Chapter 5: The Action Begins
Crouched on the rooftop opposite the heavily guarded building, Wayne observed the sentries patrolling the interior. Outside, the guards were meticulous, checking every possible blind spot. Even the rooftop had snipers scanning the perimeter.
This level of discipline was beyond the capacity of a standard street gang. It confirmed that whoever had unified Hell's Kitchen possessed resources and organization far exceeding a typical mob boss.
Walking through the front door was impossible. But Wayne had no intention of knocking politely.
Night is the perfect time for a bat to hunt.
"Status report?"
The sniper on the roof pressed his headset, speaking calmly. "Clear. Not even a ghost."
"Don't get complacent. The boss will skin us if we miss anything," the voice on the other end warned, though the tone was relaxed.
"Yeah, yeah. You just stay in your monitoring room and eat your hamburger," the sniper replied, chewing his gum. He pulled his earpiece out slightly as laughter erupted from the control room.
"Damn bastards," the sniper muttered. He was stuck out here in the wind and cold while they sat in a climate-controlled room stuffing their faces.
But there was nothing he could do about it. The world was unfair.
He held his breath and returned his eye to the scope, scanning the sector. Suddenly, a black shadow flashed across his field of vision.
The sniper swung his rifle instantly, searching for the movement. Nothing. Just empty rooftop.
He pulled his eye away from the scope and shook his head. "Even the best snipers have hallucinations sometimes," he chuckled to himself.
"Sometimes, what you see is not an illusion."
A deep, terrifying voice rumbled directly behind him.
The sniper's blood ran cold. He froze, unsure if the presence behind him was human or a ghost.
"What... what are you?" the sniper stammered, trying to turn.
Wayne stood calmly behind him, watching the man tremble.
"A criminal."
Wayne leaned in, clamped a gloved hand over the sniper's mouth and nose, and slammed the man's head against the concrete edge of the roof.
There was a muffled crunch. No scream, just a body going limp as consciousness was forcibly extinguished.
The sniper's position offered a perfect vantage point, but Wayne had a different use for this roof. Behind the sniper's nest was a large skylight looking down into the penthouse suite.
Below, a group of men were laughing, drinking, and celebrating. One of them had his arm around a scantily clad woman. On the coffee table between them sat stacks of U.S. dollars and piles of white powder. A safe stood open nearby, revealing even more cash.
Wayne had found what he was looking for.
The reason they left the cash exposed was simple: in their eyes, the money wasn't the most valuable asset in the room—the drugs were. But in Wayne's eyes, the drugs needed to be destroyed, and the dollars were raw materials to build his base of operations.
Looking down at the debauched scene, Wayne waited for the perfect moment. He waited for them to relax completely.
One of the men leaned forward, inhaled a line of powder, and slumped back onto the sofa with a sigh of ecstasy. The woman beside him began to attend to him.
"Hmm~ Hahaha!! This is the life we should be living!!!" the man shouted, his mind already hazy from the contraband.
No one laughed at him. They all felt the same arrogance.
"Screw Spider-Man! Screw the superheroes! They're just soft bastards who don't dare to kill! Hahaha! Look what happened—the boss crushed him like a bug."
A man holding a glass of whiskey nodded in agreement. "If those freaks weren't so annoying, we'd have been living this good years ago."
As the group's attention drifted toward their vices, they failed to notice the silhouette blocking the moonlight above them.
"What are you looking a—?"
One of the guards noticed the shadow and reached for his gun.
Wayne moved.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass made the men who weren't high jump in terror. As Wayne descended amidst the falling shards, his cape billowed out, revealing the jet-black bat symbol on his chest.
Before his boots even touched the floor, two Batarangs flew from his hands, shattering the main lights. The room plunged into gloom, lit only by dim ambient light, making the space feel claustrophobic and dangerous.
Tonight would not be a night for celebration.
"Son of a—"
The man closest to Wayne tried to shout a curse, but he was silenced by an iron fist.
CRACK.
One punch. That was all it took to shatter the man's jaw. He would likely be eating through a straw for the rest of his life. He collapsed like a dead dog, blood pooling around his ruined face.
Except for the man who was already high, everyone sobered up instantly. They drew their pistols, aiming at the dark figure.
But before they could fire, Wayne raised his grapple gun and pulled the trigger.
The sharp barb fired at point-blank range, piercing the thigh of the nearest gunman.
"AHHHH!!!"
The scream didn't slow Wayne down. He yanked the cable, using the impaled man as a human shield and a weapon, swinging him into the others to knock them off balance.
Retracting the cable, Wayne hauled the screaming man toward him, delivered a crushing blow to his chest, and sent him flying across the room.
Without giving them a chance to recover, Wayne blurred into motion. His speed and strength were on full display. He grabbed another attacker with one hand, lifting him effortlessly before slamming him down with an over-the-shoulder throw. The man crashed through the coffee table, splintering wood and scattering money everywhere.
Through the chaos, the drugged boss was still smiling crazily on the sofa, completely dissociated from reality. He didn't seem to realize his crew was being dismantled.
He waved at Wayne with a glassy look in his eyes. "Hey! Come join us! I like threesomes."
Wayne's response was concise and powerful.
He mounted the man on the sofa and delivered a piston-like punch to his face. Then another. And another.
He didn't stop until the man's features were indistinguishable. Wayne knew the man wasn't dead, but he certainly wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.