DOS Ch-240

“Marvel?” Bobby asked in confusion. “I thought you were more of a DC guy.” He carefully looked over at Andrew, who was the only person present in the room who didn’t know about my upcoming role as the Joker.

“I’m positive that Warner Bros won’t sell me one of their biggest IPs just like that,” I said dryly. “So I’ll go for the next best option. Marvel comics are great, and I enjoy them a lot.”

Bobby nodded slowly. “Alright, Marvel and Netflix will be on our target. Anything else?”

I shook my head. “That’s all the liquid cash I can afford right now after all the big investments Andrew has made for me.”

Bobby nodded, sitting in front of me silently, in a bit of a daze.

“I still can’t believe it, you know?” he said suddenly. “When I accepted working for you, I had no idea you would turn out to be so big.”

I groaned. “Not you too. Chill the fuck out, man. I’m still the same me, just more zeroes in my bank account. Nothing else has changed.”

“I hope my salary does,” he joked before looking at my team. “I hope all of ours does.”

I gave him a deadpan look. “I just gave you a big bonus. All of you are millionaires now. I like to think I was more than generous enough.”

I had distributed more than $25 million in bonuses this year—not just to my team, but also to the many cast and crew, and other employees I worked with during the year. I would have been a little more careful with my money had Andrew not successfully pulled off what he did.

Bobby raised his hands in surrender. “That’s not what I’m saying. You were very generous. Just saying that a regular higher pay would be nice instead of just a high bonus at year's end.”

I sighed. “Fine. Get me the two companies we have talked about, and then I’ll revise your pay schedule.”

“I will,” he promised confidently.

After some more small talk, Bobby, Benji, and Tobias took their leave, leaving me and Andrew behind, whom I had asked to stay back.

“Give it to me,” I said in a no-nonsense tone. “Where have you invested the money, and how much?”

Andrew, it seemed, had come prepared, because he took out a folder from the briefcase he had brought along before handing it over to me.

“I have shorted as many shares as I could, in all the financial companies that you indicated. Besides AIG, I have shorted Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, and a few others. You’ll get a full list in that folder. The total amount shorted came out to be $3 billion.”

I flicked through the pages quickly, fully intending to inspect them in detail later. “What about the other $7 billion?”

“Bought CDS on BBB-rated subprime MBS this time for $5 billion.”

I nodded slowly. I had initially bought CDS for all credit ratings, from AAA to BB, but now, after gaining much better and closer knowledge of the housing market, I had instructed Andrew to specialize in BBB-rated bonds because they were the most at risk. No new CDSs were being sold now, because the banks had stopped issuing new CDSs, but the old ones were still trading at a premium, something I took full advantage of.

“And the rest?” I prompted.

“I have bought put options for the XLF Financial sector ETF for $2 billion.”

“Perfect,” I beamed at him. “This is as good as a perfect trade. All of them are.”

“That’s why the FBI came to us,” Andrew noted helpfully.

I snorted. “They have no idea who they have angered. If there is one thing my potential enemies must know, it’s that I’m a vindictive asshole who likes to make an example out of people. Guess how many people have made parodies of me, or mocked me publicly ever since [South Park]?”

“You tell me.”

“Zero,” I said smugly. “At least none of the big players have. People are afraid that I’ll unleash my army on them.”

He scoffed. “I don’t think that tactic would work for the FBI.”

That was true. I could sue them, but anything else wouldn’t work, only make an enemy out of a federal agency.

“We’ll see how it plays out,” I waved off his concerns. “They still have a few days before I sue them, so let’s wait for that.”

(Break)

Jessica tapped her foot on the pavement in frustration.

“If Travis didn’t come within the next two minutes, I’m leaving him for sure,” she muttered to herself.

“Don’t worry, I’m right here,” a male voice called out from behind her.

She turned around in surprise, only to find her boyfriend standing there with a sheepish grin on his face.

“Sorry, got held up at work. I’m telling you, Jess, these top accounting firms are the worst.”

