Because the key bosses under Falcone and Maroni died on the same day, the Penguin made a massive contribution while simultaneously filling a newly vacated position within the Maroni family.
Thus, the Penguin naturally took over Frankie’s position, assisting Maroni in managing the gang’s affairs.
However, he still did not have his own territory or forces.
With Gotham’s top two mob families fighting to this extent, both sides had suffered heavy losses on the surface and had no desire to continue the war.
Consequently, both sides called a truce and retreated to their respective camps.
After Gordon survived what appeared to outsiders as a thrilling and deadly pursuit, Falcone announced an end to the hunt, allowing Gordon’s life to return to peace.
This experience significantly elevated Gordon’s status within the police department.
A new title for him began circulating on the streets: “The Man Even Falcone Couldn’t Kill.”
“See?
I told you it would be a close call but ultimately safe,” Rex said briskly over the phone to Gordon.
“Yeah, a pursuit of such a massive scale, yet there were no casualties.
That is quite rare,” Gordon replied, his tone laced with relief.
“How are things at home?”
“Great.
I had Barbara leave early to lay low, so she wasn’t frightened.” Gordon couldn’t help but ask, “But if that’s the case, why go through the unnecessary trouble of hunting me down?”
“Falcone publicly claimed you killed Oswald, but now he has appeared in public.
The outside world thinks you let him go, so Falcone had to make a show of hunting you down to save his reputation.”
“What exactly are you trying to do?” Gordon was utterly confused.
“Truth be told, our goals are actually the same: to maintain Gotham’s stability.”
“Hah, stable crime?” Gordon clearly didn’t believe Rex’s nonsense.
“Falcone can’t stop crime, but he can restrain the criminals, preventing them from causing major chaos,” Rex explained.
“The GCPD can do that too.”
Rex chuckled.
“Can you ever catch all the criminals in Gotham?
You can’t even handle the corrupt elements within your own police department.”
“Or are you relying solely on yourself and your partner?
As far as I know, your partner, Harvey, has plenty of dirty laundry too.”
Gordon fell silent; he knew Rex was completely right.
His partner, Harvey Bullock, was once a passionate young man just like Gordon, determined to uphold justice and stop crime.
But Gotham always had a way of teaching such righteous figures a harsh lesson in reality.
So, just to survive, Harvey had to play along with the corruption—until Gordon appeared and awakened his dormant passion.
From then on, he followed Gordon, turning the precinct upside down.
If it had been anyone else, Gordon would have been sold out and killed by his own teammates long ago.
‘Even someone like Harvey has a pile of dark history, let alone the rest of the department,’ Rex thought to himself.
“The reason Falcone is willing to bear the reputation of failing to kill you and losing a bit of prestige is that he values your sense of justice,” Rex said, striking while the iron was hot.
“Gotham needs police officers like you, and it also needs mob bosses like Falcone.
Otherwise, if Maroni were to take Falcone’s place, what do you think would happen to Gotham?”
“Let me think about it.” Gordon’s mind was in turmoil.
He felt that what Rex said truly reflected Gotham’s current state, yet as a police officer, he didn’t want to compromise with criminals.
“It’s fine.
There’s still a long road ahead anyway.”
Rex wasn’t in a hurry to convince Gordon.
Just like in the original plot, Gordon would risk his life to save Falcone, wanting him to step up and take charge of the situation.
Currently, both Falcone and Maroni had entered a period of peace, but only Rex knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.
Everything was proceeding exactly according to his plan.
Now, besides his daily workouts, Rex had picked up a new hobby: picking Bruce up from school.
Every day, Rex would bring Bruce different snacks and street food—things Bruce previously had no opportunity to try.
Alfred’s culinary skills were quite good, but apart from his black tea and waffles, there was still a big difference between proper meals and junk food snacks.
Whether they were healthy or not was up for debate, but they certainly tasted good.
Besides, compared to when Bruce would become Batman and eat a burger stuffed with painkillers for breakfast, a few snacks were harmless.
