Chapter 22: A Free Man Part 1

Arias left his room to put his note book and cell phone in the garbage disposal because there was nothing else he could do but wait.

After that, he went back and awaited the appointed hour.

His wait ended just after ten in the morning when a loud banging was heard at his door. Before he could even open it, a number of officers barged in after the door was unlocked with a master key by a hotel employee.

Arias who was already dressed and looked like he was leaving had several guns pointed at him as one of the officers yelled.

"Arias Markovic, you are under arrest for alleged kidnapping, theft and attempted murder. Put your hands where I can see them and do not resist."

Arias complied with the request, but as he was doing so, his attention was drawn to one of the officers whose finger was getting closer and closer to the trigger.

When the trigger was pulled, a ready Arias dove under his bed to avoid it, but he smiled instead of appearing terrified.

'So this is Gregor's attempt to get rid of me? Claim I resisted and got shot.' Arias grinned before starting to speak.

"The cameras in this room deliver a feed to a private drive account! If I don't stop the automated release manually, this tape will be leaked to numerous video sites! I hope whatever they're paying you is worth spending your lives in jail."

The officer who fired the gun and the others turned to look in the corner when Arias finished speaking, and they did see a camera with a tiny red dot indicating it was indeed filming.

As their faces darkened further, Arias stood up and patted his suit.

"Why don't you escort me to the airport like you were supposed to and tell me exactly who sent you and we can forget any of this happened."

They exchanged wary glances as he made his threat, but they had no other option.

Given the age of those present, Arias could tell they had family. Police officers who were imprisoned for unjust killings always died young.

Once they were accused of such a thing, how would society treat their family?

They lowered their guns and described what they had been informed, adding that they thought they were doing the right thing because they had been told he was a brutal killer who would just be let loose on the streets.

To put it mildly, he found this humorous, but he ignored it. As for them and Gregor, he couldn't afford for his present strategy to fail. He simply had to handle things later.

…

Aside from the attempted murder, Arias arrived at the airport without incident and was taken by flight back to Gotham.

When he arrived, he saw some excited reporters outside asking him questions as he was being led by police to vehicles.

Questions like,

"Did you really kidnap your childhood friend? The new mayor's son?"

"Did you really try to kill Eric Valentine? If so why?"

"Reports say you made millions from gambling but some are saying that it's from dirty money? What do you have to add on this?"

Arias merely maintained a neutral expression as they led him to a car, refusing to respond to any of their queries.

The only reason his case was getting so much attention was because it involved several well-known individuals, including the current mayor, Gregor.

He had no doubt that more attempts on his life would be made now that Gregor's plan had failed, but as soon as he stepped foot in Gotham, he knew he was untouchable.

The policeman actually took off his handcuffs once he was in the car.

"Sorry about that extra large crowd, the mayor has been on edge and has been making calls since morning, trying to make sure your case gets delayed. The deputy told me to tell you that." An older looking officer revealed as Arias relaxingly rubbed his wrists while smiling.

"He's becoming very desperate, regardless, he has no direct control over crime procedure. Especially not when the commissioner himself takes an interest in my case."

Arias said only this and relaxed for the majority of the trip from Archie Goodwin International Airport to the GCPD headquarters.

Once more, when they arrived, they were greeted by a throng of reporters eager for the juicy story on the alleged abduction of the mayor's son.

The officer seated with Arias in the back, placed the cuffs back on him as they exited the car.

Flashes of cameras caught him walking towards the building while the police officers kept the reporters at bay with barricades.

The police commissioner, who had been busy in recent days questioning numerous persons in order to compile the strongest case possible, stood below the stairs leading to the main building.

The straight faced man with red hair and a stumbly jaw sporting a brown trench coat waited as they brought a hand cuffed Arias towards the building.

They came to a complete stop in front of him, and he immediately gave the officer accompanying Arias an appreciative glance.

"Remove the cuffs." He gave the order, and the officer carried it out.

Commissioner Gordon then proceeded to look up at Arias before muttering, "we have a lot to talk about, this way."

The commissioner motioned for him to follow, so the two entered the building and walked to the commissioner's office, where they even offered Arias a cup of coffee.

"I hope black coffee is alright with you? It's all that's left." The commissioner enquired as he walked around his desk and sat down across from Arias.

The commissioner sent the two officers—who were posted at the door—away before he sighed and started to talk.

"Let's get right to the point."