Chapter 1668 Unheeding Death (31)_1

"What the hell do you punks want to talk to me about? I'll tell you, I just left the Mayor's mansion not long ago. If you dare do anything to me, the Mayor and my men are sure to call the police!"

Penguin is sitting on the sofa, glaring fiercely at Red Robin and Nightwing across from him.

Red Robin is perched on the edge of the sofa, his forearm resting on his thigh, his body leaning forward, expressing a sincere desire to communicate through his body language.

"Mr. Cobblepot, please forgive our rudeness, but indeed it is because of the urgency of the situation that we had to bring you here from the police station."

Penguin still maintains his fierce expression, just twitching an eyebrow slightly. He speaks in his usual cold and mocking tone: "Urgent situation? What's happened? Did you run away from home after arguing with Batman? Thinking of beating me up so you can prove to Batman that you're not his good little darlings?"

The "click" sound of Red Hood assembling the pistol from the side startles Penguin enough to make him shudder. He tightens his lips and looks at Red Robin: "I have no interest in getting involved in your Batman Family affairs. I haven't committed any crimes recently. Why don't you go after the Joker instead of bothering me?"

"We may need to remind you, Mr. Cobblepot, that we contacted the Gotham City Administration and had them issue the proof of your regular maintenance of the Iceberg Restaurant building. Otherwise, you would still be at the police station."

"So what? I would have gotten out sooner or later. Do you really think some stupid fire safety law can stop me?"

"That's under the condition that we didn't intervene." Red Robin is not willing to give in. He laughs and says, "We all know that the Mayor and government officials are your guests, so you certainly won't be sentenced in the end. But if there were some minor problems in the court proceedings and you were taken to the detention cell and not allowed to be bailed out, I'm afraid we would let all the villains in Gotham know that the famous Penguin went to jail for the first time because of inadequate fire safety measures."

"You...." Penguin glares at Red Robin with gritted teeth, and a few seconds later, as if reluctantly giving in, he turns his head and sighs, "Fine, you got me this time. I admit it. Forget about the fire safety law. What do you really want to do?"

"First of all, we want to know what you were discussing with the Mayor."

Penguin becomes alert at once. His eyes narrow as he looks at Red Robin and says, "That's none of your business! ... I won't beat around the bush with you, even if you know all about it, what can you do? Do you want to ruin the livelihoods of all the government officials, or put those in this business out of work?"

"Tell us exactly."

"I know you guys are wearing wiretaps, so don't expect me to reveal any details. I'm obviously doing what I've always done. If you want to know, go back and ask your dear Dad."

Penguin doesn't take the birds' questioning seriously at all. He believes this is probably another surge of righteousness from Robin, wearing wiretaps to trap him with evidence.

He feels contemptuous in his heart. If the criminals of Gotham could be so easily tricked into talking, they would long have been out of business. These naive Robins are far less than Batman.

"Then let's cut to the chase too." Red Robin reveals a cold smile, looking at Penguin and saying, "You've colluded with over a dozen wealthy people in Gotham's building and shipping industries, bribed the Mayor and his staff team, hoping to get the approval from the State Council through them, to transform the existing Gotham Dock into a modern large-scale deepwater port. The purpose of your doing this is to allow the Gotham Dock to berth more smuggling vessels."

Penguin opens his mouth slightly, making a choked sound "uh" from his throat, then he stands up angrily, bangs his cane hard on the ground, and looks at Red Robin to say, "Kid, are you messing with me? Who did you bribe from my side? I'll catch them and feed them to the dogs!"

Red Robin also stands up, staring straight into Penguin's eyes, and saying, "Cobblepot, do you really think you've been involved in the Gotham scene for so many years without leaving any breadcrumbs?"

"Hmph, bluffing. Do you think you can scare me?"

"Your Iceberg Charity Foundation, established a year and a half ago under the guise of reversing global warming and protecting marine ecology. Its investing members just happen to be the big bosses of the building materials, shipping, offshore energy development, and heavy-duty marine equipment industries in Gotham and even the East Coast. Is it really just a coincidence?"

"Don't tell me that these people, now in their fifties, have finally realized that the ocean is being polluted and the icebergs are melting, and collectively awakened to donate to your charity foundation. The funds they poured into have all lost and vanished in the first year of venture capital carried out by this foundation. Moreover, they forgave you completely, and even frequent your Iceberg Restaurant without any previous grudges?"

The fat Penguin falls back into the sofa, squeezing his cane hard as if reluctantly. But since Red Robin can say this, it proves he has grasped the complete chain and seen what tricks Penguin is playing.

Even if they do not have any solid evidence at hand, as long as he follows this chain to make trouble for him, this deal can't be made. If he doesn't yield now, all his previous preparations will be in vain.

