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Chapter 35: The Crime Lords
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"There is definitely something supernatural about him. It's almost as if he's too lucky, and I fear sending him to jail would be a bit mistake.
I just have this feeling that jail or even Arkham Asylum would be heaven for him, and just somehow, he would able to make it out of there and cause chaos like never before."
Those were the murmurs of the Bat. He was speaking to himself in darkness with a frown.
"I was only able to trace him once amidst a job of his, so it's safe to say that his plans are effective, mostly consisting of distractions... They work."
"I think it's a good idea. You already know you can't do this alone, so why the hesitation? You already have a few sidekicks, so more controlled help would be nice, as long as you can trust his actions of course." Alfred, Bruce Wayne's butler spoke.
"That's the problem... He isn't trustworthy. I am certain that if we work together, his distract tactic will only work better just like it did in our job in Egypt.
I came back to an even more chaotic Gotham, possibly all due to his actions. Neither Barbara nor Grayson could do anything about it because of the other distractions.
He's a headache to deal with especially since Seline works with him... I can only hope they aren't too close. He is however the most trustworthy of criminals." Batman however was still uncertain.
Alfred let out a sigh, he knew changing Bruce's mind was and will always be impossible, but he at least wanted to take some of the burdens off his shoulders.
"This is not the first time you've done something similar, it just was never on this large of a scale. Just do what you do best and keep an eye on him. There is bound to be ways to do that."
"Y-you're right," Bruce murmured, his voice reeking of defeat, all because of the never-ending darkness in the city, "I just have to control him one way or another."
The person they were speaking about on the other hand was having a professional meeting with respected professional people.
The event seemed to be important because Ian actually wore something professional. He was attire in a perfectly fitted black suit though he couldn't take the last step and put on a tie, too professional for him he said.
Perhaps it was a good decision because it gave him a bit of a wild look. The black suit just suited his dark hair too much and gave a certain brilliance to his pale brown eyes.
He entered the meeting venue. A butcher shop though he entered from the backdoor. There were no guards to be seen, just the workers that paid little to no attention to him.
It certainly didn't look like a fitting place for a meeting of such important individuals.
He only faced guards when he was close to the meeting room. They thoroughly searched him only finding a phone and a gun on him.
Ian then was allowed to pass. He entered the room, a very large room with a rectangle table in its midst. A lot of chairs were surrounding it and many of them were filled.
Different people, different faces, most with cold expressions, some amused, "Our guest even has the balls to be late, I told you all he's got balls."
"That I do," Ian casually responded as he took a seat, "And well, nice to finally meet you all as brothers in crime."
"Getting ahead of yourself now, are you?" It appears that there was someone who came a bit more later than him, a middle-aged man spoke as he took the leading seat of the table.
"Hmm, you're right. I can only say that after the meeting." Ian just shrugged his shoulders.
"That confident huh? Well, matters not. We finally have a breather, so let's start the meeting,"
Ian knows pretty much everyone in the room. How could he not? They all are the leaders of their respective crime families, and the one who spoke just now is the head of the Falcone family, Carmine Falcone.
"Well, let's started by deciding his fate then. You thought you can just show up and become the big bad boy of the east huh?"
In contrast to the calmness of Carmine, the short old man who spoke was quite worked up, one can say that he was even fuming.
He is the leader of the Ibanescu crime family. A small Romanian crime family that operates in the east end, mainly in human trafficking, prostitution, and animal fights.
Ian's involvement in the east end and recent actions for the past month is the reason for his outrage.
Ian let out a chuckle at that, seemingly amused as he responded, "Well, I did just show up and become the big bad boy, did I not? So thank you for the compliment."
He just had to add that last comment, adding salt to the wound, "You son of bitch! Do you think you're invincible??? Do you think I can't just shoot you right now!?"
Ian just glanced at him before shrugging his shoulders and responding, "I guess you can, all it takes is a bullet, and voila! I am dead... It's that easy."
His words certainly sounded strange to the hearing ears, but sarcastic to his, leading Carmine to signal for the Ibanescu head to calm down.
"Doing so will only complicate things further considering he isn't the only leader, and he's unlikely to be the main head which is why he was sent here.
Even if things go south, the Rose family will not suffer any losses, we'll just start a war."
"When have we ever been afraid of war, for the hell of it! We have to show people that it isn't so easy to rise to our ranks!" One of the Russian mafia leaders spoke.
"Since we had the Bat and his sidekicks on our back. Since we had the group that calls themselves the league of shadows on our back.
They might have disappeared for a while now, but only God knows when they'll come back knocking at our door, and you all know how much of a headache they are.
How many of us has Batman brought down so far? Many, too many. He is just waiting for us to act, and he's counting on that. So war is a lost cause, a self-destructive move to the benefit of everyone but us... Our friend here is counting on that, are you not?"
Carmine Falcone or as they call the Roman didn't acquire his current position by doing nothing. He has the mind for such a field, and he uses it wisely.
The other crime lords seemed to hold him in high regard as most nodded though mostly because of his logic. They're all competitors one way or another despite the Falcones holding the most control over Gotham.
"Hmm, maybe. Anyway, this is a professional business meeting between professional people, so I assume I was invited here for a deal of sorts, isn't that right?"
Ian said while observing the people in the room, only a few were a bit worked up about his recent rise, likely because they operate in the east end.
"You're still asking after all you've been doing? All we want is for you to stop all the aggression and crawl back to your hole. Then and only then can we accept you as a crime..." One of the crime lords stated though he was soon interrupted.
"Yeah, not a chance," Ian then put up an extremely professional smile and posture before adding, "I have a better deal for you all. How about we keep all the territory we already possess. It might as well stay in our hands, you know, for the greater good and such.
The homeless people of the east already see us as their benefactor, so it'll really pain me to fail them, so as the decent people we are, let's just stop all the aggression and keep what we already own."
Ian could swear he saw every muscle of every face in the room flinch...
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