The struggle between Falcone and Maroni quickly began, but the first to suffer were the city councilors.
Maroni struck first, eliminating a councilor who supported Falcone.
Falcone’s retaliation followed swiftly, killing a councilor from Maroni’s side the very next day.
These councilors, who flaunted their power in other cities, were now like chickens waiting to be slaughtered in Gotham.
Such tricky homicide cases involving powerful backgrounds were naturally assigned to the Gordon duo.
As the investigation deepened, Gordon and Bullock discovered something absurd.
The hitman hired to kill both councilors was the exact same person.
The killer was working for both Maroni and Falcone simultaneously.
Such madness could only happen in Gotham.
Rex hadn’t revealed a single word to Falcone about the Maroni family’s involvement in the Arkham affair.
During their meeting that day, he had already discussed it with Falcone: Falcone would confront Maroni out in the open.
Meanwhile, Rex would dispatch the Penguin to secretly infiltrate Maroni’s gang as an undercover agent.
One in the light, one in the dark; a clear division of labor with no interference.
And the Penguin was doing a fantastic job.
After becoming a dishwasher at Bamonte’s restaurant, he quickly left a good impression on Sal Maroni by relying on his sharp observation skills and the advantage of his mother also being Italian.
But a good impression wasn’t enough.
Rex needed the Penguin to penetrate the inner circle of the Maroni family.
As sunset approached, it was once again the day for the Maroni family to settle accounts at the restaurant.
The Penguin was absentmindedly washing dishes when a sudden commotion broke out outside.
Rat-tat-tat.
Rat-tat-tat.
Three masked robbers stormed in, spraying bullets at the restaurant staff while completely ignoring the dining customers.
Their target was very clear: they headed straight for the kitchen where the Maroni family stored their cash.
By the time the Maroni family received the news and rushed over, the robbers were long gone.
Frankie, the second-in-command of the Maroni family, carefully inspected the inside and outside of the restaurant.
The staff were all dead, but he found a trail of bloody footprints leading to a freezer.
Frankie raised his gun and yanked the freezer door open, only to see the Penguin, wearing his kitchen uniform, huddled inside clutching a bag of cash and shivering uncontrollably.
“Thank God you’re here.”
“They…
they had guns…”
The Penguin babbled incoherently, looking absolutely terrified.
“Who did it?” Frankie interrupted his muddled account.
“They were all wearing masks; I couldn’t see their faces,” the Penguin answered, shaking his head.
“But you protected the money.” Frankie’s tone softened.
“Yes, I managed to hide this bag of money, but the rest was taken.” The Penguin still looked somewhat remorseful.
“I’m sorry…”
“Relax.” Seeing that he had performed a meritorious deed, Frankie’s attitude improved significantly.
“Save that for the boss.”
He had received a tip from the Penguin that the Italian restaurant was robbed yesterday, and he had earned merit by protecting a bag of cash.
Sal Maroni would definitely come to reward him this morning.
In Maroni’s territory, Rex naturally couldn’t show his face in public.
He disguised himself, found a cafe across the street, and sat down, keeping an eye on the activity inside Bamonte’s restaurant.
As a side note, the coffee at this roadside cafe tasted much better than the black tea at Wayne Manor.
At that moment, Maroni was flying into a rage inside the restaurant.
The robbers had come and gone like the wind, leaving not a single useful clue behind.
But in Gotham, knowing this restaurant was where the Maroni family kept their money and still daring to rob it…
Other than Falcone, Maroni couldn’t think of anyone else.
“If Falcone thinks he can cause trouble on my turf and get away with it, he is dead wrong!” Maroni vented his anger at his second-in-command.
“I want to hit back, hit them where it hurts, and do it today!”
“Okay, I’ll take care of it,” Frankie agreed, then turned to look at the Penguin washing dishes.
“And that kid.”
“Call him over.”
Upon being summoned, the Penguin hurriedly set down the plate in his hand, tidied himself up for a moment, and walked over to Maroni.
“You should know that when it’s time to show appreciation, I am never stingy,” Maroni declared firmly, staring at the Penguin.
“Yes, Don Maroni.”
“I have noted your actions from yesterday.”
The Penguin quickly expressed his loyalty.
“Thank you, sir.
I only wish I could have retrieved the rest…”
“Alright, alright.”
Maroni interrupted; he had always disliked idle chatter.
He sized up the Penguin.
“How long have you been washing dishes?”
“Not long.”
Maroni waved his large hand.
“You don’t have to wash them anymore.
You’re promoted to restaurant manager.”
He glanced at the bloodstains of the former manager that had yet to be cleaned off the table.
“This position just opened up.”
After the Penguin, overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, expressed his gratitude, Maroni instructed Frankie to reward the Penguin with a sum of money to buy a decent suit.
Then, Maroni turned and walked straight out of the restaurant; he was off to cause trouble for Falcone.
“Congratulations, Oswald.
You’ve successfully taken the next step.”
He hadn’t been idle either, continuously conceptualizing and perfecting his plan, stopping only when the Penguin came over.
“Thank you, Mr.
Rex.
I am merely the executor; the most important factor is you,” the Penguin said with utmost sincerity.
“Everything is proceeding exactly according to your plan.”
The current Penguin was already wearing a custom-made suit, completely transformed.
But his respect for Rex remained unchanged, if not more reverent.
“Are those robbers taken care of?”
“Yes, sir.
They really enjoyed the cake I brought them.”
Rex smiled knowingly.
Maroni’s restaurant naturally wasn’t robbed by Falcone’s men.
Falcone only wanted to stabilize the situation.
Assassinating councilors back and forth with Maroni wasn’t a big deal; after all, they weren’t directly killing members of the Maroni family.
It was just like a proxy war.
But Falcone would absolutely never resort to armed robbery, an act that would severely escalate the conflict.
All of this was proposed by Rex and then executed by the Penguin.
A superficial squabble between Falcone and Maroni wouldn’t do; he needed them to fight each other for real.
From the very beginning, the Penguin felt Rex’s plan was fantastic, practically tailor-made for him.
Rex secretly rejoiced at this, because these were originally the exact steps the Penguin himself took to rise to power.
Rex merely took the Penguin’s own future successful strategies and presented them as his own plan ahead of time.
This was the advantage of knowing the plot.
Oswald, however, only felt that meeting Rex was incredible.
Rex respected him, recognized his talent, and most importantly, his way of doing things matched his own perfectly.
Having also grown up in Gotham, Rex was the first person he genuinely wanted to follow.
“I hid the rest of the money in…”
The Penguin naturally planned to hand over the money stolen from the restaurant, but to his surprise, Rex raised his hand to interrupt him.
“Keep it.
Building relationships with your colleagues is going to cost a lot.”
Are you kidding?
Rex was practically a semi-member of the Wayne family now.
If he needed money, all he had to do was ask Bruce, and he certainly wouldn’t be refused.
“Did you get what I asked for?”
The Penguin quickly pulled out a piece of paper.
“Yes, this is Detective Gordon’s contact information.”
_____
T/N: