The storage compartment beside the underground parking garage had no heating. The bitter cold seemed to seep from every crack in the concrete floor and coil around his bones. Otis had only an old electric fan heater to keep warm, its orange-red coils glowing faintly in the darkness. Even wrapped in a thick down jacket, he often felt the chill spread from the soles of his feet through his entire body.
But compared with the year-round damp, moldy stench of Blackgate Penitentiary and the endless howls and threats behind its iron bars, this place was practically paradise. At least he had peace and quiet, and four walls of his own.
He poured some boiling water into a bowl and took out a box of cake, intending to dip it in the water as he ate. After a moment's thought, he broke off a piece and set it on the table first. A large rat with sleek gray fur nimbly poked its head out of his jacket pocket, whiskers trembling. Its beady black eyes scanned warily from side to side before it jumped onto the table, clasped the piece of cake in its front paws, and began nibbling with a soft rustle.
Otis gazed at the rat with tenderness. It was one of the few friends he had made during his time in prison. Clever and perceptive, it sometimes seemed to understand every word he said. The other rats only feared him and obeyed his every command, like a silent army of gray ghosts. Only a handful understood the sorrow in his heart.
"Bastian..."
He reached out a finger and gently stroked the big rat's head. With half a piece of cake in its mouth, Bastian darted off the table and burrowed into the old clothes on the sofa. Otis paused. A knock sounded at the door.
"Hi, Officer."
Li Jie ducked inside in a black windbreaker, bringing a biting chill with him. He rubbed his hands together, dragged over a chair, and sat down.
"Otis, how's the prep coming?"
Without a word, Otis walked over to a drawer, took out a fairly thick stack of documents, and handed them to him.
"You asked me to keep an eye on the senior officials at Child Protective Services. These are their movements over the past week."
"Great, thanks!"
Li Jie took the documents and skimmed through them. Disbelief soon spread across his face. There were records for every one of the dozen-plus people on Nygma's list. "Wow, Otis. You did all this yourself?"
"Yes," Otis said, nodding with a touch of pride. "With more than three hundred rats."
"Oh, oh... fantastic... three... more than three hundred?" Li Jie's eyes widened. "You can command more than three hundred rats?"
"Actually, I can command even more. Five hundred... a thousand... two thousand... or... more..." Otis's voice was calm. "Under the right conditions."
Damn. In a cultivation world, you'd at least be an elder with real power in the Beast Taming Sect.
He pictured thousands of rats surging like a tide, and a shudder immediately ran up his spine. Otis seemed to sense his instinctive discomfort and unconsciously curled in on himself a little more. He took a cassette tape from his pocket and asked cautiously in a low voice, "...Officer, I... about my case... this is a tape with some copied recordings of that Judge Joshua."
"Don't call me Officer. Just call me Jay." Li Jie took the tape and examined it, gesturing with his hands to indicate a size. "Did you use that thing?"
"Yes, that tiny recording device. Every day, I have a rat take it inside, stay in a hidden corner for half an hour, then come back out."
Otis sounded anxious. "But there's no telling what it'll pick up."
"All right, I'll take it back and check. If there's anything useful, we'll go..."
"Steal?"
Otis looked at Li Jie, who was pulling on a balaclava, then at the pitch-black sky outside the car window. His face was a picture of conflict.
"Offi... Jay, you know I was sent to Blackgate Penitentiary for a crime I didn't commit, right?" he muttered. "I never do anything illegal. Why... when I'm with you, do I end up having to... steal things?"
"Stop complaining. You're not even going in. You're just keeping watch." Li Jie finally straightened the ill-fitting balaclava, tilted the rearview mirror toward himself, and checked that he was completely covered. "Those CPS guys have all had dealings with this company, especially that accountant. He's been visiting this out-of-the-way Financial Consulting Company frequently lately, and not just once. I suspect their off-the-books accounts and records of secret money transfers are hidden here."
