#23: The Falcone And The Snowman (Burchette / Myrick)

[capeandcowl]

Detective Comics
Issue #23: “The Falcone and the Snowman”
Written by: Brian Burchette
Cover by: Jayson Myrick
Edited by: Grant LaFleche

[capeandcowl]

His name used to be Harvey Dent, back when he was the District Attorney for Gotham City. Now he goes by the name of Two-Face, and he prefers it that way. Half the time, at least.

He stares out of the smoky window in the penthouse high above Gotham and looks out at the city. From where he is located, he can see the Iceberg Lounge, and the Wayne building just beyond that. To his left is business center of the city, and to his right is the darker side of the town, the seedier side. He enjoys looking at that area the most.

Two-Face turns around to survey his new surroundings. Boss Maroni has many places located through out the city, but this one is his favorite. It has the best view of the city, and where his father-in-law, did most of his business.

Looking back out the window, he stared at the Iceberg Lounge and wonders if his partner in crime is just happens to be staring out his window. A lucrative contract had just been agreed upon by the both of them, and tomorrow night, Penguin would do his part. One of Oswald’s freighters would be docking, and with it, over five million dollars in uncut diamonds; straight from South Africa. Once they were safely unloaded, it was up to Two-Face to fence them, and bring in the money. Money that would be split three ways.

There was movement just below and to his left. He turned to look and Harvey’s eye widened in momentary shock. The Dark Knight was swinging across the roofs and towards Crime Alley. Harvey smirked to himself. What a poor, poor, deluded man. He chuckled to himself. Batman had no idea what was going on, and by the time he did, it would be way too late to do anything about it.

[capeandcowl]

“Are you coming home at all, Sir?” Alfred’s voice asked through the communication device in his cowl.

Batman grunted, but said nothing as he made his way to his destination. It had been a while since he had visited his friend, and yes, he did consider him a friend, one of the few he had in his city.

“I’ll take that as a no,” his butler said with a sigh. “Very well, you know how to reach me if you need to. I will see you in the morning.”

“It’s already morning,” the cowled crusader replied crisply.

“I’m well aware of that.” Alfred replied shortly and the transmission ended.

Just in time, too, as Batman landed on the fire escape outside of Commissioner Gordon’s apartment building. The kitchen light was on, and he glanced in the window to see Jim sitting at the table, a half empty bottle and a glass in front of him. There were papers on the table as well. He expected Gordon to be awake, but not drinking at one in the morning. Something was obviously wrong.

He tapped lightly on the glass, watching as James Gordon turned towards him, sluggishly. Gordon barely raised his arm and swayed when he stood up, then stumbled to the window and opened it up.

“Where have you been?” The Commissioner asked, is words slurring just slightly.

“Out of town, investigating. It’s why I’m here. I’ve got questions.”

Jim turned around and motioned for him to follow. Batman did so, realizing that this was the first time he had actually stepped foot inside the apartment itself. It felt slightly unnatural to do so.

“Jim… are you… are you okay?” he asked, hesitantly.

The head of Gotham’s police department said nothing, but motioned to the papers lying on the table as he poured himself another drink and drank it down in one gulp.

Batman examined the reports, it appeared that the False Face Gang was back in action, which they both knew, was an indication that their leader-Black Mask, was almost certainly still alive.

“I’m not surprised,” he said gruffly. Then noticed the papers lying underneath the report, and moved some of the typed pages to look at the one’s underneath. It was the complaint for divorce that Barbara had sent him.

Commissioner Gordon turned to see him staring at it. “Guess Gotham won,” he said sarcastically as he went for the bottle, but was stopped by the gloved hand of his guest.

“That isn’t going to help you,” Batman said quietly.

“At this point, it isn’t going to hurt me either.” Jim snapped a bit harshly.

Batman let go of the hand and watched him pour another drink. He looked back down at the photos of the False Face Gang. “I heard about the assassination attempt on Falcone. I suppose it wouldn’t be a fair guess to say that they did it?”

“That’s what our witnesses say.”

“He’s back.” It was a statement from Batman. “And he’s after Falcone. Makes sense, Carmine is the last and largest of the old crime bosses in Gotham. With him out of the way, the number one spot would be up for grabs.”

