Chapter 605: Borrowing a Knife to Kill a Hawk (Part 2) (Patreon)

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Inside Wayne Manor's library, Bruce had piled up a table full of various books. Dick, holding a ladder much taller than himself, was still searching amongst the bookshelves.

As the ladder scraped past a shelf with a 'clicking' sound, Dick exclaimed, "Oh! Here's a book I hadn't seen before!"

He then extracted a rather worn-out book from between two shelves. After dusting it off and blowing on the cover, he opened the first page.

Running over to Bruce with the book, Dick said, "Mr. Wayne, look at this. There's something odd about this book."

Bruce took the book and discovered that it documented local nursery rhymes from Gotham.

Every city has its own local tunes. Although Gotham isn't ancient, its history is intricate. This led to a unique musical atmosphere. In contemporary times, Gotham's music scene might be dominated by gangster rap, but there was a time when divine melodies and nursery rhymes were widely known.

This book cataloged various nursery rhyme tunes, their lyrics, and the origin stories behind those lyrics.

Most nursery rhymes globally are simple, with a few lines repeated, making it easier for children to memorize.

But one rhyme in this book stood out as peculiar: "The Court of Owls, always watching your every move..."

Indeed, even the title of this rhyme was lengthy, hinting at its complex content. No line in this rhyme was repeated; singing it from start to finish was more challenging than reciting poetry.

Yet, the book stated that this rhyme was once the most widespread in Gotham, sung by nearly every child.

As Bruce read, he could almost envision children in Gotham's rain-soaked alleyways singing about the "Court of Owls, always watching...", with the glowing eyes of owls illuminating behind them.

Bruce intuited the underlying issue but still looked at Dick, handing him the book. "Can you sing this for me?" Bruce asked.

Dick took the book, examining the lengthy lyrics and furrowing his brow. "I'll give it a try."

After focusing on the book for nearly 20 minutes, he managed to sing the rhyme, though with numerous pauses and stumbles.

Apart from the complex lyrics, the melody itself was oddly challenging. While typical nursery rhymes have higher pitches suitable for children's voices, this song was notably deep. Even for Dick, who was almost past his voice-breaking phase, it was strenuous. For an adult, reaching such low notes would be demanding.

Having spent some time with Dick, Bruce knew the boy was intelligent, picking up things quickly. But if Dick took 20 minutes to grasp this rhyme, what about the other children of Gotham?

In a city where survival was a daily struggle, no one would invest the time in learning a difficult song. Yet, the book claimed this difficult-to-learn song was once a hit among Gotham's youth. This anomaly intrigued Bruce, urging him to believe that Gotham's darkness was more profound than it appeared.

Perhaps a shadowy influence had been impacting Gotham's inhabitants from childhood, and the city they built, overshadowed by this dark power, came to be known as Gotham.

On discovering potential issues with the nursery rhyme, Bruce delved deeper into Gotham's artistic history. But soon, he expanded his search to encompass the entire East Coast.

The most prominent city on the East Coast was Metropolis. Bruce initially intended to skim through Metropolis's history, but he found another nursery rhyme in a book about Metropolis. Although this rhyme didn't mention any Owls or darkness, both rhymes shared a common trait: their challenging melodies and intricate lyrics, yet were once wildly popular.

Bruce realized the adversary he might be up against wasn't confined to Gotham's shadows. Even before he became aware, this vast entity's roots had already spread throughout the nation.

Upon realizing Metropolis might also have traces of the Owls, Bruce sought Schiller immediately.

Since his manor was bombed, Schiller had returned to live at Gotham University. While the manor was under repair, Schiller either helped Victor in the lab with his wife's condition or wrote papers in the library.

Bruce found Schiller in a library corner. But when he explained his purpose, Schiller didn't provide the clues Bruce anticipated.

Confused, since Schiller seemed deeply interested in the Court of Owls, Bruce had assumed Schiller had been researching the organization and might have more leads.

