That evening, Jack was still in high spirits as he entered Harley's diner, and she noticed. "You look happy," she commented. "Good day?"
"Great day, toots!" he exclaimed, beaming at her. "I met the most fascinating person this morning, and I haven't stopped smiling since!"
"Oh," said Harley, frowning slightly. "A…woman?" she asked, tentatively.
He laughed. "Would you be jealous if I said yes?" he asked, grinning at her.
"No," she said, hastily. "Why would I be jealous? You could be married for all I know. Although I can't help but think that if you were married, your wife might object to you spending so much time away from her in the evenings."
"I'm not married," he replied. "Haven't found the right woman yet. Or have I?" he asked, grinning at her again.
She blushed. "So this person you met this morning was a man?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's in the name and all – Batman," agreed Jack, nodding.
Harley stared at him. "You…met Batman this morning?" she stammered.
"Well, we weren't properly introduced or nothing, but I watched him work," he replied. "He's a really impressive guy in person."
"I believe it," said Harley. "But I didn't know he hung around in the daylight."
"Neither did I – that's what made it so special," said Jack. "Thought it would be just a regular morning at the bank, but then he drops in and completely changes everything."
"You were there when that bank was being robbed?" asked Harley. "I read about it in the paper – they said Batman took out most of the Valestra gang. Was your friend arrested?"
"Nah, Jack Napier escaped," replied Jack. "I didn't know he'd be there robbing it, or I never would have gone to the bank, obviously. But it certainly was an exciting morning!"
"I'm glad you're safe," said Harley. "And I'm glad Jack Napier wasn't arrested. I have a…favor I'd like you to ask him."
"I'm sure he'd be happy to oblige any favor asked by a pretty girl," said Jack, smiling at her.
She blushed again. "Well, I…did a draft of my essay based on what you told me about crime being fun and all, and I gave it to my professor this morning, but he said it couldn't be true. He said he's dealt with hundreds of criminals, and that's never been a reason to commit crimes. He got really mad because he thought I was lied to, and he told me I needed to change my essay topic. But I don't want to do that because I believe you and Jack, and I'm sure Professor Crane would too if he met him. So…could you ask Jack Napier to come to Professor Crane's office at the university and talk to him? I won't be there, so you don't need to worry about that, but maybe if Professor Crane heard the reason from Jack's own lips, he'd change his mind."
Jack stared at her. "Uh…no, kid, I don't think he can do that," he stammered. "I mean, I'm sure he'd love to help you out and all…"
"Please, Mr. J," she begged. "If you're his best friend, I know you can convince him. And this final paper really means a lot to me – it's worth most of my grade. If I get a bad grade on it, I won't pass the class or keep my scholarship, and then my lifelong dream of being a psychiatrist will be over before it's even begun."
"Can't you just pick a different topic?" he asked. "If that's what your professor wants, I mean…"
"I want him to believe me," she said. "And you, and Jack. It's really important to me."
She gazed at him with her wide, pleading blue eyes, and Jack felt himself relenting despite his better judgment. "All right," he muttered. "I'll ask Jack. But you gotta promise you won't be there when he meets your professor. I don't trust Jack Napier around you, like I said."
"I promise," said Harley, nodding. "Oh, thank you, Mr. J!" she exclaimed, hugging him suddenly over the counter. "You're just the nicest, sweetest guy in the whole wide world!"
He laughed. "You're crazy, kid, you know that?" he murmured, returning the hug.
"Maybe I am," she agreed, drawing away with a smile. "Doncha like it?"
He was looking at her in a way that made her heart soar, and he suddenly reached out a hand and touched her cheek. "I like it a lot," he murmured, drawing her face closer to his. Harley could feel her cheeks burning - her breath sped up and her eyes shut as his lips drew closer to hers…
And then her eyes suddenly snapped open as the bell above the door rang, and a voice said, "Jack?"
Jack whirled around to see Salvatore Valestra staring at him, and he instantly panicked. "Sal!" he exclaimed, standing up and stepping in front of Harley. "What are you…doing here?"
"I was out taking a walk to clear my head, and saw you sitting in here," said Valestra. "And then I thought a cup of coffee might be nice – it's a cold night out there. Black coffee, sweetheart," he said, nodding at Harley.
"Right…right away," stammered Harley, whose face was still flushed. She hurried to pour a cup for him, and brought it back over to the counter, where Valestra had taken the seat next to Jack.
Valestra looked from her to Jack. "Won't you introduce me?" he asked.
