The instant the Penguinās voice sounded, the room fell into silence. The atmosphere became extremely subtle.
Baneās face turned cold, and his attitude changed drastically.
āBane, my friend, donāt get angry yet.ā
The Penguinās right hand imperceptibly held the handle of his black umbrella, with a slight smile on his face.
Bane noticed the Penguinās movements. He knew that the umbrella was actually a powerful and dangerous weapon. It made him a little more apprehensive internally.
āI donāt know whatās wrong with the nuclear bomb in your hand, and Sionis made up his mind to tear up the cooperation with you, but it doesnāt mean that I will follow suit.ā
āMr. Bane.ā
Penguin flicked his fingers on the umbrella handle.
āEveryone knows Iām a businessman and I like to make deals.ā
As soon as he finished speaking, Bane heard countless slamming sounds from outside the room.
Bane focused his attention on the Penguin, his muscles tensed up, ready to attack the Penguin at any time.
āPlease donāt mind this. Ensuring transaction security is a compulsory course for businessmen. I have long heard how strong you are. It is too dangerous to meet you alone.ā
āLife is the biggest bargaining chip, how dare I take it lightly?ā
At this time, the penguin suddenly removed his hand from the umbrella, as if giving up his weapon.
Bane looked at him suspiciously, wondering what the old penguin was thinking.
āCobblepot, what deal do you want with me?ā
āWhat I want is actually pretty simple.ā
Penguin laughed.
āGothamā¦ā
Bane instantly understood the Penguinās purpose.
Previously, Bane was the strongest among the three leading forces in Gotham, followed by Penguin, then Black Mask.
But in fact, this is just an illusion based on the deterrence of the nuclear bomb. Bane was only an outsider. Even if Miranda took the lead in developing a small gang in Gotham alongside the Cobblepot family or the Sionis family, compared with them, who have been in business for more than a hundred years, her actual influence is simply not enough.
The League of Shadows is still a re-established seedling organization. Its only seasoned veterans were Bane and Talia.
Until today, this fragile balance has finally been broken.
Although Bane was not sure whether Black Mask and the Penguin had heard about them from Phantom Kid, or they had their spies in his own camp, now, it is also unclear how much information they know about the nuclear bomb.
But there is one thing that can at least give Bane a bit of relief. It seemed that, so far, no one had discovered that the explosion of the bomb was an irreversible countdown.
Judging from the attitude of the Penguin, they may think that the nuclear bomb in Baneās hands is just a cover to deceive the government, so they have lost their greatest fear of Bane.
Once the U.S. government learns this information, they would certainly stop at nothing to destroy Bane.
The result of this is the reshuffling of the Gotham forces. Obviously, both Black Mask and the Penguin want to be the new kings of Gotham, and the two have adopted different strategies.
At this time, the black mask completely sank the ship of cooperation. He might have called for war against the GCPD, but in fact, he likely wanted to join forces with Gordon to deal with Bane.
His real purpose is nothing more than to clean up his own power after the collapse of Baneās power, increase the influence of the Sionis family in the police and political circles, and gradually erode everything in Gotham.
The GCPD is just a springboard, and the target that he really wants to unite with is the mayor of Gotham City.
This typical old-fashioned approach worked just fine ten years ago.
Itās a pity that Black Mask was locked in Arkham too early, and he didnāt know that the current situation had changed a long time ago. As a large-scale underworld force, Sionis dared to influence the political world so blatantly.
No need for opposition from the Pentagon, the White House, or the Triskelion, the first one who doesnāt agree would only be the Tracksuit Mafia in New York!
Kingpin established the worldās largest criminal empire in the United States,
He allows competing gangs in the country, even if they donāt listen to him. But the bridge between the underworld and the government, the only channel that truly allows the underworld leader to wield enormous power, was only in Fiskās hands.
Even the Penguin dare not put people into government agencies fairly and openly. The practice of Black Mask is simply a provocation to Kingpin.
Of course, the Penguin, who has undergone so many changes, wonāt ask for such trouble like Black Mask.
Power is a good thing and can make the most determined person sink into it, but too much power is often poison.
Do you think the biggest mafia in America is Kingpinās?
No, itās the federal governmentā¦
The Penguin has already seen this through.
He seeks power, but only within the city of Gotham.
Going out, money is a more desirable thing.
So what the Penguin wants to trade with Bane is pretty straightforward.
The two team up to destroy Black Mask, and then take care of the GCPD along the way.
Moreover, the Penguin has a great appetite, and all the territory and resources of Black Mask will belong to him, and Bane wonāt be left with even a mouthful of soup.
Thereās no other way, the Penguin has āevidenceā in his hand.
Bane sneered inwardly.
The Penguinās deal was exactly what he wanted. He came to the Iceberg Club for this purpose, but he didnāt expect the Penguin to propose it first.
Anyway, the countdown to the nuclear bomb is only a few days away, and the more chaotic Gotham is during this time, the better.
As a result, Bane happily agreed to the Penguinās proposal.
The two agreed not to make any sudden moves to numb Black Maskās nerves and make him think that his side was trying to sit back and watch the fight.
Then, when the Black Maskās gang will almost be gathered and about to āconvergeā with Jim Gordon, Bane and the Penguin will suddenly appear again, destroying Black Mask and the GCPD in one fell swoop.
It will make it easier to incorporate the remnants of Black Mask.
No doubt, they definitely have such strength.
The plan was initially drawn up, and Bane left the Iceberg Club.
Until then, the Penguin was relieved. The face-to-face conversation with Bane, and on such a sensitive topicā¦ In fact, he was not as relaxed as he seemed.
He dared to conclude that Baneās reaction wouldnāt be too great. After all, this is the Penguinās base camp. No matter how strong Bane is, he canāt escape the Iceberg Club.
Basically, it is conceivable that if the two of them fail to negotiate, they will die together.
On the other hand, after Mathison got crucial information from Lucius, many clues that could not be sorted out were all strung together.
Before the official performance, there is only one thing left to confirm.
Thatās right: the mysterious disappearance of the suspected fourth truck.
That is to say, Lucius was already locked up and obviously did not know any relevant information about the statue mechanism near the Wayne Building when the truck departed.
Likewise, Mathison did not know about these mechanisms at this time