PFC Chapter 3258 Bloody New City (7)
Chapter 3258 Bloody New City (7)
Chapter 3258 Bloody New City (VII)
It was another morning that was neither warm nor bright. Gordon put down the sixth cup of coffee in his hand and rubbed his eyes hard. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were so red that they seemed to be bleeding.
There was a knock on the door, and the fully armed Nightwing walked in. Gordon took another sip of coffee and said, "You look as if you haven't slept for a few nights. What's wrong?"
"There's a protest against pollution in Zone X15. Batgirl has captured traces of the activities of criminals in Arkham Asylum. She initially suspects it's Bane or Killer Croc."
"Have you investigated?"
"Not yet." Nightwing frowned deeply. He said, "That's exactly what I came to talk to you about. GTO has been in arrears of salary for more than a month. What are you going to do?"
"It's not your job to stop protests." Gordon shook his head and said, "If there are super criminals, wait until they show up and then go. Stop preaching to others, that's it."
Nightwing, who was standing at the door, hammered hard on the door and said, "I'm not preaching, I'm just stating a fact! The situation in the city is getting better, why don't we take advantage of the victory?"
"Because these things are not as simple as you think." Gordon sighed softly and said, "Batman protects you too well, so it is always difficult for you to see the deep-seated root of the problem. If you want to investigate and stop the behavior of super criminals yourself, I won't stop you, because the equipment on your body is worth at least 5 US dollars, and I have to find a way out for those who are not so rich."
"You always compromise." Nightwing said, "Today you compromise with this, tomorrow you compromise with that. Even the Joker can convince you."
"Please don't forget that the GTO you are in now was founded by the man you called a clown. Let go of your meaningless anger."
Gordon said as he put on his trench coat and left the office, while Nightwing chased after him and said, "Where are you going?"
"In the city government office building, someone asked me to talk about security fees."
"Why did you go to negotiate with those vampires?!" Nightwing raised his voice and said, "If they hadn't deducted our funds under various pretexts, we wouldn't even be unable to pay our salaries."
"Yes, but do you have any other way to stop them? Kill them all?" Gordon turned his head and glanced at Nightwing and said, "I understand your anger, but you'd better understand that I didn't just recognize the reality in this incident, and this kind of thing has been happening all the time. Compared with the deeper reasons, your anger, the anger of all of you is not worth mentioning."
"So you are now looking for a solution to the problem? What will they blackmail you for?"
"I've been struggling to survive." Gordon turned his head back, pushed up his glasses, and said, "It's like a patient who has been in the intensive care unit for more than ten years. Doesn't fighting death every day for decades make me understand that the bill I get when I'm discharged from the hospital is not important at all? What else do I have to lose?"
Nightwing stopped, his fists clenched tightly, but he quickly caught up with Gordon and said, "I'll go with you. They must be cheating."
Then his tone softened and he said, "I'm sorry, Chief, I wasn't angry at you, I'm just angry, I'm always angry."
"I said, I understand your anger, because I also went through a long period of time, and I was angry about these people every day."
"So you're not angry now?"
"Anger is a great antidote to fatigue. When I feel tired, I let myself vent my anger and it makes me feel better."
"I don't know how to evaluate you. I even put my own anger on the scale to evaluate it, and then use it carefully."
"Yes, because today, even my own body and my mind are only a large part of the resources I can use. Apart from that, there is really nothing else."
Nightwing fell silent, looking very sad, and Gordon didn't even look back at him, only adding a comment as he got into the car.
"The thing I regret most right now is that I didn't stand up when Batman was beating the Joker."
"Did you let your anger run wild at that time?"
"I don't know. In fact, I didn't feel anything at the time. I was just numb. But this forced me to give in again and again when negotiating with the Pale Knight."
"It's okay, I'm here." Nightwing said, "I'll help you."
As the car drove towards the Municipal Building, the street scene was still bleak. The dim morning light filtered through the clouds, bringing the entire city back to the Victorian era, and the drumbeats played by all the scenery seemed to be the finale.
Gordon and Nightwing got out of the car together, but they noticed something different the moment they stepped into the municipal building. Every employee looked a little flustered, sneaky, and sweaty.
Gordon moved his eyes away from a fat man and looked at a lady who was giving a speech behind the glass wall of the office. He had a vague impression of the two of them because the last time he came here to find the Pale Knight, these two people stayed in front of the coffee machine for three and five hours respectively.
Gordon didn't think that the city government would be so busy on weekdays, maybe something happened.
He quickened his pace, got on the elevator and hurriedly pressed the button, with a bad feeling in his heart growing stronger and stronger.
