Jonny poured himself and the Joker another round of scotch. They were still seated by the kitchen table in the middle of the night, talking about the situation at hand. "I wouldn't give up if I were you," Jonny said, trying to cheer up his boss. "I think there's a chance we can make her remember who she is. Just before when I gave her pizza and grape soda, she said she loved it. She just needs reminding, is all."

"You mean to tell me," Joker said and focused his eyes on Jonny, "that I should try to recreate memories and all of a sudden she'll remember? It's just like that movie. What's it called, now again?" His gaze and mind drifted away, trying to remember. "'Fifty' something."

"Fifty Shades of Grey?" Jonny asked and Joker shook his head, giving him a look.

"No, not that one! The one with the girl who has short-term memory loss."

"50 First Dates?" Joker snapped his fingers.

"That's the one! Don't look at me like that, Harley made me watch it," he added and Jonny tried to hide his stupid grin behind the glass as he took another sip. Joker took a swig of his own, barely feeling the burn in his throat. "No Jonny, I don't think it will be that easy. I need to find whoever did this to her, make them help her remember and then end them. Slowly." He was already imagining all the thousands of ways to torture the bastards who had done this to his Queen. Meanwhile, Jonny was putting two and two together.

"Actually, I think I might have an idea of who our perp is." Joker went from imagining a severed head on a silver platter to attentively listening to what his right-hand man had to say.

"Well, don't keep it to yourself!" he urged him to speak.

"Think about it. Who else do we know that wanted ten million from us?" Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place. A devilish smile started to form on the Joker's lips.

"Jonny, you are a genius."


SIX WEEKS AGO

The Joker was dressed in a dark magenta shirt and his fingers were bejeweled with golden rings. As always, he was watching Harley dance the night away from his private booth at the club. He was hypnotized by her every move, but then again, who wouldn't be? She was donning a sparkling, silver party dress that accentuated her curves. Her hair was flat and let down, whipping around her as she tossed her head in sync with the loud music.

Jonny carefully placed a hand on Joker's shoulder to get his attention and his eyes averted from Harley to see that his business partner had arrived. He put on his best, welcoming smile. It was a smile that creeped everyone out, but this business partner of his was unfazed by it, as he was all about being creepy.

Black Mask stepped into view, accompanied by two bodyguards. Black Mask, otherwise known as Roman Sionis, surely lived up to his name. His face was hidden underneath a black, skull-like mask and his eyes glowed red through the dark sockets. He wore an expensive, white suit with a crimson colored tie. When he spoke, the mask remained still on his head and his voice sounded distorted, almost like a robot. "I hope you haven't been kept waiting, Mr. Joker." All that's missing is the labored breathing and he could pass as Darth Vader. Joker inwardly laughed at his own remark.

"Not at all," he reassured, keeping his façade up and gestured for the masked man to have as seat. The bodyguards and Jonny remained standing, watching over their respective employers. "I see you're a man with a taste for theatrics, like myself. I love what you've done with the face." Black Mask could decipher the hidden sarcasm in Joker's voice and decided not to answer to that. Joker quickly changed the subject. "Do you have what I want?"

"I do. It's right outside. I'll have my boys bring it in." Joker nodded his consent, but as he looked to the "boys," it seemed they were not paying attention. He didn't have to take a guess to know what, or more precisely, who, they were gawking at.

"I don't know, your boys seem a little preoccupied to me. Enjoying the view, gentlemen?" The guards were brought back from their haze and tried to apologize, but the Joker wouldn't have it. "How rude of me, I should properly introduce her to you. I'll just call her over and you can feast your eyes. Why admire from a distance when you can have the front row seat, am I right?" Unable to persuade him otherwise, they all watched him whistle the way a master calls for his dog, and his little pet obediently made her way over to him.

Harley knew as soon as she saw the newly arrived guests that the Joker wanted her to meet them. But first, she would say hello to her Puddin'. She moved in close to him and cupped his face. "Hi, baby." She opened up her mouth and placed her lips on his. They shared a long, passionate kiss and moaned in unison, just to tease their audience. Harley wanted them to know that she was his and his alone. Jonny was used to this behavior of theirs and he tried not to smirk as he watched the awkward and disgusted looks on the guards' faces. It was hard to make out any kind of expression on Black Mask, but if he had to take a guess, Jonny figured he was most likely just annoyed by it all.

