The clouds resembled milk diluted with dirty water. Gotham's sunlight filtered through the thick industrial smog, landing on people without bringing a trace of warmth.
Contrasting with this bleak scenery, Cobblepot stood at the entrance of the Iceberg Lounge, beaming and brimming with ambition.
Although still under Falcone, this was the first enterprise where he had full responsibility for personnel, finance, and operations. Cobblepot firmly believed this would be the starting point for his ascent.
"That's right. Starting from here, sooner or later, I will be the king everyone looks up to." The little Penguin straightened the collar of his suit, preparing to enter the bar.
He instructed his bodyguard: "Gabe, go get last week's ledger."
The burly bodyguard behind him didn't obey. He just hesitantly raised a finger, pointing behind Cobblepot.
Before Cobblepot could turn around, a massive shadow loomed over him, completely engulfing him.
"Good morning, Mr. Cobblepot."
The frail figure shuddered violently as if he had received a huge fright.
He turned around and saw the familiar face wrapped in a down jacket. He hurriedly smoothed his hair, dampened by the morning mist, put on a fawning smile full of warmth and humility, and quickly extended his hand:
"Good morning, Officer. So glad to see you again. We're old friends, aren't we?"
"Yeah, old friends," Jay said lazily. He looked up at the Iceberg Lounge sign; cracks were already visible on several of the icicle-shaped neon tubes. "Mind if we go in and sit for a while?"
"Of course, of course." Cobblepot led the way, personally pushing open the door inlaid with heavy frosted glass. "Please come in, Jay—if I may call you that—please come in."
The two stepped from Gotham's grey, cold reality into a twilight forgotten by time, ruled by velvet and shadows.
Only a few insignificant bulbs on the wide crystal chandeliers were lit, spilling dim light into the empty hall.
The air was excessively cold; the powerful central air conditioning deliberately created a chilly atmosphere, mixing with the stale smell of expensive cigars and the tanned scent of leather seats.
In the center of the hall was an oval black stone bar, behind which stood a liquor rack reaching the ceiling, displaying spirits with fancy labels from all over the world.
Countless tables and booths were immersed in deeper shadows, with chairs upturned on the tables, appearing empty and lonely.
Cobblepot limped as he led Jay to the innermost booth and sat opposite him.
"Hi, Jay." He snapped his fingers twice, and a waiter immediately brought a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Cobblepot diligently opened the bottle and poured half a glass for Jay. "I'm so glad you came to find me. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Jay didn't answer, looking up at the bar's décor. After a while, he said with some admiration, "This place is really nice, Cobblepot. You're doing better and better."
"You flatter me. I'm just making a humble effort for Mr. Falcone," Cobblepot said with a shy smile. "Speaking of which, Mr. Falcone has always appreciated you very much. A while ago, he even mentioned asking you to help him deal with that cloaked freak."
"Really? I've never heard that before." Jay gently swirled his glass, the ice cubes clinking softly. "But doesn't this count as leaking Mr. Falcone's information?"
"Haha, how could that be? You must have misunderstood something." Cobblepot gave two dry laughs and raised his glass. "We're all doing this for Gotham. Let's drink to this city."
"Is it a misunderstanding?"
"Of course, of course it's a misunderstanding."
"Alright, let's drink to Gotham and misunderstandings."
"Hahahahahaha…"
The two clinked glasses. Jay took a sip. "Honestly, I'm not used to drinking this stuff. Cobblepot, how have you been lately? Zsasz hasn't done anything to you, has he?"
"Of course not. Za… Mr. Victor and I both serve Mr. Falcone. Maybe there's a little disagreement occasionally, but it doesn't affect our… friendship."
Cobblepot maintained an innocent and harmless expression. "However, I heard Victor seems dissatisfied with you using his men to call the police last time. He has a bad temper. If there's any misunderstanding between you two, I can help explain."
"Ah, I remember that guy was named Todd or Toy." Jay nodded nonchalantly. "I'll explain it to him myself. After all, Toy and I are brothers in adversity, both used as bait by someone and left in an ambush circle."
"That was all… a misunderstanding. For the sake of Mr. Falcone's will, after all, we eventually eliminated Fish Mooney, right?" Cobblepot's smile was a bit stiff.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and drained his glass. "Tell me, Jay, what exactly do you want by coming here today?"
"Ah, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it."