He opened the car door to get out, then turned back and patted Otis on the shoulder. "We're doing this for justice. Think of that bat freak who fights the gangs. Now think about how you're just like him. Doesn't that make you feel better?"
"That bat freak who breaks people's arms and legs... just like him..."
Watching Li Jie disappear into the night, Otis grimaced and sucked in a breath of cold air. "Now I feel even worse," he murmured.
He switched off the headlights and looked toward the shadows beneath the building. He gave a gentle wave of his hand.
"Go. Watch for anyone approaching."
Countless rats crawled out of the shadows and surged toward the secluded office building in a squeaking tide. They slipped inside through the porch, sewers, ventilation ducts, broken basement windowpanes, and every other opening they could find.
"May God protect me. May God protect you."
Otis crossed himself and sat silently in his seat, motionless as a statue. Nearly an hour later, he saw Li Jie emerge from the shadows beside the office building and run breathlessly toward the car, a large, heavy-looking hard-shell case slung over his shoulder. Bastian jumped down from his shoulder and darted into Otis's jacket pocket with practiced ease.
Panting, Li Jie shoved the case into the back seat, squeezed into the car, and pulled off his balaclava. His face showed a mixture of exhaustion and excitement.
"Listen, Otis. I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Please, can you not do this?" Otis covered his forehead. "I don't want to steal again. Give me the bad news first. Put me out of my misery."
"The bad news is, there were tons of financial documents in there, but I couldn't understand any of them."
"Uh... what's the good news, then?"
Li Jie patted the case behind him. "I brought them all. We'll find an accountant who knows their stuff and have them take a look."
"But..." Otis scratched his messy hair. "What happens when they discover their office was burgled tomorrow? They'll definitely call the police."
"What happens? We've got the evidence anyway. Besides, aren't we the police?"
"Then... what if you guessed wrong, and this place has nothing to do with CPS?"
"Then it's an ordinary burglary. The Gotham Police Department gets hundreds of reports like that every day. Who's going to care?" Li Jie snapped his fingers, and the car drove into the night. "Relax. Everything went smoothly. Let's get out of here."
"I... seriously... I don't know everything..."
Edward Nygma spoke through gritted teeth, his face full of shame. He didn't even dare raise his head to meet Li Jie's eyes.
"Come on, Ed. I know you're the smartest guy in all of Gotham. How could a few financial transaction records stump you?"
"I'm sorry..."
Nygma's face grew even redder. Like a fledgling celebrity who had already disappointed his fans, he hung his head so low he nearly buried it in the ground. "But... but... I can help you find someone who can do it."
He adjusted his glasses, sat up straight, and opened the police department's internal database. "First, let me make it clear that I don't know her. But according to some nonpublic files from the Gotham Police Department's Economic Investigation Division, she's fairly... upright. Or stubborn, you could say. She isn't particularly willing to go along with the corruption among the Tax Bureau's middle and upper ranks."
He clicked the mouse a few times, pulled out a sheet of paper, quickly scribbled a few lines, and handed it to Li Jie.
Erika Hale, a grade-six auditor with the Gotham City Department of Revenue. Sidelined for repeatedly rejecting tax exemption applications from "friendly businesses."
"She's the one."
Li Jie folded the note into a square and tucked it into his pocket, then happily patted Nygma on the shoulder. "I knew you were the smartest, Ed. Come to the East End. There'll be plenty of opportunities down the line."
He glanced up at the evidence room door, leaned down, and lowered his voice. "Stop worrying about Miss Kringle. A man can only stand tall when he's got money and power! Imagine becoming the police inspector in charge of both the East End's Forensics Division and Technical Division someday. How would she look at you then?"
"Ah..." Nygma lowered his head and sighed. "This East End Forensics Division you mentioned won't be just like this place, with me as its only member, will it?"
"Huh? Ha! Hahahaha!" Li Jie suddenly let out a string of awkward, inexplicable laughs, then yawned and swayed toward the door.
"I'm too busy, far too busy! Give it some thought!"
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