Chapter 36 | Salvation

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36 | Salvation

"To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once".

"To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once"

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The message came later that night. Lilith was in bed next to Harvey, who fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. In the message, Jim asked if she could join them during their stakeout outside Clyde's home. When Harvey was deep asleep, Lilith slipped out the door with his key, so she could return later. Hopefully, he wouldn't wake up during that time. Because then there would be no plausible reason as to why she had left. Work couldn't be the excuse every time. Then Lilith would have to tell him the secret. The secret she had kept safe for almost six years.

When she got to apartment number 466 at Java Heights and Homewood, both Detectives were already inside the house and Clyde was shot down on the ground. Fortunately, he was still alive.

"What happened?" The vigilante asked, kneeling beside Clyde. "It was one of the guys in your crew, wasn't it?"

"I need some pressure on this wound," Clyde gasped. A few drops of blood were spat out when he spoke.

Bullock threw him a cloth brusquely. "Knock yourself out".

"Give me that," Lilith said, taking the cloth from Clyde's hands and applying pressure on the gunshot wound.

"Ow!" He exclaimed in pain.

She shushed him. "Don't move".

"What do you got there, partner?" Harvey asked and Lilith looked up to see Jim with a bunch of papers in hand.

The younger Detective ran his eyes through the pages. "A stack of loan rejection letters from the banks that were robbed. 'Dear, Mr. Destro, we regret to inform you your application for a loan has been denied'. 'Mr. Destro, once again, we must deny your application due to inadequate collateral".

That was not the first time there had been bank robberies for that same reason. Lilith had to prevent them in the past.

"What the hell would he need a loan for?" Bullock asked.

"Pastry shop," responded Clyde weakly.

"Get out of here. You're a baker?"

"A damn good baker".

"And they all turned you down?" Jim asked. "So these are revenge robberies".

"Banks don't care about people like me," he looked from the vigilante to Bullock and then back to Jim. "Or you, probably. You have to force people to see you. Otherwise, you're nothin'".

"Don't speak," Lilith shushed him once more as the blood soaked through the cloth.

"There's a third letter here," Jim stated and he read it to himself. "'International savings bank of Gotham'. This was the next target".

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