After that he and the two of them had dinner that was made by Rebecca. It was alright and he said his goodbyes to them and wished Rebecca to be careful in Metropolis. He asked her to send him regular updates in her search. Then he set out back to the apartment and took his shift on. Just more rumblings of a gang war and the news were reporting that Joker was once more locked away into Gotham.

When his shift ended, he went out and spent a few hours doing a sweep of the neighborhood. Despite the notoriety of the crime in Gotham, thankfully he didn’t come across anything happening. Very few people were out and about, even the prostitutes were not hanging out as much. Probably due to the killings driving them to be more careful.

Before dawn came James went down to the Apartment and started to clean up some more. He got a text from some contractors for Ioana who would be renovating the basement into a club. They wanted him to escort him around the basement, so they could get a sense of what they were going to be working in. He had cleaned it out, with most of the old furniture going into the garbage because they were too damaged.

It was during his cleaning that he managed to find there was in fact another way into the basement. Hidden behind an old bookshelf was a hidden set of stairs that led up to the alleyway behind the building. The entrance to the basement had been hidden by a set of metal doors that had been covered by the dumpster. The contractors thought that this should be the main entrance to the club to help keep it’s patron’s private.

Keeping an eye on them, he spoke with them about what Ioana wanted for the club. They planned to start construction this week.Or rather start getting all the paperwork done for the construction. Even with the backing of the Ibanescu family, there was still a ton of red tape to go through. As such he was mired in paperwork until late at night when finally got a text from Ioana to go up to the penthouse.

Taking the elevator up, he was met at the entrance of the penthouse by Adeline. Instead of her usual maid attire she was dressed up in a black suit. From the way she moved James could see she was packing at least a couple of guns. She gave him the usual glare, and he said “You’re looking spiffy tonight Adeline.”

She simply grunted and said “I’m acting as Madam Ioana’s bodyguard tonight. Fighting is easier in this.”

Adeline waved him into the penthouse, and James saw that Ioana was also wearing a similar suit along with a set of gloves. She was putting together a Glock and when it was put together, she placed it into her holster inside of her jacket. She looked up at James and said “Good you are here. Adeline take him to the bedroom and get him dressed.”

“Dressed? I’m sure my suit is good enough for the meeting?” James said.

“Yes, normally your suit would be of good enough quality to pass my needs, but they are lacking a feature that I fear we might need tonight.” Ioana said.

“What feature would that be?” 

“The ability to withstand a bullet.” Ioana said.

James frowned and followed behind Adeline into a bedroom where a similar black suit to what they were wearing lay on the bed. “Undress.”

Under the maid’s gaze, he undressed quickly down to his boxers. She handed him a tank top that had several pouches on it. Slipping it over head, she began to slip several metal plates into the pouches and he said “Body armor?”

“Yes, will stop most low powered shots. The suit itself is also made from kevlar and carbon fibres to resist knives and bullets. Very expensive. Madam Ioana got it for you.”

“I see.” James said putting on the suit and asked “So is this going to be a meeting or a shoot out?”

Adeline shrugged straightening out his Jacket and said “It smells of danger. Due to the rules of the meeting, I won’t be able to go in with her. That means you will be the last line of defense protecting her. Your fighting skills suck, but you can take a hit at least. Keep her safe until I can get her.”

Seeing she was in fact serious James said “I will do my best to ensure she will return safe.”

With the armor underneath it, the suit was quite the tight fit. It felt a little awkward to move and James feared he would rip something if he made too fast a movement. The only things he decided to bring with him were the crystal ball and the bottle he had gotten from Francine. The gun would be too obvious in the suit, and he didn’t want to carry his wallet to a clandestine meeting.

Going back out, Ioana's eyes sparkled when she saw him and said “Good you are looking the part. Here take these as well.” She tossed him a set of gloves.

Putting on the gloves, he asked “Are these gloves really necessary?”

“Yes they are knife proof. The Lucky Hand Triad is known for the use of knives. If we have to fight them, I want to make sure you don’t get cut up if you grab a knife.”

“Thank you for the concern but do you really think the Triad will attack us?” James asked.

“Maybe. It’s a possibility. Who knows what they are thinking, last night they attacked one of the Mexican Cartels.”

“So what are the meeting rules for tonight?” James asked.

“My Uncle negotiated with the Triad through an intermediary gang. It’s a small neutral gang called Sal’s. Only four people from each side will be allowed into the meeting room and no bodyguards. Which is why Adeline will have to stay out with the car. My Uncle and I can carry guns, but you won’t be able to and neither will Alexandru who will be accompanying my Uncle.”

James nodded and said “So what exactly is our role to be tonight?”

“For you, it’s just to support me and if there is trouble help me out. My Uncle says he wants to show me some of the ins and outs of running the family, but that is bullshit. No, the only reason he would bring me there is if I am of some use to him in the negotiations.”

“If that’s the case there is only one thing that comes to mind that you have that might draw the attention of the Lucky Hand.” James said.

“Those four who are known as the Blessed Four. The Triad must have caught word that I am in possession of them.”

“That is not good.” James said. “What if they demand the girls from you to make the deal? Would your Uncle agree to that?”

“Yes, because he is a fool. They are worth more than any possible deal with the Triad. They are the future of the Ibanescu family, and my Uncle would sell them to save himself.” Ioana cursed and said “But thankfully I have several counters to that event happening.”

