Chapter 31

Amanda Waller watched Harleen Quinzel with Waylon Jones with interest. The woman was very relaxed and chatty, her first decision was to remove Waylon's restraints and muzzle. The man was a monster and she treated him like a normal human being. She wasn't scared of him and moved around him easily, she poured him some water, put her notepad on the table and sat down in her chair.

"Sorry for the out-of-routine disruption, Waylon." Harleen said pleasantly. "We have a lady here that would like to talk to you, she's from the government and want's to ask you some questions."

"I don't wanna talk to no government goon." Waylon rumbled. "I ain't gonna be no Guinea Pig for any of their experiments."

"Well, legally you're not allowed to leave Arkham." Harleen told him. "You aren't allowed to go anywhere else – unless you're happy that we have changed enough for you."

"Well, I still look like this and I still wanna rip my family limb from limb – just not everyone else." Waylon growled. "I ain't gonna be no weapon for no one."

"We're not asking for that." Waller replied. "We want to know more about you so we can find a way to help you live a good life outside of Arkham Asylum. The people I work for have decided that Gotham needs a bit of extra assistance with alternative ways of looking after it's more unusual citizens. We need to learn more about you and what you want first."

Harleen didn't believe her at all, but kept calm and cool for Waylon's sake. She scribbled down a few notes as she tried to work out what this woman was doing here and why she was so interested in Waylon above everyone else at the hospital. She bit her lip and smiled politely to Amanda. She was dedicated to her patients and she would protect them if they needed it. She wasn't about to let anything happen to any of the people in Arkham.

"So, Mr Jones, what is your aim with your treatment here at Arkham?" Amanda continued.

"I wanna live my own life, I want to be left alone from everyone. I don't wanna kill no one, but it's the only way I get money to live." Waylon answered. Harleen knew he was lying, but she let him go ahead. It never worked to call Waylon out on lies, you had to go with it for a bit before you could get around them.

"I never wanted to be a monster." Waylon said flatly. "If no one can remove these damn scales then I need to embrace them and learn to use this new life."

"I see. Well, Mr Jones you may be interested to know that we have a plan to create a facility that would cater for meta-humans and their needs. It'll be a place of rehabilitation, reformation and purpose finding." Amanda said with a grin. Harleen watched as the woman met Waylon's eye and kept her stiff position, she was playing with a time bomb and it made Harleen quite nervous. Waylon was keeping very calm considering, but she wasn't sure why.

"Keep me posted, lady, I ain't signing anything until Doc gives it the okay." Jones grunted. "Now if you'd excuse me. I have a sewer I need to swim in." He stretched his jaw and revealed a row of very sharp teeth. Harleen put his restraints back on and made sure he was comfortable. She pressed the buzzer by the door and the orderlies came in to escort Jones back to his unit.

"Thank you, Waylon, I apologise again for disturbing you." Harleen smiled.

"Does he know your secret?" Waylon smirked behind his muzzle.

"Yes he does, thank you for pointing me in the right direction." Harleen chuckled. "Take care and I'll see you tomorrow."

She patted his shoulder and turned back to Amanda once the door closed. The woman was right behind her and it made Harleen jump as she came face to face with the woman. She was super imposing, she had an air of determination and arrogance. It made Harleen tense and put her on the defensive.

"Miss Quinzel, I also have a proposition for you." Amanda said coolly. "I like how you work, so I have an offer for you. I would like you to come and work for my team as leader of our psychiatric group. We have a lot of servicemen come to us for help, we really could use a doctor like you to direct how we work with them and to create new methods of helping them."

"That's very kind but-"

"You'd be in the driving seat of the entire team. There'd be around 25 psychiatrists under your lead." Amanda continued.

"Ma'am I'm sorry but I can't, I have just found out I'm-"

"We'll pay you double what Arkham does, 5 star insurance included, flights and accommodation for stays in Washington and wherever we need you to go. It'd be a maximum of 3 days a month away from home."

"Ms Waller, I really can't change jobs now. We're at full capacity and I've just found out I'm pregnant and-"

"You can work the rest of your time here, Miss Quinzel, but the day you go onto maternity leave our pay roll will kick in and you can take a full year of leave from the day your baby is born." Amanda told her. "Take my card, discuss it with your partner and call me when you've made a decision. Just be warned, I hate taking 'no' for an answer. Have a good day, doctor."

Amanda moved around Harleen and left the room. Harleen was stunned by Waller, she was an asshole but clearly had a lot of power. Offering that kind of money, that kind of leniency and maternity leave was beyond what any work place offered. Waller clearly wanted her on their payroll, but she really wasn't sure about it. Especially not all that change after the baby arrived, he didn't think she'd cope and she knew that Jonathon would struggle with her being away from home at all. She took a breath and closed her eyes for a second before going to join Jonathon in the observation room behind the one-way glass. Sharpe was with him and looked absolutely furious, Jonathon seemed to be calm but Harleen knew he was just containing himself.

"The audacity of her!" Sharpe exclaimed. "Marching in here demanding to see Jones and then offers you a job that no one can match. What does she want? Half of Arkham to join her department?"

"I didn't say yes, Quincy." Harleen replied quietly. "I just… I want to go home. There's even more that we need to talk about now."

"Yes, let's head home." Jonathon nodded. "Get you out of this place for a bit."

Jonathon was very concerned with how Waller had approached Harleen and how she had cornered her. He didn't want Harleen to make a decision because she was intimidated into it. He didn't want her to leave Arkham, it was their place. He wasn't about to stop her doing anything she wanted to, but he couldn't help but feel he had to keep her near him. He didn't like her being away from him at the best of times and certainly not whilst she was pregnant.

He felt his grip on her hand tighten and he had to force himself to stop. He didn't like anyone taking her away from him, especially government types that were trying to poach people for their own gain. He was paranoid that she would leave him for a younger man and a typical life of wedded bliss, deep down he knew that wasn't even close to what Harleen wanted, he just couldn't help himself. She was the most important thing in his world and he wouldn't let her disappear without a fight.

"Hey dad." Harleen's voice made him jump as they drove out of Arkham's car park.

"Yeah no, we're all fine, we had a strange visit from some government lady… yeah… I need to go, dad, but I'll call you in a couple of hours. Yeah, yes, okay love you. Bye. Buh-bye."

"What did he want?" Jonathon asked, his was short and snappy with his words and Harleen realised she needed to defuse the situation.

"He said an old school friend of mine knocked on his door and asked for me." Harleen answered honestly. "There's only a couple of people that knew where I lived but I haven't heard from them for years. Not even Dick and Barb came to my house. I don't think I'll take Amanda Waller's offer. The money and time would be nice, but I don't want to work without you."

"It's a brilliant opportunity, Harl', I know everything's about to change, but… think it over." Jonathon said, not really believing that he was supporting the idea. He wanted her to decide for herself, not because he pushed her into it.

"Jay, we are a team at work and… I don't want to have everything so different with the baby. That's gonna be enough of a change for us. It's not about me. We're going to be a family. It's what's best for all of us." Harleen was sincere and honest, she took his hand and placed it on her lower abdomen.

"I will do everything and anything it takes to keep you and our baby safe." Jonathon said lowly and pulled her into a hug. "I promise."