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—
Gotham
"I have access. I am routing the contents of the servers through the port to our database."
"Take everything. We will be preparing for the grand finale." Batman had not yet crossed paths with Roland Daggett and put an end to his aspirations, so it was left to Miles.
—
Roland Daggett had called a meeting with all the heads of the subsidiary companies to discuss the recent assassination attempt on his life and how to proceed forward with Crime Alley development.
Five of Daggett's most important employees filled the room: CEOs of the shell corporations responsible for dumping toxic runoff in Crime Alley and other businesses working in the area.
"There better be good news." Roland was more aggressive than usual, and people attributed it to the assassination attempt.
"Yes, sir. Due to toxic runoff we are burying in Crime Alley, more and more people are selling their homes, shops, and other real estate. We are also roughing up the reluctant and stubborn locals." One of his underlings, who was responsible for removing the population of Crime Alley, reported.
Somewhat pleased, Roland wanted to hear more. "What else?"
This time, the head of Daggett Industries' development department spoke. "Our plans for the luxury development are in full swing, but the toxic dumps mentioned are presenting a problem. If our potential buyers get sick or die, the interest in the project will die too."
"We'll just remove it all and dump it somewhere else, at one of the other sites we have." Unnerved that their boss would speak so casually about their illegal activities, Daggett's lieutenants just accepted their orders.
"Yes, sir."
"Are there any problems with the permits and avoiding inspections? I am paying these bureaucrats a ton of money; it better be showing fruits."
"No issues on that front, sir; it has been smooth sailing so far." The head of PR gave his report, and Daggett grunted with satisfaction.
This time, the head of his research department stood up, showing some photos of several individuals, all clearly dead. "However, there is a problem with the animal testing. Our security measures are not enough, and some whistleblowers were caught trying to obtain evidence. They are dealt with, but we may not always be so lucky."
"Increase the guards in our research labs. Tell everyone to keep their mouths shut and their eyes open."
The head of security agreed but knew his boss wouldn't like the next part. "Good idea, sir. As for the assassination attempt, we have found nothing."
"What do you mean nothing?" Daggett hissed, while Clayface was pleased. For three days he has been impersonating Roland, and knowing Miles made fools out of everyone was amusing.
"Sir, even our friends in the GCPD say that the attack has them stumped. They think someone wanted to send you a message." Of course having an inside man in law enforcement was necessary, and only his talents as an actor stopped Clayface from grinning as a deeper grave for Roland was dug with each word.
"Who? Could it be one of our black market weapon dealers?"
"It is possible, but none of our previous deals had any friction with the clients."
The meeting continued, while everyone was unaware that the whole thing was live-streamed to the people of Gotham.
—
It was another bleak day in Gotham, but life continued through the polluted environment, with the crime and prospects of finding honest, good-paying work becoming dimmer each day.
Imagine their surprise when holograms popped up all over the city, streaming Roland Daggett's meeting where he admitted to all the illegal business everyone knew he was doing but could not prove, while a mountain of evidence was uploaded to the internet, quickly becoming viral.
Now, there was a sizable crowd marching to Daggett Industries, growing each second in numbers and fury.
Politicians, bureaucrats, and even the bribed GCPD officers tried to make a run for it, but an anonymous tip to James Gordon allowed the Gotham police to react in time.
But they couldn't stop the crowd while conducting mass arrests.
—
"Sir, there is a problem. Someone just live-streamed the whole meeting to all of Gotham." The security barged in, quickly slamming everyone except Roland to the table for a search.
"What?! Which one of you traitors did it?!" Roland screamed, and his highest-ranking employees looked terrified. There was no way out of this if all of Gotham watched them.
"We need to go now; there is a crowd heading here, and we need to secure you immediately."
"Damn it."
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just as the crowd tore through the fences and entered the premises, a helicopter above the company building took off, with Roland inside, to a secure location.
Where Miles and his men would arrive very shortly to arrest them, switch Clayface with the real Roland, and hand them over to the GCPD.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is my ship ready? I want to be out of here as soon as possible."
"Yes sir, we are ready to leave." The head of Roland's security team said, and they both looked down as a small cylinder rolled right in front of their feet.
