The office was a dimly lit sanctuary of chaos, papers scattered like confetti across desks, and the faint hum of computers mingled with the occasional clatter of a coffee mug being set down. Miss Vale, the seasoned journalist with a sharp wit and a sharper pen, sat at her desk, her eyes fixed on the screen as if it held the secrets of the universe.

“This is a lot more than he let on, and the descriptions are well detailed. There’s a lot more evidence in here, so clean and well backed up proofs which could lock up a couple of troublesome crime lords for a really long time if relayed to the police.” She muttered to herself as she scanned through the report she had put together on her screen.

“I guess being the reporter who gets to break this to the police, I should attain more credibility than I already do.”

“Wait, you didn’t go home last night?” Her colleague asked while walking by her desk.

“No Alice, been too busy working on something huge.” She replied, not breaking contact with her screen for even a second.

“I know you’re good at what you do but you shouldn’t sacrifice sleep too often, a burnout brain is useless in more than one ways.”

“Burnout? That’s why I drink a lot of caffeine.” She replied.

“I can see that…” Alice said with a raised brow. “Prioritize your health so your skin could be at least a bit as radiant as mine, and not this disaster you have going on.”

“This so called disaster as you call it, are the side effects of actually putting in the work to stand out above this sea of reporters.” Vicki replied, pulling put the flash drive from her computer as she grabbed a black scrunches from her table.

“If you’re going to look good on TV or pictures as a reporter, then you have to do things with glamor and flair.”

“Sorry, got to go.” She said as she grabbed a , placed it under her arm, then turned back, making an immediate stop to address Alice one more time.

“And just so you know, this girl doesn’t need non of that, just want to cover mouth watering stories which would shine a light on the corrupt doings happening in the shadows of this city.” She added before walking down to the far office at the end.

Swinging the door wide open, she walked in on a dark skinned man in his mid forties, dressed in a white shirt with suspenders running over his shoulders and down to his pants. His legs were crossed on top the desk and a tag with the description, Director Hawkins written on it.

“Good gracious. What the hell is that look, Vicki?” He asked as he immediately dropped his legs from his table, his brown leather shoe a fitting match for the cigar he had in his mouth.

“This is the look which result’s from nine hours marathon while composing a jaw dropping story boss.” Vicki said with excitement in her tone, but the bags under her eyes revealed her exhaustion. “It's the look from work that would seize the front page of every news paper and mount it’s position as the top headlines for a whole month and probably beyond.” She added, throwing her report at his table.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Nine hours? Wait, you didn’t go home last night?” He asked, but only got a self-satisfied nod in response.

“From how messed up your hair and makeup were, I almost mistook you for a crack addict who escaped rehab and somehow wondered into my office while taking cover from the cops.” He said, reaching for the paper she dropped at his desk.

Hmm!! He expressed, his eyes opened so widely while glancing at the pages word for word, that it seemed like he was just handed a piece of the holy grail for news media. The news he found himself reading that moment was one that was sure to put a lot of popular and powerful people in Gotham City, right behind bars if confirmed.

“How did you manage to get your hands on this?” He asked, looking at Vicki who was now using the scrunches from earlier to pack her hair into a pony tail. “This is well detailed, leaving no room for doubts. If the police follow up with this, they could easily trace and smoke out the people being exposed.” He added.

“This is just layout for the full news, I’ll complete the work as soon as I get a word from the commissioner.”

“I won’t advise you to go looking like this.” He said, hinting a bit of irritation in his voice and from a subtle change in expression.

“I’ll be heading home to freshen up, then head straight to the station to run this by the commissioner.” Vicki said with a mischievous smirk tugged to the side of her lips as the bags under her eyes made her seem like some lunatic.

“This is big news.” Hawkins said to her, still flipping through the pages.”

“Who’s your source?” He asked. “That I can’t reveal, but I assure you it’s from a reliable source.” She replied.

“Doesn’t this reliable source have a name? You can’t just present something like this to the police without a named or identified source backing it.”

“Don’t worry about that, what you should think on is what shape Gotham City would be taking once the police confirms everyone of them. Especially after the act of terrorism two nights ago.” She said to Hawkins who knew the turmoil this news was sure to stir up in the city of Gotham, was one he could never predict.

“If you’d excuse me, I’ll be taking the day off from the office.” She said to him as she proceeded to the door.

“Vicki.” Hawkins called out as she placed her hand on the doorknob. “Do not prioritize your job over your health.” She said nothing in reply but gave an half nod. “There’s more to life than chasing the next story.” He concluded.

“Yes sir, but until then, all I have is my passion for this job.” She replied before walking out the office, softly shutting the door behind her.

…

[Feng Chonglin’s POV]

Walking up the stairs of an opulent manor with red and gold décor all around, Mr Feng Chonglin who was the leader of the triad, was stopped by one of his men who seemed to have something to report.

“Bad news Master.” The subordinate said to him with his head bowed. ”Speak.” He commanded.

“An update from our insider in the police force came in a moment ago.” This caught Chonglin’s attention, taking two steps down the stairs, he gestured for the man to continue as he rose his head.

“The young man arrested under the suspicion of being an accomplice to the terrorism attack at one of our major restaurants, would be released tomorrow.” He reported while he watched for a sudden but expected change in their leader’s demeanor, but only got a sigh in response to the message.

“That works pretty well for us.” He replied as he stretched his hand out, a phone was immediately placed in his hand as he dialed up a number.

Taking the phone up to his head and pressing it against his ear. “It’s me.” He said as the receiver picked up the call.

“I have a job which requires your experience and fits your expertise.” He said over the phone as he gestured for the reporter to leave his presence.

“Good, in a few minutes I’ll be sending you the details of the job. I want it done at the precise timing tomorrow.” He instructed. “Consider it done.” The voice reverberated through the phone before he hanged up the call.

“If the police are letting him go, I can’t. No one takes from me and get to go scout free.” He said as he handed over the phone to the man beside him, then climbed up the stairs.

“How do you intend to handle it sir? I say we kidnap him and teach him not to mess with the Triad.” The man who walked behind him suggested, having a dragon tattoo drawn from his bald head and down to the base of his body.

Letting out a sigh, he began. “That would be a waste because after the torture and getting the feel of vengeance, we kill him and it’s all over. The debt won’t be paid and a deadman can’t take the lesson along with him when we eventually finish with him.”

“Then we kidnap him and sell his organs to make up for the losses” His subordinate suggested.

“I’m not bothered by the money because I’ve been thinking of demolishing the establishment and turning it into some other kind of business, that’s why I’m not mad or pissed off by the loss.” He continued as he arrived at a door.

“There would be a publicized death in Gotham City tomorrow, I wonder how the people would react when a man under police custody gets assassinated right in front of a police station.” He said to the man before walking into the other room.

==========

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