"I told you, I'm not the one who killed them. The Assassin's Union has invested so many resources in you, why would they disrupt their own plans at such a critical moment?" Talya leaned against the window, the pitch-black night of Gotham behind her. Her long, black hair shimmered with a cold, ghostly light, her thin eyebrows furrowed together, expressing strong disapproval.
"My banquet is ruined." Elliot sat on the bed, the expensive silk sheets shimmering softly under the bright lights, but his face was so grim that not even the most exquisite decorations could make him seem more confident.
"The fallen corpse was one of the bodyguards I assigned to you. From the start of the banquet, it was already waiting near the banquet hall. The only ones who could've made a move are those attending the banquet."
"Who do you suspect?"
"There are many with motives." Talya walked to the other side of the bed, began pacing, and said, "Perhaps it's Jason Todd."
"Why do you think it's him?" Elliot appeared even more disapproving.
"He's too young and ambitious. The Gotham Defense Group is actually benefiting from your governance of Gotham. Besides, he undertook the security responsibilities for the entire banquet; he has to be accountable."
"Do you think I can lay all the blame on him?"
"You have to give those elites an explanation." Talya sat down beside Elliot and continued, "The elections are about to start, and we don't have much time left. Whoever tries to trip you up at this juncture, you can't afford to show mercy."
"I don't think it's meaningful." Elliot went on, "Clearly, it's your organization, the Assassin's Union, that hasn't been able to handle March. If you could have settled this rival earlier, I wouldn't worry about any elections."
Talya sighed and stood up again. The sound of her high heels on the floor was somewhat dull, creating a baseless irritability. Even her slender, alluring figure couldn't dispel this annoyance when viewed from her shapely calves upwards.
"We suspect there might be another mysterious organization behind March. We need time to investigate and handle it."
"Time, time... I have given you enough time..."
"What I mean is, while we can investigate him, the organization behind him can also investigate you. Or maybe they too wish to deal with you. But all of this cannot be made public; you can only find a scapegoat."
Elliot suddenly tightened his lips, his eyes revealing tension. He said, "You're saying the people behind March not only want to take out my bodyguard, but actually aim to kill me?"
"Exactly. So the bodyguard's mishap might be fortunate for you, at least you escaped this disaster."
"Then how can you guarantee their assassins won't come after me again?!"
"I can't guarantee it. I'll do my utmost to protect your safety. You need to suppress March on the front line for all my efforts to be effective. Otherwise, we'll both meet a terrible end."
"You know who the organization is, don't you?"
Suddenly gesturing a silence signal, Talya and Elliot heard the cries of night owls outside the window.
"Goo—gugu—"
Bang! A gloved fist struck the framework next to the cargo box. Jason, with a sullen expression, said, "Now that there's been a death at the banquet, that guy will definitely blame me. You better keep a close watch on the batch at the dock; don't let him catch any slip-ups."
The person in front responded quickly. Jason looked up at the warehouse ahead, where lots of weapons were stored. The so-called defense group was actually an arms company, accurately speaking a secondhand dealer, sourcing products from manufacturing arms companies and selling throughout the East Coast.
With Wayne Enterprises present, Red Line Defense Group's imported goods never had trouble finding buyers. Once Elliot suspected him, not only would the goods be hard to sell, but evidence used by Elliot to leverage Jason in certain black-market industries might bring him down. He must act first and strike.
"Afraid you'll have to take preemptive action." A voice came from behind Jason. He turned sharply to see a peculiarly dressed youth appearing at the elevator entrance.
He was dressed in tight-fitting attire, no different from those masked oddballs, but uniquely he wore a mask equipped with two round eye guards, and above them were feather-like metal decorations that seemed to symbolize an owl.
"Court of Owls?" Jason squinted his eyes and reached for the weapon on his waist.
"Indeed, you have investigated us." The other person crossed his arms and took two steps forward, saying, "Dick Grayson, Talon of the Court of Owls, also responsible for Gotham's security defense work. No need to be too tense; I've come to discuss your most troubling issue."
"Don't act like you're a sympathetic big brother." Jason snorted coldly, "Your organization was beaten like stray dogs by the Assassin's Union, and the whole defense network of Gotham is on the verge of collapse, right? Compared to me, you have much more to worry about."
"Didn't expect you'd know it all." The other's tone remained relaxed, seemingly confident, and he said, "A death occurred at the banquet where you handled security; Elliot will definitely put all the blame on you. He knows you won't obediently take the fall, so naturally, he'll leverage Wayne Enterprises to suppress Red Line. How long can your cash flow sustain under Wayne Enterprises' siege?"
"Were people killed by your hands?"
"Consider it was us. If not, the murderer still did us a great favor. This corpse lying between you and Elliot means you'll never reconcile."
