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Chapter 44: Barbara’s Overthinking
🕑 Added 2021-09-04 22:48:56 +0000 UTC4/5 chapter, enjoy.
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"It's Commissioner Gordon's daughter!"
Agents Starling and Bob led a team of officers to Robinson Park first.
The park's initial security team had been asked by them not to let anyone cross into the central statue area.
After the incident at the airport, they understood that Phantom Kid never regarded these poorly supervised security cleaners as useless, they were the perfect subjects for his disguise.
Even the strictly managed GCPD would find it difficult to stop Kid's infiltration.
Therefore, it is better to keep irrelevant personnel away.
The grounds within a hundred metres of the statue of Gotham's first mayor were completely cleared, an area that allowed a handful of people such as the Queen, the Prince and Gotham's current mayor to approach.
The Royal Guard, for its part, was exactly at the one hundred metre mark, forming a closed circle.
With a dozen police helicopters hovering around the statue and no tall structures present around them to allow Kid to use the terrain to find a way around the helicopters The sky has become off-limits to Phantom Kid.
A hundred to five hundred metres further out, the area is surrounded by GCPD police.
Although the Queen and the Royal Guard were not yet on their way, Bob, Starling, and the others also held this position without moving any closer.
Five hundred metres away was the security team of the park itself, although they were nowhere near as numerous as the GCPD men, they were there mainly to keep the surging crowds away.
When it was revealed that Her Majesty was coming to the area and that it was likely that Phantom Kid would also appear, die-hard Kid fans all gathered at Robinson Park, along with countless other tourists who wanted to see the Queen in the flesh.
Tens of thousands of people jammed the large square five hundred metres away from the statue.
"Isn't that Commissioner Gordon's daughter and her boyfriend?"
Suddenly, Starling noticed two familiar faces among the crowd jammed in the main square.
"It's them, I didn't think those two kids would actually show up."
Bob smiled rather amusedly and motioned for one of the officers to go and let the two in.
"Agent Starling, Agent Bob."
Barbara came running over with an excited look on her face.
"Oh, what are you doing here? On a date with your boyfriend?"
Starling asked with a smile as she approached the young good-looking girl.
Perhaps because both had fathers who were police officers full of virtue and justice, she felt an inexplicable closeness to Barbara.
At this question, Barbara instantly blushed.
"Agent Starling, you misunderstood the situation, we are not in a relationship, much less dating..."
"Oh, really?"
Starling looked unconvinced, she had been there before, how could she not see through Barbara's mind.
Not to mention her, even Bob could see that Mathison and Barbara's relationship was not a simple one.
"Ahem, Agent Starling, Agent Bob, Barbara and I are here to contribute our efforts to catch Phantom Kid!"
Mathison coughed.
"So, I ask that Barbara and I be allowed to stand in this position as well."
It would be a very bad situation to let Starling ask any more questions like that.
"It's nice of you to have that in mind, but you're just kids. I think we are enough to catch Phantom Kid; there is no need for your contribution."
Bob smiled with an affable face and politely declined Mathison's request.
"We can't guarantee that Phantom Kid will not use powerful weapons, so it's still dangerous here. You guys just stay outside and protect yourselves first, no matter what happens."
"As for anything else, just leave it to the police and us."
Barbara wanted to add something else, but even Starling echoed Bob's words.
In desperation, Mathison could only retreat outside with Barbara.
Only, as time went on, more and more pedestrians entered the place; it became quite crowded.
Barbara suddenly had a death grip on Mathison's arm.
Mathison looked down into her eyes and saw the determination and doubt in her eyes...
and the deepest expectation.
He knew that Barbara was hoping that he is not Phantom Kid.
Mathison didn't say anything. He could only apologize in his mind, but now is not the time to tell her any truth.
Silently counting the minutes in his mind, the time that Mathison had planned was approaching...
It didn't take long for the Queen to reach the location of the central statue under the protection of the royal guard.
Because the crowd was so large and had surrounded the statue in a full circle, hundreds of police officers had to force a path out for the Queen to pass.
In fact, the best option would have been to go by helicopter, but the environment around the statue was not suitable for a landing and the Queen was not old enough or physically able to get down by a rope ladder; hence, the crowd had to make way.
So, one thing led to another, the crowd suddenly had to clear a path that was a few people wide. They had on either side to move a considerable distance from each other to form a path.
Naturally, Mathison and Barbara's side had to be affected as well.
Mathison watched the general movement of the crowd on either side carefully, simulating the movement of the people around him by pushing and shoving himself behind them.
Barbara unconsciously loosened her grip a little because of the crowding.
Seizing the moment, Mathison pretended to be pushed by someone and fell backwards in the opposite direction to Barbara, naturally releasing his arm from Barbara's grasp.
Then following the flow of the crowd, Mathison gradually moved away from Barbara's position.
He knew this would make Barbara even more suspicious of the fact that he was Phantom Kid, but he had a plan for the aftermath and might even be able to dispel Barbara's suspicions in one fell swoop.
"Mathison!"
Barbara exclaimed in a panic, scanning the crowd over and over.
She bit her lip, still not able to tug him herself.
In other words, Mathison... really was Phantom Kid!
The thought sent a shock wave through Barbara's heart and her mind went blank.
"Barbara, I'm here!"
After shouting a few times towards Barbara's location and waving his arms a few times to make sure Barbara couldn't see his current position, Mathison instantly changed his costume and weaved his way through the crowd with his amazing flexibility.
Without attracting anyone's attention, he slipped out of the crowd...
"Barbara!"
Starling shouted, pulling the thoughtful Barbara back to reality.
"Agent Starling?"
"I have overlooked the situation. I didn't expect so many civilians to gather here, when obviously there weren't many when you just arrived."
Bob came over with an apologetic look on his face.
It was dangerous to be in such a congested crowd, in case of any collective panic.
It wasn't long after Barbara and Mathison had been "separated" that Starling spotted Barbara crammed into the crowd and let her in.
But the young girl was so distracted that she didn't respond to any calls.
When Barbara came back to her senses, she thanked Starling and then returned to her previous mood.
She didn't say anything about Mathison possibly being Phantom Kid.
«Coincidence, it must be a coincidence, it can't be that he broke free of his own accord... »
Barbara closed her eyes and prayed.
