"So allow me to understand this, mister... Frost, was it?"
The shady looking degenerate in the silk gray suit sitting in the square center of The Dragon's lair nodded accordingly, his posture less than commendable as he rested his right leg above his left and drifted his right elbow over the shoulder of the chair. Surrounding him from all corners were three primary Triad informants, two heavily armed guards adorned in Chinese tattoos, and a disinterested woman clad in a scarlet jumpsuit, lightly sliding a polished blade between her fingers. At the forefront, standing with his back turned to Frost while overseeing a glass outline of Chinatown, was the leader of the Gotham Triad himself. Richard Yuanjia - "The Dragon".
Frost rubbed his fist against his jacket, completely oblivious to the fact that it made him look foolish. Apart from the overly greased dirty blonde hair that he sported, complete with a dim cigarette dangling out of his mouth. By all accounts, this was a man completely out of place in the room. And yet he acted as if he owned it. He would soon learn differently.
"Call me Johnny. Everyone does."
The Dragon did not acknowledge this.
"I see. So I am to expect this offer to be generous, yes? This exchange of protection rackets."
"From The Syndicate and GCPD. We're offering our protection, not to mention complete discretion."
Richard The Dragon narrows his eyes, overlooking a vacant property that he recently purchased. It is to be demolished in the next week and made into a new warehouse front for his further business ventures. At this point, Frost is barely even on his mind, even if the man is sitting right behind him. He is simply that insignificant.
"And your employer. This, what did you call him again?"
Frost cleared his throat, sitting up.
"He prefers to go by, uh... Lord Death-Man."
The lingering silence in the room was enough to indicate what was thought of that particular codename. The Dragon raised his head, peering through the glass. His hands clasped together behind his back.
"Your employer believes that in order to accomplish this most... generous offer, The Triad must fund a third of his international operations. All the while offering his lieutenants,"
"Including me."
"Including you, the freedom to use the Chinatown export circuit. My primary source of income."
Frost looked around the room, noticing the expressions of The Dragon's loyalists. Even though he cracked a smile, none of them seemed amused. Except the woman in red, who looked about as ready to kill him as anyone else.
"Look, I know it ain't much of a two-way street yet. But the boss, he's got plans for this city. Big ones. And they can't go ahead without taking down the primary families first."
The Dragon turns his head, his expression catching Frost in mid-sentence.
"Not that, uh. Not that we can't handle them for you in return, that is."
Frost loosens the collar of his shirt, becoming visibly nervous as The Dragon finally moves once again, eerily calm as he approaches him from behind the desk. The manner of which the light strikes Richard's face is enough to intimidate Frost as it stands, but nothing quite compares to seeing the man loom right over him. Looking down with an expression of disinterest, as if he sees nothing but a mere vermin.
"Or, uh. You could, you know... you could say no. The, uh, the boss would understand."
The Dragon raised his hand and formed a fist, bringing it just under Frost's jaw.
"Would he?"
Frost's mouth opened. But before he could speak, a flash of motion came rushing up behind him. The Dragon stepped beside as his primary lieutenant, Lady Shiva, delivered an instantaneous beheading right in the middle of the room. The strike so precise that there was but a sliver of blood that ran down her blade, as Frost's neck disconnected in two and his severed head rolled onto the floor.
The Dragon stood over it, unaffected. It was but a small message meant for a small man. He looked to Shiva and smiled, as the assassin approached him and stood by his side.
"I detest such wastes of my business. They are but distractions."
Shiva dropped the weapon and leaned up, ready for the passionate kiss that The Dragon subsequently gave her.
"How fortunate that I align myself with one who shares such sentiment."
"Master Yuanjia!"
From the southwest corner of the room, one of The Dragon's top-level enforcers abruptly entered. He and Shiva turned to acknowledge this unexpected arrival.
"Rabbit, my oldest friend. This has better be of importance to spoil such a moment."
Rabbit reached into his jacket and pulled out a series of photographs. He handed them to his employer and bowed in respect.
"I assure you that it is, Master."
The Dragon intently looked over the photos, not entirely sure of what he was looking at.
"And why should this concern me?"
"Because that individual, the one in the darkness. He is the one they call The Batman."
For the first time all evening, The Dragon's curiosity was visibly piqued.
"I have heard much of this man. Though I attributed most of what I learned to ridiculous superstition."
Rabbit took back the photos.
"I assure you that he is real. And once more, he is in Chinatown as we speak."
Shiva looked over the next shot in the deck of photos, her keen eyes locking onto a distinct figure photographed with the heavily blurred visage of The Dark Knight.
"The other one. Is that a woman that accompanies him?"
"We believe so, but our spies are yet unsure. They speak of one dressed as a cat, but all that has been confirmed is that The Batman just incapacitated three of our operatives from Mi-Yun's, including Li. And I'm afraid that, in the struggle..."
The Dragon's eyebrow arched.
"Li's... eye was taken."
With silence, The Dragon escorted himself back to his desk.
