Harleen Quinzel pushed open the door to Li Jie's hospital room with a spring in her step, her face lit up with a brilliant smile that said both "mission accomplished" and "come praise me."
"I'm back!"
She announced it as she tossed her backpack, still carrying the dusty scent of Ohio, onto a chair. "Mission complete. Zero casualties. The enemy was arrested by the local police."
She leaned closer to the bed, eyes sparkling, and lowered her voice. "We only used half the cash. I handed it out."
"Good work." Li Jie smoothed Harleen's hair. "You showed a lot of restraint. I thought you'd crack Caulder's skull with your baseball bat the moment you saw him."
"That wouldn't have helped the situation." Harleen sat sideways on the edge of the bed and leaned down to share a little affection with Li Jie. Then she lifted her head and grinned. "Do you know what he did at the end? He called the police! He dialed 911 right in front of a bunch of armed kidnappers!"
"I heard."
Li Jie laughed too. "You kept yourself in check and stabilized the situation. That was great. Really great."
"Ha!"
Harleen jumped up, spun happily around the hospital room a few times, then came back and sat down. "Oh, right! You should meet them. Cliff, Dorothy, Garfield. Larry and Rita too-they said they'd come over in a few days. Especially Cliff. He's just a head right now, and his indicator light blinks when he talks. It's adorable! I'll arrange for them to come here..."
"No."
Li Jie shook his head, cutting her off. "Don't bring them here."
"What?" Harleen asked in confusion. "No?"
"That's right. I said... no."
Li Jie looked out the window, where Gotham's dusk was filtering in between the high-rises. "Don't bring