amaotonovel Chapter 3759 Rapid Pursuit (4)
Chapter 3759 Rapid Pursuit (4)
Chapter 3759 Rapid Pursuit (Part 4)
“I told you, I didn’t kill him. The League of Assassins has invested so many resources in you, why throw yourselves into disarray at this crucial moment?” Talia leaned against the window, the pitch-black night of Gotham City behind her. Her long black hair gleamed with a cold, eerie light, and her thin eyebrows furrowed together, conveying strong disapproval.
“My party is ruined.” Elliott sat on the bed, the expensive silk sheets shimmering softly under the bright light, but his face was so pale that even the most magnificent decorations could not make him look more confident.
"The body that fell was one of the bodyguards I assigned to you. They were already waiting near the banquet hall when the banquet started. The only person who could have done it was someone who attended the banquet."
"Who do you suspect?"
“Many people have motives,” Talia said, walking a few steps to the other side of the bed and pacing back and forth. “Perhaps Jason Todd.”
"How could you think it was him?" Elliott seemed even more disapproving.
“He’s too young and too ambitious. Gotham Defense is actually enjoying the fruits of your governance of Gotham. Besides, he was in charge of the security for this entire banquet, so he has to be held responsible for it.”
"Do you think I can shift all the blame onto him?"
“You have to give those celebrities an explanation,” Talia said, sitting down next to Elliott. “The election is about to begin, and we don’t have much time left. Whoever is trying to trip you up at this time, you can’t hold back anymore.”
“I don’t think it makes any sense to do this,” Elliott continued. “It’s you guys, the League of Assassins, who have always been unable to deal with March. If you could have taken care of this rival sooner, I wouldn’t have to worry about any election at all.”
Talia sighed and stood up again. The sound of her high heels on the floor was somewhat dull, causing an inexplicable sense of irritation. Even as one's gaze followed her slender, sexy legs upwards, her graceful figure could not dispel this unease.
“We suspect there may be another mysterious organization behind March, and we need more time to investigate and deal with it.”
"It takes time, it takes time... I've given you plenty of time..."
“What I mean is, we can investigate him, and the organization behind him can naturally investigate you as well. Or they might actually want to get rid of you too. But all of this can’t be made public, so you can only find a scapegoat.”
Elliott's lips suddenly tightened, and his eyes revealed tension. He said, "You mean, the people behind March don't just want to kill my bodyguards; their goal is actually to kill me?"
"That's right. So the bodyguard's accident might be a good thing for you; at least you've escaped this disaster."
"Then how can you guarantee that their assassins won't target me again?!"
“I can’t guarantee that. I will do my best to protect you. You must suppress March on the front lines for all of this to be of any use. Otherwise, we will all die a horrible death.”
"You know who that organization is, right?"
Talia suddenly made a shushing gesture, and Elliott heard the cries of night owls coming from outside the window.
"Gu-Gu Gu——"
*Thud!* A gauntlet-covered fist slammed into the frame next to the cargo container. Jason said grimly, "If someone dies at this banquet, that guy will definitely blame me. You guys better keep a close eye on that shipment at the dock; we absolutely can't let him find any fault with it."
The person in front of him responded repeatedly. Jason looked up at the warehouse in front of him, where a considerable amount of weaponry was stored. The so-called defense group was actually an arms company, or more accurately, a reseller, purchasing weapons from manufacturers and distributing them throughout the East Coast.
Because of Wayne Corporation's backing, Red Line Defense Group never had to worry about selling its imported goods. If Elliott became suspicious of him, not only would the goods be difficult to sell, but Elliott might also use evidence of his involvement in shady dealings to bring him down. He had to strike first.
"I'm afraid you'll have to strike first." A voice came from behind Jason. Jason turned around abruptly and saw a strangely dressed young man standing at the elevator entrance.
He was dressed in a tight-fitting suit, not unlike those masked monsters, but what was very unique was that his mask had two round eye patches with upright, feather-like metal decorations on top, making him look like an owl.
“The Court of Owls?” Jason squinted and reached for the weapon at his waist.
“So you did investigate us.” The man took two steps forward, arms crossed, and said, “Dick Grayson, the Claw of the Court of Owls, and also the head of the Court of Owls’ security operations in Gotham. Don’t be too nervous, I’m here to talk to you about your most pressing issue.”
"Don't act like you're some big brother." Jason sneered. "You guys got thrashed by the League of Assassins, and the defenses of the entire Gotham area are almost broken, aren't you? You have way more to worry about than I do."
“I didn’t expect you could see through everything.” The other person’s tone was still relaxed, as if victory was assured. He said, “Someone died at the banquet you were in charge of security for. Elliott will definitely pin the blame on you. He knows you won’t take the blame willingly, so he will definitely use Wayne Group’s power to suppress Red Line. Under Wayne Group’s encirclement, how long can your cash flow last?”
"Did you kill them?"
"Just pretend it's us. If not, the murderer has done us a huge favor. With this body between you and Elliott, you can never be friends again."
