PFC Chapter 3342 Bloody New City (91)
Chapter 3342 Bloody New City (91)
Chapter 3342 Bloodshed in New City ()
Three days ago, in a closed office on the top floor of the IRS headquarters in Washington, blinds filtered in the cool daylight, and the digital clock read 15:47.
Senior Commissioner Pavel Smith sat at his desk, his fingers drumming unconsciously on the surface, with a pile of unprocessed documents in front of him.
The phone rang suddenly, breaking the silence in the office. An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen, and Pavel frowned and answered the call.
"Pavel Smith, this is Bruce Wayne." A lazy and confident voice came from the other end of the phone.
Pavel leaned forward slightly, with a hint of vigilance in his tone: "Mr. Wayne, what do you want from me?"
"I heard that you have been investigating the cross-border tax evasion case of the Gotham Ponlag Group for three years without success?" Bruce's voice was a little teasing. "Here is a Christmas gift from Gotham. Are you interested?"
Pavel's brows furrowed even more tightly: "What gift?"
"I have sent you some files through an encrypted channel. You can take a look at them first." After Bruce finished speaking, there was a slight keyboard tapping sound from the other end of the phone.
A prompt popped up on Pavel's computer screen for an encrypted file transfer. She quickly entered the password, and when the file opened, her pupils suddenly contracted - it was the private account book of the Wayne Group's board of directors, which recorded in detail the tax evasion of dozens of Gotham elites.
"These documents... are enough to put half of Wayne Group's elites in jail." Pavel whispered with a hint of disbelief in his tone.
"That's right," Bruce's voice was still relaxed, "the useless parasites should pay the price for their greedy and shameless behavior. I suggest you set up a special inspection team, and I will let Gotham City Hall give you a green channel."
"Are you serious? Do you know how much of a blow this will be to your group?"
"Of course. In fact, it took me a lot of effort to get these. My good president Fox is still lying in the hospital now."
"…You were the one who assassinated the president of Wayne Group?!"
"Now is not the time to discuss this. I fully understand Fox's move to condone their behavior, but that doesn't mean I will continue to tolerate it. Think about it, ma'am. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Pavel's fingers tapped repeatedly on the edge of the document, and the metal cap of the pen made a slight "click" sound.
She quickly weighed the pros and cons in her mind. Finally, she took a deep breath, picked up the pen and signed her name on the transfer order.
"I will set up a special inspection team as soon as possible," Pavel said, with a hint of fanaticism in his tone.
"Very good," Bruce said with a hint of smile in his voice, "I look forward to working with you."
In the safe house of the temporary IRS base in Gotham, there were armed guards patrolling outside the bulletproof glass. Pavel walked into the room and saw Bruce Wayne sitting in a chair, his shirt half wet and his hair messy.
While it's unclear what happened between him and the Pale Rider, the crazy car chase between the two suggests that their relationship is not that simple.
"Mr. Wayne, thank you for cooperating with our witness protection program," Pavel said with a hint of formal politeness in his tone.
Bruce raised his head, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Are you wondering why I need your protection since I am Batman? But I'm sorry, ma'am, you are wrong, I am Bruce, not Batman."
Pavel curled his lips in disdain and said, "Are you still going to say that you funded Batman? Do you think I'm a third-rate detective?"
She slammed a piece of identification information in front of Bruce and said, "The IRS already knows your true identity, Batman. It's not a secret."
Bruce did not answer, but took out a USB drive from his pocket and inserted it into the computer on the table. A surveillance video immediately played on the screen - a scene of Batman fighting a group of criminals at the Gotham dock, while at the same time, Bruce Wayne was giving a speech at a charity dinner on the top floor of Wayne Building.
"It's a simple trick. I can make three pieces of this alibi in one minute." Pavel still didn't believe it.
"I'm asking you to do a facial comparison." Bruce snorted and said, "Then you'll understand that although we look alike, we're not the same person."
Pavel frowned slowly, but still picked up the USB drive and threw it to the subordinate behind him. Seeing Bruce's fearless attitude, she had changed her mind.
After all, if Wayne Group can find a tax team that can perfectly deal with the IRS, then he will have a way to hide the true connection between Bruce and Batman. Whether it is one person or two people, he has the final say.
The result was exactly as Bruce said. The facial analysis results of Bruce and Batman were very similar, but the differences in bone details showed that they were not the same person, but there was an age difference between them.
"Will I hear a story about brothers teaming up to deceive the whole world?" Pavel said.
"That won't happen, because we don't have time to tell stories now. We need to talk about the problems of the Wayne Group."
A diagram of the Wayne Group's structure was spread out on the table in the safe house. Bruce's finger gently slid across the diagram. "Last year, the Wayne Group's tax team helped twelve shell companies to complete reverse mergers. All operations were completely legal, and they even issued tax-free invoices to the homeless shelter."
Pavel sneered: "The operation is impeccable. Do you want me to applaud you?"
Bruce smiled and opened an encrypted email: "But what if the board of directors secretly transferred the public welfare funds for the African medical project? There are also the Gotham Natural Disaster Fund, the East Coast Children's Protection Fund, and the Canadian Forestry Nature Conservation Fund..."
Pavel's eyes fell on the content of the email, and his brows furrowed slightly. "Do you think we haven't tried to track it down? I don't know how much you charged them, but they did an almost perfect job."
"That's why they have to go to jail." Bruce's voice was cold. "Times are moving on, and I need a clean Wayne Group to control Gotham, which is collapsing from the top."