Jessica huffed in annoyance before grabbing Travis’s hand. “Come along then. The film is just about to begin.”

Travis gave her a confused look. “Not for another fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah, but I don’t wanna miss the trailers they play at the start of the movie, do I?”

Travis couldn’t argue with that logic, so he silently followed her inside. Thankfully, Jessica had already bought two tickets for Will Smith’s [I Am Legend], so at least they didn’t have to wait in line for that.

Soon enough, they were sitting in the theater, in some of the best seats, waiting for the movie to begin. At least Travis was waiting for that. He had no interest in watching trailers. Nowadays, most trailers are uploaded online on YouTube anyway, so what’s the point of watching the movie in a theater just to see the trailer?

Finally, the lights in the theater dimmed, and the projector turned on, showing the green MPAA certificate, indicating that the video was approved for all audiences.

The scene opened with Batman standing on top of a building before plunging into the darkness. As soon as that visual hit the audience, people started murmuring excitedly. No one was expecting the trailer of [The Dark Knight] to hit right now. They hadn’t even announced the full cast yet, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Even Travis sat up straighter, because he loved superhero movies a lot.

“Where do we begin?”

An eerily familiar voice called out, making Travis feel that he had heard it before, yet the accent was so unique in itself that it was difficult to imagine anyone speaking like that.

The creepy voice was followed by a close-up on someone’s lips, which had red lipstick applied unevenly. White makeup was also visible on the person’s skin around his mouth. And then the lips widened in a manic grin, yet the full face was never shown as it cut to the next scene.

Travis, along with many dedicated DC fans, immediately recognized the villain.

“It’s the Joker!” someone yelled excitedly across the hall.

“A year ago, these cops and lawyers wouldn’t dare cross any of you. What happened?” The back of the Joker’s costume and dark green hair were shown as he walked in front of a mob meeting.

“So what are you proposing?” a mob boss asked.

“It’s simple. Kill the Batman.” This time, the camera focused on the Joker’s black-rimmed eyes instead.

His dark eyes held a cruelty and perversion that didn’t need words. A chill went down Travis’s spine as he looked into the eyes. The filmmakers must have realized it as well, because they lingered on the eyes longer than strictly necessary.

“Here’s my card.” The man pushed forward a Joker card from a deck towards the mob boss, yet his face was not shown even now.

A weird hyena-like laugh reverberated around the theater, as, seemingly, the Joker laughed, just as Gotham City burned in the background. Police were scattered everywhere. Buildings blew up, cars blew up, and trucks flipped around. All in all, it was pure chaos.

After that, the trailer focused on showing Bruce Wayne, his ex-girlfriend Rachel, and Rachel’s boyfriend, Harvey Dent. Other characters like Alfred, Lucius, and Gordon also made appearances, but the Joker never came back on screen. But they made sure that all the characters were talking about the Joker all the time, and the destruction he caused was also blatantly shown in the trailer.

Just when Travis thought he wouldn’t see the Joker anymore, he appeared one last time. He skipped across the street like a child, the camera trained on his back, just as he started kicking a man down on the ground, which then cut to Batman lying on the street, indicating that he was kicking Batman all this time.

The screen turned black again as credits appeared. The Joker’s hollow laugh reverberated across the screen as they showed the list of major actors.

Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman—all actors were present, except one. There was no mention of the actor who played the Joker. Travis couldn’t help but think out loud, “Who played the Joker?”

Jessica, who sat beside him, shrugged. “Beats me. When you go home, check it on IMDb or something.”

Travis had a feeling that it wouldn’t be that easy to find that info. If Warner Bros truly wanted that, they would have named the actor right in the trailer.

When the movie ended and he went home, it was just as he had expected—there was no mention of the Joker anywhere. The worst part was that even the media had not picked up the news.

So he opened one of the most popular movie forums, where many Hollywood insiders also shared information.

