Jack had decided that killing the Batman was the best thing for everyone – if he was successful, he would be known forever as the man who had accomplished that, going out in a blaze of glory and making the city safe for criminals again, even if those same criminals did try to murder him immediately afterward. It was also possible, however unlikely, that his gang would be so impressed with his actions that they would want him to remain leader. It was much more likely they would try to kill him the instant he killed the Bat, and if they succeeded, he had nothing more to worry about. If they didn't, and if he managed to escape in the confusion, he could always skip town and start a new life somewhere else, but he would be doing that alone. He wouldn't have anything more to do with Harley – he would never see her again. She would be upset, but she would get over it eventually, and making her suffer temporary heartbreak was better than condemning her to a life of crime forever.
So tonight, he had set up a trap for Batman at Ace Chemicals, a factory in Valestra's territory that was also a front for drug smuggling. The factory received regular truckloads of chemicals, which was a perfectly normal thing for a chemical factory to receive, only these trucks were equipped with false bottoms, which could be removed to reveal the pounds of cocaine smuggled inside them.
Jack suspected Batman knew about the operation, but just to be safe, he had arranged a little insurance to make sure his attention was on the factory tonight. He pulled his car up in front of the glowing Ace Chemicals sign, and then opened the trunk. Inside was an unconscious police officer who he had surprised and knocked out earlier that day. He had turned the officer's radio off, but now turned it back on, to hear the chatter of the precinct trying to get in touch with him. Jack knew that the police could track the location of their radios, and he also knew that they had the ability to get in touch with Batman, who was probably already aware of the new shipment of drugs arriving at the factory that night. And Jack knew a cop hostage and a drug smuggling operation was bait the Bat couldn't refuse.
Jack slapped the officer suddenly, startling him awake. "Wakey wakey!" he exclaimed.
"Who…who are you?" stammered the officer, clearly frightened but trying to hide it. "What do you want with me?"
"Nothing personally, pal, but I need someone to be live bait for a friend of mine, and I guess it's your lucky day!" chuckled Jack. "Come on, on your feet!" he snapped, hauling him out of the trunk. He dragged the officer toward the factory, and entered under the neon green sign.
It was a good location for a trap – when the lights were on, there were very few dark corners that a bat could hide in. It was an enclosed area, so he wouldn't be able to escape easily, and there weren't many things for him to grapple onto that wouldn't risk explosions.
"So much potential for unfortunate accidents," said Jack, looking around the factory and beaming.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," muttered Buzz, as he and Chuckie came over to join him.
"Don't you trust me, Buzz?" asked Jack, with a smile.
"No more than you trust me," retorted Buzz. "And who's to say you won't be looking to get rid of us along with the Bat?"
"Now Buzz, who would I have to boss around if I got rid of you?" asked Jack. "I can't run a gang without men, you know. You have to stop being so paranoid – you'll live longer," he added, clapping him on the back. "Now bring the truck in here, and get the boys to start unloading, but carefully. I don't want anything to suddenly explode and ruin the Bat's surprise."
"What's in those vats, anyway?" asked Chuckie, looking at the giant tankards full of green chemicals which surrounded them on all sides.
"A lotta nasty stuff," retorted Jack. "I wouldn't recommend a dip in 'em anytime soon. But maybe the Bat will fall in and we can see what happens – he might come out as some kinda mutant super-Bat or something."
"He's already got your insanity superpower," muttered Buzz. "The last thing we need is him getting more superpowers and becoming completely unstoppable."
"That's not gonna happen, Buzz," retorted Jack. "He's going to die tonight, I promise."
"He'd better," retorted Buzz. "Because someone is going to die tonight, and you'd better hope it's him."
"You'd better shut up and cover the hostage," retorted Jack, handing him over. "I'm moving to higher ground for a better view - keep watch and let me know if you see anything."
Jack climbed the stairs and watched from the platform above as the truck was driven into the factory, and the gang began unloading the chemicals. There was no sign of the Bat.
