章節 234: CHAPTER 231
The citizens of Gotham City had been on edge and still in a state of panic, so I agreed to an interview with Vicki Vale, one she had proposed to me earlier on but I finally agreed to it since it was an perfect opportunity to gain the people's trust and love with my humanitarian activities in the city.
Gotham City was still recovering from the massive blow dealt to it's citizens and everyone toned in to the morning news in hope of hearing the good news that it was all going to be over soon.
"Good morning everyone. I'm Vicki Vale from the Gotham City's Gazette, and seated right next to me is Mr. Hendricks." She introduced.
"So tell us, after your bold declaration of helping out the city, what's your take on the recent happenings and have you had a change of mind due to them?" Vicki asked like she expected me to have a change of heart and run scared with my tail between my legs, she thought wrong.
"All I can say is that it's times like this were we are all scared for our lives and that of our loved ones, that we need to stick together and be our neighbors keepers."
"That is indeed true." Vicki remarked, nodding along to my opening statement as I continued. "It's during times like this we have to stay strong if we are going to survive this chaotic phase."
"You sound awfully confident Mr. Hendricks." She said with a smirk. "Indeed I am, a city is not just a place, but is made up of the people who reside within it and wish for nothing but peace and prosperity for the society." I replied while locking eyes with the camera as I spoke, while Vicki patiently listened to every word of mine.
"I have to say, that was well spoken." She replied. "I'm assuming you'll have some sort of contribution to the recovery of the city." She speculated.
"Of course I will." I replied, taking a minimal pause as I continued. "It so happens that the nearby hospital where majority of the victims were admitted, was at the verge of shutting down due to certain reasons which aren't appropriate to be disclosed by me." Vicki nodded, understanding what I meant.
"I had a meeting with the Mayor of Gotham City and after a few discussions and persuasion, I was able to purchase the hospital and prevented it from shutting down." I confidently said, pacing myself so I don't sound too cocky.
"That's wonderful news, I'm sure every patient and people who have a loved one there will be glad to hear this." She commented, holding up a smile as she did so.
"Not only that, but I will be covering everyone of their hospital bills. Meaning those who were admitted due to the gas explosion, will be treated free off charge." I broke the ice, that was sure to have the people of Gotham City talking and help me gain the favor of other politicians with higher power than the Mayor.
"That is wonderful news." She remarked, looking a bit dumbfounded by the information I had just dropped, seems she wasn't expecting that. I don't blame her, no one did, the mayor had a look of surprise on his face when I mentioned that to him during our second meeting.
"All that's left is the renovations of the buildings and infrastructures which were damaged from the blast." She made clear, attempting to ease the minds of the listeners.
"Oh, I also discussed that with the Mayor on that. I will be contributing to the rebuild of the infrastructural buildings in whatever way I can. And I intend to build an orphanage for those kid who lost their parents in that incident, I know how tough it is to live as an orphan." I declared with a sympathetic look in my eyes, making my claims sound more genuine and not just some political lies. I don't do politics but intend to reap from it and suck the government dry.
"You're full of surprises Mr. Hendricks, thank you for going out of your way to help this city during this trying times." She said, signaling the impending end of the live interview.
"It's my pleasure, I hope to rebrand this city into one different from its current reputation." I specified.
"There you have it folks, remember to be your neighbor's keeper. Until next time." She concluded as she put an end to the live interview. "Thank you for joining us Mr. Hendricks." Vicki appreciated once more with a charming smile across her lips.
"Of course, just doing my part in making the world a better and safer place." I replied, complimenting her smile with a brief one of mine which disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"You keep evading the question as to what you do for a living, I don't get how you're able to do all this without an actual source of income." Vicki brought up a topic I've done my best in avoiding for a while now, my company over at Metropolis was still under development so I couldn't use that. It was a good thing I started making investments in beneficial firms all around the world when I started to come up as Ghost.
"I made multiple investments which are baring consistent profits, but one that produces the most profit is an investment I made in the Middle East. Oil to be precise." I elaborated as we got off set and walked through the media hallway. Once again, an investment I was only able to get due to my connections as Ghost.
"Oil money?" She paused to ask, completely dumbfounded as she never expected that reply.
"I must say, you're quite full of surprises."
"Of course I am, I keep certain details private. That way I'm a complete mystery to those who do not know me on a personal level." I replied, pushing the elevator's button.
