Chapter 3
Joseph's brow relaxed. "You're already in your twelfth grade. Do you have any thoughts on which university you'll attend next year?"
"It's not convenient for me to take the SAT right now." Colt knew his father wanted to recommend Gotham University to him again.
You don't need to worry about so much; there will always be a way to get you into your preferred university." Joseph paused, then asked as expected, "How about Gotham University?
Colt would much rather go to Imperial College.
Even though Gotham University is good, half of the lunatics in Arkham are graduates of Gotham University. Colt always felt that entering Gotham University was equivalent to becoming a reserve for Arkham.
"You no longer need school to acquire knowledge; attending school is merely to bring you closer to your peers. Gotham University is close by; both your mother and I are graduates of Gotham University. I was a professor there for over a decade, so I'm quite familiar with the school.." Joseph spoke faster and faster, his gaze beginning to look strange.
I'm going to Gotham University." Colt grabbed Joseph's hand and looked earnestly into his eyes, "That's where Mom and Dad went to school, it's close to home too. I'm really looking forward to going there.
The Robin Bird chirped twice with its head tilted back, hopped onto the open cherry box, picked up a cherry in its beak to bring it to Joseph's lips.
Joseph opened his mouth and took the cherry, chewing it a few times before swallowing it along with the pit.
Look, even the Robin Bird wants you to go to Gotham University. I will accept the school's invitation to return as an honorary professor, so you can enroll at Gotham University directly next year.
Colt looked at Joseph's clear eyes and felt a sense of relief. He let go of Joseph's hand and began to tidy up the pile of boxes.
Joseph pulled a formal suit gift box out from inside.
There's an awards ceremony at the end of the month, the company is responsible for custom-making the formal wear. I applied for one size larger than your measurements. You grew quite a bit over the summer, so try it on and see if it fits?
A full formal suit, a three-piece set with a bowtie, including leather shoes and dress socks; even the tie clip and cufflinks were provided.
The clothes fit perfectly, but Colt felt restricted in them. He still preferred loose clothing; stiff, formal suits were more suited to a young master like Timothy.
Joseph, however, was very satisfied, "You look just like your mother; you look good in black, too."
Colt took off his clothes and put on his father's old shirt again, knotting the overly long hem and rolling the sleeves up to his elbows.
What about your award ceremony?
Joseph said nonchalantly, "It's not like I'm the Wayne father and son; I'm just an ordinary researcher. I'll just put on a lab coat, grab an award when I have time, the media will only praise my dedication."
Colt nodded in agreement.
That's right. Although his father holds three doctorates, was a former professor of physics at Gotham University, is currently the chief researcher at Wayne, he is just an ordinary person in Gotham.
In Gotham, those who aren't ordinary either put on a uniform to become vigilantes or end up in Arkham.
They were just ordinary father and son, unable to become vigilantes and not destined for Arkham.
Joseph was an expert at mooching off the company.
In addition to the cherries, strawberries, pizza, bread packed from the company cafeteria, Joseph also brought back a pack of pencils, a box of erasers, three fountain pens, three boxes of 20-count gel pens, two packs of 500-sheet printing paper, five thick A4 notebooks, several different types of sticky notes, staples, paper clips, toilet paper, brand-new lab coats, 20 pairs of lab gloves, five sets of isolation protective suits.. even high school textbooks.
Colt dug through the bottommost box and pulled out the twelfth-grade textbooks; they were all brand new, with even the cheapest one costing 106 dollars, totaling 37 books!
I didn't sign up for 'Art Photography Class'.
Colt held the thick photography book, which cost 400 dollars, his hands trembling.
Joseph shoved the cold pizza into the microwave.
I know. Lucius had someone purchase textbooks for Mr. Drake. I happened to run into them and had them buy two copies; he has a few more classes than you do.
Joseph turned on the toaster. "See if there are any Chinese textbooks. Your foreign language classes are different; he is taking French."
Joseph's direct superior is Mr. Lucius, Timothy is his superior's superior.
There are books in both French and Chinese.
Colt suddenly felt a bit awkward; even though it was clearly just his father taking advantage of the company, he had the illusion that he was being kept by Timothy.
Colt finished tidying his things, brought the books up to the study, put away his back-to-school gifts while he was at it.
Colt slept in the master bedroom on the second floor with a terrace, the living room featured an entire wall of display cabinets filled with Batman merchandise. There were hundreds of Batarangs of various styles on display, covering almost every model of Batarang released since Batman's debut.
None of them were sharpened.
Now there is one that is sharpened.
Colt used deerskin to maintain the Batarang, moving the small stick of the glue-sealed Bat-lollipop slightly aside, then placed the new Batarang at the very center of the display wall, with the signed side facing outward.
Domino Masks were arranged around the Batarangs; the small ones were suitable for a five or six-year-old child, while the large ones were just the right size for him now.
The Robin Cape collection occupied half a wall, ranging from the earliest yellow short capes to the current hooded cloaks with black and yellow backgrounds.
'Only one Red Robin cape is missing.'
Robin flew solo as Red Robin, the cape of his new uniform was like a pair of red wings, both practical and beautiful.
Colt isn't a Robin fan; he just has a bit of OCD.
It's so frustrating to have a missing page in a complete collection.
Dad, can I ask for Red Robin's new cape for this year's Christmas gift?
