It was in the early hours of the morning by the time Pamela and Diana arrived in Gotham. Pamela was glad for her plant side as the first light of dawn already was filling her with energy, but she could tell Diana was wearing down as they searched one of her old hideouts. She wondered what Wonder Woman had been in the middle of when she had received her letter. She smelled awful, her outfit was dusty, and she just looked all around beat.
Hell, she wondered how Wonder Woman had even met Harley in the first place.
Was this mess even really about Harley, or was this one of the superhero's enemies taking a very roundabout way to get at her? But then why was Pamela involved in this? And How were the hints so personal to her and Harley? None of this made any sense.
"Have you found anything?" Wonder Woman came up behind her.
Pamela shook her head as she stood up from searching under the lonely, worn out bed at the corner of the small room. "Nothing. I was hoping this would be it, since the first location was personal to Harley and me."
"This place has some significance to you two?" She couldn't exactly take offense in the woman's incredulous tone. The place wasn't exactly… impressive.
"This was the hideout that Harley and I became friends in."
The Amazon looked around the room in a different way. "How exactly did you to become friends? No offense, but your friendship has never made much sense to me."
"Like any of Harley's friendships make any sense." Pamela couldn't help but scoff.
"True." Wonder Woman's light chuckle took her by surprise.
Pamela watched her for a moment, but then continued. "Harley and I first met in Arkham. She was my psychiatrist before she was placed on Joker's case. But we didn't become friends until I found her bloodied and bruised in the park nearby. I remembered her, fixed her up, and things just continued on from there."
"That was very kind of you." The woman turned to her. "Not exactly what I would have expected from a misanthrope."
"I've always given people a chance to prove their worth to me." Pamela turned away, uneasy under the heroes deep blue eyes. "Harley was one of the select few people that didn't disappoint."
Wonder Woman thought about that for a moment, following Pamela out of the room and to the small living space at the front of the hideout. "Have I disappointed you?"
Surprised and a little confused by the question, Pamela turned to the woman. She searched the Amazon's face for humor, but she seemed genuinely curious. "You haven't exactly done anything that I could be disappointed in… yet."
"You were short with me on the flight here."
Pamela was a little dumbfounded. She could couldn't remember a time when a stranger that knew what she was capable of confronted her over something so meaningless. "Well, I was uncomfortable. The piercing's personal. I don't like being asked about it."
The woman's eyes softened and almost looked… guilty? "Forgive me. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. Sometimes modern nuance escapes me."
"There isn't anything to forgive, really." Pamela waved her off as she turned back towards the entrance. "There's one other hideout that might be what the letter was talking about. It's the place we shared before she went back to Joker for the last time. The only problem is that the area around it is now controlled by Joker. His goons will probably be crawling all over the place."
Wonder Woman gave her a serious nod. "Where is it? I know you and Joker aren't on good terms, I can go ahead and keep this from becoming a petty turf war."
Pamela was offended by that. "Oh, I'm sorry, when exactly did I become some brainless side kick? I'm your partner in this sadistic game, remember? Besides, you wouldn't even know where to begin searching that area for the hideout. It's practically a hole in the wall."
Wonder Woman, to her credit, doesn't argue with her, but she does rub the corners of her eyes with one hand. "Very well then. Lead the way."
The second hideout was clear on the opposite side of the city, but with Wonder Woman's abilities they reached it and snuck over Joker's goons in broad daylight in half an hour. Everyone in Gotham steered clear of Poison Ivy's old haunts, fearing any leftover deadly toxins and pheromones that might be hanging in the air, so they didn't even have worry about new tenants or squatters.
Pamela reassured the Amazon that it was safe and the two quickly tore the cramped, dark apartment apart. The letter was found hidden in the curtains that had never been closed once during her and Harley's stay.
Salutations!
Was all it read. Pamela was sure now that whoever had kidnapped Harley knew them both intimately.
"What could this mean?" Wonder Woman asked her.
"It's an inside joke. Harley had an old friend named Sal who opened a restaurant downtown a few years back. Salutations is the name I suggested for it as a joke, but it stuck." She sighed, folding this letter and shoving it in her pocket with the others.
