Capítulo 41: Opportunity #41
Author's note: I'm already out of new ideas to ask for power stones...
...
"That's my line of thought exactly," Selina said, narrowing her eyes as she regarded with glaring suspicion she didn't even bother to hide.
'This is bad. No matter how I look at the situation, it looks as if I framed Selina...' I mused, furrowing my eyebrows as I began connecting the dots after speaking the facts aloud and putting things in perspective.
Selina was the one who gave the USB stick to Batman, but I'm the one who stole it, and even though Black Mask's goons and the rogue Intergang member are currently in Black Gate. It wouldn't be difficult for Intergang's people to question them in the prison to find out I was the one who took the money and the duffle bag, so they had no reason to go after Selina.
'Unless they knew, Selina was the one who gave the USB to Batman somehow...' my expression darkened as realization dawned on me.
Selina wasn't stupid enough to publicize the fact she fucked over Intergang. Batman wouldn't do that as well, and I sure as hell didn't do either.
Someone must have got wind of it somehow and spread the word to Intergang, and they probably had evidence because they wouldn't be coming in full force like this if they weren't sure Selina was the one to fuck them over.
"I understand your suspicion, but I believe I've made it abundantly clear that I had no ill will toward you, Selina," I replied, smiling as I shook my head in exasperation, shifting in my seat.
"And even if I wanted to act against you, I wouldn't go with such a shoddy, obvious plan," I added with a chuckle, shrugging my shoulders as I gestured to the side in dismissal.
"You're already suspecting me, and even if the Intergang got to you, you only need to point them in my direction, and they'll come for my head as well," I explained with a snort of derision.
I wasn't some diabolical mastermind, but if I wanted to get rid of Selina, I'd definitely come up with something more subtle that wouldn't immediately oust me as the main suspect.
"I'm sure you have evidence of me giving you the USB stick, after all," I concluded as I gestured towards a corner of the room that was the most likely to have a hidden camera.
"As for Harley, it's not my fault she didn't cover her tracks after murdering Black Mask's men in the warehouse," I explained, gesturing to the side in dismissal as I shifted in my seat.
"Then how else would you explain the Intergang coming after me? The only people who know about this matter are you, Batman, and myself," Selina said, her frown easing slightly, but she still looked suspicious and somewhat antagonistic.
"I don't know how, but someone else must have found out, and they probably had solid proof because the Intergang wouldn't invade Gotham City otherwise," I replied, spreading my arms with a shrug.
"However, I can say with certainty that the leak wasn't on my side," I added, giving her a meaningful look, to which she scowled, seemingly offended by my questioning of her abilities.
"Whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you, Selina. I've already displayed enough sincerity and goodwill," I remarked, leisurely waving to the side as if I didn't care, even though I greatly cared. I put too much effort into building a relationship with Selina and had a lot riding on said relationship.
"However, I am willing to help you, if you'd trust me, of course," I added, cutting her off before she could speak, making her pause as she gave me a confused look.
"Whoever did this did it to spread chaos in Gotham, to distract the Bat and the major villains and gangs in Gotham," I remarked, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone as I smiled.
"Someone is preparing to do something big, and we only need to wait to find out who and what," I explained with a chuckle. Anyone who had the recourses to pull this kind of shit would be a big player in Gotham.
Such people didn't half-ass things and would probably announce their plans at the last possible send for the entire world to see before acting because heroes wouldn't have a chance to stop them otherwise.
"Then it's only a matter of tracking them down and making them swallow their teeth," I concluded with a shrug as I smiled, leisurely leaning back into the couch.
It goes without saying that I wanted my own pound of flesh from whoever perpetrated this whole mess since they've made things difficult for me, intentionally or otherwise. I was petty like that.
"Are you suggesting I sit on my ass and wait while Intergang tears the city apart until some alleged mastermind shows his head?" Selina asked, frowning, as she seemed clearly bemused by my suggestion.
"I don't see why not," I replied, shrugging my shoulders and continuing before Selina could argue. "The Intergang is after you, and if you only need to lie low until Batman or the local gangs unite and kick them out of Gotham then there's nothing they can do about it," I added with a shrug. Such was the most optimal solution for Selina's problem, but I doubted she'd go for it since she's clearly still suspecting me.
I can work with that. In fact, I'd have more to gain if Selina refused my suggestion. Gotham was in chaos right now. Chaos meant opportunity, and I was nothing if not an opportunistic asshole, or so I recently learned about myself.
And sure enough.
"Well, I don't feel like doing nothing and waiting for whoever did this to show his head," Selina blankly replied, shaking her head. "I'm going to find out who did this, and I'm going to make them regret it," she added, and I didn't need to be a genius to understand the veiled threat in her words, causing me to smile.
"Well... if that's what you want, then it can't be helped..." I remarked, letting out a long sigh to show my reluctance as I shrugged my shoulders in dismay.
"I believe I can help you track down whoever orchestrated the whole affair," I said, letting out another sigh, putting on a hesitant expression as I looked down in thought, to which Selina's frown became more pronounced.
"I don't doubt your abilities, but whoever tipped the Intergang is likely very resourceful and has access to the city's surveillance system or something more advanced," I explained as I raised my head, meeting Selina's eyes.
The culprit was probably something of a computer wizard or an inventor of sorts since they wouldn't be able to spy on Catwoman and friggen Batman of all people without getting caught otherwise.
There was also the possibility that magic was involved, but it was minuscule at best. No mage, sorcerer, or wizard I knew of in the DC comics was patient enough to pull this kind of shit. Each and every magic used in this world was megalomaniac with no sense of subtlety, including most of the good guys too.
"I can't imagine they'd be able to track down and spy on someone like you and Batman otherwise," I remarked, smiling as I nonchalantly gestured to the side, showing her that I got over my reluctance.
"The problem with such people is that they tend to leave a digital trace, which I might be able to trace..." I added, and judging by Selina's expression, she probably saw the "but" coming from a mile away.
So I continued before she could interrupt me.
"However, I need access to an advanced computer to pull something like that, which brings me back to why I called you earlier," I explained, clearing my throat with a shrug.
The person who tipped the Intergang was likely some computer genius who could hack into the city's surveillance system. I could probably track them down if I had a reliable computer to grind my Computers skill more quickly.
On the other hand, Gotham City was a dump. And I could probably track down the perpetrator by simply accessing the public network and narrowing down the precious few places with a reliable internet connection.
Whoever did this need an extraordinarily stable internet connection. And after narrowing down the few places with that kind of connection, it would only be a matter of clearing them out one after the other until we found the target.
But Selina didn't need to know that, not if I wanted a shiny new computer and alien tech, which I totally did.
"Intergang is currently in Gotham, and I doubt anyone on the planet other than the Justice League or someone like Lex Luthor himself would have more advanced tech," I explained, my smile widening as realization downed on Selina's face.
"We attack Intergang, weaken their presence in Gotham, steal their tech, and use it to track down the person responsible for this mess," I remarked, spreading my arms to the side for mere dramatic effect. "Two birds with one stone, easy as that," I concluded with a chuckle as I leaned into the couch, sending the brunette a prying look.
I typically would have wanted to avoid shit like the Intergang at all costs, but that is not an option here, and even if it was, the temptation of alien technology was just too much for me to handle right now.
"Again... things seem to line up rather too conveniently for you..." Selina remarked with a sigh, raising an eyebrow. "But what you say makes sense..." she added, shaking her head as she got up.
"It's not that things line up to my convenience, Selina. They line up randomly, and I create my own convenience within..."
...
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