While Victor and the Director of Gotham University were plotting against Bruce, Batman was also planning how to deal with them.
After days of honing, Batman had come to understand many things, such as finding answers to every question Professor Schiller had asked him.
He now admitted that he was different from the Police; he was not the embodiment of absolute justice. In fact, he was no different from those criminals, because they all disobeyed the law. Batman had solidified a resolve: he would only uphold his own justice, disregarding judicial justice.
Therefore, his methods for investigating Christine's disappearance were no longer awkward or reckless.
Once Batman had a clear mind, no one could surpass his wisdom and execution.
He first started with the Director of Gotham University. Compared to Victor, an old Police officer who had been in the force for many years, the Director of Gotham University, though cautious, had not attended Police academy, lacked professional anti-surveillance training, and was physically just an ordinary person. He was much easier to deal with.
One night, Batman directly infiltrated the Director's home. Although he did not find the location where Christine was kidnapped, he discovered a few inconspicuous call records on the Director's landline.
He guessed that the Director would never kidnap Christine himself; he should have accomplices or subordinates. Contacting them via landline was the safest, as not everyone had the means to crack landline call records. Most people couldn't check which numbers an old landline had dialed.
Bruce resumed his student identity and specifically went to the Director’s office. His reason was valid: he had submitted his homework, but Professor Schiller still deducted points, so he intended to complain to the Director.
During his conversation with the Director, Batman used professional equipment to collect the Director's voice sample, then used a voice changer to dial that unfamiliar number.
Batman's rhetoric was also very clever; he didn't ask any questions, only ambiguously said, “How is the person now?”
The person on the other end didn't seem to be a very cautious individual. Without thinking, he replied, “Sir, we haven't touched her as per your request, but with such a beautiful girl, my subordinates are having some trouble controlling themselves… ”
“If anything happens to her, you’re finished,” Batman said.
“Of course, of course. I'll keep them in line.”
In fact, the moment the person on the other end spoke, Batman knew they were just a few gangsters. All the gangs in Gotham were the same; Batman was all too familiar with them.
Immediately after the call, Batman pinpointed the location of these gangsters. Although Batman's equipment was not yet perfect, the Wayne Family had so many satellites orbiting the sky that tracking a cell phone signal wouldn't be difficult.
After finding the place, Christine was indeed not in any danger, because the Director did not want to use her to threaten Wayne, but rather wanted to threaten her into becoming an informant. Naturally, he could not harm her, otherwise how could she go on a date with Bruce?
Christine was rescued by Batman. Although she suffered no physical harm, she was very frightened mentally. After Batman sent her to the hospital, Christine also stated that she was willing to testify in court to identify the Director as her kidnapper.
On the other side, Victor was also having a hard time. In front of a seasoned veteran like Victor, Gordon, a hothead who only wanted to uphold justice, was the most difficult person to deal with. After all, Victor couldn't shout in the Police station that Gordon's pursuit of justice was wrong; he still had to pretend to be righteous.
Gordon knew what kind of person Victor was, but he still had to play along with him, stalling for time so that Victor wouldn't have time to destroy evidence for Jonathan or tamper with the files.
Gordon kept a very close eye on everything related to Jonathan's case. He had broken the case himself, so Victor couldn't be sure if Gordon might have held something back even after he destroyed the evidence at the Police station. This newcomer, though reckless and difficult, certainly had some skill.
And Maroni, he was even more unlucky. To increase Maroni's sunk cost, Professor Schiller would go to the chemical plant every now and then to cause damage. He didn't do anything major; today he would make two parts missing from a machine, tomorrow he would clog a drainpipe. These minor incidents would only be seen as accidental occurrences, but they were very time-consuming.
Some parts for the machines could only be bought from the original manufacturer, so Maroni had to spend a lot of effort to acquire them. For some parts that the original manufacturer didn't even provide, he had to pay an even higher price to buy them from others.
In this back and forth, almost another one million U.S. dollars were spent, but not even a ripple was made.
Maroni believed these problems arose because Jonathan's bail was too slow. He thought the workers were unprofessional and only Jonathan could fix things, so he pressured Victor.
Victor, in a panic, had to go back to the Director, but the Director discovered that Christine, whom he had kidnapped, was missing. All plans had died in their infancy before they even began.
Yet Victor was eager to come to him to implement the plan. When the Director and the Police Director realized the most crucial person was gone, under immense pressure, they could only choose to take a desperate risk, planning to directly kidnap Bruce.
On the day Professor Schiller accepted Bruce's invitation to dine at Wayne Manor, Bruce left class and immediately went to find Professor Schiller. The two of them got into the car together, intending to return directly to Wayne Manor.
Gotham University was still some distance from Wayne Manor. Although not as far as the East District on the diagonal, it still took at least half an hour to drive.
If Gotham had one advantage, it was that it wasn't as congested as New York. The roads in this cursed place were straight and very wide, allowing for reckless acceleration.
To show his sincerity, Bruce did not have a driver pick them up, but drove a car himself.
Apparently with a subtle sense of showing off, the car he drove was not a bulky safety vehicle, but a beautiful, bright blue Lamborghini, very flashy.
And just as Bruce was about to reach 140 mph, several masked figures suddenly rushed out from around the corner, black muzzles pointing at the car. Bruce's first reaction was to turn the steering wheel.
He wasn't afraid, but the Professor sitting in the passenger seat had no training. He shouted, “Professor, get down!!”
Professor Schiller calmly said, “I’m quite sure the car your butler ordered for you has bulletproof glass and Tires.”
Then he said, “If you want to find out who is behind this, you can now pretend the vehicle is out of control and knock yourself unconscious. Perhaps you’ll get some clues later.”
Bruce could tell that these people were probably trying to kidnap him, otherwise all the bullets wouldn't be aimed at the lower part of the vehicle.
Bruce hesitated. If he were alone, he would definitely do it, but he considered Professor Schiller an ordinary person. If he were kidnapped, the kidnappers would definitely not kill him, but it might not be the same for Professor Schiller.
Professor Schiller said, “I think you don’t need to worry about me. I wouldn’t joke with my own life.”
Bruce finally stopped the car. He sharply turned the steering wheel, making the car spin a few times across the road, finally hitting a street light with its rear, as if the brakes had failed. Then he leaned his head on the steering wheel, pretending to be unconscious, and Professor Schiller also feigned unconsciousness.
The kidnappers were somewhat honorable; seeing that there was more than just Bruce in the car, they didn't directly kill them, but instead tied Professor Schiller up with them and put them in the car. They were all quite cautious, putting hoods and handcuffs on both of them.
The car drove for a while, presumably reaching a slum. Bruce and Professor Schiller were dragged out and taken into a room.
Their hoods were removed, and Professor Schiller and Bruce both feigned shocked expressions, but then Professor Schiller was genuinely shocked, because the Director actually walked directly out.
He truly hadn't expected the mastermind to brazenly walk out like that, without even a mask, and even wearing his work suit. Professor Schiller was truly speechless.
Even if you don't know Bruce is Batman, you covered up ninety-nine steps of your evil deeds, and you stumble at this last one?
If Bruce were picked up and shaken now, and not two pounds of miniature cameras fell off him, it would mean he had let his guard down!
Of course, just as depicted in movies, this pot-bellied Director began to grandly expound on his evil plan.
He said he had already prepared a double for Bruce, and after kidnapping Bruce, he could immediately replace him. He also mentioned that he originally wanted to achieve the kidnapping by abducting Christine, but he hadn't expected Bruce to be so easy, only needing a few gunmen to succeed.
In his boasting, he confessed to all his crimes.
In short, after making every mistake a movie villain could make, Professor Schiller finally lost patience with him. He simply said, “Bruce, do it.”
Bruce leaped up directly; the handcuffs didn't restrain him at all. The Director was standing too close, and in less than two seconds, Bruce had him pinned down, with the handcuffs now on the Director's own wrists.
The gunmen waiting outside rushed in and were subdued one by one by Bruce. When Gordon arrived, the Director still tried to pressure him by invoking Victor, but Gordon said, “Sorry, but the Director was arrested by me last night when he tried to sneak into the archives to destroy evidence. Although he broke the surveillance cameras, Harvey, under the guise of tidying up, placed another camera there. The evidence is irrefutable, pal.”
Bruce said, “It seems they’ve exhausted their tricks. We still have one more person to deal with.”
Professor Schiller pulled out a file from his briefcase and said, “Just as we planned, I’ve obtained a detailed map and personnel configuration of that chemical plant. I think a certain tight-suited weirdo can start moving out.”
There's a small recommendation this afternoon, everyone please vote more~
