Though he had pushed open the door to the Chief's office countless times, Li Jie still felt as if he had charged into a fire.
"Cough, cough... Couldn't you smoke a little less? I just got back, and already I'm being subjected to this torture. Watch out, or..."
He drew a hand across his throat, fumbled his way to the window, and opened it, watching Bob shiver as he hurriedly pulled on his coat. Meanwhile, he took a mask from his pocket and put it on. "Good thing I came prepared."
"It's minus five degrees outside, and you just open the window like that!" Bob complained as he put on his coat, then wrapped a scarf around his neck. "Besides, smoking more or less makes no difference. My neighbor never smoked, and he only lived to thirty."
"Cancer?"
"Car accident."
Li Jie rolled his eyes helplessly. "So what the fuck does that have to do with smoking?"
"Life's unpredictable, that's all." Bob stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "How are those two rookies doing?"
"Anna's doing all right. She's improving fast, but she gets emotional sometimes and acts rashly. She's not ready to handle things on her own. As for Alan..." Li Jie tapped slowly on the desk a few times. "Very good. Thorough, conscientious, responsible, and good at planning, but he lacks quick thinking. Actual combat and on-the-spot command are his weak points."
"All right. You plan to keep both of them?"
"They could partner up, or I could assign Anna to Wilson later... Wait." Something suddenly occurred to him. "Hadn't Wilson been on the job less than three months when he got hurt? Won't he be the least senior officer again when he comes back?"
"And you're planning to make fun of him for it, right?" Bob shook his head helplessly. "Grow up. If you've got that much time on your hands, help me solve a few problems."
"Huh?" Li Jie jumped. "Did reporters catch someone jerking off in a car again?"
"No, nothing like that. Falcone came to see me and demanded that we catch that Cloaked Figure as soon as possible." Bob held a cigarette between his fingers and sniffed it. "What does he dress up as again? A pigeon?"
"A bat."
"Right, right, a bat. First owls, now bats. Gotham really ought to build a museum of flying creatures." Bob gave a bitter chuckle and slowly sank back into his chair. "If not for the bounties The Roman and Maroni put up, we'd probably have a bunch of copycats roaming the streets already. By the way, what about that Otis? Doesn't he have a source? Who exactly is that lunatic?"
"No idea. The guy hasn't left any information behind. There's nowhere to even start investigating." Li Jie didn't dare tell the truth, either, so he made up an excuse. "But lately he's been keeping an eye on Child Protective Services..."
Ring, ring, ring...
A string of telephone rings cut him off. Bob waved at him, sat up, and picked up the receiver.
"...Speaking. What? Oh, yes, right... Right... Exactly! Oh my God! Of course, of course he's welcome! On behalf of every officer here, I offer Mr. Wayne our deepest respect and gratitude for his generosity. No problem... Everything will be arranged. All right, see you shortly!"
Clack!
The receiver was tossed back onto the phone. Bob planted both hands on the desk and looked around, his face glowing.
"Well, well! The heir to Wayne Enterprises, the generous, great, benevolent, and wise young master Bruce Wayne, heard your speech outside Central Headquarters and plans to come donate to the East End Police Department this afternoon." Bob sprang to his feet and grabbed Li Jie's arm. "You've got to come with me. Quick, tell me what we should do now. Should we get all the prisoners out of here?"
"Don't be stupid. Wouldn't getting rid of all the prisoners prove you never do any work?" Li Jie gave him a disdainful look. "The desks, chairs, and equipment are already shabby enough. Have them put away all the good equipment. Clean the place up, too, and pile the paperwork so high it's practically falling off the desks. We need those rich people to feel that the East End Police Department is poor but conscientious, responsible, and determined to improve—that a lack of money is the only thing keeping us from doing our jobs better."
"Exactly, exactly. That's just what I was thinking." Bob snatched up the receiver and dialed an internal extension. "Notify everyone: start cleaning! Now!"
If you wanted results, orders from above had always worked much faster than requests from below. Before noon, the desks and main areas of the floor had been scrubbed clean, and the cracks in the windows had been taped over. The garbage and pornographic magazines in the drawers had all been thrown out. Only the used paper coffee cups were deliberately kept and casually tossed into the trash cans. As Bob put it:
"If anyone drags their feet on this, I'll break all three of their legs!"
Preparations were just complete when Wayne Enterprises' black Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith pulled into the East End Police Department's parking lot. Watching from the window as uniformed officers directed the convoy into the specially cleared parking area, Bob couldn't help sighing.
"They said on the phone that Mr. Wayne wanted to keep things as low-key as possible."
"Maybe that's the most low-key car they own." Beside him, Li Jie also heaved a deep sigh. "I need to go to the hospital for some eye drops, or I'll definitely have a case of red-eyed envy tomorrow."
"Envy won't do you any good. That's life."
Bob led Li Jie toward the entrance to the lobby. Standing between the second set of glass doors and the main entrance, they watched the man walk in surrounded by bodyguards, assistants, and reporters.
He was like a shaft of expensive light, abruptly cleaving through the dim, disorderly space. Even the dust floating in the air seemed to shrink from the halo around him. His gleaming bespoke leather shoes stepped onto the stained, cracked terrazzo floor, like a king with a penetrating gaze entering his domain.
Bob stepped forward and held out his hand.
"Mr. Wayne, it's a pleasure to welcome you to the Eastern District Precinct."
