"…Saul, just like his partners, is a bit clever. The first time I see him, he is just a rookie in Gotham, extorting cargo ship owners at the docks with a few people. Soon enough, he catches the attention of Lauren, that redhead who runs the red light district. She takes him under her wing and he quickly buys his first bar. That is over twenty years ago…"
Sitting in his chair, Falcone smokes his cigar and reminisces, "Saul won't let that commissioner go. Even if he wants to extract some information from him, in the end, he'll kill him. You can change your request, like if you have someone else you want to kill or some trouble you want to resolve."
"My troubles come from Metropolis, so I won't bother you, Don."
Falcone rotates his eyeballs slightly, glancing at him as he says, "The people I helped you deal with seem to have quite a reputation. Who exactly did you offend?"
Schiller raises his eyes , "Don, I believe I may be your son's longest-lasting family tutor."
Falcone taps the table with the end of his cigar, saying, "When you work for me, I won't let trouble find you. But you involve yourself in those strange matters, and now you're hiding here…"
"Aren't you afraid that I'll drag the Falcone family down?"
Falcone turns his chair back, sneering,"When has the Falcone family ever go ashore? From the day I arrive in Gotham, I know we are all shipwrecks, destined to never make it ashore."
He sighs softly.
"...But my son has a different mindset from me."
Junior Falcone, or Evans Falcone, has different ideals from his father. He is full of vigour and feels that he can restore order to Gotham all by himself.
Indeed, as the future heir of a criminal family, he genuinely wants to restore order in Gotham, albeit an order built on violence rather than creating a utopia.
To be honest, his thought might even be more normal than that of Batman. Absolute violence yields absolute authority, and absolute authority controls everyone. The question is whether Junior Falcone actually has the capability to do it.
After a while, the butler knocks on the door, and Evans stands behind him. Seeing Schiller here, he visibly freezes for a moment, then turns to the butler and whispers, "Do you remember me mentioning forgetting or not turning in my homework recently?"
The butler shakes his head, clearly relieving Evans. Schiller stands up and says, "Evans?"
"Do you know each other?" Falcone asks.
"Father, this is my professor from university. I mentioned to you about my psychology assignment."
Before Falcone can say anything, Evans quickly apologizes, "I'm so sorry, Professor. If there were any issues with my recent assignments, it must have been due to me being busy and careless. If you're not satisfied, I can rewrite them right now."
Then he moves his lips and turns to Falcone, "Father, I've been busy with the recent incidents in the East District. Perhaps I neglected my studies, which prompted Professor Schiller's visit. I apologize sincerely."
Schiller understands that he has misunderstood. Evans thinks he is there for a home visit, and he is actually terrified.
He has heard the achievements of Schiller: wherever he goes, people die; the collector of serial killers; and the one who calls out Bruce Wayne in class for not turning in his assignments and even sends him an expulsion notice...
Schiller's demand for assignments is well-known throughout Gotham University. No professor demands such strict submission of assignments. Whoever dares not hand in their work will face awful cynicism in his class, even if it is Bruce Wayne, the chairman of Gotham University's board.
But Evans never expects that he would end up at the house of the biggest crime family, for his homework!
Evans sighs in his mind that this professor must be insane. No wonder he insulted Bruce Wayne as if he were a drowning dog, and even the new president, Sheldon, always back off him.
As the heir of a criminal family, Evans initially doesn't believe those nonsenses. But now, he truly believes it. Who, if not abnormal, would come to the godfather for a home visit?
Being so concerned about assignments isn't Schiller's fault either. He hasn't fully transitioned his teaching style from his previous life. Frankly, many students can't memorize those bulky psychology textbooks, and their scores in the final exams usually aren't very optimistic. If they want to pass, they have to rely on general performance. But if they don't complete their homework, they won't have those scores, resulting in dreadfully low pass rates.
If the pass rate is too low, his evaluation will definitely be impacted. Although Gotham University doesn't have a reliable professor performance evaluation plan, and no one cares if students pass or fail. But Schiller is already accustomed to that in his previous life. He feels that he still hasn't been serious, and yet these students who have received joyful education from childhood can't handle it anymore.
If they are thrown into a university taught by Schiller in his past life, just an essay in class makes them suffer. You see, those students write 20,000 words for a small essay while their long essays are completed in publishing standards.
So he can't understand why someone can't even write a 3,000-word essay. And English essays tend to have fewer words compared to Chinese essays. A standard 3,000-word essay in Chinese only has around 2,000 words in English. Why can't they meet the word count?
After Schiller employs various measures to chase after their assignments, three-quarters of the students in his class are finally able to submit their work. This includes Evans, who is relatively good. He submits almost every essay, meets the word count, and the content is decent. He even achieves first place two or three times.
Schiller feels that such good students deserve praise. Just look at Bruce, who is completely dissipated. One-third of his 2,000-word essay is filled with unnecessary modifiers and another one-third is occupied by descriptions.The last one-third is either "the",or "a".Aside from that, while others' dashes take up two characters he manages to stretch it to fill an entire line. With such an attitude, he still has the audacity to ask Schiller to let himself pass.
Falcone's brow slightly furrows, and he asks, "So, how is Evans performing in school? Are there any issues with his homework? What about his exam scores?"
Evans holds breath as Schiller says, "Actually... very well. Anna, who teaches advanced mathematics, also commends Evans, and he's doing quite well in science subjects. I would be willing to give him a place for postgraduate studies. He shows talents in psychology."
Evans lets out a sigh of relief.Observing his son's behavior. Falcone directly announces, "From now on, Professor Schiller will be your tutor."
Evans shivers, feeling a chill down his spine. But he dares not question his father's decision and can only accept, "Alright, Father."
Falcone holds the arms of his chair and stands up, saying, "It seems I need to handle all the troubles you bring from Metropolis."
Schiller shakes his head, "This is a great trouble. I don't think the price I paid is worth it for what you are doing."
Falcone utters, "Becoming my son's tutor is not enough. But if you become a friend of the Falcone, we will sort out all the troubles for our friends."
"There is a vast dark vortex behind Metropolis that nobody can imagine. I escape from there but lose a lot. People from Gotham don't need to get involved in the affairs of Metropolis, right?"
Falcone shakes his head, takes a puff from his cigar, "You still don't know me well, Professor. Forty years ago, I come alone to Gotham, and at that time, no one hears of Falcone. Thirty years ago, I become the master of three streets, and there is no Falcone family yet..."
"I don't want to boast about my achievements, but I have ruled Gotham for forty years, ruling this city that is once called hell."
Falcone taps the end of his cigar on the table, smoke rising between his fingers, and claims, "So you just need to answer 'yes,' and all the troubles you suffer will bid you farewell."
Schiller looks at him, and Falcone's expression is even calmer than Schiller imagines.
Schiller thinks that Falcone is definitely not the bland antagonist depicted in comics during Batman's early days. He is the unquestionable Godfather of Gotham, the uncrowned king of Gotham City.
Even without Batman, Gotham City is never peaceful. This Godfather spends forty years ruling here. Such a person can't be as foolish and shortsighted as described in the comics.
Finally, Schiller steps forward. He kisses Falcone's right hand and says, "...God bless Gotham, Godfather."
Schiller emphasizes the stress on the last word. Falcone notices this subtle difference, but he doesn't mind.
No matter how glorious he has been over the past forty years, the Godfather is indeed aging, but the heir to the Falcone family is far from mature enough.
Falcone thinks, perhaps the kingless epoch of Gotham is about to come.