Chapter 291: Cooperation
With George Stacy's wisdom and experience, facing an entity like Batman—something he couldn't even categorize—his primary goal wasn't some naive attempt to "bind him with the law."
Come on. He didn't even know if the guy was human. How could he just slap American law on him?
This wasn't some "America saves the world" hero movie. George Stacy knew that much.
"I don't care where you came from. Don't care if you're some kind of creature from myth or legend."
"What I care about is your behavior pattern. You've inserted yourself into New York's justice system—apprehending, gathering evidence, delivering suspects."
"I'll admit you're more efficient than the police. But that creates a problem: an unsupervised force is partially replacing government authority."
Captain George Stacy stayed where he was. Batman didn't come closer from the roof's edge, and George didn't approach him either. They kept about thirty feet between them.
"You know damn well that half the arrest warrants you'd write would never reach certain people's desks." Batman's voice was low and firm. "Even if they did, how many officers could you actually deploy?"
"The soil that breeds crime grows every second. You'll never eliminate it completely. You're managing wounds. I'm trying to cut out the disease."
George forced a thin smile. He didn't want to debate this with Batman.
"Personally? I'm fine with New York having its own Edward Cullen. But as a cop, I still don't think you should be doing this."
Who the hell is Edward Cullen? (lol, "Edward is Batman ")
The thought flashed through Batman's mind, and George quickly provided the answer:
"You read that novel from last year, right? Twilight? Edward Cullen's the main character."
Batman fell silent again. He hadn't read any Twilight. Had no idea who Edward Cullen was supposed to be.
Seeing Batman's lack of response, George mentally shook his head. He'd been trying to subtly hint at why Batman was frantically searching for "a five-foot-five woman with a good figure" tonight.
But Batman had zero reaction to Twilight. George quickly discarded the plot details his daughter Gwen had told him about recently.
He reorganized his thoughts:
"But I'm not here tonight to argue right and wrong. I'm here to assess risk."
"If you lose control, if you decide one day to stop bringing criminals to us and start executing them yourself—that's when I'll have no choice but to treat you as New York's biggest threat. If necessary, I'll request that the city deploy the military."
That was a threat. But Batman didn't take offense, because Commissioner Gordon had said similar things once.
"I have no authority to judge non-human entities. But I have a responsibility to prepare for worst-case scenarios. That's my job as Manhattan's Captain." George said.
Batman broke his silence. He'd caught the implication in George's words:
"What do you want to know?"
George had plenty of questions for Batman. But right now, this was what mattered most:
"A week ago at Rikers. The guy who killed thirty-one prisoners. Was that you?"
"No."
"I'll choose to believe you. But I'm still going to investigate. I hope the evidence proves you're telling the truth." George exhaled with relief.
If Batman denied it, then at least he and Manhattan Precinct wouldn't become enemies just yet. Otherwise, no matter what George personally thought, he'd have to launch an immediate capture operation.
"Second question: tonight you made a huge spectacle interrogating criminals, looking for some woman. What are you planning?" George continued.
"That's none of your concern, George Stacy." Batman spoke the captain's name with precision.
"It is my concern. Let me remind you my name has a suffix—Captain." George said. "After tonight, all of New York will be talking about what you did. I need to give the public an explanation."
Batman fell silent again.
He was Batman. He wouldn't fabricate some excuse for George Stacy's career. That was George's problem to solve.
Fortunately, watching Batman's renewed silence, George frowned and thought for a moment. Then his eyes lit up. He'd figured it out.
"Wait. Was getting this publicized your whole goal tonight?"
Batman looked at George Stacy and gave the smallest nod.
George straightened:
"Maybe I can help you find her. Just tell me her name. If you know what she looks like, even better—"
"No." Batman cut him off with a single word.
Batman's search for Black Widow involved SHIELD and Hydra—two organizations he profoundly distrusted, even considered enemies.
There was no way he'd tell Captain George Stacy anything more.
George Stacy was a good cop. Batman had known that since his third day in this world.
But that didn't mean Batman would trust him completely—the same way Superman was an incredibly good, highly moral person, yet Batman still kept contingencies for him.
The atmosphere grew heavy. As the night deepened, the wind grew colder.
Batman had the Arkham suit. Peter Parker's physiology. Iron willpower to resist the cold. But Captain George Stacy had none of those things.
George pulled his uniform jacket tighter. Realizing he wasn't getting anything more from Batman, he changed topics:
"I can't condone your methods. But at least while you're pursuing your goals, you're using criminals as your leverage—not innocent people."
"I need you to maintain your current pattern. No permanent harm. No executions. That's the only condition for getting cooperation from the police... or at least from Manhattan Precinct... or at the very least, from me."
"Of course, even I can only offer passive cooperation. Your wanted poster is still up at NYPD. As long as you operate in New York, it stays up."
"Bottom line: I still can't confirm whether you're human or whether the law even applies to you. But you cannot take lives. That's my boundary, Batman."
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