Title: Just Another Day
Author: Rae Street
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Status: WiP
Disclaimer: All Batman characters belong to DC Comics, and whomever else they belong to. Used without permission. All non-DC characters are my own creations. No money is being made off of this story. Please don't sue me... I ain't got no munny, just a lil' plot bunny. Sue him instead. ;-)

=Just Another Day=
Chapter Three:

Bruce Wayne lay in bed, caught up in a dark, dreamless sleep. Though he was bone weary, it had taken him a long time to fall asleep; his overworked mind simply would not allow him to rest. And when he finally did fall asleep, he became prey to dark visions of the Joker, which kept him tossing and turning the rest of the night. It wasn't until the break of dawn that he fell into a deeper sleep, thankfully absent of the Joker; but he could still hear the Joker's cackling, taunting laughter.

"Master Bruce..." a seemingly far off voice invaded his sleep. Bruce attempted to push it away, to ignore it; but it came again, more urgently.

"Master Bruce..." it's tone agonizingly, insistently, pulling Bruce Wayne back to the land of the conscious.

Bruce groaned, and rolled over onto his side; pulling his pillow over his head.

Something lifted the pillow off of his head, and a hand gripped his shoulder, shaking him slightly. "Batman!" came a hoarse whisper, next to his ear.

Bruce opened his eyes, and groggily looked up into the wan face of Alfred. He glanced over at the clock by his bed; 7:30 a.m. it read in glaring red. He'd been asleep for less than two hours.

"What is it, Alfred?" he asked thickly, rubbing his forehead with one hand.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Sir," Alfred said in a low voice, "But we've had word."

All thought of sleep left Bruce, and he sprang fully awake at Alfred's words. He sat up in bed, his gaze fixed intently on Alfred.

"And?" he asked.

Alfred cleared his throat, then continued.

"The police received a phone call approximately five minutes ago, from a Mr Harry Oswald. He states that the Joker was seen outside his establishment not long ago."

"Where?" Bruce asked, his jaw tight.

"Harry's Electronics, 14th Street," Alfred replied.

Bruce rolled out of bed, and threw on his robe. He quickly made his way to the door.

"Master Bruce..."

Something in Alfred's voice stopped Bruce cold. Bruce looked back at him, questioningly.

"Was there something more, Alfred?" he asked.

Alfred's face was grim.

"He's taken a hostage, sir..." he said quietly.

Bruce Wayne's jaw stiffened. After a moment of silence, he turned and walked out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Less than ten minutes later, the Batcar was racing down the road, on its way to 14th Street.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry Oswald pulled a large, red handkerchief from his back pocket, and mopped the sweat from his forehead. He'd just finished giving his statement to the police, and they were now finally pulling away from the curb. He was glad to see them go; cops always made him nervous, for his own reasons. For perhaps the first time in his life, Harry was glad he'd been born with a forgettable face.

A sound in the back room startled Harry out of his reverie. He glanced worriedly in the direction. Was there someone back there? Had the Joker returned? Harry was afraid to find out. He thought briefly of escaping out the front door, and never looking back. But, no, he couldn't do that. He'd worked way too hard to build a life for himself here, and he couldn't just walk away from it. Besides, he'd been running most of his life, and he was tired of it.

Coming to a decision, Harry slowly stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket. With sweaty, shaky hands, he reached under the counter, bringing out his shotgun. Holding it at the ready, Harry advanced towards the back room.

Harry paused in the doorway. It was dark inside, and he carefully reached inside to flick on the light switch; half expecting to be jumped then and there. But nothing happened, and the light remained off. The bulb must've burnt out, he thought. He heard another sound, like a pebble bouncing off something metal. He twisted in the direction of the sound, and took a shaky breath.

"Is there someone in here?" he called.

"Harry Oswald?" a low voice asked from the darkness.

Harry jumped, quickly swinging his gun in the direction of the voice. Well, it doesn't sound like the Joker, he thought. But it could be someone working for him.

"I don't know who you are," Harry said as calmly and with as much authority in his voice as he could muster, "but I strongly suggest you come out into the light before I start filling this place up with holes."

A sudden rustling sound was heard rushing towards him; before Harry could get off a single shot, the gun was jerked roughly away from him. Harry suddenly found himself standing face to face with a black mask, and a pair of stern blue eyes.

"I don't believe your insurance company would cover the damages," the masked man simply stated.

"B-B-Batman?!" Harry stuttered, his beady brown eyes opened as wide as they could go. Batman was the last person he'd expected to see. "What are you doing here?"

"There is a matter I would like to discuss," Batman replied.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At the behest of Batman, Harry closed his shop up tight, and returned his gun to its place under the counter. Then he returned to the back room where Batman was waiting. Batman had since replaced the lightbulb which he had removed, and Harry sighed in relief when the light turned on. Talking with the legendary Batman was freaky enough as it was... but in the dark? Forget about it!

"What was it you wanted to discuss?" Harry asked.

"The Joker," Batman replied.

"Look Batman. You've wasted your time by coming here... and mine," Harry sighed and shook his head. "I already gave my statement to the cops. Now, I know you have your ways. You could very easily have gotten my statement from the cops, without the extra footwork," he rubbed his head. "But since you took the time and trouble to come here, I guess I might as well tell you what I told the police. I saw the Joker outside, he kidnapped a girl, and drove away in the back of a hearse. End of story. If you want the details, get them from the police. I already told them everything."

"Is that really everything, Harry?" Batman inquired.

Something in Batman's tone of voice set Harry's teeth on edge. Perspiration beaded up on his forehead, and he felt sick. Did Batman know something about him? About his past? Harry hoped not, for it would mean the end for him.

"Yeah... Everything," he said, trying to play it cool.

"I don't believe you, for three reasons," Batman said.

"Really?" Harry gulped, his small brown eyes nervously scanning Batman's face. "What are the reasons?"

"One; you were agitated while the police were here, and it wasn't only because you had seen the Joker. You didn't relax until after they had left," Batman began, slowly beginning to advance toward Harry.

"You were here, watching?" Harry nervously asked. "Well, hey, that doesn't prove anything."

"Two," Batman continued, ignoring the interruption. "I don't believe the Joker chose this location at random. He was here, outside this place, for a reason."

"Wha- what do you mean?" Harry stuttered. He didn't like where this was going. "Why would the Joker want to come here?"

Batman came to stand in front of him, his narrowed eyes staring down into Harry's. Harry gulped.

"I ran a background check on you before I came here," Batman began. "Two years ago, Harry Oswald didn't exist. But a two bit hood named Oswald Harrison did."

He knows! Harry thought, horrified, his face white as chalk.

TBC...