"And how do I do that?" She asked as the elevator's doors opened and a few people stepped out, showing signs of respect as they waved past me, some stared as they walked by, while two others interrupted our conversation to take a selfie with me.
"How about we go get dinner sometime." I replied, placing my hand at the edge of the elevator so the doors do not close. "Mr. Hendricks, are you asking me out?" She inquired with a flirty tone.
"Nothing too grand, just a dinner date. We could get to know ourselves a little better." I replied with an half smile, and she blushed a little upon hearing those words. "By the way, call me Tom." I chipped in right before the elevator's doors closed between us, then headed out of the building.
…
Upon getting home I met Leo seated on the sofa with a book in hand, while Jase was glued to the T V screen as he locked in on the game he was playing.
"If it isn't the man of the hour." Leo remarked, clearly stating they saw the interview. "Ha ha, very funny." I snarked.
"Gwen, turn off the TV." I commanded.
"Wait wait wait….!!!" Jason tried to stop Gwen but was too late. "Come on dude, a little warning next time."
"I'd be sure to remember that next time." I replied. "So what did you find?" I asked, referring to the assignment I had given to him during the night of our little investigation.
"Be right back." He replied as he got up and headed up stairs to go grab his laptop. About a minute later, he came back downstairs with his laptop and with a flash drive.
"There was nothing on them, they cleared out the footage from around the time period of the explosion." He briefed, but there seemed to be more. "All but one." He added.
"One of the cameras caught the reflection of these two entering the building, but they do not appear in any of the other cameras." He elaborated, pointing at the reflection of a dark-skinned dude with gray locks and some hot chick in a red dress.
"Run facial recognition on them." I instructed, fully aware nothing would come up but it wouldn't hurt to try. "Way ahead of you man, already did so but nothing came up."
"That's okay, now that we know what they look like….It's time to go hunting boys." I said with a mischievous smirk, I didn't create a top grade AI for nothing. "Gwen, Run a search on these faces and alert me the moment they come up on any surveillance camera or that of private establishments." I instructed.
"Yes, Master Tom." She replied, it was high time I stopped being the hunted and brought the fight to them instead.
======
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章節 235: CHAPTER 232
"Did you see the news?" Jamie asked with a calm tone, clearly trying to contain his fury as he asked Charlotte who immediately had shivers sent down her spine as she wondered why he was so mad all of a sudden when they were prepping to leave.
"Where's Fang?" He asked as Fang coincidentally entered the room. "Right here boss, what is it this time." He nonchalantly answered.
"You both were assigned to eliminate the target right?" Squinting his eyes as he had on a creepy smile on his face, void of any actual emotions.
"Yes, we caused an explosion that's impossible for anyone to survive." He replied. Jamie immediately tuned in to the news report from that morning, where Charlotte and Fang had their eyes wide open upon seeing Tom chilled out and taking an interview like he wasn't supposed to have been burnt to a crisp already.
Jamie took am accelerated step towards Fang, grabbed him by the head and forcefully pressed his face against the TV screen damaging the screen as a result. "Does this dude look dead to you in anyway? Or even injured?" Jamie asked, his expression suddenly showing the anger he had been shoving beneath the surface.
"Let him go, there was no possible way for anyone to survive that disaster." Charlotte called out to Jamie, trying to intervene before Fang gets his head smashed through the TV Wall.
"Huh, did you just talk back at me while I'm making a point and emphasizing your mistakes?" Jamie asked, immediately having a crazy look in his eyes as he abruptly appeared right in front of her. He smacked her across the face so hard with the back of his hand that she was sent flying across the room and crashing against the refrigerator.
"This is the longest any of our targets have survived just because of your incompetence. Why do I have you all if I have to take on boring jobs like this that aren't even worth a moment of my time."
"We're sorry, there was no way of telling he would survive that blast." Fang apologized with his head bowed, Jamie just inhaled deeply as he calmed himself down.
"I don't understand why it's so difficult to end that dude with the rabbit hair." He complained as he walked up to the fridge to get himself a beer, when he noticed the dent on the door from Charlotte's collision against it.
He let out a sigh and just opened the door then grabbed himself a chilled bottle of beer, while both Charlotte and Fang quietly exited his presence to go work on how to rectify their little mistake.
