*Chapter 32: Not Peaceful*

"Age?"

"24, I'm a restaurant server."

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Name?"

"Cody."

Looking at the stark, blinding light of the interrogation room, Cody couldn't help but squint.

"I was just driving by, sir. Do you really need to bring me in for questioning?"

"You don't look like a good guy."

Hearing such a simple, direct answer, Cody was speechless for a few seconds.

"Hold on a sec, where did my glasses go... oh, here they are."

He put on his wire-rimmed glasses, instantly giving off a faint air of refined degeneracy.

"So?"

"You can leave after you've finished giving your statement. Remember to take your personal belongings."

Kind of thoughtful, actually.

"This might be your first time in here, so you're probably not used to it, but don't worry. In Gotham, you'll always see me, no matter which gang you're with. We'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with each other."

Okay, that last line had a bit of an edge to it.

"But I'm not part of any gang in Gotham City." Cody shook his head. "I just work at a restaurant."

The blonde old detective opposite him had deep eyes and carefully scrutinized his expression, seemingly judging whether he was lying.

"But you know the score with that restaurant, right?"

"I know, but just a little bit." He shrugged. "Anyway, I try my best not to get mixed up in their stuff. I just work there – I'm a law-abiding citizen, officer."

"Interesting..." The detective examined Cody's hands, wrists, and neck. There were indeed no calluses from long-term gun use, nor any Falcone family gang tattoos.

"Since you're still young, let me give you a piece of advice: don't stick around that restaurant."

"But they pay pretty well..."

Cody answered the question subconsciously, looking at his blond hair and mustache. He suddenly felt a sense of familiarity and instinctively asked, "Oh, if you don't mind my asking, your name?"

"You don't know me?" He smiled. "That's not a bad thing, at least it means you haven't committed any crimes in Gotham."

"The name's Gordon, Jim Gordon."

...

After leaving the Gotham City Police Department, Cody drove home.

Man, just perfect. He's already on Jim Gordon's radar.

Counting Harvey Dent, who he'd encountered before, if Batman started keeping an eye on him too, he'd have the whole Gotham "Iron Triangle" covered.

Cody could only resign himself to being a good citizen and pray he wouldn't attract Batman's attention.

But...

"The president of Gotham Bank resigned and was killed?" He thought about it subconsciously. "Is this a prelude to something? I really don't remember anything like this."

He opened the door and went inside his apartment. It was pitch black outside, the hour hand on the giant clock tower in the distance pointed to two o'clock. At this hour, he hadn't run into any muggers or burglars, which made him wonder if it was due to his car's notorious reputation.

"Seriously, only a workaholic like Gordon would drag someone down to the precinct for a statement at this hour."

He sighed, opened the Gotham News homepage on his phone, typed "Gotham Bank" into the search bar, and hit search.

News articles appeared on the webpage in chronological order. One headline caught Cody's attention: "Gotham Bank and Falcone Company Nearing Partnership." He clicked on it out of curiosity.

"Since June, the partnership proposal between Falcone Import Company and Gotham Bank has been under intense preparation. After months of negotiations, bank president Richard Daniel stated that as president, he is willing to facilitate this partnership, considering it will provide Gotham Bank with millions in available funds..."

"Holy crap, who's got the guts to screw up Falcone's business? Wait, he's the Godfather of Gotham's mob, why's he getting into import companies?"

"Money laundering?"

He thought about it carefully and clicked on the most recent news article, which was from just this morning.

"Just today, Gotham Bank President Richard Daniel announced his official resignation. He refused to disclose the specific reasons for his resignation, only stating that he was unable to continue serving as president of Gotham Bank..."

Cody suddenly began to understand. Daniel had likely made a deal with "the Roman" (Falcone). He was supposed to facilitate the partnership between Gotham Bank and Falcone Import Company, but clearly, he bailed on Falcone.

His sudden resignation before the deal was finalized meant the nearly successful project lost its key operator, and Falcone's business deal fell through.

He then recalled the few words he'd vaguely heard the dying man say on the road.

"...leave Gotham... find... place in Paris..."

"No wonder he wanted to leave Gotham City for Paris, France. And no wonder he resigned this morning and was shot tonight. You really can't bail on 'the Roman'... Revenge is never delayed, is this Falcone's style?"

There was a follow-up report linked below that news article.

"Following Richard Daniel's resignation, the identity of the next Gotham Bank president was also announced. It is none other than the heir to Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne. The well-known playboy himself stated that he is completely uninterested in the so-called import company and that Falcone Import Company should ideally find another bank to partner with."

This news made Cody raise an eyebrow.

"This guy is a tough nut to crack, impervious to both carrots and sticks. Bribery is impossible, and threats aren't suitable. If Falcone wants to make money or launder it, he probably can't use his usual methods against Bruce Wayne."

But then again, why would an ordinary bank president dare to bail on "the Roman"? Was he really not afraid of dying?

And how could Bruce Wayne seamlessly take over as bank president? Did he buy Gotham Bank?

He continued searching for corporate news about Gotham Bank. To his surprise, the bank had always been a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.

This meant that Bruce Wayne's stance was clearly against Gotham Bank partnering with Falcone Import Company, yet the bank had been close to finalizing the partnership agreement with the company, only for it to be disrupted by Daniel's resignation.

As the heir to Wayne Enterprises, the playboy Bruce apparently couldn't decide the direction of his own company's subsidiaries.

"Let me guess, same old story from the movies: the board thinks all money is green, you'd be a fool not to make a buck, and Bruce thinks you shouldn't take mob money..."

He closed his phone, tossing it onto the table, and plopped down onto the sofa.

Sigh. Judging by the Godfather's never-give-up approach, things in Gotham are probably going to be pretty rough from here on out.

A lot rougher than usual.