Chapter 2 – Mob Involvement
The evening was young at Wayne Manor as a large, well-to-do crowd of pompous socialites occupied the mansion's lavishly decorated ballroom. This was one of the famous charity benefits that had become synonymous with the legendary manor. As a house band started to perform in a corner, on the checkered, marble floor, guests were crowding around the large buffet tables, chatting about politics, the stock market and other boring socialite nonsense. These guests were decked out in their finest attire, and to get in to this exclusive event, one either had to be involved directly with a charity, or a close personal friend of Bruce Wayne himself. The odd thing was that Mr. Wayne was nowhere to be found.
Bruce Wayne occupied one of the many back rooms of the mansion talking business with a well-built, smooth talking man with a sinister mob appearance. Joel Lucci, one of Gotham City's newest untouchable crime lords, was transplanted from Bludhaven months earlier and already surpassed his vile reputation in the Gotham underworld.
As he spoke, it appeared as if Lucci was getting testy with Bruce. "I believe in this city Mr. Wayne. And I'm sure the people of this city, at least the ones that make the financial decisions, respect me. I'm a swell guy Bruce. Everyone on the board has signed the document, because they believe in me. Now it's your turn. A little belief from you and I'll be president of the First National Bank."
"I won't do it Joel. Your profiteering will make this city's economy suffer greatly," Bruce argued.
"Profiteering? These are serious allegations Bruce. Are you sure you're in the position to make them? What would the board say? I don't think they'd like to hear of you calling me a profiteer."
"I'm a very lucky man Joel. And you're right, I do have a lot to lose, but Wayne Enterprises has serious stock in the First National Bank. I can't risk any misappropriation of funds," Bruce uttered coolly, walking to the door. "Please if there's anything you need, my butler Alfred will be happy to assist you. Enjoy the party," Bruce offered, exiting the room.
"We'll see about that, Mr. Wayne," Lucci muttered to himself, mounting his coat and hat, and then exiting to revisit the charity function.
Making his way through the crowded ballroom, Bruce greeted potential stockholders and members of various charities, as he eyed Selina Kyle by the beverage table across the room. Slowing his pace, his eyes wondered from her seductive black heels to her stunning black dress. Her hair was wild and untamed as usual, her brown eyes smoldering with a sultry glance. With a heavy sigh, he checked his gold pocket watch, deciding to say a quick Hello.
With a gleam in her eye, enough to make any man weak in the knees, her mouth tilted slightly as the illustrious Mr. Wayne approached. "Care to dance, Bruce?" she asked with a purr in her voice, sitting down a glass of chardonnay.
Offering his arm, they whirled onto the dance floor, laughing and smiling, saying not a word. As they moved about, Selina quickly grew tired of the silence between them.
"You're quiet tonight, a lot on your mind?" she questioned as they stared intently into each other's eyes.
"Not really, just the usual business with some boring charity," Bruce offered, looking around the room as they continued to dance.
"I'll never understand you society types. Why participate in their little games if you despise them?"
"It's not that Selina, it's good for the company. These people need me," Bruce said, as his concentration was suddenly broken by the Bat-Signal shining in the sky.
Bruce carefully eyed the beacon faintly, through one of the heavy stained glass windows that lined the ballroom. It was time to make a hasty exit, but all he wanted right now was to hold onto the comfort that Selina provided. He couldn't waste any more time.
"Excuse me Selina, I'm going to visit the little boy's room. If you need anything while I'm gone, please help yourself," Bruce smiled, trying his best to distance himself from the large crowd of people.
Without giving her the chance to object, he maneuvered around various people and with a quick glance across the room to Alfred, the millionaire playboy disappeared down a lone corridor to his study.
Moments later, Bruce and Alfred were in the study. The charity event in the ballroom was still very much alive, and Bruce was a bit perturbed at Alfred for not keeping watch over the guests. As Bruce removed his silk bowtie and tuxedo jacket, he and Alfred were talking. "I know you understand old friend. Bruce Wayne has been absent many times to fulfill his obligations as Batman," Bruce pronounced, glancing at his antique pocket watch. "Very good Sir, but the night is young." "I know. I need to see if the police have anything new on the abduction," Bruce informed, tinkering with an old grandfather clock.
"Of course, Sir," Alfred replied stiffly, leaving the study to return to the rowdy tenants of the ballroom.
Abruptly the grandfather clock shifted, moving out from the wall, revealing a gaping black emptiness and a solid stone staircase. Striding down the staircase that seemed built into the solid cavern structure, Bruce entered the vastly cavernous sanctuary that was the Batcave.
As he quickly entered the main part of the cave, the door to the costume chamber went up like an old castle gate. Moments later, he exited the chamber as the Dark Knight. As he sauntered past the massive central computer, motion censors activated a massive turntable, upon which the Batmobile was perched.
The car door automatically slid open once the turntable pointed to the exit ramp. Jumping in, the car roared to life and took off.
About thirty minutes later, Batman leapt to the rooftop of police headquarters, where Harvey Bullock was waiting. The Bat-Signal glowed intensely from the rooftop, like a full moon on a clear night. Puffing a cigar, Bullock looked at the Dark Knight as he always did, with great suspicion.
"It's about time you got here. I was ready to leave; go home like normal cops do after their shift," Bullock uttered with a hint of contempt.
