Gotham City Police Department

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TESTIMENT AS ACCORDING TO—

Don Carmine Falcone,

Tuesday 16th JULY, 2012

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Mia Madre mi diceva che la gente vede il potere dove pensano che dovrebbe essere…I have to force where I see power upon everyone else, that's the secret to it all, how I have built my famiglia into a new empire in Gotham. I let them see my power where it best fits in their fears.

Soon half of Gotham will be mine, the wealthy of Upper Town were easy enough to control, all I needed to do was catalogue them and their preferences, their pressure points, the more they had in their possession, the more they have to lose. And make no mistake, they have so much to lose…

And the rest of them, on the other side of that spectrum, a singular pressure point—one that has earned them my respect. Family was what they coveted. Every decision they made was to better their family. They work to get money to provide for their coniuge e figli, so I provide that. They buy drugs to numb the pain that comes from running a family, to better be there for them, so I provide that anche.

They also need to know how to fear me as well.

But yeah, it was a hard road to get at. In this city, there really isn't much going for people. I got it embedded in my head a long time ago—unless you were made from money, don't expect to see any. That is, unless you take it by force.

For me it was a couple of armed robberies here and there, set up trusted networks in the sales and transport companies. My good friend Salvatore Maroni hooked me up with dealers running their own gigs. All I had to do was shoot a couple of people, torture a few more, and make the rest a deal they couldn't refuse—even if they wanted to.

Yeah, I've killed people, liked it too…but looking at my family now, seated at the long dinner table, and I have enough family to crowd it, I feel like it was all worth it.

'Pass the salad, Carmine,' I felt somewhat a certain sadness to feel lips parted from my wife's, looking annoyed at my young nephew Riario. 'What are you blind or lazy?' I said to him, 'The fucking salad is like right in front of you!'

Somehow it was funny and everyone started laughing. I sighed and decided to laugh along with them.

Yeah my life is God sent. Once I had nothing, just an immigrant living in Cheap-side Gotham having to work every hour of my life because my good for nothing old man was too fucking lazy, now I live in a pristine white house with more than a hundred rooms, I'm wasting away a two thousand buck bottle of wine and it doesn't bother me one bit.

But don't go thinking that I've lost my touch. Money's not nearly enough to change a man like me, sitting behind a chair, smoking cigars while my men do all of the heavy lifting.

No, I'd rather get my hands dirty…

Last night I went to the Narrows, the small spit of land in between Gotham's Midtown and Downtown was home to the decaying. It was one of the first places they built things on—the nuthouse being one of them. Some of the city's weirdest freakazoids, and I mean the biggest creeps you could ever imagine.

The Narrows is also the best place to find people with nothen. Only place left to go with nothen.

There was where I made the drop, but first was the pick-up at the docks. Right now I owned the northern part of the harbour, a front that the Russians would not let go too easily. If you control the waterfront you control the flow of most everything else.

An opportunity had arisen for me to expand my portion of the ports. All I needed was a flawless deal with Yuri Dimitrov of the Russian clan.

At 45 Portside Boulevard was a warehouse, ancient, abandoned, and owned by Dimitrov. Poetic—I walked in with my men, some of Sal's were already there too, for this night we would have peace. 'Ciao, paisano,' I greeted my countrymen. They huddled around another man, tied to a chair by the feet and wrists with a bag over his head.

'Buona sera, don Falcone,' replied Petruccio, Sal's right hand man they tell me. 'We have him.'

I smiled at him, not a rather trusting one though. I hated Salvatore Maroni. They come into my town, refuse my offer to join my family and expect me to roll over and let them run Gotham? Not even the Russians are that thick. Then again, they're all Bastardi.

I remove the bag to quite a handsome young lad. 'Iosef Dimitrov, pleasure to meet you,' I smiled at him. He was silenced by duct-tape, his eyes a bloodshot red. 'Do you know who I am, boy?' He nodded, fear. He was Yuri's son and as such was entrusted by good old Yuri to hold the waterfront.

