A little under five weeks had passed, and the criminal underworld of Gotham City was beginning to feel like they could celebrate. They didn't know what circumstances had provoked it, or who had managed to do the job, but something had definitely happened to him. For weeks at a time, there wasn't a single mugging that ended in broken bones and overcrowded hospital clinics. No burglaries interrupted with the passing of a dark shadow and a hoodlum's scream of terror. The corrupt officials of Gotham's police department were beginning to get comfortable with accepting bribes and delving into the many vices the streets had to offer. Even the mob hadn't needed to keep their operations as hidden as they used to, as they imported and shipped back hundreds of crates that were smuggling illegal contraband.
No matter where you turned in Gotham, it seemed as if the momentary panic among the superstitious and cowardly had come to an end, and the city was once again blanketed by the iron grip of a criminal empire that wouldn't die. Among those feeling the newfound relief was none other than the mobster Salvatore Maroni, who had been given plenty of reasons to lose his cool in the past few months. But even he couldn't deny that being on top again felt like the beginning of a new age for the five families.
Until tonight.
"Sweet Jesus! He's-...!"
Like something conjured up out of a twisted nightmare, the supposedly missing Dark Knight sprang down from the darkness and slammed his elbows into the skulls of two thugs, silencing their surprise before they could alert further retaliation. Maroni's guards had responded to an unexpected disturbance in the south hall of their bosses' penthouse villa, and upon investigation, they found three of the four armed capos knocked unconscious and propped along the walls, creating an immediate panic and raising paranoia in an already tempered environment. With a roll, the vigilante landed on his feet as the two guards slammed into opposite walls behind him.
Allowing his cloak to drape around his body, Batman casually began to walk down the hallway leading towards Maroni's office. Behind him, however, the guards didn't seem to be finished. Each pulling a weapon as they angrily approached their attacker, the first one lunged towards his still-turned back with a knife, as the other loaded a clip into their gun. Without even needing to think, Batman spun and grabbed the knife-wielder by the forearm, twisted his wrist with a sickening crack and placing his thumb on the guard's pressure point, just for an added chance of injury. As the guard yelled out in immediate pain, The Dark Knight slammed a hard knee into his face, knocking him back and sending him into a large greek sculpture, shattering it on impact.
The other guard pointed his semi-automatic pistol and fired three rounds, grazing Batman's cloak and chest armor as the vigilante moved towards him with a disturbing sense of fluidity, culminating from his agility. Slamming his shoulder into the guard's armed hand, he moved his forearm up into a curl, locking the guard's arm into his grip and forcing him to release the weapon. As the guard slipped out of it, Batman pulled the guard's other arm into the air and sent a hard punch into his ribs, cracking them with ease. The guard fell back in pain, unable to attack any further. As he laid on the carpeted floor and struggled to breathe, he felt a hard tugging at his heel, before realizing that he was being dragged across the floor.
"P... Please... Please don't-... what're you doin' to me!?"
Batman didn't respond, as he approached Maroni's door and pulled even harder at the guard's heel, bringing the man's entire body up and forcing him into the air with a difficult toss. The guard could only close his eyes as he felt himself crash through the large wooden door, splintering it in such a way that it might aswell have been knocked off of it's hinges. Salvatore Maroni lept up from behind his desk in surprise, as he and his consigliere were interrupted during an important business meeting.
"Gesù! What in the goddamn hell?!"
"He was showing me in."
Batman stepped through the cracks of what used to be Maroni's door, as the mobster's consigliere stepped back in fright at the appearance of the vigilante. But Maroni was less intimidated, effortlessly pulling a .44 from his jacket.
"Great. Just what I need, another ****ing freak to deal with! You can just say hello to my little-..."
Without warning, Batman leapt into the air and onto the mobster's table, side-sweeping the weapon out of Maroni's hand with ease. Before Salvatore could pull a switchblade or any of the weapons mounted on his wall, he was stopped by a hard jab to the neck, and a push into the back wall. A painting came crashing onto the floor, as Batman seized Maroni by the collar of his shirt. The consigliere placed his hands over his head, visibly shaken by what he was witnessing. Batman turned, and growled.
"Leave. I've got business with your boss."
He complied, as Maroni struggled against Batman's grip. But The Dark Knight only pulled harder, sending a clear message that Sal wasn't about to overpower him by himself. He had to wait until he could call any other guards on the scene. With clear agitation, Maroni bit his lip and surrendered.
"Alright, alright! Easy! Just tell me what you want!"
Batman leaned in and sneered.
"The Holiday killer. Your people have information that the police don't have on file."
Maroni grit his teeth, evidencing it as a sore subject.
"That piece of s*** killed my son! It's none'a your goddamn business!"
Refusing to accept that as an answer, Batman slammed him against the wall even harder, just enough to see Maroni's bounce off of the brick.