When Harley finally pulled away, she giggled sweetly. "You called for me?"

"Ah, yes! Harley, I'd like you to meet Black Mask." Harley finally acknowledged the man sitting across from them and she extended her right hand.

"Harley Quinn. Pleasure to meetcha!" Black Mask did not buy the exaggerated smile on her face and made no move to shake her hand. That is, until he found the Joker's eyes and they were spelling out words for him. Take it. Reluctantly, he took her hand in his.

"If you don't mind, Joker, I think it's better if we moved into a more private room. You have that here?" These two clowns were really testing his patience.

"Of course I do! We can proceed the discussion in my office."

"Good. My boys will retrieve the goods and meet us there." The guards headed back to the main entrance and Jonny was ordered to escort them and show the way to the office once they had gotten hold of everything.

"This way, if you please," Joker said and took the lead with Harley by his side.

The office looked more like a lounge; decorated in gold and red and there was a small bar at the very far end of the room. In the middle, there was a round, wooden table surrounded by two fancy, red velvet sofas with golden rims. Black Mask had a look around. "You call this an office?" In the same moment, a back door opened and Jonny walked in, followed by Black Mask's minions who were carrying a large box.

"This will be interesting," Joker said and had a seat on one of the sofas. "Come sit on Daddy's lap." He waved Harley over and she did as told. Her hand wound into his hair, whilst his found its way around her waist. Black Mask straightened his tie and seated himself on the other sofa, then told his boys to bring the box over. CAUTION: HEAVY was written across it. Carefully, they put it down next to the table and opened the lid to reveal the contents. A satisfactory "ooh" escaped the Joker's lips, as he liked what he was seeing.

There was a whole set of brand new toys for him: high-tech weapons of all shapes and sizes. "Now this is what I call big guns! Whaddya think, Harley? Are they good enough to play with?"

"They look good enough to me," she said and smiled.

"All right, then." Black Mask snapped his fingers and the guards closed the lid shut. "Time to pay up." Joker nodded for Jonny to bring over a briefcase. He placed it on the table and opened it up for Black Mask to see the bundles of dollar bills inside.

"Fifty grand," Joker said. He couldn't tell, but beneath that mask, his business partner was struggling to keep his calm.

"Fifty grand?" he repeated and then raised his voice. "This is worth ten fucking million!"

"All right," Joker said and put his hands up in defense. "Forty grand, then."

"Ten. Million," Black Mask said between gritted teeth.

"Do you really want to make that thirty?" Joker asked, knowing fully well he was getting on this guy's nerves and it seemed he could contain himself no longer. Black Mask slammed his fist down on the table.

"Enough! This ain't a playground. Quit foolin' me." Joker merely laughed and Harley joined in.

"Well, in case you didn't know," Joker said, "that's kind of what I do. And this is my playground." He spread his arms wide open. "My rules. You don't wanna play, then you can't win. Look, I can get this from someone else. Forty grand, take it or leave it, but if you're not going to change your mind, then I suggest you choose the latter, before I change mine." He took out the gun from his holster and aimed it at the man across from him. Black Mask stared at the barrel pointed at his face. His guards were about to draw their own guns, but he stopped them. He had paid a lot of money to get hold of this equipment. Forty thousand was at least better than nothing.

"I'll take it."

"Good choice," Joker said and put his gun away. Jonny removed ten thousand from the briefcase, then handed it to Black Mask who got to his feet and dusted off his suit. He caught a glimpse of that devilish smile he had heard so much about. The Joker was a man who loved to win. "Pleasure doing business with you." Black Mask scoffed at the clown's choice of words. In his opinion, this had been no pleasure at all and hardly any business either. As Jonny escorted him and his two guards outside, there was only one thought going through his mind; This ain't over, clown.


A/N: To anyone who guessed that Black Mask was behind all of this: CONGRATULATIONS! You figured it out! *Throws confetti.* This chapter was pretty fun to write. I always laugh a little when I read the drunken conversation between Joker and Jonny in the beginning. XD So this chapter was to lighten the mood a little and we got to see a glimpse of the old Harley, I hope you liked that! :)