@LoneTravis: So, I just watched the trailer of [The Dark Knight], which was attached to [I am Legend]. The trailer was awesome, and I immediately want to watch the movie right now, but I found something strange. They didn’t mention who plays the Joker. It’s not present on the film’s IMDb or Wikipedia pages either. Usually, I wouldn’t have bothered with some actor, but the limited screentime he had was simply out of this world. His voice, his eyes—everything gave me the chills. Does anyone know who the Joker is? Any juicy insider story?

@EchoByte: Seriously? I missed that, tbh. Is it even allowed to hide actors’ names like that? Let me check as well.

@PixelNomad: Woah! This is huge! How did the media not pick up on this? Let me watch the trailer again on YouTube to see if it’s visible anywhere.

@CodeAndQuill: It’s not mentioned anywhere. I just checked. @LoneTravis is right. Warner is trying to hide the actor who plays the Joker for some reason. I don’t understand why.

@Lucy_12: I think the actor must be someone problematic—maybe someone who committed a crime or something after shooting the movie—so they’re just trying to distance themselves from him.

@LoneTravis: That doesn’t make sense. They’d rather spend millions of dollars on his PR to clean his image than hide him. This is absurd.

@PixelNomad: I just watched it on YouTube, and I can safely say the actor must be someone huge, or maybe someone trying to change his image. Maybe Leonardo DiCaprio? Or maybe Matthew McConaughey?

@CodeAndQuill: That makes a surprising amount of sense. No one would accept either of them as the Joker, given how good they are at romantic roles. So maybe the actor is just trying to show off his range?

@LunaBliss: Maybe it’s Troy Armitage?

@EchoByte: Hah! Only a moron would give such a mature, menacing role to a literal teenager. Even if they somehow did hire him, Troy already has too much on his plate with his music and [Harry Potter] to do such a role.

What Travis had started as a genuine curiosity turned into a post full of speculations and conspiracy theories about why Warner Bros was hiding the identity of the Joker.

(Break)

“There’s been this debate going around on the internet that something fishy happened behind the scenes of [The Dark Knight], which made Warner Bros hide the Joker’s identity. Can you shed some light on it?”

“I have no fucking clue who plays the Joker.”

I watched one of Christian Bale’s interviews on YouTube, which Benji had played for me on a laptop.

“But how can that be?” the interviewer pressed. “You worked together with him for months, and you want me to believe you still don’t have any idea who he was?”

“Believe it or not, but I’m telling the truth. You can ask any other cast or crew member as well. No one knew besides Chris Nolan. The actor who played the Joker is very method, and he told me point-blank that it would be better for both our characters if I didn’t know who he was. I agreed, and to this day, I have no idea. All I know is that he came on time, fully prepared for his job, wasted no shots, and stayed in character the entire time. Mark my words—he will go to the Oscars for this role. He’s that good.”

And the mystery continues.

It had been months since the first trailer of [The Dark Knight] launched, and by now, it had become international news. Everyone was desperate to know who played the Joker, yet no one had come close to uncovering the truth, because hardly anyone actually knew. Even the alias I had used, Frank, hadn’t been leaked. That was probably thanks to the airtight NDAs signed by the cast and crew to conceal my identity.

“What do you think?” Benji asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“I think that if Bale actually knew it was me, I’d want to call or text him to thank him for what he said. But I guess I’ll have to settle for thanking him close to the premiere.”

Benji gave me a confused look. “You’ll go to the premiere? Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of hiding your identity?”

“Plenty of actors attend premieres of others’ movies,” I pointed out. “I have a long-standing partnership with Warner. It wouldn’t look out of place if I showed up. If anyone asks why I’m there, I’ll just say I’m a huge Batman fan and leave it at that.”

Benji nodded, accepting the logic. Just then, Scarlett walked into my office, her face tense.

“Troy, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Who?” I stood up immediately, noticing her unease.

“Robert Mueller. Director of the FBI.”

I froze mid-step. “Really?”

She nodded.

I laughed out loud and shook my head. “He came in person? I wasn’t expecting that.” Then I turned to Benji and Scarlett. “You two stay here. Let me handle this alone.”

