"Harvey, I'm so glad the law was able to come to an arrangement regarding my guys' release," said Salvatore Valestra, as Harvey Dent entered his office. "It would have been so awkward if my business was inconvenienced by that ridiculous Batman character. Who, by the way, I thought you were keeping away from my interests."

"I got them off, didn't I?" demanded Dent. "I don't think you appreciate how delicate my position is, Sal."

"Your position?" repeated Valestra, raising his eyebrows. "I don't think you appreciate how delicate my position is, Harvey. My operations have to run smoothly, like clockwork, otherwise this whole city could collapse into chaos. And you wouldn't want that, would you? You'd never be elected again if Gotham burned to the ground under your watch."

"Neither of us wants Gotham to burn to the ground," retorted Dent. "But I have to keep up the appearance of wanting to take you down, and so when Batman comes to me offering to help with that, it would be really suspicious to refuse it. People might start to ask questions, and that would be dangerous. This all ended fine though – we can throw out any arrests Batman makes on technicalities. And the cops are still too scared to touch your boys, so they're safe."

"For now," agreed Valestra, nodding. "When I sent Jack over to sort things out with you, I told him I wanted him to get rid of the Batman, which he assures me he can. But I'm wondering now if it wouldn't be better to destroy his reputation before we destroy him, as a warning to others, and so he doesn't become some weird martyr. And that would involve unmasking him. You don't have any idea who he is, do you?"

"Why would I?" asked Dent.

"Well, dressing up in a costume to fight crime seems like a rich person's game," replied Valestra. "Less well off people don't seem to have that inclination. Moral superiority and self-righteousness are really mostly for those who have a lot of time on their hands, and don't have to worry about things like having a job or feeding their family."

"My social circle is buzzing with gossip, but I can't say I buy any of it," replied Dent. "And I can't think of anyone I know who would be that crazy."

"What about your pal Bruce Wayne?" asked Valestra. "His parents were killed by criminals when he was little – I can see him bearing a grudge against them for that."

"Bruce?" repeated Dent, incredulous. "I don't think you know Bruce. The guy's never cared about anything in his life. Sure, he was understandably depressed after his parents' deaths, but he got over that, and used his inheritance to go on a round the world cruise, drinking and sleeping his way through most of the seven continents. And his routine hasn't changed at all since he came back. He has his dark moments, but don't we all? He's just not the type to do anything like that – he's never done a hard day's work in his life. And he's never committed to anything or anyone for more than five minutes. He's completely carefree and flippant toward everything."

"Except you," replied Valestra. "He sent me a letter saying he'd no longer be patronizing my casinos until I stopped sending my men to lean on you. I assume that's a lie you told him, but still, it shows a certain loyalty toward his friend, and a set of principles that you wouldn't expect from him."

"You're barking up the wrong tree, Sal," retorted Dent. "Anyway, as much as I'm sure this Batman freak hopes he's inspiring others, nobody has wanted to join or emulate him since his whole crusade started. I wouldn't worry about finding out who he is, and just leave it to Jack to do what he does best."

"He is a reliable guy!" chuckled Valestra. "And after Jack's taken down Batman for me, I should be safe forever, shouldn't I, Harvey?"

"As long as I keep getting elected," retorted Dent. "And in that spirit, I have a favor to ask you."

"I'm always happy to talk business with my favorite lawman," said Valestra, lighting a cigar for himself and then offering one to Dent.

Dent said nothing while he lit his cigar. "I'm seeing a woman," he said at last. "A woman who's told me she's been harassed and threatened by one of your guys. I want him to knock it off."

"That doesn't sound like anything my boys would do – they're always on their best behavior with the ladies," said Valestra, looking surprised.

"It was Jack," said Dent.

"Ah, well, there's no accounting for Jack," said Valestra, shrugging. "He's a wild card who does what he pleases."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Dent. "I want you to tighten his leash, and make him leave Harley alone."

