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"Commissioner Gordon, I know what I did was wrong. You can even send me to prison if you want, but please, you have to save my daughter as soon as possible. The Riddler is a demon. Heaven knows what he'll do to her."
Lawson pleaded with Gordon once more.
"You won't go to prison, Mr. Lawson. I promise you, the GCPD will use every ounce of its strength to rescue your daughter. We will not allow the Riddler to run wild again."
Gordon made the promise solemnly.
"Commissioner Gordon, when you say you'll use every ounce of strength, does that mean…"
Hearing this, Lawson's face lit up as he asked eagerly, "Will you ask Batman to help?"
Gordon's expression twitched slightly.
He had worked hard to improve the GCPD's investigative abilities, and more and more cases were now being solved without relying on Batman.
Even so, whenever something major happened in Gotham, people still thought of Batman first rather than the GCPD.
In truth, even Gordon himself did.
The moment he learned of the Riddler's escape, he had already been ready to contact Batman at any time.
That undeniable fact left a lingering sense of powerlessness deep in Gordon's heart.
"I'm sorry," Gordon said flatly. "I don't know what this 'Batman' you're talking about is."
Although every Gothamite knew there was an unspoken connection between the GCPD and Batman, on the surface Batman was still treated as nothing more than an urban legend. Gordon could not and would not publicly acknowledge his existence.
"Please, Commissioner Gordon, you have to ask Batman for help. I know you will. I'm entrusting my daughter's life to all of you."
Lawson was completely unmoved by Gordon's stiff attempt at distancing.
Gordon had no words. He only nodded in silence.
After that, he asked Lawson about his daughter's activities before her disappearance, hoping to narrow down where Janice might have been taken.
Once the questioning ended, Gordon had someone escort the distraught Lawson home and officially launched the rescue operation.
They split into two main directions. The first team focused all their efforts on deciphering the Riddler's riddle as quickly as possible to determine Janice's location.
The second team investigated the places Janice often visited, hoping to find clues left behind when she was abducted.
Judging by the time she went missing, the Riddler likely had not taken her somewhere too remote. As long as they could identify the kidnapping site, they could probably deduce where she was being held now.
...
Meanwhile, at the Gotham Clock Tower.
Tim and Barbara had made the same division of labor.
"Next, I'll hack into all of Gotham's surveillance records to track the girl's movements. You focus on cracking Nygma's riddle."
Barbara summarized as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
The "Nygma" she mentioned was the Riddler's surname. His full name was Edward Nygma.
"Hurry, Tim. We have at most three days, but Nygma is a sore loser. When he has the upper hand, he acts like a gentleman who keeps his word. Once he realizes he's lost, though, he flies into a rage. So in reality, we might only have two days."
"Maybe we should call Batman back," Tim suggested suddenly.
"It's too late. He's still dealing with things in Markovia," Barbara said, shaking her head. "His last experience there left his relationship with the Outsiders strained. Telling him about the Riddler now would only distract him."
It wasn't that she hadn't thought about calling Batman back. After all, he was the one who had defeated the Riddler the most times. Batman was practically the Riddler's natural enemy. No matter how twisted or illogical the riddles were, Batman always managed to solve them.
The problem was that the Riddler had chosen to resurface precisely when Batman was not in Gotham.
It could not have been worse.
"By the way, Barbara, do you think… Kaitou Kid will accept the Riddler's challenge?"
Tim asked after hesitating for a moment.
"Hm? Kaitou Kid? Probably not," Barbara replied without much thought.
"The person Nygma kidnapped and that necklace clearly aren't things Kaitou Kid values. He has no reason to put himself in danger to save someone. You have to remember, Kaitou Kid is still a criminal at heart. It's just that the harm he's caused so far hasn't been that serious."
"…But Catwoman does good things sometimes too, doesn't she?"
Barbara's hands paused over the keyboard, and she turned to look at Tim.
"In your eyes, are Kaitou Kid and Catwoman the same kind of person?"
"And what about Azrael?" Tim went on. "He started out as a deranged villain, but didn't he turn over a new leaf later?"
He kept listing examples.
"Maybe Kaitou Kid really isn't that bad. But because of that, I actually hope he doesn't fall into the Riddler's trap."
Barbara turned back to her screen.
"Yeah, you're right."
Hearing that, Tim nodded in agreement.
He pushed the jumble of thoughts out of his head and focused on the riddle the Riddler had left behind.
"The salesman of death hears the call of the waves. He shall be buried where three tilted crossroads overlap, while the despicable murderer smiles before his tombstone."
"Tch, this is exactly why I've always hated the Riddler," Tim muttered, scratching his head in frustration. "His riddles are nothing like Kaitou Kid's. Even if you can't solve Kaitou Kid's riddles right away, you can still see their structure. But this… at first glance, it's just a complete mess."
"Salesman of death, call of the waves, tilted crossroads, a murderer smiling. What is all of this supposed to mean?"
...
Night fell over Gotham City,
Central Square.
A long time had passed since the Riddler issued his challenge on the giant screen. Logically, the crowd that had gathered earlier should have mostly dispersed by now.
But that was not the case at all.
Not only had the number of people in the square not decreased, it had grown even larger than before.
"Oh my god, I can't believe what I'm seeing."
Someone in the crowd cried out in excitement.
"Kaitou Kid is so cool. Even if it's just words, it's still amazing. I knew I didn't admire the wrong person!"
Others cheered just as loudly.
The reason for their reaction was the screen that had previously shown the Riddler's recording. All the colors and images had vanished, leaving only black and white.
On the white background, several lines of bold black text stood out clearly.
♦~~Edward Nygma, I accept your challenge.
When Nyx extinguishes the final torch, I shall come to take the hand of the Princess of Troy.
Kaitou Kid~~♦
Beside the message was Kaitou Kid's familiar cartoon avatar.
This was clearly his response to the Riddler.
It was also a brand new heist notice.
Only this time, unlike his past targets of priceless gems, what Kaitou Kid intended to steal was the hostage herself.
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