"A bat and cat. It seems more suitable to enlist the Gotham animal control."
"Of course, Master. But we have reason to believe that the attack on Li was to be a personal message, intended for you. He is searching for you. What do you wish for me to do about this?"
The Dragon ran his fingers through his hair.
"You say that Li's eye was taken?"
"Yes."
"Then take both of his. If a vigilante wishes to impose himself on my territory, then he shall be given the appropriate response."
"Dispatch the twins."
"I don't like this. He gave his boss up way too easily."
For the first time tonight, I actually find myself sharing Catwoman's sentiments. After a long sprint across Chinatown, we had finally arrived at the location that The Dragon's informant swore up and down to be one of his employer's primary safehouses. But rather than press him further to ensure that we were being given the truth, I aborted the interrogation and allowed him to run off to find a hospital for his damaged eye. That kind of pain was liable to throw him into deep shock, and I didn't want to take the risk. But as Oracle scans the docks for any definite signs of life, I have a feeling that despite my best interest, something more could have been done. I've encountered no visible traces of a heat signature. Which either means that they've hidden themselves well, or that there's nothing here to hide.
I switch from thermals to night vision.
"Is that usually how your interrogations go?"
I grunt. Having someone else here to speak with is something I'm still being forced to adjust to.
"No. I underestimated Yuanjia's influence."
"How much different is he from someone like Maroni?"
"Different enough. One is still alive."
For once, Catwoman is silent. This catches my attention enough to throw off my focus for the moment. I'm still unsure about her identity, but that could have been a vital clue. Did she have some sort of a personal connection to Maroni? Or is it something else. Something more that involves his death. The police reports ruled it to be a suicide, but I've always had the unsaid suspicion that there was more to the story. Perhaps she's the key to finally acknowledging those concerns.
"What did Salvatore Maroni mean to you?"
She's no longer making eye contact. Not a good sign.
"Nothing. He was trash, just like every other goon on the streets."
A convenient lie. She's hiding something. But before I can ask anything else, her attention is suddenly thrust onto the scene below.
"Someone's down there!"
My eyes dart back to the docks. Still no signs of a heat signature.
"That's impossible. There's no signs of..."
"I'm telling you, I just saw two people enter that safehouse. Someone's definitely down there."
This is ridiculous. She's trying to avoid the subject of Maroni through false claims. I start to speak again, but she's so determined that she produces her line-launcher -
my line launcher, that is - and fires it towards the docks. Maybe I was wrong, she might actually believe what she saw. But it still doesn't mean she actually did.
"I'll check it out. Keep a watch on the place."
"Just wait a minute. I need you to stay with..."
And she's already jumped. Terrific.
With a heavy sigh, I fire out my own grapnel and leap down to follow her. She's already snuck onto the steps leading up to the main tower entrance, prancing towards the door with a certain caution. Now that I'm in closer range, I decide to check the thermals again. And to my surprise, she was right. There are two individuals lurking inside. And they look like they're...
"Catwoman, stop!"
Obviously startled by my tone of voice, she turns around and glares at me for blowing her cover. But after what happens in the next second, it doesn't even matter. Because the door is knocked right off of it's hinges and tossed onto the docks below, forcing me to somersault out of it's path. Catwoman turns back to the entrance to see what my thermals revealed - two well armed individuals stepping forth, having anticipated our arrival.
The Dragon. He must know we're here.
"And just who are you supposed to be?"
One is a woman, the other a man. They're both dressed identical, and just as similarly armed to the hilt with everything from swords and knives to an AK-47, even a pair of RPGs strapped to their backs. They look at Catwoman without the slightest trace of emotion. And that's when I realize who they are. Their MO reminds me of two international criminals that I know for a fact that Yuanjia recently placed under his employ as enforcers.
Di and Dom. The Hong Kong Triad's "Tweedle Twins".
"The important question,"
"Is how long it will take for us to eliminate you."
Alert, I fire a line at Catwoman and wrap it around her waist, violently yanking her off of the railing as they approach and try to attack her. They're two of the most dangerous assassins in the world, infamous for the amount of times that they've made Interpol's most wanted. They've yet to ever be captured, and left a virtual trail of CIA and FBI corpses in their wake.
Needless to say, Catwoman's far too experienced to take them on directly. As she spins through the air and lands next to me in a coordinated fashion, she grabs me by the shoulder, visibly enraged.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
I grab her by the wrist, hard enough to get her attention.
"Get ready to move."
"What?! What are you talking..."
That's when she sees the both of them prepare their weapons. And immediately, she stops questioning me and readies herself to evade.
"Now!"
We both turn and run as fast as we possibly can, but I fear that it's still not enough. Because just as we make it past the shipping yard, I can hear the blasts of the RPGs fire off two missle rounds. In a last ditch effort to save our lives, I dive ontop of Catwoman and shield us both with the insulation of my cape just as they collide with the concrete and explode around us.
If this doesn't work, The Dragon will have already won.
* * * * * * * * * * * * 
