Chapter 1180 The Cry of the Lamb (Part One) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

As Schiller's words faded, the entire venue fell silent.

Police Officer Angela was the first to step out from behind the semicircular table and approach Schiller, looking into his eyes and saying, "Professor, although this is not a public inquiry directed at the media and the public, every word you say will be recorded, and you must bear the legal responsibility for it!"

"Of course, I understand." Schiller looked into her eyes and said, "I am more aware of what I am saying than all of you. Now, your job is to put me in handcuffs and find the body."

"Where is the body?" Angela asked, narrowing her eyes.

"On the 3rd floor."

"Specific location."

"That's the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent." Schiller turned his head and looked around, saying, "Since I killed someone on your turf, surely I don't have to tell you the location of the body, do I?"

The agent who had replaced Jimmy stepped forward, making eye contact with Angela, and she reluctantly took a step back.

The male agent in the white suit pushed up his glasses and said to Schiller, "Hello, you can call me Davis. Professor Rodriguez, I hope you understand that the severity of dereliction of duty and murder is vastly different. You may face a sentence of 40 years or more in prison."

Schiller remained silent, and Davis nodded, turning to the subordinates behind him and saying, "Start the search, find the body, and report back immediately."

Soon, one team of agents after another left the hall. The clock hanging on the wall in the center of the hall ticked away, the minute hand rotating forward, and as time passed, the expressions on the faces of all the people in the seats changed.

Davis' face grew increasingly grim, Talia and William in the middle seats squinted their eyes, Angela looked grave, and Bruce was expressionless, obviously the development of the situation had caught them off guard in some way.

After a full 43 minutes had passed, an agent finally walked back in, and the moment he pushed open the door, all eyes were on him.

"We found Jimmy Andrews' body in a cabinet in the 3rd floor utility room. He died from a heart pierced, approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes ago. We are not yet sure if the utility room was the original crime scene."

"What about the murder weapon?" Davis asked.

"None found, but based on the observation of the wound, Andrews' heart was pierced by a pen. The killer struck from behind and the action was swift and decisive."

Instantly, all eyes were back on Schiller, and an agent slowly approached him with a handgun in both hands.

Schiller raised his hands, and another agent came forward and searched him, finding a pen in his pocket.

Davis put on gloves and took the pen, turning it in his hand, but found no traces of blood or other evidence.

"Did you kill Jimmy in the utility room?" Davis asked.

"The utility room could not have been the original crime scene," a voice rang out, but it did not come from the Schiller standing in front of Davis, but from the back of the hall.

Bruce left his seat and walked down the steps, saying, "The last person Jimmy saw before his death, other than the killer, was me. Given your understanding of his character, would he have gone to the utility room with so many important materials?"

"Mr. Wayne, we should hear the killer's account," Davis said, staring at the approaching Bruce.

"But the killer is a liar." Bruce did not back down, glancing at the somewhat dazed Roman and Thomas sitting in the seats, and stepping forward to look Davis in the eye, saying:

"I don't care about so-called mind control and abuse, because I think only the weak-willed would cry and complain about it."

"But Roman and Thomas are also my friends, and Wayne Group has business dealings with the Hiennis and Elliot families. If they are implicated in a murder case, I feel I need to ensure that you can uphold the law and not let any criminals go."

Davis understood Bruce's intention. He knew that before this, Bruce Wayne's stance was likely to be in support of Schiller, as the professor's reputation was closely related to him, and if he could help, he would.

But the premise was that Schiller was only accused of dereliction of duty by his students, which was completely within the scope of what Wayne Group could overturn.

However, if Schiller had committed murder within the Federal Bureau of Investigation's premises, that was beyond redemption, and at this point, as a businessman, Bruce Wayne should quickly distance himself, even to the point of kicking him while he's down, so that the other party has no chance of a comeback.

No wonder he is such a shrewd businessman, Davis thought, his stance can change as quickly as flipping a book, without any hesitation.

"Mr. Wayne, I didn't expect you to have such detective talents," another figure stepped forward, standing next to Davis and looking at Bruce, it was William Denechette.

"I'm not a detective," Bruce said, shaking his head slightly, "but any mentally sound person should be able to figure out that Jimmy, with important materials in hand, would not have gone to the utility room as his first stop."

