When Rex returned to Wayne Manor in the evening, Bruce had already finished school and was currently watching the news.
Influenced by Rex, he had recently taken a keen interest in the major and minor affairs of Gotham, even surpassing his interest in boxing and fencing.
After all, Bruce was only twelve years old and still possessed the short attention span typical of a child.
He paid particularly close attention to the highly publicized Arkham development project.
“So, is there a result on who gets Arkham?”
Rex asked, but his question was directed not at Bruce, but at James Gordon, who was standing nearby.
Because the Arkham development plan had been formulated by the Waynes, Gordon came specifically to inform Bruce of the outcome.
“Maroni has been approved to build a waste management plant and renovate Arkham Asylum,” Gordon replied, unsurprised by Rex’s appearance.
“Falcone has been approved to build low-income housing.”
“The mayor didn’t fully adopt the Waynes’ plan.” Gordon sighed, also feeling disappointed with the result.
Bruce’s feelings were even more pronounced.
Seeing all of his parents’ hard work fall into the hands of criminals left him incredibly frustrated.
“But you are still alive,” Rex stepped forward and patted Bruce on the shoulder.
“Your survival is your parents’ greatest wish.”
“And as long as you’re alive, there will always be opportunities in the future, right?”
Given Rex’s standing in Bruce’s heart, one word from him was worth ten from anyone else.
It didn’t take long for Bruce to regain his vitality.
“You really have a way with kids.”
Stepping outside, Gordon remarked to Rex.
He was reminded of the young Catwoman, Selina; Gordon had been completely led by the nose by that brat.
“Also, thank you for the intel.
I was able to save Mayor James just in time because of it.”
Gordon continued to express his gratitude.
“You’re welcome.
Even though he deserves to die, the death of a mayor would indeed have too great an impact,” Rex replied.
The reason he had the Penguin find out Gordon’s phone number was to warn him that Maroni’s hitman’s next target was the mayor.
In the original plot, it was the Penguin who provided Gordon with the clue.
However, since the Penguin had no connection with Gordon in this timeline, Rex had to do it himself.
“Uh.”
Gordon opened his mouth.
Although he was a police officer, he completely agreed with Rex’s assessment of the mayor.
Even when the hitman had already reached his doorstep and the situation was incredibly urgent, this Mayor James of Gotham was still busy packing cash from his safe.
A classic case of prioritizing money over life.
“I’ve heard from Bruce that someone saved him, but I hadn’t met you until now,” Gordon changed the subject.
“Do you have any leads on the robbers?”
“No, I actually only saw a back,” Rex shrugged.
“Did you catch the hitman who tried to assassinate the mayor?”
Gordon shook his head.
“The hitman didn’t give us a chance.”
“Then Maroni…”
“There’s absolutely no evidence to prove that Maroni hired the hitman.” Gordon felt equally helpless.
Even though everyone knew Maroni was the mastermind, they just couldn’t touch him.
“I heard Maroni is hunting you?”
Gordon was extremely curious about the boxer standing before him.
“In Gotham, being hunted by the mob is normal,” Rex didn’t reveal too much information.
“Then what are your plans?” On the way out of the manor, Gordon continued trying to make conversation.
Rex looked at the detective with a strange expression and replied:
“The mob.”
Gordon stopped in his tracks, looking astonished.
He thought to himself, ‘Are you really that bold?’
“With Bruce’s help, you could do a lot of things.
Why would you want to join the mob?”
Having just received help from Rex, Gordon had a good impression of him and thus tried to persuade him to abandon the idea.
“I really don’t want to have to arrest you in the future.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to become the next Maroni,” Rex said with a smile.
“Besides, Gotham’s greatest enemy has never been the mob or criminals.
It is chaos.”
Gordon’s expression changed immediately, and his tone turned cold.
“Are you connected to Falcone?
Are you one of his men?”
“I am not his man,” Rex first dispelled Gordon’s wariness, then added, “But there is indeed a connection.”
“But don’t worry, I have no desire to foster crime.
My ultimate goal is still to stabilize Gotham.”
Gordon reluctantly believed him.
After all, his relationship with Rex wasn’t deep, but he still offered a word of caution:
“That boy, Bruce.”
“He really looks up to you.”
“Don’t let him down.”
Rex nodded.
He could feel that both Bruce and Alfred were very sincere towards him, and naturally, he would not disappoint them.
As for the life or death of anyone else, Rex didn’t care.
But Rex shattered his naivety.
“Not at all.
The finalization of the Arkham land plan is exactly what will detonate Gotham.”
“In the past, even though there was a lot of crime in Gotham, it still operated stably because the mob was kept in check by Falcone.”
“Arkham has always been Falcone’s territory.
Even a single brick of Arkham falling into Maroni’s hands would shake Falcone’s rule, let alone Maroni getting nearly half the land.”
“Moving forward, whether it’s Maroni or the gangs under Falcone, they will all start making moves, looking to replace him.”
“The current unrest is merely the thunder before the storm.”
Gordon became completely serious.
This layer of implications was something he hadn’t considered before.
Usually reckless, he suddenly grew sharp at this moment.
He stared into Rex’s eyes.
“You are also one of the people who wants to replace Falcone.”
Rex nodded without attempting to hide it.
“Falcone is going to fall, and Gotham’s underworld needs another leader with a grander vision.”
“Whatever you do, don’t make me have to arrest you one day.”
Having been thoroughly battered by Gotham, the current Gordon actually felt that what Rex said made a lot of sense.
“By the way, there’s one thing you must listen to carefully and keep in mind.”
“What is it?” Gordon had already walked out of Wayne Manor by this point.
“Remember Oswald Cobblepot?”
Gordon’s heart skipped a beat.
“He is not dead.” Rex delivered another piece of unexpected news.
“Really?” Gordon was pleasantly surprised.
“That’s great news.”
If the Penguin wasn’t dead, he wouldn’t have to endure the harassment from the Montoya duo anymore.
“There’s also bad news,” Rex continued.
“Because Falcone publicly claimed that you killed Oswald, now that he has reappeared in Gotham, Falcone will…
in order to maintain deterrence…”
As Rex spoke, he actually felt a bit sympathetic, thinking Gordon was truly too pitiful.
He just wanted to be a good cop; what did he do wrong?
“Falcone will come after you.”
“What?”
_____
T/N: