The next morning when Bruce was brushing his teeth, a criminal with the appearance of a farmer walked up to him and handed Bruce a toothbrush. Bruce casually handed the criminal his own toothbrush in return. He immediately noticed that the newly swapped toothbrush had miniature alphabetical characters and numbers engraved at the base of the bristles.
It was an easy-to-decipher Caesar cipher that spelled "gateway", but it was obvious that the information Bruce wanted was not going to be placed on the gate. He quickly understood that it pointed to the corner on the southern edge of the recreation area, a spot from which one could catch a glimpse of the gate.
Sure enough, during the recreation time that day, Bruce found the list of prisoners he wanted in the crevices of a stone stool over there, it had only names but no details, yet it was enough.
Taking advantage of the crowd of serial killers as a cover, Bruce quickly memorized all the names on the list and began to compare them with the information in his mind. As long as their names had ever appeared in any news, newspapers or crime-related materials, Bruce could immediately bring up all related materials from his mind.
The felonies committed by the criminals incarcerated in this maximum-security prison are all very serious and are mostly covered in the news, so Bruce soon filled in his mind with all the identity information about the inmates, including where they came from, their life backgrounds, what crimes they committed, when they were caught and when they were tried.
This is all information that news reports would mention. Bruce himself also compiled information in his mind, such as weapons the criminals are good at using, their special abilities, any family members who might still be alive, criminal tactics, and personality weaknesses exposed during their trials.
Yet not everyone had information available. Several people on the list were unheard-of to Bruce, which included Bane, thus his motives remained a mystery.
After lunch that day, the quiet prison corridor was suddenly filled with the sound of guards' footsteps and a man's cry of agony. Bruce, who was napping against his bed, instantly woke up and found himself locking eyes with Bane.
Bruce's instinct told him that he reacted too swiftly. As expected, Bane's gaze grew deeper, indicating he had raised the threat level of Bruce within his mind.
Gaurds and an unfamiliar man were tussling down the corridor, where the guards using batons to hit the man's arms. Bruce looked through the bars of the prison cell and found that the man was slim with black-grey hair, a face full of thick beard, looking like Hispanic but could also be mixed race.
The guard brought the bearded man to the front of Bruce's cell, opened the door and shoved him in. The man spat on the ground and cursed a few dirty words in his native language before letting his gaze sweep across the people in the cell.
When his gaze fell on Bruce, he briefly glanced over. However, when he saw Bane, his gaze lingered and a mysterious smile spread across his face.
Bruce, without betraying a hint of emotion, turned his gaze onto Donn. Donn's eyes revealed a glimmer of hope; because this man seemed even easier to bully than him. Besides, the man didn't seem like one who would stay on the sidelines. Perhaps, he would soon provoke the Bandaged Murder Demon or the terrifyingly large man, thereby deflecting their attention from him.
All of Bruce's conscience was embodied in the blue-eyed Batman, while he himself had become the epitome of pure fear. Right now, he felt dissatisfied that his arrival could mitigate the fear that had long been brewing within Donn.
The bearded man stepped lightly into the center of the room and said: "Let me introduce myself. My name is Miguel Felix Gallardo, from Guadalajara, Mexico. I run a little drug trafficking operation. The reason I'm here is because I had caught an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I skinned him alive, tortured him, broke his bones, and bled him. It took thirty hours of this before he finally died."
"Those Americans say I'm savage, but all I've done is to repay them a thousandth of what they've done to us. They cry and scream that they can't take it. It's quite amusing, isn't it?"
Gallardo spoke as if this place was not a prison, but his own home. He then shrugged: "The country I love the most in this world is America, particularly their laws. Even after killing so many agents of the FBI, they still can't sentence me to death. They've even given me a pretty decent place to live."
Having said this, Gallardo looked around at the environment in his cell and then turned his gaze to Bruce's face. "Hey, mate," he said, "your get-up reminds me of the Day of the Dead. It's very trendy."
Bruce recalls the dossier on Miguel Gallardo, but what he remembers first is not the news about his life story, but his friend Green Arrow Oliver Quinn's assessment of him.
When Oliver and Hal traveled to Mexico and captured Miguel Gallardo, Oliver learned that his own family, the Quinn Family, regularly engaged in drug trafficking between America and Mexico. This news greatly impacted Oliver, leading him to abandon his family's industry. He devoted himself entirely to Mexico, determined to help the locals reclaim their land.
To Bruce's surprise, Oliver's judgement of Gallardo isn't entirely negative. Yes, Gallardo is an exceedingly cruel drug lord. Every agent who falls into his hands endures inhuman tortures. The most recent news reports barely scratch the surface of his brutality. Gallardo's reputation for cruelty sets him apart from all other Mexican drug traffickers.
However, Oliver has analyzed Gallardo's character in detail. He is an America-hater, blaming all the tragedies that have befallen Mexico, the Mexicans, and him on America.