“Yeah, we’ve got Falcone under surveillance.”

Batman headed back to the window, “Good, but I’ll think I’ll keep an eye on him, myself, as well.” As he crawled out the window he stopped, looking at the man whose heart was shattered in a million pieces. “Jim, you’re a good man… a great man. The best this city has. I know this is rough, but never forget, this city needs you,” and with that he had disappeared into the night.

“Of course the city needs me,” Gordon mumbled, “So did my wife and child, and look what my choice has cost me.” He poured another drink

[capeandcowl]

Carmine Falcone sat in his chair waiting… his guest was late, and one thing he detested, was lateness. Finally there came a knock on the door. He told it to open and one of his men stuck his head in.

“He’s here, boss.”

“About time, send him in.”

A couple of seconds later, the door opened, a rather tall man in a blue costume and glass helmet walked in. He walked in, unimpressed with everything around him. It was apparent on his face, the disdain for the opulence that surrounded him.

“Ah, Mr. Fries, please come in,” Carmine said, extending his arm to the seat in front of the rather large oak desk that he stood in front of.

Victor Fries walked to the desk, staring at the mob boss through his glasses and the glass case that surrounded his head, the only barrier that kept him alive. The man who had been dubbed Mr. Freeze, by the newspapers sat down, still not saying a word.

“I appreciate you coming to see me.”

“Your invitation was intriguing,” the voice sounding as cold as his name, replied. “Although I am not sure why, or what it is you want from me?”

“Actually, I was hoping that we could be of assistance to each other,” Carmine replied. “I suppose you heard of the attempt on my life the other day?”

“Obviously, it has been all over the news.”

“I believe the hit was the work of the crime boss who calls himself the Black Mask. At the moment, I’m concerned for my safety, and my men might be good, but I need an ace in the whole, in case I’m attacked again. That’s why I called you.”

Mr. Freeze stood up, “You called me to insult me? You’re asking me to be a common thug? Victor Fries is nobodies lackey.”

“Whoa, whoa! I know how it sounds,” Falcone said, also rising from his chair. “But hear me out before you make up your mind. I think this association would benefit you as well. I can help you get something that your heart desires.”

If possible, Victor’s voice became even colder, “You, Mr. Falcone, have no idea what my heart desires.”

“Maybe not, but I have it on reliable sources that something you need badly are diamonds. What would you say if I told you that for your support, I could get you at least five million dollars in uncut diamonds? Is that something that would interest you?”

“I’m listening.” Freeze sat back down in the chair, his eyes coming to life for the first time.

“I got word that there’s a shipment coming in from South America, of regular goods, but my source tells me that it’s also got a #@$% lode of diamonds that are being smuggled. Our agreement would be simple. I have a benefit that I must attend this evening. An outdoor event in Robinson Park. Stay in the shadows, be my ‘wingman’, as it were, and when the event is over, I will send enough men with you to get on that ship, find those diamonds, and four million of them would be yours.”

“Four million dollars to lower myself as a bodyguard?”

“Yeah, for one night, if you want to put it that way.”

Silence filled the room as Victor Fries mulled it over. He needed the diamonds, this much was true, but the idea of being anyone’s pawn made his stomach turn. Still…

“Alright, you have a deal, with the understanding that if you renege on any part of this agreement, I will kill you myself.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Carmine said with a large grin on his face, “I’m a man of honor.”

[capeandcowl]

The car pulled up in front of the brownstone and Crispus Allen studied it for a moment. It was in a moderately nice neighborhood, and the particular building they were looking for, seemed even more kept up then those around it.

“Nice place,” Renee Montoya murmured.

“Yeah, this is the address alright.”

They got out of the car and walked up the steps, ringing the doorbell and waiting. Thirty seconds later the door opened and an elderly lady stared at them through blood shot eyes. The had the look of someone who had been on an all night binge and was obviously still feeling the effects as she leaned on the door to steady herself.

“What you want?” She asked abruptly.

“Ms. Tate?” Renee asked.

“Who wants to know?”

“My name is Detective Montoya and this is my partner, Detective Allen,” she said, as they flashed their badges. “May we speak to you for a moment?”

