Harleen Part 4/19
Author: BlueSuede
Title: Harleen
Rating: PG13/T
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Pairings: Chloe/Bruce
Summary: Chloe is on a recruiting mission, trying to pin down Gotham's infamous Dark Knight. In order to learn more about him, she begins interviewing those he's captured. What will she do when the Joker escapes and begins targeting her?
Warning: I understand that this story may not be entirely consistent with Nolan's Batman. Mostly this will be a result of my growing up with Batman the Animated Series.
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First Chapter
Previous (Chapter 3)
Next (Chapter 5)
--4--
"Yikes!"
The exclamation slipped forth from Chloe's lips as she scalded her foot on the two hot bath water.
Releasing a slow breath she turned back to the faucet and added a little cool water before trying again..
She couldn't help the groan she emitted this time as she slid into the tub, closing her eyes in ecstasy. Her soaking wet clothes lay in a heap on the tile floor of the hotel bathroom, one by one having been peeled from her body and discarded with utmost contempt. Her shoes, now ruined beyond hope, were in the waste basket. She'd get a new pair. It wasn't worth it.
In the background she had music playing, a CD Victor had loaned her, saying she'd like it. She wasn't really listening, though. All she could think about was the hot water, rinsing away all the anguish and anxiety that week had brought. Slowly she felt her muscles relax, almost as if it were happening in layers until finally it reached her very bones and she turned to a completely useless pile of...human.
She stayed like this for ages, until finally the water began to turn cold and she had to force herself to get out. She had data to compile.
She slid on the soft white bathrobe and toweled off her hair lightly before stepping out of the bathroom.
Just as she was sitting down to the desk with her laptop, though, a small gust of wind hit her. She looked up into the unforgettable baby blues of Clark Kent.
"Jeez, Clark!" Chloe clutched her heart, sitting down in surprise. Then she realized she was in a bath robe. She clutched it a little tighter. "God, Lois is right. What if I'd been naked? I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow morning."
But Clark's usual sheepish face was not in place, nor was there any hint of laughter in his expression. Instead he was looking rather grim as he held something up.
"This wouldn't happen to belong to you would it?"
Chloe looked in surprise at the rather eccentric ruby necklace.
"N-no," she stammered. Even if she could afford it, she wouldn't be caught wearing something that gaudy if she could help it.
Clark sighed defeatedly. "Great. Excuse me."
He vanished, and Chloe blinked in surprise. The next instant he returned again.
"What was that about?"
"I found a couple of cat burglars tied up on your balcony. That was lying next to them."
"What?" Chloe gasped, eyes widening.
"I already dropped the crooks off at the police station, but I take it they must have hit one of the other rooms before they were captured. I just dropped off the necklace with the clerk downstairs.
"You already took the burglars away?" Chloe asked, almost whining.
He frowned. "Well, yeah."
"Shoot!" she hissed under her breath.
He looked at her in surprise. "What did you want me to do with them?"
"I was hoping I could get some answers out of them."
"Answers about what?"
Chloe rolled her eyes, but she chuckled nonetheless. "Why am I in Gotham, Clark?"
Clark looked at her for a moment before the pieces suddenly clicked. Now he did look sheepish, and Chloe had to smile. "Oh. Sorry."
She shrugged. "Forget it. No big deal."
Clark felt incredibly guilty. He should have realized those guys might be helpful to Chloe.
"Maybe you'll be able to interview them at the police station tomorrow," he suggested.
"Good idea," she nodded. She wasn't sure whether or not the police would be able to hold the crooks long enough for that, but she didn't vocalize that. "Um, Clark, would you mind if I change really quickly?" she asked finally.
Clark started. Then he blushed that good ol' farmboy scarlet she'd become so familiar with over the years. "Right. Go ahead."
Smiling, Chloe fished her pajamas out of a drawer before walking back to the bathroom to change.
"So what are you doing here, anyway?" Chloe asked through the door as she dressed herself.
"Just checking up on you," Clark replied casually, glancing at the stacks of papers on her desk.