"So, our next stop is a restaurant?"
"I guess so."
Not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves, Pamela pulled back the green of her skin and they made a quick stop at her apartment in Canal point so Wonder Woman could borrow some casual clothes.
Pamela was a little surprised to find the woman was actually taller than her by a few inches when she wasn't in heels, meaning her clothes were a little on the short side for the Amazon. Wonder Woman didn't seem to mind though, and she could surprisingly rock a long skirt and blouse even over her armor.
They arrived at the restaurant just as the staff was opening for lunch, and Sal recognized Pamela immediately.
"Pammy, dear!" The old man greeted her with open arms, and Pamela could never say no to the eighty-three-year-old- well, she thought he was eighty-three. He vowed to her long ago that she'd learn his age after reading his gravestone. He had become one of her closest friends when she and Harley had hidden out in his attic for a few weeks. "Welcome, welcome! I heard about what happened to Harley, but I'm sure there's nothing to worry about now that you're on the case!"
Pamela kissed his cheek when he pulled away from the hug. "We're working on finding her right now. We've received a tip that there might be a clue to her location in your restaurant. Has anyone dropped off a letter or note or anything here recently?"
Sal thought for a moment. "Why, I think so! Some kid dropped off a letter here the other day that was addressed to 'Wonder Woman'. Silly kids these days."
She exchanged a glance with Wonder Woman and looked back to the old man. "Can we see it? It might help us find Harley."
"You can look, but you can't read." He shook his finger at her. "Reading someone's mail is not your kind of illegal, Pam."
"Ahem," Wonder Woman cleared her throat and unbuttoned her blouse a little, flashing the top of her armor. Sal changed his tone immediately.
"Oh, well why didn't you say so! Sit, sit, I'll go find the letter. Have you two eaten today? You look starved! I'll fetch you the usual!" Sal ushered them into a booth and Pamela didn't have it in her heart to decline. The Amazon also didn't argue.
Sal returned with the letter quickly but had to step away for his lunch patrons.
Happy life, happy wife.
Pamela's heart sank a little. "Well, now I'm stumped. I have no clue what this could mean."
"Maybe it has something to do with this restaurant? Did you two have any certain… conversations here?"
No, that talk was had in Coney Island when we decided to try an open relationship. "No. We never talked about marriage here."
She and Wonder Woman sat in silence for a while, looking about the small restaurant and searching for any clues to where they needed to go next. It took barely ten minutes for a plate of fresh Jambalaya was placed before them both alongside a glass of their house made grape juice. Pamela hadn't realized how hungry she was until she smelled Sal's cooking. She thanked their waitress and placed the letter to the side for now.
The Amazon tilted her head at the pairing.
"Harley discovered it." Pamela reassured. "The girl's got a talent for finding good but weird food combinations."
Wonder Woman cautiously took a mouthful of the jambalaya and hummed happily at the taste. Sal was a damn good cook for downtown Gotham. Pamela credited it to his age and use of fresh ingredients, provided by the greenhouse she built for him on the building's roof during her stay.
Pamela waited for the hero to chase the bite with the juice and chuckled at the pleasantly surprised look on her face as she swallowed. "Awful, isn't it?"
"It's perfect." Wonder Woman smiled, taking another bite. "The perfect amount of spice, a lovely aftertaste, and the juice only enriches the experience."
"Didn't realize the great and powerful Wonder Woman would be such a foodie." Pamela teased.
Sal came back to their table just as Pamela began to eat. "How are you two ladies, doing? Is everything to your liking?"
"Amazing as usual, Sal." Pamela praised.
"Your food is wonderful. Thank you." Wonder Woman added.
Sal bashfully waved the compliments off. "Just doing my business. Have you two got a clue as to where Harley is?"
Pamela offered the note to Sal. Maybe he'd see something they were missing. "None. This was all that was written."
Sal read over the line a couple times. "You know, this reminds me of when Dahlia and I went on our honeymoon."
Pamela couldn't help but smile. She had heard the story a hundred times, given that Sal loved recounting memories of his deceased but still deeply beloved wife. It was a good thing she loved the story regardless. "I still don't think you can call it that."