However, today, Bruce walked out of the school gates significantly later than usual.
Moreover, he lacked his usual excitement.
He jogged over with his head hanging low.
“Master Bruce, what’s wrong?” Alfred asked.
At first, Bruce hummed and hawed, unwilling to speak.
It was only under the relentless questioning from Rex and Alfred that he finally revealed the truth.
“Someone insulted my mother.”
Rex and Alfred exchanged a glance.
Alfred said, “I hope you knocked his teeth out.”
“I didn’t,” Bruce shook his head.
“He’s much bigger than me.
I wasn’t confident I could win.”
Rex understood the situation perfectly.
‘Although Bruce has been training well in combat, he still lacks a bit of confidence when it comes to an actual fight,’ he realized.
“Don’t tell the school,” Bruce said.
He was in a terrible mood, dropping that single sentence before running into the car.
“Of course not,” Alfred said in a low, dangerous voice.
If there was anything that could provoke his absolute fury, besides Bruce, it was Thomas and Martha Wayne.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Alfred asked Rex.
“Of course,” Rex nodded decisively.
“Little bullies deserve to be punished.”
Lost in his sorrow, Bruce didn’t pay attention to Alfred’s driving route.
After the car came to a steady halt, Rex and Alfred stepped out one after the other and opened his door.
Only then did Bruce realize that they were not parked at Wayne Manor.
Bruce initially didn’t want to get out, but under the firm gazes of Rex and Alfred, he finally stepped out.
“This is your father’s watch.
Don’t lose it.”
Alfred handed Bruce a watch.
Bruce took it, immediately understanding Alfred’s intention.
“Tommy Elliot’s house.” Alfred pointed at one of the houses and encouraged Bruce, “Don’t be afraid.
If someone touches a nerve, don’t worry.
Rex also placed a hand on Bruce’s shoulder to encourage him.
“I’m not afraid.
I’m just thinking about what I have to do,” Bruce replied.
“There is no shame in it if you don’t want to do it,” Alfred said gently.
But Bruce looked down at his father’s watch on his wrist.
“Not doing it is what’s shameful.”
He then walked firmly towards Tommy’s house.
“I can’t believe you actually used reverse psychology,” Rex muttered softly once Bruce was out of earshot.
“It depends on the situation,” Alfred replied.
Bruce rang the doorbell, and the person who opened the door happened to be Tommy.
“What are you doing here?” Tommy glanced guiltily back into the house before stepping out and closing the door behind him.
“We have unfinished business,” Bruce said.
“If you are trying to tell my parents…”
Before Tommy could finish his sentence, Bruce punched him viciously in the face.
“Ow!”
“Are you crazy?!” Tommy demanded, clutching his face.
He was completely stunned by Bruce’s sudden attack.
“Don’t you ever talk about my mother!”
Bruce had no intention of stopping.
He threw another punch, knocking Tommy to the ground.
Even though Tommy was two heads taller than Bruce, he was beaten so badly he had no chance to fight back.
Bruce then grabbed Tommy by the collar, hauled him up, and hammered him to the floor again.
His boxing technique was perfect.
“Master Bruce.”
Seeing that it was about enough, Alfred finally walked over and intervened.
“How are you doing?
Any broken bones?” Alfred asked Tommy with mock concern.
“He tried to kill me!” Tommy pointed at Bruce and accused him.
“Yes, he did.” To Tommy’s surprise, Alfred wasn’t moved in the slightest.
Instead, he warned him, “The next time you run into Master Bruce, you’d better remember that.”
“And also remember, I didn’t stop him.”
Having taught Tommy a lesson, Alfred led Bruce, whose smile had finally returned, back to the car.
“What do you want for dinner?”
“Pizza.”
“Pizza?” Alfred marveled at the young master’s particular taste.
“It just so happens that Mr.
Rex bought pizza today.”
“Awesome!”
_____
T/N: