Author's Note: What's this? A new chapter? Why, yes it is! :-) After only 2 years between updates... *sigh* :-p Well, sorry for the hold up. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this story and "Afraid of the Dark" this year. Cross your fingers! :-D
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.

=Just Another Day=
Chapter Four:

Harry closed his eyes, feeling sick to his stomach. He nervously pulled a tube of antacids from his pocket, and popped a couple into his mouth. Batman paced a few feet away, and continued to speak.

"The police files on Oswald Harrison are sketchy at best," he said, "and they have no files for Harry Oswald." He turned back in Harry's direction.

"But I've managed to piece this much together. At some point in your shady past, you crossed someone, probably the Joker. You felt it would be in your best interests to disappear for a while, and start over somewhere new. You carved a new life for yourself, managing to keep out of the sights of both the police and the Joker; at least for a time." Batman narrowed his eyes. "But you couldn't hide forever, and the Joker tracked you down to this location. The girl he grabbed wasn't his intended victim; she only got in the way. He was here after you, Harry. And I want to know why."

Harry swallowed, hard. The anger in Batman's voice scared him worse than the Joker had that morning. He took a shaky breath, trying to stay in control.

"You're right," he said, as calmly as he could, "He was after me. But not for the reasons you're thinking."

"I'm listening," Batman said.

Harry sighed, and rubbed his aching head.

"Well, to begin with," he started, "you were right about another thing. I was a two bit hood; in the past tense. I quit about ten years ago. But before then, I was into almost everything; car jacking, fencing, you name it. But my real specialty was finding things. Anything a body wanted, I could find, and get for them... Anything. For a small fee, of course."

"Of course," Batman echoed.

"Oh, I was good at my job... the best," Harry continued with a hint of pride. "The cops rarely caught me. And when they did, they couldn't pin anything on me for long. That's why the files on me are so sketchy." He grew sober. "But as time went on, the cops started getting closer, hotter on my trail. I decided it would be prudent to quit while I was ahead, so I retired. Turned Legit." Harry cracked a smile. "The locals were sure disappointed at that. I think they almost missed the chase." He looked at Batman expectantly.

"And the Joker?" Batman prompted, no trace of emotion on his face.

Harry shrugged to himself. I guess he doesn't have a sense of humor, he thought. He cleared his throat self-consciously, and continued.

"I was doing alright on my own, making an honest living; But that changed two years ago," Harry cleared his throat again. "The Joker showed up at my apartment late one night. He said he knew about me, about my past, and that he knew how to make it stick. He said he'd turn me in unless I did a job for him."

"And did you?" Batman asked.

Harry nodded.

"I was going to refuse. Things between me and the locals had finally settled down, and I didn't want to do anything to stir up that hornet's nest again." Harry sighed. "The Joker saw I was about to refuse, so he pulled his 'ace' out of his sleeve... literally. An ace card... and he gave it to me. On the back of the card he'd pasted a picture, a recent picture, of my kid. I hadn't seen her in more than ten years; not since her ma died, and she was taken away by the state. But I knew it was her. She looked just like her ma." Harry looked up at Batman. "Joker threatened to kill her if I didn't do what he asked. There was nothing I could do."

"Why didn't you go to the police?"

"I didn't think they'd believe me." Harry answered.

Batman was silent for a moment., watching Harry.

"What was the job?" he finally asked.

"That's the weird thing," Harry continued, scratching his head. "When the Joker asked me to do a job, I thought he meant for me to find something for him. Instead, he told me to meet him at a certain warehouse the next night; that I'd be needed there to hold the bag for him."

"Hold the bag?" Batman questioned.

"Yeah... Hold the bag," Harry said. "I was thinking it was going to be a set-up; you know the phrase, 'caught holding the bag'... right? Well anyway, that's what I was thinking. But the next night, I went out there anyway. I didn't know what else to do. When I got there though, I found out that the Joker wanted me to literally 'hold the bag'... a body bag, complete with body."

"Who was it?"

"Some retired Senator I think... don't recall the name." Harry answered. "Joker had done something awful to him, tortured him to death." he shuddered at the memory. "The Joker had me bury the body near the warehouse, then let me go my way. I think the whole night simply appealed to his sense of humor."

Batman's face was grim.

"Look, Batman," Harry said, his face earnest. "I admit I've done some crummy things in my lifetime... but I've never killed, or aided in a killing. When I got home that night, I called the cops and turned in the Joker."

"What happened then?"

"Oh, the D.A. had been after something he could pin on the Joker for some time. When He heard my statement, he fell all over himself, offering to cut me a deal if I turned State's evidence against the Joker. He was sure he could finally put the Joker away for good, probably even give him the death penalty." Harry's face grew grim.

"I accepted, but things turned sour. The D.A. couldn't make the charge stick, due to one big technicality; the body wasn't there when they went to dig it up." Harry sighed. "And the only witness that the Joker was even in the area at the time, was me; a guy with a shady past, that no cop would trust.

"The D.A. was fuming. He couldn't do anything about the Joker, except stick him back into Arkham. So he set his sights on me. Figured if he couldn't have the Joker, he'd make this two-bit hood pay. So with the D.A. threatening my freedom on one hand, and the Joker threatening my life on the other, I figured the best thing I could do was to make Oswald Harrison disappear." He cleared his throat.

"I left town, until they elected a new D.A., then came back as Harry Oswald. I had nowhere else to go. I worked hard to make a new life for myself, Batman... with everything legit and aboveboard. And everything was working out fine, until today." his face crumbled.

"I didn't want anything to happen to the girl!" he exclaimed. "She's a decent kid, one of the few people who treats me like a real human being."

"You know her, then?" Batman asked.

"Yeah, I know her." Harry sighed. "She works at the café, a few doors down. I go in there sometimes for lunch. I really wanted to stop the Joker from taking her, but when I saw him out there, I froze. The most I could do was hide behind the counter like a coward, and call the police."

"Not many people could have stood up to the Joker," Batman said.

"Yeah, well, I should have," Harry replied, his face set in anger. He closed his eyes and rubbed his head. He had a full blown migraine now. "So, you gonna turn me in now, or what?"

"Don't leave town," was all Batman said.

"Don't leave town... What do you mean by that? I just got done telling you that I have nowhere else to go," Harry asked, his eyes still closed.

No answer. Harry opened his eyes and looked around. The Batman was nowhere to be seen. Harry ran to the front of the store. No Batman there either. How does he do that? Harry thought. He hadn't even heard him leave.

=TBC...=