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Chapter 2:

"There has to be some other way" Gordon hissed in disagreement.

"If you have a better plan, I'd love to hear it" Jessie told him quietly. "I went over all the possible ways I could get on the inside and this is the best one. I know it's cliché—"

"Maroni would never fall for it, it's the oldest trick in the book" Gordon argued.

"Because it works" she whispered impatiently.

Gordon remained silent, but Jessie didn't dare look at him and instead acted like she was invested in the book she was reading. They've been arguing for what felt like an hour to her at a deserted bus stop. Gordon was in his suit while Jessie wore a dark green shirt with faded jeans, sitting on the bench behind him and facing the opposite direction. It wasn't the greatest location to meet but it was better than Gordon's office. She'd heard rumors about Maroni having people inside the police force and wasn't going to take any chances of being overheard.

"Listen…" she exhaled, hitching the book just a little higher to hide her mouth. "This is my least favorite method too, but we have a better chance of getting somewhere. I'm doing it tonight, with or without your approval"

Gordon sighed deeply. "You're going to go through with this plan?" he said more as a statement than a question.

"Yes"

"And there's nothing I can do to talk you out of it otherwise?"

"No"

He obviously wasn't convinced about the plan but he stood up and smoothed out the front of his coat before saying "I'll go with your instincts this time, detective. However, I expect you to meet me halfway with a compromise"

Jessie was quiet for a moment as she thought it over. "I suppose it's the least I can do for my biggest client" she agreed.

She heard him chuckle softly. "Good. We'll discuss it tonight then"

"I won't be a minute late" she promised.

Jessie gave the tiniest of nods as Gordon walked away. She stayed at the bus stop just for a while longer to avoid suspicion in case someone was watching, hoping she looked like the young college student she was attempting to be. It wasn't too far from the truth…

Her eyes scanned the sidewalk twice, looking for any suspicious figures. When she was sure she wasn't being watched, she picked up her bag and started walking back towards her apartment.


When Jessie stepped inside she was shocked to see Harley sprawled on the couch in her bra and underwear with a half empty bottle of wine on the coffee table.

"Harleen Quinzel, I thought we said no nudity in the living room!" Jessie said sharply.

"There's two things I hate in this world, job-hunting and men!" she declared dramatically, throwing her arm over her eyes.

She stared in confusion before she realized the meaning behind her statement. "Oh Christ, not this again…" she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose before reluctantly plopping down in the seat by Harley, almost tripping over the grey shirt that was laying at the foot of the table. "Alright, what happened this time?" she sighed, resting her chin in her palm.

"Ben g-ghosted me. And then I got this in the mail t-today" she hiccupped tipsily, tossing a creased piece of on her lap. "Read it"

Jessie unfolded it quizzically. "'Dear Miss. Quinzel…'" she read aloud "'We appreciate you taking the time to apply with us here at Blackgate Penitentiary. However, we regret to inform you that we currently don't have a position to offer at this time. We'd like to thank you for your interest—'"

"Don't have a position, my ass! That's just a nice way of saying that they don't want me" she pouted. Jessie opened her mouth but abruptly stopped when she raised a sharp finger. "I swear if you give me any fortune-cookie wisdom, I'm gonna hit you" Harley snapped dryly.

She made a face. "First of all, when have I ever given any fortune-cookie wisdom?" she replied sarcastically, tossing the paper back to Harley. "And secondly, why are you applying to penitentiaries? Did Gotham General let you go?"

"No, no, it's not like that…" she said, "They have a great psychology department and all, but I think it's time for a change"

Jessie made a face, knowing Harley had only been working at Gotham General for a year. "Does this have anything to do with that guy you were with?" she asked delicately.

Harley groaned and threw an arm over her eyes so Jessie could only see her flushed cheeks. "Turns out he's an intern at Gotham General. He took one look at me and then ran off like I was the plague! I mean I know it was a one night stand, but I liked him" she said, rubbing her tear-stained cheeks.

Jessie swallowed back an exasperated sigh. "Well, he's missing out" she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Am I easy?" she moaned sadly.

"No, Harley, you're not. You just…fall in love a little easily, that's all" Jessie assured, struggling to find the right words as she patted her shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, she wasn't the psychologist.

Harley rolled over like a cat and dangled her head off the edge of the sofa, eyes staring at her. "Why can't I be like you, Jess?"

"Like me? What does that mean?" Jessie scoffed with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, smart and prude" she said, waving her hand up theatrically and knocking over the wine glass. "Ow…" she mumbled, rubbing her knuckles.

Jessie frowned at her comment and then at the spill. "Okay, can we at least try not getting more wine stains on the carpet? They're a bitch to get out" she said, grabbing the roll of paper towels from the kitchen. Harley was somehow a functioning and sloppy drunk at the same time. She patted down several paper towels on the carpet and then cleaned the spill on the table. "And I'm not a prude" she added defensively.

"Sure, Jess, whatever…" Harley muttered sarcastically

"You know, I thought we were talking about you" she said rigorously.

"I don't want to talk about me…" she whined, "Talking about you is a better distraction…"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, at the very least can you put on some clothes?" she huffed exasperatedly, tossing the grey shirt at the foot of the table her friend. Harley mumbled something incoherent and pulled the shirt over her head. "And since you're so eager to talk about me, I need a new favor" Jessie continued, patting wads of paper towels on the carpet. "I need to borrow your stilettos for tonight"

Harley frowned in disbelief and Jessie could practically read her mind, as if her thoughts were being broadcast on her forehead. It was weird enough asking her to borrow a dress let alone her stilettos "What exactly is this new job of yours?" she asked suspiciously.

"I can't give you details, all I can say is that I'll be hanging around the wrong kind of people for a while"

Harley's eyebrows knit together as she turned on her stomach. "And what exactly will you be doing?" she probed sternly, almost like a mother that caught her child sneaking out in the middle of the night.

"I need to get information out of some guy, so I plan on seducing him" Jessie replied casually, crumpling the used paper towels in a ball and tossed them in the kitchen's waste bin.

Harley widened her eyes as if Jessie just told her that she was the Batman. Harley was silent for a solid minute before she burst out laughing and rolled—actually, rolled— off the couch, clutching her stomach. Jessie was bemused to say the least and wondered if it was possible to laugh yourself sober because Harley seemed to be doing just that.

"Oh my god, that's—that's the greatest thing I've ever heard!" Harley cried in laughter. "Thanks a lot, Jess, you made my crappy day so much better!"

"What's so funny?" Jessie demanded in annoyance.

"Oh god…" Harley started to say, wiping a tear from her eye as her laughter died down. She looked to Jess, whose expression was far from amused. "Oh…oh, you're serious?"

"Have I ever joked about my job before?" she asked sarcastically as Harley stood up with her arms crossed and the amused look on her face turned into one of disbelief. "I'm not clueless, you know" she muttered defensively.

"I'm not saying you are, sweetie. I'm just saying that, well, you know how you are about all the intimate stuff; this is a huge leap"

Harleen Quinzel, friend and shrink.

It was true, Jessie had, well, trust issues...which ultimately led to her having certain problems with intimacy. She wasn't one to let her guard down easily, or at all for that matter. Harley was the only who knew. Of course, if you couldn't confide in your therapist friend about something like that who can you trust?

She didn't have as many sexual relations as her either but she was more of a late-bloomer than a prude as Harley loved to tease her for. The girls she'd briefly known throughout her life loved to sit in circles and brag about the things they did and how they lost their virginity in high school (or some even earlier than that) while she lost hers in college. It just happened and didn't think it needed to be discussed in detail. Hell, the only person she told was Harley.

"I'll be fine" Jessie assured

Harley folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter, not even trying to hide the concerned look on her face.

"Are you sure? I can come with you if you want" she insisted.

It was funny, if Harley had chosen to be a private detective then she would've been really good at it, maybe even better than her. Harley was beautiful, tan, blonde and was blessed with a nice figure. She was good at socializing and thrived off of interaction with other people while Jessie enjoyed having time to herself, watching crime documentaries with cheap wine. They were about as different as two people could get, it was amazing they even got along. Although in hindsight it was probably because of Harley's persistence they became friends at all. If Harley was taking on this mission she wouldn't have to try hard to get a man's attention, a mobster man no less. She could have men throwing themselves at her feet.

"I appreciate that, Harls, really. But I can handle it" she stated, "This isn't something you want to get caught up in. Besides, if I'd let my personal issues stop me I would've been out of this job a long time ago"

Jessie was relieved to see the ends of her mouth twitch up in a grin. "You're sure?"

"Yeah" she affirmed "Give me some credit, I know how to flirt. I learned from you, didn't I?" she added, nudging Harley's arm good-naturedly.

At that, Harley's grin turned into a contempt frown. Jessie pursed her lips.

"Er, bad joke?" she asked sheepishly.

"Bad joke at a bad time" Harley corrected.

Jessie sighed. "Alright, look, after tonight I'll stop by and grab some ice cream and we'll have a movie night, get your mind off of it. Sound good?"

Harley cocked her head to the side interestedly, thinking it over. "As long as it's cookie dough" she compromised.

"Deal"


That night, Harley helped her pick out the right clothes and ended up choosing a short red satin top with a deep V-neck (that belonged to Jessie), ripped black shorts, and knee-high stiletto boots (both of which belonged to Harley). Jessie examined herself in the mirror several times, she's definitely going to catch Maroni's attention in this. It was amazing what a difference some effort could make. Jessie wasn't bad looking per say, she just wasn't Harley. Jessie was skinny with light olive complexion, dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Jessie unplugged Harley's curling iron and tossed her hair behind her shoulders, satisfied with the way it turned out. Harley walked into the bathroom and playfully scrunched up her hair.

"You clean up nicely" Harley complimented.

"Thanks" Jessie replied and walked towards her bedroom and Harley followed, leaning against the doorframe as Jessie picked up the little black purse on her bed.

"You be careful, got it?" Harley told her sternly.

Jessie walked over to her nightstand and took out her gun, the one she always kept in the top drawer of her nightstand by her bedside. She made sure the safety was on and slipped it into her purse.

"Always am" she said with a smirk, hanging the purse on her shoulder. Jessie hated not having her gun on her person, but it wasn't going to be possible with the outfit she was wearing. One little glimpse of the gun and her cover would be blown. Walking through the narrow hallway into the living room, she grabbed her jacket from the counter and put it on. "Don't worry, I won't forget the ice cream" she grinned.

"Knock 'em dead, gorgeous" Harley said as she locked the door behind her.


Jessie stood outside The Mist nightclub, the loud music was barely muffled by the doors. She zipped her leather jacket up to her chest and waited. It was ten o'clock already. Gordon should be here. Just as the thought crossed her mind, a dark car with tinted windows drove slowly by her and parked itself in the alley across the street.

"Not very subtle, lieutenant" she muttered, her heels clicking against the pavement as she crossed the street. Gordon was just stepping out of the car when she entered the alley and much to her surprise, so was someone from the passenger side of the car.

"Detective,"

"Lieutenant" Jessie greeted, glancing briefly at the guy who stepped out of the passenger side with a confused frown on her face. He was dressed casually in jeans, a t-shirt and hoodie. His brown hair was combed to the side and his green eyes watched her curiously. He looked older than her, though not by much.

"Detective Hargrove, this is Officer Thomas Murphy. Tommy, this is Jessica Hargrove" Gordon introduced.

"Nice to meet you" he said, outstretching his hand.

"Likewise" she replied uncertainly, shaking his hand. "I'm sorry, why is he here?" she asked in confusion

"With the way things are, I won't always be on hand for this task so I'm assigning Officer Murphy here to help you" he explained.

Jessie looked from one man to the other with raised eyebrows and scoffed. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't need a partner. I've done this before" she told him.

"Not with the Mob, you haven't" Gordon refuted, removing a small box from inside his jacket.

"Lieutenant, as a private investigator I've—"

"I agree to let you do this mission whichever way you see fit, in return I asked you to meet me halfway with a compromise" he interrupted.

Jessie opened her mouth to argue but quickly shut it, knowing Gordon was as stubborn as she was and wouldn't take no for an answer. She pursed her lips and nodded stiffly as he opened the small box in his hand to reveal three earpieces.

"Take these. If anything goes awry, we'll know" he said, as they each took one earpiece and placed it in their left ear.

"Let's just get this over with. I have a heartbroken roommate to take care of…"

"Alright Jessie, you'll go in first. Tommy, wait ten minutes and then go inside, we don't want to rouse suspicion. Stay on the far end of the club and keep an eye out for Maroni"

"Yes sir" Tommy nodded.

Jessie unzipped her jacket and draped it around her shoulders as she walked back across the street. With every step Jessie took the more she realized how much she preferred posing as a drug addict than, well, a glorified hooker. She stood outside the club for a moment, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

This should be nothing, she thought to herself.

She pushed open the heavy doors and flashed her fake ID to the bouncer (the only difference really was that it had her alias on it) and entered the club. The air conditioning hit her hard, giving her goosebumps on her skin, and she could already feel the music pulsing loudly in her veins. It was obvious why they called it The Mist, the fog machine made a thick layer on the floor making the whole room look misty. She moved through the crowd of people towards the bar and sat on one of the fancy cushioned stools, awkwardly tugging on one of the thin straps of her shirt.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Vodka cranberry, please" she replied in a falsely sweet voice, leaning against the counter.

"Jessie, can you hear me?" Gordon spoke into her earpiece.

"Yes" she said under her breath, pretending to yawn as she spoke and covered her mouth.

"Any sign of Maroni or the others?"

"Not yet" she said as the bartender returned with her drink. She raised her glass in gratitude and smiled as the bartender went to help the other patrons. Jessie took a quick whiff from her glass before taking a sip. The smell of alcohol was always better than the mixed smell of sweat and cheap perfume that all nightclubs seemed to have. She turned around in her seat with her legs crossed and scanned the club. It was packed with exactly the kind of people one would expect in a place like this.

There were the sloppy drunks who danced precariously on tables, the burly security guard who either took his job too seriously or didn't give a single fuck about it, there was a rowdy group of guys in the corner and judging by the rolled up dollar on their table it wasn't hard to guess what they were doing, and of course the girls who were most likely drinking legally for the first time.

All these people, but no Maroni. She didn't even flit her eyes upward when Tommy entered the club. She squinted through all the flashing lights trying to find the Italian mobster.

Thirty-five minutes went by and Jessie was getting to the bottom of her drink when Tommy spoke into her earpiece.

"I see him. Your three o'clock, Miss. Hargrove"

Bringing the glass to her lips, she stopped and looked out of the out of the corner of her eye, twitching her head only slightly to the right. Sure enough, Maroni was sitting on one of the red L shaped couches in the corner with two voluptuous blonde women around his arms to which Jessie couldn't help but wonder if his wife knew about. He looked exactly like the picture Gordon had given her; tall, broad-shouldered man with black and grey hair in his mid to late fifties.

Jessie downed what little was left of her drink and tossed her hair over one shoulder as she stood up, brushing her way around people. She walked around the area where Maroni was sitting, stroking his shoulder as she walked by. Maroni turned in confusion as Jessie gave him what she hoped was a convincing seductive smile and arched her eyebrows.

"Hi," she said flirtatiously.

Maroni raised an eyebrow, giving her an up-and-down look. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?"

"No, not really. I just can't keep my hands to myself sometimes" she replied sweetly, trailing her hand along his shoulders as she walked around the couch.

"Careful Jessie, don't overdo it" Gordon spoke into her earpiece, causing Jessie to bite her tongue in annoyance.

He didn't take his eyes off her as sat on the table in front of him. The women on either of Maroni scowled at her and moved closer against him territorially. However, she ignored them.

"Mind if I party with you?" she asked, stretching her legs out in front of her and crossed her ankles. Jessie cocked her head to one side, smiling expectantly as his eyes drifted to her legs and then back up to her face, examining her.

"Don't you have homework to do or something?" he scoffed. Jessie was taken aback by his rhetorical question but composed herself before it could show. Before she could come up with something to say, Maroni shook his head and smirked. "You're not my type, kiddo. Get lost" he said, pointing his chin up sharply.

"Oh come on, I'm fun girl" she said, leaning forward.

"Miss. Hargrove, forget it. He's not falling for it" Tommy spoke.

"He's right, Jessie. Abort the mission now" Gordon agreed.

Jessie pretended to scratch her ear and turned off her earpiece, she wasn't going to back out yet. Maroni's eyebrows twitched upward, he was interested if only for a moment but then waved his hand once. The burly security guard in the corner pushed himself off the wall and began to make his way over.

Shit, Jessie thought and slowly stood up. A strong hand came down on her shoulder as bumped into someone behind her as she was backing away.

"How do you always snag the beautiful women?"

Jessie turned around to see a tall black man in a black suit and receding hairline, judging by his build and demeanor he was clearly a bodyguard. It occurred to her that it wasn't him who spoke, but the man behind him who seemed to be his boss. Another black man in a navy blue suit; he was taller than the one holding her arm, with broad square shoulders and a chest that stuck out, a full head of hair, diamond studs in his ears, and a neatly shaped goatee around his mouth.

While it was obvious that Maroni was the kind of man that preferred to use brute force or a bullet to make a point. Just by his demeanor it was obvious he preferred to use his fists to teach someone a lesson or bash someone's skull if they even looked at him the wrong way. While both men commanded attention when they entered a room in their own way, his was a bit more intimidating than Maroni's.

Before Jessie could wonder why a man with such a commanding presence could ever need a bodyguard she realized this was the other mobster.

Gambol.

She straightened up and relaxed her shoulders, pretending to check him out. "Oh, who's your friend?" she asked the bodyguard.

Jessie turned around but the bodyguard didn't loosen his grip on her arm, but Gambol patted his shoulder. "It's alright, Chuck" he said, letting his bodyguard aside and raised his head to look at her then glanced at Maroni.

"Maroni, we got a dude over in the corner that's watching us. Think he might be a cop" Gambol said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

Jessie's gaze went to where he was pointing and felt her chest tighten. He was pointing at Tommy.

Not good. She had to think of something fast.

"Oh, he's been watching me ever since I walked in here. The guy just won't take his eyes off me!" she exaggerated, bringing Gambol and Maroni's attention back to her. Gambol glanced at his bodyguard who shrugged as if to say he did start watching us when she got here…

Gambol turned his attention back to Jessie, giving her a once over. There was interest and suspicion in his eyes at the same time, but she ignored the latter and stepped closer so that they were only a foot apart, lightly running her hand up his arm. "So...you got a name, handsome?"

He was quiet for a long time until she noticed the ends of his mouth twitch. "Gambol" he smirked.

"Gambol…ooh, I like that name" she said, moving her hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck. His eyes darted from her lips to her chest which was showing a generous amount of cleavage. She pursed her lips, contemplating if he'd be easier to seduce than Maroni.

"Never seen you here before, kid. What're you doin' in my club?" Maroni asked sharply behind her.

"I'm new, just moved here and was browsing around for a good nightclub" she explained, looking over her shoulder at him. "You know, trying to make new friends…" she added to Gambol, whose eyes went up to meet hers. "What do you say, handsome? Want to be friends?" she said, keeping one hand behind his neck and the other on his chest and felt his on the small of her back. Some of her muscles tensed as he pulled her closer, but she had him hooked in.

He was quiet and she could feel Maroni's eyes watching them. "You don't know who we are do you, sweetheart?" Gambol stated and Maroni made a noise behind her.

She widened her eyes. "Should I?" she asked innocently, glancing from Maroni to Gambol curiously.

"We're dangerous men" Gambol said shortly, as if they worked boring nine to five jobs.

"Oh? Maybe I like danger" she remarked interestedly, but with a hint of surprise.

"A nice kid like you wouldn't want to get messed up with us" Gambol told her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him move his hand up to push a lock of hair behind her ear. He'd see the earpiece!

Jessie quickly intertwined her fingers with his, casually and slowly bringing his hand away from her face. She felt her heart thud rapidly in her chest. Just to distract him a little further, she reached up to his mouth as if she was going to kiss him, Gambol raised his eyebrows and waited for her lips to meet his. "I'll take a gamble" she whispered on his lips and pulled away to see his surprised expression.

The ends of his mouth twitched into grin. "That's cute" he chuckled.

"And I'm not a kid, handsome" she added cheekily, patting his chest and moving her hands away. Jessie looked over his shoulder to see Tommy subtly tapping the watch on his wrist. "Sorry, guess I overstayed my welcome" she said and began to walk away when Gambol grabbed her wrist.

"I didn't catch your name" he said.

Jessie pursed her lips in a smirk; he was in her palm now. She turned her head and smiled. "Guess you'll have to catch it the next time you see me" she winked, letting her hand brush off his. "Gentlemen…" she nodded good-bye and walked away.

Jessie took a deep breath once she was far enough, leaving the club and crossed the street to meet Gordon. The lieutenant stepped out of the car as soon as she entered the alley.

"Jessie, what the hell happened in there?!" Gordon demanded.

"A little extra time got me right where I needed to be" she replied.

"I said to abort the mission" he said harshly.

"And I managed to catch the interest of one of the mobsters" Jessie argued.

Gordon opened his mouth when he raised his head and looked over her shoulder. She turned around to see Tommy walking out of the club, she sighed and put her hands on her hips as he joined them.

"Nice job, you almost blew our cover. Gambol and Maroni saw you watching them" Jessie told him.

"Gambol?" Gordon asked in surprise.

"Yeah, he was in there" she replied, turning back to him. "I'm gonna work him instead. Apparently I'm not Maroni's type" she said.

Gordon sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I told you to abort the mission, what if something happened in there"

"I'm always prepared" Jessie confronted impatiently, patting her purse.

"So what now?" Tommy asked.

Jessie turned to him. "You are not going to anything. Things would've turned really ugly if they found out you were a cop, this is why I work alone" she snapped.

"We had a deal, detective. Otherwise this mission is over" Gordon warned.

Jessie stared coldly at him. She already started, she couldn't back out now, not when she caught Gambol's eye. She sighed heavily. "Fine," she said begrudgingly, and turned back to Tommy. "But I can't afford to have Gambol getting suspicious. If you could stay in the car until I give a signal or say otherwise"

"I can do that" Tommy agreed almost immediately.

Jessie blinked, surprised he was so quick to comply. Both of them looked to Gordon, who sighed heavily again.

"Alright, so what now?" Gordon asked her.

"Well, we know Gambol spends some time here at Maroni's club. I'll come back in another or two day. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling from there" she planned, pushing her hair out from behind as she zipped up her jacket.

Gordon furrowed his eyebrows. "I'll go with whatever you think is right, but if things get too dangerous this mission is over"

"Fair enough" she nodded.

"Good, so we're done for tonight" Gordon told them. "Do you need a ride home, Miss. Hargrove?"

"No. I appreciate it, but there's something I have to do" she said before they parted ways.


Being out alone at night was probably the worst thing one could do in Gotham city. Even with the Batman around, crime wasn't exactly at an all-time low and it didn't help that some Arkham inmates were still loose. But as long as Jessie had her gun, she'd be okay.

Gotham's streets were always abuzz with activity as soon as the sun went down. The street down from her apartment complex was proof of that. Soon teenagers were spray-painting graffiti in an alley she passed by. Vendors who smiled forcibly at every person who they thought would approach their stand.

As she came up to the twenty-four hour convenience store, a group of prostitutes were hanging outside taking long drags of their cigarettes as she walked past. Jessie didn't look twice at them and entered the store, briefly glancing at the sleepy-looking cashier.

There wasn't a hesitation in her step as she walked through the liquor section and grabbed the cheapest wine bottle they had, some sugar, and then made her way to the frozen section. Her eyes scanned lazily through the frosted glass until she finally opened one of the freezers and took out a carton of ice cream, smiling.

"Always cookie dough" she murmured and made her way over to the register.


This chapter went through a lot of rewrites, but I hope it's not too choppy or boring. It might seem like an uneventful chapter but it's being set up for things to come ;)

Please review! :)