Chapter 18: Security Measures

A woman that can be bought isn't worth having.

- Wilson Fisk (Daredevil)

...

Poor Tom hadn't even had time to react before everything went black, and he passed out.

Dean quickly lifted the unconscious Tom onto his shoulders, then took out a Grappling Gun and fired it towards the top floor of the hotel, taking both of them up to the rooftop.

When he visited the hotel before, Dean saw that the hotel's roof was empty and that there were no stairs or elevators to enter the hotel.

While there was a ventilation shaft that could reach the 25th-floor Presidential Suite, it only had one exclusive elevator in the Presidential Suite that can go directly to the first floor, which needed a special keycard to activate.

So Dean couldn't use the ventilation shaft to sneak into the auction.

However, the rooftop still had some advantages for Dean to use.

One was that no one would come up here, so he could safely leave the unconscious Tom on the rooftop.

"You'd better get some more breaks."

Dean laid Tom down in the center of the rooftop and took out a small sleeping pill from his pocket, placing it in Tom's mouth for him to hold.

The sleeping pill was specially made to melt quickly when held in the mouth without causing any strong effects.

After sleeping for five or six hours, He will likely wake up.

Next, Dean took off Tom's coat and trousers and put them on himself. He then took out the face mask he had made a few days ago and put it on.

During his investigation of the area, Dean noticed that Tom was usually the one responsible for taking out the garbage.

Then he found that almost every time, the person who came out to take out the garbage was Tom.

Based on Tom's age, it wasn't hard to figure out that he was an intern who had just started doing odd jobs for two and a half months.

So Dean had prepared Tom's mask in advance, which happened to come in handy now.

But even if it wasn't Tom coming out to take out the trash, it wouldn't be a big problem.

Dean always carried two or three semi-finished faceless masks, which he could use to create anyone's face on the spot, just to deal with this situation.

"Cough-cough—I really need a good break... I really need a good break, Perfect!"

After changing into Tom's clothes and putting on the mask, Dean cleared his throat and imitated Tom's voice perfectly.

In just two sentences, the sounds became so similar that it was impossible for the human ear to determine who was who.

Returning to the ground, Dean used Tom's I.D Card to open the hotel's back door and walked inside, holding the trash can that Tom had taken out.

...

Gotham International Hotel, at the entrance.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up and stopped in front of the red carpet.

Dick Grayson is dressed in a formal suit, and Alfred gets out of the back seat and the driver's seat, respectively.

The valet immediately approached and replaced Alfred as the driver, taking the car to the parking lot.

At the same time, a welcoming waiter approached them, checked their invitation, and respectfully said, "Mr. Grayson and Mr. Pennyworth, welcome to the auction."

"Please follow me."

Guided by the welcoming waiter, Dick, and Alfred entered the hotel lobby together.

Then they saw a row of solemn GCPD police officers running security checks on each guest entering the hotel.

The person leading the team was a middle-aged man with a large belly and a greasy cowboy hat, none other than Harvey Bullock, Commissioner Gordon's deputy.

"Officer Bullock, what's going on here?"

Alfred and Dick went up to ask.

"Oh, Mr. Pennyworth and young Grayson, if you're here, it means that Mr. Wayne is also coming to the auction, right?"

Seeing Alfred and Dick, Harvey greeted them warmly.

He patted Dick's shoulder and said, "It's been two years since I last saw you. I didn't expect you to have grown so tall. How are you doing living at Wayne Mansion? Mr. Wayne treats you well, right?"

Dick's parents used to work in the most famous circus in Gotham, performing difficult aerial acrobatics.

They were called the Flying Graysons.

Unfortunately, during a performance, the Graysons were murdered and died on stage when Dick was eight or nine years old.

Bruce Wayne happened to be watching the circus with one of his girlfriends that night and saw the tragedy. Bruce decided to adopt Dick on the spot so that Dick would not become an orphan.

Jim and Harvey were the ones in charge of that case, so they were familiar with each other.

"Thank you for your concern, Officer Bullock. I'm doing very well. Alfred and Bruce both consider me a real family member and treat me with the good care."

Dick said it with a smile.

"That's good."

Harvey nodded in relief.

"Mr. Wayne has something to do tonight, so I am the only one who will accompany Master Richard."

After exchanging a few words of greeting, Alfred opened his mouth to explain.

"He's probably busy spending some quality time with a beautiful lady to live two identities."

Harvey snorted.

"There are so many policemen in the hotel, are they here because of the Phantom Thief that was mentioned in the news?"

Alfred looked at the row of officers next to them and asked knowingly.

"As far as we know, Phantom Thief seems to have excellent disguise techniques or shapeshifting abilities similar to Clayface. So anyone you see here could be the Phantom Thief, that's why, besides checking invitations, there's an extra check needed to enter the hotel."

While Harvey explained, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Dick's cheek without warning.

"Just like this."

"Ouch! Hey, what are you doing?"

Dick complained as his cheeks were suddenly squeezed.

"Whether it's disguise technique or shapeshifting like Clayface, as long as you grab someone's face like this, you can tell if the other person is the real person."

Harvey released his grip, leaving Dick's cheeks slightly red and swollen from the force Harvey used.

Then he moved to do the same with Alfred's face, but this time, he was much gentler, considering Alfred's advanced age.

At the entrance of the hotel lobby, every guest had to go through this process.

Of course, if there were female guests who didn't want to be touched by male officers, GCPD had female police officers as well.

"I apologize, but this is to confirm that Phantom Thief won't sneak in right under our noses. We hope you understand,"

Harvey said it apologetically, but his smile didn't quite match his words.

"Where's Commissioner Gordon? Is he not here today?"

Dick rubbed his face and turned to look around.

"Jim is busy setting up security measures at the auction venue. I'm just in charge of guarding the entrance," Harvey explained.

"Well then, we won't disturb you while you're on duty, Officer Bullock,"

Alfred said with a smile, and he and Dick passed the security check and took the elevator to the auction venue on the eighteenth floor, where the auction was happening.

...

[Author's Note: I think it's good to change it to Phantom Thief rather than Phantom Thief Kid, right?]

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