NOVEL WEB Side Chapter – Aftermath
Gordon sat down to his desk; there are lots of reports coming. His desk filled with numerous files and papers. Most of them are reports regarding the incident within Ace Chemicals.
Last night, the place had become a battleground. Further reports of the incident has clarified that many of the guards of the factory plant are actually hired thugs from mafias hidden within Gotham. This leads Gordon to believe that the CEO of Ace Chemicals, Alfred Stryker, was in cahoot with the mafias, and were planning to use the Ace Chemicals as a front.
Further investigation has supported this claim as the GCPD found hidden areas beneath the factory, used for hideouts and gambling dens.
Not only that, found papers and documents within Ace Chemicals suggested that it was laundering illegal money, with Stryker and several other individuals leading the scheme.
... Gordon massaged his headache, and then took a breather on a nearby window.
“They even found a hidden passage connecting the Ace Chemicals and the building next door...”
The final reports mentions a secret passage leading to Monarch Playing Card Company, and that the card company had reported burglary, saying that about tens of grand are stolen from their vault.
“The Ace Chemicals have been doing all these under my nose... if that Batman did not give me all the evidence in that flash-drive, maybe I’ll be blind for a long time.”
Gordon’s men acted quickly after Batman tipped off the evidence to Gordon himself.
And then after the tip-off, they planned an assault to surround the factory to stop anyone from escaping. Batman also attacked the factory, and confronted the main villain of the factory itself. But...
Another report stated that there are other outsiders coming inside the factory during the day of the assault; the group of robbers who robbed the Monarch Playing Card Co., and an unknown shadow man beating up several henchmen from the backside of the factory. The Batman was not considered the outsider, but still reported inside.
Speculation has risen of the unknown man, said to be wearing all black, and wielding a black sword as weapon, but two different conclusion has finally been made: It was either the Vindicator; who has been beating up thugs since last year but disappeared after less than six month, or another vigilante rising within Gotham to spread law under their own hands.
In the end, Gordon has made a stand, “I need to stop these vigilantes.”
...
Batman sat on his chair, accessing the Batcomputer to review the assault on Ace Chemicals.
Many things happened on the assault, and Batman had planned much to make sure it went successfully. But he did not expect random outsiders to breach within the factory which causes unwanted casualties.
The group of robbers, known only as the Red Hood led by a man wearing a red dome helmet, had robbed the building next door and escaped via Ace Chemicals, the same time Batman attacks and confronts the villain and the GCPD assault. All were killed except the leader.
The supposed Red Hood leader claimed that he’s not actually the leader, and just did things according to the group needs, wearing the red dome to make fun of him.
But it wasn’t the Red Hood that Batman is interested in. It was the unknown shadow man.
Batman has made several speculations regarding the shadow man. At first he thought that since people believed that the shadow man is the Vindicator, who attacked several Gotham chemical plants a year ago, then it should be his brother who was true identity. But when he came back to the Manor and sees Matthias sleeping soundly, with the television and console scattered in his room suggested that Matthias had no hand on this.
Though Batman still has doubts, he did not want to suspect his own brother.
“... Matthias has promised me that he would never continue his shenanigans as this Vindicator. I believe him.”
The distance between Ace Chemicals and Wayne Manor is about three miles away (around 6 km), and it would take approximately an hour to reach the factory by foot.
Batman was using his Batmobile so it would take about ten minutes to reach the location, and when he returned after secretly giving Gordon some info, which would only take some extra several minutes, Matthias is in his room sleeping.
“The only way for Matthias to go to Ace Chemicals and Manor in ten minutes is to sprint constantly and cut through across the blocks and woods. This is impossible by normal human standard.”
This reason is one of many that suggest Matthias had no hand in this.
But even so, Batman... Bruce Wayne still has his suspicion that perhaps his brother managed to sneak away from the Manor to the Ace Chemicals.
“... No, I shouldn’t suspect my brother. Matthias promised, I can trust him.”
And with that, Bruce Wayne closes his Batcomputer and went back to the Manor.
