Chapter-56 | Gotham Bells...(1)

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Silence echoed through the empty room, and finally, Batman said, "Everything I've done, everything I've been through since that day, all the trials I've been through, have been for revenge."

"The court told me that it was Joe Chell who killed my parents, but I knew that wasn't the case, and it took me years to equip myself to question that outcome."

　　"... And now, it's time for Bat to get his revenge."

　　With the dull evening bell of Gotham Cathedral's bell tower, Batman's figure disappeared.

The recent movements of the Edward family had revealed to Batman, who kept a constant watch on the entire city of Gotham, that the Edward brothers, before their rise to power, had once been the ringleaders of the alley where his parents had died when they had first arrived in it.

　　But now that the Edward brothers were dead, only their nephew remained, and Edward Jr. had offended the Godfather, and if Falcone wouldn't leave him alone, the Edward family would cease to exist.

Batman approached Edward Jr. first, he didn't need someone's invitation like the Godfather did, he could just appear in the shadows behind anyone.

The next day, a dusky haze filled Gotham again, and later in the evening, dusk tinged the hazy mist over Gotham with more haze.

Schiller was at the entrance to the church chatting with the priest, who, like an authentic Westerner, came in and out of church on time without looking the least bit out of place.

　　The priest here was very learned, with a deep understanding of theology, and Schiller enjoyed talking to him about philosophical and theological matters and, at the same time, getting information along the way.

　　The old priest had lived in Gotham all his life, through all the times of Gotham, and knew all the stories of the place.

The priest said, "The laborers at the docks have not been coming in as often lately, perhaps their business has changed for the better, I hope so, God tells people that they need to redeem themselves with such hard work."

　　"The number of merchant ships at the docks has become greater lately, and the owners of cargo ships are doing better business." Schiller said.

"I remember a time, many years ago, when many of the laborers liked to come here to pray, and the church had never been so busy."

The old priest's voice bore the characteristic mark of the ages, like a railroad track laid over from history, old and a little faded.

"I could tell they weren't busy then, probably because there wasn't much business, and a lot of people were complaining, some of them were angry and there were verbal confrontations, but I did my best to discourage them."

　　"You're a good man." Schiller said.

　　The old priest narrowed his eyes in remembrance as he said, "In those days it was chaos everywhere, and as I recall, the man who reigned at the docks at the time was a man called Leif, and he was not to be messed with, people called him the Beard, or the Viking."

"He was big and strong, with a beard and a dozen equally strong men. They ran amok there on the docks, and no one dared to mess with them, collecting protection money from the laborers and blackmailing people."

　　"And what happened, who sanctioned them later?"

　　"It was Falcone, and His Eminence the Padre gave him a hard time."

The priest stroked his fingers, which were a little chapped from old age, as he said, "It was the Padre who was supposed to take over those docks, but somehow it ended up in the hands of the Edwards family."

The priest shook his head and concluded, "I'm not saying that the Edwards didn't manage well, but perhaps, if the Falcone family had taken over the docks and the whole East End had been joined together, the Falcone family would have been much stronger than they are now."

　　"I've often heard people say ..." said Schiller, "that the Godfather's grip on the East End was a bit weak because he only controlled some areas in the north east and south east, while leaving the most important part of the docks unattended. "

　　The priest shook his head and said, "Perhaps he has his own agenda."

　　Schiller pondered that what the priest had told him was no secret, and that the reason why it had not been widely circulatedt was because not many people survived those times.

　　Of course, there could be a more complicated dispute about why the priest had not taken control of the docks in one breath, Schiller guessed.

　　As darkness fell, Schiller said goodbye to the priest and he walked out of the church alone.

　　As the last rays of the setting sun sank below the horizon, he heard the bell tower of the church above him ringing seven heavy chimes in quick succession, a chime that carried an unmistakable air of decay.

　　The priest, in front of the church door, made a cross on his chest with his hand and whispered, "This is the funeral bell ... God willing, your soul shall be freed ..."

　　Schiller stood outside the door, he turned back, and in the midst of a dark grey haze he saw, high up in the belfry, a black and yellow figure standing.

On the other side, little Edward collapsed on the floor, facing the shadow with two pointed ears in front of him, he shivered and said, "All I know is ... all I know is that when ... the Godfather ended the chaos in the eastern docks. My father and uncle wanted a piece of it, even if they could only get one dock ..."

　　"But, but Godfather he suddenly didn't want any of them ... so our family got all five docks, I don't know how that happened ... I was too young, you'll have to ask Godfather, I really don't know anything ... don't know ..."

After the Bat's shadow had left, little Edward shuddered and rose from the ground, he cursed in a low voice, when suddenly he saw another shadow appear in front of him.

He looked up and saw a huge umbrella facing him, and behind that umbrella a beady eyed stare was fixed upon him, and Edward was just about to let out a cry of fear when his vocal cords were cut off along with his throat.

　　After a small, soft thud, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground accompanied by the lights going out in Edward's old mansion, all was silent.

