Anything for Love
It was three in the morning when Jim Gordon trudged into the station down town; his coat zipped up to the neck and a coffee in hand.
One of his Officers, a young, red haired young man was waiting for him outside the interrogation room.
Officer Wilkes looked up as the commissioner approached, his older face creased with worry.
Gordon stopped at the desk and rubbed his eyes.
"Has she said anything yet?" he asked wearily. Officer Wilkes shook his head.
"No, sir," he answered, "To be honest, she's so high on medication, I don't think anything she said would make such sense,"
Gordon sighed. "That's for us to find out. She is the only one who may know where the Joker has taken Amelia West,"
It had been two hours since Amelia had disappeared from Gotham Cemetery. Every available police officer in the city was already out or had been called out to comb the streets, looking for any evidence of her whereabouts.
The Joker's goons had done a good job of creating a diversion down at Gotham Town Hall, keeping all eyes on them, while their boss absconded with the city's most famous society girl.
Gordon peered through the small square window in the interrogation room door and gritted his teeth. The woman hunched over the small table looked exhausted and dishevelled, her blonde hair dirty and greasy, her skin pallid and white appeared stretched over her bones. It almost hurt Gordon to look at her, she appeared so ill. He knew how close she had come to loosing her life, her leg seriously infected, weak, half starved and raving mad; she'd been dumped on the doorstep of Gotham general a few days ago, left to die.
Still dressed in her hospital gown, she raised her head as Gordon unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Her lips curled into a smile and she giggled.
"What do I owe this pleasure?" her voice was a whisper, "I was in bed when you called me in here,"
"I realise you're unwell," Gordon said, "But Amelia West has disappeared and we believe you may know where she is,"
The woman's face changed. "Why would I care what happens to her?"
"I know you don't care about her," Gordon nodded, "But I know you care about him,"
Her head snapped up. "I do care!" she cried, her eyes welling up, "Why can't he see that?"
Gordon held up his hands.
"Miss Quinzell, believe it or not we are not here to discuss your feelings for Jack Napier. We need to know where he is, or if you can give us any idea of where he might take her,"
Harleen licked her thin lips.
"Your cooperation with the search will help your case, believe me," he enticed further but she merely laughed.
"Lock me away commissioner!" she sang, her crooked smile broadening, "Because believe me, if I ever get my hands on her, the last thing you'll be worrying about is the Joker,"
Slightly rattled Gordon left the room, her child like voice still singing in his head.
He met Officer Wilkes outside the door.
"Urr, sir," he began, looking slightly pale, "There's someone here to see you, in your office,"
Gordon shut his office door quietly behind him and turned to the black figure in the corner.
"Anything?" Batman said, his voice low.
Gordon raked a hand through his hair. "She's deranged," he answered.
"I'm sure you can persuade her," Batman thought aloud, "There must be someway of getting her to talk?"
Gordon sat at his desk and nodded to the file on his desk. He knew that the masked vigilante stood before him was essentially good, but it still didn't quell the creeping feeling he always got when he was around. The Batman persona still as intimidating as it ever was.
"When we leaned the identity of the 'Harlequin', we were able to get our hands on a file that Doctor Quinzell kept on the Joker," he gestured to the file, "She managed to get her hands on all sorts of information. Harold Napier's birth certificate is in there, old school records, tax bills, it's endless. There is also quite a large section dedicated to the whole West case back in '93,"
Gordon opened the file and began rifling through the various documents.
"Did you find anything on the Joker?" Batman asked folding his arms.
"Oddly no, he remains, as ever, an enigma," Gordon sighed.
Batman ran his hands through the documents. "Its all useless if we can't find a lead,"
Gordon looked at him and placed his hand on what looked like a worn brown envelope that was mixed in with the file. He opened it and pulled out a very cleanly folded piece of paper and handed it to Batman.
He scanned it. "A birth certificate?" he murmured.
"Do you know that name?" Gordon asked, "Because so far out of this file, this is the only piece of evidence that I can't make out,"
Batman read and re read the certificate. He swallowed, something becoming startlingly clear. The name of the birth mother was Sarah Giles.
He did recognise that woman's name.
