"What are you looking at?"
Batman followed William's gaze toward the alley below.
The man's awareness was frighteningly sharp.
William immediately closed the system notification.
"Nothing. Let's get back to what we were talking about... What were you saying?"
"You were behind the last outbreak of violence."
It wasn't a question. Batman's tone was clipped and certain, as if he were giving the answer to a simple arithmetic problem.
The worst had happened. The man really could split his attention, learning the details of this gang war without even leaving home and deducing who was behind it.
"Eyes shifting down and left, lips tightening. Textbook microexpressions of a liar. Deception is ineffective and pointless."
William still wanted to play dumb and dodge the issue, but Batman laid out his roles one by one.
From Maroni's informant at the Police Station to Commissioner Norman's favorite, from the promising rookie Gordon had his eye on to the detective searching for Batman, connecting those clues made the conclusion fairly straightforward.
Perhaps the only mystery troubling Batman was how his identity had been exposed.
But Gotham was full of mysterious people with extraordinary gifts. He had met someone before who had named his true identity on the spot through nothing but guesswork and deduction.
So he had only one demand for William.
"Leave the Maroni Family, and their blood won't splash onto you."
"If I refuse, what will you do?"
Batman fell silent. He hadn't decided how to deal with William yet, especially given the man's connection to Alfred.
"Will you use violence against me?" William pressed.
"Perhaps."
"On what grounds? What if I told you what I'm doing benefits Gotham?"
"You're going about it the wrong way."
"So are you."
William forced an odd expression onto his face.
He found the situation rather