Sal turned to Wonder Woman, who was watching the exchange quietly but was obviously a little lost. "Dahlia's my late wife, God bless her soul. We met in Germany when the US still occupied it after WWII. I was getting shipped back in a week, and I spent every spare hour with her. The day I was supposed to head back, our flight was delayed for a week. We took it as a sign from God and we got married right away.
"She came back with me, even though I had no money to my name. Well, twenty years and two kids later, we had our restaurant and lots-a money to spend. We went back to Europe to visit her family and finally had our honeymoon. Pammy here thinks it's just a vacation since we took the kids, but we left them in Germany with her parents. I remember they were so mad they couldn't come with us to Paris! You know what I said to them?"
Sal turned to Pamela, and she answered. "Happy wife, happy life."
"Happy wife, happy life." Sal nodded with a knowing smile. "The Honeymoon was worth the wait! We went to Poland, Romania, Greece, Italy, and France as well before picking up the kids in Germany again. Three wonderful months… What a wonderful summer!"
"It sounds like it was a lovely trip." Wonder Woman said as Sal became lost in his memories for a moment.
"It was." He pointed to something behind them, and they looked to the wall behind the booth. There was a map of Europe, and on each country he named there was a small pin placed on the spots they visited. A string was crudely tied around the pins, creating a misshapen heart. "The highlight of our love life-,"
"Thankyou, Sal," Pamela quickly cut him off.
"Right, right, what was it? TMI? I'll leave you two to your lunch." Sal blushed a little as Pamela leaned over and gave him a thank you kiss on the cheek again.
As soon as Sal left, Wonder Woman spoke up. "I thought your kisses were toxic?"
"Only when I want them to be, Princess." Pamela fluttered her eyelashes at the woman. She expected an annoyed response, or even a bashful one. She did expect to be met in kind.
"Diana." The hero gave her an attractive smile, mockingly fluttering her eyelashes in return. "Please, call me Diana."
Pamela gave a light huff but couldn't keep the smile off her lips. "Well then, Diana, our food's getting cold."
They continued to eat their meals in silence, thinking over the hint they were given. A thought came to the redhead, but it felt almost too ridiculous to even consider.
But apparently, she and Diana were thinking along the same route. "What if… the next hint is where Sal had his vacation with his wife?"
"I was thinking the same thing." She glanced up at Diana, and for the first time she noticed dark lines at the corners of the woman's eyes. "You're tired."
Diana shook her head. "I'll manage."
"If we're right our next stop is in Munich, Germany." Pamela pressed. "We can go back to my place, pack a bag, get a good night's sleep, and head out whenever we wake up."
The Amazon locked eyes with her, and they glared each other down for a moment. "I promise you, Diana, I'm far more stubborn than you are."
The taller woman watched her for a moment longer, and then sighed. "Fine."
After paying for their meal and tipping generously despite Sal's protest, Diana flew them back to Pamela's apartment. She quickly prepared her couch for the woman, having no other beds to offer other than her own leafy hammock. While Diana rested, she took the opportunity to go around and tend to her plants before scheduling a caretaker for the next two weeks at least with the possibility of a third.
Her neighbor was happy to help once she offered double the pay, and Pamela finally went to her room to turn in. Before she did, she warned her plants of the sudden plan change, and soothed them when they were unhappy about it. While petting one of her more sensitive ferns, Diana called out to her.
"You can really speak to all plant life?"
She turned to the woman and leaned against the door. "Yes, I can."
"Is it something you can turn off or on?"
"Sometimes. Depends on the state of the world around me."
Diana mulled that over for a moment. "That must be very overwhelming."
"It can be, but I've grown used to it."
The Amazon watched her for a moment, and Pamela felt strangely uneasy under her gaze. "Thank you for helping me."
"Sorry, Princess, but I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this only for Harley."
Diana shook her head. "Right. But regardless, thank you."
And with that, the woman laid down on the couch and covered herself with the large throw blanket. Pamela stared after her for a moment, more than a little confused, but she eventually shrugged it off and headed to bed herself.