"Are you talking about this?"
In response to Gordon's questioning, Kaitou Kid flipped his left hand, and a crystal-clear blue gem appeared in his palm.
Gordon didn't look at the tear of the goddess. Instead, he issued a direct warning.
"Kaitou Kid, the Gotham Museum of Art has already been sealed off. You won't be able to escape."
His gaze was firm, as if he were stating an undeniable fact.
"Judging from the notice you designed and your actions today, I believe you're a very talented person. Why resort to theft?"
Gordon suddenly began to sincerely persuade Kaitou Kid to surrender.
"Considering this is your first offense, if you return the gem, I can persuade Curator Zack not to press charges. At most, you'll be detained for a short time before being released, as long as you promise not to commit any more crimes."
Kaitou Kid could tell that Gordon wasn't lying to buy time. He genuinely wanted him to turn over a new leaf.
There weren't many good people left in Gotham, and Jim Gordon was definitely one of them.
Without his tireless efforts in the GCPD over the years, Gotham's police force would still be as dark and corrupt as ever, perhaps even worse than the Falcone Family.
Although there were still plenty of scum and lowlifes within the department, at least the teams personally led by Gordon were made up of real officers who could actually get things done.
Without the support of these people, it would have been impossible for Batman alone to suppress Gotham's murder rate so effectively.
"You make a lot of sense, Commissioner Gordon, but I don't plan on surrendering to you, nor do I believe this museum can trap me."
Kaitou Kid let out a light chuckle.
"Perhaps you don't know this yet, but the tear of the goddess in your hand is a fake."
Gordon suddenly revealed the shocking truth.
What was even more shocking was Kaitou Kid's response.
"I know."
"Heh~ From the moment I first saw it, I could tell it was a forgery."
He casually tossed the "tear of the goddess" in his hand onto the floor. A crisp sound rang out as the fake gem shattered on the spot.
"I didn't expect one of Gotham's largest museums to be so frightened by a mere thief that they'd replace the genuine article with a fake. That's nothing short of deceiving the tourists. Or was there never a real one to begin with?"
Kaitou Kid's tone was filled with mockery.
"I persuaded Curator Zack to do it. The genuine one has been hidden somewhere safe by him. This tear of the goddess was bait, used to lure you in."
So this was the plan overheard earlier in the curator's office, the one that had led Curator Zack to confidently say, "Kaitou Kid will absolutely not be able to steal the tear of the goddess."
"But!"
Gordon's voice suddenly rose. "Even if what you took was a fake and only counts as attempted theft, because of the immense value of the tear of the goddess, you'll still be sentenced. So don't do anything foolish. You still have a chance to turn back now."
"No! You have no more chances!"
At that moment, Curator Zack rushed in and roared.
"Commissioner Gordon, I know you want to save a lost lamb, but you must understand that what he attempted to steal was the tear of the goddess! That's a treasure worth over ten million dollars!"
"No matter the reason, I cannot forgive a criminal who commits such an act!"
"Stop negotiating with him, Commissioner. Arrest him now!"
As he spoke, Curator Zack looked at Kaitou Kid with open disdain.
"At first, I thought that messy notice was written by the Riddler, and it kept me on edge for days. I never expected it to really be nothing more than a petty, attention-seeking thief."
Seeing that Kaitou Kid had no intention of surrendering, Gordon gave up on persuasion and efficiently pulled a pair of silver handcuffs from his belt.
With his gun in one hand and the handcuffs in the other, he walked toward Kaitou Kid.
"Ah~ You… seem to have misunderstood one thing."
Faced with a situation where arrest seemed inevitable, there wasn't a trace of panic on Kaitou Kid's face. He maintained the same confident smile, as if everything were still under his control.
"The one just now was a fake you deliberately used to lure me. But… what about this one?"
As he finished speaking, Kaitou Kid flipped his hand again, and another tear of the goddess appeared in his palm.
It looked almost identical to the previous one, with only an extremely subtle difference in its luster.
An ordinary person wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.
Gordon couldn't see it either.
Curator Zack could see it, but he refused to believe it.
"Impossible! The real tear of the goddess is hidden in a place only I know. How could you have stolen it? That must be another fake you deliberately made!"
"An hour ago, when you were making your rounds in the staff lounge on the museum's second floor, you took a short nap for about ten minutes. You still remember that, don't you, Mr. Curator?"
"Don't you find that drowsiness a little strange? You weren't tired at all, yet you fell asleep during a high-alert patrol…"
The moment Kaitou Kid said this, Curator Zack froze in place. Terrifying possibilities surged uncontrollably through his mind.
"Could… could it be?"
"That's right. You were hypnotized by me at the time, and I asked you for the real hiding place of the tear of the goddess."
"No, impossible! If you had already stolen the real tear of the goddess, why would you come here just to steal a fake? It makes no sense! You're lying. You must be lying!"
Curator Zack glared fiercely at Kaitou Kid, desperately trying to find even a trace of guilt on his face.
But all he saw was confidence. The only one panicking was himself.
"Is that really so hard to understand?"
Kaitou Kid asked calmly.
"Taking the genuine article was to achieve my goal. Coming here to steal the fake was to keep my promise."
"Besides, if I hadn't exposed the true nature of this fake, I'm afraid the genuine article in my possession would have ended up being replaced by a fake as well."
Curator Zack's face darkened instantly.
"Kaitou Kid! Don't get ahead of yourself. If you really have the genuine article, then this is no longer just attempted theft. Being caught now means you're caught red-handed with the stolen goods!"
"You wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life in Blackgate Penitentiary, would you? Then hand over the tear of the goddess immediately. I promise, I won't press charges afterward!"
Curator Zack's attitude did a complete reversal, his tone even carrying a hint of pleading.
The reason was obvious. It was because Kaitou Kid had just smashed the fake gem.
What if he smashed the real one as well?
The tear of the goddess was a relatively brittle gemstone. While it wouldn't shatter into countless pieces like the fake, it would certainly be damaged, and its value wouldn't merely drop slightly. It would be utterly ruined.
No one would ever want a damaged gemstone.
By then, forgetting about sending Kaitou Kid to prison, even shooting him on the spot wouldn't recover the loss.
Kaitou Kid ignored Curator Zack and casually made a gesture as if checking the time on his watch.
"It's about time for my exit. Until next time, everyone."
Until next time?
Gordon and Curator Zack stared at Kaitou Kid in disbelief.
Was he joking? He was surrounded, with guards posted everywhere outside. Even if he had wings, there was no way he could escape. Where did this "until next time" come from?
See you in jail?
Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter—!!
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the exhibition hall.