Seeing how Jason was already leaning against the closest dead tree, Harvey remained standing where he was, crossing his arms over his chest as he considered the younger man's question. It wasn't like he had made any immense discoveries, but he couldn't blame Jason for asking either.
"I found a used car lot, but it didn't look like it would be easy to actually get one running." Maybe if he had experience with hot-wiring vehicles it would have been another story, but most normal people didn't know how to do something like that -- and he'd been a relatively normal person up until the explosion. Though if he was really going to stick to the mindset that he could do whatever he wanted and to hell with all the rest, then maybe he needed to start learning a thing or two.
If he'd known what Jason was thinking he would have been able to sympathize about the lack of guns. Instead, his mind was on another sort of weapon as he continued explaining what he'd been doing since they'd last talked. "I got to that janitor's closet last night, though, and got myself a metal pipe. It isn't much but it'll still do the job when it comes to bashing someone's head in." Maybe he didn't have a criminal skill set, but he could at least do that much if he put his mind to it.
A car lot, huh? That was a little surprising, he'd expected them to be kept well away from such an obvious means of escape. Jacking a car wouldn't be easy with all the surveillance but Jason was confident it could be done, with a good distraction. Hot-wiring a car wouldn't be hard at all and it wouldn't matter if he didn't know where he was driving, so long as he could get some distance from this place.
"That's handy. I'll look into it next time we're here." Jason wasn't ready to leave this place yet - not until he'd dealt with Bruce and the baby bird and the others from Gotham. This trip wasn't a one off thing according to the people who'd been here a while so he saw no reason to make a break for it when he'd just be coming back later. If Two-Face had a problem with that he was just going to have to live with it. But he got the impression Dent was almost as invested in making Batman pay as Jason himself was.
Jason had to suppress a twitch at Harvey's comment on his weapon and he couldn't stop himself visibly tensing up. Whether it was because of the persistently vivid memories of just what it was like to get that treatment or because this time it would be Bruce finding out what it was like, Jason didn't care to admit. But it was a good reminder that he should stay on guard around Two-Face, even if he had no idea who Jason really was.
"Yeah. It'll do that just fine," he agreed tersely. A pipe, a crowbar, a bat - they could all do plenty of damage when you put you mind to it.
Harvey was somewhat surprised that Jason wanted to put the car idea off until next time, but it wasn't that he had a problem with it. It was the sort of thing that would probably take preparation and planning, after all -- not to mention the day was probably halfway done at this point. He wasn't sure when the nurses would be herding them back onto the buses, but it had to be before nightfall at the very least. Hot-wiring a car no doubt took some time.
He took gratification out of the fact that Jason had at least acknowledged that it was a good find. The kid was kind of annoying, but he had his priorities straight for the most part, not to mention he was a good source of information. Harvey got the feeling they would be working together for a good while longer at this rate.
Completely oblivious to the reaction his phrasing had caused, Harvey only nodded to Jason's response. The metal pipe might be crude, but Harvey obviously wasn't one for keeping up appearances anymore.
"Were you able to pick out a good place for us to take him?" he asked, though for once he made an effort not to be demanding about it. If he came off as too impatient it would both irritate Jason and also reveal just how much he wanted to get his hands on the vigilante. They were going to do this as a pair (a fair fifty-fifty split between them, as far as he was concerned), so they would both have to rein themselves in a little.
Shit. Jason didn't want to have to admit that he'd barely gotten anything done last night besides nearly throttling some idiotic metahuman and running into a woman who thought it was nothing that she knew who Batman really was. But it was a good question. They needed to make a move as soon as possible and they both knew it.
Jason didn't owe Two-Face anything and he didn't care what Dent thought of him but having him around was useful and Jason would rather not lose the one beneficial alliance he'd made. While no one else was going to give him Batman, Jason couldn't offer any proof that he was telling the truth so it would better if he could bring something solid to this arrangement.
"No, not yet. I didn't get a chance to cover much ground," he replied neutrally. There were plenty of places where it would be possible to corner Bruce, but he wanted somewhere the bastard wouldn't have a chance escaping and where they wouldn't be interrupted.
For those reasons there was something to be said for cornering Bruce in his room, locking the door and making him bleed but Jason still needed to find out where that was. And he wasn't sure just how much he was ready to give Two-Face. Using Harvey to make Bruce pay for all his mistakes and his hypocritical morality was one thing but Batman was his. Giving Two-Face the means to find Batman whenever he wanted could lose Jason a useful tool. Though it would certainly be interesting to see how far Bruce would go to protect the baby bird like he'd failed to protect Dick. "I'll figure something out tonight," was all he'd offer for the moment.
