"Keep to the speed limit," The Riddler said firmly as the car merged onto a busy street. He peeled off the top of his inmate uniform and wrapped it around his hand before he turned to the backseat. "Harley?" She looked up at him, obviously scared. He moved from the front seat to the back, using his protected hand to dust the shards of glass to the floor.
"Boss there's construction up ahead, I'm going to detour."
"I trust you Markus," he responded without hesitation as he eased Harley into a sitting position. "Are you hurt?"
"No," she shook her head and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, a smile tugging up the corner of his lips when she leaned on him. "Has that... happened before?"
"The Joker toxin? He's never released it in Arkham, but I've seen the aftermath of it's use."
"How many people do you think are dead now?" she barely whispered the question and The Riddler quickly did the math in his head.
"Quite a few," he responded simply instead of giving her the actual number of over one hundred.
"Why? What could be worth so much death?" she looked up at him and The Riddler just held her tighter against him.
"Boss," Markus ventured softly, "when we get to the waterfront do you want me to-"
"You're going to head home Markus," he cut him off and watched as his henchman whirled.
"Boss I-"
"You're a guard at Arkham, to the police and to your family. If you're not at home with your wife and kids when they come around to check, they'll become suspicious." Markus nodded at his words. "I can hold down the place on my own, and if anything comes up you'll be my first call."
"Good to know Boss," Markus said with a quick smirk over his shoulder before turning his eyes back to the road. Harley beside him shuddered and he ran his hand down her back soothingly.
"You're going to be fine Harley," he vowed, knowing that he would keep his word.
XxX
Harley looked around the old warehouse dubiously as Markus drove away. The panic and horror earlier had faded, leaving her with a dull empty feeling as she watched Eddie sit down at a desk filled with monitors of various sizes. "What's all this?" she asked as she stepped up behind him.
"I've tapped into all the GCPD cameras in the city," he explained and she raised an eyebrow. "What?" he gave her a smirk.
"I didn't know that was possible," she said with a shrug and he winked.
"It took me an afternoon, but I managed," he tapped for a moment on a keyboard, one of four on the desk, and she watched as the screens focused on a dirty downtown street. Half a dozen cars pulled up outside an abandoned factory, men of various ages stepped out, and then she saw him. The Joker leapt from one car like an acrobat, obviously barking orders to the men that scattered like cockroaches.
"I knew he'd go there," Eddie practically sneered the words and Harley found she had to look away from the screen. She stepped away and he turned to her. "Harley? You okay?"
"He's..." she trailed off and shook her head. "Words can't define his evil."
"And they rope me into the same category," he responded with a twist of his lips. "I'm going to call in his location." Harley watched him leap to his feet and she stared at him.
"The Riddler is going to turn in The Joker?" she asked and he gave her a wink as he picked up a flip phone from a pile on a small table.
"I don't exactly want them to come around banging on the door," he told her as he flipped open the phone and began dialing.
"Don't they know your voice? Can't they trace the call?"
"I have a voice scrambler plugged into the device and if you really think me incapable of bouncing around a cellphone signal I'll have to ask you to reread my file... it does say genius does it not?" he asked with a smirk and then held up a finger. "I just saw The Joker and a group of baddies park outside the old toy factory in downtown Gotham." With that he hung up, tossed the phone to the ground, and smashed it with his foot. "Now then," he looked over at the slightly startled Harley and bowed his head, "if you'll follow me I'll show you to your accommodations." Harley followed him up an old metal staircase to what was once an old office door.
"What's this?" she asked as he opened it.
"I'm going to give you my room for the duration of your stay," he replied as he walked in and flicked on the overhead light. Harley looked around her, a smirk coming to her lips at the sight of the big dark green bed pushed against the far wall, the desk littered with various machine parts and schematics, and the tall but battered wardrobe by a shut door near the bed. He walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, Harley unable to stifle her giggle at his mass of green suits. He turned to her and she waved him off.
"I'm sorry it's just... So much green," she let out another short giggle and cleared her throat.
"I also have a few at the dry cleaners that are mostly black," he retorted as he pulled one suit from the wardrobe and shut it. "I'll be downstairs changing and keeping an eye on things if you need me." He began to walk to the door and Harley felt a slight stab of panic as he reached it.
"Eddie you don't have to go," she spoke up quickly and he turned to her.
"I thought you'd prefer to have a moment to yourself," he explained as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I know I brought you here but I don't want you to feel as if you must spend time with me." Harley smiled at him fondly for that, once again surprised by the villain.