Oliver admits that America does bear undeniable responsibility. The Central Intelligence Agency, known for condoning and even perpetuating drug crimes, is certainly guilty. But Gallardo uses this as an excuse to justify his own cruelty. This cruelty doesn't stem solely from hatred, but largely from within himself.
In short, even if he were not born in Mexico and even if there wasn't an America, he would still be an antisocial being. However, his extremist views have played a positive role in the armed struggle in Mexico.
Gallardo's exposure of the wrongdoings of the CIA has shocked many previously uninformed Mexicans. Having cooperated with the CIA, he knew many plausible inside stories. Public disclosure of this information filled many Mexicans with righteous indignation and increased their acceptance of armed resistance.
Oliver once said something to Bruce that stuck with him: "Anyone in the world can judge this cruel executioner, except America. That would only turn this devil into a national hero in Mexico."
But now, Gallardo has been judged and is in prison. Bruce can already envision how some Mexicans would view this judgment.
Populism is a curious thing. People with populist sentiments always seem to be able to cross all moral and humanitarian lines. Bruce knows very well that if Gallardo stirs up public emotion through populism, then the work that Oliver is doing will be slandered. Great ideals will be deposed, portrayed as one nation's revenge and hatred against another. This is not what Oliver wants to see.
Gallardo must die.
In just two seconds, Bruce had sentenced Gallardo to death in his mind, his thoughts racing to other matters. Firstly, was it a coincidence that Gallardo was here?
Impossible, Bruce concluded. If Amanda could orchestrate Bane to come and kill him, she could do the same with Gallardo. But the question was, what was Amanda's plan for dealing with Gallardo?
Bruce started to infer from the beginning. His current identity was Elliot, and Amanda wouldn't let Elliot go since it was Elliot who killed the entire family of the farmer's daughter Bellika.
Amanda's experience and Bellika's were identical; both being the sole survivors of their families who were massacred by a serial killer. This was bound to trigger some unpleasant memories for her, venting the hatred she held for the serial killer who had murdered her family onto Elliot, she wouldn't let him leave the prison alive.
So she brought Bane over from somewhere, and successfully fooled him with her macho disguise, neglecting to lock him up in a special prison. Instead, she threw him into this cell and ordered him to kill Elliot.
In Amanda's plan, it is certain that Bane will successfully kill Elliot. However, Bane did not make a move on the first day of his arrival, nor the second. This derailment of Amanda's plan prompted her to make another move; to bring Gallardo here.
Based on this logic, Bruce reasoned that Amanda did not intend to use Bane to kill Gallado. After Bane defied her order and failed to kill Elliot, what Amanda would certainly do was to urge Bane, not to bring in another target she wanted Bane to kill.
Thus leading to the conclusion that Gallardo, who was brought in at this time, was used by Amanda to prompt Bane.
Did Gallado also reach a deal with Amanda? Would he speak to Bane? Would they both want to kill Elliot together?
No, that's not right. Bruce had a sudden revelation. Amanda wanted Bane to take Gallardo with him and escape. This was the reward Amanda was offering Bane.
Amanda believed she could keep Bane captive, so it was very likely that she was offering freedom as a reward. She brought Gallardo in as a reminder to Bane to quickly kill his target, so he could regain his freedom with Gallardo.
So why choose Bane?
Bruce looked at Bane and then heard the big man speaking to Gallardo in Spanish.
"During my time in Peña Duro Prison, I met one of your guys who described you as both a god and a devil."
"Are you from the Caribbean?" Bruce enquired.
"Yes, I was born in the Republic of Saint Prisca." The tone of Bane's voice even contained a hint of nostalgia. His calm demeanor and seemingly ordinary happy childhood made it impossible for Bruce to determine the circumstances of his past.
"Who did you meet?" Gallardo asked.
"I forgot."
Bane rose from his bed, apparently just wanting to stretch his body in the room. He casually commented, "I was only with them for a short time before I was moved elsewhere."
"Oh, really? I hope they don't transfer me." Gallardo spread his hands and remarked, "I'm quite fond of this place."
"Yes, it's pretty good here...as your...grave."
Crack!
Gallardo's neck was snapped.
Bane released his grip. Bruce saw a chilling darkness emanating from the strong man's back. It had nothing to do with his powerful physique, but came from his spirit and mind.
"Buzz-Buzz-! Level One Security Alert! Level One Security Alert! Level One Security Alert!"
Bruce immediately rose from his bed, facing the wall, he crouched with his head in his hands, rapidly saying, "A finger can fit into the gap between the inside of the shock ring and your ankle, the weak point is about six millimeters to the right where the buckle is."
Bane remained still until the armed security personnel rushed in. Only then did he slowly raise his hands. Bruce, crouched by the wall, heard Amanda's angered voice coming from the radio.
"Transfer him to the special detention cell, no one is to release him without my orders!"