***

The nights had turned to a bitter cold as winter drew closer, and standing on an open rooftop was not an easy task. Though this was the best of the two options that Selina had offered as looking for information within Gotham's underground didn't seem very appealing considering the circumstances. Everyone was on edge since the murder of Carmine Falcone's nephew, Johnny Viti, a couple of nights ago on Halloween.

The nature of the murder resulted in many of Gotham's villains to be a suspect only for the odd placement of the jack-o-lantern, a handgun, and a baby bottle nipple at the scene of the crime. Whenever a new player was on the board everyone was eager to learn more and decide if they were going to be a threat to their own criminal reign.

Now as I watched Jim Gordon, Batman, and Harvey Dent from the rooftop of a building across from the GCPD I wondered just how close they were to finding this new killer. It was interesting to see the city's District Attorney with the other two men who usually worked so closely together, but it was clear that the only thing they had in common was their desire to rid this city of corruption. 

A small sound snapped me out of my thoughts at the same moment that a small object imbedded itself in the binoculars that I was holding. The golden R gleamed from the neighboring light as I removed it from the binoculars. Really this was no surprise to me as it was what Selina and I were hoping for, and there was the subconscious knowledge that he wouldn't hurt me. "I was wondering where you've been." 

I turned around to meet the familiar eyes under the Robin mask realizing that it had been a while since we had seen each other. Four months staying out of any noticeable trouble meant that neither Batman or the Falcone family could find Selina and I. Since the murder of  Johnny Viti all eyes were on Gotham's notorious villains as they all expected on of us to be the killer. The recent escape of multiple Arkham inmates made some villains obvious suspects. "Don't tell me you've missed me Boy Wonder."

"You knew I'd be keeping watch. You knew I'd see you. What is it you want this time?" He said instead dismissing my words as he stepped closer. There was a clear stiffness in him that was unusual but I also recognized that whatever was occurring inside his head really shouldn't be of any importance for me. I was only here to carry out my part of the plan. 

"I have no desire to help. But I might be able to be helpful." I stated as I looked down at the R and running a finger along its sharp edges. There was something ironic about Batman and Rabin carrying around lethal weapons like these and swearing by a no kill rule. 

He looked skeptical and rightfully so, because after everything why would I have any desire to help? To him I was just another one of Gotham's many criminals and looked to  cause the same level of destruction and chaos as the others. "And in return?"

Slowly reaching over I placed the R back in its place on his chest before looking up and meeting his eyes. "Maybe someday I'll need help. And you can return the favor."

"No promises."

"I'll take my chances." I replied dismissively knowing that the possibilities of me ever asking him for any kind of help or favor were slim. The only thing that I wanted was for him to think that I was doing this out of self interest and not some underlying need to help. I was here to give Dick the information that Selina and I had been collecting on Falcone for the last couple of months. We were able to uncover many of his dirty secrets, but failed to find anything that linked the man to Selina. The chances that Carmine Falcone was Selina's father were slim yet the seemingly obvious truth didn't break Selina's determination. "Now listen closely, all you need to do is follow the money."

Dick seemed deep in thought for a moment attempting to direct my words, but ultimately he met my eyes seeming just as clueless as before. "What is that supposed to mean?"

I rolled my eyes knowing that if it was Bruce Wayne who I was talking to he would have been able to draw connections almost instantly. But Dick wasn't Bruce, he was much better in the ways that mattered. "Falcone wanted to do business with Bruce Wayne because he needed a place to lauder his money. Naturally Bruce refused so he hasn't been able to launder it for a while now."

"So he's been forced to stockpile it." Dick muttered as he slowly began to piece together the small bits of information that I was offering him. 

"Bingo."

"And you know where he's been stashing it?" He questioned as he stepped closer no eager to learn more but before he could take another step I handed him the paper that held the location of the warehouse where all the money was being stashed, now the only questioned was what their next move was going to be. The only thing I did know that neither Bruce or the two men that he was currently in a discussion with would allow Falcone to keep that money. At leads the hope was that they would intervene in some way. "Why are you giving us this information?"

