"Are you referring to this?"
Facing Gordon's interrogation, Phantom Thief Kid flipped his left hand. A crystal-clear blue gem appeared in his palm.
Gordon didn't look at the gem. instead, he issued a warning.
"Phantom Thief Kid, the Gotham Art Museum has been locked down. You cannot escape." His eyes were firm, stating a predetermined fact. "Judging by the notice you designed and your actions today, I believe you are a talented individual. Why steal? Why do this?"
Gordon suddenly began to earnestly persuade Kid to surrender.
"Considering this is your first offense, if you return the gem, I can persuade Curator Zack not to press charges. You'll be detained for a while and then released—as long as you promise not to commit crimes in the future."
Kid could tell Gordon wasn't lying to stall for time. He truly wanted him to turn back.
There weren't many good people in Gotham, but Jim Gordon was absolutely one of them. Without his decades of effort in the GCPD, the Gotham police would still be the ugly, corrupt force that was worse than the Falcone crime family. Although there was still scum in the force, the team Gordon had personally raised were real cops who got things done. Without their support, Batman alone couldn't have suppressed Gotham's murder rate so effectively.
"You make a lot of sense, Commissioner Gordon. But I don't plan on surrendering to you, nor do I think this museum can hold me."
Kid chuckled lightly.
"Perhaps you don't know," Gordon said, suddenly revealing a shocking truth. "The Goddess's Tear in your hand—is a fake!"
But what was even more shocking was Kid's response.
"I know."
"From the moment I saw it, I knew it was a counterfeit."
He tossed the "Goddess's Tear" onto the floor. With a crisp sound, the fake gem shattered on impact.
"I didn't expect one of Gotham's largest museums to be so frightened by a mere thief that they'd swap the genuine article for a fake. This is simply deceiving the tourists. Was there ever a real one to begin with?" Kid mocked.
"I persuaded Curator Zack to do it. The real one is hidden in a safe place. That Goddess's Tear was bait to catch you."
So this was the plan Gordon and Zack had discussed in the office—the reason Zack said, "Kid absolutely cannot steal the Goddess's Tear."
"But!" Gordon's voice rose. "Even if you actually stole a fake, it counts as attempted theft. Because the value of the Goddess's Tear is so high, you will still be sentenced! Don't do anything stupid. You still have a chance to turn back."
"No! You have no chance!"
Just then, Curator Zack rushed in, shouting.
"Commissioner Gordon, I know you want to save a lost lamb, but you must understand he tried to steal the Goddess's Tear! That is a treasure worth over ten million dollars!"
"Regardless of the reason, I cannot forgive a criminal who commits such acts!"
"Stop negotiating with him, Commissioner. Arrest him now!" Zack looked at Kid with disdain. "I originally thought that messy notice was written by the Riddler. You made me worry for days. Turns out it's just a grandstanding petty thief."
Seeing that Kid had no intention of surrendering, Gordon abandoned the idea of persuasion. Without hesitation, he took a pair of silver handcuffs from his waist. Gun in one hand, cuffs in the other, he walked toward Phantom Thief Kid.
"You two... seem to have misunderstood something."
Facing this almost certain arrest, there was no panic on Kid's face. He wore that same confident smile, as if everything was under control.
"That one just now was the fake you used to lure me. But... what about this one?"
As his voice fell, Kid's hand flipped again. Another Goddess's Tear appeared in his palm.
This one looked almost identical to the previous one, with only a microscopic difference in luster. Ordinary people couldn't see the difference. Gordon couldn't see it.
Curator Zack saw it, but he didn't believe it.
"Impossible! The real Goddess's Tear is hidden in a place only I know. How could you steal it? That must be a fake you made yourself!"
"An hour ago, when you were inspecting the employee lounge on the second floor, you took a nap for ten minutes. Do you remember, Mr. Curator?"
"Don't you find that drowsiness strange? You weren't tired, yet you fell asleep during a high-alert patrol..."
As soon as Kid said this, Zack froze. A terrifying conjecture flooded his mind uncontrollably.
"C-Could it be?"
"Correct. I hypnotized you. I asked for the true hiding spot of the Goddess's Tear directly from your mouth."
"No, impossible! If you already stole the real Goddess's Tear, why come here to steal the fake? That makes no sense! You're lying! You must be lying!" Zack stared fiercely at Kid, trying to find guilt on his face.
But he only saw confidence. It was Zack who was panicking.
"Is that hard to understand?" Kid asked as if it were obvious. "Taking the real one was to achieve my goal. Coming to steal the fake was to fulfill my promise."
"Besides, if I didn't expose the true face of that counterfeit, I'm afraid the real product in my hand would have become the fake."
Zack's face turned as dark as coal.
"Phantom Thief Kid! Don't get cocky. If you have the real one, then it's not just attempted theft anymore. You're caught red-handed with the stolen goods!"
"You don't want to spend the rest of your life in Blackgate Penitentiary, do you? Give the Goddess's Tear back to me immediately, and I promise! I absolutely won't press charges!"
Zack's attitude did a 180-degree turn, his voice practically begging.
The reason was naturally Kid's action of smashing the fake gem earlier. What if he smashed the real one too? The Goddess's Tear was a relatively brittle gem. Even if it didn't shatter like the fake, it would sustain damage, and its value would plummet.
No one liked a damaged gem. At that point, sending Kid to prison or even shooting him dead on the spot wouldn't recover the loss.
Kid ignored Curator Zack. He made a show of checking his watch.
"It's about time for my exit. Until we meet again, gentlemen."
Until we meet again?
Gordon and Zack looked at Kid in confusion. Have you lost your mind? We have you surrounded. There are guards everywhere outside. You can't fly out of here. Meet again where? In prison?
Thud, thud, thud, thud—
Just then, a rush of footsteps came from outside the exhibition hall.