They looked ready to argue, but I was firm. If Dad had been in L.A., I might’ve let him join me for the meeting. But Benji and Scarlett were still too green for something like this.

Originally, Mum and Dad had planned to stay in the U.S. for a while, but a few unrelated factors had changed their minds. Chief among them was Scarlett’s presence here. The second was that Rian Johnson had declined Dad’s offer to return for the seventh [Harry Potter] movie. So Dad had flown back to London to figure out who else could take control of the series and give it the ending it deserved. Then there was her TV production work back in the UK. More on that later.

Robert Mueller was in his sixties, though he looked younger, if I was being honest. His mouth seemed permanently fixed in a frown, and his deep, sharp eyes made him the perfect embodiment of that disappointed-parent look shared across humanity.

“I didn’t expect you to come in person, Director,” I greeted him. “A press statement from DC would’ve sufficed.”

He let out a humorless laugh. “Ah, the folly of youth. They think they know everything.”

I sat down across from him, already sensing he’d draw out the conversation unnecessarily.

“So,” I said, “if you’re not here to apologize—what are you here for?”

“I am here to apologize,” he corrected me. “On behalf of the FBI, I offer you my deepest and most sincere apology for the search we conducted on your residence. I assure you, the agent who initiated the search, Agent Walker, has been demoted and no longer holds the authority to initiate operations of that nature. Another agent—the one who leaked the story to the media—has been fired for breaching confidentiality.”

It was a decent move on Mueller’s part. Under different circumstances, I might’ve accepted his apology then and there, let the matter die quietly. But this time, I held the upper hand.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You’ll hold a press conference and say exactly what you just told me—for everyone to hear.”

Mueller let out a weary sigh. “I thought you were better than that. The director of the FBI publicly apologizing for a search sets a dangerous precedent. People will think they can threaten us with lawsuits, and we’ll fold. That damages our credibility.”

“And what about my image?” I countered. “Your agents already set a dangerous precedent. What’s to stop the IRS from showing up next? Or the NSA? The CIA? I need to send a message—one strong enough that the next agent thinks ten times before pulling a stunt like this. If you won’t do it, I will.”

I reached into my jacket and pulled out a manila folder, placing it calmly in front of him. Mueller hesitated only a second before opening it. His eyes scanned the pages quickly, squinting as he read.

“What is this?”

“That,” I replied, wearing a shit-eating grin, “is the financial history of one Agent Walker. Turns out, he has offshore accounts in Switzerland—loaded with cash received just last year. And unlike me, he hasn’t paid his taxes on it.”

Mueller’s face paled slightly as the implication set in.

“If you don’t fire him and issue a public apology,” I said, “I’ll release this information to the public record—along with a simple question: If the FBI can’t vet its own agents, what gives it the right to supervise the rest of us?”

What I didn’t say—because I didn’t need to—was that this evidence would all but win the case in court. I might not get the full $1 billion I was suing for, but the payout would still be far costlier than issuing an apology. Mueller understood that perfectly well.

“Fine,” he relented. “I’ll do it.”

“Good.” I smiled, letting my voice soften a touch. “Listen, Director, I don’t want to make you or the Bureau my enemy. In fact, if you’re open to it, I’d love to collaborate with the FBI moving forward.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Collaborate how?”

Hook. Line. And sinker.

My smile widened. “I run a charity dedicated to supporting victims of child sexual abuse. I think you’d be very interested in the kind of data we’ve gathered—on both victims and perpetrators.”

We already shared our findings with local authorities when needed, but partnering with the FBI would take things to an entirely new level. The information wouldn’t just flow from us to them—it would go both ways. That kind of access could help our foundation scale its work across the USA. Not to mention, this would make Mueller feel that this is not a total failure on his end. Probably would help justify it to the POTUS if it ever came up.

“Go on,” he said, now genuinely intrigued. “I’m suddenly very curious about it.”

Of course, he was.