"Hard to make Jack do anything," said Valestra. "And I do hate to point this out, Harvey, but you're actually the one who owes me favors, not vice versa."

"I'd say we have a pretty good business relationship, Sal," said Dent, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "It's symbiotic, shall we say. You help me take down all your rival gangs, which helps me get re-elected, and I help you with whatever legal matters you need covered up, which helps you stay outta prison. It's a rational partnership that makes sense for both of us rational men. But I'm afraid I can become very irrational when it comes to matters of the heart – I think we both can, if I recall what you had Jack do to Alicia Hunt."

"Poor Alicia," sighed Valestra. "But she had a hard time keeping her mouth shut. Which was good in certain contexts, of course!" he chuckled. "But not when she'd just gossip to anybody. I hated giving the order to have her taken care of – it still pains me to think of it."

"I think these kinds of business relationships work best when personal relationships are left out of it," said Dent. "Because those are largely irrational, and irrationality leads to chaos, which I know both of us are keen to avoid."

"Perish the thought," agreed Valestra, nodding. "Organized crime only works if it's organized."

"So in order to keep this sweet little partnership we have going, I need you to rein Jack in," said Dent. "Because if you can't, I can't be held responsible for my actions when a guy like that threatens a woman I'm involved with. And if I start acting irrationally, who knows what I might do? Who knows what secrets I might spill? I mean, I wouldn't if I were in my right mind, but a guy in love isn't in his right mind, is he?"

Valestra chuckled. "I'd like to think you wouldn't dare, Harvey, but you're right – love makes us all do crazy things. I'll have a talk with Jack," he agreed.

"Thank you," said Dent, rising. "Tell him if I ever see him hanging around Harley again, I won't be responsible for my actions. I told him that myself the other day, but he didn't seem to believe me. So maybe he'll take it seriously coming from you."

"The day Jack takes anything seriously will be a cold day in hell!" laughed Valestra. "But I'll pass it on. I gotta say, I've never known Jack to be particularly obsessive over a woman."

"I suspect he's only particularly obsessive over this one to spite me," retorted Dent. "You know how much he gets a kick out of annoying people. If he can annoy both me and Harley, that's double the fun for him."

"I admire a man who can have a little fun with his work," replied Valestra, grinning. "We should all be so lucky, Harvey."

"I am lucky," retorted Dent, heading out of the room. "And Jack Napier is not going to take that away from me. I'll kill him first."

Valestra picked up the telephone on his desk, and dialed a number. "Jack, I just had our friend in the DA's office drop by," he said. "He says you're harassing a dame of his?"

"Hardly harassing, boss – she went out on a date with him the other night and then called me when she got home," chuckled Jack. "Who knows how women's minds work, huh?"

"They are a mystery," agreed Valestra. "But you need to leave her alone, Jack. Harvey said if you don't, he might start talking, and we can't have that. No dame is worth screwing up everything for, don't you agree?"

"Of course, boss," said Jack. "Anything you say."

"Good man," said Valestra. "How's the Batman stopping strategy coming along?"

"Oh, I'm thinking up quite the little game for him!" chuckled Jack. "It'll be a blast, and he'll never see it coming! I told him at our last encounter that he was getting too predictable, and that's not good, because people can set up traps for you if they know how you think. And I know how the Bat thinks."

"If you know how he thinks, I'm wondering if you can figure out who he is," murmured Valestra.

"Does it matter?" asked Jack. "If he's going to die, I mean."

"Well, I was just saying to Harvey that I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to try and unmask the freak before we kill him," said Valestra. "Just to make an example of him, and examples always work better if you can put a face to them. I know you're very eager to kill him, and your passion for your work is really admirable, but maybe hold off until I poke around a bit more."

"Of course, boss," said Jack. "Got any suspects you want me to question?"

"Only one," murmured Valestra, studying Bruce's letter. "And I'll do it myself."