Bruce Wayne nodded slightly and shook Bob McGinnis's hand. "Chief McGinnis, I saw your officer's statement on the news, and I was moved by your officers' dedication and spirit of service. It made me want even more to support those working on the front lines personally. I hope I haven't interrupted your work."
"Of course not. We're here to serve the people of the East End, and indeed all of Gotham City." Bob turned sideways and gestured toward the stairs. "Today's coffee and doughnuts are quite good. Would you like a cup before the tour?"
"Though I'm somewhat particular about coffee, I never turn down police-station coffee. Hmm... Is this Officer Li, the one who spoke on the news?" Bruce turned and offered Li Jie his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, officer."
"Oh, oh... Likewise... It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wayne."
Looking a little flustered, Li Jie wiped his palm on his cuff and shook Bruce Wayne's hand. "You can call me Jay."
"All right, Jay." Bruce Wayne smiled, then turned back to Bob. "Please lead the way, Chief."
As she watched the two men head toward the back, Anna sidled over and asked in an envious whisper, "Hey, sir! What's it like shaking hands with a billionaire?"
Steady, but his grip was a little weak. Maybe the rumors about his injury were true?
Li Jie collected himself, then opened his hand and held it out in front of Anna.
"Take a look. Did any gold rub off?"
Anna stared at Wayne's retreating figure and murmured, "That cashmere coat alone costs five years of my salary... Sir, can I stand beside you when we see him off?"
"Sure. You can present the souvenir." Li Jie handed her a tray. "But don't start dreaming of becoming Mrs. Wayne. The flames in your eyes are about to burn down the station."
"I'm just daydreaming. Who doesn't want a handsome, rich boyfriend? Look at that perfect jawline." Anna pouted dejectedly and sighed. "Forget it. He's too much of a playboy. He's not right for me."
The tour lasted about twenty minutes. Everyone returned to the makeshift platform set up in the lobby, and an assistant wheeled a cart covered with velvet over beside it. Bruce stood on the right and lifted a corner of the velvet with Bob, displaying a blank oversized check bearing the Wayne Enterprises logo to the reporters' cameras.
The pen made a soft scratching sound as it moved across the check-a "1," followed by six crisp, decisive zeroes. Bob abruptly stopped breathing, as though that string of numbers had sucked all the air from his lungs. Then his mouth began spreading into an irrepressible grin that threatened to reach behind his ears. If Li Jie hadn't secretly jabbed him from behind with the tip of a pen, he might have burst out laughing on the spot.
"...Mr. Wayne, thank you for supporting the police and public services. This will mean... safer streets for our children..."
Li Jie listened from behind him. To give credit where it was due, Bob's public speaking really was poised and impeccable, neither servile nor arrogant. His emotional composure, however... was barely holding together.
"Chief, it's an honor to support those who protect Gotham's soul. And..." Bruce checked his watch and offered Bob his hand. "I seem to have taken up too much of your crime-fighting time."
They shook hands. Bruce accepted the souvenir and turned toward the exit. Bob stopped in the entrance hall, while Li Jie escorted him outside. On the steps, Bruce Wayne suddenly stopped and said quietly:
"Jay, now that there are no cameras, may I ask you a few... perhaps rather personal questions?"
"Of course, Mr. Wayne. For a million-dollar donation, I wouldn't hold anything back even if you wanted to ask about me wetting my pants as a kid."
"Oh, that won't be necessary." Bruce Wayne laughed, but his expression quickly turned serious again. "What do you think of your Chief Bob McGinnis?"
"What do I think?" Li Jie scratched his head, playing dumb. "He... is a good man, I suppose."
"Uh... What I mean is..." Bruce considered his wording. "There seem to be... some unpleasant rumors about him, such as... corruption?"
"Absolutely not." Li Jie shook his head firmly in denial. "That's outrageous. How could those be rumors? They're all facts."
"(´°Δ°`)!"
Bruce Wayne was stunned on the spot. He had imagined the officer might deny everything, or perhaps quietly confide secrets to him, but such a matter-of-fact, open admission was rather unexpected. He drew a breath and asked tentatively, "Then when you said just now... that he was a good man..."
"That's right. Being a good man and being corrupt aren't mutually exclusive." Li Jie nodded. "If you ask me, what someone's done isn't important. What matters most is the outcome. He takes dirty money, but he keeps the East End stable. People aren't up in arms, and the place hasn't descended into chaos. That's much better than those guys who are full of ideals but always screw things up."
"You mean... that Cloaked Figure?"
"I have no idea what ideals he has. I don't even know what he's trying to do. So far, the likeliest explanation is that he's drumming up business for orthopedic surgeons."
"He wants to..." Bruce paused, then abruptly changed his tone. "You're right. Who knows what a lunatic like that is thinking? Also, you did a last-minute cleanup today, didn't you?"
"Uh... You noticed?" Li Jie shrugged. "We had no choice. We couldn't very well make you write a check on top of a pizza box."
"Heh."
Bruce Wayne smiled, took out a business card, and placed it in Li Jie's hand. "Well said, Jay. Call me directly if anything comes up."
"No problem."
Li Jie watched the convoy of stretched Rolls-Royces slowly leave the parking lot and flicked the business card lightly. "Damn, premium material. This thing could sell for at least fifty bucks."
Before you continue