章節 222: CHAPTER 219
Vicki's curiosity burned bright as she delved deeper into the exchange with the enigmatic Red Hood. "Why are you suddenly sharing this information?" she probed, her journalistic instincts driving her to uncover the motives behind his revelations.
Red Hood's response was calculated, hinting at a looming threat. "When you share the information on that drive with the police, they'll understand the gravity of the incident and the impending conflict between the terrorists involved and the Outlaws, potentially turning Gotham into a battleground," he explained, his words carrying a sense of caution. "We believe there would probably be more attacks, and the police won't be able to fight them off and would just add up to the pile of bodies which would be left at the aftermath."
"The police might receive emergency calls to evacuate a certain area when next they attack, because an uncontained fight between both factions has the possibility to level the affected area." He said that with Tom in mind, knowing how over powered he was, and there was a higher possibility of more metahuman mercenaries going after him.
Intrigued by the cryptic warnings, Vicki pressed further. "You know something about the incident?" she inquired eagerly, hanging on every word as she absorbed the juicy details. "And what about Mr. Hendricks? Is he guilty?"
The Red Hood maintained his enigmatic demeanor. "I can only share so much," he replied, his eyes scanning their surroundings subtly, a testament to his vigilance. "As for Hendricks, that's for the police to determine."
Sensing his imminent departure, Vicki seized the moment. "Why remain in the shadows if you're fighting for the just?" she questioned, her curiosity driving her to understand the motivations of these rogue fellows.
"Some of us believe in order," Red Hood began, his voice carrying a weight of conviction. "But there are those amongst us who cling to selfish convictions and perpetuate crime."
As the conversation neared its end, Red Hood imparted a final piece of information. "In that drive you would find the location of Two Face's hideout where the police would find his lifeless body, along with those of his men."
"Any tip on the reason he's dead?" She asked.
"His demise was necessary to maintain peace in Gotham's underbelly. Like I said, everything they would need to know regarding his activities are in that drive which also contains illegal activities of some other crime lords of this city. Study the information within, get your story and hand it over to the police so they are publicly persecuted.
With a flicker of the lights, Red Hood vanished, leaving Vicki with a river of information and a newfound determination to uncover the truth behind the scenes of Gotham City.
…
[Leonard Snart's POV]
Seated at my favourite bar in Gotham City, I leaned upon the counter as I moved my glass of whiskey in circular motion, gazing into my glass as the sound of the rotating ice cubes filled the empty bar.
"Normal people do their drinking in the evenings, but you decide to hit the bar this early in the morning." Lee the Asian bar owner who was also an acquaintance of mine, said as he cleaned up the bar in preparations for today's business.
"It's five o'clock somewhere right?" I said with a slight shrug of my shoulder as I continued. "Besides, he's quite busy at night."
"I know you wouldn't be at a bar this early in the morning unless you needed to, it's just surprising having a customer this time of the morning."
"We could have met somewhere else but I preferred talking over a drink and at a bar with a room upstairs where I could sleep of the alcohol if I end up more tipsy than intended."
"This friend of yours, hope he isn't the trouble making type like the last friend you brought in here. I can't have a fight breaking out at my bar which could lead to destruction of my bottles and furniture, that's why I have a strict 'No Fighting' policy." He emphasized.
"Relax Lee, my friend isn't like Mick who's a short tempered pyro-junkie. He's more on the cool side." As I tried convincing him that Jason was nothing like Mick, the little bastard walked in. "Speak of the devil." I muttered as Jason walked towards the bar counter, while Lee just placed a glass with ice cubes in it, before pouring the whiskey to a third of the glass as Jason took his seat.
"Do we really have to meet up at a bar?" Jason asked, while Lee just gave me a sarcastic look before proceeding to his previous activity of cleaning the bar.
"I could really use a drink after my encounter with The Flash last night, back at Central City." I said to him before taking a long sip from my glass.
"I hope you don't expect a prison break from us when you get caught and thrown in some high grade security jail."
"You don't have to worry about that Jase, no prison could ever hold me for too long." I remarked, talking from both facts and experience.
"Whatever." Jase shrugged it off, then took a sip from the drink in front of him.
"Do we know who place a bounty for Tom's head?" I asked, still finding it hard to believe someone actually wants the kid dead.
"Unfortunately we have nothing, the only lead is being tortured by Deathstroke." He replied.
"Hopefully he breaks her very soon, or else we are back to square one." I replied.
"Aside from him being a total pain in the ass, I can't ignore or downplay his skills. He would break her and get her to talk soon enough." Jase seemed so sure that it almost sounded like he was talking from experience, probably from his time as Batman's sidekick.
"So tell me, how'd it go last night?"
"According to the list of instructions he left behind through Gwen. I contacted the reporter and gave her some information which would draw the attention of both Batman and the police, making them prioritize their investigation into the Outlaws which are a bunch of rogues, over some imaginary person with no actual proof of his existence.