“You’re a complete idiot,” Jason said. “If you didn’t kill them, it means something has slipped out of your control. Even if it’s to your advantage for now, it will eventually cause chaos. Instead of investigating, you’re trying to go with the flow. I’m not going to work with an idiot like that.”
Dick's face darkened. He lowered his eyes slightly, like a dozing owl.
"To find a loophole and make you admit to this, Elliott will definitely investigate your most recent shipment. Do you really think there's absolutely no problem with that?"
"I admit I imported twelve RIM-72 Raptor missiles, but that was just normal cargo. What reason does Elliott have to stop me from doing normal business?"
"Then why did you pack them in a container of building timber?" Dick scoffed. "You're just admitting it."
Jason's expression turned cold.
"What do you want?"
"Work with me, and I'll help you sort out this mess."
Jason's relaxed hands tightened slightly again. He said expressionlessly, "Come with me."
They left the underground warehouse and returned to their upstairs office to discuss their meeting. As the two figures disappeared into the elevator, the warehouse's security camera flashed. A short while later, when the elevator doors opened, the light shining through cast regular golden rectangles on the dark floor. Within the frames stood a slender figure.
"Mr. President! Mr. President! Something terrible has happened!"
A man in a suit rushed in, practically bursting through the door to the CEO's office. He shouted at Jason, who was standing by the window, "The warehouse security system has been hacked! Someone just broke into the warehouse and stole important goods!"
"Important goods? What goods?"
"RIM-72 Raptor missile!!!"
A helicopter flew over Gotham's Old Town, and Elliott, sitting inside, frowned. His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of his seat, clearly making some difficult decision. A new email notification popped up on his tablet, but he didn't have time to check it; he simply sat in the helicopter, looking down at the chaotic Old Town.
“I’ve never liked it here,” Elliott said. But there was no one else on the helicopter except him and the pilot, so he was really talking to himself.
"Chaos, filth, waves of rebels constantly causing me trouble," he said with a sneer. "And some people even say that if Bruce Wayne hadn't gone mad, he would have done better than me. Too bad, he's dead now."
As the drizzle began to fall, the wind seemed to take on a tangible form. The helicopter was about to land on the roof of the Wayne Group building. In a fleeting moment, Elliott spotted a figure above the gargoyles on the top floor—a man in a suit holding an umbrella, standing atop the gargoyles' heads, his figure slender and tall, like the shadow of the night rain.
"Zi-"
A sharp, rapid whistling sound rang in his ears. The missile, trailing a long, meteor-like contrail, streaked past the window and struck the helicopter's tail.
"boom!!!"
A violent explosion erupted, and the helicopter lurched and crashed towards the old town. There, gunfire raged all night; the rebels were fully armed, and Elliott unfortunately landed among them.
"Damn it!" Jason, who had just reached the edge of the building, looked down and saw the helicopter wreckage still belching black smoke. Claw Dick was about to jump almost immediately, but Jason grabbed him and roared, "What are you doing? You still want to save him?!"
“He won’t die. If you don’t go to save him, this mess will definitely be pinned on you,” Dick said to him. “The person who stole the missile is clearly trying to frame you. Do you want him to succeed?!”
“If we go down now, he can treat us like a rebel army and wipe us out in one fell swoop. Do you think he wouldn’t do it?!”
Dick paused. Jason continued, "The missiles won't kill him, and neither will these rebels. We'd better stay out of the way and deal with the missile problem first."
"I can help you delete all the surveillance videos, logistics records, and even Lex Group's transaction records. If he still manages to trace it back to you after that, then you're out of luck."
Jason shook his head and said, "Since it's a frame-up, the person who stole the missile must have gotten these records first. It might be too late for you to delete them now. I can only try to catch this person."
What did the security cameras in your warehouse capture?
"There's only a silhouette, and it looks just as strange as you."
“It can’t be the Court of Owls,” Dick said firmly. “If you’re going to suspect anyone, you should suspect the Guild of Assassins. They’ll definitely be pushing Elliott to frame you for the banquet murders. If Elliott hasn’t made up his mind, they’ll give him a hand.”
"There's no use talking about this now, let's catch the thief first."
On the street below the building, the resistance forces surrounded the crashed helicopter. Elliott emerged somewhat disheveled, but this was the edge of the old town, and his mechanical security forces arrived as quickly as possible.
The rebel leader was a red-haired woman who wore an eye patch and appeared to be blind. Beside her was a petite woman in full armor, and on the other side was a young man wearing a red and green bodysuit and cape.
The rebels immediately opened fire on the defense forces. A petite woman in a tight-fitting bodysuit and masked figure flashed into the enemy ranks like lightning, heading straight for Elliott.
Elliott frantically dodged backward, and the fully armed security personnel fired at him, but missed. In his panic, Elliott hid behind a shattered helicopter tail section, unaware that a pale figure was reaching out to him from behind the wreckage.