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"Don't worry too much about it. What we can be sure of right now is that this officer named Morin is not someone we can afford to mess with."
Loeb thought it over again and again but couldn't come up with a decent plan. In the end, he could only give Flass a few precautionary instructions.
"Tell everyone to lie low for a while."
"Got it," Flass nodded.
"And... if possible, try to influence him in other ways. For example, get him to take a bribe," Loeb continued. "As long as he's in the same boat as us, there won't be any problems."
"But don't be obvious. You understand?"
"And before that happens, never let him see the things you usually do. If you have to do something, do it far away."
"If anyone screws up during this period and he finds out, don't blame me for what happens."
"My ending might be bad, but yours will be much worse."
After finishing, Loeb signed the indictment and waved Flass away, telling him to pass the message along.
-
Soon, Morin and Gordon arrived at the police station.
"Gordon."
"Good morning, Gordon."
"You must be the new officer, Morin, right? What a nice name."
"We all heard what you did last night! That was impressive. Criminals like that should've been dealt with a long time ago."
Gordon: "..."
What was going on?
Why was everyone acting like this?
Shouldn't they be ignoring him, or openly talking about where they'd collected protection money yesterday, or which bar's hostesses were the hottest?
This was the kind of atmosphere Gordon had lived in for years.
But today, his colleagues had completely flipped overnight.
It made him deeply uncomfortable.
Then he heard the next few remarks and finally understood.
It was all because of Morin.
But... why?
Gordon had expected mockery.
He'd expected people to wait for Morin to embarrass himself, or for Loeb to deliberately find fault.
He'd even prepared counterarguments in advance.
Yet now-
What was going on?
While he was still thinking, an officer walked over, stopped them, and said that Commissioner Loeb wanted to see both Gordon and Morin together.
The two headed to Loeb's office.
-
"You really caused quite a stir yesterday," Loeb said with a smile, handing coffee to both of them.
"You surprised me."
"Shouldn't that be a good thing for the police?" Morin asked with a faintly playful smile. "Or do you think what I did was wrong, Commissioner Loeb?"
Gordon almost spat out his coffee.
Are you serious?
That's the commissioner.
He was already thinking about how to help Morin backpedal, but before he could speak, Loeb's response left him stunned.
"Ahem... of course not," Loeb said, narrowing his eyes as he cleared his throat.
"What you did was absolutely correct. It's exactly what we police officers should be doing."
"The only issue is that you should've informed us beforehand. Operations like that are dangerous."
"You must remember-you're not alone. You have us behind you."
"As police officers, we should act together. Fight together..."
Loeb's words grew smoother and smoother.
Meanwhile, Gordon grew more and more dazed.
Was this really the same commissioner he knew?
Something was wrong.
Combined with his colleagues' bizarre behavior, Gordon even started to doubt himself.
Am I still dreaming?
To confirm it, Gordon pinched the inside of his thigh hard.
Sharp pain followed, and he winced.
That interruption broke Loeb's impromptu speech-and also caught Morin's attention.
Once Morin looked away, Loeb finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
When Morin had asked, "Do you think what I did was wrong," Loeb had suddenly felt a terrifying pressure.
Almost tangible.
It left him completely unsettled, forcing him to explain himself at length.
Morin's eyes flickered.
He could clearly sense Loeb's breathing quickening, his emotions turning agitated.
This had happened last night as well.
This time, Morin had deliberately activated Heart of Justice while speaking and compared the effect.
So...
Heart of Justice makes guilty people nervous?
Morin glanced at Gordon, who was still wincing, and noticed there was no effect at all.
A rough conclusion formed.
It doesn't work on good people.
Only on bad ones.
Morin then activated Eye of Justice and looked at Gordon.
There was no black fog around him.
The black fog filling the room couldn't even get close.
As for its source-
That was Commissioner Loeb.
The fog around him was so dense that his face was almost impossible to see.
"..."
Loeb subconsciously stepped back.
Meeting Morin's gaze felt like being pricked by needles.
He didn't dare look at him again.
This look. This presence.