"Are you going to make room to take over the Carter Group?" Pavel narrowed his eyes and said, "Kidnapping, gambling, tax investigation, are these all your schemes to completely control Gotham and dominate the industry?"
"If you insist on thinking that bad of me, I don't want to explain any more." Bruce shrugged and said, "But the fact is that it is better for me to do it alone than to let these idiots unite to rule Gotham."
Pavel looked into Bruce's eyes, and she didn't know how much ambition she saw there. But she knew that Bruce was right, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
No matter what she can find out, as long as she dares to take action against the Wayne Group, no fool will dare to challenge the IRS in the future, and she will become the most successful IRS commissioner in American history.
"What are you going to do?" Pavel looked him in the eye and said, "You must first provide me with a flaw, otherwise I will not act easily."
"It's a small problem." Bruce smiled and said, "I'll show you my sincerity."
In the temporary office, Pavel looked at the architectural diagram provided by Bruce. A day had passed, and Pavel still hadn't figured out from which angle to attack the Wayne Group.
It was absolutely flawless, she thought. If they acted rashly and failed to strike a fatal blow, the retaliation they would face would be extremely terrible.
The phone rang again. He answered the call and heard his subordinate's anxious voice: "Boss, the Federal Reserve system has been hacked, someone hacked into the backend!"
Pavel's heart sank: "Who did it?"
"It's not clear yet, but the system shows that the intruder used the Wayne Group's encryption protocol."
Pavel hung up the phone and quickly dialed Bruce's number: "You hacked into the Federal Reserve system?!!"
Bruce's calm voice came from the other end of the phone: "Yes, how about this flaw?"
"What do you think? I asked you to show off your flaws, not to poke a hole in the sky!" Pavel held the phone tightly, his knuckles turning white. "Do you know that if this crime is proven, you will stay in jail until the next Big Bang?!"
"The risk is proportional to the reward, isn't it?" Bruce's voice was filled with a hint of laughter. "In order to prove my guilt, not only you, but also the FBI will do their best. They are the best helpers. The law enforcement power of the two of you combined is enough to arrest everyone in Gotham."
Pavel took a deep breath and finally calmed down: "Well, you'd better be prepared. We will knock on the door of every senior executive in Wayne Group before we catch you."
"God bless them, Amen."
In a bar in downtown Gotham, the old bartender was wiping a whiskey glass with the "Iceberg Club" logo printed on it. The TV was playing the scene of Congressman Carter being taken into a police car in a loop, and the guests in the bar were talking about it.
"That bastard Carter withheld our work injury compensation last year! He deserves it!" A construction worker smashed his wine glass and said angrily.
"I saw with my own eyes his wife transporting luxury goods in an ambulance, and a safety accident in his factory killed a single mother two days ago. This is his retribution!" a female nurse sneered with disdain in her tone.
Everyone was gloating over Carter's imprisonment and the atmosphere was lively.
Just then, the door of the bar was pushed open and Sheriff Gordon walked in. He said, "So you are all here."
"Chief, you're here just in time. I heard that Carter was captured by Old Sid and his gang. Is that true?"
"Yes, he almost ran away, but he was caught in the end. You didn't see how miserable he was when he fell in the rain..."
Gordon gestured as he spoke. Everyone in the bar listened with great interest. The nurse just now tutted her lips and said, "I thought they were so powerful, but they were chased like dogs that had lost their homes. They are not much better than the thieves on Wales Street."
"Don't mention it. He is not as nimble as those three hands. If it was Catwoman who went there, the agent wouldn't be able to catch up with her even if he had two legs."
"Hahaha, who says it's not?"
Everyone was discussing Carter's case. Gordon drank a few more glasses and lay on the bar, muttering, "You may not know this, but the chemical plant in Area X15 filled the foundation of the slum with carcinogenic waste, causing many people to get cancer..."
"I think I heard about it. Is it the one next to the San Marino Church? My friend's mother found it out after a check-up..."
"Yes, yes, I also heard from a friend of mine who is a nurse..."
The guests in the bar were whispering about the evil deeds of the chemical factory. Gordon took the opportunity to guide the topic and draw everyone's attention to the pharmaceutical giant Ponlag.
"The owner of that chemical plant is the pharmaceutical giant Ponlag. He is one of the richest people in Gotham. I heard that his cash flow is greater than that of the Wayne Group..."
"Ponglag? The pharmaceutical tycoon? Wasn't he kidnapped too?" someone asked.
"Yes, this is his retribution. Do you think he will end up like Carter?"
"Of course. Oh, I have to go to the Phils Casino and bet big on him. He will definitely be sentenced to 20 years in prison!"
"Less. If you ask me, it would probably be more than 35 years..."
"I think we should contact friends who live near the San Marino Church and find cancer patients, and ask them to come forward and identify Ponlager. This will definitely put him in jail for life!"
"Yes, let him go to jail like Carter!"
In the printing factory, the machines were roaring. The Gotham Daily had been reprinted three times, and the Carter Group's secrets had been exposed.
Street guys gathered in groups of two or three beside the blocked Carter Group building, using spray paint to outline a huge Carter head on the wall. It had a funny and ugly face, and a pair of handcuffs were attached, reminding people of the fate of this damned vampire.
Ruth stood on the top floor of a building not far away, with a sneer on her face. The ideological shackles that the elites had put on the lower classes through oppression and class segregation had already begun to crack with the imprisonment of Carter, who had behaved in an ugly manner.
It won’t be long before the most terrifying beast in the world is released from its cage, and the self-proclaimed solid walls built by the glamorous upper class will be nothing more than collapsing sand castles in front of them.