In Another Life VII
"All right, listen up, everyone!" shouted Commissioner Gordon, clapping his hands and trying to silence the room full of cops talking amongst themselves. "This is an important briefing! This operation is going to be delicate, and require stealth, cunning, and courage, and we've brought in a specialist to brief you on it. Could you all please welcome Dr. Harleen Quinzel, from Arkham Asylum."
"Thank you, Commissioner," said Dr. Harleen Quinzel, adjusting her glasses as she approached the overhead projector. She heard a few wolf whistles and glared out at the audience.
"Hey baby, you wanna get me on the couch sometime?" chuckled Detective Bullock, soliciting a laugh from the others.
"Yes, I've…never heard that one before," growled Harleen, reaching into her briefcase.
"Dr. Quinzel is a professional, and she should be treated with respect!" snapped Gordon, sternly. "The next person to speak gets sent out!"
"Thank you, Commissioner," repeated Harleen. "This is our man," she said, slapping a picture onto the overhead projector. "Real name unknown, alias the Joker. He's committed several atrocities over the years – you name it, he's probably done it – arson, murder, robbery, kidnapping, extortion, the list goes on. He's motivated by nothing else than a sick sense of humor – he believes that the crimes he commits are funny, and often uses gag items in these crimes, self-styling himself the Clown Prince of Crime, which we assume is some identity he's built up based on his appearance. That's not makeup, by the way – the clown look is permanent. He was the victim of some horrible accident, the details of which are still vague – he always gives doctors different versions of the events, and of his own past, so we really don't know anything concrete about him, other than the fact that he seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the masked vigilante known as Batman. A lot of his crimes seem to be just to get his attention, but we don't know why. However, if you have any other questions about the Joker, I'd be happy to answer them," she said, turning the projector off. "He's a bit of a specialty of mine. I've dedicated years to researching his methods and personality."
A policeman raised his hand. "Have you ever treated him personally?" he asked.
"Not yet, no," retorted Harleen. "I've just been transferred to Arkham, and the Joker has been on the run since my arrival. But I can tell you that reading about him is just as good for research purposes as meeting him."
"Whoever gets chosen for this mission is going to be working very closely with Dr. Quinzel before beginning it," said Gordon. "We need our officer to be as well informed about the maniac as she is. Now do we have any volunteers?"
Every male in the room's hand shot up, and Harleen rolled her eyes. "Serious volunteers only," snapped Gordon, glaring at them. "This is going to be a lot of work, and it's a highly dangerous mission. Going undercover to infiltrate the Joker's gang is no joke. If the maniac suspects he's got a traitor in his midst, he's not going to show him any mercy. This guy is a serious psychopath, despite his silly appearance."
"Are you sure this whole undercover infiltration is necessary, Comish?" asked Bullock, raising his hand. "I'm sure any information we need about the Joker, we can get by roughing up some of his guys…"
"I don't condone police brutality of that sort," snapped Gordon. "And anyway, a single henchman is only going to know so much. Our undercover officer can actively seek out the things we need to know about the Joker's gang – targets, methods, you name it. The kinda info he could source would be invaluable to preventing further crimes. I think it's a risk we need to take. I would volunteer myself, but the Joker knows me. It has to be an officer he's not going to be familiar with – someone fairly young and new to the force."
He scanned the raised hands around the room. "Henderson, what about you?" he asked.
A clean cut, attractive young man smiled, putting down his hand. "I'd be happy to help, Commissioner. If Dr. Quinzel is ok with it, of course."
"I trust the Commissioner's judgment," replied Harleen.
"All right – the rest of you get back to work," said Gordon. "You have two weeks to say goodbye to Henderson – after that, you're going to pretend not to know him until he comes home safe and sound. And I have every certainty he will."
The other cops patted Henderson on the back before they left, leaving him alone with Commissioner Gordon and Harleen. "If you'll excuse me for just one second, Officer Henderson, I'd like a private word with the Commissioner," said Harleen, smiling at him.
"Not a problem, Dr. Quinzel – take as long as you need," said Henderson, kindly.
"What is it, Dr. Quinzel?" asked Gordon, as they shut the door to his office. "Henderson's gonna do a good job – he's one of the best young officers I've got. And he's very respectful, unlike some of the other guys here who seem to forget their manners when they see a beautiful woman."
