Chapter 56: Gotham Evening Bell (Part 1)

Silence echoed in the empty room, and finally, Batman said, "From that day on, everything I've done, everything I've experienced, has been for revenge."

"The law and the trial told me that Joe Chell killed my parents, but I knew that wasn't the case, and it took me years to give myself the ability to question the outcome."

"...And now, it's time for the bat to take revenge."

Along with the dull evening clock of the clock tower of Gotham Cathedral, the figure of Batman disappeared.

The recent changes in the Edward family have made Batman, who is constantly monitoring the entire Gotham City, discover that the Edward brothers used to be the leader of the alley where his parents died before they made their fortune, when they first came to Gotham.

But now, the Edward brothers are dead, leaving only their nephew, and little Edward offended the godfather. If Falcone is not willing to let him go, then the Edward family will cease to exist.

Batman first found little Edward. He didn't need to send someone to invite someone like the godfather, he could directly appear in the shadow behind anyone.

The next day, Gotham was filled with a drowsy fog again, and later, the dusk made the hazy fog over Gotham dyed with more colors.

Schiller was chatting with the priest at the door of the church. Like an authentic Westerner, he went in and out of the church on time, without appearing to be inconsistent.

The priest here is very learned. He has a very deep understanding of theology. Schiller likes to chat with him about philosophy and theology.

The old priest has lived in Gotham all his life. He has experienced all the eras of Gotham and knows all the stories here.

The priest said, "The workers at the wharf don't come very often recently. Maybe their business has improved. I hope that is the case. God tells people that they need to use such hard work to atone for their sins."

"Recently, the number of merchant ships at the dock has increased, and the business of cargo ship owners has also improved." Schiller said.

"I remember many years ago, there was a time when many workers liked to come here to pray, and the church was never so lively."

The old priest's voice bears the unique imprint of the times, like a railway track paved from history, the old one is somewhat faded.

"It can be seen that they were not busy at that time, probably because there was not much business, and many people were complaining. Some people were very angry, and some had quarrels. I tried my best to dissuade them."

"You are a good man," said Schiller.

The old priest squinted his eyes and recalled, he said: "In those days, everything was a mess, I remember that the man who dominated the dock at that time was a man named Leif, he was not easy to mess with, people called him big Beard, some call him Viking."

"He is burly and strong, with a beard on his face, and he has more than a dozen equally strong men. They are domineering at the dock, and no one dares to provoke them. They specially collect labor protection fees and blackmail others."

"And then, who sanctioned them later?"

"It's Falcone. His Excellency Godfather gave him a hard one."

The priest stroked his fingers that were somewhat dry due to aging, and he said, "The godfather should have taken over those piers, but somehow, it ended up in the hands of the Edward family."

The priest shook his head and finally said: "I'm not saying that the Edward family is not well managed, maybe, if the Falcone family took over the pier and the entire Eastern District was connected into a line, the Falcone family would be stronger than now. many."

"I often hear people say..." Schiller said, "The Godfather's control of the Eastside is a little weak, because he only controls some areas in the northeast and southeast, and leaves the most important part of the wharf."

The priest shook his head and said, "Maybe he has his own plans."

Schiller pondered that the things the priest told him were no secret. The reason why it was not widely circulated was because there were not many people who survived in that era.

Of course, as to why the godfather didn't control the pier in one breath, Schiller guessed that there might be more complicated disputes.

After the sky darkened, Schiele said goodbye to the priest, and he walked out of the church alone.

When the last rays of the setting sun also sank below the horizon, he heard the bell tower of the church above him, and there were seven heavy tolls.

In front of the church door, the priest drew a cross on his chest with his hand and whispered, "This is the death knell... God bless, your soul will be liberated..."

Schiller stood outside the door. He turned his head, and in the dark gray haze, he saw a black and yellow figure standing on the tall clock tower.

On the other side, little Edward slumped to the ground, facing the shadow with two pointed ears in front of him, he said tremblingly, "I only know...I only know that back then...the godfather ended the chaotic situation in the Eastern Docks. , my father and uncle wanted a piece of the pie, even if they could only get a dock..."

"But, but the godfather suddenly doesn't want any of them... So, our family got all five piers, I don't know what happened... I was too young at that time, you can only ask the godfather, I really don't know anything..."

After the shadow of the bat left, little Edward got up from the ground trembling all over. He cursed in a low voice, and suddenly he saw another shadow appeared in front of him.

He looked up and saw a huge umbrella facing him. Behind the umbrella, a sullen eye was staring at him. Just as Edward was about to scream in fear, his vocal cords were cut off along with his throat.

