Chapter 122: Treating a Guest, Beheading—Why Just Vote?

In the prison, Maroni turned around and looked at Vernon, who stood respectfully by the door.

"Mr. Maroni, someone wishes to see you."

"Vernon, I told you not to let boring people disturb me."

"Sir, that person is someone you previously instructed me to meet."

Hearing Vernon's words, Maroni immediately remembered; a few days ago, he had indeed given Vernon an instruction.

"Then, let him come in."

Harvey raised his hand, glanced at the time on his watch to facilitate recording the conversation later—although this method of evidence collection was not legal and the recording could not serve as evidence, he could still analyze some important intelligence from it.

Moments later, a sycophantic voice of an adult man echoed from the phone.

"Mr. Maroni, I heard from Mr. Vernon that you wish to see me."

"My friend," Maroni replied, "it is not only that I wish to see you, but you also wish to see me—what is your name?"

"Jenkins, Mr. Maroni, my name is Cary Jenkins."

"Oh, Jenkins." Maroni laughed, "I like your name; I guess we might become friends, don't you think?"

"Of course, Mr. Maroni—having a friend like you should be my honor."

"Very good, very good, Mr. Jenkins; I, Maroni, never mistreat friends. My dinner is about to be delivered from the restaurant; Vernon, order them to send two bottles of high-end red wine, and bring that bag as well—Mr. Jenkins, shall we talk while we eat?"

"I couldn't ask for more, Mr. Maroni."

Harvey listened to the two men's conversation with a blank expression; he had long expected that the prison's restrictions on someone like Maroni were extremely limited and guessed that his life inside was probably quite good. In fact, if it were not for dealing with the Romans, Maroni would never have entered the prison.

But none of that mattered, he thought; if Maroni had not been dealt with by Falcone, then he himself would not have let him go.

"Everyone has an end, sooner or later."

The voice from the other side continued on the phone; Vernon acted quickly, and Maroni's restaurant was not slow either. Before long, the sounds of the three clinking glasses and exchanging toasts came from the other side.

"Jenkins, you are truly a talented man; how can someone like you dress so casually? Look at your suit, look at your watch and leather shoes—the profits in this prison surely aren't enough to support a whole family, right?"

Jenkins instinctively looked at his own mid-range suit, which was not cheap, and quickly realized the meaning behind Maroni's words. He immediately suppressed his smile, sighed, and replied, "I am merely working in the prison; the salary is meager, the income is low, and life is tight."

"Ah, don't sigh, brother." Maroni reached out and patted Jenkins' shoulder, "Look, Vernon is also just an ordinary assistant district attorney; his life was just like yours before—but since meeting me, this friend, he no longer worries about life."

"Brother, look at the suit on his body, the gold watch on his hand; it is the same saying—I, Sal Maroni, will never mistreat friends."

Watching Jenkins' eyes gradually brighten, a smile appeared at the corner of Maroni's mouth; he saw greed in the other man's gaze.

More greedy than Vernon; good, the greedier, the easier to control.

"Vernon, where is the thing I sent you to get from the restaurant?"

Upon hearing this, Vernon immediately took out a paper bag and handed it to Maroni. After receiving it, Maroni took out several stacks of bills from inside; the scene was somewhat similar to the moment when he recruited Vernon in the restaurant back then.

Harvey could not see what Maroni took out of the bag, but he could hear the crisp sound of the edges of the layers of paper scraping against his thumb; thinking for a moment, he guessed what it was.

"Brother Jenkins, consider this my gift for meeting you—get yourself a good outfit, buy some gifts for your wife, and subsidize the household expenses."

"Mr. Maroni, this..."

"Do not refuse; friends should help each other; what is a little thing like this?"

The three clinked glasses again; Jenkins accepted the money without much refusal. At this moment, Vernon suddenly sighed.

"Ah, friends should help each other, but recently Mr. Maroni has a troubling matter, and I cannot help him solve it; this matter is truly distressing."

"Eh? What troubling matter does Mr. Maroni have?"

"Ah, actually it is nothing much—you know, brother, I am naturally not someone who likes constraints. Since entering the prison, I see a camera swaying right next to my head every day, which is truly annoying."

Jenkins immediately understood and even secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just a surveillance camera; this request was a trivial matter for him. Perhaps Maroni recruited him to shield some criminals in the future, or to torture and kill some, but for now, this request regarding the surveillance was very easy to satisfy.

"Moreover, there is that Harvey Dent; that damn bug sways in front of my eyes all day, trying to shut me up with surveillance—I, Maroni, do not like being threatened, I really do not like it."

"Mr. Maroni." Jenkins spoke up now, "A friend's business is my business. I think this annoying surveillance might not necessarily work—after being left for so long, circuit failure, long-term disrepair, or lost recordings are all possible. In the coming time, it certainly will not continue to trouble Mr. Maroni."

"Oh? Really?"

"I guarantee, Mr. Maroni, it will never trouble you again. Moreover, I will thoroughly inspect this prison room to ensure there are no other functional surveillance devices inside."

"Brother Jenkins, you are truly thoughtful."

The two laughed heartily, poured expensive red wine into their cups, and drank it down in one gulp.

In the time that followed, it seemed that nothing major happened in Gotham City. The case of the bank vault robbery became new gossip for the people, but since no money was actually lost and Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter were caught, the incident was instead promoted as a positive case to prove the professionalism of the Gotham Bank and the Gotham Police Department.

Of course, what the citizens of Gotham were discussing was still reliable rumors—it was said that Batman had arrived on the scene that day because passersby who passed by later saw him interrogating the two criminals on site. Just as Batman expected, Ma Ma Zhaodi was perfectly hidden.

However, this news was actually more important than most people thought, because it had a great impact on one person.

"Are you questioning me?"

"Your actions! Carmine Falcone, I am questioning your actions—you hired that group of freaks to do the job, and you failed! This is not our rule!"

(End of this chapter)