"I don't want to question your judgment, Commissioner, but frankly sending a nice guy to infiltrate the Joker's gang makes it seem more like a suicide mission," said Harley.
"You'd prefer someone more thuggish?" asked Gordon.
"Frankly, yes," she retorted. "But what I'd actually prefer is not sending any of your men. I can't tell them everything they need to know about the Joker in two weeks. Plus he's a difficult man to predict even when you've studied him."
"What would you suggest?" asked Gordon. "Canceling the mission?"
"No," she retorted. She hesitated for a second, and then said, "Send me undercover instead."
Gordon laughed. "Dr. Quinzel, you're a psychiatrist, not an undercover cop," he retorted. "You have no training…"
"On the contrary, I'm trained in the Joker's methods and psychology," she retorted. "I know the ins and outs of his personality and his gang better than anyone here. I would be perfect for this."
"Other than the fact that it's a hugely dangerous mission, and we can't afford any mistakes," said Gordon. "Plus I have no authority to send a civilian into harm's way…"
"I'm volunteering," she said.
He shook his head. "I'm also not comfortable in…sending a woman to do this type of work," he muttered. "These are bad, rough men…"
"I've done self-defense training," said Harleen. "I can handle myself. Plus I'm in no danger from the Joker – all studies claim that he's basically asexual, although some do claim that he has a sexual desire for Batman. Either way, I'm not in any danger there."
Gordon shook his head. "I'm not allowing it, I'm sorry, Dr. Quinzel. Just train Henderson to the best of your ability, and then you're done with this mission, do you understand?"
Harleen bit her lip and nodded slowly. "Yes, Commissioner," she muttered, leaving his office and slamming the door.
"Everything ok?" asked Henderson, kindly.
"Yes, fine," she snapped, taking a seat next to him.
"I got you a coffee," he said, placing the paper cup down in front of her. "My name's Matt, by the way, Matt Henderson."
"Call me Harley – everyone does," said Harleen, shaking his hand.
"That's a nice name," he said. "So where are you from?"
Harleen looked at him. "This is a professional assignment, Matt – why don't we stay on track?"
"Sorry – I just like to get to know the people I'm gonna be working closely with," he said. "But go ahead – I'm ready to learn all I can about the Joker," he said, pen poised over his notebook.
She smiled. "I like your enthusiasm," she said, flipping through her file. "I'm from Brooklyn originally."
"Really? You don't sound like it," he said, surprised.
"Well, I…found that people prefer professional psychiatrists not to have Brooklyn accents," she said, slowly. "So I…got rid of it."
"Wow, that's really impressive," he said, sincerely. "You must have worked really hard to do that."
"Yes, I'm a hard worker," she agreed.
"I can see that," he said, nodding at the file in front of her. "If you don't mind me asking, why does a beautiful young woman such as yourself spend her life studying a crazy psychopath like the Joker?"
"Well, I've…always had an attraction for extreme personalities," replied Harley. "Ever since I was a kid, I've found myself drawn toward people who are…different from the norm. One of the reasons I went into psychiatry, I guess."
She sipped her coffee. "What about you? Why did you become a policeman?"
"Kinda runs in my family," he said, shrugging. "My Dad and Grandad were both cops, so I wanted to be one too. And it's great work, although every day's a challenge!" he laughed. "Anyway, wait until I tell my parents I'm doing this mission. They're going to be really proud. Anything anyone can do to stop that murdering nutjob is good for everyone."
"If you could refrain from using terms like 'nutjob' in the future, I'd be grateful," said Harleen. "If you're going to try to learn about the Joker, you're going to have to understand that he believes there's a method to his madness, rather than just dismissing everything he does as the ravings of a lunatic. There's a twisted logic to his crimes. The only way you're going to understand him is to try to see things from his perspective, and that's a hard thing to do."
"Well, I'm sure you'll be able to help me, Harley," he said, smiling.
"I'll do my best," she agreed. "Though frankly I've been studying him for years, and there are still things I don't understand about him. Maybe you can enlighten me, once you're back from the operation," she added.
"I hope so," he agreed. "What kind of things?"
She smiled. "Let's just focus on what we know for now, rather than what we don't know," she said. And anyway, she thought, she was going to find the things she wanted to know out for herself. She vowed then and there, that with Gordon's permission or without it, she was going on this operation.