Colt rushed downstairs and saw Joseph sitting at the dining table flipping through his notebook, he lost control, crashing into the dining table.
Joseph shifted his gaze from the Timothy Observation Report to Colt, his expression as serious as ever.
I thought you stopped running around the house since you were fifteen.
"I'm looking forward to Red Robin's new cape too; my mental energy fluctuated for a moment, causing the clipping, I'll be more careful in the future." Colt stepped away from the dining table and sat obediently opposite Joseph, using a wet wipe to clean his hands in preparation for lunch.
Joseph closed his laptop: "You're doing upgrade calculations for energy containment; is that homework Stark gave you?"
Yeah, Tony gives me a one-hour online class every Friday.
Although Stark sometimes forgets, he always makes time to send him knowledge compression packages, uses email to submit and grade assignments.
I heard that Tony's private laboratory is going to cooperate with Wayne to research the spatial folding interstellar jump technology used by alien spaceships. Dad, will you be participating?
Colt picked up a slice of pizza and handed it to Joseph.
"It depends, but he should be going." Joseph shook his head and started spreading butter on his bread himself.
Colt stuffed the pizza into his mouth.
That's the first time I've seen you write evaluations of other people in your notebook. You're interested in Timothy Drake?" Joseph asked suddenly, "Did you attend the opening ceremony just because of him?
Yeah, we've been classmates for four years, everyone says he's the future of Gotham, so I'm a little curious." Colt swallowed his pizza. "Dad, do you see him often at the company? What kind of person is he?
Timothy Drake is a good person, the kind of good person that Gotham's rare breed is; I believe you two could be friends." Joseph placed the buttered bread onto a plate, pulled a pen from his pocket, began writing on the back of a notebook, "This is his private email and social media handle. You can write to him; he likes..
Joseph's voice caught in his throat.
Colt looked at his father, wondering why he didn't continue.
Joseph thought it over and over, realizing that he did not understand Timothy Drake's preferences.
Timothy Drake has incredibly sharp vision; the inventions piling up in the lab become money-printing machines in his hands.
Joseph liked how decisive Drake was when signing budget sheets; of course, Bruce Wayne was also very generous, but unfortunately, he was almost impossible to catch.
That description of his greasy hair and pale face is too one-sided; don't mistake his good looks for weakness. He likes to make people lose hope with a smile, so if you want to be his friend, you must be sincere.
"Slick hair and a pale, fair face—that's an objective description, not a one-sided one." Colt took the notebook, noting down Timothy's private email and social media handles.
"He didn't sleep last night," Colt said suddenly.
"You know he didn't sleep last night?" Joseph asked.
Colt realized belatedly that those words were ambiguous.
"I guess he has dark circles under his eyes. Today was the opening ceremony, Drake served as a representative three times, giving speeches on stage the whole time. He said Wayne has released a new student loan program, with interest rates 30% lower than the lowest available elsewhere." The voice coming through the loudspeaker was flawless.
Joseph looked at Colt.
For someone with pale skin, the flush of blood in their face is especially obvious.
Colt's ears turned slightly red.
Joseph chewed his buttered bread mechanically.
Colt ate his pizza and drank his milk with focus, while also preparing dried fruit and water for the bird, keeping himself incredibly busy.
Joseph filled his stomach and sat there without getting up. Watching Colt preen the bird's feathers and change its diaper, he suddenly spoke, "Colt.."
"I wasn't staring at him all night, wondering why he wasn't sleeping," Colt interrupted Joseph.
Joseph widened his eyes.
Staring, sleeping, all night long.. putting those words together seemed a bit too ambiguous.
Colt pinched his ears and cut the signal connection, preventing his thoughts from racing too fast and accidentally leaking secrets through sound.
Chirp, chirp.
The chirping of a bird broke the silence.
Next time I see him, I'll ask him if he needs help sleeping. I know a little bit about biopharmaceuticals, so I can prepare some sleeping pills for him.
Joseph chose to respect his son's wishes.
Wayne Manor, the third room on the west side of the second floor.
Timothy sat cross-legged on the sofa with a laptop on his lap; he wasn't looking at the computer, but was instead turning a handgun over and over in his hands, examining it.
The pistol's grip, along with the magazine inside, had been pierced through.
The small 15mm hole looked as if it had existed since the moment the mold was cast, with no signs of compression around its edges.
Ding.
A notification popped up on the computer.
Timothy put the handgun into the tray, took off his gloves, accessed the backend of Gotham Hospital to check the newly released medical report.
Evan Hu, an ordinary Gotham thug, barely counted as a low-level contact for Black Mask's outer circle. The injury was assessed as a high-speed impact from a 15mm diameter annular sharp object piercing through the right palm, followed by a continuous 50V electric shock for 2 seconds.
Compared to those □□ that could deliver hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of volts at a moment's notice, a 50V electric pen was far too gentle to be a local Gotham product.
Of course, the electric shock wasn't the main point; Ghost seemed to have just accidentally let go while passing through Hu. The pen didn't fall due to gravity, but instead remained in place, stuck in Hu's hand.
Timothy put the handgun into an evidence bag, took out another file folder, labeled it with a "Ghost" note, wrote down the date, then placed the evidence bag containing the handgun into the recent tracking case filing cabinet.
He returned to the computer and opened a surveillance video.
At 10:23 AM, 450 meters to the right of the school's back gate, the surveillance footage came from the lapel camera he was wearing.