"Yeah, giving the credit of his work to the Outlaws. That's one way to push us into the spot light while Ghost remains in the shadows, even from the Bat."
"I still don't get why he would want to get arrested for a crime that would publicize him, when he has tried so hard to separate every persona of his, keeping his private life as the peaceful and effortless life he said he's always wanted." Jason questioned unsure of what Tom hoped to benefit from this scandal.
"It's near impossible to guess what mischievous plans goes through his head, but think of it this way. If a bounty had been placed on him and a number of top class mercenaries are after him, he probably saw no reason to keep a low profile anymore but seize the opportunity to act on the next phase of his plan." I explained to the best of my knowledge of how Tom thinks in these kinds of situations, having hopped on a couple of heists with him, I'd say our conning nature probably rubbed off on us both.
Gulping down the remaining drink in his glass, he put it down then asked, "His plan? I've been meaning to ask but kept overlooking it whenever he mentioned something like that."
"Maybe you should ask sometime, kid." I advised, signalling for a refill. "What exactly is he after? He has the money, he's very influential in Gotham's underbelly. What could he really be after?"
"To understand that, you first have to ask yourself these questions one after the other…" I paused half way through the sentence, turned to look him in the eye as I continued. "What is the one thing everyman chase all through their life and without it the world wouldn't go round?"
"Money of course." He answered.
"But when a person achieves all the riches of this world, what's next, what sets him apart from the masses, apart from his wealth?" I asked another as I watched him think on it, mumbling a few things to himself.
"What comes alongside wealth and the riches of this world?" I asked, giving him some clue to the answer.
"Having that much dough would eventually lead to complete freedom and absolute free will. Which in turn leads to power." He answered.
"There's your answer." I took a few more sips from my whiskey to give him time to digest the lesson before I continue. "The reason crime lords are so obsessed with making money and doing whatever it took to get to the top, no matter how inhumane it might be. Is because of the power that comes along with it."
"The influence over things depends on how wealthy and how well connected they are." Jason replied. "Now you're catching on."
"In all actuality, men do not seek wealth, but the power that comes with it. It's actually either they really crave for the power that comes with it, or they are heavily drunk on power they've already attained."
"If everyman craves power, then you're saying Tom wants the same?" He asked, still unsure of the conclusion.
"Not just power, absolute power." I emphasized. "Think about it, he already had power and influence in the underworld, attaining a high status in society would give him societal value. Attaining both would have him completely unstoppable. He could influence the underworld according to how he sees fit, then again he could influence the verdict of a mass murderer into one he pleases. See where am getting at?"
"That actually explains why he intends to move to Metropolis, and it also explains why he got himself arrested. Almost making his debut and introducing himself to the world through the media."
"Something tells me he might eventually buy the media at a certain point in time, because those who control the media, controls the world." Having debunking and explaining it all to the best I could, we continued with our drinks as we chatted on.
==========
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章節 223: CHAPTER 220
The office was a dimly lit sanctuary of chaos, papers scattered like confetti across desks, and the faint hum of computers mingled with the occasional clatter of a coffee mug being set down. Miss Vale, the seasoned journalist with a sharp wit and a sharper pen, sat at her desk, her eyes fixed on the screen as if it held the secrets of the universe.
"This is a lot more than he let on, and the descriptions are well detailed. There's a lot more evidence in here, so clean and well backed up proofs which could lock up a couple of troublesome crime lords for a really long time if relayed to the police." She muttered to herself as she scanned through the report she had put together on her screen.
"I guess being the reporter who gets to break this to the police, I should attain more credibility than I already do."
"Wait, you didn't go home last night?" Her colleague asked while walking by her desk.
"No Alice, been too busy working on something huge." She replied, not breaking contact with her screen for even a second.
"I know you're good at what you do but you shouldn't sacrifice sleep too often, a burnout brain is useless in more than one ways."
"Burnout? That's why I drink a lot of caffeine." She replied.
"I can see that…" Alice said with a raised brow. "Prioritize your health so your skin could be at least a bit as radiant as mine, and not this disaster you have going on."
"This so called disaster as you call it, are the side effects of actually putting in the work to stand out above this sea of reporters." Vicki replied, pulling put the flash drive from her computer as she grabbed a black scrunches from her table.
"If you're going to look good on TV or pictures as a reporter, then you have to do things with glamor and flair."
"Sorry, got to go." She said as she grabbed a , placed it under her arm, then turned back, making an immediate stop to address Alice one more time.
"And just so you know, this girl doesn't need non of that, just want to cover mouth watering stories which would shine a light on the corrupt doings happening in the shadows of this city." She added before walking down to the far office at the end.