"If you didn't know Falcone has a bounty on Selina and I, so we want his attention diverted elsewhere." I explained which was the truth we couldn't get any closer to Falcone or anyone else associated with him when we were their number one priority after finding Johnny Vito's killer. 

"I thought you and the others thrived for attention?" He asked though it was more of a statement that was an obvious attempt to bring out some kind of emotion from me. No doubt he expected that I would act defensive but his disdain towards me was expected. After all I left in such a cruel way that his anger was normal and in fact was a relief considering that the last time we saw each other we crossed some lines that we shouldn't have. 

"You don't know me."

"Clearly." He stated bitterly and it was not difficult to miss the irritation in his voice. It seemed that the four months really seemed to have cleared his mind about me. 

Although I did want his indifference and anger I wanted to make it just as clear that he was no saint in my eyes either. That he was wrong too and was not as innocent to all of this like he believed. "Just like I don't know you."

Shaking his head in disbelief  he took another step towards me, now her was inches away from me and I could practically feel his anger. "I've always been transparent with you Chey. I've never lied."

"No, you just hid things me from. And isn't that the same thing?"

Dick's eyes widened as he seemed to realize what I was referring to and that was a true surprise to me. Did he really believe that I left without a motive? It was an incredible thought that he had never made the connection of my departure to the fact that he neglected to tell me something so incredibly important. Especially when he would want to know the same if he was in my place and in many ways he was because he lost his parents too. "Chey..."

"No need to get all worked up over something that means nothing to me anymore." I immediately dismissed having no desire to continue the conversation, she didn't want to hear his meaningless excuses. After all it was in the past and nothing could change the present. 

Without another word I stepped away from him and onto the roof ledge, I had finished what I was sent here to do and there was no point in extending this exchange longer than was necessary. And there was the fact that deep down I had to acknowledge that this was not easy for me. 

"Wait." He called out before I made another move, and out of curiosity I couldn't help but turn his way.  "Do you have any idea whose behind the killing?"

It would have been an easy thing to tell him the truth. That I was just in the dark about the killer's identity as he was and I had no other information to give. But there was something appealing about torturing him just a little, enough to keep him guessing or plant that seed of doubt. 

Maybe it was these thoughts that drove me to simply offer him a smile before stepping off the ledge without any clear idea of when I would be seeing him again. 

***

The tensions between Harley and Ivy continued to run high since Arkham. In fact, we were seeing less of Ivy everyday and we tended to interact with one another less every day. It seeming that our hideout had only become a place for us to spend the night, and maybe that was why I avoided coming here immediately after my encounter with Dick.

Stepping into the building I paused at a sound coming somewhere in the darkness. For a moment I wasn't able to process what the sound was but then I recognized it as an unusual laughter that didn't exactly sound human. Hearing of what seemed like several small footsteps in my direction, I instinctively raised my hands letting my electricity flow through them and it was through the blue light that I was emitting that I was able to catch a glimpse at what I was facing. And even then I couldn't believe, as there was a pair of wide eyes hyenas looking back at me. 

"Sparky! Wait!" Harley's voice yelled from somewhere in the building and the lights suddenly came on giving me a clearer view of the large animals who currently had their attention pinned on me. Even as I heard Harley approach l continued to let the electricity flow through my fingers as letting my guard down was not an option. 

"What the hell Harley?" I yelled though I didn't dare take my eyes off the hyenas in case they made a move that did not sit well with me. Although I didn't know much about hyenas I did know that they were predators, even though I still couldn't fully comprehend why there were hyenas here to begin with. 

Rushing to the two animal's sides  Harley bent down beside them placing a kiss onto of each of their heads. At this point I still didn't know how anything that Harley did surprised me anymore, but this was just beyond comprehension. "Meet Budsie and Louie."

"They're hyenas." Was the only reply that I could come up and it was only until the words left my mouth that I realized just how stupid I must have sounded. The truth being that the two animals still unsettled me even with the knowledge that the seemed to be Harley's new pets. I still couldn't decide whether to not this was an improvement to Bernie, who was the taxidermy beaver that Harley occasionally carried around. At least the hyenas were alive, though hopefully she didn't speak to them like could actually carry on a conversation like she did with Bernie. 

