"Good evening, Master Bruce," Alfred greeted Bruce in his office at his penthouse and sat a silver serving platter on a table in the room and began to pour Bruce a drink.
"Alfred," Bruce replied with a smile. "Smells great."
"You certainly are in a good mood," Alfred replied, moving the cover from the plate of steak and asparagus.
"Am I?" Bruce asked.
Alfred nodded. Bruce had been grieving very silently ever since the death of his closest childhood friend, Rachel Dawes. She had been killed nearly three months ago in an explosion after being abducted. The entire thing was orchestrated by the Joker, and Alfred could tell that it was a daily struggle not to act on his anger and assassinate the Joker. Trials were in progress, and this was the longest amount of time that the Joker had been successfully held in custody. He had been in Arhkam Asylum for the criminally insane, even though he had not yet been sentenced. No other temporary jail facilities wanted to handle him. Alfred also learned that he was transferred temporarily to an Institution in Crest Hill, an upper-class neighborhood in Bristol Township. There was plan in place to extract some type of information from the Joker using another one of the patients but Alfred was not informed with all of the details.
"I met our...liasion," Bruce referred to Adriana.
"The patient that you be using to assist you with the Joker problem?" Alfred asked politely, though the concept of Bruce using a mentally ill person due to his grievance with the Joker was something he wanted to get across. He did not approve at all.
"She's being paid very well, and she has agreed to help," Bruce replied. "I'm sure she doesn't feel used."
"She," Alfred said with a nod, then uncovering Bruce's soup. Bruce walked over to the dining table and sat his drink beside his plate.
"Yes, she," Bruce said.
"You visited the institution?" Alfred asked.
"No," Bruce answered. "Of course not. Actually she found me." He then explained how they met and how she was able to find him.
"If I may.." Alfred said skeptically, topping off Bruce's drink. "This sounds like a hoax, quite frankly. And rather risky to have a stranger knowing your true identity."
"I thought so to, but I have a feeling about this," Bruce said while cutting into his steak. "She's troubled but trustworthy. And I told her nothing. She figured it out on her own and quickly."
Bruce picked up his fork.
"She was efficient, effective," he said. "With no input. She also tried to return the check she was given. I am preceptive, and she seems like a good person."
"I see," Alfred said thoughtfully. "She sounds lovely."
"Are you being sarcastic?" Bruce laughed. "I've told you barely anything about her."
"No sarcasm from me, Master Bruce," Alfred replied. He could tell by the way the Bruce spoke about her, his tone, his facial expressions, his body language, that he was at the very least physically attracted to her. "Just be remember to be cautious. As you said, she is troubled."
"I will," Bruce said.