Without Gordon around, Harvey reverted to his previous state of lazy indifference.
However, early this morning, a familiar face was locked up in the precinct.
“Hey, Penguin.
Did you offend some big shot?”
“Of course not.”
“Ask yourself that in all honesty, Penguin.” Harvey dismissed him with a sneer.
In the mob, who doesn’t offend someone?
He ignored the Penguin’s pleas.
Gordon was in trouble at Arkham, and he had to go help him.
The Penguin slumped down from the iron bars in despair.
His phone had been confiscated, so he had no way to call for backup.
He had no choice but to stay locked up in the Gotham precinct with Gabe.
They were held for a full day and night.
“Penguin.”
The Penguin, having spent a desperate night in the cell, was startled awake by Maroni’s voice.
He scrambled up from the floor and greeted him excitedly.
“Mr.
Maroni.”
“You finally came.”
Maroni walked over, then suddenly waved his hand in front of his face.
“You reek.”
The Penguin gave an awkward, sheepish laugh.
“Sorry, Mr.
Maroni.
I only had a wet wipe to clean myself with since yesterday morning.”
“Wet wipe?
Don’t you usually carry dry…” Maroni caught himself and changed the subject.
“Do you know why you were locked up in here?”
He stepped back two paces as he spoke.
“I don’t know,” the Penguin replied.
“I’m the one who had you locked up,” Maroni said, his face stern and serious.
“Mr.
Maroni, why?”
“Do you know what arrogance is?” Maroni retorted.
Before the Penguin could answer, he explained it himself.
“Arrogance is when a little cripple with no weight to his name thinks he’s a big shot.”
“Sir?”
The smile vanished from the Penguin’s face.
It had been a long time since anyone had used such insulting language toward him.
Maroni’s tone grew increasingly harsh.
“A foolish servant who raises taxes without asking me.”
The Penguin’s expression soured further.
“And it was the fishermen!
You raised taxes on the fishermen?”
“They risk their lives in the sea for us, and you dared to raise their taxes without checking with me first.”
The Penguin finally realized the root of the problem and hurriedly apologized.
“I am very sorry, Mr.
Maroni.”
“I am terribly sorry.
It won’t happen again.”
But deep down, the Penguin began to compare Maroni to Rex.
Maroni was a typical mob boss: tyrannical, short-tempered, and mercurial.
When he treated you as a friend, you got all sorts of perks, but once you provoked him, he would show no mercy.
Of course, Maroni had his merits—he was professional and rewarded merit, never killing the goose that laid the golden eggs—which was why he had built his gang into Gotham’s second-largest.
But Rex was different.
The Penguin found that no matter the time or situation, Rex always made him feel like a spring breeze.
The Penguin could feel that Rex respected and recognized him.
Even when he was sloppy or caused trouble, Rex would comfort him; he never used words like “cripple” or “servant.”
Everything he had now was orchestrated by Mr.
Rex.
Previously, due to Maroni’s favor, the Penguin thought his talents had been recognized and he was being respected.
He clung to the mob life because he had been bullied for so long, and the mob allowed him to enjoy the thrill of bullying others.
Most importantly, becoming a big shot in the mob meant earning the respect of others.
But now it seemed that the only one who had ever truly respected him was Rex.
And this had been true since the very beginning, when he was still a nobody!
The Penguin watched Maroni turn to leave, nodding and bowing, but a flash of his signature venomous hatred flickered in his eyes.
‘Mr.
Maroni, Mr.
Rex wants you dead.
You can go in peace.’
“Hey!” Maroni shouted casually to a police officer.
“Let my friend out.”
Even though this was the Gotham City Police Department, Maroni couldn’t care less.
The officer was stunned.
He naturally recognized this leader of the second-largest mob in Gotham, but this was the police station, after all.
Could prisoners just be released whenever they wanted?
Seeing him hesitate, Maroni became irritated.
“Was I speaking a foreign language?”
“Open the cell door!”
The officer moved quickly to unlock the door.
Since he’d been shouted at twice, he felt he had done enough to uphold the dignity of the precinct.
The Penguin limped out of the cell.
Maroni said to him, “Consider this a lesson.”
The penguin nodded hurriedly.
“You’re a clever monkey, but you are still just a monkey.” Maroni pointed to himself.
“And I am the zoo keeper.”
The Penguin didn’t say a word, merely nodding in agreement.
Maroni patted the Penguin’s cheek.
“It’s fine now.
Go.”
After cleaning himself up, the Penguin pressed an ice pack to his bruised eye socket and dialed Rex’s number.
“Hi, Oswald.
Rex’s kind greeting came through the receiver, and for some reason, the Penguin felt like crying.
“I am fine, Mr.
Rex.”
His voice sounded a bit thick and choked up.
“What’s wrong, Oswald?
Your voice sounds a bit off.”
The Penguin hurriedly cleared his throat to hide his emotions.
“Just a bit of a cold.
The weather hasn’t been great lately.”
Rex’s genuine concern followed: “Take care of your health, Oswald.”
“Your talent is gradually turning into real ability, so you must put your health first to maximize your potential.”
“I know.
Thank you for your concern, Mr.
Rex.” The Penguin was deeply moved.
“By the way, we are moving to the next part of our plan.
It will target Maroni,” Rex said, testing the waters.
“Do you have any reservations?”
The Penguin immediately replied, “None at all, Mr.
Rex.
Please don’t worry, I am loyal only to you!”
“We are partners, Oswald.” Rex replied with a smile.
“We are partners.”
The Penguin felt a warmth spread through his heart.
“Yes, we are partners!”
Until he hung up the phone, the Penguin felt energized, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.
‘The “Bond” technique is truly useful.’
‘No wonder “Family Man” could film ten installments in my previous life,’ Rex mused to himself.
He crossed another item off the list in front of him.
Before talking to the Penguin, he had already received a call from Falcone.
Today, another one of Falcone’s gang lieutenants had disappeared, dead under mysterious circumstances.
Rex knew from the plot that this lieutenant had been close to Fish Mooney’s subordinate, Butch.
When Fish tried to recruit Butch, she ordered this lieutenant to be taken out.
Fish couldn’t wait any longer; she wanted to replace Falcone.
During this time, besides Bruce, who was experiencing the breath of spring, Falcone was also experiencing a second youth.
With Liza by his side, everything felt incredibly comfortable.
Especially since Liza had expressed that she didn’t want to leave him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
This made Liza’s importance in Falcone’s heart even greater than his power.
That morning, after saying goodbye to Liza, Falcone returned to the gang’s headquarters to handle business when suddenly, a phone call came in.
Ring, ring, ring.
Falcone picked up.
A processed man’s voice came through.
“Mr.
Falcone, your woman, Liza, is in my hands…”
_____
T/N:
Guys I see zero support on this.