Chapter 43: Awaken (Part 4)

"Are you screwing with me?! It says the transfer was triggered in this room," an angry Roulette stood up from her seat, glaring down at the representative from LexCorp.

"I assure you I'm not. Perhaps your account fell victim to hacking, or your details were leaked. Whatever the case, we fulfilled our end of the bargain and expect the deal to be carried out. Or do you prefer having a legal battle over this?" the representative threatened, her voice icy.

Roulette gritted her teeth, slamming her hand into the table in frustration. "Fine, but if I find out you or Lex played me for a fool, there will be retribution," she warned, her eyes blazing with anger.

The representative, unfazed, stood up and walked out with a stoic expression, leaving Roulette seething. Gregor, who had been sweating bullets throughout the exchange, flinched as Roulette's attention turned to him.

"I-I didn't do it! I swear!" Gregor stammered, his voice trembling.

Roulette clicked her tongue in annoyance before picking up her phone to make a call. "I know, you don't have the nerve to cross me," she muttered.

An awkward silence followed as Roulette dialed the bank. However, as the call progressed, her expression grew darker with anger. When the call finally ended, she threw her phone to the ground in frustration, causing Gregor to jump in his seat.

"They're saying the transfer was legit and that I should ask the account owner. If I dig any deeper, it'll become suspicious when they finally label him missing. Fuck! Did he have someone else with access to the accounts?" Roulette seethed, pacing back and forth as she tried to make sense of the situation.

Gregor, his mind racing, suddenly thought of something. "Maybe my son... They fled together and were very close, but no word has come from him in ages."

"If that's the closest lead, then even if he is dead, I will find him. I'm not about to let a billion dollars slip away," Roulette growled, her determination evident.

...

While Roulette continued to rack her brains, Barbara was shut in her room, seated in front of her desk when her phone buzzed. "Finally, what the hell took you so long, Dick? Whatever, what's Batman said?"

"Sorry, Barbara. An audio file where Luthor's voice isn't even present won't be enough to get him arrested. Shade and Roulette practically confessed, but again, with only voices, it will be hard. Major lawyers won't let their clients fall under such sloppy evidence, so Batman says we leak the evidence to the police and leave it at that," Robin's voice came through, filled with frustration.

"Are you kidding me? An investigation will take ages, and they might get away by then!" Barbara shouted, her voice filled with disbelief.

"I know, but Bats is focusing on the Parademon issue. He doesn't see the point in chasing them down when the outcome will be the same. Plus, don't forget the new law about vigilante work, a law that Markovic likely played a hand in, and now it's come back to bite him in the ass. Our hands are tied, Barbara," Robin replied, his tone resigned.

"No, you just choose to ignore it, using this new law as an excuse. He was no saint, but he definitely wasn't as bad as you're making him sound. He did nothing but good, and you treat him like the other criminals off suspicion alone while ignoring true criminals because the outcome is the same?" Barbara retorted, her voice filled with frustration and anger.

"Just let it go, Barbara. Whether we were wrong or not, what's happened has happened. You have no reason to get involved more," Robin said before cutting the call, leaving Barbara seething.

"He freaking hung up on me!" she yelled, slamming her phone onto the table.

Before she could vent her anger any further, Barbara received another call. However, when she saw the caller ID read "Mr. Markovic," she hesitated.

"Hello..." she answered cautiously.

"I know you were there. Hold on to whatever information you have regarding me; I'll deal with this myself," Arias's voice came through, calm and composed.

"Wait, is this really you? But you're—"

"Supposed to be dead? Along with the secret regarding your identity? Well, sorry to disappoint you. But like I've said, leak the information, and I leak your identity," Arias interrupted, his tone firm.

"It's not like that! I didn't even think about the whole identity thing, okay?! How do you even know that I—whatever, where are you? Are you hurt? I can—" Barbara's voice was cut off as Arias ended the call, leaving her angrier than she was before.

...

Later that day, Roulette returned to the Iceberg Lounge to keep up her act until Lex sent his people to seize the property. Upon arrival, she met with Shade and then proceeded to look for Giganta and Harley but only found the former.

"Where's the clown?" Roulette asked, her mood clearly off from her body language alone.

"Uh, she was called by the boss to meet him somewhere; she didn't say where, though," Giganta replied immediately, sensing Roulette's anger.

"What?!" Roulette snapped, her frustration boiling over.

...

At around the same time, a happy Gregor arrived at his home but found something amiss. "Huh, these guards are slacking—where is everyone?" Gregor muttered, noticing the unusual silence.

He proceeded to ask the gatekeepers for answers. "Oh, the missus asked to patrol the outside, said she wanted the inner yard clear. I think she's having some guests; a car arrived not long ago," one of the guards replied.

"Tch, must be another one of her get-togethers. Well, I suppose there's no need to worry now, haha," Gregor laughed it off and drove in, parking right in front of his home, right next to an exotic dark coupe.

"Damn, now she'll nag me to buy whatever luxury gifts her friends got from their lovers," he grumbled while walking towards the door.

"Honey, I'm home," he called out charmingly, wanting to impress whatever guests were there.

"In here, dear," a feminine voice replied, sounding oddly stiff.

"Hmm, why do you sound so—" Gregor's words were cut off as he walked into the living room, greeted by a sight that caused him to freeze.

Seated comfortably on his couch with a drink in hand was the man Gregor thought was dead. Arias, alive and well, stared at him with a cold gaze. Gregor's mistress, naked and on all fours, was being used as a table for Arias's feet.

"You—argh!" Gregor started to speak, but before he could finish, he felt something heavy hit the back of his legs, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Here's Harley!" a chirpy voice called out. Harley Quinn appeared from behind, twirling her bat with a gleeful smile as fear began to overwhelm Gregor.

Arias looked down at Gregor and reached for the ice-cold liquor resting on Cynthia's back before taking a casual sip. "Tell me, Gregor, what warning did I give you last time?"

Tears began to flood Gregor's eyes as his entire body trembled. "Please, I'll do anything—argh!" Before he could finish his pleas, Arias gave Harley a nod, and she struck Gregor hard in the back, causing him to fall forward, his body wracked with pain.

"I asked you a question, Gregor. What warning did I give you last time?" Arias repeated, his voice cold and unyielding.