amaotonovel Chapter 3845 The Nameless Bat (5)
Chapter 3845 The Nameless Bat (5)
Chapter 3845 The Nameless Bat (Fifteen)
"Where's the nearest back door?!" Luther burst out from behind the counter, grabbing Stagg by the collar and demanding, "The kind of back door that leads to the alley!"
Stagg was completely oblivious, but he instinctively pointed to a path next to the elevator and said, "Over there."
Luther was walking briskly in that direction when he heard a series of heavy footsteps coming from the stairwell next door. He had just passed the fire safety door when he saw several people wearing FBI-branded jackets rushing out of it.
Luther gritted his teeth and cursed, then ran quickly towards the back door. The FBI agents also ran in that direction.
Luther rushed out the back door, looked around, and chose a direction with more plants and denser shade. But when he reached the middle of the road, a car suddenly darted out from around the corner.
"boom!"
Luther was thrown back at least three meters. The FBI agent who had been chasing him slammed on the brakes and stopped on the side of the road. Schiller got out of the car, checked Luther's condition on the ground, and said, "Assaulting a police officer, obstructing official duties, interfering with an investigation. Take him away."
Back at base, Schiller took off his down jacket, straightened his shirt collar, made himself a cup of coffee, and took it to Wonder Woman's interrogation room. He didn't go in, but leaned against the door and said to the three people playing cards, "All done."
The three of them turned to look at him at the same time.
"Have you figured out what happened?" Natasha asked.
"The rumors have been debunked?" Superman asked.
"May I go out now?" Wonder Woman asked.
“None of these things are sorted out,” Schiller said.
"So what did you manage to do?" the three asked in unison.
"Lex Luthor."
"What?!" Superman was the first to stand up and say, "What happened to Luthor? Did he do something bad again?"
“He’s been arrested,” Schiller said, taking a sip of coffee. “He will be charged with obstructing official business and assaulting a police officer.”
Superman's eyes widened. "Assault a police officer?! You mean, he attacked you?!"
“We were pursuing a fugitive who ran into the middle of the road and interfered with official vehicles. Although he was hit and thrown from the road, as long as he didn’t die, we will not drop the charges against him.”
Superman seemed to have heard something out of the blue. He said, "You mean, you hit him while he was crossing the street, and then you're going to charge him with assaulting a police officer?!"
Superman gestured with his hand in mid-air, then clenched it into a fist and swung it forcefully, saying, "Although Luthor is a pretty bad guy, you can't just distort the truth like this, can you?"
Why don't you ask him why he wanted to cross the street?
"Is it illegal to cross the street in Gotham?" Superman was a little confused.
"Let me remind you, Mr. Superman. He jaywalked, and did so unnecessarily, and then crashed into a car on official business. Doesn't that look like deliberate obstruction of official duties?"
"Really?" Superman was a little confused.
After thinking for a moment, he scratched his head and said, "Yeah, Luther is a very cautious guy. He almost never shows up in unsecured areas, and he always goes in a secure vehicle. I've dealt with him for so long, and I've never seen him cross the street. Why would he suddenly rush into the middle of the road?"
“Oh, I see. He was obstructing official business. It was his scheme. He didn’t want your business to get done, but he wanted to clear himself of suspicion, so he deliberately made himself the victim. That way, you wouldn’t be able to hold him accountable.”
Schiller snapped his fingers and said, “Perfect reasoning, sir.”
"Where is he now?" Superman asked.
“At the base’s medical center,” Schiller said. “I know you might want to visit your old friend, but now is not the time. You two are both inmates, so you’d better stay put. Natasha, come with me.”
Natasha left the room. Schiller closed the door, and the room became a completely sealed chamber again, isolating Superman and Wonder Woman from their senses.
"So what exactly happened?" Natasha asked.
“Just a little trick,” Schiller said, shaking his head. “Luther is a very intelligent man, cautious and cunning. But in my career, I’ve often dealt with people like that. I know how to make them outsmart themselves.”
“Tell me more,” Natasha said, seemingly very interested.
“Our information is that Luther arrived by helicopter. But that’s very unusual, because it’s too high-profile. Everyone in the world knows that Gotham is Wayne’s territory. If Luther really wanted to cause trouble here, he should have come secretly, not swaggered in on a helicopter with the Luther Group logo.”
"So he was letting Wayne know that he had arrived."
"Yes. I think it was a test. He wanted to know what the president's attitude towards him was. Or rather, he had a preconceived attitude and wanted to come and verify if it was true."
What is your attitude?
"Of course, Wayne wants to get rid of him."
This isn't surprising. The Arkham Batman president wields immense power; countless powerful figures have been brought down since he took office. While the Luthor Corporation may be safe for now, that doesn't mean it will be safe in the future.
