Gunfire, flames, screams-all subsided.
A salty sea breeze swept across Gotham Bay, and the quietly moored freighters rocked gently on the wind-whipped waves.
The old car drove along the coastal highway. Joker opened his window, letting in a gust of sea breeze that sent Xie De's long hair flying.
"What's your name?"
"39," Xie De said casually, looking ahead. He opened the driver's window and rested his arm on the sill, driving one-handed at an unhurried pace.
Joker shook his head and gave him a puzzled look. "I asked for your name, not your code name."
"Xie De."
"OK, Scheidin~ Your name sounds a little like one of those hymns those stodgy old aristocrats from the last century were always stuffing into their mouths to sigh over, then cry about. It's a bit awkward to say. You should change it. Oh, right, you already did. 39? But that doesn't sound very nice either."
"How about I give you a name? Ina. Short and powerful, and it sounds like a pretty girl."
Joker's speech jumped all over the place. It was impossible to find his point-or rather, the point itself was wrong. He was also something of a chatterbox.
Xie De had no intention of trying to understand him. A smile would do. He stepped on the brake. "This is your stop."
Joker shifted in his seat, speaking in a theatrical singsong with wildly exaggerated interjections. As though they were old friends, he took Xie De's cigarette pack, pulled one out, and lit it.
"NO, NO! I think we can talk about a few other things. Want a cigarette?"
"What do you want to talk about?"
Xie De took one from his hand and lit it. Cedar-scented smoke drifted upward. Holding the cigarette between his fingers, he extended his hand out