Bruce Wayne knocked on the door to his friend's apartment. Harvey Dent opened it a few moments later, and beamed at him. "Bruce, what a pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed. "Come in!"

"I didn't want to bother you too early in case the date took a favorable direction last night," said Bruce, grinning. "How was it?"

"It was great, actually," said Dent. "We just had dinner, but I think it's the start of something promising. She said I could see her again anyway, so I didn't completely screw up."

"Congrats, Harv," said Bruce. "She seems like a great girl for you. Although you realize that I'm gonna have to tell Vicki now, who's gonna get the thumbscrews out."

"I prepared Harley for that," said Dent, nodding. "At least in theory – I'm not sure anyone can really be prepared for being interrogated by Vicki in practice."

"I kinda enjoy it," said Bruce, smiling. "I'm not sure what that says about me."

"I'd hate to think," said Dent with a grin. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Please," said Bruce, taking a seat.

"So this is just a social call?" asked Dent, handing him a glass.

"Not…exactly," said Bruce. He cleared his throat, putting the glass down. "I hope you don't mind, but I did some digging on that guy you met at the fundraiser the other night."

Dent's face fell. "Oh…I see."

"I was worried you might be in trouble," said Bruce. "I was just trying to look out for you, Harvey. And it turns out this guy is involved with the Valestra gang…"

"Yes, I know," interrupted Dent, standing up. "I know all about Mr. Napier's associations."

"He's blackmailing you, isn't he?" asked Bruce, gently. "Harvey, whatever he has on you, it can't be worth colluding with criminals…"

"I'm doing no such thing!" snapped Dent, rounding on him. "Napier's after me because I'm not colluding! His boss wants me to drop my crusade against him, which I'm refusing to do, so he sent Napier to lean on me! But his threats are useless. He can do what he wants to me, but I'm not giving up on this."

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "But I am concerned about Harley," he murmured. "He harassed her at the party, and Harley said he stopped by her place of work. If he's threatening her to get to me, I can't allow her to be put in danger."

"Can you get her a bodyguard?" asked Bruce.

"I offered – she said she wasn't scared of him," said Dent. "She's a very brave woman, really. Although…I can't help but think she's also a little naïve. I don't think she really knows what a man like that can do to her."

Bruce nodded slowly. "Why don't you ease off Valestra for now?" he asked. "At least publicly. Who knows - maybe this Batman will be able to take care of Valestra without you having to put yourself in harm's way?"

"I can't depend on Batman," muttered Dent. "I can't depend on anyone."

"You can depend on me," murmured Bruce. "You know that, Harvey."

Dent laughed. "What can you do, Bruce?" he asked. "What can a playboy billionaire do to stop a mob boss who owns most of the city? Aside from maybe boycotting his casinos, but even then, I'm sure Valestra has plenty of other high roller customers."

"I don't know, but I want to help," said Bruce. "Could you tell me anything about this Napier guy? Like where to find him?"

"So what, you can try to buy him off?" asked Dent. "He's not interested in money. He's a freak who only cares about sick jokes, and tormenting me is a pretty fun joke to him right now."

"Did you say jokes?" asked Bruce.

"Oh yeah – his self-styled alias is the Joker," retorted Dent. "I told Harley, I think he gets a kick out of using humor to terrify people. Sick freak, like I said."

"Yeah, that's someone you don't want anywhere near Harley," agreed Bruce. "So please take my advice and lay off Valestra for now, and see what happens. You shouldn't risk a promising new relationship by obsessing over Valestra, and I know you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to Harley because of it. You should focus on her for now."

"That's good advice, Mr. Playboy – I hope you take it to heart too," said Dent with a wry smile.

"I will," said Bruce, standing up. "We should all get together soon – invite Harley over to Wayne Manor for a double date with me and Vicki. Then we can support her during the interrogation."

"I won't pitch it exactly like that," said Dent with a grin. "But thanks, Bruce, that sounds good."

"Hopefully that evening will end more favorably for you," said Bruce, grinning back. "See you soon, Harvey."

Dent shut the door on him, and Bruce's smile fell as he processed what Dent had told him. If his suspicions were correct, Jack Napier and this Joker killer were one and the same. Which was a step in the right direction – now he just had to find him. And that was a job for Batman.

…

"Seven bucks for a glass of scotch – what's this town coming to?" grumbled Buzz Bronski, as he and his friend and associate, Chuckie Sol, staggered out of the bar they had been drinking at. "It's going to hell!"

"We need to see if Sal can lean on whoever supplies the booze in this town to get us a better deal," agreed Chuckie. "Guys like us shouldn't be paying full price, not when we keep things nice and orderly around here. They give discounts to cops and military guys – we should get discounts too! Without Sal and guys like us, this town would be in chaos."

"Structure, that's the antidote to chaos," agreed Buzz, nodding. "Structure and order. That's what Sal keeps in place. And guys like us, we do all the hard grunt work in keeping it that way. We're goddamn heroes, but does anybody appreciate us? No. No, Gina dumped me, if you can believe it."

"Yeah, you told me about it for the last couple hours," said Chuckie, who was slightly less intoxicated than his friend, and slightly less inclined to listen to rambling, self-pitying rants. "I know a place where there are some nice girls, if you wanna check 'em out."

"Yeah, strippers might cheer me up," agreed Buzz. "At least they pretend to appreciate you, which is more than Gina has done lately."

"You ain't the only one who's had to get over a dame recently," said Chuckie. "Sal had to get rid of Alicia. Apparently she was blabbing to people she shouldn't have been."

"Cops?" guessed Buzz.

"I dunno," said Chuckie. "I just know Sal sent Jack to make sure she couldn't blab again."

Buzz shuddered. "I never liked the bitch, but that's gotta be a horrible way to go. You know Jack made it slow and painful, because he thinks it's funny. Sick freak."

"He's been baiting the Bat too, y'know," said Chuckie. "Leaving little Joker cards at his crime scenes, like it's some kinda game. Can't take crime seriously, that's Jack's problem."

"Jack's got about a million problems," retorted Buzz. "I dunno why the boss ever hired him. He needs dependable guys, and sure, Jack gets the job done, but he's too much of a wild card for my liking. I think if things become chaotic, he'd enjoy it more than anything else. He seems like the kinda guy who thrives in chaos."

"Well, if he keeps baiting this Batman guy, he'll get what's coming to him," agreed Chuckie. "Personally, I'd be doing all I could to avoid dealing with that freak."

"Sorry to disappoint you," growled a voice from above them. They both looked up, and then cried out in pain as a dark shape landed on them.

"Tell me where Jack Napier is," growled Batman, picking up Chuckie. "Or Sal Valestra."

"I ain't talking to you, freak!" snapped Chuckie, who had retained enough sobriety to be defiant.

"Wrong answer," retorted Batman, lifting his fist. "But you asked for it. This is gonna hurt."