hotmtlnovel Chapter 3862 The Nameless Bat (32)
Chapter 3862 The Nameless Bat (32)
Chapter 3862 The Nameless Bat (Thirty-Two)
“CIA Special Investigations Unit Agent Natasha Romanoff.” In the Gotham Police Department office, Natasha showed her badge to James Gordon. Gordon frowned deeply. “CIA? That’s not your jurisdiction, is it? Or is this ‘Eden Killer’ actually a spy?”
“Even if he’s a spy, the CIA doesn’t have the right to arrest him. That’s the FBI’s job. But I’m with the Special Investigations Unit, the only unit with internal law enforcement authority. You may not have heard of us, but that’s okay, we’re a secret unit. I wouldn’t be here if Batman hadn’t invited me.”
Seeing Gordon's look of sudden realization, Natasha smiled inwardly. The secret service had only been established half an hour ago. While this universe's Batman wasn't the president, he clearly had connections within Congress and law enforcement. Creating a law enforcement agency out of thin air and preparing ample evidence wouldn't be difficult for him.
“Tell me about the ‘Eden Killer,’” Natasha said. “I want to see all the crime scene photos and the bodies. Ideally, I’d like to interrogate a few key eyewitnesses.”
Gordon nodded and quickly went to make the arrangements. He accepted Natasha's imperious attitude well, because the previous FBI agents who came had even worse tempers, looked down on the Gotham Police Department, had a lot of complaints about Gotham, or were just sloppy in their work and wanted to run away at any moment.
Although Natasha's name is somewhat questionable and she's a bit too pretty, at least judging from her attitude and handling of the situation, she was quite professional. That was already a pleasant surprise.
“Oh, right,” Gordon said as if he had just remembered, “because this case is really tricky, I consulted a friend. He will keep it completely confidential, but he may have figured something out.”
Natasha frowned and said, "That's not very professional, Chief. Do you know you have a responsibility for the mental well-being of civilians? A serial murder scene is unlikely to be peaceful, is it?"
"He can't be considered a civilian. In fact, he was previously a special consultant for the FBI—a lecturer in criminal psychology."
Natasha breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for not dragging innocent people into this. I knew Batman's friends were good."
Gordon opened his mouth, hesitating until Natasha started looking at him with that probing gaze again. He swallowed hard and said, "But he has a 14-year-old child with him."
Natasha's expression immediately changed. She said, "They went to the crime scene together?"
"Yes. But there were no bodies in the first few."
"So, the last one is?"
“The most recent case was the murder of the mayor. This is very important, and that little girl's talent in this area is unparalleled, so…”
“Unbelievable,” Natasha said. “Do you think I’m a CIA agent, so you’re accepting of this?”
"It has Batman's authorization."
"Then you two are both sinners."
Gordon sighed and said, “Nimosini’s psychiatrist told me it wouldn’t do her any psychological harm, and I choose to trust his professional judgment, ma’am. It may sound like I’m shirking responsibility, but that’s the truth—more people will die if we don’t get more leads.”
"You don't need to explain to me, just be true to your conscience." Natasha shook her head and walked out the door.
These words clearly hurt him more than a scolding of Gordon. He stood in his office for a long time, speechless, while Natasha, who had just left the room, wasn't much better off. She truly didn't fit into the style of this universe.
In her universe, despite the extraordinary and exciting lives of superheroes, the bottom line for everyone who can be called a hero, a potential hero, or even an anti-hero is to avoid involving civilians. Even Magneto, a recognized terrorist, attacks US military bases, not civilian airliners or subways, even though the latter might have a more sensational impact.
On their side, if a police officer dragged a 14-year-old girl to a crime scene, and to more than one, and saw more than one body, he'd probably get Iron Man's rocket launcher, Captain America's flying shield, and Spider-Man's uppercut all at once. No matter how legitimate the reason, it wouldn't work, not even for Schiller.
But the people here seemed used to it. Gordon said this to emphasize the little girl's talent, and perhaps even to imply to Natasha that if she didn't understand something, she should go to her.
Good heavens. Natasha was starting to feel more and more sorry for Batman. If this world really did follow the principle of karma, then it was very likely that Congress and the military were committing evil deeds, and then Batman would be the one to suffer the consequences. He was such an incredibly unlucky guy.
After calming herself down, Natasha began reviewing the case files, then went to the forensic department to examine the autopsy report, and finally even visited the female perpetrator at the hospital. Unfortunately, the woman was still unconscious and unable to offer any advice.
Natasha isn't a great detective; she's not particularly good at deduction. However, since Batman has already hinted that the killer might not be a carbon-based life form he can catch, her current task isn't actually to apprehend the killer, but rather to stabilize the situation.