One extra night wouldn't really cost them and Jason hadn't even seen Bruce today - he was still here of course, Batman didn't just disappear according to some madman's whim. Finding a suitable place to spring their trap was good but he needed to be able to get Bruce into position as well. If Two-Face complained too much, Jason would just have to remind him who needed who more here.
While it was disappointing that their plan wasn't falling into place faster, Harvey wasn't irrational enough to get upset when Jason admitted that he hadn't been able to find anything. Harvey had only barely had the time to get his hands on that metal pipe before the night had worn off into morning, so he knew firsthand that it wasn't always simple to actually reach whatever goal you laid out for yourself.
So long as he remained scarce and didn't show off his condition too much, maybe they could delay a little bit longer. He really didn't want Batman finding out about him until the critical moment, although it was hard to hide from someone when he didn't know who they were.
"Fine," he said with a slight tightening of his jaw. He wasn't going to throw a fit over this, but that didn't mean he couldn't show some slight irritation. "I'll try to keep a low profile, but that's not exactly easy," he pointed out. He was honestly surprised that he hadn't had more people coming up to him and asking about his bandages, although the fact that so many other people were injured probably helped him blend in more. Then again, a face wound was still pretty rare, and he thought his particular injury would be impossible to miss if someone who knew him saw it.
"Maybe we should look together, though," Harvey tried. It was probably in their best interest to have a test run of working side-by-side before the main event, and this way he could have a hand in choosing the best place. He wasn't sure if Jason would bite, but Harvey didn't think the kid should brush him off when he was being surprisingly reasonable.
"That's an understatement," Jason replied with a snort. Those bandages covering half his face made Two-Face stick out like a circus freak at a beauty contest. And that wasn't even mentioning what Jason knew he looked like underneath. It would be difficult to keep Bruce unaware of his presence for long, though he had no reason to think Dent would be able to find him without the cowl. Unless he saw Jason talking to him. If Bruce didn't know him then he had no reason to believe Jason wouldn't tell others who Batman really was. Just one more reason to see if he couldn't get somewhere with the bastard soon.
Jason made a show of considering Two-Face's suggestion but it wasn't something he needed to think about. The burns from that creature the other night might be mostly healed by now but he still remembered the encounter clearly. And it was pretty clear that things like that weren't uncommon. Having someone who needed him alive watching his back would make exploring at night faster and since Two-Face suggested it himself he didn't feel like the bastard would think he was begging for help.
"Fine by me, we'll cover more ground that way. I just hope you can pull your weight, Harv." Jason hadn't worked with anyone since before the Joker - one fight alongside Batman didn't count for anything and neither did his brief alliance with Hush. He didn't think it would be difficult getting used to working with someone else again and it would be good to see how Dent handled himself. Even though he doubted there was anything to separate this one from the one Jason had met years ago if they were going to take out Batman he needed to know what his- not partner, nothing like that - what Two-Face could do.
"We can meet up in the main hall, outside the patient blocks." They could work out from there where they should go. Those halls were busy of a night but they were dark enough at night that they should be able to avoid notice easily enough.
Harvey honestly didn't see why Jason felt the need to point out what he'd already admitted to (salt in the wound, maybe), but it wasn't worth picking a fight over. People were going to make comments about what had happened to him, and that just couldn't be avoided. A tactless jab was better than a concerned inquiry, in any case.
He waited impatiently as Jason tried to make a decision. Harvey had never been one to flip-flop about something, and that was even more exaggerated now that he had a way to make the most important decisions in the amount of time it took to pull out his coin. He was going to milk this alliance he'd been allowed to make for all it was worth, but that only extended as far as Jason let it, which was frustrating.
Luckily, the kid ended up agreeing, though not without bringing Harvey's usefulness into question. He frowned and almost considered getting up close and personal with Jason to make his next point -- it wouldn't be as effective when he had the damn bandages on, though, and so he refrained. "I'm not going to drag you down, you can count on that." If he did, then Harvey would cut himself loose. He was looking for a collaboration, so if it turned out that he was taking favors from Jason and not putting in enough himself? He wouldn't want anything to do with that.
"What, near the Sun Room?" he clarified, though he hadn't exactly shoved down his anger about the earlier implication just yet, and it showed in his tone. "That's fine," he said curtly.
[Sorry for taking so long, work and stuff ate my brain!]
