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Chapter 77: A Cunning Plan to Drive Out Tigers and Wolves (II)

Of course, expecting all of Gotham to unite and follow The Godfather's orders as one was impossible. The city was rife with rebellious elements, and among them, the standout troublemaker was Salvatore Maroni.

Maroni was an ambitious man, a fact evident in the name he gave to his gang. In Gotham, not every gang had the privilege of bearing a family name. Originally, only the Falcone Family could do so, but now, all twelve gangs established by Falcone carried family surnames. The rest of the smaller gangs were named after their respective aliases.

Naming a gang after one's own surname was a great honor in Gotham, mainly because Falcone was the first to do so and had achieved unparalleled success.

By doing this, Maroni signified that he had ambitions to challenge The Godfather from the very beginning.

After the Red Crow Gang was eliminated, Maroni devoured most of its remains, and he even wiped out another gang that had opposed him for so long on the streets of the East District, leaving them almost powerless.

He wanted to go even further, especially because he knew that The Godfather was growing old. The transition of power within the Falcone Family was the ideal opportunity.

Falcone delegated many responsibilities to Evans. While Evans was intelligent, he lacked the cunning and ruthlessness of the old godfather. The two bartenders attacked by the outsiders from Metropolis were part of Evans' attempt at reform.

Maroni keenly sensed The Godfather's waning power. Young Falcone was still inexperienced, torn between his desire for reform and the absence of The Old Godfather's decisive methods. While he wanted stability, he lacked the seasoned expertise needed to achieve it. Maroni saw this as the perfect opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the Falcone Family.

Maroni speculated that The Godfather wouldn't go all-out to pursue the killers. Though losing face might undermine his authority, The Godfather was already aged. At this crucial juncture, the transfer of power was more important than saving face. Distraction could lead to chaos, and Falcone wouldn't risk that.

Initially, Maroni had planned to exploit the situation further to erode The Godfather's authority. He even contemplated impersonating individuals from Metropolis to attack The Godfather's other ventures. However, unexpectedly, Schiller ended up in the hospital, and the gangs went on a frenzied pursuit of the killers.

This situation left Maroni in a bind.

He had thought that if The Godfather pursued the killers, it wouldn't concern him directly, as long as The Godfather's attention was occupied. Maroni would then find an opportunity to encroach on Falcone Family's territories.

Maroni was a bold man who believed that The Godfather's rule was not unshakable. Even if it were, he wanted to take a bite out of him.

But what took him completely by surprise was that the entire city of Gotham was in turmoil. Almost every gang had started digging deep.

In this chaos, Maroni was unsure of his next move. If he acted now, would The Godfather turn his fury against him? Maroni intended to strike by surprise, not to challenge Falcone Family openly, as he knew he couldn't win.

However, if he didn't act now, Maroni had already made some subtle moves. If this situation passed without him establishing a solid foothold, The Godfather would settle scores with him, and it would be the end of him.

Just when he was torn, something unexpected happened. The leader of the gang of criminals approached him.

These unfortunate individuals originally operated as terrorists in the Middle East region, working as hired mercenaries for years. They had been lured to the East Coast by another contract but ended up taking another job from Metropolis.

Their employer was generous, so they worked diligently. However, Gotham proved to be an unforgiving place, and they were chased all over the city, battered and bruised. With the Piers under gang control, they couldn't escape.

Desperate, they had no choice but to seek an alliance with their enemy's enemy.

Maroni's provocations against The Godfather were well-known, even to Commissioner Gordon, and these criminals were well aware of them too. They wanted to strike a deal with Maroni. If he agreed to help them leave Gotham, they would eliminate a problem for Maroni before departing.

Maroni initially hesitated to make this deal, but he realized that these individuals had survived for so long amidst the gangs of Gotham, which meant they had some formidable skills. With such a group of assassins at his disposal, Maroni could expand his operations significantly.

Of course, Maroni had no intention of using this group to assassinate The Godfather; it would be futile, and they wouldn't agree to it. Instead, he turned his attention to another key aspect of The Godfather's newly developed industry: the police.

