*Chapter 25: Does the Tech Department Hire Maniacs Too?*

"Hello, is this Mr. Cody?"

"Speaking. And you are...?"

"Lucius Fox. You can call me Lucius. I found a rather unique wheelchair last night and wanted to call and ask if you recently lost an electric wheelchair."

"Uh... yes, that's my wheelchair," Cody replied on the phone, a storm brewing in his mind.

Holy crap, the guy on the other end said his name was Lucius Fox. If you don't count the possibility of someone else having the same name, then this is one of Batman's technical support guys.

He also said he found his wheelchair. Where did the mugger go? And according to the system's description, the tech and materials used for the wheelchair's modifications weren't anything crazy; it was pretty standard stuff, maybe just a little reckless. How could something like that catch his attention?

"Oh, right. The wheelchair rear-ended my car yesterday. I advised the Gotham City Police Department to keep the impact of this incident as low-key as possible, and you don't need to worry about any compensation. But personally, I'm quite interested in some of the things on the wheelchair. Would you mind talking to me privately?"

"Um..."

Seeing that the person on the other end seemed hesitant, Lucius calmly added, "Mr. Cody, I'm the Technical Director at Wayne Enterprises. You really don't need to have major concerns. The reason I reached out is simply because I think there might be some potential for technical collaboration between us."

"Anyway, you guys have already confirmed my phone number, and of course, you've confirmed my other information too, right?"

"That's right. I apologize, but I didn't mean to offend. This is just some basic information gathering; we have no intention of infringing on your privacy."

Clearly, Lucius's inquiry was merely a courtesy. If Wayne Enterprises' investigation hit a dead end, someone else's investigation might come knocking. While that might sound like Cody being paranoid, the possibility in Gotham was definitely not zero.

"I just don't quite understand why you'd come looking for me—it definitely couldn't be because of that wheelchair. The tech on it isn't exactly cutting-edge."

"We can discuss that when we meet, Mr. Cody. Today, tomorrow, or the day after, between three and five in the afternoon. Please call this number once you're ready, and I'll send someone to pick you up."

"What if I don't want to come?"

"I respect your wishes, but I still hope you'll come by. Communication is beneficial for both of us, and I won't take up too much of your time."

"How about after ten o'clock this morning?"

"I will compensate you for any financial loss during your leave. Please make sure to come between three and five."

"Okay, okay."

Lucius's tone was incredibly polite, to the point of being overly courteous. After considering it carefully, Cody decided to ask Donald for some time off. As for the few hundred dollars lost, he'd just have to chalk it up to bad luck.

As a family business with operations covering various aspects of Gotham, including healthcare, food service, transportation, and construction, Wayne Enterprises was a super-capital juggernaut that even mob bosses like Falcone absolutely wouldn't want to cross head-on.

To survive in Gotham, even if you don't want to cooperate with them, you definitely can't be their enemy.

So, at three o'clock that afternoon, Cody dialed the number Lucius had left.

Donald was genuinely a good boss; he didn't even ask why Cody needed time off, just gave him the afternoon.

...

Three twenty-six in the afternoon, Wayne Tower.

"Mr. Cody, let's get straight to the point." The middle-aged Black man in a suit sat across the desk from Cody and gently placed a small bag on the table. Inside was a fragment of a blue flower petal.

Holy smokes, where did he get that petal?

Cody's poker face almost cracked. As far as he could remember, he'd only drunk that flower tea once, and he'd even chewed up all the petals. His thermos...

Wait a minute, where's my thermos?

Damn it! There was a cup holder next to the seat of that modified wheelchair! I even praised that modification for being thoughtful and practical and just put my cup in there...

He never in a million years thought the reason he was tracked down was because there was a tiny bit of flower tea left in his thermos, and it somehow ended up with Lucius after the wheelchair was involved in the car accident.

"We found this on your wheelchair. We're still conducting further analysis, but the preliminary test results are in. Mr. Cody, this plant you brought to Gotham appears to be quite unusual."

Cody's mind raced. Refusing to admit anything at this point would definitely be the worst move; his DNA was on the thermos. It was better to just admit it and play the role of an ordinary passerby.

"I thought you were looking for me because of the wheelchair."

"That illegally modified wheelchair is also quite interesting, Mr. Cody, but I strongly advise against using such a dangerous mode of transportation. As I said before, the reason I contacted you was because of the 'things on the wheelchair.'"

"Okay, actually, I only got that flower tea after arriving in Gotham; and it wasn't much. I only have one bag left now—and honestly, I'd never even drunk that kind of flower tea before yesterday. I didn't realize it could make you feel more alert."

After hearing Cody's answer, Lucius continued asking, "More alert? Its effect is increased alertness?"

"Yeah, I had a cup of the flower tea yesterday at noon and couldn't sleep all night. I finally got about ten minutes of sleep in the car in the afternoon—it felt way more effective than coffee."

So it wasn't a new type of drug, just a natural, long-lasting stimulant. This result made Lucius breathe a slight sigh of relief. At least Batman's to-do list wouldn't get another item added, which might make his schedule a bit easier.

"Very interesting. So where did it come from?"

"I picked it up on the train when I was coming to Gotham. I can't remember exactly where it was. Anyway, it just floated in through the window, and I thought it looked nice and smelled pretty good, so I collected them."

"That sounds quite poetic."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, what's left is all here." Cody took a small cloth bag out of his pocket. Sure enough, it contained some blue flowers identical to the ones in the small bag.

"While I don't know why you're interested in these flowers, they aren't really much use to me anyway. If you want them, I can sell them to you."

"Are you really unable to pinpoint roughly where they might have fallen?"

"Sorry, I wasn't awake much on the train. I was sleeping most of the time."

"Alright, then—I can pay you a sum of money, or you could choose a different kind of compensation."

"What kind of compensation?"

"For example, joining Wayne Enterprises, becoming part of the technology department."