"Okay, okay! You kids, you've really grown up!" Penguin sighs, then eyes Red Robin and Nightwing again, glancing over their shoulders at Redhood who is assembling the gun.

He shakes his head with quite some emotion and says, "I remember a few years ago, the kid in black was nothing but Batman's little sidekick. Now you're out on your own. If I had a son, he would probably be about your age now."

"Now are you willing to discuss the specifics of this deal with us?"

"There's no use talking to you all," The Penguin shook his head, appearing somewhat troubled, he glanced at the Red Robin, as if he's viewing the others through him.

"Since you've decided to go it alone, it suggests that you've figured out, there is plenty in this world that doesn't make sense to Batman, he is insane."

"Everything I'm saying to you now could become evidence for him to break my leg later, and to lock me up in Arkham Asylum. What could you do about it? What could I do about it?"

Setting his cane upright and leaning on it, Penguin leaned forward. For the first time, he looked directly into Red Robin's eyes and spoke.

"I'm just a businessman. But Gotham isn't a place to do business anymore. Old Falcone warned me before he died, but I was young then, I didn't listen."

"In some ways, I crave the protection of rules more than you do. Because if there are rules, I can manipulate them. But now in Gotham, there are no rules. Everyone's doing what they want. If I don't meet this chaos with chaos of my own, I can't protect my business."

"Miss Walker, the city's government spokesperson, she was killed by you, wasn't she?"

Penguin relaxed his muscles and put down his cane, leaning on the back of the sofa and saying, "That woman sent by the federal government was harping on about Gotham's marine structure and marine conservation. She said Gotham was not suitable for building a deep-water port, so she had to die."

"Because at this point, you can't go back, can you?"

"You're right, kid. The Iceberg Charity Foundation was initially to consolidate various funds, but not for marine conservation. It was for political contributions to the mayor and state council members, precisely so that they could skirt the federal laws on marine conservation and help me get the approval for building the deepwater port."

"I don't mind you hearing..." The Penguin looked at Red Robin's chest as if he were looking at Batman behind the surveillance camera, and this was also for him, "All the flows of money are legal, and there won't be any taxing issues. It's too late for you to investigate now."

"So, did you get the approval?" Red Robin asked.

Penguin's face grew somber, he snorted from his nose, then said, "Over the years, the funding I've provided has inflated Magon's appetite. During my most recent negotiation with him, he wanted to have a completely independent smuggling route to secure his absolute advantage in the next election."

The Penguin turned his eyeballs and looked to the other side, "But it's not surprising that he's feeling insecure. Lincoln March, the rising star in Gotham's power circle, is his strongest competitor. Rumors have it that March has connections with Bruce Wayne. They met at Wayne Enterprises Tower. Wayne even faced an attempt on his life."

"It's unclear whether the full support of Wayne Enterprises will undermine the incumbent Mayor Magon's advantageous position in the next election. But if the newcomer Lincoln becomes the mayor, my business here will be finished."

"But Magon is so stupid. He doesn't realize this is not something I alone can decide. If I were to tell the Iceberg Charity Foundation investors about his stupid demand, he would be finished. No one could steal their share from these smugglers."

When the Penguin looked back at the Red Robin, he expected him to be puzzled by the intricate webs of relations and complicated conflicts of interest involved. He expected the Robins to yell stuff like 'it's evil to assassinate the mayor.'"

Unexpectedly, Red Robin leaned even further forward, crossing the line of distance between them and the Penguin. It was almost like he was eyeing Penguin up for an attack. He said, "If the current Mayor Magon is too stupid, why not replace him?"

"What did you say??!"

The Penguin was the first to panic. He looked to the left and right, seemingly searching for surveillance cameras and eavesdropping devices. He sat up straight on the couch, gritted his teeth, visible tremors on his face as he glared at Red Robin, "Kid, do you know what the hell you're saying?"

"Isn't it just what you've been doing?" Red Robin instead became more relaxed. He leaned back, one arm resting on the armrest, chin drawn back, he looked down towards Penguin from above his eyes, "Manipulating elections, supporting interest groups, seeking every possible way to clear the path for your business."

"That's a political contribution." Penguin snorted, but he was clearly nervous. With a gulp, he said, "I've indeed influenced the election result, but so what? It's as if Wayne Enterprises hasn't done the same!"

"We're not here to discuss that," Nightwing spoke for the first time. Immediately following up, Red Robin gave Penguin a concentrated look and said,

"You're right, Gotham currently lacks regulation. We intend to create some, in a different way. But first, we need the city government on our side."

Slowly, the Penguin's eyes widened as he seemed to comprehend the implication of Red Robin's words.

"We need 'one of us', who can make important decisions, within the city government. And it is best to have 'one of us' with the most clout."

"So, Mr. Oswald Cobblepot, do you have any interest in participating in the upcoming Gotham Mayor's election?"