“Wha ‘bout?” the old lady asked suspiciously.

“Your daughter,” Crispus replied gently. “We have some questions we were hoping you would answer for us.”

After a moment of looking them up and down, she shrugged her shoulders and left the door open as she turned away and stumbled back into her living room. They followed and as nice as the outside of the building was, the inside was even more immaculate. No dust, no dirt, no scent of anything rancid; not even the odor of alcohol, which is what they were expecting.

They watched her stagger to the couch and slowly lower herself into it. She half-heartily motioned for them to have a seat, and they dutifully did so, in two very expensive chairs across from her.

“First,” Renee said, “We would just like to offer our condolences on the death of your daughter.”

Ms. Tate shrugged, “She was a whore. She lived the hard life… she died the hard life. Can’t say I didn’t warn her. She didn’t want to listen to me, and she ended up right where I knew she was going to, six feet under.”

“So much for maternal love,” Renee mumbled under her breath to her partner.

“Ms. Tate,” Crispus continued, “We are looking for your son, Danny Tate?”

The older woman’s eyes came alive through the red glaze for the first time since they had been ushered in. “What do you want with my Danny? He hasn’t done nuthin’ wrong.! He’s a good boy.”

“We just need to ask him a few questions,” Renee said as she got up, stretching her legs. She glanced around the living room, noticing the pictures of her son everywhere.

“I… I haven’t seen him,” she muttered, her eyes falling to her lap.

The two detectives looked at each other than Crispus stood up as well. “Alright, well, thank you for your time. If you do see him, please have him call us,” he said, handing her his card.

As they reached the door Crispus turned around suddenly, his hand going up to the side of his head as if just remember something. “One last question, Ms. Tate. Does Danny still live with you?”

She hesitated for a second, seemingly caught of guard. “No,” she answered quickly. “No, hasn’t for years.”

Detective Allen nodded, “Well then you’re a very kind mother, still doing his laundry and all,” he replied as he motioned to the laundry basket sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, a pair of boxer shorts folded neatly on top.

The woman’s face turned red, “He’s a very busy young man, I help him out when I can.”

The two officers said their goodbye’s and got back into their car.

“Nice catch,” Renee said.

“What do you think?”

“I think she was drugged up on something. My guess is prescription medication of some sort. Danny either still lives with her, or sees her enough to be bringing his laundry over. I also think she’s a crappy mother when it comes to her daughter. Not one picture of her kid, even as a child. Just pictures of Danny.”

“Still don’t have much to go on,” Crispus said, sighing. “We have a dead hooker whose brother is connected with Falcone, but not much else. Let’s head back to the station, go through her personal effects. There has to be a list of clients, maybe, or friends that we haven’t talked to.”

[capeandcowl]

Bruce Wayne looked at the view screen in the cave and studied the face of the other witness that had been there the day that Tim Drake’s mother had supposedly been killed by a stray bullet during an armed robbery gone bad in a convenience store. The face and name were vaguely familiar to him, yet his record didn’t show anything out of the ordinary. In fact, the man had never even stepped foot in Gotham before. He had lived his entire life in Hub City. So where was the connection?

His thoughts were interrupted by a communication from Alfred. “Are you there, Sir?”

“Go ahead,” his voice instantly deepening into “work” mode.

“The neighbor arrived home about two hours ago, played some basketball with the boy, and then went back in the house for another hour. Now he seems to be leaving again.”

“Follow him, Alfred. Keep in touch at all times. I’m on my way out as well.”

“Where are you headed, if I may ask?”

“Robinson Park. They’re having a big gala even this evening. A charity fundraiser for the Tompkins Children Foundation. I got a tip that Falcone is going to be there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Black Mask makes another attempt on his life.”

“Do you think? It would seem awfully foolish to do it so soon after the last one, and with so many people around.”

“That’s exactly why Sionis would do it. You contact me if there’s any trouble, any trouble at all… understood.”

“Of course, Sir,” came the curt reply, and then communication was terminated.

Batman switched from what he was working on to the file he had on Jack Drake. A perfect life, a perfect job, a perfect family. Not one blemish on his record, including misdemeanors or even parking tickets. He dialed the number he had tried an hour ago, again, and waited, but once again it was answered by Barbara Gordon’s voice mail.

