed a lot. Technology has taken over the mankind. He found his profession much easier with people interested more in what's on those small screens than what's around them. He once stole five wallets in one day amounting to seven hundred dollars. No sweat. But the law still remained the same. The cops were still corrupted except for the new commissioner Gordon. He's a real menace to the mobs. He once caught Maroni which shattered the whole Gotham underground. He did the impossible but saw himself fail for not able to contain him much longer than two days. He went real silent afterwards. He realized corruption was deeply seated in the roots of Gotham and nothing could be done to change Gotham by following book.
"You Joe? Joe Chill?"
Joe Chill turned back to find a tall black balding man in a shiny black suit.
"Wooo arrrrr…"
"You're a fighter, Joe. Just like your brother"
Joe Chill realized who he was or at least who he belonged to. They killed his brother. His one and only brother. For not finishing the assigned job. He realized that his brother and his son died because of him.
"The Roman wants you. He respects you. I know you've been through shit but this is a token of respect….."
Joe wanted to punch the guy badly for what the Falcone did to his brother. He had no fight in him left.
"….. I personally don't like you but you killed the Waynes…."
Joe could still remember the teary eyes of the Wayne child, begging to kill him too.
"….. And you're forgotten now. You could've started a whole new empire back then. You would've gotten richer by now" he paused "Look, Falcone wants to give you a chance. Take it for the sake of your miserable dog shit life you're living"
He left a card with phone number written on it. Joe pressed his upper lips gently. It was stinging sharply.
'Fuck!'
He took out his wallet and all he could find was five dollars and accumulation of old bill receipt papers at the bottom. He then looked at the card.
Joe reached the North Gotham Docks. He was said there were exquisite art pieces in the containers each holding a whooping amount of more than ten million dollars and they were to be shipped to 'Khandaq'. All he had to do was guard the area along with Falcone's men until the shipments were processed.
Joe thought of this as a chance to redeem himself and make a better life. He hated Falcone but he had no choice. This seemed to be a better job and touch of the cold muzzle of the gun gave him solidity.
"The Roman got the whole Gotham in his hands right?" asked Joe trying to make a conversation.
"Yeah. They don't call it 'The Roman Empire' for nothing", replied the ginger, chewing his gum meticulously.
"Then why the protection? I mean eight guys for three containers?"
The ginger scoffed "You're not much into this lane of work, are you?"
"Life stopped fascinating me in any form"
"Since when?"
"Since my birth"
"Right. I feel you bruv. Heard of this man sized bat creature scouring the scum like us off the streets?"
"We're not scums, Bob"
"I don't mind being called scum, man. This is dirty work. Law never crossed our lines. This…. This creature pops out of nowhere and now the whole underworld is shitting in its pants"
Joe once eavesdropped someone talking about a giant bat in Gotham but never thought it was this sensational than he expected it to be. He realized how carefree and ignorant his life had been for the past twenty five years.
"So what does it do? Eats people?" asked Joe curiously.
"I don't know man. Some say it's a vampire. Some say it eats people alive. I don't believe shit unless I see one. But I know a victim. Do you know Tommy? He got his leg…."
We hear a shrilling scream alerting the whole dock. Joe and Bob turned back, their faces screaming fear, to find the whole shipment area covered with smoke.
"IT'S HERE!"