Swinging the door wide open, she walked in on a dark skinned man in his mid forties, dressed in a white shirt with suspenders running over his shoulders and down to his pants. His legs were crossed on top the desk and a tag with the description, Director Hawkins written on it.
"Good gracious. What the hell is that look, Vicki?" He asked as he immediately dropped his legs from his table, his brown leather shoe a fitting match for the cigar he had in his mouth.
"This is the look which result's from nine hours marathon while composing a jaw dropping story boss." Vicki said with excitement in her tone, but the bags under her eyes revealed her exhaustion. "It's the look from work that would seize the front page of every news paper and mount it's position as the top headlines for a whole month and probably beyond." She added, throwing her report at his table.
"Nine hours? Wait, you didn't go home last night?" He asked, but only got a self-satisfied nod in response.
"From how messed up your hair and makeup were, I almost mistook you for a crack addict who escaped rehab and somehow wondered into my office while taking cover from the cops." He said, reaching for the paper she dropped at his desk.
Hmm!! He expressed, his eyes opened so widely while glancing at the pages word for word, that it seemed like he was just handed a piece of the holy grail for news media. The news he found himself reading that moment was one that was sure to put a lot of popular and powerful people in Gotham City, right behind bars if confirmed.
"How did you manage to get your hands on this?" He asked, looking at Vicki who was now using the scrunches from earlier to pack her hair into a pony tail. "This is well detailed, leaving no room for doubts. If the police follow up with this, they could easily trace and smoke out the people being exposed." He added.
"This is just layout for the full news, I'll complete the work as soon as I get a word from the commissioner."
"I won't advise you to go looking like this." He said, hinting a bit of irritation in his voice and from a subtle change in expression.
"I'll be heading home to freshen up, then head straight to the station to run this by the commissioner." Vicki said with a mischievous smirk tugged to the side of her lips as the bags under her eyes made her seem like some lunatic.
"This is big news." Hawkins said to her, still flipping through the pages."
"Who's your source?" He asked. "That I can't reveal, but I assure you it's from a reliable source." She replied.
"Doesn't this reliable source have a name? You can't just present something like this to the police without a named or identified source backing it."
"Don't worry about that, what you should think on is what shape Gotham City would be taking once the police confirms everyone of them. Especially after the act of terrorism two nights ago." She said to Hawkins who knew the turmoil this news was sure to stir up in the city of Gotham, was one he could never predict.
"If you'd excuse me, I'll be taking the day off from the office." She said to him as she proceeded to the door.
"Vicki." Hawkins called out as she placed her hand on the doorknob. "Do not prioritize your job over your health." She said nothing in reply but gave an half nod. "There's more to life than chasing the next story." He concluded.
"Yes sir, but until then, all I have is my passion for this job." She replied before walking out the office, softly shutting the door behind her.
…
[Feng Chonglin's POV]
Walking up the stairs of an opulent manor with red and gold décor all around, Mr Feng Chonglin who was the leader of the triad, was stopped by one of his men who seemed to have something to report.
"Bad news Master." The subordinate said to him with his head bowed. "Speak." He commanded.
"An update from our insider in the police force came in a moment ago." This caught Chonglin's attention, taking two steps down the stairs, he gestured for the man to continue as he rose his head.
"The young man arrested under the suspicion of being an accomplice to the terrorism attack at one of our major restaurants, would be released tomorrow." He reported while he watched for a sudden but expected change in their leader's demeanor, but only got a sigh in response to the message.
"That works pretty well for us." He replied as he stretched his hand out, a phone was immediately placed in his hand as he dialed up a number.
Taking the phone up to his head and pressing it against his ear. "It's me." He said as the receiver picked up the call.
"I have a job which requires your experience and fits your expertise." He said over the phone as he gestured for the reporter to leave his presence.
"Good, in a few minutes I'll be sending you the details of the job. I want it done at the precise timing tomorrow." He instructed. "Consider it done." The voice reverberated through the phone before he hanged up the call.
"If the police are letting him go, I can't. No one takes from me and get to go scout free." He said as he handed over the phone to the man beside him, then climbed up the stairs.
"How do you intend to handle it sir? I say we kidnap him and teach him not to mess with the Triad." The man who walked behind him suggested, having a dragon tattoo drawn from his bald head and down to the base of his body.
Letting out a sigh, he began. "That would be a waste because after the torture and getting the feel of vengeance, we kill him and it's all over. The debt won't be paid and a deadman can't take the lesson along with him when we eventually finish with him."
"Then we kidnap him and sell his organs to make up for the losses" His subordinate suggested.
"I'm not bothered by the money because I've been thinking of demolishing the establishment and turning it into some other kind of business, that's why I'm not mad or pissed off by the loss." He continued as he arrived at a door.
"There would be a publicized death in Gotham City tomorrow, I wonder how the people would react when a man under police custody gets assassinated right in front of a police station." He said to the man before walking into the other room.
==========
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