Looking at the pitch-black surroundings outside where you can't see your hand in front of your face, Pete really doubted the authenticity of this information. If the TV station leaders found out they stole a car in the middle of the night just to chase an urban legend, they'd probably lose their jobs.
But his partner, a woman who always risks her life for news, seemed like she never needed to sleep. Anytime you saw her, she was either reporting news or on her way to chase it.
Only he was strong enough at the TV station to carry the camera and keep up with this woman. But almost every day there was no time off after work because he could be sweet-talked or guilt-tripped into finding clues during his breaks.
"It'll probably be another few minutes, but the road is flooded, and the car might stall any time."
The female reporter was moving her jaw, as if warming up her facial muscles.
"Then don't let it stall."
"What do you think I've been doing?!"
Pete used to think he was a mild-mannered guy, even though men over six foot three were clearly not the women's favorite in this world.
But after partnering with his current colleague, he realized he wasn't as good-tempered as he thought, and he gradually got used to shouting like a hooligan.
He calmed down and asked her again, "Vico, is your tip reliable?"
The female reporter confidently replied, "Of course, remember that blind beggar we interviewed before?"
"Yeah, I remember. That guy called the police saying he saw a fast-food restaurant slicing up human meat in the back kitchen." Pete steered the wheel, avoiding a manhole cover that looked like a dark spring: "Given that he's blind, the producer put our social news interview in the comedy show lineup, and for about a week, I couldn't show my face."
"But as it turned out, the blind man was right! That place was eventually found by Batwoman to be making human meat sausages. Although it wasn't a fast-food place but a laundry, and there was no back kitchen, just a garage."
Vico squeezed into the driver's seat from the back compartment, seriously emphasizing to Pete that her news was accurate; it was just that the bosses didn't know good news!
Pete glanced at her from the corner of his eye and said helplessly, "How do you think I can still hold my head high at the TV station? But that incident slapped the studio director in the face. She's definitely going to be all over this car-stealing thing."
"She can jump all over it, provided we don't uncover any news!" Vico held up a slim finger, shaking it side to side, correcting him: "As long as we get this exclusive story, bam! I'll show her I'm not one to be messed with!"
Pete rolled his eyes. The whole TV station already knew she wasn't to be messed with, famously a madwoman. If not for Vico landing several exclusive stories before, both of them would probably have been sacked long ago.
Seeing his expression, Vico nonchalantly patted his shoulder: "Relax, ever heard that some blind people actually have special abilities? Legends say their soul vision is incredibly powerful, letting them see through or predict the future. I made that blind man one of my informants last time. Today, he gave me a big scoop, cost me 200 bucks."
"Alright, so now our intel comes from what a blind man saw, because you believe in some mystical legends."
Pete wondered if returning the car now might get them off with a lighter punishment.
Vico shook her head, smiling proudly: "This time, he didn't see it but heard it. On a stormy night, he snuck into the city courthouse to take shelter from the rain. Just a bit earlier, he heard intense gunfire coming from the Gotham Police Station. According to him: it was as dense as the sound of a rabbit having diarrhea."
Pete wore a confused 'Black Man' face. What kind of analogy was that? Do rabbits even get diarrhea?
Vico rolled her eyes too and awkwardly laughed: "Anyway, there's scientific evidence that blind people's hearing is better than ordinary people's. So we have a reason to believe something big happened at the police station. In such a storm, isn't this our exclusive news?"
Pete, hearing this, thought it made sense. As long as they could secure an exclusive story for the TV station, his earlier car-stealing would be seen as a journalist's passionate pursuit of news, nothing wrong with that, and there might even be a bonus!
So they exchanged a smile, filled with anticipation for a bright future, like two foxes heading into a chicken coop.
.............
When the car arrived at the police station, it was clear without needing to say a word; they could see the car wreckage scattered everywhere and corpses strewn in disarray. Vico knew her 200 bucks was worth it.
If this wasn't big news, what was?
She and Pete quickly put on raincoats, wrapped the camera and microphone, getting ready for filming. The rain was so heavy that Vico had to shout to ensure the camera's audio wasn't affected.
The female reporter tidied her makeup again, styling her hair into a cute fringe under the raincoat. She looked at Pete, who nodded to signal that the audio and video were working fine.
She jumped out of the car, with Pete following closely behind. She chose an angle, using the wreckage of a burnt-out frame of a black car as the background. Not far away, the broken gate of the police station could be seen, with numerous police officers sprawled out like sacks on the ground.
Vico gestured to start, and when she saw the familiar red light on the camera, she immediately showed her most intellectual side.
"Friends, I'm your old friend Vico Vali. Now we're outside the Gotham City Police Station, and you can see the tragic scene behind us."