　　Eventually, Batman made his way to Falcone's mansion, which was dark and quiet as if no one existed.

Unlike Edward's house, which was lit up and guarded throughout the night, the mansion where the Godfather of Gotham lived was as if there were no security and Batman knew this was not normal.

　　Finally, Batman met Falcone in his office, where there was still no one, and Falcone sat alone in his office in the wee hours of the morning as if he was waiting specifically for him.

　　"I knew you'd come." Falcone said, "You weren't careful enough when you looked into old Edward's CV."

　　"That means there must be something special about his resume that warrants your concern." Batman said.

　　"Indeed, would you be interested in hearing a story from many years ago?"

　　Batman then learned from the Godfather, who had ruled Gotham for forty years, about the turbulent times he had not seen or heard of.

　　"... They called upon their friends and their hearts, and it was the Viking Leif who was the most powerful of them all."

　　"It was clear to me that I would have to take him on if I wanted the Falcone family to really get a foothold here."

"That bearded man had made a great deal of money from years of blackmailing of shipowners, and he was defiant and wanted to defy me."

　　"So I killed all his family in front of many people and then shoved him into a powder keg."

　　"Of course, that scared a lot of people and made my plan go smoothly."

　　"What I want to know is about Park Street." Batman said.

　　"Don't worry, we're almost there."

　　Falcone swiveled his chair a little as he looked sideways at Batman and said, "You're a bit like your father." He nodded and said, "... a lot like that."

　　Before Batman could say anything, Falcone said, "I cleared out the major powers at the docks at the time, but instead of taking over the docks, I lost them to the Edwards family, something that had something to do with your parents."

"Your mother was a good person, a kindly wife who took pity on the laborers on the docks and thought they worked too hard for ten hours a day, and your father agreed, they felt they should be nicer to the poor poor people."

"So they didn't allow the gangsters to oppress the laborers and set up a more relaxed work regime for them, you know, just a few hours of work before they had to take a break for something to eat and drink."

"The Wayne family were determined to reform the whole of Gotham Pier, but I know ... I know."

　　"I knew that it wouldn't work for them to do that, but I wasn't willing to confront the Waynes, so I pulled back and let them run things however they wanted."

　　"I let the Edwards control all the docks, and the Edwards brothers were pretty smart."

　　Falcone lit a cigar, the faint light of the fire shining on his face, casting dark shadows beneath the sharp arch of his brow, enveloping his eyes in a vague glimpse of the reigning young godfather of that era.

　　"So it was Edward who hired that punk named Joe to kill my parents?"

　　The smoke from the cigar drifted up slowly as Falcone's speech began to grow slower and slower, as if the memories were growing more distant and unclear.

　　"The people who really did it, you say? No, not them, not Edward."

"The man who really did it was a laborer from the docks, named Louis."

"A laborer?" Batman felt ridiculous as he asked, "Why? How could it be a dock laborer?"

"I know you can't figure it out, the Waynes helped them, and yes, the laborers can stop working so many hours a day, being bullied by the mob and the freighter owners together, they found their savior ..."

　　Falcone shook his head and said, "But you don't understand, there are three, six and nine classes within the labourers, the most tiring work of carrying sandbags and heavy loads used to be done by those at the bottom of the pecking order, the big workers only did the lighter work of distributing manpower and counting supplies."

　　"Your parents wanted to keep everyone from working hard, there was no one to do those dirty jobs, the cargo owners delayed too long, lost a lot of goods and preferred to take the long way around rather than come back to Gotham Pier."

　　"I remember ... that Louis was the ... third or fourth dock master, and he was watched so closely by the Waynes that he had to assign the same work to everyone, and could only work nine hours a day, with a two-hour break in between hours for them to eat."

"The freighter was just sitting there, the cargo was not being moved, the fresh produce and fruit on there broke, the freighter wanted Louis to pay for it, Louis couldn't afford it, he got beaten up and had his leg broken by the freighter owner and the sailors."

　　"So, he hired the punk to kill the Waynes?" Batman's voice had a rasp that hit rock bottom.

　　"He turned to old Edward for help, and together they staged that killing on Park Street."

　　"You must think it absurd that Judas betrayed his Lord and put his benefactors in harm's way." Falcone said.

　　"... But this is Gotham, a place where the devil takes a detour when he sees it."

　　Batman closed his eyes; this truth was nothing like he had imagined.

　　This wasn't a story of the aggressor and the innocent tangled against each other, there was no justice served here at a glance.

　　Instead of white walls and black shadows, everything was an old, faded grey video tape with the thick dust of the era.

　　"The punks who did it and the Edward brothers are dead, but Louis is still alive, so if you still want revenge, go to 7 End Lane, God's Grace Street, on the east side of the church, where he lives."

　　Having said that, Falcone exhaled one last puff of smoke and he too closed his eyes.

His fingers were well maintained, with few wrinkles, and the cigar between his fingers had burned out, the flame fading, as if to give a quiet, silent end to that seething era, to all the waves of that tumultuous time.

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