…
[Jason Todd's POV]
Late at night I sat at the edge of a rooftop, letting my legs drop over the edge as I gazed upon the city's skyline, taking in the ambient lighting from the commercial sign boards which illuminated the night.
I had my red helmet in hand but still had my mask on, not risking anyone mistakenly getting a glimpse of my identity.
"You can come out Bruce, this isn't some sort of trap as you might suspect." I called out, fully aware Batman was already at our rendezvous point but being as cautious as he was, he was still scouting the area to make sure it wasn't some kind of mesh.
Like I suspected, he dropped from the top of a commercial sign right behind me, his cape dropping so elegantly as he stood straight up. "What is this Jason? You said you had some information you'd like to share and it would be best to join hands together if we want to keep the people of Gotham City safe." There he goes, going straight to the point of business without exchanging pleasantries, not like I cared in the first place. He was acting like he didn't have the same thing in mind.
"Lighten up Bruce, it's something I'm sure you would want to hear." I replied.
"Is this about the group calling themselves the Sparrows? I'm aware you contacted Vicki Vale to relay a message to the commissioner." He hit the nail on the head, not wanting me to stray from that topic but to emphasize on it so he gets a better understanding as he must have not found anything on a mercenary group with such name, and there was no way the cult of Owl was involved.
"Yes, they are a mercenary group who do not seem to exist to the world but they do exist in the shadows, carrying out tasks and making it seem like some accident or disaster like what happened a couple of days back." I elaborated so he knows the recent happenings weren't just coincidences.
"Then how did you get to know about them?" Bruce asked, taking a step closer as he gave me an intense stare down.
"I have my ways." I replied. "Moving on, they are a small group and I was able to get a picture of two of their members." I handed over the picture Tom and I were able to dig out. With both teams searching for them it would be more efficient and the city would become too small for those two to roam about without being spotted.
"Hmm…Why are you giving me all this?" He asked, being sceptical as to my sudden compliance as he took a look at the photo, rather than my usual rebellious attitude.
"It would be more fun if both teams hop on a hunt for them, team Batsy and the Outlaws." I said with a smirk.
"I never thought you'd align yourself with criminals or go to the extent of which you trend on, just to see your vision of keeping this city safe and keeping rogue criminals under control." He said with his broody tone, almost sounding like a disappointed father.
"Well, those are the extremes you need to get to if you're to keep those guys in check. A line you refuse to cross, but look how much more peaceful this city had gotten since Ace and I took matters into our own hands."
He let out a sigh, seeming like he was in no mood to argue. Between matters with the Justice League and the recent happenings in Gotham, I get why he's as stressed as he was. Although he won't show it or even take a break.
"I have to say I was glad you let the police handle the case of corrupt politicians in the city and crime lords who was causing direct harm to the citizens, rather than kill them yourself, you handed evidence of their misdeeds. You did the right thing." He complimented, having a subtle hint of a proud father in his tone, a bit different from the disappointment I could hear from earlier.
Only he didn't know I was more than happy to end them myself if it weren't for Tom who had other plans to use their imprisonment to his favor.
"Well that's all Bruce, whoever catches them first gets to decide what to do with them. Let the hunt begin." I stated, jumping of the rooftop as I shot my grapple hook, making a cool and dramatic exit from the scene.
….
[Tom Hendricks POV]
Seated at the office of the commissioner of Gotham PD, I observed the interiors as I awaited the commissioner.
Looking on to his table I could see a picture of him and his daughter from when she was way younger and with a wide smile across her lips, I wonder how he'd react if he finds out his daughter was running around playing vigilante with Batman.
Click
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Tom." Commissioner Gordon apologized as he swung the door open, then he approached me.
"It's no problem at all." I replied, exchanging an handshake as he went behind his desk to take a seat.
"I have to say thank you for your contributions to rebuilding this city into a better one than it used to."
"There's no need for that commissioner, I'm just following my heart to try creating a less hideous world." I replied, having a neutral expression on my face.
"Once again, I really do appreciate your efforts but I'm quite concerned about your safety. You don't have a security detail so many who wish to foil this dream of yours, could come after you." He elaborated.
"I know and like I said before, if I die then that's where my journey ends." I said with a short pause as I continued. "And I got a visit from the vigilante calling himself the Red Hood the night after my proclamation." I added, spicing up out little conversation as we continued.
========
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