As the armed guards stepped into the room, there was an obvious shift in White Mask's temperament, his mask partially broken revealing parts of his face. He knew that he had been baited, and had walked right into a trap without even realising that it was one. White Mask had allowed arrogance to cloud his judgement and because of that, fell for a trap like some amateur.
It was actually quite amusing really.
But then again, that was to be expected.
David Franco was a man who had gone by many names through his illustrious and infamous career as a thief. Once the most wanted man in the world, back before heroes and villains came into play, a thief renowned for always succeeding against all odds. His resume was truly impressive, having broken into some of the most famously impenetrable areas in the world.
It had been a shame when his career went downhill after he was betrayed by his partner and lover, a mysterious woman who had appropriated the name of Catwoman. They had been partners in crime in the beginning of their careers, both starting out in Gotham City and working together till they were eventually forced out by numerous crime lords after getting on their bad sides.
They then took their skills internationally and that was when they saw their fame skyrocket.
Agencies from all across the world had entire departments dedicated to simply tracking down and capturing the two of them. Mercenaries were hired by the rich and famous, government officials and politicians who had been their victims, tracking them across the world to kill or capture them.
Despite that, the two had seemed untouchable.
Until David Franco had been caught.
He had been in Italy when it happened, a possible romantic getaway where he had actually been arrested with a ring in his pocket, no doubt a potential proposal to his partner in crime. Unfortunately for him, Catwoman had either grown bored of him or realised that he was holding her back.
She anonymously leaked the information to the Italian authorities, had already forged all the documents necessary that would turn over all his properties and assets to her and ran away, leaving him to get imprisoned. Many had expected him to escape soon after, mercenaries waiting to fulfil their contracts and bring the body of David Franco to their clients were watching and waiting.
He didn't escape.
Serving his time and getting released on probation for what was explained to the public as good behaviour was in fact a lie. As a partner of Catwoman, he was released and worked closely with agencies all over the world to track down and capture Catwoman who had proven that even without David Franco, she was just as good. In fact, she had proven that she was far better on her own, a slap in the face to the man who had intended to propose to her if there ever was one.
David also proved little help, but at least had the common sense to start preparations and actually managed to give the authorities a slip. He forged a new identity and started his career as a thief once more.
However, unlike Catwoman who had proven that without David she was better, David did not do the same. It became clear to the world that it was David who had been holding Catwoman back and his reputation as the best thief in the world, was unfounded. He was just a second-rate thief who had a first-rate partner that carried him all the way to the top. Now in a world that had evolved rapidly, he was barely scraping the barrel for the scraps that remained.
He was a nobody in this new world.
Jacob dealt with him as such, waving his hand as he stepped out of the surveillance room, the guards picking him up and dragging him away. He'd be put in storage and stored for future experiments, Jacob was always testing new drugs and he was always in need of test subjects to help him in his research.
"You did a good job," Jacob noted, looking towards White Rabbit.
She smiled coyly, everything she did seemingly done to elect a typical male response to a woman of her beauty, Jacob ignored it as best as he could, he was a teenager after all, even if he did have abnormal strength of mind. "I always do, it's why my services are always in demand. Lucky you got me for free as a favour for getting rid of Ventriloquist. But you only have three more uses of me."
"Then I will have to be smart with my choices then." Jacob returned as he pulled out his phone, White Rabbit smirking in a way similar to himself. "You are welcome to report the success to Penguin, Ventriloquist has been killed. Everything has gone according to plan."
The Street Demonz.
The treacherous lieutenants.
White Mask.
Ventriloquist.
All of them were dealt with in one fell swoop.
Gotham City was filled with terrifying individuals. Men and women who simply didn't care anymore and existed purely to cause pain and chaos in whatever form they could. They weren't the threats to the world the likes that Superman and the Justice League fought against. Instead, they were a threat to the people's minds, challenging their viewpoints of the world and often resulting in more corruption and darkness spreading.
In a world of ever expandingly powerful beings, Gotham was one that had not evolved in such a fashion. It still stood as almost 'human' in terms of its power with a few exceptions. However, the madness of Gotham made it a far more dangerous place than any other.
To survive, it took a certain type of person.
To thrive, it took a monster.
White Rabbit was smart enough to recognise the difference between the two and she knew precisely what Penguin had seen in the Strategist. He may not have ambition, content to serve Black Mask, but he was a monster just like the worst Gotham had to offer. She was almost worried about what would happen when he realised that he could be so much more than just a servant and decided to head out on his own.
When not if.
Gotham was predictable in its unpredictability, but there were some things that were always constant. Men like the Strategist didn't stay as servants for long, eventually, they realised their worth and no matter how much they valued loyalty, misplaced or not, they would strive out on their own.
It was only a matter of time until the Strategist did and she could see why Penguin was set upon building a relationship with him. He was an unknown to the world and that made him even more dangerous, you couldn't prepare for something you couldn't see. Penguin knew and he had deemed it best to build a report with him now rather than later. His handling of the crisis that many had thought to be the end of the False Face Society was proof of that.
She was a survivor and White Rabbit knew it was in her best interest to do the same.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Have the clues been planted?" Jacob asked, looking towards Black Mask who nodded his head. "Good." Leaning back, he allowed himself to smile.
The crisis was not completely over with.
He still had White Shark to deal with as well as other crime lords pushing in, still smelling blood in the water and trying to take what they can before it all dies down. False Face Society would survive, that much everyone knew but they were doing their best to make sure it would never recover.
Not even Jacob could stop them at this point.
But he didn't need to.
He needed to clean house once more and so long as he kept hold of some key distribution centres then everything would be fine because very soon, the board was going to be shaken once more. This time though, the False Face Society would not be the centre of it and as a result, the False Face Society would rise once more.
It was just a matter of waiting for the kitty to pick up the trail.
But until then, he had Great White Shark to deal with.
Leading to the beginning of a new business endeavour.
Things were about to get very interesting.