He could use her help on this one. In the last couple of years she had become so proficient with computer interfacing and hacking that he had to admit to himself that she had become better then even him. Still no answer, he thought. Probably on an Outsiders case.

He lifted his cowl and placed it over his head. The Drake investigation would have to be put on the backburner for a bit while he focused his attention on Falcone and Black Mask. Something was going to happen tonight, he thought as he walked to the car. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach.

[capeandcowl]

Captain Cornwell of the Major Crime Unit watched two of his detectives making phone calls and pouring over evidence. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and walked over to them.

At first it didn’t seem that they were going to notice him at all, but then he cleared his throat and they looked up at him.

“The Walker case, any leads?”

“A brother who works for Carmine Falcone is our best lead, but we can’t seem to find him,” Renee said, leaning back in her chair. “We’ve talked to a few of her ‘co-workers’ and none of them had much to say. She did her job, was one of the few that wasn’t hooked on drugs, and stayed to herself most of the time.”

“Well, if you want to find the brother, perhaps he’ll be at the charity event this evening in Robertson Park. Falcone is going to be there, as are a load of Gotham’s finest, just in case. Might not hurt to be there as well.”

Crispus was already on the phone, calling his wife to tell her he’d be working late. When he hung up, he smiled at is new partner. “I usually don’t get to go to charity events.”

“Well isn’t tonight your lucky night then,” she replied, giving him a small smile in return.

[capeandcowl]

Alfred Pennyworth was a man of many talents, one of them being a very decent detective in his own right. He had a military background of sorts as well as his years with the world’s greatest detective, so trailing someone was very simple to him.

He moved through the cities traffic, making sure to keep an eye on Drake’s car, but not too close. It seemed as though the neighbor was heading towards the warehouse district. Alfred watched as Drake pulled his car up near an abandoned warehouse and got out, looking around and then entering the domain.

The butler knew this was the time to call Master Wayne, but he also knew that party had started, and was pretty sure that Batman was already staking it out. Why contact him until he knew something more.

He drove past the building and parked around the corner, behind a second warehouse, and then made his way back towards the one Jack Drake had entered. He had to admit that it was exciting to actually be out in the field, doing some real leg work. He rarely did it when Bruce had started his campaign, and then after Robin and Batgirl had come along, he was always left in the batcave.

Alfred made his way silently to the warehouse and slid quietly against the wall, making sure that he stayed in the shadows as much as possible. He found a dirty window and quickly peaked inside. The main room appeared empty, but there was a light coming from a small office in the north east corner. Considering is options, and the amount of stacked pallets that surrounded the large outer room, Alfred chose to slip inside and make his way to the office door.
“I’m telling you, Mask gave me the package and told me to deliver it to the Iceberg Lounge. I have no idea what was inside of it, but my guess is, money. He was paying Cobblepot for something.”

A second voice rang out, “What about tonight? Did he say anything about taking a shot at the boss during the event?”

“Nothing,” Jack Drake replied. “But I’m just a common thug, not privy to hear everything Black Mask says.

Alfred was more then intrigued. Jack Drake was working for The Black Mask? Who was this other gentleman, and who was his boss? And how was the Penguin wrapped up in all of this?”

“What about the hooker?”

Drake let out a sigh, “So far my contacts tell me that they haven’t been able to tie it in with Falcone or Mask. Good thing, too, we have enough on our plates without The GCPD actually sticking their noses where they don’t belong.”

Alfred felt the cold barrel press to the back of the neck before the voice behind him spoke, “Well who do we have here?”

The butler froze. This was not good at all.

[capeandcowl]

The celebration was in full swing, music playing loudly on the clear night, as people laughed, drank champagne and mingled with each other. It was one of the few events where the middle class came together with the upper class, for what all considered to be a good cause.

Carmine Falcone and several of his men had been there nearly an hour before the attack happened. Several shots were fired from several different places in the crowd. Two of Falcone’s men shoved him to the ground, while two more were hit by bullets and slumped onto the grass, dark blood pouring from their wounds.

