In the end, Chen Mo never did see Batman come out of the police station.
After dawn, he left the rooftop.
That afternoon, Gotham News retracted its report of Harvey Dent's death.
The station replaced the headline "District Attorney Confirmed Dead" with "Harvey Dent Survives Explosion." The police did not explain who had confirmed his death the night before, nor did they explain how a man covered in injuries had vanished from a fire and then reappeared a few hours later.
The spokesperson only repeated one statement.
District Attorney Dent was receiving treatment and was not currently in any life-threatening danger.
Chen Mo stood in the kitchen at Gordon's house, still holding a kitchen knife.
"Wow."
He turned the potato over and kept slicing.
"So Gotham death certificates come with a retraction feature. Issued last night, eligible for a refund this afternoon. Government services have improved so much it's starting to scare me."
Gordon sat beside the dining table, his coffee paused at his lips.
He glanced at Chen Mo.
Chen Mo kept slicing the potato. Chop, chop, chop. His movements never faltered.
Gordon knew he had figured it out.
There had been no body in the fire. Chen Mo had been standing right there when Batman publicly announced Harvey's death.
With this kid's brains, fooling Maroni's informants outside the police cordon was easy enough, but expecting him to believe it for an entire day was underestimating him a little.
"Harvey being alive is a good thing, no matter what," Gordon said.
"Of course." Chen Mo pushed the sliced potatoes onto a plate. "I'm especially happy for District Attorney Dent, and I'm happy Gotham News doesn't have to prepare a memorial special. Saving some money in the budget. How nice."
Gordon took a sip of coffee.
It was a little