Title: Control

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: OC/Joker/Harley

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

"I'm sorry to hear about your boyfriend." Lacy said, sliding over one bar stool and motioning for the bartender to send another shot of vodka her way.

"Thanks." Harley replied glumly as she stared into her drink. "I don't know what to do. I try and I try and I try to be patient and understanding, but it seems to get me nowhere with him. When he's not working he's sprouting off statements like 'Lacy would never bother me while I was working'. Or 'Lacy never burned my dinner'."

"Sounds like he hasn't quite moved on yet." Lacy observed, trying to keep a straight face. This whole situation was priceless.

"I know!" Harley squealed. "She's been dead for almost two years. It's time for him to move on and I know he wants to. He keeps telling me that he does."

"Have you tried talking to him about how you feel?" Lacy asked, knowing that wasn't an option with the Joker.

Harley laughed. "I don't think that would work with Mistah J."

Lacy was impressed that Harley seemed to already have found that out. "Then you need to fight for his love."

"But it's hard to fight against a dead woman's ghost and that's what I feel like I'm doing." Harley pouted. "How do I compete with someone's memory?"

Lacy sighed, unsure for a moment about what to tell her. "Well maybe you need to do something that his wife never did." She finally suggested.

"Like what?" Harley questioned.

"I don't know." Lacy shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't know much about this. I'm fairly new to Gotham."

"How long have you been in town?" Harley asked.

"Just a few days." Lacy explained, downing the shot of vodka and motioning the bartender for another shot.

"Well it's a good city. I like it and I think you will too."

"I already like what I've seen so far." Lacy replied, keeping up with the small talk but wanting to get back to the main topic. "So maybe you need to figure out what was missing from his relationship to…what was her name again?"

"Lacy." Harley spat out bitterly.

"Oh yeah." Lacy grinned. "Lacy. Figure out what was missing from his relationship to Lacy and then focus on trying to fill that in your relationship with him."

"Ooh!" She squealed happily. "That's a wonderful idea!"

Lacy smiled at her. "I'm glad you like it."

"And I know exactly what was missing from their relationship!" She added.

Oh this should be good, Lacy thought. She couldn't wait for this girl to tell her what was missing from her relationship with the Joker. "Well, what is it?"

"She hated his work!" A huge smile broke out on her face. "So maybe I just need to involve myself with his work and prove to him that I'm not like her."

"Sounds good to me." Lacy smiled. Manipulating this girl was way too easy. She briefly wondered how the Joker could stand it. But it wasn't her place to judge their relationship. Her only goal was to destroy it.

She would have felt bad for Harley, except for the fact that Harley seemed to be totally, desperately in love with the Joker. She would get what she deserved for falling in love with him.

"So what is his work?" Lacy asked, wondering if Harley would be dumb enough to actually tell her.

"Well," Harley grinned and moved in closer to her, "I know you're new in town but have you ever heard of the Joker?"

"Of course." Lacy nodded. "Everyone's heard of the Joker."

"Well that's my Mistah J!" Harley squealed. Normally she wouldn't tell a sole that she was with the Joker, but felt somehow that she could trust Angela. Although she had only been talking to her for a short time, there was something about her that seemed familiar. It was almost like she already somehow knew a lot about her.

Lacy laughed on the inside. "Wow. So you and the Joker?"

"Yeah." Harley smiled. "We're an item."

"Well I guess then if you want to get his attention by joining in on his work, then you'll need to come up with a brilliant plan to cause chaos. Isn't that what he's so famous for causing?" She pretended not to know to keep up the rouse of being new in town.

"Exactly!" Harley exclaimed.

"Well good luck with that." Lacy chuckled.

"Thanks. So why are you getting hammered?" Harley asked, pointing to the line of empty shot glasses in front of her.

"Oh." Lacy looked down at the shot glasses and shook her head. Running into Harley had momentarily distracted her from Bruce and his injury. But now it was brought center-stage to her mind. "No reason."

"It's a guy, isn't it?" Harley guessed.

"Actually it's more like two guys." Lacy explained. "There's the guy from the past and the guy who can never be the future."

"Whoa." Harley laughed. "That's deep."

"Yeah." Lacy nodded.

"Wanna talk about it?" Harley offered. "After all, you did listen to me whine about Mistah J. The least I can do is offer the same to you."

Lacy wasn't sure that sharing with Harley would be a good idea. Sure, she could water down the situation to make it generic and vague, but she thought it might be better to just avoid talking about herself all together.

"No." She shook her head. "It's ok." She looked at her watch and saw the time. "I should be going anyway."

"Wait!" Harley said, grabbing on to her arm. "I don't exactly have a lot of friends here but I feel like we have a lot in common."

Lacy had to stop herself from laughing. It was true. They did have a lot in common—actually more than Harley thought.

"Wanna be friends?" Harley asked, nervously waiting her answer.

"Of course." Lacy smiled. "In this dog eat dog world a girl can use all the friends she can get."

"Wonderful!" Harley squealed excitedly, hugging Lacy. She wrote down a number on her napkin. "Here's my number."

Lacy took the napkin and tore off a piece, writing her own number on it and giving it to Harley. "You'll have to let me know how it works out with your boyfriend."

"Oh I will!" Harley assured her. "Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime." Lacy grinned, laying some money on the counter for her tab and a nice tip for the bartender. "I'll see you later."

Lacy waited until she got out of the bar before doubling over in laughter. Finding Harley in this bar tonight was definitely a sign that she was supposed to be here in Gotham. She found out a lot of good information and had made contact with Harley, which had been on her list of things to do ever since she found out that Harley had helped him escape.