"We'll see," Jason said with a smirk. He'd hit a nerve there, Two-Face's voice betraying his irritation. It was fun, being able to push him like this. Even if he had more to gain from keeping Two-Face around, Jason still held all the cards here and Dent knew it.
"Yeah, that's the place," Jason confirmed. "Try not to get mistaken for a monster on the way, OK?"
Before he and Two-Face went their separate ways he added "We should see if there's anything else we can use here while we've got the chance. They'll keep us away from any obvious weapons or anything but they might have missed something. Keep your eyes open, you never know what could be useful." Two-Face had already brought up the car yard, so Jason didn't think he really needed to tell him that but it was still fun to get under Harvey's skin when the man couldn't do anything in return.
If Jason kept up the unnecessary comments, Harvey wasn't sure how much longer he could stand being around the kid. On the one hand, he knew he should be more mature than that. On the other, Jason was being extremely annoying. It wouldn't have been so bad if Harvey had actually known more about the other Gothamite so that he could send the offensive comments right back, but he was more or less in the dark about Jason. All he knew was that Jason could get him Batman, and that was really all he needed to know.
At Jason's "advice," Harvey only gave the kid a look that said something along the lines of "do you really think you need to tell me that?" before he half-turned away.
"I'll see you tonight," he said, straightening his shoulders as he started to move out of the park. There really wasn't anything more that needed to be said.
"I found a used car lot, but it didn't look like it would be easy to actually get one running." Maybe if he had experience with hot-wiring vehicles it would have been another story, but most normal people didn't know how to do something like that -- and he'd been a relatively normal person up until the explosion. Though if he was really going to stick to the mindset that he could do whatever he wanted and to hell with all the rest, then maybe he needed to start learning a thing or two.
If he'd known what Jason was thinking he would have been able to sympathize about the lack of guns. Instead, his mind was on another sort of weapon as he continued explaining what he'd been doing since they'd last talked. "I got to that janitor's closet last night, though, and got myself a metal pipe. It isn't much but it'll still do the job when it comes to bashing someone's head in." Maybe he didn't have a criminal skill set, but he could at least do that much if he put his mind to it.
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"That's handy. I'll look into it next time we're here." Jason wasn't ready to leave this place yet - not until he'd dealt with Bruce and the baby bird and the others from Gotham. This trip wasn't a one off thing according to the people who'd been here a while so he saw no reason to make a break for it when he'd just be coming back later. If Two-Face had a problem with that he was just going to have to live with it. But he got the impression Dent was almost as invested in making Batman pay as Jason himself was.
Jason had to suppress a twitch at Harvey's comment on his weapon and he couldn't stop himself visibly tensing up. Whether it was because of the persistently vivid memories of just what it was like to get that treatment or because this time it would be Bruce finding out what it was like, Jason didn't care to admit. But it was a good reminder that he should stay on guard around Two-Face, even if he had no idea who Jason really was.
"Yeah. It'll do that just fine," he agreed tersely. A pipe, a crowbar, a bat - they could all do plenty of damage when you put you mind to it.
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He took gratification out of the fact that Jason had at least acknowledged that it was a good find. The kid was kind of annoying, but he had his priorities straight for the most part, not to mention he was a good source of information. Harvey got the feeling they would be working together for a good while longer at this rate.
Completely oblivious to the reaction his phrasing had caused, Harvey only nodded to Jason's response. The metal pipe might be crude, but Harvey obviously wasn't one for keeping up appearances anymore.
"Were you able to pick out a good place for us to take him?" he asked, though for once he made an effort not to be demanding about it. If he came off as too impatient it would both irritate Jason and also reveal just how much he wanted to get his hands on the vigilante. They were going to do this as a pair (a fair fifty-fifty split between them, as far as he was concerned), so they would both have to rein themselves in a little.
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Jason didn't owe Two-Face anything and he didn't care what Dent thought of him but having him around was useful and Jason would rather not lose the one beneficial alliance he'd made. While no one else was going to give him Batman, Jason couldn't offer any proof that he was telling the truth so it would better if he could bring something solid to this arrangement.
"No, not yet. I didn't get a chance to cover much ground," he replied neutrally. There were plenty of places where it would be possible to corner Bruce, but he wanted somewhere the bastard wouldn't have a chance escaping and where they wouldn't be interrupted.
