That evening, Jack dropped Harley off at the diner, and then drove to a truck rental company based in Valestra's territory. "Jack, we aren't due for another payment yet, are we?" asked the owner, coming out to greet Jack nervously.
"Nah, Mikey, I got a favor to ask you in lieu of next month's payment," replied Jack, getting out of his car and shutting the door. "I need to borrow one of your trucks tonight."
"Of course, whatever Mr. Valestra wants…" began Mikey.
"Mr. Valestra is dead," interrupted Jack. "He was the victim of an unfortunate accident – he ran into a knife blade several hundred times. I'm running things now, and I'm happy to waive next month's payment for this little favor."
"Oh," said Mikey, clearly stunned. "Uh…sure, Jack, whatever you want."
"Thank you," said Jack, heading over to a garbage truck. "I'm going to need to borrow this one, so I hope it ain't trash night."
"Uh…no, that's fine," said Mikey. "Just…uh…try and bring it back in good condition…if you can, I mean," he added, hastily.
"Don't worry, Mikey – I got a lotta trash to move, but it's nothing that'll mess up the upholstery," retorted Jack, climbing into the truck. "I'm also gonna need your hat and jumpsuit," he added.
"Oh…ok," said Mikey, stepping out of his jumpsuit and handing over his hat. "Just…try and bring those back in good condition too, please."
"If this goes off without a hitch, there won't be a mark on them," retorted Jack, pulling them on over his suit. "But no guarantees."
Mikey wanted to inquire what this meant, but thought better of it, and kept silent as Jack drove off in the garbage truck. Jack drove to the jail, parking the truck in the lot behind the building where the garbage dumpsters were located. Then he stepped out of the truck, heading across the street to the power lines. He scaled one of the poles, and reached into his pocket to withdraw a pair of bolt cutters, which he used to cut all the wires. When he saw the lights were out in the jail, he climbed back down the pole and returned to the parking lot, knocking on the door to the kitchen.
He waited several minutes until it was answered by a police officer. "Oh…is there some problem with the trash collection?" he asked, noticing Jack's truck and uniform.
"No, sir, I was just emptying the garbage when I saw the lights go out inside, and I wanted to check that everything's ok in there," said Jack.
"Yeah, the power's gone out for some reason," sighed the officer. "It's chaos in here while everyone's trying to figure out what's going on. But everything's still secure, as far as we know."
"Ok, well, I'll be around in case you need any help," said Jack. "You got any trash left inside? Might as well take it all at once."
The officer shrugged, holding open the door for him. "I don't think anyone's emptied the trash in the kitchen – that's one thing that never stops in here, the garbage. And I ain't just talking about the people inside!" he chuckled.
Jack chuckled too, watching the officer disappear into the darkness. Then he stealthily followed him down the corridor until they reached the cell block where the gang was being held – the officer headed out of the cell block, but not before Jack was able to pickpocket his keys from his belt. Then he felt his way back, counting the cells that Harley had sketched until he reached the one containing Chuckie and Buzz.
"Good news, boys – there's been a reprieve!" he laughed, unlocking the cell door.
"Jack?" said Chuckie, recognizing his voice. He couldn't see him in the darkness, but he heard the key turn in the lock. "What's going on?"
"I'm getting you outta here," said Jack, moving on to the next cell. "Just stay close and follow me."
When all four cells were emptied, Jack made his way back down the corridor with the gang following. They entered the canteen, and then the kitchen, and Jack gestured to the several trash cans lining the walls.
"Get in the cans," he ordered.
Buzz stared at him. "You can't be serious…" he began.
"Get in!" snapped Jack. Buzz and Chuckie shared a look with the rest of the gang, and then Chuckie slowly obeyed, followed reluctantly by Buzz. When the cans were full, Jack wheeled them out into the parking lot and emptied them into the dumpsters, and then returned to get another load.
Once the entire gang had been deposited in the dumpsters, Jack loaded the dumpsters onto the truck, and emptied them inside. Then he replaced the dumpsters back in their usual spot, and climbed back into the truck, driving off into the streets of Gotham.
They returned to Mikey's garage, and Jack opened up the back of the truck. "Well, you could look a little more grateful for the rescue," he commented, as the gang glared at him, covered in garbage.
"I'm sure there was a less humiliating way to accomplish it," muttered Buzz, climbing out of the truck and pulling a banana peel out of his hair. He looked around. "Where's the boss? I wanna have some words about this rescue plan of his."
"The boss is dead," retorted Jack, pulling off the hat and jumpsuit and rearranging his suit. "I'm in charge of the gang now."
