Joker was examining the pieces that had been recovered from the dig site carefully. He was no expert in ancient artifacts, but he was an expert in stealing, and he could tell based on the dust markings surrounding the artifacts that some had indeed been removed and replaced. But he could only see one set of fingerprints on the objects, which he assumed were Harley's. Which didn't rule out them being taken, however – the thief could have worn gloves, as he always did. Or the thief could have been Harley herself, but it didn't make sense for her to steal anything when she had unlimited access to the tent anyway. Unless she took it to show to someone else who didn't have access…

"Find anything?" asked Harley, entering the tent at that moment and startling him from his thoughts.

"Hard to tell," he admitted, putting down the piece he had been examining. "I hate to give Craney credit, but he might not just be indulging in paranoid delusions about these things being temporarily removed."

"What makes you say that?" asked Harley.

"The dust pattern here, for one thing," said Joker, pointing at it. "You can tell the object's been moved and replaced in a slightly different position. Of course that could have been you or him, so there's no reason to suspect a sinister motivation. You guys probably wanted to study some of these pieces someplace more private or something."

"Yeah, I…I did," agreed Harley, but the expression on her face was nervous and furtive. Joker knew when someone was lying, and she definitely was. "The…uh...light's not the greatest out here – I have better lighting in my tent," she continued.

"Then why lie about it?" asked Joker. "Why would you tell Crane he misread your system, rather than admit you took them to study in private?"

"I...I dunno," stammered Harley. "I...I thought maybe he wouldn't approve of me removing them, I guess. Maybe he'd suspect me of stealing, and I'd be sent home. I don't want that to happen. I have to find this tomb."

"Can I ask what your interest in it is?" he asked.

"Well, I'm a scholar," she said. "My interest is primarily academic. I think it would be incredibly exciting to find a tomb that's rumored to only exist in legend. Anything that increases our knowledge of the world and its history is objectively interesting, don't you agree?"

"I guess," said Joker, shrugging. "And you actually think you'll find a living god in this tomb? Because if I actually thought that, I'm not sure I'd want to find it. I mean, I've dealt with those kinda people before, and they mostly wanna eat your heart or something."

"It's better that we find it than the Nazis," said Harley, with determination, and Joker sensed she wasn't lying about that.

"You hate 'em too, huh?" he asked with a smile.

She nodded. "I'm Jewish," she explained. "So it's kinda personal for me. Some of my extended family is still stuck in Germany…"

She trailed off with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," said Joker, sincerely. "I've done a lotta bad things in my time, but trying to scapegoat an entire group of people to blame all the evils of the world on isn't just evil. It's also stupid, and somehow that's more unforgivable than just being evil."

"They're bullies, the Nazis," she said, wiping her eyes. "If we can prevent bullies from getting another weapon to aid in their advantage, even if it costs us our lives, we should do it. That's what Dr. Crane thinks, and so do I. If the Batman is real, if he's in that tomb…we have to make sure the Nazis can't enlist him to fight for them. We have to get there first."

"And then what?" asked Joker. "He might just kill you. Hell, he might just kill the Nazis too, and then this whole worry will be for nothing."

"Maybe, but we can't just sit back and hope for the best," she said. "We have to do everything we can to prevent the worst from happening, even sacrificing ourselves if we have to. Because if the worst happens, it's unthinkable."

"I agree," said Joker, nodding. "And I'm happy to help you with that endeavor in any way I can. But how did Dr. Crane know the Nazis were searching for Gotham?"

"I don't know," said Harley. "But he's right, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," agreed Joker. "I just don't know how he found out initially."

Harley studied him. "You don't trust him?" she asked.

"I don't really trust anyone, toots," he said, shrugging. "It's just a thing of mine."

"You don't trust me?" she asked, looking up at him with her big, blue eyes.

He smiled at her. "It's nothing personal, like I said," he murmured. "Just something I learned from experience. The most attractive people can have the worst intentions."

"I hope that's not true," she murmured, gazing at him. He smiled as he drew closer to her and took her hand, which trembled slightly in his.

"Well…there are always exceptions to the rule," he murmured.

"I'm glad to hear it," she whispered, shutting her eyes as his lips drew closer to hers…

"Joker, you're needed right away!" exclaimed Tetch, who had entered at that moment.

"What is it?" snapped Joker, rounding on him.

"Just come with me," said Tetch, beckoning him. "It's very urgent."

Joker sighed, following Tetch out of the tent. "What?" he demanded.

"Are you insane?" demanded Tetch. "I told you not to get distracted by her!"

"I don't see why I can't!" snapped Joker. "She's clearly interested in me!"

"Or she's pretending to be!" snapped Tetch. "Haven't you ever heard of a femme fatale?"

"What, you think she's working for the Nazis?" demanded Joker, pointing back into the tent. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! First of all, she's Jewish, and second of all…"

"Second of all, she's a very attractive woman with a pretty face who has you smitten," interrupted Tetch. "That's literally what a femme fatale is – a woman who uses her looks to her advantage, to blind men to her true nature. We can't trust her!"

"Oh, and we can trust your pal Crane?" demanded Joker. "Harley said he found out the Nazis were digging for Gotham, and that's what prompted this expedition! How did he find that out, huh? How do we know he's not here to help them out?"

"I've known Jonathan for years – he would never work with the Nazis!" snapped Tetch. "I don't know how he found out about the dig – perhaps Harley told him. And perhaps he was so smitten by her, just as you clearly are, that he brought her along, not knowing that she intended to pass whatever information she found on to them!"

"Her fingerprints were the only ones on those artifacts," admitted Joker, reluctantly. "And they had been taken from the tent. And she was lying about the reason why."

"There, you see?" demanded Tetch. "Why would she lie about that?"

"I don't know," retorted Joker. "But if you stop interrupting me when I'm trying to work, I'm sure I can find out! So maybe stop wandering in when I'm getting close to answers, huh?!"

"Oh, is that what you were getting close to?" asked Tetch, sarcastically.

"Yeah, so beat it!" snapped Joker. "Why don't you see if you can find out how your nerd pal found out about the dig, and I'll continue to work on getting the truth out of Harley! Even if she is a femme fatale, she's not the only smooth operator here, y'know!"

He re-entered the tent with a smile. "Sorry about that. Tetchy found a scorpion in his tent that he needed me to get rid of. And if he doesn't leave me alone, he'll find a few more. So where were we?"

"We were at the needing to get back to work stage," said Harley, smiling at him as she picked up some tools. "Would you like to help me dig?"

Joker stared at her. "Is…that a euphemism?" he asked, slowly.

"A euphemism for what?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"Nothing," he said, hastily. "Yeah, digging sounds…great."

"Ok, here you go," said Harley, handing him a shovel. "I'll see you at the site," she added, leaving him.

Joker sighed. "Should beat Tetchy to death for spoiling the mood," he muttered, following her as he tapped the shovel into his palm. "It's not a crowbar, but it'll do."