After a slight soft sound, the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground was accompanied by the lights that went out in Edward's old house, and everything went quiet.

In the end, Batman came to Falcone's mansion, which was dark and quiet as if no one existed.

Unlike Edward's old mansion, which was brightly lit and guarded all night, the mansion where the Godfather of Gotham lived seemed to have no defenses, and Batman knew this was abnormal.

Finally, Batman saw him in Falcone's office. There was still no one here. Falcone seemed to be waiting for him, sitting alone in the office in the early morning.

"I knew you would come," Falcone said. "You weren't careful enough with old Edward's resume."

"That means there must be something special about his resume that deserves your attention," Batman said.

"Indeed, are you interested in hearing stories from many years ago?"

Then, Batman learned from the godfather who had ruled Gotham for 40 years, the turbulent era he had never seen and heard of.

"...They are friendly and ruthless. Among them, the Viking pirate Leif is the most powerful."

"I know very well that if I want the Falcone family to truly gain a firm foothold here, I have to use him."

"The bearded man made a lot of money by extorting or extorting the owner for many years. He was not convinced and wanted to resist me."

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

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

"I want to know about Park Street," Batman said.

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon."

Falcone turned his chair, turned to look at Batman and said, "You kind of look like your father." He nodded and said, "...very similar."

Before Batman could say anything, Falcone said: "I swept the major forces at the dock at that time, but I didn't take over the dock, but threw them to the Edward family, and this matter is related to your parents. related."

"Your mother is a good person and a kind wife. She sympathizes with the laborers on the dock and thinks that they work more than ten hours a day. Your father agrees. They think they should be better for those poor poor people."

"So, they didn't allow the gangsters to oppress those workers, and they made a more relaxed work system for them. You know, after only a few hours of work, you have to take a break, eat something and drink some water."

"The Wayne family is determined to reform the order of the entire Gotham Pier, but I know... I know."

"I know they can't do this, but I don't want to fight the Wayne family, so I retreat and let them do whatever they want."

"I let the Edward family control all the docks. Brother Edward is quite smart."

Falcone lit a cigar, and the faint flame shone on his face, and a dark shadow was cast under the sharp eyebrows, covering his eyes. Godfather appearance.

"So, Edward hired that **** named Joe to kill my parents?"

The smoke of the cigar slowly floated up, and Falcone's speech began to become slower and slower, as if the recalled things became more distant and unclear.

"You mean the one who really did it? No, it's not them, it's not Edward."

"The person who really did it was a laborer at the dock named Louis."

"Labor?" Batman felt ridiculous, and asked, "Why? How could it be a dock worker?"

"I know if you don't understand, the Wayne couple helped them. Yes, the workers didn't have to work so long every day, and were oppressed by gangsters and cargo ship owners. They found their savior..."

Falcone shook his head and said: "But you don't understand, the workers are also divided into three, six and nine classes. The work of carrying sandbags and carrying heavy objects is the most tiring. , the big workers only do the light work of allocating manpower and inventorying materials."

"Your parents want everyone to not have to work hard. No one does the dirty work. The cargo ship owners have been delayed for too long and lost a lot of goods. They would rather take a long way and do not want to come back to Gotham Pier."

"I remember...that Louis was...the chief engineer of the third or fourth dock. He was closely watched by the Wayne family and had to be assigned the same work to everyone. He could only work nine hours a day, with breaks in between. For two hours, let them eat."

"The cargo ship was parked there, no one moved the goods, and the fresh and fruit on it were damaged. The main ship's main owner, Louis, paid for it. Louis couldn't afford it. He was beaten by the cargo ship's owner and sailors and broke his leg. "

"So, he hired that gangster and killed the Wayne couple?" Batman's voice was hoarse.

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

"You must think it's absurd that Judas betrayed his Lord and made his benefactor suffer," Falcone said.

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

Batman closed his eyes, the truth was completely different from what he imagined.

This is not a story of perpetrators and innocents entangled in confrontation. There is no justice that can be done at a glance.

Everything is not white walls and black shadows, but an old faded gray videotape with the thick dust of that era.

"The punks and Edward brothers are dead, but Louis is still alive. If you still want revenge, go to No. 7 End Lane, Shen'en Street, east of the church, where he lives."

After speaking, Falcone exhaled the last breath of smoke, and he also closed his eyes.

His fingers are well maintained, there are almost no wrinkles, the cigar between his fingers has been burned out, and the fire is gradually extinguished, just like to that boiling era, to all the waves of that turbulent era, silently, painted on a period.