Harleen Part 9/19
Author: BlueSuede
Title: Harleen
Rating: PG13/T--likely to change
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. My Joker, I think, is some sort of weird hybrid.
banner by cheryljluv
First Chapter
Previous (Chapter 8)
Next (Chapter 10)
"Good afternoon, Miss Sullivan." Lucius Fox was a tall, graying black man with laugh lines around his eyes that implied the possibility of a sense of humor, and worry lines across his forehead that suggested he didn't have much opportunity to exercise it. He shook her hand politely, smiling at her. "I hope you've been enjoying the warm spell we're having."
Chloe returned the smile. "I have, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fox. Thank you for making time to see me."
"Of course. Please, have a seat." he gestured the chair in front of his desk and Chloe took it. He sat down as well. "So, what can I do for you?"
"I'm interested in your weapons R&D department." Chloe said a quick mental prayer that the risk she was about to take would work. Her research on Lucius Fox had lead her to believe that the straightforward approach was best. "More specifically, Mr. Fox, I'm interested in your special projects--the ones not funded by the government."
Fox raised an eyebrow and Chloe surged ahead.
"I've done my research, and I understand there is a highly secured sector of your weapons department that receives anonymous funding annually, but has no listed output. Can you tell me anything about that?"
Fox's brow furrowed slightly, and Chloe watched him carefully for any giveaways. He had none. "Miss Sullivan, exactly what is your interest in this?"
Chloe had anticipated this question. "I have reason to believe that Wayne Enterprises' technology has been leaked or imitated." Deep breath. Time for her big move. She opened the portfolio she was carrying and started laying out photographs, blueprints, computer generated designs, everything she'd been ale to compile with Victor's help since coming to Gotham. "They were mostly incomplete, since they hadn't had much other than occasional news-captures to base their images on. Still, they had relatively comprehensive images of the "Batarang" as Bart had dubbed it, Batman's tank-like car, his hang-glider, the material his suit was constructed from, as well as several other smaller gadgets, including a grappling hook and a gas mask.
Fox studied the charts for several minutes in silence. Then he leaned back in his chair and studied Chloe instead, apparently trying to decide what to make of her. "As interesting as these designs are, it doesn't actually answer the question. What is your interest in this?"
"Can you confirm that this technology is in fact Wayne Enterprises?"
"Miss Sullivan," he ignored her question. "Why are you here?"
"Research."
"On Batman?"
She hesitated, the nodded.
"Well, Miss Sullivan, you will be interested to know that I, too, have done my research. You're not a journalist. At least, you haven't been employed by any news company for several years. The publishing company you're supposedly writing a book for exists all right, but it seems to have appeared out of thin air, which leads me to believe that it's an elaborate cover for something."
He waited, and Chloe resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. He didn't sound angry or accusing, simply curious, perhaps a little wary. As a matter of fact, she found herself suddenly tempted to tell him the whole story. She refrained, though, as several details began to sink in on her.
"You know who it is!" she exclaimed so suddenly she startled even herself.
He recovered well. "Who what is?"
"Batman," she said, still shocked at her own daring. "You know who he is. Wow," she said, almost to herself now. "All this time I thought it was someone stealing technology. You guys are supplying him!" Her eyes were wide. "I don't get it. What's in it for Wayne Enterprises?"
Lucius Fox actually chuckled. "I think this meeting is at an end. I'm still not sure what your angle is, but you certainly have an active imagination, Miss Sullivan." He leaned over to buzz his secretary on the intercom.
Chloe, meanwhile, said nothing more, but watched him intently. He was protecting someone. It was painfully obvious.
"Yes, Mr. Fox?" his secretary asked over the intercom.
"Please send someone to show Miss Sullivan out."
"Yes, Mr. Fox."
Chloe was about to object when another voice did it for her. "That won't be necessary, Lucius. I'll see Miss Sullivan out. I believe I owe her lunch, actually."
Chloe cringed and Fox raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Wayne," he greeted. "Naturally."
She felt both pairs of eyes on her and knew there was nothing for it. She plastered what she hoped would be a sincere, innocent smile on her face and stood from her chair, turning to face him and blushing furiously.
"Hello, Bruce," she greeted him.
He looked completely at ease, eyebrow quirked at her as if he'd caught her with her hand in the cookie jar.
She packed up her things and headed for the door, Bruce following after her.
"So," he said, once they were in the elevator down the hall, "Corporate spy or government intelligence?"
She turned to gape at him, insulted. "Excuse me?"
"Well, originally, I was leaning towards government agent, but then I found out you were on Oliver Queen's payroll, which, I have to admit, stung a little."
Chloe's temper flared. "My God, are you accusing me of corporate espionage?" She gasped. "Is that why you stood me up the other day? Unbelievable."
"Slow down," he said, surprised by the accusation. "I didn't intentionally stand you up. Business--"
"Business came up that you couldn't ignore," she deadpanned sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah." She suddenly sympathized with Lois for breaking up with Oliver all those years ago.
