Elliot's eyes widened in fury, completely caught off guard. Talia was clearly far more experienced. She stepped forward to shield Elliot behind her, then lowered her head to examine the corpse's face.
Her grip on Elliot's arm tightened instantly, because the fallen man wore a League of Assassins uniform. He was one of the two League of Assassins bodyguards she had secretly hired to protect Elliot.
Bang!
Joker fired a warning shot.
"Everyone, squat down where you are with your hands on your heads! Let me see your hands! Squat down right now!"
The dignitaries scattered in panic, but with the Police Department blocking the entrance, not one of them managed to escape. They could only crouch down trembling and hold out their hands. Several figures among them seemed particularly unusual.
"What the hell is going on?!" Harvey Dent roared. "Why is there a corpse here? Who killed him?!"
"Yeah, what the hell is going on?" the crowd whispered among themselves.
"Look at what he's wearing. Isn't that strange? He doesn't look like a guest here for the banquet."
"That looks like the clothing of an Eastern martial artist, doesn't it? Did Elliot arrange some kind of martial arts performance?"
Elliot abruptly turned to look at Talia. She seemed flustered for a moment, but quickly calmed down and said, "Do you think I would be foolish enough to do that? You are still our best candidate."
Though she spoke ambiguously, Elliot clearly understood. He pressed his lips together and said to Joker, "I deeply regret everything that has happened here."
"You should regret it." Joker pointed his gun straight at him. "Tax issues are no longer important. How do you explain this corpse?"
"Of course I didn't kill him." Elliot raised both hands anyway. "I've been in my office since