mtl008 Chapter 3897 The Nameless Bat (67)
Chapter 3897 The Nameless Bat (67)
Chapter 3897 The Nameless Bat (Sixty-Seven)
"What?" The Pale Knight was taken aback. He opened his mouth, then his gaze fell on Natasha's red hair, and he said, "You didn't get dragged into this like this, did you?"
“I got involved with Batman,” Natasha said somewhat helplessly. “This isn’t the time to talk about that. That guy is obsessed with red-haired women. I saw in the newspaper that one of your red-haired reporters was arrested, and that might be the person he’s looking for. Whatever he’s going to do, you’d better stop him.”
“That’s the problem,” the Pale Knight said, frowning and somewhat troubled. “It’s not that we don’t want to stop him, but he’s used some means to get most of the members of Congress to agree to a second referendum. Fiona is too young and her words were too harsh, giving them leverage against her…”
“What did she say?” Natasha asked. “I only saw news of her arrest in the newspapers. It said she made divisive remarks about the country?”
"Yes. You may not know this, but Gotham in our universe became an independent state, and the new tax laws that continued its self-reliant policies brought considerable benefits to most ordinary people in Gotham. Fiona's father, Willie, was a revolutionary and fighter, and his voluntary sacrifice contributed to the good situation we have today. Fiona would never allow anyone to undermine her father's revolutionary achievements. So when Congress proposed a second referendum, she vehemently criticized the members of Congress and emphasized Gotham's independent status. The problem was that her words were too strong, and they were taken out of context and interpreted as 'she wanted Gotham to secede from the Union,' naturally resulting in charges of secession."
Natasha hesitated for a moment, then said, "So, why not be independent?"
"what?"
Why don't you plan to become an independent country?
The Pale Knight froze again. He pursed his lips and said, "It's not that simple. The Federal Government will never allow it..."
“Whether you can be independent isn’t about who allows it, but about whether you have the strength,” Natasha said. “In my universe, there’s a small country called Wakanda, the most advanced and developed country in Africa. When France was colonizing Africa, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to get close to them, but because they had a protective shield back then, they couldn’t even touch their borders…”
“Wait,” the Pale Knight suddenly interrupted Natasha, “you mean a shield? What kind of shield is it?”
“Wakanda is located on the East African plain. Their protective barrier is like an upside-down bowl, protecting the entire country. Moreover, their technology is among the most advanced on Earth, and nothing can get in without their permission.”
"My God, how did they develop these technologies?" the Pale Knight couldn't help but exclaim.
“It’s related to magic,” Natasha said. “The gods their tribe worships truly exist and provide protection for their chiefs. They also have a unique metal with very distinctive properties, making them far ahead in materials science. Furthermore, their past leaders have all been quite capable and enjoy high international prestige…”
The Pale Knight stroked his chin and said, “It doesn’t sound too difficult to achieve. I discussed with Batman the possibility of making Gotham physically independent, but flying directly like in other universes would be too disruptive. We’re worried it might affect the lives of ordinary people. But creating a protective barrier to isolate this place would be a good idea.”
“The premise is that you all have to be united. If someone protests from inside after the shield is set up, that would be troublesome,” Natasha warned.
“That makes sense,” the Pale Knight nodded. “Right now, most ordinary people in Gotham are on our side. Batman should be able to handle the upper class, or if all else fails, just kick them out.”
"And the physically independent plan you mentioned is also somewhat feasible. But I don't think it's necessary to fly into the sky, or move it into the Atlantic Ocean?"
"What do you mean?"
"Gotham is a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, and its terrain is somewhat like Italy. The part that borders the mainland is its biggest weakness. If you become a completely island surrounded by water on all four sides, then you will control access. So after you have built up the shield, you can move Gotham eastward and no longer connect it to the mainland, which will naturally make it much more independent."
“That’s a good idea,” the Pale Knight said after thinking for a moment. “I’m going to talk to Batman about this. You and Gordon will take care of Fiona. Make sure the federal government doesn’t kill her to cover it up.”
"Don't worry. Even if the senator wanted to do that, the cyberlife wouldn't agree. I went in to see her just to make sure the cyberlife was actually watching her. As long as that's the case, she can't possibly be in any danger."
The Pale Knight hurried away. Natasha walked into the corridor next to the interrogation room, flashed her badge at the agent, and said, "CIA, Agent Romanov. Fiona Travel is involved in a foreign intelligence leak case, and I've been ordered to investigate. Now let me see the person in question."
The two FBI agents exchanged a glance. One of them picked up the walkie-talkie and asked for instructions. Shortly after, Natasha was let in. Then a seemingly experienced agent shook her hand.