"Siren West was a stage name," he said suddenly, "Sarah Giles was Siren's real name,"
Gordon raised his eyebrows. "Well if that's true, that certificate says that in 1994, she gave birth to a baby girl, father unknown,"
"Harley must have known about this," he said, shock coursing through him, "I have to talk to her,"
Gordon laughed shortly. "Good luck with that,"
When the door to the interrogation room banged open again, Harley lifted her head but was not met with the appearance of the weary faced Jim Gordon. Instead, she jumped back in her seat, her eyes fastened to the menacing figure in front of her.
He threw the certificate down on the table in front of her.
"Quite an interest in the West case?" he growled at her and she swallowed.
"You have to learn everything you can about your opponent," she said, lifting her chin slightly despite her hands trembling, "Even you must understand that?"
"I understand it," he replied, his black eyes never leaving her, "What do you know about Sarah Giles?"
Harley's lips pressed into a thin line. "She wasn't what she seemed," she grinned, "And like mother like daughter, she couldn't be trusted,"
"What are you saying?" he growled, banging his fists on the table so that she visibly shrank back.
"I'm saying that the whole case was a lie! The whole 'hostage' situation was a fake. Napier was just getting revenge," Harley spat at him, her eyes furious.
Batman slid his hands closer to her across the table and watched her recoil. He was aware of the effect he was having on her, she looked very uncomfortable, folding her arms across her chest.
"Tell me," he snarled at her, "You have my attention. That's what you crave isn't it? Attention?"
Her eyes flickered with rage. "Not from you,"
He pushed the piece of paper closer to her.
"Did Napier know Siren West before he took them hostage? Is that what this certificate tells us?" he asked again.
"Oh, he knew her," she chided a sly smile playing across her lips.
"How?" Batman asked, "How could Siren West have ever known Harold Napier?"
"Try digging a little deeper," Harley smiled, "There's more to this story than a random birth certificate,"
"Doctor Quinzell," Batman used her formal title and watched her flinch as if the sound of the formal name physically hurt her, "Does the Joker know about the connection? Is this why he's taken Amelia West?"
The mention of Amelia's name seemed to wipe the grin off Harley's face, once again her eyes clouded over with hate.
"Lets just say that the Joker and the girl have more in common than a childhood romance, but I'm not telling….you'll have to figure the rest out for yourself,"
Batman stood, the chair scraping across the floor as he did. He watched the wide eyed blonde woman, feeling pity and frustration well up at the same time.
It left him wondering what kind of hold the Joker had over this woman's mind. Worryingly the same hold he had over Amelia.
"Why are you protecting him?" he asked before turning to leave, "Hasn't the way he's treated you told you anything? Look at yourself!"
Harley purred to herself drumming her nails on the table top.
"You'd do anything for the one you love," she smiled slowly, with a touch of bitterness.
Batman shook his head at her and banged on the door to be let out by the guard.
"Love makes you blind," he said to her and she shrugged, leaning her head back down on the table, her eyes closing.
Gordon met him outside the room.
"She's about as frustrating as the Joker," Gordon quipped, "But it certainly isn't a connection I would have ever imagined before?"
Batman held up the birth certificate.
"Siren West was involved with Harold Napier before the hostage situation in 1993, which means everything we know about that case is a lie. Everything Amelia believes is a lie," he thought aloud, "We need to find the missing piece, and we need to find Amelia,"
They were interrupted by Officer Wilkes bursting through the door. He stopped abruptly when he saw Batman.
"It's alright," Batman reassured the younger boy, "What do you know?"
Nervously the officer addressed both of them.
"Sir, a squad car has picked up one of the Joker's men. We have him in one of the holding cells, but he's not talking,"
"He'll talk to him!" Gordon nodded at Batman, "Good job Wilkes,"
Batman stalked towards the holding cells. He felt unnerved and slightly disturbed at the new information.
Amelia knew nothing of this connection between her mother and Harold Napier, he was certain of it. Harley was suggesting that Siren and Napier had a previous history. Could this have been the reason why Abbott West had done nothing to help his wife all those years ago? That part of the case had always baffled him, how a man could stand by and know that one he loved was trapped in a horrible situation. But maybe there was more going on than anyone ever realised.
Bruce prepared to go into the holding cell, determined to get more information from this man than he could from Harley. He felt useless and the loss of control bothered him, desperate to know where Amelia had disappeared to. Anger boiled inside him, welling up in his throat and he banged his fist on the wall, the noise echoing around him.
In a way he could relate to the poor mad woman in the cell. Her twisted, bitter smile still burning in his memory.
He too would do anything for the one he loved.