Ever since Carmine Falcone had been implicated in the terrorist attack on Gotham City several months ago, a new crime family had replaced the now incarcerated Falcone's as the most powerful one in the Gotham underground. That family was led by Salvatore Maroni, the man who had been a long-time rival of Falcone, had now all but destroyed his enemy's forces. Now, though, Maroni was beginning to wonder to himself if it had been worth it. Now that he had become the number one figure in the Gotham underground world, he had become the target for the new District Attorney Harvey Dent and of course, the ultimate coward, the caped crusader himself, Batman. At least Dent had the balls to come after him like a man and not hide behind a mask like the Bat, Maroni thought to himself. But the combined forces of Batman, the renewed vigor of the Gotham City Police, and Dent's brilliance in court had really put a monumental dent in the power of the Gotham mob.
"Boss, hey boss."
Maroni looked up from his deep thoughts at this summoning by one of his top men.
"There's someone here to see you Boss."
"Who is it?"
"He said you'd know."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? For god's sake, you don't even get the guys name? Whatever, send him in, and next time try to do your job, will you?"
Cowering in fear, his henchman retreated and sent in the man. A young, slick looking man dressed in a suit entered the room immediately and sat down confidently in front of Maroni.
"Boss Maroni, I don't believe that we have been properly introduced, and I was in the neighborhood, and thought maybe we should be. I'm…"
With that Maroni cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I'm well aware of who you are Mr. Dent. In fact I was just thinking about you and your small army Mr. D.A."
"Nothing bad I trust?" Dent said right through his cocky smirk.
"I would never" You cocky little fuck, Maroni thought to himself. Keep trying me and see what happens. "So Dent, let's cut through the shit, what's your real reason for being here?"
"Just to put you on notice."
"Hah, let me get this straight, you are trying to give me fair warning that you are coming after me? As I recall it wasn't too long ago that the D.A.'s office couldn't convict a mobster if we shot a man right in front of the courthouse."
"Well, things are changing these days aren't they? If memory serves, myself and my top assistant Rachel Dawes have put away 3 of your top henchmen in the last month, and Carmine Falcone was just put away for 20 years. Now that's my kind of progress."
"Things sure seem that way, don't they Dent? But the thing about the underground, we're not afraid to get our hands dirty to take care of complications like you, so maybe it's me that should be putting you on notice. Your nasty side is famous, especially in the courtroom, but that dark side can't just be restrained to the courts only, can it? I know you Dent, I know what you're all about. You've got a real nasty streak to you, and I know you can't always be the All-American dream, can you? I could use a man of your talents and demeanor, is there any way we could work something out before one or both of us pays the ultimate price for a war we didn't start."
At this offer, or threat, Dent chuckled quietly at the floor and looked up at Maroni with a transformed face that was no longer the charming young face of Gotham's legal system. Instead he coldly stared at Maroni and leaned across Maroni's desk and whispers harshly at him, "Listen Maroni, you're going down, that's all there is to it. Men like you sicken me, and I will personally see to it that you are locked up like your old pal Falcone. The Gotham underground is going down, mark my words."
As Dent gets up to leave, Maroni calls after him, "And once you've done it Dent, once you've put me and my men away and cleaned up the Narrows and the rest of the slums, who do you think the citizens will remember and worship for this? Do you really think that they will remember Harvey Dent as the reason things are cleaned up in Gotham? Of course not. You know who will be worshipped? The Batman, that's who, he's already the talk of the city, not our hard-working D.A. who does the real leg work while Batman is nothing more than a glorified detective. It's a real shame. It really is."
Dent kept his back toward Maroni the entire time with his hand on the door knob, unable to leave. After a moment of contemplation, Dent finally walks out the door and out of Maroni's office.
"Think about my offer or you'll regret it Dent." Maroni called after the District Attorney as the door slammed shut between them.