So this was how it was going to work out—when it came to ownership, we have to always work in the shadows. This part of the harbour was owned according to the papers by Hermes Transport. They do all the usual boring stuff at minimal wage but they don't complain, because Dimitrov pays them well. On paper they have absolutely no ties to Russian gangs and the cops back off a little. What if that was going to change? I give evidence of gang related business, of questionable legality, make it public so the police have no choice but to seize the "assets", Hermes is shut down and the Southern parts are open for sale with a discounted price once they see what's down here.

I removed the tape and we all began our interrogation.

You see, I have discovered the reason why the Russians are so hot right now. It hides underneath the entire port. A large cache of unknown drugs left here from the civil war times…drugs that were said to make people insane...and they supply these drugs to a very rich and powerful company…Wayne Enterprises. Their leaders have done so for years, creating sick people that then get sent to Arkham.

Those guys don't care who runs the place, so long as they get their stuff.

But that was the asset that I needed, the police cannot get their hands on them. No I needed something more.

'…they…we're expecting a shipment of women in an hour. They were going to go to Nicko's Paradise Brothel…' He struggled, coughing out blood, probably because I let Sal's boys have some fun with them.

I smiled, that was the thing, often times with these Russians— they don't much give a fuck about family. If it were me, I'd be dead by now…or well someone would be.

The shipments came and we checked the cargo holds. They were all there and I told two people that night—Loeb and Summer Gleeson. By next morning I should be hearing about this in the news. Molto bene.

But before the police came, I wanted another checkmate.

I wanted Summer to investigate first, so I took Iosef to Sal's terf, killed his men and then…I took Iosef's little wife and children. I wasn't going to kill him—I wanted to let him watch my men rape his wife, wanted him and his children to watch her slowly begin to enjoy it. It brought back some memories. I once did this same thing a while ago, a snitch for the GCPD was caught in my circle, I can't remember his name, only that he had a beautiful wife, and I mean she was hot. I myself personally had the honours of turning her screams of pain and agony into pleasure while her husband the snitch watched and cried and yelled like I now watched Dimitrov doing.

Last I saw of the snitch, he was messed up, wouldn't stop smiling, crazed look in his eyes…so I shot him and dumped his ass in the river but not before letting him watch me put a bullet between her eyes.

Good times…

I'm practically recycling…well it was a good statement.

'This is my town.'

So there we were, I think it was Giovanni's birthday or that we were introducing his new lady…I'd consider that a birthday anyway…

We had just said our grace and dug in. The Mrs knows how to cook I can tell you that, I thank Christ every night. You know what's weird…I hadn't cleaned my hands that night and I could still taste the iron.

Anyway, everything seemed all fine and dandy, until suddenly the lights all came out. We were slightly jumpy, the next thing we knew the windows all around the house shattered and the house was spewing with bats. We were all running around scared shitless and then…the winged devils started to vanish, clearing the dining room… I have to admit, confession to my Padre as it were, that I too was pissen myself with fear when I saw it, standing on the table in front of me.

'Diavolo,' my wife screams, pointing at it as she backs away, 'Diavolo!'

She was right, it was a "Devil" in black, eyes glowing white but I knew it was looking at me. 'Well,' I stood facing him, 'what do you want?!'

He grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground. Then, it pulled me closer to it…and spoke. 'I know what you did last night, the lives you took…and I've come for you.'

'What are you going to do to me?'

It turned its horned head and started to look around us, at everyone else in the room. 'I'm going to make you watch…'

My eyes, they grew larger, my terror, rising. I was helpless. 'Dio, libera nos a malo,' I muttered. 'Diavolo…'

'No…' it spoke again, its eyes burning through my skull. I wish I had my gun. 'I am Justice…'

-O-

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hoped this was an interesting chapter. It's certainly something rather new to me and I wasn't sure why it entered my mind. Batman has always been a rather enticing character to me. Superhero-wise my favourite's Superman but that's why I really love the chemistry of them two, contrasting concepts. It's one of the things I love about the DC universe, that I thought was lacking in BvS and why the ending didn't work for me correctly. The relationship of Batman and Superman was sorely lacking, it needed at least two films just them two.

So hope you guys like this chapter and hope it isn't too dark, nevertheless your opinions and insight will be helpful.