Chloe frowned. Why did that sound like it was a typical routine? "For no particular reason? Or was there something you wanted?"
"Not especially. Oliver wanted to know if you'd found anything on the Bat." He flipped through the files on the desk, a little curious. Knowing Chloe, there was probably some sort of obsessive order to all of them, an organizational system that she - and she alone - could navigate.
"Yes and no," she sighed. "I'm working on it."
Clark set the files back down and looked at the door of the bathroom in surprise. "That's it?"
"Well, not being his best friend and all, it's a little more difficult to figure out who he is than it has been in previous cases," Chloe replied sourly, exiting the bathroom.
Sensing a sore subject, Clark backed off. "Sorry. Guess that's why you'll be here six months," he shrugged.
Chloe nodded, her mood lightening again. Though she could feel the tension returning between her shoulders.
She sat down. "So is there anything else I can do for you, Clark? Like I said, I really wasn't expecting you until tomorrow morning," she added pointedly. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see Clark. It was just that she'd been planning on an evening to herself, and she still had a lot of work to do. She wanted to use her weekend to the fullest extent possible. The less time she spent at Arkham, the happier she would be. Besides, there was something she was eager to take a look at.
Clark shrugged. "No, I guess not."
Chloe walked over and gave him a hug. "Thanks for looking after me," she said, reaching up on her toes to peck his cheek. She might resent it, but that didn't mean she didn't appreciate it on some level.
Deep down.
Clark returned the hug quickly, and left soon after, leaving Chloe free to peruse her balcony unhindered by a second presence.
She looked down. She was on the twelfth floor. It was incredibly impressive that the burglars had gotten up there, not to mention Batman as well. She ran her fingers along the marble wall and noticed some scuff marks. Nothing useful, seeing as she already knew what Batman's costume was made of, and the marks were more likely to be from the crooks in any case. She turned around and scanned the floor to make sure Clark hadn't mistakenly missed anything. He hadn't. And she was sure there hadn't been that much left behind to begin with.
A question finally hit her. Why would Batman leave the crooks behind? Wouldn't it be more like him to drop them off with the police himself?
"What the heck is with these men?" she sighed, leaning back against the balcony and folding her arms. Mentally she went through the possible reasons for leaving them on her balcony, practically gift-wrapped.
Did her know about her? Was it possible he left them there as some sort of calling card, aware that this was her hotel room? Did he know she was looking for him?
That made absolutely no sense whatsoever. She scratched it off as paranoia.
Did he leave them as a warning to the hotel, hoping they would amp up security?
Maybe. But it still seemed a bit ridiculous.
Finally, she determined the most logical explanation: he was in a hurry. Simple and ludicrous though it sounded, it made the most sense. He'd taken the time to stop them, but he didn't have enough to go all out.
Now the real question emerged? Did he not have time because crime was on such a wild spree in Gotham? Or did he not have time because his alternate persona had to be somewhere.
"Dilemmas, dilemmas," she muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning the side of the building as she raised them up to the starry sky. And then she caught sight of something.
It stood out sharply, even in the darkness of the evening, black against the white stones of the building.
She walked over to the point where the wall of the balcony met the wall and leaned over, reaching for it, but it was far out of her grasp. She looked down to the street stories below her, knowing she'd regret it.
But she did it anyway. With a sigh, she nimbly climbed up on the railing, her bare feet already getting a bit numb from the cold. At least it had stopped raining since she'd arrived at the hotel, but the balcony was still wet with pooled rainwater.
Not my brightest idea, she thought to herself, as she slipped ever so slightly. Nonetheless, she stretched up on her toes, bracing herself against the wall, her fingers just barely finding purchase on the cold stones.
Her efforts were rewarded, however, when she grasped the object in her fingertips.
She still didn't breathe easy until her feet were safely planted on the floor of the balcony. Then she took a moment to fully appreciate her prize, turning it over in her fingertips.
Cold, hard metal with sharp edges.
Black.
And shaped like a bat.
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