"This is Harley – she works here most nights," said Jack. "Harley, this is…Salvatore Valestra."
"Salvatore Valestra?" repeated Harley, staring at him. "Head of the Valestra gang?"
"That's me, sweetheart," agreed Valestra, smiling and lighting up a cigarette despite the sign forbidding smoking. Harley didn't care – she was too stunned at meeting a criminal.
"So you…know Jack Napier," she said.
Valestra stared at her in confusion. "Uh…yeah," he said, slowly. "And so do you. He's…"
Jack kicked him under the counter to silence him, and Valestra turned from his glaring face to Harley again. "Uh…that is…yeah, I do know him, why do you ask?" he said.
"I'm just curious – Mr. J has mentioned him a few times, and said he was a member of your gang," said Harley, nodding at Jack. "I'm hoping he can help with a paper I'm writing for college."
"Well, I'm…sure he can," said Valestra, still confused as to what was going on. "He's a…helpful guy. Got us out of a spot of bother with the Batman today. But you're a college kid, huh? That's too bad. A pretty girl should never ruin her looks by learning too much," he added, smiling at her.
Harley assumed he was joking, and laughed. "I don't think I need to worry about that with my looks," she replied.
"Well, I admit the glasses aren't ideal, but you're pretty hot aside from that," said Valestra, studying her closely. "Small, tight, little body, curvy and perky where it counts. And there's really nothing like a young girl – I bet you're all naïve and innocent and off on your own for the first time, huh?"
"Uh…yeah, I guess," agreed Harley, feeling uncomfortable.
"Haven't been to any frat parties yet, huh?" he asked. "I've heard about those things, where they get the girls drunk and passed out so the guys can get their hands all over them. Your first time shouldn't be that way. And it will be your first time, won't it? You haven't been broken in as a woman yet, have you? That's good, toots. You shouldn't let a boy do a thing like that – you should always let a man show you what it means to be a woman."
"Sal, let's go," said Jack, standing up suddenly. "I need to talk to you about Jack Napier in private. I'm concerned about him."
Valestra smiled. "Shame," he said, grinning at Harley. "I always hate to leave a pretty girl right in the middle of things."
He tossed some bills on the counter and left, with Jack following close behind him. The moment they had left the diner, Jack seized Valestra around the collar and dragged him into an alley. "You leave her the hell alone!" Jack hissed. "You hear me?! Stay away from her, or I'll kill you myself!"
"Don't you dare threaten me!" snarled Valestra, shoving him away. He had never seen Jack this seriously enraged before, and it was as bizarre as it was frightening. "What the hell is your problem? And what's with this pretending not to be Jack Napier?"
"It's none of your business – just stay away from her, and don't ever come back here!" snapped Jack.
"Why? You wanna be the one to break her in, is that it?" asked Valestra. "And you figure she'll never let you screw her if you reveal who you really are. Nice girls don't like bad guys, after all…"
"I'm not going to touch her, and neither are you!" hissed Jack. "She doesn't deserve to be polluted by the likes of us! She's a sweet kid, and she deserves so much better! And she'll never find so much better if she's ruined by crime and sin, and that's what we are, Sal! That's what we're made of. Beauty and ugliness don't go together – innocence and vice don't go together. They can't. All they can do is destroy."
"Jack, you've put this kid up on some kinda pedestal, like she's an angel or something," said Valestra. "But she ain't. She's a woman, a very attractive young woman, but she's got the same vices as any other woman, the same urges as any other woman, the same body as any other woman…"
"Don't you think about her like that!" shouted Jack. "I'm dead serious, Sal! You go away from here and you never come back! You never see her again, just like I never will! I'm warning you! Don't cross me!"
Valestra smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it, Jack," he replied, tipping his hat at him and heading off into the night.
Jack watched him leave, and then turned and trudged back to his apartment. He had let a moment of madness seize him earlier – he had been in such a good mood from the Batman encounter that he had almost kissed Harley. It would have been the best day of his life. But now it was the worst day of his life, because he hadn't kissed her, and Valestra knew about her. The latter was worrying, but the former was a relief. As much as he wanted to kiss her, had he done so, it would have messed up her entire life. His kiss would have tainted her, and infected her with his depravity. It was too close of a call. He knew he couldn't let himself be around her anymore, since he clearly couldn't control himself in her presence anymore. He would do this favor for her, go see her professor like she had asked, and then he would write her a note explaining everything. And he would never see her again.