Jay patted his head and pulled a few pieces of paper from his pocket. "GCPD has a case recently. This is a summary of the information. Interested in taking a look?"
"This… can I look at it?" Cobblepot was about to touch the paper, then withdrew his hand instinctively as if it were hot. "Heh heh, is it okay?"
Jay made a gesture inviting him to go ahead.
Cobblepot took the summary and read it, his expression gradually becoming confused. "Jay, this case… doesn't seem to have anything to do with me?"
"Of course not. I never said this case had anything to do with you." Jay picked up his glass, changed direction, and sat next to Cobblepot. "But now that you've seen it, it has something to do with you."
"You can't pin this on… wait, you're not here to ask me for a scapegoat." Cobblepot's eyes darted around. "You want me to help you find him."
He sat up straight immediately, his smile becoming confident. "No problem, Jay. We are friends. Friends should help each other, right?"
"Each other? Tsk tsk… Oz, I haven't made any requests yet, and you're already trying to get something out of me?" Jay smacked his lips. "Actually, I want to see Mr. Falcone. I want you to pass on the message for me. After all, his resources are much greater than yours."
Jay put his arm around Cobblepot's shoulders. "If you find it inconvenient, I won't make it difficult for you. After all, Mr. Falcone appreciates me quite a bit. It's just a bit abrupt to visit unannounced."
"Alright, Jay, let's be open and honest. Everything has a price. You know the price of going to Mr. Falcone will definitely be much higher, right?"
Cobblepot seemed unaccustomed to such intimacy, shifting his butt away and smiling. "Tell me, you want me to help you find a dwarf? You have to… give a little return gift between friends."
"In the East End, I won't raid your places, but you have to guarantee no powder appears in your establishments." Jay tightened his arm, pulling Cobblepot back in, and whispered in his ear. "No type whatsoever, not even weed."
"Jay, Jay, those junkies will swallow me alive. Besides, Mr. Falcone won't allow giving up such high profits." Cobblepot looked troubled. "I can reduce the quantity…"
"No, not at all. You figure it out with the Roman. But I don't care about other goods—arms, cars, electronics, even eggs. Even if you raid Rupert Thorne's smuggling warehouse at Miller Harbor, the East Precinct will pretend not to see."
Jay whispered, releasing Cobblepot's neck. "Your shirt collar needs washing."
"Yes, yes, been a bit busy lately, heh heh." Cobblepot responded with a fake smile, held the glass to his lips for a moment, and finally nodded heavily.
"Then it's settled. May our friendship last forever."
"Friendship forever?"
The two clinked glasses smilingly and downed their drinks. Jay stood up.
"So…?"
"I'll dig out every dwarf in Gotham and throw them at you, satisfying your wish to open a circus." Cobblepot picked up the paper again and looked at it carefully.
"But forgive my bluntness. I think this is sheer nonsense. If this guy can really easily hypnotize a large group of people into suicide, he's like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
He only needs to walk around the city streets once, and tomorrow he could be the Mayor of Gotham."
"You're right," Jay spread his hands. "But maybe that's not his ambition?"
"Hah? Having such ability but holding tea parties and playing with dolls at home?" Cobblepot shook his head contemptuously, straightening his back. "Don't worry, I'll find him. I also want to see what kind of useless thing this guy is. But… Jay?"
He walked to Jay's side and asked in a low voice, "Why are you so obsessed with clearing out the powder? Speaking of laws and profits, some things are more serious than this. Is… someone asking you to target us?"
"No, this is my requirement, and the East Precinct's requirement." Jay shook his head, staring seriously at Cobblepot. "You said you don't believe in hypnosis, so how does he control these people? You know those high bastards will inhale anything.
If this kind of lunatic appears one after another on your turf, can you still do business? What if one day, he uses these controlled people to seize your bar, or even your head?"
"That's a bit alarmist… but you're right, at least until we deal with this guy…" Cobblepot agreed. "Business is business. You can't make money off a lunatic."
The two walked to the bar entrance. Jay extended his hand to Cobblepot. "Here's to a pleasant cooperation?"
"Ah, yes, yes. Pleasant cooperation, Jay." Cobblepot smiled and shook his hand firmly. "For this city?"
"Yeah."
The two held hands tightly, wearing ambiguous smiles.
"For this city's tomorrow."
The moment the two shook hands, this city was destined to have no tomorrow.
——————
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