He moved in front of her so that she had to look at him. "If there had been any way for me to be there, I would have been. And I'm not accusing you of anything, but you have to admit, this does look really suspicious. I like you, Chloe, but I need an explanation." As he finished, the elevator doors opened onto the ground floor.
Chloe met his gaze defiantly. "You first," she challenged before pushing past him and out into the lobby.
He chased after her, setting a pace at her side to match her. "Fine. But I'm still taking you out to lunch," he asserted arrogantly.
"Hoping to ply me with wine until I spill all of my secrets?" she smirked, buttoning up her rain coat and tying the sash.
"Hoping to ply you with wine until you find the idea of making out with me irresistibly appealing, actually," he wiggled his eyebrows.
She bit her lip, grinning. "Mmm, well, why didn't you just say so?" She moved in front of him, effectively stopping him in his tracks. She stared blatantly at his mouth, as if thinking about kissing him, her own lips parted slightly. Bruce immediately slipped a hand over her hip and leaned down to kiss her, but she turned away at the last second, sliding out of his hold. She didn't reveal the effort it took. Her body was stubbornly protesting the coy move, but that didn't stop her snarky comment, "Careful, you wouldn't want to make yourself vulnerable to a spy." His hand grabbed her waist and spun her back around, pulling her flush against him. She caught her breath in surprise, heart thudding at the contact and proximity.
"What if I don't have a problem with sleeping with the enemy?" he teased, his lips a fraction from hers, but she didn't miss the fact that he'd just labeled her 'the enemy.' She pressed her hand lightly against his chest and pushed him back a step.
"Then you're a fool," she said quietly. It helped that they were surrounded by passersby on the busy street and sidewalk. As strong as the desire was to kiss him, she'd never been one for public displays.
She turned on her heel and continued down the sidewalk, and Bruce, unsurprisingly, continued after her.
"You're really going to make me work for this aren't you?" he asked, entertained.
"Yep."
He grabbed her hand this time to pull her back to him. "Let me take you to lunch."
"Well, I'm not sure. It depends, really."
"On?"
"Will you be there?" she teased.
"Naturally," he replied, smirking.
"Well in that case, no," she said loftily, pulling her hand out of his and once again turning to continue walking.
"Chloe, I think it's a bit absurd for you to be so offended. Remember how this looks from my perspective. I've got every right to be suspicious, especially since you won't explain yourself to me. You've obviously been hiding something since I met you." He winced at his own statement, but Chloe didn't see, her back still turned to him as she reached the corner and whistled loudly for a cab.
"I suppose you're going to claim that I somehow orchestrated meeting you outside of Arkham even though I had no possible way of knowing you'd be there, and, left to my own devices, I wouldn't have even gotten your name, let alone given you my phone number."
His brow furrowed at her excellent argument. She had a point. A cab pulled up in front of her and she opened the door to climb in. "Goodbye, Bruce," she said, her tone holding a hint of haughtiness. "Oh, please say hello to Alfred for me, won't you?" she added sincerely before shutting the car door and giving the driver the name of her new hotel. She couldn't resist glancing back as they pulled away, and she caught sight of the confounded expression on his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets and watched her taxi disappear around the corner.
Served him right, she decided airily. She knew her behavior must seem strange, but she thought espionage was an awfully big leap.
In his defense, though, he probably had to be very careful. She knew Oliver was cautious of letting women in, considering most of them were after something one way or another.
She heaved a disgruntled sigh. Well, maybe she'd cut him a break later on then.
Once back to her hotel, she made herself some coffee and slipped off her shoes, mulling over the new information that had been brought to light. She settled on the large, comfy sofa and tucked her legs under her.
It was an interesting plot twist, she had to admit. It had never occurred to her that Wayne Enterprises was essentially sponsoring Batman.
It had an unsavory Luthercorp taint to it at first. Once Superman had made his debut, Lex had eagerly flung himself into multiple projects attempting to render Superman obsolete. He feared anything he couldn't control, and so, naturally he wanted to persuade the public that Superman could easily go rogue, and obviously a privately owned and controlled alternative was the solution.
Of course, Batman didn't exactly fit into this mold. Wayne Enterprises didn't exactly advertise having any affiliation with Batman like Luthorcorp would have. He obviously wasn't up for sale. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't exactly being marketed for the public. Quite the contrary, he was considered a public enemy.
So it all came down to the same question: What did Wayne Enterprises stand to gain? Were they really funding 'the Batman project' (so to speak) as a strictly not-for-profit- scheme? And if so, how many people were in on it?
The whole thing seemed impossibly absurd. Even if it were true, there would be no way to get it past Bruce. He would have to be aware of it. Was he another Oliver, funding his own personal one-man Justice League? She wanted to dismiss the idea, but couldn't. Oliver had an obvious vested interest in the JL. Bruce had no motive, at least not that she was aware of. If he were found out, legally he would be done for. And yet, the facts couldn't be ignored.
Lucius Fox clearly knew who Batman was. Did Bruce Wayne know as well?
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Next (Chapter 10)