"Then where do you think his first stop was?" The black-haired Talia stepped out from behind William, looking at Bruce with interest.

"I'll say it again, I'm not a detective, nor an agent, that's your job." Bruce shook his head lightly and spread his hands, "I'm just providing you with a clue that you may have forgotten, the rest is not my concern."

With that, he slowly walked back to the semicircular table, resting his hands on it and looking at the group across from him, saying, "I pay so much tax to support you guys every year, not for you to come ask me where the killer killed the person."

Davis cleared his throat, pushed up his glasses, and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne, we don't want such a tragedy to happen. Now we need to talk to the suspect alone, please wait here."

With that, Davis made eye contact with the agents behind him, and two of them stepped forward, handcuffed Schiller, and led him out of the hall. Davis also turned and left, glancing at the now reseated Bruce.

As soon as Bruce sat down, a shadow fell over the ground in front of his feet.

He looked up to see a sexy woman with long black hair standing beside him, and she leaned down, her hair brushing across Bruce's forearm.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

Before her hair left, Bruce used his index finger to lightly hook a strand of it.

"...Of course."

Schiller walked through the long corridor and entered a room that was truly an interrogation room. In the center of the room was only one chair, nothing else.

Without any instruction, Schiller walked over and sat down, placing his handcuffed hands on the horizontal bar connecting the armrests.

Davis followed closely behind, and after the agent guarding the door closed it, Davis turned on the lights in the room and looked at Schiller, saying, "Professor Rodriguez, let's be frank... Someone wants you to shut up."

Before Schiller could respond, Davis raised a hand, as if soothing him, and said, "Of course, I know you have the ability to make all this public. We can have a long legal battle to carefully analyze whether you really abused your students, and whether you really committed murder and illegal detention."

"But please think rationally, is that really in your best interest?" Davis stood in front of Schiller, looking down at him and said:

"Yes, those two children accusing you may not have any substantial evidence, and there may not even be decisive evidence that you murdered Jimmy. But that's not the point, do you understand?"

Davis took a pen out of his pocket and looked at Schiller, saying, "I'm sure you've already noticed, a pen that doesn't belong to you has been placed in your jacket pocket. This is just a small trick, not a particularly outstanding framing."

"But if you insist on fighting us to the end, these small tricks will keep appearing in your life for the next few decades, until you die of old age."

Davis sighed lightly and said, "Professor, you should understand that we have been very merciful. It is precisely because we respect your status in the academic world and your academic achievements, and consider you to be one of the rare talents of the federal government, that we have not used more forceful means."

"Otherwise, why do you think a left-wing scholar who has openly admitted to being involved in the American incident can receive such a mild treatment?"

Davis' gaze gradually became cold, and Schiller looked into his eyes and said, "It seems you are not doing this for the first time."

"You know, I care a lot about my educational career. First, you incited my students, exploiting their ignorance and stupidity, to make some harmless accusations against me. You didn't expect those accusations to refute me."

"As soon as I came here, there were trap after trap waiting for me. You found a highly righteous and well-liked presiding judge, killed him, and then framed me as the suspect being investigated by him. I had both the motive and the ability to kill him, and as for the evidence..."

Schiller's gaze turned to the steel pen Davis was holding, and then he said, "The evidence doesn't matter to you. You have ways to manufacture evidence that will convince the media and the public."

"If this still can't refute me, the next one to die should be Roman or Thomas. I will be portrayed as a ruthless murderer who killed my own students to escape punishment."

"If this still can't drag me into the abyss, you will show Bruce Wayne, whom you have deliberately brought in, that I may threaten the interests of the Wayne Group. You will use the Wayne Group to incite the media and crucify me on the pillar of shame."

"Just as you said, if these still can't shake my position and make me shut up, this play will be staged countless times in the rest of my life, and one day I won't be able to escape it."

"Professor Rodriguez, I greatly admire your wisdom and foresight." Davis started pacing around the room, then continued, "You anticipated all this, and confessing directly in the hall is a retreat to negotiate with us."

"In my career, people like you who are so tactful are rare. The majority think their lofty social status and good reputation will last a lifetime, so they are disdainful when we want to talk to them."

"But in the end, these people can only curse our treachery and injustice in the remote and cramped dungeons."

