Shiller also understood very well that he and Victor just needed to clear themselves of suspicion. Harley was different; she was definitely going to give Lina a hard time.
Shiller didn't believe that Harley did nothing the night she took Lina away. She placed Lina back at the Brainiac support group to lure in a big fish. How could she tolerate the fish in the water trying to leap up and slap her?
Sure enough, less than 20 minutes after Gordon left, the police station was bustling again. Even the officers in the interrogation room were called away; it seemed there was a big case to investigate.
Once the officers left, Shiller stood up from his chair and glanced at the old officer's desk. Sure enough, his phone was just lying there quietly.
He picked up his own phone, sat back down, opened the Super Butler Brainiac software, and began to inquire:
"Do you know what Harley just said?"
"That involves other users' privacy..."
"Don't act like a dumb AI customer service," Shiller replied. "And don't make me think this super AI is only this capable."
"She said she knew that someone from the Brainiac support group killed a police officer, and the body is in the water tower on the roof of the Bitong Trade Building on Diamond Street. This matches the case of an officer who had gone missing while on patrol."
"No wonder," Shiller said. "There's probably nothing that could grab James Gordon's attention more than the safety of his colleagues."
Having worked with Gordon for so long, Shiller considered himself quite familiar with this righteous chief. Gordon was not someone overly pedantic. In his view, a few deaths in Gotham were no big deal. There were no wholly innocent victims here, much more the wicked preying on each other.
Based on this principle, Gordon couldn't bear to see two kinds of victims: one is the very young children. Kids are the relatively innocent since they're not worldly-wise, didn't have much chance to accumulate any sins, and lacked the ability to resist, mostly suffering undeservingly.
The other kind is his colleagues. Strange as Gotham's police might be, each with their own flaws, none are completely righteous individuals. But as long as they're willing to remain police officers, they're much nobler than others in this city. Compared to their righteous acts, a little sin is negligible and could be considered innocent.
If either of these two kinds of people were harmed, Gordon would elevate the case's priority to the highest level.
Gordon also knew that the people who died in the old campus building were not good people. Even if they were students, or even if they were possibly manipulated, they were adults. As adults, they must pay the price for their foolish and evil deeds.
So combined, these few people weren't as important as a colleague missing while on patrol. Once a clue on the latter appears, the former's priority must be pushed back.
Harley's move was indeed hitting where it hurt. Most of the time, Gordon turned a blind eye, but once he decides to seriously investigate, someone is bound to fall into big trouble. Even if the Brainiac support group doesn't perish, they would be skinned.
Shiller thought Victor was right before. The majority of the Brainiac support group's members were from out of town. If it weren't the case, they wouldn't have dared to attack the police.
In the waning days of the mob era, when mob bosses were nearly driven to desperation, no one dared to slaughter the police. It wasn't because they couldn't; it was because wise men knew to leave themselves a way out.
Although it seemed police were just wielding guns, while judgment was held by courts and juries, and prison was there, much more important than the police.
But they all knew if you cooperated, you could still come out after serving two years, remaining a wealthy man. But if you didn't cooperate, the day after you were imprisoned, Gordon would take down your entire gang and confiscate your assets, leaving you utterly penniless.
Not offending Gordon means leaving a way out for yourself. Even if eventually defeated, one can save a little for themselves. Offending him to death would be the end of everything.
Shiller admired the Brainiac support group's all-or-nothing spirit—no retreat, no surrender. Now it depended on whether these powerful outsiders could overcome Gordon, the local dragon.
As it turned out, the Brainiac support group was not as powerful as they seemed, and Gordon was more than just a local dragon. While Shiller took a short nap in the interrogation room, footsteps clattered outside, quickly filling the surrounding spaces.
Seated in the central interrogation room, Shiller could vaguely hear the conversations in the adjacent rooms. It was no surprise that the rooms next to him were filled with core members of the Brainiac support group now.
In the end, they were just a group of college students, neither touching money nor power, not even checking the Federation Association Law when forming the group.
They relied merely on the assumption that influential forces wouldn't have the time to bother with them. However, if taken seriously, once a foot stepped through the club door, they could be accused of fifteen or sixteen counts.
The police station was bustling all night. By dawn, a somewhat fatigued Gordon appeared at Shiller's interrogation room door.
"Let him out," Gordon said impatiently. "Are you two sick? Going all the way to the old campus to clean up a crime scene just to annoy the police?!"
"How could that be? We've always been very cooperative with police work."
"Then you better give me a better explanation."
"You saw that machine at the scene, right?" Shiller smiled. "That's the latest model of a cleaning robot. We went there to test the machine. By the time you got there, it should have been all cleaned up, right? How did it do?"
"Hmph." Gordon snorted coldly. "It was quite clean. I couldn't find a single footprint in the entire hallway."
"Then I'm relieved," Shiller said. "You know, I'm not very good at cleaning. With this thing, it saves me a lot of trouble."
Saying this, he prepared to leave. Just as he was about to pass by Gordon, Gordon placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't go. Is that machine expensive? How many are available? I'm planning to order a few for the precinct, to help clean the scene once we're done gathering evidence."
"You'll have to ask Victor about that," Shiller paused and said. "He and Pamela jointly developed the cleaning machine, complete with special detergents for blood and brushes. The whole set probably isn't cheap. But given it's public procurement, it should be well-equipped."
Thus, a bewildered Victor was invited to the purchasing department. Before the door closed, he deliberately looked back, Shiller leaning against the hallway wall, smiling at him.
No wonder nothing was mentioned about a cleaning machine during the practice room cleanup earlier, but today it had to be brought along. Victor thought, so this is what they were waiting for him.