"I'll be down in a little bit," she said and he gave her a grin as he turned around to leave the room.
XxX
Harley discovered on her own that the other door led to a decent sized bathroom. The shower was glassed in and held a bottle of shampoo and body wash that when she sniffed it almost made her swoon. After replacing the container exactly where she got it, Harley walked over to the sink and checked her reflection in the mirror.
"Jeez," she shook her head at the wild mess her makeup had become and turned on the tap. She washed her face and walked out of the bathroom, determined to find Eddie.
XxX
She found him, decked out in his dark green suit pants, a green dress shirt tucked in perfectly, and a green vest emblazoned with a giant purple question mark on the back. He was leaning over a work table littered with papers, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, staring so intently that she couldn't help but just stand there and observe him for a minute. He was glorious out of the inmate uniform, a sight she hadn't quite expected.
"Are you going to stand there all day?" he asked dryly as he turned to face her and red flooded her cheeks.
"Are you working on your next nefarious deed?" she asked as she casually walked over to him. He snorted as he turned his eyes back to the work table.
"Hardly, I'm merely fixing a schematic for one," he told her with a quick wink. She curious picked up what looked like a simple rectangle with a button.
"What's this do?" she asked.
"It's supposed to project a riddle and it's not quite working correctly," he turned it over in her hands and she stared at the big slash in the middle of the bottom of the box.
"What happened to it?"
"Batman," he spat the name like a curse and straightened up. "Would you like to accompany me to dinner?" he asked as he regarded her.
"Are you asking me on a date Mister Nygma?" she asked with a smirk and a lifted blonde brow.
"My dear Doctor Quinzel I do believe I am."
XxX
The Riddler strolled into The Iceberg Lounge, feeling quite good about himself with Harley on his arm. They were greeted at the door by none other than The Penguin himself, who gave the doctor a hearty laugh. "Oi, what's this?" he asked and The Riddler pulled Harley against him protectively.
"A table for two Oswald," he said firmly and the man nodded.
"My man will show you to a nice place over Tiny's, best I can do since we're so busy tonight," he added the last part with a touch of pride. "We gotta talk soon Riddler... The Bat problem is getting worse by the day."
"Not tonight," The Riddler said firmly and the overweight man nodded in understanding.
"Have fun lovebirds," he told them before walking off faster than his stature and girth would lead one to think he could.
"We're eating here?" Harley asked curiously and The Riddler nodded before looking down into her blue eyes. He smiled at her from under his domino mask, a flash of white teeth that he could tell relaxed her a little.
"This is the safest place in Gotham if you're on the wrong side of the law," he explained as a man began to lead them away from the hostess stand. "Penguin has paid off all the right officials and he has some of the best chefs in the city working away on all of his dishes... Plus, as an added bonus, I can catch up on all the goings on of my fellow rogues."
XxX
Harley wasn't comfortable sitting on top of a tank housing a massive great white shark, but she had to admit that watching the hulking monster swim under them was oddly fascinating. They had been served a fine red wine which she noticed Eddie barely touched as he looked around them. "Do I wanna know how many illegal things are going on around me?" she asked him in a whisper and he chuckled.
"Gambling, prostitution, arms dealing..." He gave her a warm smile and spread his hands before him. "Welcome to the classy side of the underworld."
"You really don't seem like you fit in with all of this," Harley said as she motioned around them.
"I don't?" he leaned forward on the table, his hands folded under his chin as his eyes regarded her with interest. "Where do I fit in?"
"I don't know," she admitted as she picked up her glass and took a small sip. "Not here though."
"Neither of us belong here Harley," he said with a smirk as he leaned back in his seat, "it makes us quite the pair."
"Are you flirting with me Eddie?" she asked and bit her lower lip.
"I flirted with you in Arkham," he said conspiratorially, "this is more seduction." She blushed into her wine as she took another sip.
"You keep it up and this whole place is going to have an interesting show," she fired back bravely and felt a sudden jolt of how crazy this was. She was sitting across from The Riddler, one of the most notorious crime lords in Gotham, having a great time, a patient of hers nonetheless, and here she was telling him she was considering sleeping with him. Had she lost her mind? He gave her a wolfish grin, his eyes sparkling behind the domino mask, and she realized she could care less if she'd gone mad. She was just happy it was with him.
XXX
Don't hate me for this update taking forever! I lost my chapter and had to rewrite it and I feel so bad I'm so sorry guys! Thanks to all for reading and reviewing, you guys are amazing and I love you. Let me know what you think! Much love, Leigh