Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Sixteen: Chaos at The Luncheon ~

Sometime during the drive, one of Maroni's henchmen slipped a black hood over Jim's head, blocking his view of the rest of the ride. And as the car stopped, he felt the henchmen drag him inside some building, the hood still covering his face. He was then shoved into a chair where he could hear loud cracking. He looked around nervously, what was making that noise? Was it the cracking of bones? But why weren't there any screams? As the henchmen finally pulled the hood off, his answer was right in front of him. Across the table sat Don Maroni, cracking off the tail of a whole lobster. Over to Maroni's side was the bloodied-up Oswald, who looked both exhausted, but also scared.

"Welcome, I'm Salvatore Maroni," The Don introduced himself like Jim had no idea who he was. "I know who you are. What do you want?" Jim spoke, eyes still adjusting to the bright lights peering through the empty restaurant. "Here's the thing..." Maroni began to speak, but Oswald interrupted him. "Jim, just tell the truth," He trembled. Maroni glared at him coldly before snapping his fingers. One of the mafia bosses' servants appeared before them, pouring a nice cold glass for Maroni. "You want a drink, Jim? I'm having a Negroni, so good with seafood," Maroni offered casually, like they were just two old friends catching up on their lives.

"Water," Jim replied. And with another snap of Maroni's fingers, the servant returned with a glass of water. "So, our friend here told me a fascinating story. Never heard a story so good, it's hard to believe it's true," Maroni chuckled, snapping off another piece of the lobster. "It is, it's true!" Oswald spoke up with desperation. "Shut up! Shut up! One more word, and I'll jam this down your throat!" Maroni threatened, gesturing to the giant lobster claw resting on his plate. Oswald shut his mouth just as the mafia boss returned to his conversation with Jim. "I try to be civil, Jim. But I'm not the kind of man that likes to ask twice. So, here's how it's gonna go..."

Jim tried to make peace with Maroni, but as the detective opened his mouth to speak, Maroni immediately cut him off. "No! No. No. You let me finish, and you'll have your turn to speak," Jim slumped back in his seat before the Don continued. "Okay then, I want you to tell me the same story that Penguin told me," Jim wasn't dumb. He knew exactly what story he was supposed to tell, but the question came out anyway. "You better know what story, my friend. Because if you tell me the same story he told me, then I could believe it's true. Then I'm happy. But if you tell me another story, oh, mama... then someone's lying to me!  And I don't know which one, and both of you will die. Understand?" Maroni warned, his glare piercing into the depth of Jim's soul.

"Yes, I do," Jim agreed. Maroni picked up the Negroni and took a sip from it, ushering for Jim to go on with the story. "Somebody murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne. My partner and I caught the case," Jim started. "We didn't even know each other then," Oswald cut in, making Maroni's anger boil over like a tea kettle. "What did I say?!" he shouted at Oswald before speaking to two of his henchmen. "Go put him on the slicer. If I don't like what I hear, slice his face prejute," The two henchmen carried Oswald back into the kitchen, and just from behind the glass, he could see Oswald was pinned to the table, his head dangerously close to the whirring slicer. While Jim didn't look behind him, he could only imagine how terrified Oswald was, but he kept his calm and quiet composure.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Go on," Maroni gestured. "I was a pawn in a conspiracy between Falcone, the mayor, and the GCPD to frame Mario Pepper for the Wayne murders with the help of Fish Mooney, Mr. Cobblepot's employer at the time," Jim continued. "Mr. Cobblepot then told the whole story to the MCU. To prove that I wouldn't betray the conspiracy, Falcone ordered me to kill Cobblepot, but I didn't do it. I let him live, and here we are," Don Maroni took a second to take that story in before wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "Falcone, Mooney, the MCU cops... None of them know he's alive?" he questioned.