The moment Loeb heard those words, his expression changed.
The reason he had kept Karl sidelined for so long was precisely because he didn't want the man returning to power.
More accurately, although Loeb had temporarily allowed someone from Karl's side to take over as acting chief, he had always planned to remove that person completely once Karl's influence began to fade.
Who could have expected Penguin to make a demand like this?
Loeb was genuinely unhappy.
In fact, he was furious.
But who was Penguin?
Oswald Cobblepot was exceptionally good at reading people.
One look at Loeb's expression was enough for him to understand exactly what the commissioner was thinking.
Penguin immediately burst out laughing.
"See?"
"You don't like the idea."
"I told you that you wouldn't be interested!"
Seeing Penguin grinning at him, Loeb didn't dare treat the situation as a joke.
He knew perfectly well just how dangerous this short man could be, so he hurriedly explained himself.
"No! I…"
"I'll do it!"
Unfortunately, his answer didn't satisfy Penguin at all.
Penguin turned around and teased him.
"But I don't think you're sincere enough."
"Even if you do what I ask now, who knows? Maybe sometime in the future you'll change your mind and throw poor Karl right back where he started."
"I'm suddenly thinking it might be easier just to kill you."
He casually gestured to the side.
Killer Croc immediately looked impatient.
The men around him raised their guns and prepared to kill.
The moment Loeb saw the weapons, his legs nearly gave out.
Unable to think of anything else, he shouted:
"Wait!"
"Please don't kill me!"
"We can talk about this!"
"I'm sorry, but I can only choose one solution."
Penguin spoke slowly.
"And this certainly isn't the worst one."
Those words nearly made Loeb lose control of himself in terror.
Seeing that Loeb was practically ready to run, Penguin finally waved his hand and continued in a deliberately hesitant tone.
"Unless…"
"Ah, forget it."
"There's no point saying it. You'd never agree anyway."
Loeb's heart pounded.
The moment he heard that there might still be another option, he stopped thinking about everything else.
"What?"
"Agree to what?"
"I don't have a problem with anything!"
"Just tell me!"
And so, at three o'clock that afternoon, Commissioner Loeb unexpectedly submitted his personal resignation to his superiors.
At the same time, the news was released to every major media outlet in Gotham City.
While his resignation was going through the approval process, another order was issued.
Karl was officially reinstated.
The two announcements came so suddenly that no one needed much imagination to predict what would happen the next day.
Newspapers would sell out across the city.
Gotham's already chaotic political landscape was about to be thrown into even greater turmoil.
Penguin left Loeb's house with a satisfied expression.
Killer Croc, however, who had accompanied him, was beginning to feel uneasy.
He eventually found an opportunity to whisper to Penguin.
"Is this really going to work?"
Penguin knew that Killer Croc was one of Karl's men and had accompanied him specifically to keep an eye on the operation.
So rather than becoming angry, Penguin answered pleasantly.
"Relax."
"We have Loeb's wife and children."
"If he changes his mind, we can always deal with the hostages."
"Besides, his resignation has already been submitted."
"That's how bureaucracy works."
"Do you have any idea how many people are waiting to take his position?"
"No one is going to ask him to stay."
"I've already paid the right people."
"I guarantee Loeb's resignation will be approved immediately!"
Unexpectedly, Killer Croc shook his head and bluntly voiced his concerns.
Penguin frowned slightly.
He didn't particularly like hearing Killer Croc refer to Karl as "our boss."
It made it sound as though Karl was Penguin's boss too.
And in some strange way, that thought made him uncomfortable.
In truth, Penguin had his own motives for handling the situation this way.
Being driven out of Gotham under circumstances like these would undoubtedly leave Loeb filled with resentment.
Right now, with a gun practically pointed at him, Loeb was terrified and obedient.
But once he had time to recover his composure, Penguin doubted he would simply let the matter go.
And the person who benefited most from Loeb's downfall was Karl.
At least from Loeb's perspective, Karl hadn't merely regained his position.
He had also shed the temporary status surrounding his authority and become the true head of the Arkham District Police Department.
That meant the remnants of Loeb's long-standing influence would inevitably begin treating Karl as an enemy.
A whole series of problems was bound to follow.
Penguin was more than happy to watch all of that happen.
After all, if Karl suffered a little because of it, what did Penguin care?
He would even enjoy seeing Karl stumble a few times.
Of course, there was no reason to tell Killer Croc any of that.
After receiving the news of Loeb's resignation, Harvey Dent was overjoyed.
He immediately organized an enormous farewell ceremony and promoted it throughout Gotham City.
He even approved hiring a choir to sing hymns for Loeb.
Harvey wasn't doing all of this because he had suddenly become an overly attentive bureaucrat.
His real objective was to create an irreversible situation.
Even if Loeb later regretted resigning, the entire city would already have accepted his retirement as a fact.
He would be forced to step down and end his years of control over Gotham.
There would be no turning back.
Loeb's expression during the farewell ceremony perfectly demonstrated how he felt about the situation.
From beginning to end, his face remained twisted into a bitter, sarcastic grimace.
Not even the slightest smile appeared.
Anyone who didn't know what was happening might have assumed Loeb was attending his own memorial service.
Even stranger was Harvey Dent's speech.
At the ceremony, Harvey spoke at length about Loeb's many years of contributions to Gotham City.
He thanked Loeb for his years of dedicated service.
Then he summarized Loeb's character by describing him as a good man, a noble man, a pure man, a moral man, and someone who had risen above petty interests.
From a corner of the hall, Karl coldly observed everything taking place below.
For some reason, he felt almost like he was watching something supernatural unfold.
Especially when Harvey Dent began listing Loeb's supposedly great accomplishments.
The longer Karl listened, the more absurd it sounded.
When Karl had first met Harvey, he had been an upright and honest young man.
Flattery like this would never have come out of his mouth back then.
"What are you thinking about?"
"You're hiding here all by yourself, but you're one of today's main figures."
"Harvey's going to call you up later to give a few speeches about your reinstatement."
At some point, Gordon had appeared beside Karl.
"I don't want to go up there."
Karl answered briefly, his eyes still fixed on Harvey Dent on the stage.
"Let's just say I haven't fully recovered yet."
Gordon seemed to understand exactly what Karl was thinking.
He spoke quietly.
"Don't find it strange."
"Once you enter politics, things like this become unavoidable."
"There's a reason people say politicians can change faces faster than anyone."
(End of Chapter)
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