CHAPTER XVII
I really didn't think Harvey Dent would be one of the Joker's targets. At first, it appeared as if the Joker was simply trying to get me off the trail. One after another, city officials were either killed or, if I intervened, terribly wounded, evidence of their wrongdoings at each crime scene. Every time, the Joker was able to do exactly what he wanted. And then, like the eerie calm before a storm, he stopped. For two weeks, nothing happened. No one else was harmed, and the city council was just a fraction of what it used to be. I decided that I should take action and have a meet with Harvey Dent. I went to Jim Gordon, as usual, and asked him. "Why do you want to talk to him?" he asked. I hesitated, finally saying, "I think the Joker might try to kill him. It could just be nothing, but still…" Jim simply stared off into the distance, contemplating the decision. "Fine," he said, "But Harvey's my friend. I want to be there, too." I nodded, and Jim picked up his phone to call Harvey.
Twenty minutes later, Harvey walked into Jim's office, which was lit by a single, small lamp. As he went through the door, Harvey was unaware I was standing in the shadows. This was the first time I'd seen Harvey Dent in person. He was about six feet tall with a medium build, chiseled features, and anchorman hair. Take that with his flawlessly ironed suit and expertly polished leather shoes, he seemed like the kind of guy that you'd take as a 'white knight'. The one odd thing I noticed was his absentminded flipping of a coin. He stopped flipping the coin as he looked around the room, finally looking straight at Jim, saying, "So, now I figure you didn't call me for a few friendly glasses of ale, then." Jim crossed his arms, replying, "No, but I suppose I could pour a couple. Anyway, I've got someone who wants to talk with you." "Well, I'm here," said Harvey, looking around the room once again, "but this someone seems like the shy type." He began flipping the coin again.
I stepped out, saying, "What can I say? I was a bit of an introvert." Harvey smirked and nodded, saying, "Batman. Should've known. Do you want to join in with drinks?" "I prefer Jack Daniel's, thank you," I replied. "I see," said Harvey, still flipping the coin, "So, what do you want to talk about, exactly?" I said, "Well, first, I have my own question: what's with the coin?" Harvey stopped flipping it and said, "Oh, this old thing? Ah, I was always one for games of chance. Course, I wasn't ever into losing, so…" He turned over the coin several times, revealing it to be a coin with two heads. Jim had just poured the drinks, and I casually walked by them, pouring the tracking liquid into one glass and handing it to Harvey. I said, "Some people call that cheating." Harvey downed the ale and said, "Well, I call those people boring." He furrowed his brow and moved his tongue around, eventually saying, "Jim, the taste on this is off. Are you sure it's good?" "Very," said Jim, knocking back his glass.
I continued, "Moving on, Harvey, I want to ask you about why the Joker might want you dead or at least mutilated." Harvey stared at me for a second and said, "You're serious." "Dead serious," I said. Harvey looked at Jim and said, "The Joker only ever attacked corrupt officials, isn't that right?" Jim nodded, and Harvey went on, "See? I'm not corrupt. The Joker has no reason to go after me." I almost wanted to believe him. His eyes, smile, hair, and even shoelaces prompted a feeling of trustworthiness. But he had started flipping the coin again. It was unnerving. He didn't look at the coin once, as if it was natural. The feeling of trustworthiness was withered at the sight of the airborne coin. "I don't know," I said, circling Harvey, "I don't think the Joker has told a lie this whole time. What reason would he have for doing so now?" "He's a clown," said Harvey, shrugging, "Who knows why he does anything?" I stopped in front of Harvey and said, "I'm going to be straightforward: are you involved in any illegal activities, inside or outside your career?" Harvey stayed entirely calm, and he stopped flipping his coin.
He responded, "If this is an accusation, I don't think my presence is required anymore." "You can call it what you like," I said menacingly, "but I assure you, your presence is required as long as I say it is." Harvey looked past me at Jim and said, "Are you listening to this guy?" Jim nodded seriously, arms crossed. Harvey sighed and said, "I am the district attorney of Gotham City, one of the most prestigious cities in America, might I remind you. And let me tell you, I'm one of the reasons Gotham is what it is today. This city used to be an urban wasteland, the antithesis of a vacation spot! But look at it now. We have the wealthiest population per capita! We are on the verge of replacing electricity as a source of power! We…are the greatest city in the world." I growled, "First: per capita is based on averages. You're not accounting for the underground. Second: you said 'the verge'. That means you're not there yet, and who knows how long you'll stay where you are. Third: if this were the greatest city in the world, I wouldn't be Batman." Harvey started flipping his coin again.
Harvey suddenly regained his air of big-man-on-campus confidence. He chuckled and said, "It's been real, Bats, but I've got a dinner to get to. Jim, I'll leave you to this." As he turned to leave, I grabbed him by his jacket and slammed him on the wall, saying, "No one calls me 'Bats'. And since you're doing such a good job of keeping your trap shut, I'll let you go to your dinner. But know this: I'm going to be watching you." I let Harvey go, after which he stormed off. Jim said to me, "That last part was a little unnecessary." "Well," I said, "I'm not inclined to be maintain self-control when I'm around people who make me nervous." "The DA of Gotham makes you nervous?" asked Jim, eyebrows raised. As I went out the window, I said, "Very much so. I'm keeping my eye on him. You do the same." I went out the window to the streets below, heading to the Batcave.
