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—
Gotham
Black Mask's business may have a legal front, but that did not mean he kept all his money in the financial system. A considerable sum was stashed all around Sionis' territory in Gotham as a precaution in case of asset forfeiture by the authorities.
Roman had four locations where he hid his wealth: a church, two warehouses, and a vault beneath a fast food restaurant—places people wouldn't exactly think to search for millions of dollars of cash.
Captain Neuman was handling the warehouses with his men; armed with cryogenic weaponry, they didn't have to worry about collateral damage.
Miles, along with Claire and a couple of mercenaries to move the wealth Sionis had hidden, was to deal with the fast food joint and the church.
Dressed in Gotham City Fire Department uniforms, with the helmet and mask covering his head, along with an engine and an ambulance, Miles barged inside the restaurant. "There is a gas leak on this street; everyone evacuate and get away as far as you can right now." He ordered, and the people stood still for a second, processing his words, before throwing themselves out of the store in a stampede.
Cameras in the store were shut down by Zalika, and the group got to work immediately.
Claire melted the door hidden inside the storage area, and the crew began to carry the bags filled with money out of the vault and into the fake ambulance they had brought, with the remaining crew making sure no civilians were in sight.
Ten minutes, and they had moved out millions of dollars belonging to Roman Sionis before anyone even realized there was no gas line in that street.
—
The church was a somewhat trickier affair, since there was a mass going on, so Miles had to resort to more direct means.
A dispersal device, filled with a condensed, fast-acting anesthetic gas, was deployed inside the church beforehand, and when the time came, all it took was the push of a button, and the members of the church began to fall asleep one by one, unaware anything was going on at all.
Cleaning out the vault took noticeably longer since Sionis had hidden more of his wealth there than at the fast food restaurant, though they were long gone before anyone even woke up and called the police.
—
They didn't just target the physical wealth he had on hand but his accounts as well. Zalika, working through the new computer he had installed, began to siphon Sionis' wealth, directing it to offshore accounts and wiping out any trace of the transactions from the system.
When someone checked the accounts, it would appear as if the money had simply vanished.
And he had just the perfect scapegoat.
"Sir, we found Sionis' accountant. What should we do with him?"
"Bring him to me."
—
GCPD
Commissioner's Office
GCPD had arrested Roman Sionis on a list of charges as long as Batman's cape, who had arrived as soon as Jim Gordon requested his assistance, citing the danger Roman posed.
Black Mask's would-be business partners were arrested as well, putting an end to any aspirations he might have toward expanding his weapon smuggling network.
"What do you mean the money is gone?!" Jim screamed at the phone as the district attorney gave him the bad news.
"We don't know anything except that all of his accounts had been emptied before we could freeze his accounts. It is being investigated, and I will be sure to keep you informed, Commissioner." The district attorney's tone was calm, but it was clear he did not appreciate being shouted at.
"Thank you." Jim ended the call, pressing the button with a lot more strength than necessary.
Wonderful.
"What happened?" The Dark Knight appeared from the shadows of his office, irking Jim Gordon slightly, though he was getting used to it.
"Sionis' money is gone; he must have some contingency in place if he was arrested, but I don't understand how he could have moved this fast. It doesn't make sense." It was barely a couple of hours since they put Black Mask in a holding cell; no way anyone could have moved that fast unless they were informed.
"I'll let you know what I find out." And just as silently, he disappeared, leaving James Gordon to his thoughts.
—
Trucks full of money stolen from Roman Sionis were making their way out of Gotham, since the further away from Batman, the better.
Speaking of the Dark Knight, he was calling right now. "Batman, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He must have gotten the news of the disappearance of Sionis' wealth by now.
He got straight to the point with his gruff voice. "Black Mask. His accounts have been emptied. Do you know anything about it?" He wasn't exactly accusatory, but Batman was no fool and no doubt considered that Miles may have a hand in it.
"I'll have to make some calls." Which was just an excuse to say he didn't know.
Batman did not just take him at his word. "You already helped the GCPD. Weren't you keeping an eye on his finances as well?" His suspicion was understandable and expected.
"I don't keep much of a presence in Gotham in respect to your territorial possessiveness. But I am sure I can find the one responsible for it." It was well known that Batman didn't like other heroes and vigilantes entering Gotham without his permission.
"Understood." Batman ended the call, and Miles just had to wait for now.
"I have a feeling you are not going to confess to Batman that you were the one responsible." Claire had enjoyed robbing one of the top criminals of Gotham.
There was something enticing about the concept of heroes stealing from the villains for their own ends rather than for any altruistic reason.
Miles smirked in response. "Of course not."
Half an hour later, he called Batman back.
"That was fast." Batman's tone did not convey any praise, only suspicion.
"Please, I am a professional." Miles sounded offended just to play along. "Turns out Sionis' accountant, Saul Whiteman, did not relish the thought of working for him for a lifetime. He took what he could to offshore accounts and is already on a private jet heading to Dubai."
Miles, in fact, had a jet with the man's name on the list fly to Dubai, since Batman would no doubt investigate.
"Any idea what he is going to do with all that money?"