No doubt about it.
If anyone tells me he's not an elite from one of those agencies, I'll shoot them myself.
Loeb cursed inwardly, his attitude turning even more friendly.
There was nothing else he could do.
After confirming Morin's "identity" on his own, Loeb became absolutely certain of one thing.
He could not afford to offend him.
Anyone else who wanted to could try.
He wouldn't.
After that, Loeb mostly repeated himself-reminding Morin to report actions in advance for safety, and assuring him that if he needed anything, he'd do his best to help.
Soon, Gordon and Morin left the office.
-
Gordon pulled Morin into a quiet corner.
"What exactly is going on?" he asked. "What do you know?"
He'd been racking his brain all morning.
Between his colleagues and Loeb, nothing made sense.
Seeing that Morin looked completely unsurprised, Gordon immediately realized the cause.
If not Morin, what else could it be?
"Didn't I already tell you?" Morin replied. "They're afraid of my identity. And the power behind me."
Honestly, the way things developed had exceeded Morin's expectations.
He hadn't expected Flass and Falcone to be so... imaginative.
But since things had reached this point, not using it would be a waste.
Morin had always liked making full use of available conditions.
So he added a simple detail to his "identity."
Backed by a powerful organization.
And now, he was using it.
"If I ask further, you'll just tell me it's classified," Gordon sighed.
This time, though, he believed it.
Before, he didn't because there was no evidence.
Now, he believed it precisely because of Loeb and the others' reactions.
It wasn't April Fool's Day.
And even if it were, those people wouldn't bother pulling a prank like this.
So there was only one explanation.
What Morin said was true.
He really did come from a powerful organization.
At the same time, for reasons Gordon couldn't explain, Morin suddenly felt very pleasant to look at.
Trustworthy.
Reliable.
Maybe it was because he knew his identity now.
Gordon didn't think too deeply about it.
"Then... about what you said earlier, joining the team," Gordon asked cautiously.
His heart wavered.
He'd finally found someone.
God knew how hard it had been to stick to his principles alone-refusing bribes, being isolated, enduring everything in silence.
He'd held on through sheer grit.
And now, someone who shared his ideals had appeared.
Someone backed by an organization.
Gordon's long-dormant fighting spirit reignited.
The ambition he'd once had-to change Gotham when he first became a cop-resurfaced.
He suddenly felt full of energy.
"Of course," Morin said, patting Gordon on the shoulder. "First, help me find a rental. Then we'll get something to eat."
"...Huh?"
"Clothing, food, shelter, transportation," Morin explained calmly. "Clothes are handled. Food is easy. Shelter is the problem right now."
"Once the first three are settled, we'll think about transportation."
"Alright..." Gordon replied.
Faced with Morin's long and perfectly reasonable explanation, he gave in.
Still, one thought lingered.
Why does this feel so unreliable?
-
Gordon helped Morin find a place.
Morin's requirements weren't high.
Clean. Quiet. Convenient transportation.
Price wasn't an issue.
Finding one was easy.
In Gotham, if you ignored the word safe, there were plenty of options.
That night, Gordon went home.
Morin went to the supermarket alone.
After buying daily necessities, he headed back to the rental.
On the way, he sensed someone following him.
Based on faint, nearly imperceptible sounds, Morin judged the person's agility and quickly identified them.
Bruce Wayne.
The soon-to-debut Batman.
Since Batman had come looking for him, Morin had no intention of letting him keep playing what he considered a childish dress-up game.
Wayne Enterprises could influence the entire country.
Yet its heir ignored that resource and chose to fight criminals alone.
If that wasn't childish, what was?
Morin planned to properly "educate" this not-yet-named Batman.
Before the costume obsession went too far, he wanted Bruce to experience the satisfaction of solving problems with capital.
Of course, there still had to be a Batman.
Morin would simply offer another path.
The choice would be Bruce's.
Morin wasn't a bad person.
And he rarely forced good people to do things against their will.
That said-
If there was an easier way to save Gotham.
And get the girl.
What would Bruce choose?
Morin found himself genuinely curious.