Benefactor [The Batman 2022]

Benefactor

"Hey, you freak, you have correspondence!" The officer cast a little packet into the room and continue his route, ignoring the reaction or if the prisoner listened his announcement.

At first, Nashton doesn't understand what means the carton box in middle of the floor. A wrong delivery? Threat? With curiosity (and mistrustful) the young man approached, making circles around the object.

"It is could be a revenge" Said out loud for himself "But... Why do it with so many witnesses?" He bent down to examine the box but found nothing suspicious and proceeded to open.

"What the hell...?" With a puzzled expression took out the contents, a plastic packing adorned with a green bow that inside has a slice of pumpkin cake and a note.

It's cold and icy where I live

So, I must huddle in tight...

I have wings but I don't fly

But I can soar to a great height...

Who am I?

Nashton looked and reread the note over and over again, unable to understand what the shit that meant, not because he didn't know the answer's riddle, but for what the solution implied.

"The riddle made terrible enemies, didn't he?" He smiled, tossing the gift in the trash, although a part of him regretted it, pumpkin pie was his favorite.

Edward didn't push the matter any further, if the message was a threat or someone try to hurt him, well he knows how care himself, didn't care what a bird that couldn't fly might say.

Or at least that was what he initially told himself.

At first, he didn't notice the changes, better food, comfortable clothes and not the itchy uniforms, warm water to take showers, never thinking how those things could be possible in a city that (for his fault) just collapsed. His mind could create incredible crossroads and criminal planes, but his intelligence for everyday life was probably less than average when he didn't even notice that his cell was the only one with amenities that not even some citizens of Gotham possessed.

"Looks like you have a good relationship out there, my friend..." The conversations with his new friend weren't frequent, but when they did occur were surprisingly interesting.

"What do you mean?" Asked Edward with genuine naivete.

"Oh, come on... You can trust me, who is this mysterious character that watch over you from the shadows?"

"I... Don't know... I didn't notice..." A loud laugh broke out in the next room, earning the claim of the rest of the inmates.

"So... Don't you know who your kind and generous benefactor is?" The last word was slipped with some malice, Nashton then looked at his cell more carefully, that site had become a better home than any place where he had lived before.

"Hey!" Yelled from outside "Shut your fucking mouth and go to sleep!"

From the sound of footsteps, it was two guards, one of whom took the lead, giving the same order in each cell, while the other stealthily slid a package into Nashton's room.

You can have me but cannot hold me.

Gain me and quickly lose me.

If treated with care I can be great,

And if betrayed I will break.

What is it?

This time, in addition to the slice of cake and the note, there was one more gift, an elegant case with a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, much lighter, comfortable, and attractive than the ones the auburn was currently wearing.

Nashton thought a lot if he should answer the notes, he really had no idea what to say, and the reality was that more than a conversation what he was looking for were answers.

So using his characteristic form to send messages, he took on the task of making a letter in code, if his eccentric benefactor (as his friend had called him) was intelligent enough he would have no problem deciphering it, on the contrary, if he failed in the exercise there was no reason why Nashton might be interested in him.

Contrary to Edward's assumptions, convincing one of the officers to deliver his letter was easier than he thought, as if that man already had the cue to carry out the job.

In a certain way that waiting seemed fun to him, since his confrontation with the Batman, and discovering that he didn't meet the expectations placed in him, in addition to the unsatisfactory fall of the city, things had become... Monotonous.

The corrupt world of Gotham couldn't be saved, his only way out was destruction, but the bat refused to accept it, mistakenly clinging to a non-existent hope for that rotten city. Perhaps when he realizes his mistake it is too late, perhaps the day he regrets having ruined his plans, Edward will have decided to follow another way, one where the masked avenger has no place...

The answer came sooner than expected, and this time, in a much more elegant presentation, a deep purple box with gold trim, to open it found another piece of cake (this one looked even more delicious than the previous ones) a pair of leather gloves, which you could tell just by feeling them were quite expensive.

But the most important to Nashton was the sealed envelope (and perfumed with an exquisite lotion). He began to open it with more enthusiasm than required.

I'm glad you finally decided to contact me...

It was read in the letter, written in the same code that Edward had developed and a beautiful calligraphy.

I hope you have enjoyed the gifts, and if not, please let me know so I can speak to those responsible for such oversight.

The more he read, the less understood what it was about.

I don't want to dwell on explanations that are of little interest, so to answer the question in your previous letter, the reason for my interest in your situation is due to gratitude.

"Gratitude?!" Exclaimed Nashton, take a moment before to come back the letter.

Why am I gratitude? Probably are asked you... Well, with all the fuss over Falcone, the flood, the internal changes in politics, Gotham City was plunged into total anarchy, so it needs a new leader... The crown elected a new sovereign, and it's all thanks to you... Thanks of Edward Nashton or it would be better to say the Riddler.

"I didn't do this to give you an advantage, you stupid bird..." He muttered under his breath before realizing that there was even more written on the back of the letter.

Also look at the photograph of your capture... It would be a shame if a pretty face like that fades into Arkham.

If you have it, you don't share it. If you share it, you don't have it. You can be my little answer...

Attached is a phone number and a drawing of an umbrella over a question mark.

He probably read that letter about thirty times, trying to find the trap behind it, walked around his room weighing the situation, thinking that maybe it was a plan to gain his trust and when he had it in his hands, squash him like an insect.

But on the other hand, a part of him liked that attention, those gifts, and messages... Probably the time locked up had affected his perception of reality, maybe the lockdown was wearing him down...

Whatever the reason, this occasion, instead of throwing the dessert in the trash, he opened it up, took a large spoonful, and let him palate savor it all. It was the most delicious cake he had ever tasted, probably not even available in the city.

He lay back on the bed, pondering what he might need, his gracious benefactor after all seemed willing to fulfill any whim he and his pretty face had. And who was he to refuse such a kind request? No one had to know...

At the end, in a city like Gotham, everyone must seize the opportunities that come their way.