Maroni knew that The Godfather was reaping substantial profits from this new industry chain. If this continued, Falcone Family's rule would remain unchallenged, and Maroni would have no opportunities. Therefore, he had to disrupt this industry chain and prevent the private prison model controlled by Falcone from generating further profits.

Police and judges were crucial components of this industry chain, as they were needed to arrest individuals legally and subsequently send criminals to mental hospitals for evaluation and treatment.

Falcone exerted great effort to protect Schiller, primarily because he felt that Schiller lacked self-preservation skills. However, Schiller had provided the police with substantial firepower, so Falcone refrained from further scrutiny. After all, being a cop in the treacherous realm of Gotham required a certain level of competence. With sufficient weapons and cooperation, self-preservation should not be an issue.

Maroni had his sights set on Gordon. Initially, in dealing with the former Commissioner Victor, Maroni had chosen to support Gordon's takeover. At the time, he didn't really understand this cop, nor did he feel the need to. Gotham's police force seemed pretty uniform, and collaborating with gangs was a norm. Even the clerks pouring tea in the office had a gang affiliation.

Maroni believed that since he had supported Gordon's rise, a simple talk should be enough to make Gordon work for him. While switching sides from The Godfather's industry chain was risky, having this gang of criminals on his side meant he had options – both soft and hard.

Gordon, at this moment, was delighted because his fiancée, Barbara, had finally arrived in Gotham. He and Barbara had met at the Chicago Police Training School. At the time, he was just a rookie officer, while Barbara was an intern lawyer. They had worked together on the same case, fell in love, and got engaged.

Then, Gordon took the job in Gotham, and they were forced into a long-distance relationship due to their tight finances. They couldn't quit their jobs or think about marriage and starting a family. But now, Gordon's financial situation had improved, and they chose to live together in Gotham.

On this day, Gordon returned home from work as usual. Although there hadn't been any extra income recently, Barbara had some savings. Together, they had enough to buy a nice apartment. They had made plans to visit a house that evening, and if everything went well, they could move in within two weeks, leaving behind their cramped old rental.

Upon returning home, Gordon heard Barbara in the kitchen, and the aroma of food wafted through. After he took off his coat, he asked, "What have you made? It smells amazing!"

"Your favorite roasted lamb ribs," Barbara blinked, and Gordon put his arm around her shoulder as they walked into the dining room.

"My friend gave me a great suggestion. I contacted the landlord of the Pelican Park Estates. We can go see the house there tomorrow. If we like it, we can pay the deposit and move in right away."

"That's fantastic," Barbara said. "You know, I didn't come from a well-off family. I've never lived in a luxury apartment before. Does that house have a nursery? I really want a daughter, my little princess!"

"Of course, I want the same," Gordon kissed Barbara's cheek and then they sat down to eat.

"I want our daughter to learn dancing. I originally wanted to be a dancer myself, but I never got the chance."

"If you had become a dancer, you might never have met me," Gordon chuckled. "I think our daughter should be free to choose what she wants to do. Whether it's dancing, painting, or becoming a brilliant lawyer like you."

"Come on," Barbara made a helpless expression. "This job is exhausting. I don't want her to become a lawyer. I hope she has an easier life."

"Dancing is the same way. You're just drawn to it because you haven't experienced it. I've seen those cheerleading squads at Gotham University, and some dance students complain that it's a youth job. They say it's easy to become unemployed as you get older..."

"You really make me feel the pressure. What if our children don't do well?"

"You have to have confidence in her, and how she turns out is her choice."

"Even if she becomes a cop in such a dangerous city like you?"

"Oh, dear," Gordon said. "Don't say that."

"I know, you've told me before. Your dream is to be a cop because you were born in Chicago, another dangerous city. A cop saved your mother, and you want to be a cop who upholds justice."

"But this job is really dangerous. I've said it more than once. We can go live in my hometown together, even if money is tight. At least it's safe."

Gordon sighed. He knew Barbara had a point. With the money he was making now, they could buy a villa in the Arizona countryside. He could find a job as a deputy sheriff, and Barbara could work as a legal consultant. It would be peaceful and happy.

But even though Gordon knew Gotham was a hellhole, he just couldn't bring himself to leave. He believed that if the police couldn't stay in the most dangerous places to protect people, what was the point?