Batman's fans

"Huh? You know Batman's real identity?" Jason realized something. "How did you manage that?"

"That's our little secret," Roland said. "Don't go blabbing about it. If the wrong people found out, we'd be in trouble."

"I know. Falcone's bounty on Batman alone would be enough to buy a house in Central City." Jason nodded. "If word got out, I could get kidnapped any day."

"Exactly. But if you do get kidnapped, just tell them Batman is Hugo Strange," Roland said, then went back to reading his newspaper.

"Who's that? What did he do to you?" Jason asked curiously.

"Hugo Strange is a Batman fan. He's obsessed with studying Batman, but eventually, studying him wasn't enough to satisfy his desires anymore, so he started dressing up as Batman to get his fix," Roland said. "But unless you get kidnapped, don't tell anyone about this."

"That's not just weird. It's downright perverted."

"But in Gotham City, it's pretty normal," Roland said.

As everyone knew, everyone in Gotham City was a Batman fan. The psychiatric patients and criminals locked up in Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary were all twisted Batman fans, too.

And Joker was the president of the Batman fan club.

Thinking of Joker set Roland pondering again. He wondered how Joker was doing now. April Fools' Day was just over half a month away, and that was practically Joker's personal holiday. Surely he wouldn't miss it.

Then there was Harley. He had asked Gordon about her a couple of days ago, and, unsurprisingly, she had become Joker's simp... girlfriend again.

He wondered whether getting Harley to turn over a new leaf again would earn him another batch of redemption value.

"Boss, something big happened!"

"What now?" Roland was already used to his underlings making a fuss over everything. He leisurely sipped his coffee and set the newspaper on the table. "Catch your breath first. I'm worried you'll pass out if you can't get enough air."

"A ship capsized down at the docks."

"So it capsized. What's that got to do with us?"

"The ship was carrying furs, and lots of the crates are still floating on the water. We could make a decent chunk of money just by picking one up and selling it!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Roland stood up. "Let's go get some."

"Wait, there's one more problem. A bunch of gangs are there already, and they've started shooting each other over the cargo."

"Then I'll go take a look first." Roland thought for a moment. "Jason, find a way to get a truck and come pick me up."

"Sure." Jason nodded and took out the wire he always carried with him.

Roland climbed onto a motorcycle, a contribution from a young man who had been roaring around the neighborhood a few days earlier.

The deafening roar of its engine and exhaust had shattered the peace of the night and woken Roland from a sound sleep.

Roland had then sprinted after him and used his belt to teach the young man that speeding around and blasting his engine not only endangered traffic on public roads, but also caused serious disruption and safety hazards for the public.

After receiving that lesson, the rider had immediately repented and given Roland his motorcycle.

The docks

Quite a few of the crates floating from the sunken ship had already been hauled out, but a gunfight had broken out onshore. Two smuggling gangs were exchanging fire with the local hoodlums.

The scene was utter chaos. The various factions were locked in a fierce battle, and people nearby kept getting dragged into it. Among them were even several officers from a Gotham City Police Department SWAT squad, who were trading shots with someone from behind a truck.

Roland squeezed the brake and pulled up beside the SWAT squad with a stylish skid. "What's going on here, guys?"

"Who are you?" Two SWAT officers aimed their guns at Roland.

"Just a priest passing by. Can't you tell?" Roland shook the crosses he was wearing, then pulled several Bibles from inside his clothes and handed them to the officers.

"...He really is a priest."

Seeing Roland produce several different editions of the Bible at once, the officers immediately believed him. After all, no normal person would carry that many books around.

"Hello, I'm Boone, the SWAT squad leader." Boone introduced himself. "Father, it's a mess here. You should leave right away."

"Oh, I'll just take a look and go." Roland twisted the throttle, riding through the hail of bullets to a patch of high ground.

"These cops... don't look like good guys." Roland felt there was something suspicious about Boone being here. Once he reached the high ground, he immediately released Kamaitachi to listen to the sounds around him.

"Captain, that priest seemed weird to me. Maybe he figured something out. Why did you let him go?"

"What could he possibly figure out?" Boone gave a contemptuous snort. "You think divine revelation is real?"

"I thought the way he looked at us was strange... Besides, killing him here wouldn't matter. We could just say a stray bullet hit him. Even if he's a clergyman, with things this chaotic, nobody would investigate it all the way, right?"

"That's obviously not why I let him go. Didn't you notice? That priest is very agile, and his riding skills are no joke," Boone said. "I wasn't confident I could kill him outright."

"At that range? No way. What, can he dodge bullets?" One of the officers shook his head. "How is that possible?"

"Maybe he can..." Boone looked at his squad members. "That's what my instincts told me. They've saved me plenty of times already. Don't you trust them?"

"Well..." The SWAT officers exchanged glances. Boone really did have uncannily accurate instincts, and that ability had helped him lead the squad out of danger several times.

"So all we need to do now is wipe out the smuggling gang that knows about this. Forget the priest. Let him go. Even if he knows something, what can he do to get in our way?"

"Yes, sir." Although the SWAT officers still had their doubts, they all followed their captain's orders.

"Well, damn. They really are bad news. Trying to pull that on me, huh?" Roland had heard the squad's conversation. "Looks like... these guys have some connection to the smugglers?"

Still, that had nothing to do with Roland. He might as well leave that sort of thing for Commissioner Gordon to worry about.

Then again, Gordon was still only a captain. The current commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department was still Gilliam B. Loeb.

Given Gilliam B. Loeb's way of doing things, this sort of behavior from his subordinates was nothing unusual. After all, if the SWAT squad didn't take a cut, how could the captain take his? If the captain didn't take a cut, how could he, the commissioner, take his? If he didn't take a cut, how could Gotham's mayor take his? How else were they supposed to get ahead?