“Can I ask what?” James asked.

“First, because I am the only one who knows their secret, they will only work for me. Even if they resort to kidnapping, they can’t make the girls work for them. On the flipside, since they work for me, I can negotiate a piece of the brothel's future profits.”

Before James could ask her exactly what she meant, Ioana’s phone rang and she answered it. A thick Romanian accent on the other end said “The meeting location has been sent out. Meet us there as soon as possible.”

“Of course Uncle.” Hanging up, Ioana got a text and said “I’ve got the location of the meet up, it's time to head there.”

Forty minutes later Adeline parked in front of a rather nondescript building. Chinatown was still a few blocks away, and the place they were in looked to be better off than the East End side of town. Adeline turned around in her seat and said “I will be waiting here for you Madam Ioana. If you are in danger, send me a text.”

“I will do so. Come along James.” Ioana said, stepping out.

Adeline glared at him and said “If she gets hurt I will kill you.”

“Understood.” James said. He followed Ioana out into the night air where he saw two others standing nearby a black limousine. One was Alexandru who gave him a look of disgust and the other was a fat gray haired individual who just reeked of evil. Clearly this asshole must be Dragos Ibanescu, leader of Ioana’s family and willful murderer. 

“Ioana, thank goodness you are here. Wouldn’t want to start the fun without my dear niece.” Dragos 

“Couldn’t miss it for the world Uncle.” Ioana said, stopping in front of him.

Dragos glanced at James and asked “This is?”

“My Manager for the Brothel.” She replied.

“I see. Yes I think I’ve heard of you.” Dragos gave a cold look at James. “Well let’s head in shall we?”

Inside standing at a set of stairs were two muscled guys who said “Good Evening Mr. Ibanescu, we are with Sals Gang. We need to search your assistants for any weapons.”

“Of course. Go ahead.” Dragos said.

The two guys went over to James and Alexandru and did a pat down on both of them. Notably Alexandru squirmed under the other man's touch. Once the guards were satisfied, they were allowed to proceed up the stairs to the third floor. By the time they got up there, Dragos was wheezing a little bit.

The meeting took place in a room in the center of the building without any windows. It was a medium sized room with a large circular table in the center of it. Three groups surrounded the table. On one end were four Asian people representing the Lucky Hand Triad. Of them James unfortunately recognized one of them, and not one he wanted to meet.

It was in fact Lady Shiva who operated as an assassin who loved to go out and fight. She was always in search of a better fighter to go up against. She had worked with the League of Assassins before and was one of the most deadly fighters in the world. The other important thing of note was she was also Cassandra Cain's mother.

If that wasn’t headache inducing enough, one man from Sal’s gang was even more so. A bulky man in the back leaning against a wall had a matchstick in his mouth. Which meant that this person could only be one individual, Matches Malone. Who was in fact a cover for a more dangerous individual, Batman. Clearly Batman had taken an interest in this meeting and was now spying on them.

While James' internal monologue was groaning at the inconvenience, the woman from the Triad he didn’t recognize stepped up and said “Good Evening Mr. Ibanescu. I am Liau Xiao Ling, the leader of the Lucky Hand Triad.”

Dragos said “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person finally. This is my Niece Ioana, daughter of my late brother.”

“Ah yes. The one who aims to open up a brand-new brothel in Gotham for the elite. I had hoped you would come, so I brought the owner of the triad's Premier brothel Huang Lee. I find it’s best for the young to learn from their elders, don’t you agree Mr. Ibanescu?”

“I think so. It feels like just yesterday that I was watching her play house, and the next thing she wants to do is start a brothel.” Dragos said. “I’m sure she would appreciate some guidance.”

Ioana's face flickered, and James could tell she was annoyed but she kept it inside. Liau nodded and said “I was surprised to hear of your offer Mr. Ibanescu. It was very generous to offer the use of your docks.”

“I’m aware of our position in Gotham.” Dragos said and took a seat along with Ioana. James stood behind her and behind Liau stood Lady Shiva. Clearly for some reason Lady Shiva was working for the Triad. She was looking around with a bored expression on her face. Obviously she wasn’t here because she wanted to be.

“As we negotiated, the docks in our control will be free for you to use.” Dragos said.

“We appreciate the gesture in this time of hardship for the Triad. As such we will hear your appeal for an alliance between our groups.”

While the two gangsters were talking about an alliance James kept an eye on the disguised Batman in the corner of his eye. He was acting aloof, but James could tell the crimefighter was focused intently. This was not the ideal place for James to meet with the hero for the first time.

James’ attention was drawn back to the discussion when he heard Liau say “We are willing to accept your terms should you agree to hand over the Blessed Four.”

“Well my niece invested a great deal in acquiring them for her brothel. I couldn’t just give them up like that.” Dragos said. James could smell the bullshit coming from the man’s mouth. The man would sell his mother if it meant getting what he wanted.

Ioana interrupted and said “I cannot agree to giving the girls to you, but I am willing to offer you thirty percent of the future brothel's profits.”

Liau smiled and said “Tempting, but how about thirty-five percent of the brothel and a further twenty percent from the girl's side project.”

Dragos frowned, obviously confused but Ioana continued and said “In that case we would need full support from the triad for...”

Before she could finish James suddenly heard loud thunks hitting into the side of the building. Seconds later windows began to break as people came flying through them. Out in the street below gunshots began to ring out, and everyone in the room completely froze.