In Another Life VII

Chapter 13

"This is a huge step, Mr. J, and it's all so sudden!" said Harley, later that day. "I can't believe you want me to move in!"

"It's not a huge step – you just live down the hall," retorted Joker. "But I want you in my bed at night, so you might as well just bring your stuff with you. I can't imagine you're too attached to that rattrap down the hall..."

"Hey, it was starting to feel like home!" she said. "But I guess I should bring my toothbrush and stuff if I'm spending the night again. Gotta have a big, white smile as part of my job, right, boss?"

He chuckled, kissing her. "Go get your stuff, kiddo," he said, spanking her and heading over to his desk. "I got some work to do anyway."

"I should really get a shower, but maybe I'll come back here and use yours," she said, standing up and putting her arms around his neck. "It's nicer than mine – there ain't a buncha dead cockroaches in it."

He laughed, kissing her. "Don't be too long," he said, stroking her hair. "I might want a study break."

"Maybe you shouldn't be so greedy!" she giggled, dressing.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so tempting," he retorted.

They kissed once more at his door, and then Harley skipped down the hall to her room. She would probably leave a few things there – obviously her notebook, which she certainly had a lot to write about in, she thought with a grin.

"Where have you been?" said a voice as she entered her room, which wiped the smile from her face.

"Ernie! I've been...out," she stammered, her mind racing to think up a good excuse. She had actually completely forgotten about him until just now. "Doing stuff...with the boss..."

"Were you doing stuff with him all night?" he asked, lightly.

"Uh...I was...yeah...working last night...for the job...y'know..."

He approached her, and she tried to look nonchalant. "You've been sleeping with him," he said quietly, in a mixture of astonishment and disgust.

"I...I had to gain his trust, Ernie, for the mission, y'know..."

"You didn't have to sleep with him!" he roared. "Are you out of your mind?! He's a murderer, a monster, a heartless psychopath, and you thought it would be a good idea to jump into bed with him?!"

"I...I'm just...trying to make the mission a success..."

"That's not what undercover means, Harley!" he shouted. "It doesn't mean that you go under the covers of his bed! It doesn't mean you prostitute yourself for the success of the mission!"

"Right, so you can kill to complete the mission, but I can't sleep with a guy?!" she snapped. "We both have to do whatever it takes to gain his trust! No matter how unpleasant it is! You of all people know that!"

"Harley, you shouldn't have to do anything unpleasant!" he hissed, grabbing her shoulders. "I'm doing my duty as a cop, but you're not bound by any sort of duty to do things like that! You shouldn't sacrifice your ethics and your body for this mission! That's not part of your job!"

"I'm doing what I have to, Ernie," she snapped. "Same as you."

He groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Oh God, I can't bear to think of the two of you together!" he hissed. "This is worse than having to kill a guy! And I thought you said...he didn't have any sexual urges!"

"I was wrong," said Harley, quietly.

"Listen to me," he said, taking her shoulders again. "You have to stop. For my sake. I've been put through enough hell on this goddamn assignment without having to deal with you and that creature...you have to stop sleeping with him."

"I can't, Ernie," she retorted. "He'd get suspicious. And think of all the insights I'm getting – if he trusts me enough to share his bed with me, he'll trust me enough to share all kinds of secrets. No one has ever been intimate with him like this before. And I won't stop until I learn all I can from him."

"But Harley...I love you," he whispered. "I can't go through this..."

"You can," she whispered. "Just like you killed a guy. Because you have to. For the success of the mission."

She touched his cheek. "You said you admired my dedication to the cause. If you truly admire it, you'll accept what I'm doing."

He nodded slowly. "I'll...do my best," he muttered.

"Ok. You're a good cop," she said. "And you'll have a medal when this is over."

He looked at her. "I don't care about a medal. The only thing I want is you safely away from that monster forever, somewhere where he can't get his filthy hands on you ever again."

He stormed from the room, and Harley let out the breath she'd been holding. She sank to her knees on her bed, shutting her eyes and trying to think rationally about what she should do.

She could only forget about the mission for so long. Either she completely turned her back on the law and betrayed Henderson to Joker, which would probably result in his horrible torture and death, or she waited until he returned to the GCPD, and just didn't come back with him. If they wanted to arrest the Joker and his gang, they'd have to arrest her along with them. That would be her choice.

She decided the lesser of two evils was to wait until Henderson completed his mission, and see what happened then. At least the police wouldn't kill Joker or his gang if they arrested them, while handing Henderson over to the Joker would result in his certain death, and Harley couldn't condemn him to that. He had suffered enough already. And he would suffer even more when she told him that she wasn't coming back with him, that she was staying with the Joker, no matter what.