When I got there, Dick met me, headphones on, Skittles in hand. "Hey," he said, "I heard what went down, and I'm going to let you know: he makes me nervous too." "Why?" I asked. Dick thought for a few moments, eventually saying, "Well, i-it's not what he said, it's how. He kind of sounded like the guys who killed my parents." "You think he did it?" I asked. "No," replied Dick, "I remember his voice, it wasn't Dent. But Harvey just seemed like he carried himself the same way: confident, seemingly charming, and prepared to tear apart anyone in his way. Oh yeah, and concerned about his physical appearance." I looked at Dick and said, "What's that supposed to mean?" He said, "When my dad started getting mad," said Dick, "He started, like, poking the guy. The guy reacted like my dad had just given him a shiner. When you, I assume, got up in Dent's grill, he reacted the same way." I thought back to the look of indignation Harvey had given me earlier. "You're right," I said, "He did." Dick nodded.
I walked over to the computer desk, where the GS4 was sitting, connected by a cable to the monitors. On the screen was the tracking program. Harvey was at an expensive restaurant downtown. I said to Dick, "I'm going to be here for a while. You don't have to stay." "No, I want to," said Dick, "If you fall asleep I'm hitting you with War & Peace." I laughed and said, "That might actually help." I sat in front of the computers for hours, waiting to see any irregularities in Harvey's movements. Unfortunately, there seemed to be none. Eventually we were literally just watching him sleep. Dick, who had already had two buckets of popcorn, burped and said, "I'm starting to feel a little guilty. Although, I guess in situations like this, it's the norm for nothing in a distinguished man's life to be sacred." I nodded and said, "Ah, it's unlikely he'll move in the next few hours. I'm going to see if I can get some sleep." "I will, too, then," said Dick, keeping close behind me.
When I went into my room, I set the GS4 to alert me if Harvey moved somewhere else, and drifted off. When I woke up, I was refreshed, and the GS4 showed that Harvey was still at his house. This is SO much better than just sitting at the computers for days on end, I thought. I went into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal with milk. Dick shambled in, saying hoarsely, "You didn't opt for chocolate milk? Chump." He chugged a full glass of water and sighed contentedly. I said, "You're not getting breakfast?" "Not right now," said Dick, his voice restored, "I'm just going to let myself wake up with a bit of Macbeth." "The original version?" I asked. "No," said Dick, "The No Fear version. Trying to read the original is like trying to read the Rosetta Stone." Having read the original for high school (as a drug addict, no less), I nodded. Dick walked off, leaving me with my breakfast. Eventually, Alfred walked in, already fully awake, dressed casually. He said, "Oh, good morning, Master Wayne." I looked at him and said, "How are you so alert at this hour?" "It certainly helps that I wake up at six o' clock sharp every morning, I suppose," said Alfred.
Around 9:15, the GS4 alerted me that Harvey was at the courthouse. I looked up who his client was. It turned out he was defending Michael Frigetti, a suspected crime boss. I was compelled to head to the courthouse as Batman. Upon arriving, I noticed that court was already in session, and Harvey was using all the clichéd methods you see in movies. But somehow, it was working, probably thanks in part to the fact he would make it even better in the modeling business than in law. The prosecutor got more and more agitated as time wore on, giving a clear indicator that Harvey was winning. And then Harvey began flipping his coin. I got it: whenever the man's confidence was reinstated, he began flipping the coin. But then a complication arose that would change the course of my journey as Batman forever.
The Joker and his buddies, including Harley, burst in. The Joker was dressed in a purple suit and brown leather shoes, almost as if he was a clown DA. He began with a shout of, "I OBJECT!" He pointed directly at the judge as he said this, continuing in his usual peculiar manner, "To what, exactly, I'm not entirely sure, but this is a courthouse. There's always something to object to." It was that moment I decided I should literally drop in. I landed in front of the Joker, saying, "Step away from the attorney." The Joker looked up towards the spot where I'd gotten in. He said, "Well, this is already fun." He made a quick jab to my midsection. I caught his fist and twisted it, the Joker showing no signs of pain. Smiley quickly raised one of his guns, and I lunged out of the way as he fired. The bullet instead hit Harvey in the shin. He yelled in pain as Kami and Chester went to drag him out of the building.
I attempted to take them down, but Smiley body-slammed me, knocking me to the floor. I punched him in the face several times, the Joker standing idly by. By the time I'd gotten up and kicked Smiley in the groin, the Joker and Harvey and the others were gone. I held Smiley up by his bulletproof vest, yelling, "Where are they going?" "You'll have to find out yourself," he replied smugly. I dropped him, running to the Batmobile, preparing to follow the Joker.