aircannonsinc Chapter 130, Section 27: The Curtain Rises
Chapter 130, Section 27: The Curtain Rises
Chapter 130, Section 27: The Curtain Rises
When Jason fell onto the mat for the eighth time, Thomas reached out his hand to him.
"You're not quite yourself today. I'll take care of your feelings, but the enemy won't."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne."
"It's okay, I think I understand, it's because he's back?" Helping Jason up, Thomas took off his judo uniform and walked to the French windows.
The man's muscular body, covered in scars, was vaguely reflected on the snow-covered glass.
Outside the window, a blizzard is raging in Gotham.
From the windows on the top floor of Wayne Tower, one could clearly witness this spectacle: snowflakes, carried by the gale, swirled and twirled in the air, falling heavily and then soaring high into the sky, finally disappearing from Thomas's sight. They might melt in puddles, or fly over manhole covers and into the sewers, or drift into someone's collar and stick to the bare skin on the back of their neck.
Who knows how it will end, just like the unpredictable lives of most Gothamites.
Jason had finished showering and changed into his old clothes. He was rubbing his wet hair with a towel.
"Mr. Wayne, I'll be going now."
"These things are for you; you'd better take them with you tonight."
Thomas pointed to the rotating equipment on the wall: a bulletproof windbreaker, a red carbon fiber mask, and two menacing pistols with owl emblems engraved on their grips.
"This gift is too precious. This is the equipment made for you. Are you not taking it so I can gain weight and wear it?" Thomas turned around and looked at Jason.
Jason thought the other person was probably telling a lame joke, but the furrowed brows, as if they had seen an enemy, made him hesitant to jump to conclusions.
So Jason could only go along with Thomas's expression.
Honestly, holding back laughter is quite a struggle.
After Jason left, Thomas stood by the window for a while before returning to the fireplace. He poured himself a glass of red wine and turned on the TV.
"Breaking news! According to our reporter, an unknown group has hijacked twenty buses operating in the city, including two school buses full of children." Before the news could finish, the television station's signal was suddenly hijacked.
After a period of static, a man wearing a purple top hat appeared on the television screen.
"Good evening, dear citizens of Gotham!"
Accompanied by a low, almost sobbing laugh, two pale, slender fingers pinched the tip of the hat.
"It's finally game time again! This time I want to play something big with all of you!"
"Look at the raging snow outside the window! There must be plenty of people stuck on the streets. The roads are slippery, the roads are icy, one wrong step and you're dead—ha ...
He took off his hat, revealing his ugly face filled with a sinister grin.
"There are twenty vehicles in total, including the school bus, that I've planted bombs on. If they go below 80 km/h—no, in this weather, reaching 80 km/h is really difficult—I'll lower the bar a bit. Below 50 km/h, they'll explode with a 'bang!'"
"Of course, different vehicles have different game conditions, such as those eighteen buses."
"If any passengers don't want to play the game, they can just smash a window and jump out. I'm such a fair person, I never force anyone to play, but everything has conditions. If the number of people on the bus drops below 25, the bus will explode immediately!!!"
"If more than half of the vehicles explode, that is, eight vehicles, the first school bus full of children will explode, and when all the buses are destroyed, the second school bus will also explode!!!!"
"If you don't want to see those poor, innocent people huddled in their seats, trembling, blown to pieces, Gotham citizens, then hurry up and shovel the snow and clear the roads! Please, give them a way to live!"
At this point, the clown suddenly straightened his back, grabbed the video camera, and projected his bloodshot eyes onto the screen.
"Of course, I've also prepared a deluxe gift package for the gangs of Gotham!!!!!"
He raised his right hand, exposing a thick brown paper document bag to the video.
"You all know what this is, right? You also know why Maroney has been able to sit on the throne of Gotham, right? Now I'm giving you a chance to ascend the throne. I've hidden this thing somewhere in Gotham, and the clues are in those buses riddled with bombs!"
"There are three clues in total, and each set of six buses shares one clue. If you want to gather all the clues and find the treasure as soon as possible, then protect the buses. I bet someone will go to any lengths to destroy these clues."
"The game lasts twelve hours. When the time is up, all the bombs will become ineffective. Let me wish all the gamers good luck! Haha ...
Thomas Jr. lay nestled in the sofa, silently enjoying the Joker's crime trailer, taking a sip of red wine from his wine glass.
"Heh, what a unique madman."
He can still leisurely enjoy the clown's performance now, but he can't laugh the next second.
After the trailer ended, the Joker didn't rush to cut off the video; instead, he turned the brown paper bag over.
What was presented to Isaiah Thomas was a totem drawn in blood, representing the Court of Owls.
With a crisp, clattering sound.
Thomas crushed the wine glass, and a fiery blaze erupted from his previously drowsy eyes.
This is a declaration of war! He really is a madman!!!
For so many years, the owl has never revealed its true face to the world. As a highly secretive organization, it can exist in urban rumors and in the shadows of deep boxes, but it can never exist in the public eye.
Manipulating capital and corrupting public office, the Court of Owls, composed of a group of Gotham's top elites, is the de facto controller of Gotham. The members have the dirtiest blood of the Onsa colonists flowing in their veins, and the hereditary system maintains the purity of this bloodline.
Scalping American Indians, transporting slaves on the Mayflower immigrant ships, and spreading war and death to every corner of the world—these actions demonstrated their commitment to justice.
This is what their ancestors did, and they are simply continuing this tradition in a more secretive way.
For example, raising a ruthless army to deal with those who have become wary of the courts.
While the Claws are powerful, they are far from invincible. There are some people in this world who can destroy an entire court with the flick of a finger, so they are destined to live only in the shadows and cracks in the brickwork. They use the owl as their totem, yet they are more like the rats that can be found everywhere in Gotham, fearing the sunlight.
The clown's display of the totem in public greatly increases the likelihood of its exposure in court.
If nothing unexpected happens, the remaining Claw troops will soon begin to regroup.
The goal was to assassinate the Joker.
Thomas Jr. was on the phone.
He was waiting for the summons.
Thomas's phone rang, and he answered it.
"The time has come." A deep, resonant male voice sounded from the other end.
"Yes, Bane, the time is right," Isaiah Thomas responded.