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John waits a day, and goes where he's told and delivers his message.
"The Joker wants to arrange a meeting with Mr. Moriarty. He says it's time to put aside our differences."
And they have to have been expecting it, because the person he talks to doesn't even ask for proof of the message's origin, just nods and says she'll see about contacting the boss.
It's two more days of back-and-forth before they get their meeting - not with Moriarty, but with his local representative, or something. Everyone is very vague on the details, for which he can't really blame them, all things considered. Somewhat to John's surprise, Moriarty's people accept the Joker's offer of one of his many abandoned warehouse lairs (seriously, does the man have a collection?) as a meeting spot. They show up early. John feels... out of place. The Joker is meeting with a mob boss to discuss an alliance against the guy who just took over the city, and for some reason John Blake is invited.
He still hasn't told Gordon a thing. It's not that he's afraid to, exactly, more that he can't even figure out how to bring it up. How do you explain that the Joker is actually weirdly approachable as long as you can make your peace with his sense of humour? Not to mention the little girl with the wings. Definitely don't mention the little girl with the wings. If he mentions the little girl with the wings, Gordon will probably be out the door before he can even try to explain.
mylegalname
manofmyword
"Our little game of tag's been going for a while now. Enough for me to get a sense of you. Now isn't the time to be screwing around. If you were in town and you believed it was me, you wouldn't send an underling, make it another week until we actually talked. You'd come yourself, or you wouldn't deal at all. And then you sit down like you own the place and talk like you're the boss? It wasn't that hard."
causas-rerum
"Fair enough. So, to business. What are you bringing to the table here? You're not the first group I've contacted who thought they were starting the resistance, but you're definitely the first one I thought might have had a chance of getting anywhere on their own."
manofmyword
"I tried Batman first, believe it or not," he says. "Batman didn't show. Johnny here's got a line on Jim Gordon, though."
causas-rerum
"...That's a lot of trust to be placing in someone you only just met, game of tag or no," says Elle/Moriarty.
manofmyword
"Now is not the time to be screwing around," the Joker repeats. "But Gordon's not even our best resource, necessarily. The other one's just... harder to explain. Of the 'seen to be believed' variety, you might say. D'you know that half-finished opera house on Martial?"
manofmyword
"If you're serious about working with me on this, meet me there tomorrow. You, personally, nobody else. And I do believe you're serious about working with me on this."
causas-rerum
Elle studies his face thoughtfully.
"And you're not going to explain until I see it for myself, whatever it is?"
"And you're not going to explain until I see it for myself, whatever it is?"
causas-rerum
"And it's enough of a game-changer that you don't want to discuss anything else until I've seen it. More so than Commissioner Gordon, even."
manofmyword
"Mm. You came alone," he says. "Didn't try to dodge when I found you out. Clearly you have decided to trust me. Only polite to do the same. And, of course..." He lets the sentence trail off, quirking an eyebrow.
causas-rerum
"...now is not the time to screw around?" she finishes for him. "I see what you mean. Thank you for being so willing to share your resources with me. I think we will be able to work together more easily than I was expecting."
mylegalname
"I... found out a few things about what happened to Batman. Stumbled across the Joker's message while I was at it. Decided to meet him and see if there was any chance he could help. Seems like there's a pretty big chance."
mylegalname
John hesitates, second-guessing the idea of following the Joker's lead on how much to tell her. But the Joker has led him some reasonably effective places so far. Trusting the mob boss it is.
"He went to confront Bane and never came back."
And his name is Bruce Wayne. But that, much more than the rest, is emphatically not John's secret to tell.
"He went to confront Bane and never came back."
And his name is Bruce Wayne. But that, much more than the rest, is emphatically not John's secret to tell.