"A hedonistic lifestyle consisting of prostitutes, drugs, and alcohol." Batman wouldn't chase someone who didn't intend to do anything villainous with that money and leave it in the hands of the authorities.
"That's all?" That was a lot of money to just waste like that.
"He is not a man of greater aspirations."
"Thanks." Batman would investigate, but since it was Gotham he had to deal with, Miles would erase any footsteps left behind.
The said accountant, who was tied to the seat and gagged, listened with sweat darkening his clothes as he was basically handed over a death sentence.
If Roman Sionis thought Saul was the one who stole his wealth, the crime boss would not stop until he had his revenge. He had seen enough dead bodies to know the fates of those who crossed Black Mask.
"Don't worry so much, Saul. As the name suggests, he is a bat, not a rat, and won't tell Black Mask anything. Though, with you in the wind while everyone else is arrested, I am sure your boss will put the clues together and reach a conclusion, albeit a wrong one." Miles nodded, and Claire removed the gag and untied the man.
Saul looked as if he had given up on life and looked seconds away from fainting.
He put his hands on the man's face, raising his head to look him in the eyes. "But, it just so happens a man of your talents could prove useful to me."
—
His final business in Gotham was the ship belonging to the drug dealers. He had the money switched with counterfeits, and the ship experienced an accident that sent it to the bottom of the sea, with the criminals seeing that the money was still inside the ship.
One of the fake bills made it to the shore as they watched the ship sink, and Miles picked it up in front of the mercenaries and the drug sellers. "Well, there goes all your ill-earned fortune."
They were handed over to the GCPD, and the money was moved out of Gotham with the rest of the amount plundered from Roman Sionis.
—
Metropolis
Three-quarters of the money was moved into the banking system with the help of Charles, who was elated to hear of Black Mask's downfall. The rest was kept on hand in case of an emergency.
While waiting to hear from General Talak, Miles decided to get Victor back to his old job.
"Mary, how are you?" He called the CEO of his company, and Miles could guess she was hard at work with all the background noise.
"Busy but fine, Miles. How can I help you?"
"Have you heard of GothCorp?"
There were a couple of seconds of silence as Mary racked her brain since the name did sound familiar. "The cryogenics company?" She asked, continuing to type on her keyboard.
"Yes, that one. I want you to acquire it and then fire the CEO, Ferris Boyle. I'll wire you the funds." He didn't want someone like Boyle in his employ in any capacity.
"Understood. Anything else?"
"After you fire Boyle, make sure to shut down the weapons research program he is running and secure everything related to it. I'll have it picked up later." He didn't intend to continue the research since there were a myriad of options when it came to weapons tech.
Mary stopped any weapons research. "I'll be sure to let you know when it's done. Anything else?"
"No, not for now. Have a pleasant day, Mary."
"You too."
"GothCorp?" Claire was watching a reality show on the TV, but Miles' phone call was more interesting.
"The company my friend used to work at. It's time his vacation ends." Miles believed Victor must have had enough time with his wife, and it was time to start working.
The company would have to be restructured and start focusing on medicine and commercial applications for cryogenics tech after Miles shut down the weapon research.
After a phone call to inform Victor he would be returning to his old workplace, this time with different management and in a new position, Miles and Clare boarded the private jet, heading to Manhattan.
He was going to need defenses against telepathy to avoid having his mind read and his plethora of secrets revealed, and Madame Xanadu, the ancient sorceress, would provide the means for a fee.
—
Manhattan
Downtown Area
Greenwich Village
"Hokus & Pokus Occult Curioso?" Claire read the ridiculous name, turning to Miles. "This sounds like one of those stalls you would see in an amusement park."
The windows of the shop were covered with occult symbols and did not seem very magical to her at all.
"That is precisely the point. I mean, who would think to look for a magician in a shop with a name that screams scam except for those who can actually use magic or know about the place?" It was undoubtedly a clever game on Nimue's part to name her shop this way to keep nonbelievers at bay.
"Guess you're right."
Miles pushed the door open with Claire right behind, ready in case something went wrong.
Rows of books filled the walls, with weird and curious-looking objects placed all across the interior, from weird-looking animals to substances they could not identify.
"Welcome." Madame Xanadu greeted simply.
Dressed in a simple pink dress with a keyhole, she was a tall woman with black hair and green eyes, and a circlet adorned with a blue diamond around her head holding it in place in the middle of her forehead.
"Please be seated." She gestured to the seats, taking her left hand off the tarot cards. "What brings you curious guests to my shop?" Nimue must have sensed her guests, at least Claire due to her metahuman nature, weren't here for fun.
"May I say what a pleasure it is to meet you, Madame Xanadu? Or would you prefer Nimue? Miles responded with his suave voice as he took a seat, accepting the offer graciously.
Claire chose to stand, keeping an eye on Madame Xanadu while she perused the shop.
Nimue smiled, her eyes watching the two sharply. "It has been some time since I had guests like you here. I believe the pleasure is mine." The tarot cards slid across the desk and returned to their deck.
"Now, how may I be of assistance to you?" Nimue wasn't playing around, it seemed.
All the better for him.