Although the panic in the upper class stems from this "Eden Killer," capturing him would be the best way to quell the panic, since that's not feasible for the time being, they have no choice but to resort to espionage methods.
"How many heinous criminals are there in the city?" Natasha asked the policeman next to her.
The other person was visibly taken aback for a moment, then said, "You should ask how many people aren't."
"How many people aren't like that?"
"About...one?"
"If you're going to say it's Jesus, then get out of here."
"No, but pretty much. It's Batman."
“Oh, I should know,” Natasha said, rubbing her forehead. “So who do you think is the worst among them? The kind of bad guy that everyone instinctively thinks is the one who did something bad?”
"Batman."
"what?"
“Whenever something bad happens, everyone assumes it’s Batman’s doing. Because they think it’s impossible for anyone to be that good,” the young officer said honestly. “So no matter what bad thing happens, everyone assumes it must be Batman revealing his true nature.”
Natasha's head started to throb. She said, "Besides Batman? I mean, the kind who looks bad and we can catch?"
"Are you trying to arrest someone to take the blame? Then you can just ask who doesn't have powerful backers." The young officer thought for a moment and said, "There aren't many people like that, especially after the Gotham gangs took control of the city again."
“So, the Joker?” Natasha said, uttering a name. She had vaguely heard stories about Batman and the Joker.
“Ah, that won’t work. No one but Batman can catch him,” the officer shook his head and said. “Besides, he won’t show up unless Batman does. If you can persuade Batman to cooperate with your plan, you might be able to trick him out, although there’s nothing to be proud of about bullying a mental patient.”
“Then the Penguin,” Natasha said, mentioning a name that seemed vaguely familiar. She remembered seeing him in Spider-Man: Gotham.
“Doing this will make people suspect you’re the ‘Eden Killer,’ because the Penguin is the real mayor,” the other person said. “Luckily, his informant in the police station is locked up, otherwise, if what we said today got back to him, we’d be hunted down.”
Natasha sighed deeply. She didn't know much about the supervillains here, and even when she encountered them in the Battle Realm, she couldn't tell them apart because they all behaved very similarly—the kind of madmen that Nick would pay Greedy a salary for 80,000 years into the future.
Natasha had no interest in the group's inner thoughts, nor did she understand the difference between their crazy ideas, and she didn't have a particularly deep impression of any of them, so she couldn't really think of anyone for the time being.
“Okay, only one last trick left,” Natasha said. “Are there any well-known Russians around here?”
"Uh, does a TV host count? Antonio, the host of the 8 pm talk show. I quite like him."
“That’s him. Claim he’s the ‘Eden Killer,’ then deport him on charges of espionage and terrorism. I’ll get his file.”
Natasha went to Gordon for information. Gordon didn't understand why she wanted information about a TV host, but he gave it to her anyway.
Natasha pressed a button on her headset and said, "All departments, prepare for the operation to capture 'Eden Killer' Antonio at 7 p.m. tonight. Contact your Russian counterparts and have them prepare to take over."
Gordon slowly widened his eyes as he looked at Natasha and said, "How do you know he's the 'Eden Killer'? Good heavens, you're even more amazing than Nimosini!"
Natasha couldn't help but roll her eyes and say, "He's a damn killer. What Russian killer uses a knife to kill someone? I just need an 'Eden Killer' to appease the panic in high society—don't you always feel like the KGB is right next to me?"
“But this is a frame-up,” Gordon said.
"Could he be a good person who has never committed a crime?"
"Uh, you know there's no such person. That TV host was apparently exposed before for drug smuggling and pimping... but that's not important, the sentences for murder and drug trafficking are different..."
"So he wasn't charged with murder, but with espionage. That way we can exchange him back. Don't worry, he won't die; at most he'll be in a private cell for a few days. I know Moscow well."
Gordon opened his mouth: "You know her?"
"I'm not just suspicious because of my name."
“Alright, Miss Romanov.”
"Thank you, Madam."
“Yes, Mrs. Romanov. You can’t arrest him.”
"why?"
"He's one of the few media mouthpieces promoted after Penguin came to power, and he's also the younger brother of the city's biggest Russian mafia boss. Otherwise, how could he have a name even more suspicious than yours, speak with a St. Petersburg accent, and become a prime-time host?"
Natasha glanced down at the file—this guy's full name was Antonio Ivanovich Kuznetsov. He wouldn't even use the alias David or Peter; he was even more arrogant than her.
"Okay, this person won't do either. Do you have any other options?"
“There aren’t many Russians in Gotham,” Gordon said. “We have plenty of Irish and British people here, so why can’t they?”
"No chance. They'll be assassinated by MI6 during the extradition process. I know London very well."
Aren't you Russian?
"I am a Soviet citizen."
"That's not surprising."