At this moment, Nightwing's phone rang. He answered it and said a few words. After hanging up, he said to Gordon: "Batman called me again. He hopes I can go back, but I really don't have time."
"I know he doesn't support me joining GTO, but it's a bit childish to use such a trick to ask me to go back." Nightwing said with his eyes lowered.
"Although he is not someone who needs company, Alfred just passed away, and perhaps he needs someone to comfort him."
"That person is not me." Nightwing said, "I may be just a replacement for his first Robin, but he can't boss me around."
The two men got out of the elevator together, and the receptionist took them to the door of the mayor's office with a smile on his face. The smile was so sincere that Gordon felt like he had taken the wrong medicine.
The police chief of Gotham City has never been popular anywhere. If the chief's name is James Gordon, he can even go for six months without seeing a single smiling face.
The door of the mayor's office was pushed open, but the person sitting inside was not the Pale Knight. Although it was not the Pale Knight who contacted Gordon, he thought he would be there.
If he disappeared at this time, it would seem like he was escaping, but the Pale Knight was a man who would not show weakness, and that was why he looked particularly convincing.
"Hello, my name is Schiller Rodriguez, you can just call me Schiller." Schiller walked up to Gordon and shook his hand and said, "The main reason I invited you here today is to discuss the issue of public security funding."
"Is Mr. Napier away?"
"He's busy with other things, things that are much more important than the issue of police funding. I'm his staff member and can represent him with full authority."
"I don't think there is any more important issue than law and order," Nightwing said.
"Yes, but what we want to talk about is only public security funding. Although money is important, the mayor does not have to take care of all the details." Schiller said with a smile.
They sat down in the reception area, Schiller alone on one side, Nightwing and Gordon on the other.
"GTO is running low on funds," Gordon said straight to the point. "The natural disaster fund used to pay for the team's expenses is running low. We are in arrears with salaries and need money to fill this hole. How much can the municipal funds provide?"
Schiller took a sip of water, then said, "If I say it's not all of them, who are you going to let fill in the rest? Batman?"
Gordon immediately became alert. Schiller waved his hand and said, "Don't be surprised. The Pale Knight has already told me the true identity of Batman. This is proof that I am trustworthy. Let's not dwell on these meaningless issues for too long."
"Yes, I think so." Gordon had to answer: "We can reduce the frequency of the team's activities, which will save some money. Batman should be able to come up with the remaining funds."
"Don't you think this is a bit problematic?" Schiller said. "Batman never supported the formation of this team, but you're asking him to pay for it."
"He doesn't support it only because this team was founded by the Joker, but Mr. Napier is no longer the Joker." Nightwing said: "I think he has never turned around. He should learn to look at the former villains and the current good guys independently."
"Why do you think Napier is no longer a clown? Because of what he's doing now? We certainly acknowledge that he did good things, but that doesn't mean he's completely no longer a clown."
"Are you Batman's lobbyist?"
"On the contrary, I am the Joker's staff. I point this out only to tell you that Batman's concerns are not unfounded. The mental state of the Pale Knight is indeed worrying."
Gordon felt his heart sinking. He asked, "Are you the one he wants to be told about?"
"It's not that serious yet." Schiller shook his head.
What puzzled Gordon and Nightwing was that even though the news he told was worse than the last, the man in front of them always looked relaxed.
"I hope you understand that neither Batman nor the Joker is your lifeline. If you don't switch from relying on Batman to relying on the Joker, this city will not improve."
"But the Pale Rider does..."
"He did it louder than Batman, but that doesn't mean he did it better. He just brought out the contradictions that were hidden under the surface in the past, but he never came up with a trustworthy answer on how to resolve this contradiction."
"He saved the slums." Nightwing said, "He used charity funds to help many families and gave many children the opportunity to go to school."
"Yes, that's a good thing, but it's not the answer," Schiller said. "If a country needs to rely on the kindness of a once-in-a-century leader to have this, then that's the problem."
The two people opposite him frowned deeply, as if thinking about his words, and Schiller continued.
"Whether it's the former Batman or the current White Knight, they saw the contradiction. One chose to remain silent but do his best to solve it, while the other chose to put the contradiction on the table so that people can see hope and work with him."
"Both of their ideas and practices are good, but their methods are problematic."
Gordon leaned forward and said, "What do you think?"
"The elite, the rats who eat up your public security and natural disaster funding, are not our enemy."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Nightwing felt a little bit unbearable, he said: "So your method is to praise them for doing the right thing and doing a good job, and then surrender to them?"
“I certainly give them credit.”
"Why?!"
"Because they have money." Schiller looked Dick in the eye and said, "They have money, and they can make money better than anyone else. They are also willing to spend money when the time is right. Why should I be their enemy?"