Batman dove from the building ledge that he had been perched on, cursing himself for not seeing any of the gunmen. He fired his cable into one of the trees, and swung down into the panicked crowd, hitting a plastic faced man with an automatic. He came down hard on him, and the man was unconscious before he knew what had hit him.

There was more gunfire and then a scream. Batman raced to the spot, only to find the member of the False Face gang, gun still in his hand, had been frozen solid. Before he could move, the statue shattered into a million pieces and behind it stood a foe that he had least expected to see in the middle of something like this.

“YOU!” Both Batman and Mr. Freeze exclaimed at the same time, as they faced each other; the people of the city still running and screaming wildly, more gunfire being heard in the near distance.

[capeandcowl]

The door to the office in the warehouse opened and Alfred was shoved inside, roughly.

“Who the hell is this!?” Jack Drake demanded as he stared at Alfred.

“I found him outside of the door, listening to your conversation,” the gunman said simply. “No I.D. on him at all. Seems a little lost to me.”

“Guess it was lucky for us that you were late now, wasn’t it, Daniel?” Drake said, his eyes narrowing as he studied Alfred.

The Englishman said nothing, his face expressionless as he stared straight ahead, not daring to look directly at Jack Drake’s face.

“Yeah, well I wasn’t going to come at all. Boss wanted me at that shindig in the park,” the man called Danny Tate said.

“Then go,” Drake ordered. “We all know what happens if we disappoint our bosses. I’ll take care of this nosy little fella. You better take off, as well, before our boss begins to wonder why we ain’t been around.”

The third man, the man who had been talking to Drake, looked at him apprehensively, “You sure you can handle this on your own?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me guys. Just go be where you need to be. I don’t know who this guy is, and at the moment I don’t care. I’ll make sure his lips are sealed, permanently.”

The other two looked at each other, then nodded and walked out the room. Alfred watched them leave and then turned back to Jack Drake. His new neighbor gave him a cold, dead stare, as he cocked his gun.

Batman dove out of the way as Freeze fired his weapon, barely avoided the large blast of ice that hit the tree behind him. As he rolled onto the ground and came up, he through a batarang at his foe, aiming directly for is weak point, the glass tube that covered his head.

It hit dead on, but the glass did not shatter. There was barely even a crack in it, and Freeze began to laugh, the sound as hollow as an empty paper-towel roll.

“Do you think I haven’t prepared since our last encounter, Batman? I have an intellect of genius proportions.”

[capeandcowl]

“What are you doing here, Freeze?” Batman demanded as he crouched down, his cape surrounding him.

“I am working. We all have to survive, after all, don’t we?”

Batman feigned a leap to the left, but at the last second leapt right, catching Victor off guard for a second. It was all the time Batman needed to make another jump and tackle the villain.

If Batman was expecting a cry of frustration, or a sound of pain, he did not get it. Instead, there was a low chuckle as the two men grappled on the ground, their hands locked together.

“As I said, Batman,” Freeze stated through gritted teeth, “I have been planning for this day for some time now, and I’ve made many moderations to my suit.”

Even through the insulation that was built into the costume, Batman felt the sudden charge of cold come channeling through Freezes gloves and into his. There was very little in the way of flash or show to the effect. A small discharge of ice blue color from one pair of gloves to the other, and then Batman felt the artic cold enter into his body, shooting through his arms and down into his body. His body wasn’t being frozen; his internal organs were, instead. He let out a gasp and tried to release his grip from that of his enemies, but his fingers wouldn’t move, the nerves had already been destroyed.

He looked into the glasses that Freeze wore, and a small smile formed on Freezes lips as Batman felt the coldness go through his lungs, he was choking to death, unable to acquire air, then the last thing he felt was his heart… his heart just stopped, and then there was nothing but blackness.

Mr. Freeze let go of his grip and watched the famous Batman fall back onto the ground. He smiled to himself. Although it hadn’t even been on his mind or his goal, he knew that he would be the one forever known, from this moment forward, as the genius who had killed The Batman

He turned and walked away from the lifeless body, a satisfied look on his face. “Eat your heart out, Joker.” He said to himself as he pushed his way through the panicked crowd.

[capeandcowl]

To Be Continued…?

[mockingbird]

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