She started walking back to her motel and took out her cell phone to call Alfred and see how Bruce was doing. She hadn't heard anything from him, although she had only been gone for an hour or two. She was getting ready to dial when she heard heavy footsteps behind her.

She raised her cell phone up and saw through the reflection of the screen that there was a man behind her. It was too dark to see who it was though. She decided to turn right at the next street to see if the guy was following her or just walking on the same street. When she saw that the guy was still following her, she rolled her eyes. This was the last thing she needed right now.

She turned right at the next street but stayed huddled up against the wall of the building on the corner. When the guy came around the corner she kicked him in the crotch. "Why are you following me?" She yelled.

"Who says I'm following you?" The man grunted, still reeling from the kick to the crotch. "Ow. That really hurt."

"Well there's more where that came from." Lacy told him. "Now answer me. Why are you following me?"

"You look like someone I used to know." The man explained. He had mostly recovered form her attack and had managed to stand up.

She took a good look at the man now that he was standing up. He looked familiar and it only too a few moments for her to recognize him. "Dale?"

"So it is you." Dale laughed. "Son of a bitch. I guess I wasn't seeing things earlier."

Within seconds, she pulled her gun out of her purse and had it aimed at him. She pointed to a nearby alley, knowing that the streets weren't entirely safe. The Joker might have spies everywhere. "Let's go talk in the alley."

Knowing it wasn't a suggestion, Dale walked over to the alley with her.

"Did the Joker send you?" She asked, keeping her gun trained on him.

"No." Dale shook his head. "He still thinks you're six feet under in a little pine box. Man, he would flip out if he knew that you were still alive. It would be fun to see. Too bad I'm not gonna do it."

Her eyes narrowed, unsure if she could believe him when he said he wouldn't tell the Joker. "Why should I believe you? You still work for him, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Dale sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, curious about his answer.

"Nothing." He asked. "You wouldn't understand."

"Where's your friend?" She asked. "You know, the other one. You two seemed inseparable. What's his name?"

"Chip." Dale answered. "His name was Chip."

"Was?" She figured that meant he was dead. It suddenly made sense. "Oh. He killed Chip, didn't he? That's why you're not enthusiastic about working for him anymore."

"He made me kill Chip, made me leave him in the fire we set at your old apartment building." Dale explained. "He made me tie him to a chair and then light the room on fire."

"I'm sorry. That's a terrible thing to go through." She told him, meaning each word. "But it's characteristic Joker behavior. He screws with your head and your emotions. He just loves to make people feel guilty."

"Well it's working." Dale told her.

"Of course it is." She sighed. "He knows exactly what to do to make someone feel the maximum amount of guilt."

She put her gun down, still keeping it in her hand but not trained on him. Her original plan had included both Chip and Dale, but now that Chip was gone, she only had Dale to work with. Well, it could be worse. Now she just had to get Dale to agree to join her in her quest.

She tilted her head to the side. "How would you like to get revenge on him for Chip?"

"Revenge?" Dale laughed. "On the Joker? How the hell does anyone do that?"

"There are ways." She assured him. "It just depends on how far you're willing to go."

"Look, I don't want to die." He told her.

"That's a funny thing to say considering you work for the Joker." She laughed. "He wouldn't think twice about killing you just for fun. Why not do something to teach him a lesson?"

"And what would that lesson be?" Dale laughed. "Look lady, I know you're probably royally pissed off over what he did to you and you have every reason to be. What he did to you was heartless and cold-blooded. And I hate him for what he made me do to Chip, but what can any of us really do? He's the Joker. No one can stop him—not the police, not Batman, and especially not someone like you or me."

"You're right." She chuckled. "I am royally pissed off at him. He's terrorized not only my life but the lives of everyone in this city for far too long. He's killed or injured several people that I care about and has destroyed my life. But wait. Doesn't that story sound familiar to you?"

"Just because he made me kill my best friend doesn't mean I'm going to go rogue and help you with whatever stupid plan you have." He told her. "I may wish him dead but it doesn't mean I'm going to help you make it happen."

"I see." She nodded. "Well I can't be mad at you for thinking my plan is stupid, although you are wrong. You see, I know the Joker better than anyone else on this planet. I know how he thinks and how he reacts. And it's that knowledge that is going to help me in taking him down. Whether or not you want to be a part of it is your choice."

"I choose not." He told her

"Fair enough." She told him, raising the gun back up and pointing it at his head. "But I can't risk you letting him know that I'm still alive. I hope you understand."

He looked at her and could tell that she was serious about killing him. "Wait!" He cried out. "We don't have to be hasty here. What all would I have to do?"

"Well first of all you would have to keep the fact that I'm alive a secret. You can't tell anyone about it." She explained. "And basically all I need from you right now is information."

"Information about what?" Dale asked.

"His hideouts and his plans. I want to know every target he plans on destroying, every person he plans on killing and every criminal act he thinks about doing." She told him.

Dale sighed. He was confused. A part of him really wanted to help Lacy stick it to the Joker. After all, he deserved it. But there was another part of him, the cowardly side, that wasn't sure he could do it. He thought about what Chip would do.

Chip would agree to help Lacy without reservation. He was courageous enough to do something like this. So maybe he should be too. "Ok. I'm in."

"Excellent." She smiled, lowering her gun. She was now glad that her parents had taught her to play poker at an early age and made her perfect her poker face. Truthfully she had no intention of killing Dale. But the look on her face had convinced him otherwise, leading to his agreeing with her plan.