Expanding the territory (I was wrong, I'll never end on a cliffhanger again; Bruce's storyline resumes tomorrow)

The same thing was happening in southern Gotham. War spread as quickly as an old newspaper set alight by burning kindling.

The Maroni Family came prepared, striking every regional outpost of the Falcone Family with precision. There were no negotiations, no mercy. They killed every living thing except the cats and dogs.

Once the advance teams had cleared out the enemy, professional cleaners followed close behind, cleaning up their own gang's casualties, putting the bodies into black body bags, and picking up by hand every shell casing that might become evidence.

As for the Gotham police responding to the calls, they were blocked at the intersections by crowds of protesters Maroni had arranged in advance.

They were poor people and lunatics hired cheaply from the East End. They surrounded the police cars, pounded on the hoods, and spray-painted the windows. By the time Gordon finally managed to climb out onto the roof and fire his gun to disperse the bastards, he discovered that all four wheels of his police car had been removed and carried off.

This, of course, had also been William's suggestion-if they didn't want to attract Batman's attention, they shouldn't hurt the police.

When Gordon arrived at the scene, panting for breath, all that remained for him were streets filled with gunsmoke and shattered glass, along with the remains of the Falcone Family's men.

Report after report of victory reached the office on the top floor of the Glacier Club. That night, Maroni was far too excited to sleep.

One moment he gripped the receiver, delight written across his face; the next, he swirled his champagne glass and watched the fires in the distance.

The plan was going so smoothly that it almost felt unreal.

The Falcone Family offered no resistance, and even Batman hadn't appeared. Gotham