Davis openly used some negative words to describe himself. He stopped and turned to Schiller, saying, "But this is what we do. Since you're willing to lighten my workload a bit, I'm willing to give you a chance to negotiate with us."

Schiller nodded, as if accepting his fate, and said, "I know what you want, so I won't ask if I can get away with it."

Davis seemed satisfied with Schiller's attitude, and Schiller continued, "I have three requests for you."

"Go ahead."

"You've gone to so much trouble just to have me go to prison. I can assure you I won't cause you any trouble during my imprisonment or while serving my sentence, but I have a request regarding the location of my imprisonment."

"You're not going to say you want to go to Gotham's Black Gate Prison, are you?" Davis leaned on the armrests of Schiller's chair, looking into his eyes. "Everyone knows Little Falcone is your star pupil. Going to Gotham Prison would be no different from going home."

Schiller shook his head and looked up at Davis, saying, "On the contrary, I can go to any prison except Gotham."

Davis frowned and narrowed his eyes, seemingly wanting to know the meaning behind Schiller's request, but Schiller quickly moved on to his second request:

"Before going to serve my sentence, I hope to see Bruce Wayne in person, and I hope my conversation with him will not be under any surveillance."

"Are you hoping he'll save you?"

Schiller shook his head again and said, "I hope he can convey a message to my star pupil, telling him not to cause you trouble."

Davis heard the warning in Schiller's tone. The implication was that if they didn't let him see Bruce or monitor their conversation, Schiller would find a way to cause trouble for the new Godfather from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Davis, of course, couldn't show that he was afraid of a mob boss, but the fact was that Gotham was indeed too sinister. Since Schiller was willing to back down, there was no need for him to create more problems.

"The third request is..." Schiller looked down at his suit and made a disgusted expression, saying, "You put something in my pockets without my consent, and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. So before I leave, I hope to change into a different set of clothes."

Davis released his hands, stood up straight, and looked down at Schiller, silently for a while before speaking:

"Many people don't understand our work, thinking our lifelong pursuit is to oppress others and fabricate false cases. But we are just tools of the state machinery, and the state has only interests, not justice."

"Professor, you have chosen the most dignified way for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to handle this matter. You have the utmost respect for us and our work, so we naturally don't mind trying to maintain your dignity as much as possible."

Davis personally unlocked Schiller's chair and handcuffs, and held out a hand to him, looking into his eyes and saying, "We have agreed to all three of your conditions, and after your release, we are willing to provide you with the greatest assistance in finding future employment. You should know where to find me."

Schiller extended a hand and shook Davis', and the two acted as if they were not adversaries, but old friends who had known each other for many years.

In the hallway of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Angela quickly caught up to Bruce and stopped him, looking at him and saying, "What are you doing? Weren't we here to save Schiller?"

Bruce walked forward expressionlessly, turning his head to look at the police officer and saying, "You should ask Schiller what he's doing, not me. I didn't make him acknowledge the murder charge."

"But, but..." Angela stammered a bit, covering one of her eyes with her hand and saying, "Jimmy couldn't have been killed by Schiller. He didn't have time to do it, and a mere pen doesn't represent anything."

"You'll have to ask the people at the Federal Bureau of Investigation about that." Bruce continued walking quickly, saying, "Ask them why they deliberately ignored the obvious timeline evidence and wanted to convict him based solely on a pen."

Angela quickly stepped in front of Bruce, blocking his path, and looked at him, saying, "Bruce Wayne, don't you think you're acting a bit strange? You seem confident, but you haven't actually done anything. You seem eager, but also passive. What are you thinking?"

Just as Bruce was about to open his mouth to respond, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind them. They turned around to see a group of agents approaching.

"The murder charge against Professor Schiller Rodriguez has been upheld. Due to the extremely heinous nature and method of his crime, he will be immediately detained and undergo a non-public trial before being sent to prison."

"Professor Rodriguez hopes to see you before he departs... Please come with us, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce stared intently into the agent's eyes and asked, "What color clothes is Schiller wearing?"

"What?"

"I asked, what color clothes is Schiller wearing right now?"

"Uh... a deep red suit, a light blue shirt, and a dark blue tie."

Suddenly, Bruce's hand trembled, and he lowered his head, letting out a long sigh.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 1181 The Cry of the Lamb (Part Two)