"You're really an idiot." Jason said, "If the people weren't killed by you, it proves something must have slipped from your control, and even if temporarily beneficial, it'll eventually lead to chaos. Not only aren't you investigating, you're willing to go with the flow. I certainly won't collaborate with such fools."
Dick's expression turned ugly. He lowered his eyelids slightly, resembling an owl in a nap.
"Trying to find your weakness, and make you admit to this, Elliot will definitely look into your recent shipment. Do you think there's no problem at all?"
"I admit that I imported twelve RIM-72 Eagle Missiles, but that's just regular cargo. What reason does Elliot have to stop my legitimate business?"
"Then why did you load them in a container of construction timber?" Dick sneered, "You're confessing without being pressed."
Jason's expression turned cold.
"What do you want to do?"
"Work with me, and I'll help you sort out this trouble."
Jason's previously relaxed hand slightly clenched again. He said expressionlessly, "Follow me."
They left the underground warehouse and returned to the upstairs office to negotiate. As the two figures disappeared into the elevator, the warehouse's camera flickered. Before long, when the elevator door opened, the light within burned a golden rectangle onto the dark floor. In the frame stood a slender figure.
"Mr. President! Mr. President! It's bad!"
A man in formal wear hurriedly burst into the president's office, shouting at Jason standing by the window, "The warehouse security system was hacked, and someone just broke in and stole important goods!"
"Important goods? What goods?"
"RIM-72 Eagle Missiles!!!"
A helicopter flew over Gotham Old City, with Elliot inside, his brows furrowed. His fingers gently tapped the armrest of his seat, clearly making some difficult decisions. The tablet indicated new emails, but he had no time to check them, just sitting in the helicopter overlooking the chaotic old city.
"I have never liked it here," Elliot said. But apart from him and the pilot on the helicopter, there was no one else, so he was actually talking to himself.
"Chaos, filth, wave after wave of rebels, causing trouble for me every day." He sneered and said, "Some even say if Bruce Wayne hadn't gone mad, he would do better than me. Unfortunately, now, he is already dead."
As the light rain drizzled, the wind seemed almost tangible. The helicopter was about to land on the rooftop of the Wayne Enterprises Building. But in a blink, Elliot saw a figure above the rooftop's gargoyle— a man holding an umbrella, dressed in a suit, standing on top of the gargoyle, slender and tall like the shadows of this nighttime rain.
"ZZZZ—"
A sharp and urgent howling sound rang in his ears. A missile, dragging a long meteor-like trail, swept across the window and struck the tail of the helicopter directly.
"Bang!!!"
A violent flash of fire erupted, and the helicopter tottered, plummeting toward the old city below. There, the sounds of gunfire echoed through the night, and the rebels were already armed to the teeth, while Elliot, unfortunately, fell among them.
"Damn it!" Jason shouted angrily as he rushed to the edge of the building, looking down at the helicopter wreckage still emitting black smoke. Talons Dick immediately wanted to jump down, but Jason grabbed him, roared at him, "What are you doing? You still want to save him?!"
"He can't die. If you don't save him, this blame will definitely fall on you." Dick said to him, "The missile thief obviously wants to frame you. Do you want him to succeed?!"
"If we go down now, they could see us as rebels and take us all in. Do you think he can't do it?!"
Dick paused his action. Jason continued, "Missiles can't kill him, this group of rebels can't either. We'd better not show up, first solve the missile problem."
"I can help you delete all surveillance videos, logistics records, even Lex Group's transaction records. If he can still trace it back to you, then just admit it."
But Jason shook his head and said, "Since it's a frame-up, the person who stole the missiles must have obtained these records first. If you delete them now, it might be too late. I can only find a way to catch this person."
"What did your warehouse's surveillance camera capture?"
"Only a silhouette, looking just as odd as you."
"It couldn't be the Court of Owls." Dick stated resolutely, "If there's someone to suspect, it should be the Assassin's Union. They would definitely be behind Elliot, framing you for the banquet murder incident. If Elliot hasn't decided, they'd help him make up his mind."
"Saying these things is useless now, let's catch the thief first."
Below the building, on the street, rebels surrounded the crashed helicopter. Elliot emerged from it, looking somewhat disheveled, but this was the edge of the old city, and Elliot's mechanized defense team rushed over at maximum speed.
The rebel leader was a red-haired woman wearing an eye patch, seemingly blind. Beside her was a fully armed petite woman, on the other side, there was a youth in a red and green tight suit and cape.
The rebels immediately opened fire on the defense team. The petite woman in tight attire and a mask darted into the formation like lightning, heading straight for Elliot.
Elliot hurriedly dodged backwards, and the armed guards shot at the attacker but missed. Elliot, in a panic, hid behind a broken helicopter tail wing but didn't notice, behind the wreckage, a pale figure reaching out to him.