Outside the car window, Gotham lay in the deepest darkness before dawn. Li Jie leaned back in the passenger seat, the bruise on his flank throbbing with every bump in the road. He took out his phone, hesitated, then dialed the number anyway.
"Ha... ah... ah... ah... yawn..."
The phone rang for a long time before someone answered. Chief Bob's hoarse voice came through, thick with sleep and irritation. "...Jay, this had better be fucking important..."
"Boss, Central Headquarters got cleaned out."
There were two seconds of silence on the other end. Every trace of sleepiness vanished. "...What?"
"Arkham was a diversion. The real target was the evidence warehouse at Central Headquarters. One of Loeb's trusted men was their mole. The warehouse has pretty much been emptied, several people are dead, and those bastards at headquarters hid in the main building without daring to make a peep."
Another brief silence followed, but Li Jie could almost hear the brain on the other end whirring at full speed.
"Tsk..." Bob sounded fully awake now, with a hint of excitement he could barely conceal. "Loeb's in... serious trouble now. Where are you?"
"On my way back to the East End."
"Meet me at the precinct." Bob's tone was decisive. "I'll be there right away."
"Understood."
Only a few emergency lights were on in the Eastern District Precinct's lobby. As expected, the clerical officers on duty were dozing at their desks. Enduring the pain, Li Jie dismissed the officers who had taken part in the operation and sent them home to rest. Then he pulled an ice pack from the freezer, tucked it under his clothes, and dragged a chair into the middle of the lobby to wait quietly.
Before long, tires scraped against the ground outside. Wilson's car was the first to