“Welcome, Agent Romanov. I haven’t received orders for a joint investigation, so I don’t know who you are…”
"This was a private operation. We have no law enforcement authority within the federal government, and we haven't had a joint domestic law enforcement operation in 20 years. You didn't even know that?"
"Oh, no. I just want to know what this so-called intelligence leak case is all about? Is this Miss Travelle really a spy?"
"Of course not, it's just that her father is a veteran of the Afghan war. After she debuted, she published several reports on the Afghan war, which we believe may be suspected of sending signals to foreign forces."
Natasha raised an eyebrow at the agent. The agent immediately understood—this was probably an attempt to find a scapegoat for a case that needed to be investigated but couldn't be solved.
Since this young woman has already been charged with separatism by the FBI, adding another espionage charge won't make much difference. Besides, she probably won't leave the interrogation room alive, so the exact charge doesn't really matter.
Natasha was quickly brought before Fiona. The other agents had all left, leaving only the two of them. Natasha stared directly into Fiona's furious eyes, and for a moment she was momentarily stunned, as if she had suddenly seen her 17-year-old self.
“Miss Travell, time is of the essence, so I’ll get straight to the point. You’re unlikely to leave here alive, so the charge against you will be decided by those outside.”
“Even if you kill me, I will not change my mind. Gotham’s independence is the people’s choice. In a country that prides itself on democracy, this is a great victory, not a disgrace to be washed away. You have forgotten the founding principles of the Union and are trying to kill democracy with your own hands. If I die, God will know who the true patriots are!”
Natasha could tell that the young girl in front of her was probably just as tough as her sacrificed father. But who wasn't like that at 17?
"Well, it seems I can't change your mind. But I need to remind you that the closer death gets, the more sober you must be. Don't let anger blind you. God bless you, Miss Travelle."
Natasha turned and left. Fiona, behind her, frowned, clearly understanding the underlying meaning in Natasha's words. This so-called CIA agent seemed different from those federal government lackeys. At that moment, Fiona, as if struck by a flash of insight, keenly perceived a similarity between Natasha and herself. She began to ponder Natasha's words.
Just then, she suddenly noticed that the camera in the corner of the room moved. The camera, which had been filming the doorway, suddenly turned to face her, and the red dot above it began to flash.
Fiona frowned. She counted the frequency of the flashing red dots, then suddenly her eyes widened—Morse code!
Her father was a veteran, and a former Marine Corps communications officer, who knew many types of Morse code. Fiona had learned many types of Morse code from Willie when she was young, including Morse code and compound Morse code, and could even decipher a complete sentence from beginning to end without written notes.
Fiona began to memorize it in her mind, but the line of code was unusually short. It translated to just one phrase—"six o'clock in the afternoon."
Six o'clock? What will happen at six o'clock?
To create a sense of oppression and reduce the prisoner's perception of time, clocks are usually not placed in interrogation rooms. However, Fiona remembered that she entered around four o'clock in the afternoon, and now about an hour and a half had passed, so it shouldn't be long before six o'clock.
Fiona silently counted the time in her mind. Suddenly, she heard the piercing alarm of the smoke detector, followed by shouts and heavy footsteps. Many people ran past the door, and thick smoke began to billow through the cracks in the door.
Suddenly, the door opened. A somewhat panicked-looking cleaner walked up to Fiona and unlocked her handcuffs. He said to Fiona, "Hurry up."
Fiona hesitated for a moment, then said, "You..."
"You remember your father set up a veterans' mutual aid society?" the other person said, looking into Fiona's eyes. "I was one of its beneficiaries. The money he raised for me prevented me from being permanently paralyzed. There's no time to explain, get going."
“Let’s go together,” Fiona said, grabbing his arm. “There must be a fire outside. Do you know which way is the fastest?”
“We need to go out the back door. Follow me.”
The other person led Fiona through the emergency exit. The Gotham Police Department building was quite old; it seemed to have once been an Irish mansion. The emergency exit was a later addition, making it small and narrow, with a lot of clutter piled up in front. Because of this, almost no one used this route. The two ran downstairs smoothly.
Fiona ran out while looking back, seeing thick smoke billowing from the floor she was on. She looked at the cleaning worker and asked, "Did you start this fire?"
“No, but I heard it’s due to aging wiring,” the other person said. “Police facilities are so old that it’s normal for fires to start due to aging wiring.”
Fiona was about to nod, but then she suddenly remembered something, looked at the watch on the cleaner's wrist, and asked, "What time is it?"
The other person glanced down at their watch and said, "Six o'clock, it's exactly six o'clock now."
Fiona frowned deeply.