For those reasons there was something to be said for cornering Bruce in his room, locking the door and making him bleed but Jason still needed to find out where that was. And he wasn't sure just how much he was ready to give Two-Face. Using Harvey to make Bruce pay for all his mistakes and his hypocritical morality was one thing but Batman was his. Giving Two-Face the means to find Batman whenever he wanted could lose Jason a useful tool. Though it would certainly be interesting to see how far Bruce would go to protect the baby bird like he'd failed to protect Dick. "I'll figure something out tonight," was all he'd offer for the moment.
One extra night wouldn't really cost them and Jason hadn't even seen Bruce today - he was still here of course, Batman didn't just disappear according to some madman's whim. Finding a suitable place to spring their trap was good but he needed to be able to get Bruce into position as well. If Two-Face complained too much, Jason would just have to remind him who needed who more here.
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So long as he remained scarce and didn't show off his condition too much, maybe they could delay a little bit longer. He really didn't want Batman finding out about him until the critical moment, although it was hard to hide from someone when he didn't know who they were.
"Fine," he said with a slight tightening of his jaw. He wasn't going to throw a fit over this, but that didn't mean he couldn't show some slight irritation. "I'll try to keep a low profile, but that's not exactly easy," he pointed out. He was honestly surprised that he hadn't had more people coming up to him and asking about his bandages, although the fact that so many other people were injured probably helped him blend in more. Then again, a face wound was still pretty rare, and he thought his particular injury would be impossible to miss if someone who knew him saw it.
"Maybe we should look together, though," Harvey tried. It was probably in their best interest to have a test run of working side-by-side before the main event, and this way he could have a hand in choosing the best place. He wasn't sure if Jason would bite, but Harvey didn't think the kid should brush him off when he was being surprisingly reasonable.
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Jason made a show of considering Two-Face's suggestion but it wasn't something he needed to think about. The burns from that creature the other night might be mostly healed by now but he still remembered the encounter clearly. And it was pretty clear that things like that weren't uncommon. Having someone who needed him alive watching his back would make exploring at night faster and since Two-Face suggested it himself he didn't feel like the bastard would think he was begging for help.
"Fine by me, we'll cover more ground that way. I just hope you can pull your weight, Harv." Jason hadn't worked with anyone since before the Joker - one fight alongside Batman didn't count for anything and neither did his brief alliance with Hush. He didn't think it would be difficult getting used to working with someone else again and it would be good to see how Dent handled himself. Even though he doubted there was anything to separate this one from the one Jason had met years ago if they were going to take out Batman he needed to know what his- not partner, nothing like that - what Two-Face could do.
"We can meet up in the main hall, outside the patient blocks." They could work out from there where they should go. Those halls were busy of a night but they were dark enough at night that they should be able to avoid notice easily enough.
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He waited impatiently as Jason tried to make a decision. Harvey had never been one to flip-flop about something, and that was even more exaggerated now that he had a way to make the most important decisions in the amount of time it took to pull out his coin. He was going to milk this alliance he'd been allowed to make for all it was worth, but that only extended as far as Jason let it, which was frustrating.
Luckily, the kid ended up agreeing, though not without bringing Harvey's usefulness into question. He frowned and almost considered getting up close and personal with Jason to make his next point -- it wouldn't be as effective when he had the damn bandages on, though, and so he refrained. "I'm not going to drag you down, you can count on that." If he did, then Harvey would cut himself loose. He was looking for a collaboration, so if it turned out that he was taking favors from Jason and not putting in enough himself? He wouldn't want anything to do with that.
"What, near the Sun Room?" he clarified, though he hadn't exactly shoved down his anger about the earlier implication just yet, and it showed in his tone. "That's fine," he said curtly.
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"We'll see," Jason said with a smirk. He'd hit a nerve there, Two-Face's voice betraying his irritation. It was fun, being able to push him like this. Even if he had more to gain from keeping Two-Face around, Jason still held all the cards here and Dent knew it.
"Yeah, that's the place," Jason confirmed. "Try not to get mistaken for a monster on the way, OK?"
Before he and Two-Face went their separate ways he added "We should see if there's anything else we can use here while we've got the chance. They'll keep us away from any obvious weapons or anything but they might have missed something. Keep your eyes open, you never know what could be useful."
Two-Face had already brought up the car yard, so Jason didn't think he really needed to tell him that but it was still fun to get under Harvey's skin when the man couldn't do anything in return.
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At Jason's "advice," Harvey only gave the kid a look that said something along the lines of "do you really think you need to tell me that?" before he half-turned away.
"I'll see you tonight," he said, straightening his shoulders as he started to move out of the park. There really wasn't anything more that needed to be said.
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