I'm a dirty cop?

Numbness spread rapidly. Still fully conscious, Zsasz felt his limbs slowly lose their connection to his brain.

The gun was right beside his hand, but he couldn't even move a finger.

"Did you inject me with anesthetic?"

"A whole syringe. You'll stay like this for at least three or four hours."

William grabbed a cotton cloth and wiped the blood off his hands.

He retrieved his gun, holding Zsasz's life firmly in his hands.

Zsasz's expression shifted several times in a matter of seconds, from anger to confusion, and finally to a resigned smile.

"Your act was flawless. I have to admit defeat. Everything you did was meant to please me, to make me let my guard down, right?"

William nodded, sat back down beside his feet, and reached into the bloody hole with the forceps to extract the bullet.

"Damn it, your acting completely fooled me! Especially the way you handled those knives. I'm not someone who trusts easily, but your performance convinced me you were a lunatic who dismembered corpses at night."

William didn't answer. After stitching up the wound, he picked up the handgun.

The dark muzzle pressed directly against Zsasz's right eye.

"Sorry, but I can't let you live. If you survive, you'll end up in Arkham Asylum."

He cocked the revolver's hammer.

"And everyone knows the locks there are looser than a whore's waistband."

Zsasz didn't respond. He stared blankly at the flickering ceiling light.

What puzzled William, however, was that even now, Zsasz's affection bar remained full.

Was it because of the system?

William glanced at the upper-right corner and realized the system had accumulated dozens of notifications.

He opened the message panel. Most of the messages were simply notifications about increases or decreases in affection.

Then he saw the final message.

-[Little A reminds you: You have successfully won over your marked target. Affection will remain at maximum. Hurry up and do something naughty with him!]

"What happens if I kill him?" he asked the system.

"Kill him? Little A doesn't understand why you would feel hostile toward the female companion you've just won over, but if you do that, your accumulated experience will be reset, and any system items you've obtained will be taken back."

That undoubtedly gave William an excuse to back down.

The muzzle was still pressed against Zsasz's eye socket. All he had to do was pull the trigger.

But William didn't move.

Especially when he thought about what would happen next.

Blood and brains would splatter across his face.

Dealing with the scene would be even more troublesome.

His extensive forensic experience would allow him to arrange the scene to look like self-defense.

But it would be a hassle.

Forget it!

William lowered the gun.

A little over ten minutes later, police cars surrounded the apartment building.

Heavily armed officers kicked down the door, startling William, who was enjoying a vanilla cake at the dining table.

"Didn't I tell you there was no danger?" He wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth.

"Who knows whether Zsasz forced you to make that call?" Gordon held up a riot shield and advanced slowly in a low stance. "Are you all right? Are you hurt? Did that bastard plant a bomb somewhere..."

He broke off. Rounding the corner, he had spotted Zsasz trussed up and dumped in a corner.

Gordon froze like a robot with rusted joints. Several seconds passed before he slowly raised his visor.

The dangerous criminal who had escaped more than a dozen attempts to capture him, who had killed three armed officers with his bare hands, had been caught just like that?

"How... did you do it?"

William briefly explained what had happened.

"But... why did he trust you... enough to let you stitch up his wound?"

"Because I was in so much pain I was practically dying, and this damn cop was the only person around."

Zsasz spoke up, getting William out of a tight spot and taking all the blame for dissecting the bodies himself.

He even winked at William as the officers escorted him away.

(Just watch. I won't betray a friend, even if that friend betrayed me first. William Hans, one day you'll understand me. I'll wait for you to come find me!)

That was the thought displayed in Zsasz's bubble.

Afterward, the Gotham police took over the scene and pulled three bodies out of the freezer.

They were Zsasz's father, mother, and younger brother, but William no longer wanted to ask any questions. All he wanted now was a good night's sleep.

By the time he finished giving his statement at the station, it was the small hours. Gordon drove him home and dropped him off outside his building.

"Sorry your vacation turned into such an ordeal."

He pulled a kraft-paper envelope from his pocket.

William opened it. Inside was a stack of bills, roughly two thousand dollars.

"Commissioner Norman asked me to give you this. The bounty for capturing a wanted criminal."

Gordon rubbed his nose.

Through the beacon mark he had just placed on Gordon, William saw his thoughts.

(William is a good cop. Hopefully he can use this money to improve his living conditions. I've dipped into our household budget again, and by quite a lot. I hope Barbara won't blame me.)

Although William knew the money had actually come from Gordon himself, he didn't refuse it. He was simply too poor.

Watching the police car's taillights disappear around the corner, William weighed the envelope in his hand. He didn't like owing favors, and if possible, he intended to repay this one as soon as he could.

After buying some food at a convenience store, William returned to his rented apartment with a warmed sandwich between his teeth.

The smashed section of wall had been temporarily covered with battered wooden boards. Whenever a train passed overhead, the creaking and grinding of the boards echoed through the room.

This time, William slept soundly.

He was exhausted-so exhausted that he didn't even notice the landline in his apartment ring three times.

As a hazy white glow appeared in the east, William's body clock prodded him awake, and he blearily opened his eyes.

His mouth and throat were parched after that sleep.

Out of habit, he reached for the glass of water on his bedside table.

But what he touched was a hand.

Snapping awake, William rolled out of bed and pulled the handgun from beneath his pillow.

"If you're going to threaten me, you'll need to switch off the safety first."

The intruder spoke.

He was sitting on the bedside table, dressed in a crisp suit.

"If you're going to visit, you'll need to knock first."

William shot back.

With a quiet chuckle, the man tossed a dark object onto the bed.

Thinking it was a grenade, William immediately ducked into the bathroom. Only after several seconds did he peek halfway out.

The man on the bedside table watched him as though he were an idiot.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm allergic to electronics," William said, inventing an excuse.

It was just a mobile phone, perhaps a Motorola. They were common in American gangster movies from the end of the last century, standard equipment for crime bosses.

It began ringing just as he picked it up.

"Flip open the cover at the bottom. Right... hey, why aren't you pulling out the antenna?"

With the man explaining and gradually losing patience, William finally answered the call.

A low cough came from the other end. The voice sounded like an older man in his fifties or sixties.

"Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"Sorry, I was exhausted last night. May I ask who you are..."

"Oh, of course. Of course you were exhausted. You arrested that lunatic Victor Zsasz all by yourself. Honestly, I didn't expect you to be so capable... but that's no excuse for not answering the phone."

"I understand... so who are you..."

"I heard you were injured a few days ago. I had Jace bring you a few things to help you recover."

As he finished speaking, the man on the bedside table hopped down and tossed a leather case onto the bed.

William opened it. It was packed with cash, with two gold bars resting on top.

"This is your reward, so don't accuse me of being heartless again. I treat everyone equally and give rewards and punishments where they're due. From now on, don't sleep so deeply after work. I may well call you again."

"Who are you?!"

After being interrupted twice, William finally managed to ask the question.

The breathing on the other end grew heavy.

After perhaps ten seconds of silence, the man finally spoke.

"You're still angry with me, aren't you?"

"No, I just..."

"You've been like this since you were little. Saying one thing and meaning another isn't how a man should behave. I know you still resent everything I've done. You think I shouldn't have abandoned your mother, then tracked you both down decades later just to use my own flesh and blood as a tool...

"But I had no other choice. The family needs you, and so do I. I promise that once the mission is complete, I'll restore your good name in full, including the surname you should have inherited...

"William Maroni."