Chapter 27 is finished... I promise I'll never write flashbacks again...
The guy in charge was clearly inexperienced; he probably had never been involved in kidnapping or similar activities before. He stared blankly for a while, not knowing what to say.
Thomas took a deep breath.
What are you trying to do?
“Kidnapping,” one of them said.
Okay, so it definitely couldn't be a kidnapping.
Who kidnaps the only two people left in a family? Who can they ask for ransom from?
"Why did you kidnap us?" Thomas asked the group of "kidnappers" patiently.
These "kidnappers" were quite professional, wearing masks to avoid revealing their true identities. Their actions of cutting off the car earlier also showed that they frequently engaged in this kind of activity.
The only thing they weren't good at was kidnapping, which required Thomas to ask them step by step.
“Of course we want money,” one man replied impatiently. “What else would we want from kidnapping you?”
"Are you sure you want money? Inefficient communication is not good for any of us."
Thomas was just one step away from making that announcement.
Not everyone can understand what he means.
Enraged, the kidnapper leader pulled out a dagger and held it to Thomas's neck, threatening, "Stop talking nonsense."
"Don't take on work you don't understand, especially if you don't know the job objectives."
"Ten million!" the man said, "in exchange for your life."
Thomas looked at the ground, his tone unusually angry: "Idiot, you've tied us both up, who's going to collect the ransom? Do you expect some Gotham fool to keep a whole ten million dollars in his house, or do you expect me to give my bank password to my butler?"
Thomas, on the other hand, was so disappointed in them that he immediately silenced everyone present.
Even Bruce, who was untying the ropes, was surprised; he rarely remembered Thomas showing anger.
“While I still have patience,” Thomas said impatiently, “make it clear what you want. I’ve never seen such unprofessional kidnappers in Gotham. Couldn’t you have done some market research before changing careers?”
The kidnapper's expression changed, and he pressed the knife down, slashing a bloody gash across the kidnapper's neck.
Thomas didn't seem to care. He continued, "Has any of you even considered the flaws in this plan?"
“It was this flawed plan that got you caught,” the leader said. “Your lives are still in our hands.”
"Really? Are you sure?" Thomas sneered. "Has your superiors approved it?"
Thomas didn't play by the rules at all, catching everyone off guard.
There's no use pretending now, Kelvin silently got up.
The leader was about to deny it when Kelvin knocked him unconscious.
The knife slid down Thomas's clothes and fell to the ground.
"These are your former colleagues?" Thomas commented. "A bunch of puppets who only know how to obey orders. You can't train people just as tools."
Therefore, we should abandon humans and just use tools. Why add this extra step? If tools can replace humans, that would be great.
Kelvin ignored his sarcasm (which was actually genuine advice) and asked, "How did you figure that out?"
Of course, it was thanks to the equipment that Nite Owl had personally modified over the years and the tracking devices installed on several claws that Thomas knew from the car that this "kidnapping" was absolutely safe. The Court of Owls was definitely not prepared to die together with Thomas.
But of course he couldn't tell the truth.
“We’ve been dealing with them for so many years, and you’re the only ones who aren’t good at kidnapping and extortion when it comes to such blatant carjacking (yes, they generally don’t extort; the Owl Court just kills the whole family and then divides the assets, extortion is too inefficient).” Thomas looked away. “And I know you don’t want to die. If these people are a threat, you’ll definitely be the first to step in.”
This is Thomas's interpersonal relationship, and he is very self-aware of it.
"Of course, if you want to die with me, you're welcome to do so," Thomas said nonchalantly, treating death as naturally as air.
Humans cannot live without air, and they also cannot live without death. Therefore, death is just as important as air, which is a perfect conclusion.
The kidnappers remained silent, waiting for Kelvin to give the order. They tacitly agreed that Kelvin, the Night Owl, had personally chosen the leader to carry out the mission.
In fact, during this period, with Night Owl's embellishment, the Court of Owls was divided into several factions: some wanted to join Wayne, some wanted to fight Wayne directly, some wanted to fight Night Owl directly, and some wanted to abandon Gotham and flee for their lives... They were busy fighting among themselves, so their control over Claws was much looser than before. That's why Kelvin was able to find many former colleagues to falsely convey Night Owl's "decree".
"Untie me, or I'll kill your brother." Kelvin took a deep breath.
His original plan was to tie up both men and force Thomas to remove the collar from his neck. Thomas couldn't die immediately, but how many forms of torture in this world could spare someone's life? With a little effort, he could eventually force him to do it.
But to prevent Thomas from dying suddenly during torture (which is quite possible; in Kelvin's view, Thomas had never considered how he should live after he turned thirty, and his lifestyle was even worse than Claw's), he decided to target Bruce first.
Brother? Who? Me?
Bruce paused for a moment as he untied the rope, wondering if it was a dereliction of duty on the part of the Department of Motor Vehicles that mentally ill people could obtain full driver's licenses.
“Don’t make threats that you can’t do,” Thomas sighed, “especially when everyone knows you can’t.”
In Thomas's eyes, the fact that Batman could thwart his plans meant that Batman was practically on the same level as him, and the arrogant man didn't believe that Bruce could be killed by a few claws.
The Wayne brothers untied their ropes at roughly the same time.
Bruce quickly got up, grabbed a chair and smashed it at the claws, then picked up a dagger from the ground and stood guard in front of them.
Thomas showed no intention of standing up; he simply shifted his sitting position, pulled out a button from somewhere, and started playing with it.
Claw reacted quickly, easily kicking the chair away. He intended to retaliate, but was stopped by Kelvin.
“Smart.” Thomas tossed the button in his hand. “Looks like you’ve finally remembered that your life is still in my hands. I thought you’d come to your senses.”
Bruce looked at him in surprise, seemingly wanting to say something, but considering they were still surrounded by Claws, he simply kept quiet.
"You're a madman," Kelvin said through gritted teeth, like a trapped beast. "You're a madman."
“Look in the mirror and see who’s more of a madman,” Thomas retorted. “Being able to come up with this kind of messed-up plan is worse than being a madman.”
Thomas looked as disheveled as a rain-soaked owl, but he acted like a king at a banquet, condescendingly lecturing the group of claws, not even considering them as opponents, but as a group of children who had failed their exams and needed to be educated.
“Go drive us back to Wayne Manor.” Thomas didn’t even glance at them. “I need to go back and change.”
Kelvin glared at him and went to get the car.
"You still dare to ride in his car?"
Thomas met his gaze with a puzzled look and retorted, "Otherwise what? I paid him his salary, and Kelvin is an excellent driver."
Whether he knows the way back is secondary; Bruce, who isn't dizzy at all, definitely remembers. Thomas trusts Batman's intelligence.
Bruce hesitated for a moment, but eventually took the driver's seat and tied Kelvin up like a dumpling in the back seat.
Help! What happened to Thomas? Why does it seem to have gotten worse?
-----------------------
A note from the author:
My head is about to explode, the kids are so noisy.
I'll start systematically revising the text tomorrow... Could JJ please add a feature to only show the bug fixes? It's so tiring to scroll through all that [crying emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
