Harley Quinn Romance

Chapter 04: Stalker

Harley awoke early to the sounds of police sirens in the distance. It was another beautiful day in Gotham with a thick layer of clouds blocking out the majority of the early morning sunlight and turning the sky ash gray.

Rolling out of bed, she put on her boots, grabbing her jacket and motorcycle helmet before bounding out the door. A spring in her step almost made her skip down the hallway to the stairs. Heading down from the second floor to the first, Harley exited the apartment building and went around back to the parking garage.

Finding her motorcycle, Harley also discovered a group of thieves trying to hot-wire it. If the crooks managed to abscond with her bike, she'd be hampered in her ability to search for Batman. It irritated her how some people didn't care how they inconvenienced others. Fearlessly, she walked straight up to the would-be thieves and attacked them.

Harley's motorcycle helmet slammed into the side of one criminal's head, knocking him over. Swinging it back the other way, she connected with the second crook's jaw as he spun around to see what had happened. Harley's knee came up into the midsection of the third criminal as he tried to rush her, and while he gasped for air, she swung the helmet down and up like an underhanded softball pitcher to catch the thief in the face and flip him over on his back.

"Excuse me, boys," Harley apologized sweetly as she stepped on the stomach of one of the groaning thieves in passing. "I have to find somebody, and I need my bike. Sorry."

She started up the motorcycle and sped out of the parking garage, leaving the downed criminals behind.

***

Early morning in Gotham was desolate. The traffic had yet to start, leaving the streets practically empty. With the gray clouds covering the sky, the dark and gargoyle covered buildings, and not a sole visible anywhere, Harley could imagine herself in a completely empty city.

She smiled under her helmet as she thought about her and Batman having the city entirely to themselves. It might be fun, but a second thought came to mind. If no one else lived in Gotham, who would do the cooking when Batman took her to an elegant restaurant? She decided some people might be needed, but at least they weren't in her way this morning.

Pulling up to a small Internet cafe, Harley shut off the engine, pocketed the keys, and headed inside while taking off her helmet.

The place was empty of everyone except the barista behind the counter.

"What can I get you?" the redhead asked.

Harley scanned the large menu of choices behind the counter and picked something at random. She didn't really care for coffee and wasn't interested in drinking any. She only came here for the use of the computer.

Moving between the small, black painted tables and matching chairs, she took a seat with her back to the corner and tapped a key on the provided laptop computer to activate it. A timer displayed in the corner of the monitor started advancing along with the total charges for the computer usage printed underneath.

Harley had two pieces of information in her search for Batman. To begin with, Batman had someone who looked like an undertaker he'd talked to in the Batcave, and his name was Alfred. Secondly, Alfred had referred to Batman by the name of Bruce.

Opening a search engine, Harley typed in undertaker and was rewarded with information on various mortuaries and something about a professional wrestler, but nothing matched the man she'd seen. Clearing the search window, Harley tried Alfred and Bruce together only to be shown advertisements for a moving company, a law firm, and a discontinued sitcom.

She drummed her fingers on the table in frustration. She had the first name of Batman's real identity, but it seemed to be totally useless.

Finally, she typed in a general search for Gotham City and Bruce. The first item listed was about billionaire Bruce Wayne.