There was a deafening sound and a blinding flash of light all across the warehouse, and Daggett's escape plan was foiled as the guards and Gotham's current most wanted criminal were body-slammed to the ground.
"Don't fucking move!" A voice shouted as the effects of the flashbangs began to wear off.
"Shit."
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clayface, in the guise of Roland Daggett, was thrown into the back of the armored vehicle to be transported away.
Once the door was closed, Clayface shed his guise and sat next to the real Roland, who was still unconscious.
"Well played, Matt. Daggett can't escape the law now." Miles grinned, and Clayface
"Just don't forget our end of the bargain."
"I am a man of my word. Now that you have had your revenge, there should be no reason for you to refuse treatment."
"Who is going to create the cure?"
"Dr. Stella Bates."
"Her?"
"Yes, her previous attempt to help you only failed because of your emotional instability. I considered finding a different scientist, but this is the quickest and the most sure way to cure you."
"Fine."
—
"Wha? Where am I?" Roland slurred as he came into consciousness, looking wildly around as he was dragged by the arms.
"Roland, just in time. I am sure Jim Gordon will be delighted to have you stand trial, rather than be torn apart by Gotham's populace." The man answered, though he was too blurry for Roland to see his features clearly.
"Who?" The words did not make sense to the drugged man, but the sight of the GCPD emblem did.
James Gordon, whom he had called ahead, came to the parking lot of the GCPD with his men. "Mr. Beckett, what is it that you… is that Roland Daggett?"
"Indeed. I caught him trying to make a run for it in the docks. Here are his fake papers and everyone involved in the escape attempt. Be careful though; he might just play the fool." Miles handed the bag to one of the officers while the rest quickly took Roland away, ignoring his slurred protests.
Unaware of what had happened in the last several days, Roland would obviously claim to know nothing after the attack.
"No one can save Daggett now, not even if you brought every single lawyer in the world to Gotham." Jim knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth, because whatever Miles had done to capture Daggett, he was better off not knowing.
"Then I'll leave him in your competent hands." Miles took his hat off to salute the commissioner and left.
—
For the closing act, Miles was waiting at the top of a building looking at the GCPD, waiting for Batman, who finally had been allowed to leave the med bay in the Watchtower. Such a chaotic event in his city would definitely bring the Dark Knight to Miles, and he decided to make it easy.
There was a whoosh, and Batman landed on the rooftop. "Was the attack your doing too?"
"I wonder." Miles said, not admitting to anything.
"What are you doing here, Miles?" What was their information broker doing, getting Daggett arrested so publicly?
Not that he was complaining, Batman was just curious.
"Daggett Industries is bound to go bankrupt now. I was thinking that EnviroCorps and Wayne Enterprises can split his assets, clean up the mess Roland created, and actually develop the impoverished areas he wanted to buy, not for the rich elite, but for the citizens of Gotham." Miles offered. Working with Wayne Enterprises was a must since they were one of the few honest companies in the city and had roots everywhere.
Batman searched for any sign of duplicity but found none. "That's your plan?"
Miles understood Batman's reluctance to believe him. "A small village in Iraq constantly feuded with a neighboring village over the theft of a lamb. Both sides constantly accused each other, and eventually, men fell silent and weapons spoke. I was tracking a rare papyrus from the time of Ramses II, and I lost the tracks of the smugglers near one of the villages." The smugglers had found the papyrus in an illegal dig site, quickly trying to cross into Turkey and then to Europe to find a buyer for it.
"Would you like to guess who was stealing the lambs?" He asked, waiting for the detective to answer.
"A third party." Correct enough.
"An Arabian leopard, a species that was extinct for decades with the occasional unconfirmed sighting. She was a majestic creature, and I knew that if the villagers learned that she was responsible, they would kill the leopard unquestionably. So, I offered to solve their problem of thefts if they gave me a single lamb." To see the leopard was a reward greater than the papyrus, which is why it had escaped his hands.
"You lured the leopard away?" That was the only way to save the endangered animal, unless Miles had gone the extra mile.