From across the library table, Schiller told Bruce, "If you want to investigate this matter, I suggest you meet someone."

"Who?"

"The Godfather Falcone."

That night, rain once again fell over Gotham. No one would be surprised by this, but tonight's rain was particularly intense. The rainfall beating against the window panes concealed the footsteps of an uninvited guest.

Godfather Falcone rested in a chair in his study. A silhouette edged its way along the window, and the occasional flash of lightning from the storm outside cast the shadow into sharp relief, highlighting two pointed ears atop its form.

Falcone appeared to be expecting Batman, and Batman, in turn, studied Falcone from his position. Despite the long time since they had last met, the Godfather did not seem to have aged a day. With a deep voice, Batman inquired, "What do you know about Owl Cat?"

"I know a lot..." Falcone responded, his hands folded in front of him and his eyes half-closed, as if on the verge of sleep.

"I suppose you've noticed the darkness I once mentioned... the one that's relentlessly dragging this city into the abyss."

"It's always assaulting us here in various ways: through the economy, politics, culture, and the arts. They're everywhere."

"The dead members of the Court of Owls are just a tiny fraction of it. As long as this darkness continues to shroud the city, the chaos will never end."

"Is Gotham the only city with Owls?"

Upon Batman's question, Falcone suddenly sat upright. After a brief pause, he leaned back, stating, "That's the crux of it, Batman."

"I'm not sure if Alfred ever told you, but when he first came to serve the Wayne Family, it wasn't our first meeting. In our younger days, Alfred, Father Daniel, and I had encountered one another."

"It was a strange adventure, all for the egg of a monster. In the end, we chose to place this uncontrollable egg beneath Metropolis. Do you know why we did that?"

Batman remained silent, prompting Falcone to answer his own question, "While investigating matters concerning my son, I discovered this pervasive dark force. That's when I realized that Gotham wasn't the first city affected, and it wouldn't be the last."

"In that era, Metropolis wasn't as secure. I made many friends there and came to understand certain things."

"I told you before, I didn't know they were called 'Owls'. I only knew a killer lurked in Gotham. Without assurance that I could eradicate them entirely, I didn't dare delve deeper into understanding them."

"But dealing with the force in Metropolis wasn't as restrictive. Placing the egg there was essentially bait, hoping the Metropolis Owls would study it and bring destruction upon themselves..."

"The Owls of Metropolis..." Batman murmured, his gaze drifting to the stormy night outside.

At that moment, the thunderstorm intensified. Through the rain, a train from Gotham journeyed through the dark hills, snaking its way towards another prosperous city. Amidst this stormy night, the lights of Metropolis shone brightly, acting as a beacon for the East Coast.

In a dimly lit alleyway, two figures climbed over a wall. One of them reached the end of the alley and crouched down to inspect some marks. "Found it. The two impersonators were dumped here."

His companion, a woman, adjusted her glasses. The reflection revealed her to be the same female doctor who had exchanged information with Kayla during the day. She looked towards the mouth of the alley and spoke in Russian, "Valeria informed me that the two individuals bearing the Philby badge weren't agents of the Special Branch."

"You should know that since the death of Benjamin, the head of the CIA's Metropolis stronghold, Valeria has taken his place."

"She has access to the list of CIA agents in Metropolis and its surrounding areas. Additionally, she can check the personnel list of the Special Branch. And she didn't find these two names on either list."

The man responded in English, "This means besides the KGB, CIA, and Special Branch, there's another force lurking here."

"The Philby list has likely fallen into their hands." The female doctor, taking a deep breath, added, "The badge has been retired. Whether the list is still useful or not, Agent Philby's life's work must be returned to Moscow."

The man stood up, observing the mud on his fingers. With a pinch, the mud washed away with the rain. "There are enough players here. We don't need any more mysterious groups complicating things. So..."

A cold, direct command in Russian echoed through the dark alley:

"Find it... eliminate it."

How did Schiller borrow the knife? (5 points)

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 606: Owl Cat Nursery Rhyme (Part 1)