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The moon shone down upon him as he flipped his dingy collar up about his strong neck. The night was growing darker, about half past one in the morning, and the sting from the coldness was sharp and numbing. Scurrying around the corner into a sunken damp alleyway, he could just make out a steaming sewer hole hiding in the low fog. With hasty steps he splashed his way through the murky puddles that lived along the alleyway floor and then he crouched down, revealing a small electrical device from his coat pocket.
Shaking from the cold, he pressed down on one of the buttons and soon a low murmuring beep sounded from the sewer hole followed by a demonic rumble while the hatch swung open.
He gave a quick look over his shoulder to make sure no one had seen his actions and when he felt safe enough to proceed with his doings he carefully crawled himself into the sewer hole.
"God, Flame," Jasper coughed. "Clean up the place once in a while."
As Jasper climbed down the rafter the awful smell of the sewer ways became burly in his nose. It was hard enough to hold in the dinner that Harley had made for everyone as it was. Her meatloaf was obviously not something to write home about.
Hitting the floor of the sewer way finally, Jasper could faintly hear the odd tune of an old television series. If he knew better he could say with confidence that it was Star Trek. Flame always did love that damn show.
A few corridors were passed before Jasper came to the last corridor and there, as he turned the corner, was his long time friend. A friend he hadn't seen in years that was flipping through channels on his television hastily while singing a lively tune.
"You'll be swell! You'll be great! Gonna have the whole world on a plate!"
"Flame…"
"Startin-… Jazz? Jasper is that you? My God I haven't seen you in…years!"
"I don't have time to chat. I need information that I know you have."
"No, no." Flame insisted. "Sit, sit!"
"Listen to me Flame, I need info and I need it now. About Penguin, I know you have it."
"Not until you sit and talk to me, then I'll answer all your questions." Flame looked Jasper up and down and smirked nicely. "You look good by the way."
Jasper took a seat and pulled out a Gurkha Black Dragon Cigar. "I need to know where Penguin is Flame. Tell me."
"Thanks for complimenting on my looks by the way…and I don't know where he is."
"Yes you do!" He pointed the cigar at him and then took a long drag from it. "I need to know where he is so I can kill the bird."
"What'd he do to you?"
Jasper rolled his eyes in anger, "He hurt my girl."
"Your…girl? Oh that's right, Joker's daughter, Danielle's her name?"
"That's right."
"Stab another dagger in my heart Jaspy. I thought what we had when we had it was the real thing."
"I used you and you know it."
"I didn't mind being used."
Jasper stood from his seat and stared hard at Flame, "Where's Penguin?"
"What's in it for me if I tell you?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Where is he Flame? I don't have time."
"I don't know!" Flame leaped from his chair, sparks of fire spit away from his finger tips. "You leave me in the dirt after a job, to die, and you have the audacity to turn your gorgeous face up here and demand answers? What authority do you have!"
"I have every bit of authority over you!" Jasper yelled and clutched his friend's throat with one hand, forcing him back against a wall. He inched close to Flame's face and relaxed his eyes and glanced down quickly at Flame's lips then straight back to his deep red eyes. "Where is he Flame?"
"Why'd you leave me there?"
Jasper remained quite, his nostrils flared as beads of sweat began to dollop against his temples.
"I wasn't good enough for you? I wasn't everything for you? I didn't slave to your every command?"
"I didn't love you."
A tear slipped just as fast as Jasper had answered from Flame's eye.
A moment passed before Jasper swallowed down his spit. "Where is he, you worked for him…you must know."
"Do you love her?"
"With every fiber in my being." He finally removed his hand from Flame's throat, but remained close to him.
Flame nodded, "I know you do."
"Where's Penguin?"
"Ice Peak Tower. That's the last place I heard he was at."
Jasper held Flame's red-hot cheek, "Thank you."
He nodded again and watched Jasper turn away, but quickly stopped him. "Jasper? Was I always used? Every time we…, was I used?"
Jasper looked over his shoulder, "Not every time."
Flame smiled and picked at his fingernail with a look of bashfulness.
"But that's just what you want to hear."
With that said, Jasper left, and Flame still smirked at him running away. "Everything's coming up roses…"