"I slaughtered and left the lamb out in the open with enough tranquilizer to knock out the leopard and carried it far away into the Zagros mountains, where she could find copious amounts of prey without the risk of crossing humans." The lack of roads meant that he had to carry the leopard on a wheel cart up the mountains, but it was so worth it.
Batman appreciated that anyone would go that far to save an animal, especially a cat, but it was not the answer he was seeking. "The point of this story, Miles?"
"Rather than fighting each other, if those villagers had investigated the real thief, violence would have been unnecessary, but they chose the easiest and the most obvious way to address their problem, by accusing each other." Of course, previous altercations between the villages played a hand in it too.
"Fighting villains is different in that it actually helps the people, but as long as the source of the problem is not investigated and solved, the rate of crime will eventually overtake your ability to respond." Batman considered Miles' words, and while he didn't want to admit it, the crime statistics did not look promising.
"I am here because I want us to cooperate and make an actual change in Gotham, a sign to the rest of the world that if Crime Alley can be reformed, there is no reason it could not be repeated elsewhere, everywhere." Miles said, emphasizing the words change, and everywhere.
"Would you like to take real action against crime, Batman, or would you like to continue this ultimately futile fight?" Miles held out his hand, waiting for Bruce Wayne to make his decision.
—
"A joint statement by the EnviroCorps and Wayne Enterprises has spread hope among Gotham after Roland Daggett's criminal activities were exposed. During the statement, Lucius Fox, the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, and Mary-Anne Lorein, the CEO of EnviroCorps, promised that Crime Alley would be transformed from its current derelict condition to a home for the people of Gotham, and not the rich elite, as Roland Daggett had intended. Already both companies are shipping pre-fabs into the area for the local population to stay while the area is rebuilt, along with offering social services for drug addicts and other health issues present in Crime Alley, due to the toxic hazards illegally dumped by the subsidiaries and shell companies of Daggett Industries. Plans for the area are expected to be revealed within the coming months."
—
"Pamela, welcome." Miles shook her hand and gestured to Bruce Wayne, who was watching as work began on Crime Alley. His usual playboy attitude was gone, and Bruce almost looked somber.
"You didn't tell me Bruce Wayne would be here." He might just be the only rich boy who did not destroy the environment daily, so their paths had no reason to clash.
"We are working together, and I thought it would be for the best if you two were acquainted at the least." He had already shown Bruce the fruits of Pamela's work in Small Heaven, and the caped crusader began to question what other powers could be used for the greater good.
Still, he put on his mask and gently kissed Pamela's knuckles like a true gentleman. "Miss Isley, I have seen your previous work. It is my hope that you can do the same to Crime Alley."
"Well, the situation here is worse, so I came up with these little guys." One of her assistants brought a potted plant, though it was the ugliest one he had ever seen. Shaped like the trunk of an elephant, it had boils glowing all over it, though, towards the end of the orifice, these green boils became white, perhaps indicating the process.
"They can consume all kinds of chemical and biological hazards, using them as nutrition while releasing harmless base elements into nature. I already tested them on some of the worst places Gotham has to offer, and they are doing wonders." Pamela was excited to work and reclaim such a great plot of land.
"You can start your work as soon as the cleanup is over." Miles pointed to the heavy machines breaking and wrecking the derelict buildings, and Pamela knew it would be months before she could start, at least on a greater scale.
"What about those factories?" At the edge of Crime Alley, several factories responsible for the current situation of the area rested, though none were working right now.
"They were all shut down since most belonged to Daggett, and the rest are too scared to operate these days." The public opinion was fully against any industrial area suspected of pollution, and any sign of it would definitely result in what happened to the Daggett Industries headquarters.
"Good."
"Mahmoud will direct you to your new accommodations. Do call me if you need anything." An African dressed in a neat suit came to escort Pamela, who was to be her new liaison in Crime Alley.
"Will do."
—
In the next chapter:
"Miles, I believe it is for the best that you handle this yourself." Mary-Anne handed him one of the dossiers. Something about it had bothered her, and she thought it best if someone more capable handled it.
Taking the file, the first thing that caught his eyes was the purple hair.
"I wonder what he is doing here?"
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