"What have you got Detective?" Batman wondered.
"I thought you should know, Gordon appointed me head of this investigation. I've had a squad of about ten rookie detectives out since this morning looking for clues to this abduction. We've swept the entire asylum. But while my boys are out playing Sherlock Holmes, what does Dracula do during the day?"
"I'm busy Bullock," Batman informed heatedly, standing as still as one of Gotham's monolithic sculptures.
"Well, the big bad bat has a social life," Bullock laughed to himself.
"As promised, I visited the asylum. Dr. Arkham isn't cooperating. I thin he knows something," Batman offered.
"Yeah, he told us how you woke him up, harassing him at all hours of the night."
"I'm positive that this was an abduction, but the doctor keeps writing it off as another escape."
"Of course it was an abduction. Arkham is always tryin' to make himself look better. Did you try the Joker's mob contacts? Maybe they got 'em."
"Negative. The Joker's mob contacts are all in jail," Batman notified, his cape fluttering in the cool night air.
"What about the new kid on the block?" Bullock inquired.
"Lucci? I doubt that. The Lucci gang's M.O. is bank jobs and extortion."
"Bats, you of all people should know that you never underestimate a gangster."
"He's ruthless yes, but what would be his motive? And why the Riddler?"
"So many questions, so little time. Maybe it's a ransom hit?" Bullock declared.
"Did you see any demands on the note Bullock?" Batman shot back.
"Christ Bats, I don't know. What do your partners think?"
"Robin and Nightwing? They aren't even in the city. They're in Bludhaven investigating the murder of that music producer."
"The one from Metropolis? That had to be a mob hit."
"Maybe you're right about Lucci Bullock, I'll check Axis Chemicals to be sure. It's rumored that the Lucci gang has been sited there."
"That place has been abandoned for the last year."
"The perfect place for a hideout. We'll be in touch," Batman promised as he sprang from the rooftop and out of site.
Later, a dark silhouette fell over a lone rooftop. The Dark Knight had arrived at the Axis Chemical Plant. This infamous plant was abandoned a little over a year ago, after Jonathon Crane, alias the Scarecrow, had contaminated the chemicals in the plant with a deadly dose of his fear gas, killing many of its workers and costing the city millions of dollars.
Batman peered over one of the facility's many skylights, looking down into a nearly vacant storage room. Noticing a group of three men, stooped over a long table, involved in some grueling card game, he knew it was Joel Lucci's gang. But Lucci himself was nowhere to be found. Quickly, Batman jumped through the skylight, causing glass to scatter everywhere.
As Batman landed with a thud, he instantly felt the cold dampness of the room. The gangsters seated at the table were instantly startled by the sound of the shattering skylight. As each of them looked to a dark corner in the room, they could barely make out the distinctive silhouette of the Dark Knight.
"Boys, we got company," one of the goons muttered.
"It's the Bat," another said, impulsively reaching for his pistol.
"Waiting in the shadows for us to get him," the third man ordered, as they simultaneously stood up from the table.
Batman casually walked out of the shadows, his pace steady, as the guards began to aim their guns.
"Evening Gentlemen, where's your boss?"
"Stay back Batman," the third man, and apparent leader of the three, demanded, aiming his revolver directly at the Dark Knight's chest.
Batman's hand flashed swiftly to his utility belt, pulling a batarang and hurling it toward the leader. As the batarang disarmed the goon, another goon fired his pistol. Batman lunged to the left, firing another batarang. As it flew into the attacker, Batman grabbed the final goon, slamming him into the wall. Gripping the goon's shirt and raising him up off the ground, Batman stared intensely.
"I won't ask twice. Where is your boss?" Batman inquired.
Before the goon could speak the Dark Knight's question was answered.
"Right here Batman," a voice spoke.
Batman immediately loosened his grip from the goon and turned around. There in the doorway of the massive storage room stood Joel Lucci.
"What can I do for you Bats?" Lucci asked.
"The Riddler and the Joker have been abducted from Arkham and I'm gonna find out why."
"So you think I abducted a couple of freaks? I assure you Bats, I've got better things to do with my time."
"Not you Lucci, someone called Mr. Menace. Who is he; some mob related hit man? Who is this Mr. Menace?"
Lucci giggled slightly at the Dark Knight's inquiry. Suddenly, the mobster pulled a .45 magnum from his left jacket pocket and aimed it at Batman.
"Batman, my operations haven't even been in this city for a year. Surely you don't expect me to have ties with the freaks of this city. Some of Gotham's past crime lords were fool enough to mess with those bums. Falcone, Maroni and all the rest. That's why they are the mob of the past. The Lucci gang is the new order in Gotham. I assure you Bats, I don't know what you are talking about, but if this Menace character is drawing unwanted attention to my operations, he must be dealt with."
"Then you're not involved?" Batman wondered.
"No, you can count the mob out, Batman. Now, get outta here before I start shooting," the mobster threatened, still waving the gun nervously.
Batman had long harbored a feeling that there was nothing between this new mob and the so-called "freaks" of the city. His hunch had finally proven right. Seeing no reason to continue his interrogation, the Dark Knight pulled the grapple gun from his belt. Aiming it toward the ceiling, he fired. As he released the trigger, he rocketed through the shattered skylight, into the night.