Bruce Wayne

Chapter 35: Calculated Maneuvers

"You did what?" a horrified board member demanded.

"I canceled our planned partnership with GothCorp," Bruce responded coldly. He stood at the end of the conference table, dark suit unbuttoned and hands in the pockets of his slacks in a casual stance.

"Your name may be on the building," another board member argued, but Bruce interrupted.

"My name is more than just on the building," Bruce stated seriously. His voice was cold and even. "My name is on the paychecks of everyone in this room. My name is on the majority holdings of this company's stock. In short, ladies and gentlemen, I am the boss."

The meeting was interrupted by the intercom coming to life.

"Excuse me, Mr. Wayne," the front desk receptionist said from the speaker. "The police are here. They want to speak with you."

Bruce checked his watch.

"Excellent response time," he commented. "Send them up."

"You were expecting the police?" Lucius Fox inquired.

"Quite right, Mr. Fox," Bruce confirmed. He picked up a TV remote from the table and switched on the flat-screen hanging on the wall. "It might even have made the news by now."

"This is Vicki Vale, reporting for Gotham Live," said the blonde woman on the TV. Her straight hair was parted down the center and fell just short of reaching her shoulders. She had a face for television, flawless complexion, clear blue eyes, and soft features lacking any sharp angles. Her trim physique was noticeable even with the buttoned coat of dark gray she wore. Her attitude and manner were all business, giving the reporter, who could've been a model, the perfect image of a professional doing her job.

"To recap our top story of the day," Vicki went on. "GothCorp stock was pulled from the Market and all trading was suspended when their stock price fell thirty points in an hour. The sudden decline was caused when documents linking GothCorp to a cover-up in the substandard building of the Gotham hospital were delivered by an anonymous source to authorities. The hospital and GothCorp are both under heavy investigation. More as it develops."

Bruce switched off the television and dropped the remote on the table with a slight clatter.

"How are you involved in this, Mr. Wayne?" Lucius asked slowly. He pushed his glasses to a higher position on his nose. The question was not a challenge to Bruce's authority, merely a request for information.

"I knew the crash was coming and sold short on GothCorp stock," Bruce explained. "The police must have noticed the transactions. They're most likely here to arrest me for insider trading."

The elevator doors opened and only a moment passed before Jim Gordon entered the conference room with two uniformed officers in tow.

"Jim, good to see you," Bruce said, warmly shaking his friend's hand.

"Do you know why I'm here, Bruce?" Gordon asked. His manner was one of conflicted emotions. Bruce was his friend, and it was clear he didn't want to arrest him, but he had a job to do.

"Before you place me under arrest, I want to show you a few things," Bruce mentioned, directing Gordon's attention to the file folders he'd placed on the board room table before the meeting had started. He opened the first one and explained its contents. "These are the public records, easily obtainable on the proper websites, for GothCorp. Specifically, they cover the money given to them to build the Gotham hospital."

Bruce set the file aside and opened the next folder down. "This is the information from the city, detailing how much they paid GothCorp. The numbers all match, so it doesn't look like anything inappropriate was going down. It's only when you look over here that things go sideways."