"Says who?" demanded Buzz.
"Says the guy who just rescued you after you got beat up by a costumed freak," retorted Jack. "I'd say that's fair, wouldn't you?"
Buzz looked at Chuckie, who didn't look pleased with the situation either. But as neither of them were in any position to object, they said nothing else and reluctantly nodded. "Good," said Jack. "Now get back to the hideout and get cleaned up. I need one of you to arrange a meeting with Falcone and Maroni so I can give them the sad news about Sal, and let them know there's a new leader in charge of the gang. And he's gonna be the one to take down the Bat. Any objection to that?"
"None whatsoever," replied Chuckie.
"Good," repeated Jack, heading for his car. "I'll be in touch."
He drove off, and Buzz and Chuckie watched him go. "We can't let a lunatic like that stay in charge of the gang," said Chuckie.
"No," agreed Buzz. "But let him take down the Bat first, if he can. One lunatic bumps off another, and then we bump off him."
"Sounds good," agreed Chuckie. "That'll teach him to treat us like garbage."
…
Harley mostly spent her night at the diner trying to edit her psychology essay, but her mind kept wandering back to what Jack was doing, and wondering if his jailbreak had been successful. She felt nervousness in the pit of her stomach on his behalf, and tried to channel her fear into the discussion of fear in her paper.
At about 2 AM, the bell over the door rang, and she looked up in surprise to see Jack striding in. "Mr. J!" she gasped, racing over to hug him. "How did it go?"
"Flawlessly, baby!" he chuckled, lifting her up and kissing her. "It all went off without a hitch!"
Harley beamed in relief. "Tell me all about it," she said, drawing him over to the counter and pouring him a cup of coffee. "I want to hear every detail. Was anyone hurt?"
"Just the boys' pride at being dumped in the trash," replied Jack. "Why? Did you want someone to be?" he asked with a grin.
"No, not unless it was necessary," she said.
"It wasn't, thanks to my genius planning and your invaluable assistance," he said, smiling at her. "That diagram you drew of the cell block really helped since I couldn't see anything after I cut the power."
"We make a good team," agreed Harley with a smile. She listened in rapt attention as he explained what he had done.
"Then we drove back to the truck rental place, and I told 'em about Sal," he finished.
"How did they take it?" asked Harley. "Did you tell them you killed him?"
"Nah, that wouldn't have been smart," said Jack, shaking his head. "They might suspect it, but it's best not to confirm it. Above all things, the Families value loyalty, and it ain't loyal to murder your boss. Even if you had a good reason for it," he added, touching her cheek. She smiled, taking his hand and holding it tightly. He looked around at the windows of the diner, and slowly drew his hand away.
"I don't want them knowing about you," said Jack. "I don't want anyone knowing about you. I couldn't bear it if anyone hurt you, and they'd try to if they found out about you, both to hurt me, and because it would give them pleasure to do it. We're going to have to be so careful."
"We will be," reassured Harley. "How could they find out about me? Who would suspect us, after all? A hardened criminal and a naïve college student – it isn't exactly an obvious match."
"No, it isn't," agreed Jack, looking uncomfortable.
"It's pretty naughty, when you think about it," continued Harley. "Which might be part of the attraction."
"What are you saying about me?" demanded Jack.
"Not about you – about me," she retorted. "Although I guess it applies a little to you too. But I think it's pretty natural for a man to be attracted to a younger woman – I've taken enough classes in evolutionary psychology to know that a man unconsciously wants to pass on his genes, so he tends to select a young, fertile mate to accomplish that. But that I'd be attracted, not just to an older man, but to an older criminal, a man who's completely unsuitable for me, does seem all kinds of wrong. And because it's so wrong, it excites me beyond reason."
She leaned forward and kissed him deeply. "I don't think…this is us…being careful," he murmured, in between kisses that he was unable to resist returning.
"Mmm, then step behind the counter," she murmured. "Nobody can see anything we do down there, and I don't think we'll be bothered tonight."
Jack didn't have to be asked twice, hurrying to join her behind the counter where she pulled him down out of sight. He was completely unable to resist her, and he wanted nothing more than to make her happy. But what Harley had said bothered him slightly, that bit about men being attracted to younger, fertile women because they wanted to pass on their genes…God forbid he got Harley pregnant, and stuck her with a baby just when she was trying to start her career up. He didn't want to mess her life up like that either. They would have to be careful about that, as well as in every other respect. Their relationship needed to be one of complete secrecy, which did add to the thrill of it, he had to admit. But if that secret got out, if Harley got hurt or had her life ruined because of him, he would never forgive himself.