Phantom Kid in the American Comic World
2.The suspicions of Gordon

”I don't want to be bothered with some stupid teaser letters circulating on the internet. Aaron, take your men and disperse this crowd, now!”

Gordon has a headache.

What is the Phantom Kid doing?

Sending a provocative letter to a police station can be understood as an act of confidence, signal that he is a very confident criminal who gives advance notice to the police only to show off his high IQ. 

It's been eight years since an incident like this happened.

But inviting the general public to witness it in theft?

That's something even a madman like the Joker wouldn't do!

Gordon has a hunch that this thief may be one of the toughest opponents of his career, or, perhaps even, the toughest so far.

Based on Gordon's past experience, whatever the purpose of this bandit behind the spread of this news, he should not be allowed to achieve it. And since he wanted the hall to be crowded, it was better for Gordon to empty it.

"Hi! Commissioner Gordon, you have no right to expel us, Gotham Exhibition Hall is a public place, and we are here for the show!”

Seeing that Aaron had called hundreds of Gotham police officers behind him and was about to evict these reporters, the duck-hat reporter immediately shouted.

"Well, yeah .. what newspaper did you report, and why haven't I seen you before?" Gordon immediately closed the mouth of the duck-hated man with a sharp gaze that shocked him.

”Sorry, Sir, you have a good knowledge of the current situation. I've got to suspect you .. Not to mention the fact that your face has been hidden under your hat from the very beginning. You don't want anyone to see your face, do you? ”

"Hi! Commissioner Gordon, do you suspect that I am that insane thief?”

After a moment of surprise, the duck-hated man gasped back to the real world and immediately raised his head, revealing the face of a young man tangled with a beard.

"My name is Eddie Brock, I'm not a reporter from Gotham, but from the New York Daily Bugle, and this is my work ID."

Eddie issued his own credentials and handed it to Gordon and said quickly, “I know it doesn't make sense for a New York reporter to show up here, anyway, but actually I am only here for a vacation and happen to know this. .”

The Daily Bugle is considered a relatively famous newspaper in the United States, and Gordon takes a work permit and sees that it is indeed true, but he still does not rule out the possibility that the letter was faked.

There is also a chance vacation that makes Gordon even more suspicious of Eddie.

Gordon winks at Aaron, who immediately complies and calls the Daily Bugle to confirm Eddie's story.

Soon after, Aaron hangs up the phone and nods to Gordon that what Eddie says is true.

It always feels wrong, but as it turns out, Eddie's suspicions have been removed and Gordon has to apologize.

“Now that misunderstanding is settled, there are some things I have to say.”

Eddie was open-minded enough not to approve of what had happened before, but rather showed great interest in the incident.

"Listen, officer, I know that the peace of Gotham has depended on you for years, and at the same time you will hate nothing more than seeing the return of the chaos that was here eight years ago."

"So this strange thief, Kid, who came out of nowhere has awakened some of your memories and made you so anxious that you must drive the innocent civilians in front of you out of the Exhibition Hall ......"

“Trust me, gentlemen, this decision is not only illegal, but even a little foolish!”

"What do you mean?" Hearing that, the grumpy Aaron immediately roared.

"I don't know for what reason the Phantom Kid announced his plans to the public, but I do know one thing: stealing always happens when no one is around, otherwise, it becomes robbery." Gordon made his point.

"You mean he did it on purpose, to mislead us?"

“Or what else? Oh yes, maybe also called Phantom Kid is just a cover. Such a person may not exist. It was just a joke, otherwise, there was no way to explain something as ridiculous as a thief asking the audience to watch him steal.”

"More importantly, the teaser letters have gone viral in Gotham and there will be a stream of people coming here, you can't drive everyone away, after all, anyway, the exhibit is accessible to all Gotham citizens, not a specific group of people."

Gordon nodded, Eddie is right, it's true he can't stop people from attending the exhibition, it's just that he still feels something is wrong.

Even if Kid managed to blend in with the crowd, the number of people in the hall would block all possible routes of his escape, and as a result would be arrested.

The police only needed to guard all the exits tightly, so even top thieves like Catwoman would never be able to escape…

Nah!

There is another possibility!

This letter that Kid sent was probably a plan that he faked, he did not steal anything, his true intention was to gather the people in the exhibition hall and carry out a devastating attack on them!

That's the kind of crime that fits Gotham!

Eddie's heart stiffened when he saw Gordon was deep in his mind.

“It's true Jim Gordon.. still hesitant to stop people from gathering here when he knows that the exhibition hall will never be closed because of Kid's warning letter.”.

Yeah, "Eddie" this isn't Eddie, it's Mathison in disguise!

Of course, Eddie Brock is a real person, and it is also true that he came to Gotham for a vacation and found out about the teaser letter by chance.

But the real Eddie may still be asleep in his own car…

A reporter is the perfect identity to be able to ask police all sorts of questions, including some of their arrangements, and not be suspected even if they don't get answers.

As for why Mathison was spreading her mock letters, the ease of the invasion was one of the reasons, but more importantly…

Wouldn't the Phantom Kid's debut fail if there were no spectators??

"You're right" Gordon sighed as he watched the number of civilians increase.

"Aaron, you lead the team and guard the main entrance for me, there is still a long time before the show starts, don't let anyone enter the hall during this time!"

”The only remaining exit from the exhibition hall, other than the main entrance, is a narrow back door, which can only be guarded by two officers

Gordon instructed an experienced veteran officer before yelling at a young officer behind the group, "Rookie, you're coming too!"

"Yes sir."

Mathison glanced at the young officer. The beginner may be a newcomer to the GCPD.

A rookie this time of year is most likely John Blake, the future Robin.

"That's right, including these reporters, no one is allowed in!"

Gordon stared at "Eddie" deeply, and Mathison saw a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Even with the office confirmation, Gordon was still unsure.

"I think journalists have a lot of power in a free country, but as expected, police arrangements cannot be made public."

Mathison is not confused, it's been suspected, however, that being a journalist allows her to observe many police officers up close…

Gordon ignored the reporters' barking and took hundreds of his men into the exhibition hall.

Aaron remained at the main entrance with the police team, in addition to the first dozen security guards, totalling nearly 30 people. 

  All with loaded weapons, standing in rows blocking the entrance, no one dared to advance.

At this point, no one noticed that "Eddie", a journalist from New York, was missing ...

Once the entrances and exits had been secured, Gordon led a large army into the exhibition hall and set up a full defensive line.

John Blake followed his partner to guard the back door, a dark alley as usual, which 'seemingly resembled Gotham', to say.