"Come on, where are you?" muttered Jack, glancing around. "I know you can't resist this. You gotta be here, you just gotta…"
He trailed off as he saw a dark shape carefully sneaking over the top of the truck. "Oh, there you are!" Jack chuckled, reaching for his gun. "That's right, come toward the hostage. Come on, just a little further," he murmured, aiming and tightening his finger on the trigger.
Batman suddenly leapt down from the truck, knocking Chuckie to the ground. Buzz began firing at him, but Batman shot a Batarang out to disarm him, and then seized the hostage, shoving him underneath the truck for safety as the gang began firing at him. He grappled up into the rafters of the factory, and Jack watched him as he threw a smoke bomb down into the crowd of gangsters, who began coughing and choking, their bullets ricocheting in all directions.
"Thanks, pal," murmured Jack. "I could use some confusion – always a shame when people get caught in the crossfire," he muttered, aiming his gun down at Buzz. He fired, but Buzz was flailing around in the smoke, and the shot missed, hitting a cannister behind him instead, which started spraying green gas into the air, adding to the smoke and confusion.
Buzz had heard the shot that had just barely missed him, and glared up at Jack, slowly picking up his gun from where it had fallen. Jack didn't notice him – he was too busy concentrating on Batman, who had dropped down behind him. Jack whirled around, firing his gun as Batman immediately grappled back up into the roof. "No point in hiding, pal – there's no way out!" called Jack. "You might as well die like a man rather than cowering like the flying rat you are!"
A Batarang suddenly came out of the shadows, knocking Jack's gun out of his hand and sending it spinning into the vats below. Then Batman dropped down in front of him, his fist raised.
Jack laughed. "I suppose you think without my gun, you have the advantage in terms of fisticuffs," he said. "Come on then, buddy. Let's see what you got."
Batman threw a punch at Jack, which he dodged. Batman definitely had the advantage in terms of muscles, but Jack was swift - he managed to strike Batman across the face, dodging out of the way of his retaliatory blow. Batman landed a punch on his face at last, cracking across his nose. Jack cried out, cupping his bleeding nose, but still smiling at him.
"I've always felt pugilism is so uncivilized," Jack sighed. "It's how animals settle their differences. We have much better, more efficient ways of murdering people now."
Quick as a flash, Jack withdrew another gun from his inside pocket. He grinned at Batman, and then fired at point-blank range…
At least, Batman thought he had fired because he heard a gunshot, but no bullet came from Jack's gun. Instead, he saw Jack's smile drop suddenly, and a red stain beginning to spread on his shirt. Then Jack gasped in pain, clutching at his stomach and falling back. Batman shot out a hand to catch him, but he was too late. Jack fell over the railing and down into the swirling green vat of chemicals below.
Batman looked from where he had fallen to see Buzz standing on the opposite end of the platform, holding a smoking gun. "That's for trying to kill me," he muttered, glaring down at the vat. "And this is for you," he added, aiming the gun at Batman.
Batman suddenly leapt off the platform, shooting out his grappling hook at the opposite wall. The grappling hook seized onto a cannister of chemicals, ripping them open. The gangsters continued to fire at him, and the ricocheting bullets on metal ignited a spark, which began to burn through the cannisters.
"Get out of here!" shouted Chuckie. "It's gonna blow!"
The gangsters hurried from the factory in a panic. Batman dropped down to grab the hostage, and then escaped just in time – the factory exploded in a burst of smoke and flame. Batman watched the ruin smolder from a safe distance, and then raised his wrist communicator. "Jim, I've got the officer," he muttered. "He's safe. But the Ace Chemicals building just exploded, and with it went most of our evidence."
"We'll find more, don't worry," said Commissioner Gordon. "We'll get the Valestra gang behind bars yet. Or whatever it's called now that Valestra's dead."
"Napier's dead too," muttered Batman. "I think it'll be Sol or Bronski leading the gang from now on."
"Not for long," said Gordon. "None of the Families are going to be around much longer with you after them."
"No," agreed Batman. "Not when they see what happens to gangsters in my town."