Harley dramatically rolled her eyes as she continued to hug the two hyenas closely, and I couldn't help but worry that at any moment they would turn on her. "Way to state the obvious. You know I was planin' on naming them Bruce and Ric, ya know after that hunky Wayne guy and his gorgeous son. But Selina didn't like either." 

"I agree with Selina." I replied slowly walking around the pair of hyenas who were looking up at me like I was something to eat, and although they're eyes simply followed me my skin still crawled at the thought of either of them getting upset. "Who by the way is going to kill you if...Bud or Lou has one of her cats for dinner."

Harley seemed amused at my reaction to her tow new pets as she walked over to the refrigerator and brought out a large object wrapped in foil. The two hyenas immediately rushed to her side as she began to unwrap the large object before losing it to the pair. I was only able a brief flimsy at what looked like a foot before the two began to tear into the flesh. "They're sweethearts wouldn't hurt a fly."

My eyes widened in realization as I immediately looked away doing my best to ignore the deep disgust I felt in the pit of my stomach. The disgust mixed with horror left a sour taste in my mouth as I slowly moved away from the two animals while they were entertained ripping the flesh off the bones of what used to be someone's leg. "I'm... I'm not going to ask."

"Really better if ya don't. But it's a fun story. " Harley replied which did nothing to tame my wild imagination and my tendency to fear the worst, the only thing I could do was hope that whoever was now serving as a treat for Harley's new pets deserved their fate. 

"Well... I'm going to bed." I stated still feeling that I needed to place as much distance between Bud and Lou as possible, and at the moment my room never felt safer. "Good night Harley." 

"Night, night Sparky!" Harley replied before I shut my bedroom door behind me. 

I released a sigh of relief but that relief was short-lived as I felt a cold breeze coming from the open window. An uneasy feeling washed over me as I walked over to the window shutting it closed, my mind immediately went to a dark place before Onyx walked across my feet. The sight of one of Selina's cat immediately caused me to relax as I turned around to find Selina standing on the other side of the room.

"Selina."

Her expression was as passive as always as she took a seat at the edge of my bed. Although she should never say otherwise she really did seem tired, she was still in her suit which told me that she has just arrived too. "They burnt all they money."

My eyes widened immediately with the thought of 20 million dollars going up in flames. Of course I was aware that it was dirty money, but all the luxury that I had now did not come from honest work. In fact everything that I had came from the things that I had stolen with Selina in the past, though we hadn't gotten into our usual criminal ways for a couple of months now. "They did what?"

"The Bat and Harvey Dent burnt it all."

"Well, that will undoubtedly keep Falcone busy." I replied as I removed my leather gloves placing them on my vanity, trying to imagine how Falcone would react that a large part of him fortune was not a pile of ash. Maybe he would assume that the burning of all his money was connected with the murder of his nephew, at least that was what we hoped. "Such a shame that money went up in flames."

Suddenly Selina tossed a large duffle bag at my feet which hit the floor with a loud thud. Some money spilled out of the opening  and once again I couldn't say that I was exactly surprised. All that money was too great of a temptation for Selina to simply ignore it. "Not all of it."      

Reaching into the bag I picked up a stack of bills a small hint of a smile touching my lips. My satisfaction wasn't because of the money, but the thought that Falcone would hate us more than ever at the knowledge that we were partially responsible for such a great loss to him. The loss of all this money possible would hurt the man more than the loss of his nephew on Halloween. "And now?"

"We keep looking." Selina replied without hesitation and it was the response that I was expecting, even though I hoped that she would come to accept the fact that she either wasn't Falcone's daughter or that it would be impossible to prove the truth. Regardless Selina had given me so much that I would continue to help her until she reached the truth or realized that it was unreachable. 

***

A/N: Kind of surprised I timed this chapter perfectly with October though the upcoming Christmas chapter will not line up with December, so be ready for an early Christmas in the beginning of November. Anyway next chapter we're meeting up with the rest of the Titans again and we will begin to go along with the plot of the show with some changes of course. Tell me your thoughts!