章 128: The Theatre #128
"As you can see, the place is in dire need of a cleanup, but it's big enough for everyone, and it has electricity," I said as I flipped the switch, turning on the theatre's lights.
"Someone broke a hole in the ceiling a while back, but I already had it fixed..." I added, chuckling as the image of a stuttering Kryptonian flashed in my mind.
"Isn't this the same theatre where that Wraith fellow fought those thugs? It was quite the show," Patrick jokingly asked, smiling at me before he began looking around the place appraisingly.
"I'm glad me fighting for my life was entertaining, at least," I replied with a roll of my eyes but still smiled as I looked around to see if the construction company I'd hired had missed or fucked anything up.
I'd just hired a bunch of people to fix the place and never bothered checking their work after being notified of the completion of the repairs, but everything seemed fine so far.
"You know, I've always had my doubts it was you who fought off Killer Croc with Batman's Boy Wonder," Patrick said, still inspecting the area as he watched sit on the theatre's edge, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"Don't be so surprised. We didn't choose that warehouse just because it was empty..." Patrick said, sighing. "It's in an isolated part of Gotham, basically a ghost town," he said as he finished looking around and began walking towards me.
"Folks steer clear of the area 'cause it's in the middle of cartel and triad territory," Patrick added as he sat next to me. "But we had an understanding with the sons of bitches," he continued as he leaned his hands on the theatre and looked up at the newly patched-up ceiling.
"Whoever broke that ceiling sure did a number on it," he remarked, chuckling as he lowered his gaze and saw the remaining rubble from Supergirl's superhero landing, to which I wordlessly smiled.
"Anyway, we just had to keep our mouths shut and patch up or hide the occasional gangster once in a while, they leave us alone, and their stench keeps the other predators away," Patrick said, scratching his head.
"It wasn't a bad arrangement, but the point is no one goes there, no regular folks, no bad guys, and no heroes," he added, emphasizing the last word in his sentence as he smiled, much to my chagrin.
"I saw the boy wonder climbing out those sewers looking like his virginity was in danger with that sewer monster on his tail, and knew it was an unfortunate coincidence," he remarked with a shrug.
"But for a vigilante to suddenly show up to save the day coinciding with the time you usually come along with food, that, not so much," Patrick said with a meaningful smile.
"I never got to thank you for saving us back then... so thank's for that, kid," he concluded, putting a hand on my shoulder as he gratefully nodded at me.
"Well, I did almost get a chunk of my rear eaten by an angry lizard man, so a thank you is nice to hear," I said, chuckling as I waved off Patrick's gratitude in my awkwardness.
"I never knew you had that kind of arrangement with those gangs. Look's like we made you lose quite the spot," I said with a sigh, scratching my head as I changed the subject.
"It was a good arrangement before the sons of bitches started asking for money. We were going to have to leave sooner or later," Patrick said, carelessly waving to the side.
"This place looks pretty good. But I'll have to ask," Patrick said, hesitating for a second as he frowned. "Would there be any problems if we move here...?" he asked.
"I don't wanna sound ungrateful, kid, but you've got enemies, and we're a bunch of old hobos; we don't want no trouble," He concluded, sighing apologetically.
"It'll only be for a while until we find you a decent shelter..." I replied without taking offense at Patrick's reluctance, as he was right. Even I didn't want to involve them in my trouble any more than they already were.
"Still, I'll fortify the place to make sure no one bothers you here until then," I said as I moved my hand to my side, accessing my inventory to retrieve a Sentry Spider.
"I'll leave a couple of these guys here and install some security measures to make sure no one gets in or out without me knowing about it," I said as I lightly patted the little murder machine.
"And if someone does start trouble, I'm only one phone call away," I added as I took out a cell phone from my inventory and offered it to Patrick.
"Then I'll have to thank you," Patrick said as he jumped into the ground with grace no man his age had any right to, causing me to pause in surprise for a second.
"I'll call the others and let them know, but I better start cleaning this place just in case we need to use it sooner than expected," he added as he started looking for cleaning supplies.
"I don't have anything to do, so I might as well help," I said, shrugging as I smiled and joined Patrick. "I'll start with the rubble here," I went on and began storing the larger pieces of debris into my inventory.
Cassandra, who was absent during the conversation, busy playing with Little Soot as she was, chose the best time to come back and joined us in sorting out the theatre.
...
Sometime later
Black Gate
"Hello, Lawton," I said as I put the telephone to my ear, staring into the eyes of the dark-skinned man sitting opposite me, a panel of bullet-proof glass separating us.
"How's the investigation going? When's the trial?" the man, Deadshot, blankly asked, seemingly in no mood for courtesy as he got straight to the point.
"The investigation is still ongoing, but it won't be long before it's over," I said, shrugging and not taking offense at his impatience. I'd be the same if I were stuck in this hellhole with an endless army of clones trying to kill me every day.
It was already public knowledge that Multiplex, a known villain with the power to create copies of himself, was constantly breaking into the prison with his clones, trying to kill Lady Vic and Deadshot.
Unsurprisingly, such knowledge didn't sway public opinion. Those on my side immediately pointed their finger at Waller, accusing her of trying to silence the witnesses, and those on the other side merely said it was the actual culprit.
Some Waller supporters, the very few that actually stood up for her, were saying that I was mistaken in accusing the woman and that she wasn't the one behind this. Instead, they claimed there's some criminal organization of supervillains behind it that was responsible for the assassination attempt.
Everyone had already decided who was guilty and who was not, and I imagine they won't change them regardless of the trial and investigation's outcome.
People were like that; no one wanted to admit they were mistaken once they spoke out against or in favor of something of this nature. But, hey, it's not like I'm any different. No one is.
"But with the complexity of the case, the time it takes to compile evidence, and considering the lawyers and the judge's schedule..." I said, sighing as I quickly did the math in my head.
"The trial won't be starting before two months minimum, and that's if nothing unexpected happens..." I quickly surmised, giving the mercenary a helpless shrug.
"What about Zoe?" Deadshot asked after a brief silence, his tone turning from blank to severe, to which I sighed as I activated my personal computer power to make sure we had some privacy.
"She's doing just fine. I'm monitoring her as I promised. No one's getting anywhere near her without me knowing about it, which sounds super creepy now that I'm saying it out loud," I replied, sighing as I facepalmed mid-sentence, which got a chuckle out of Deadshot, much to my surprise.
"What about college?" Deadshot asked, his tone more relaxed now that he knew his daughter was safe and sound as he moved on to another subject.
"I secured that scholarship for her like you asked. I have no idea why, though. She's the most qualified of all the candidates," I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Being brighter than the other kids doesn't mean she'll get the damned scholarship. You wouldn't get it," he replied, and I immediately got the hint, so I dropped the subject. I guess racism is a thing, even in comics.
"Fair enough. I'm going to work on giving Zoe a professor assistant job or something so she'd have enough money to get through college. You don't have to worry about that either," I said, assuringly waving to the side.
"I also didn't forget my deal with Lady Vic, and her family estate is safe for now," I remarked, standing up as I re-activated the cameras and the microphones.
"I'll see you in a couple of days."
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