"I'm making it my business. What have you kept from them?!"
"Screw off, freak! He's mine, and only mine! I'm not about to give him up to some freaking-...!"
Batman leaned in even closer.
"The more you stall with me, the harder I'm going to hit. But one way or another, 'Holiday' is going to jail. I won't allow the kind of justice that you have in mind."
Maroni stared back at him.
"What the hell do you know about loss? He killed my child... my only son!"
Surprised, Batman raised an eyebrow under his cowl. There were two Maroni sons. At least, there were.
"Only?"
"Umberto. T-They found him... he was in some trash, cut up to bits and left in the Narrows..."
The mobster held back tears.
"I-I've lost them both. God, just..."
Though Maroni was trash, and deserved to be treated like it, there was an odd sense of remorse as Batman watched him close his eyes in remembrance of his two sons. Releasing his grip, Batman let Maroni slide onto the floor, as Sal buried his head in his palm.
"What do you know about loss?"
Batman looked over him in silence, as he pieced this new bit of information together. Umberto and Pino Maroni, both killed within a relatively short timespan. Was it possible that whoever Holiday was, they held a grudge against the Maroni family? Was Sal the next target?
"Snap out of it, Maroni. The sooner you talk to me, the sooner I can bring Holiday in."
Wiping his nose, Maroni looked back up at Batman.
"The guy that did this... the guy that killed Pino. He isn't the guy that Gordon's got in custody. I've got a few sources on the street that can prove he wasn't anywhere near Pino when it happened. He's just a two-bit nutjob hitman."
"Why wouldn't you tell them this?"
"I wanted that piece of s*** to think he was free. To think that he could do whatever he wanted, so he'd get sloppy and try to come for me. There's no other reason Pino would'a got offed, if he wasn't..."
Batman sneered.
"Your son?"
Maroni angrily stood up, on eye level with the masked vigilante.
"You shut the hell up! I may have made alot of mistakes, but those boys were with me from day one. They had nothing but loyalty for me, you hear me? I tried to get them out of this life a long time ago, and now it's too late! Because of a psycho like you and that freakin' girl you've got working for you, I'll never see my boy aga-..."
Batman paused.
"'Girl'? What do you mean by that?"
"The one that's been runnin' around the city for the past few weeks. Some kid dressed up like you. She's been interfering in my affairs for weeks, and I thought that..."
The Dark Knight remained silent, as Sal cracked a wide smirk as he realized it.
"You gotta be kidding me. You mean to tell me that all this time, you didn't have a damned clue!?"
Sal began to laugh, heartily, as Batman began to grow even angrier.
"Maroni!"
"Sorry, sorry... it's just too much. Big bad Batman's got himself a little fangirl!"
The Dark Knight slammed his fist against the wall, as Maroni's laughter was silenced. The stare that the vigilante gave the mobster was enough to bring him back to reality, provoking him to stop smiling.
"Alright. I'm done, I'm done..."
"What else can you tell me about the Holiday killings? Do you know of any connections between the victims?"
Maroni adjusted his jacket, and slicked his hair back.
"What the hell do I look like, a detective? I don't give a damn about the other victims. Pino's the only one I know anything about. You want that information, you look somewhere else. Somewhere towards the bottom of the barrel."
Batman gave a cold expression.
"I'm already looking at the slime at the top."
"You through? Because I got other appointments to attend to."
Before Batman could respond, he stopped, noticing something out of the corner of his eye. Something in the distance, coming out of the far window that showed the side of the neighboring skyscraper. Maroni raised an eyebrow, looking at him as he stared directly at this rather startling development. Something shining brightly across the side of the building, in a distinct shape that was more than familiar.
"What the hell are you looking at?"
Without another word, Batman spun around and ran out of the room, heading straight for the window that he came in from. Maroni wasn't even an issue to him anymore, as he tapped the side of his cowl and activated the signal to The Oracle that was still standing by, hoping that he could track wherever that Bat-shaped spotlight was coming from. Whoever was doing that was either desperate, or crazy enough to get himself killed.
Little did he know that it was one in the same.
"Lieutenant Nygma,"
Fifteen minutes later, and Batman arrived on the waterfront that Nygma and a dark haired woman were occupying. Next to them was a large standard-issue police spotlight, painted with a crude duplicate of the symbol on Batman's own armor. The Dark Knight looked first at the woman, then at his newly confirmed ally, whom he hadn't been given a chance to speak to in months. The data of The Oracle's database indicated that that the woman was a detective named Selina Kyle, working for the undercover unit of the GCPD.
He had to verify that information before showing himself, unsure of whether or not he would make his presence known amongst her. But apparently Nygma didn't realize that their partnership was to be kept discreet to everyone, especially considering the method of which he had used to contact the vigilante himself.
"For your safety and her's, I'd advise that you turn that thing off."
"Now."