Luther's high-profile arrival in Gotham at this time must have been a test. He wanted to see if Bruce Wayne would make a move against him.
Or, one could speculate even more maliciously. The rumors about Batman and Natasha were all orchestrated by Luthor. If Natasha were lured there and clashed with Luthor, he could then falsely accuse Batman of sending agents to kill him. With numerous media reporters present, Batman would have no way to deny it.
If news of the assassination breaks, then if anything happens to Luthor in the future, people will immediately suspect Batman. This will make it much harder for Batman to take action against Luthor.
Luther would be extremely prepared for such a risky plan. He wouldn't trust anyone, including Stagg, whom he had manipulated. Based on this, Schiller deduced that if Stagg were to go elsewhere with Luther, Luther would definitely not use Stagg's car. And his security vehicles wouldn't be parked in Stagg's underground parking lot to prevent Stagg from doing anything sabotage. Therefore, the security vehicles would certainly be parked in random parking lots nearby.
So Schiller first had his subordinates use their cars to reserve all the parking spaces in the vicinity. Diamond Street isn't a big area, the people there have a weak sense of law and are relatively wealthy. Most people, when they find there are no parking spaces, won't bother driving miles to find one; they'll just park wherever they can. Fines are fines, they don't care about the money.
If you stop, I stop too, and the originally spacious lanes become completely blocked. Add to that police patrols and ticketing, and Diamond Street will soon be jammed from one end to the other. The security vehicles Luther prepared simply won't be able to get through.
He could walk to find a safe vehicle. But walking is risky. Aside from the chaos outside, many patrol officers are armed, and he wouldn't know which one is Wayne's man. Just the glare from the simulated sniper scope Schiller had set up on the upper floor of the building would be unbearable for Luther.
Unlike the young and impetuous Starger, Luther had weathered many storms. He was well-versed in various assassination methods, especially the glare from sniper scopes. Even a faint beam of light was enough to make him back down.
As soon as he retreated back into the building, Schiller triggered the smoke alarm, creating the illusion that Wayne was preparing to set the building on fire. He dialed the fire department but deliberately blocked the fire trucks at the street corner. This made Luther more convinced that Wayne was trying to kill him and was preventing any rescue efforts.
Just as he was about to retreat through the back door, Schiller ordered his men to rush down, pretending to be chasing him. Luther naturally assumed that the agents who ran down were Wayne's men, sent to kill him.
Although Luther is very intelligent, his physical abilities are only average. Even with specialized training, he can't compare to professional agents. He certainly knows he can't outrun a professional agent.
Then he would have to find another way. After exiting the back door, there were two streets to the left and right; the street with more shade and more people was the one he could run to and call for help. So he would definitely run that way. Schiller was already waiting for him in the car.
In short, Schiller used some clever espionage tactics to make Luther believe that the president had laid a trap for him, then guided his escape route so that he would be hit by a car and then be apprehended.
As for why they didn't just rush in and arrest him, the reason is quite simple. Firstly, this guy is cunning and has multiple escape routes, so he might not be easy to catch. Schiller didn't have enough manpower, and he could escape. Secondly, this guy doesn't leave any flaws, making it difficult to fabricate charges against him. If he didn't do anything intentionally, and the intelligence organization fabricated the charges out of thin air, then Luther Group's team of lawyers isn't incompetent, and they might very well lose the case.
So Schiller simply addressed the problem at its root, forcing him to take some initiative. Regardless of what he specifically did, as long as he took action, he could certainly be charged with a crime.
Since Luther was unaware that this was actually a rogue agent acting on his own initiative, he mistakenly believed that Wayne had seen through his plot and used the advantage of fighting on home soil to turn the tables on him. Schiller could also cleverly escape by claiming that he was merely an executor.
However, Schiller preferred to use this information gap to talk to Luther, hoping to gain some unexpected benefits.
Schiller arrived at the medical center. Despite the considerable distance Luther had been thrown, Schiller knew the situation well. Luther wasn't seriously injured, and no vital organs were damaged; at most, he'd broken a few ribs.
When he arrived, Luther was already awake. Schiller went over, placed a cup of coffee on his bedside table, took out his badge, and said, "Mr. Luther, it's an honor to meet you. Agent Rodriguez sends his regards."
Luther narrowed his eyes, staring at Schiller. All his reason told him that the man before him was a typical, infamous FBI agent—experienced, cunning, and difficult to deal with; calling him a "blue-skinned dog" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
But his intuition told him it wasn't that simple. Those gray eyes shrouded in shadow seemed to hold a more dangerous secret.
“Would you like to talk, Mr. Luther?” Schiller asked.
Just to be on the safe side, Luther didn't refuse. He prepared to strike first: "Who do you work for? The president?"
“I work for the Federation, sir,” Schiller said with a smile.