Batman: Hero of Gotham

20- A Night to Remember

Alfred's car parked in Crime Alley at 5:38 AM. He saw through his windshield that Bruce was standing there with just a short-sleeve shirt and jeans on with worn-out shoes. He had no umbrella and it was pouring out. Alfred exited his car and slowly walked up to Bruce who was deep in thought. "I thought I might find you here. The news was upsetting--for both of us. But you should see this." Alfred handed Bruce a newspaper. "I know you come here for solitude, Bruce. More allegations about his ties to the underworld." Bruce examined the article. It was about him, of course. "This isn't going away. It's all so public and messy." 

"Tell me all of this is a lie." Bruce spoke.

"I wish I could! There are no angels in Gotham, Bruce. Maybe there never were. I've been dreading this day for nearly two decades. I hoped it would never come."

"Forget the papers. I want to hear it from you."

"The truth is they were billionaires, Bruce. You can't amass that kind of wealth without making certain moral compromises. It's just not possible. That kind of money taints you."

"You kept their secrets for them."

"I'm trying to help you understand."

"Then try harder!" Bruce crossed his arms.

"Hill greased the wheels of politics. Falcone was the muscle. Thomas legitimized the whole enterprise with his name. Your father, Hamilton Hill, and Falcone--they were partners. Nothing happened in Gotham without them knowing."

"Working with Falcone? And Hill? I expected irregular accounting. Not a pact with the devil."

"Your father was a good man in many ways, but this was his undoing. I want you to know, I had my suitcases ready. I couldn't stand to be around your father anymore. But then, they were killed. And you were all alone. And I just couldn't walk out the door. Everything I did--everything I've ever done--was out of love for you. I hope you can forgive me."

"How could I hold this against you? You're all I've got, Alfred."

Alfred smiled, a tear trickling out of one of his eyes. He wiped it away. "Thank you. I won't let you down again. This is the first time I've been back in this alleyway since that night. When the police called me to collect you, I'd thought they'd finally arrested your father. I couldn't believe a lowlife thug like Joe Chill would have the audacity to rob and kill Thomas Wayne. He was simply too well known. Too...too big. Yet, there it was."

"If my father was that deep in crime, he would have had enemies."

"Well, it's a fair assumption. You don't think...you always said it was a simple mugging. In twenty years, you've never wavered from that story."

"I can recall every moment of that night in vivid detail. But maybe that's wrong."

"Sometimes we block out things we don't want to face."

"Maybe there was some detail I overlooked." Bruce searched the alley to remember the past. "That movie I watched on that night...how long did it play there?"

"Only when you wanted to see it, Bruce. Your mother arranged the special screenings personally."

"I never knew that. She was always so good to me." Bruce walked over to the spot where Joe Chill was murdered. 

"What would the Batman do with his own parent's killer? The possibilities are frightening." 

Bruce felt guilty. He had never told anyone that he had been the one who killed Joe Chill. Not even Alfred. Before he could control himself, he blurted out, "I killed him."

"What? What are you talking about, Bruce?"

"Joe Chill. I killed him that night when he was reported dead. I made it seem like he killed himself. I killed him, though. Shot him with his own gun. He had his buddies try to kill me. I killed one of them. Stabbed him in the stomach. The other two lived. One with a knife in his back. The other, a broken jaw. I'm sorry I never told you about this. I thought I should tell you now. You're the first person I've told. I've kept the gun to this day. It's hidden in a drawer in my room at Wayne Manor. So yeah, the Batman already has killed Joe Chill."

"But the Batman doesn't kill people, does he?"

"I don't know who I was that night. I wasn't thinking. I thought that killing him would save this great city. It's only made it worse. It's inspired more criminals to begin their paths."

"You don't need an excuse for that. A thug like Joe Chill deserved that kind of mercy after what he did to your parents. He's lucky you only shot him."

"Thank you for understanding. I didn't think you would. I guess that's why I hid it from you. From everyone." 

"No one mourns for him, Bruce. After it happened, most people were glad."

"My father...he just wanted to protect us. I always wanted to be brave. Just like him."

"And you are. He would be so proud to see that you took a different path."

"A path that's now questionable."

"Where exactly does the memory end?"

"With my father pleading--'You don't have to do this.' Joe Chill replies that he wants to and not that he has to. Then, the gun fires."

"And after that?"

"Nothing I can remember."

"There are considerable gaps in that recollection of events."

"Maybe. But do I really wanna know?"

"Bruce...are you alright?" Alfred asked after he noticed that Bruce had been staring in space.

"It wasn't a mugging. They were assassinated. And Carmine Falcone knows why." Bruce said, walking away.