BAE Chapter 37

This is, perhaps, the least rehearsed component of Barbara’s plan.

Ivy plays it cool. She has a fiery temper, but she’s not stupid. In fact, according to Bruce’s files, she’s more intelligent than Barbara. But the changes in Ivy’s body that have made her immune to toxins and amplified her affinity for plants have also led to some hormonal issues that are great for misogynist jokes, but not great for making good decisions.

Which has to do with her being in Arkham. If Ivy always thought clearly, Bruce would be dead, so would the Joker and a lot of the others, and… Gotham would likely look like a botanical garden. Or maybe the whole world would.

“Who has it?” Ivy asks, tapping one finger on her arm.

“There are a couple of possibilities,” Barbara tells her. “Falcone may have it. Elite Pride may have it. Or they might both have it. If Falcone has it, it’s only a matter of time before it’s for sale. If Elite Pride has it, my guess is that they’ll auction it off. Then whoever gets it will put it on the street. Either way, we don’t have long.”

“Until?”

“Until a lot of women get something that they may not want.”

“Or maybe they do,” Ivy replies evenly.

“Well,” Barbara smiles and shrugs a little. “I’m learning to enjoy mine.”

That gets Ivy’s attention. She’s already impressed with how relaxed Barbara is. They’re about the same size, but from Ivy’s perspective, it must take some courage to be locked in a cell with one of Gotham’s most notorious criminals.

“She got you, huh?” Ivy says, a little of the façade of indifference leaving her face as she glances downward.

“Me and almost five thousand other women,” Barbara replies.

“I didn’t know that she would do that. I thought she just wanted it for herself.”

“Did she take it?”

Ivy shakes her head. “She didn’t have the guts.”

“That’s funny,” Barbara says truthfully.

“It really is. Who are you really?”

“Barbara Gordon.”

Ivy’s eyes widen, then she snorts. “Any relation?”

“My father. I work for Wayne Enterprises now. I’m here to make a deal.”

“You think I’d deal with a company like that?” Ivy shoots back with fire in her eyes.

“I think that if you were going to work with any company, Wayne Enterprises wouldn’t be a bad choice,” Barbara replies without taking the bait. “I think you already know how far ahead of the competition we are when it comes to sustainability.” Ivy has Bruce to thank for that. Even Barbara has to hand that one to Bruce. He and Lucius can’t turn the company into a charity, but they’ve managed to keep it from becoming too destructive.

“That’s not saying much,” Ivy says flatly. “What’s your plan? Have an antidote ready? What will you charge for it?”

“Nothing. And I don’t just want an antidote. I want a vaccine. I want women to be able to have a drink in a bar or get takeout without worrying that they’re going to have a surprise in the morning. And Wayne Enterprises isn’t going to charge anything for it,” she adds.

Ivy looks you up and down. “You aren’t joking. What do you get out of it?”

“You,” Barbara replies. Then she glances out the glass front of the cell at the two guards. She moves closer to Ivy and lowers her voice. “You’re one of the best chemical engineers in the world.”

“Are you going to tell me a story about how you and I want the same thing?”

“No. But what you want and what I want overlap enough that this can work for us both,” Barbara says coolly. Acting like a salesperson will not work with Ivy. Her judgment isn’t always the best, but her instincts are razor-sharp. She can’t easily be fooled.

“What do I get out of it? A nicer cell?” she asks with a little toss of her hair.

“A much nicer cell. I’ll move you into Wayne Enterprises. There’s only so much you can do as a criminal, even when you aren’t locked up. Think what you could do in partnership with one of the biggest companies in the world.”

Ivy looks almost bored. “And how are you going to convince me that your plan isn’t to just put me to work for capitalism?”

Barbara sighs. She knew that this would be the difficult part. It’s a relief that Ivy’s being upfront and talkative, at least. This conversation would be a lot harder if she was in a bad mood.

Barbara steps past her and sits on the edge of the bed. She pats the spot beside her.

Intrigued, Ivy sits. Barbara has to whisper to avoid being picked up by the microphones in the cell. Even if Arkham doesn’t have a mic in here, Bruce does.

“If you were out of here, what’s the first place you would hit?” Barbara asks.

Ivy hesitates, as though wary of a trap. Then she appears to make up her mind to play along.

“The Haskell Factory,” she says.

“Why?”

“What they’re dumping in the Ivanhoe River. It’s destroying the soil. All that protected land will be gone in five years.” Ivy’s eye twitches as she says it. “All because they won’t pay for some trucks.”

“Trucks create emissions.”

“I’ll take emissions over poisoned groundwater.”

Barbara nods. “What would you do?”

Ivy smiles. “Get rid of the factory.”

Barbara shakes her head. “There’ll always be another factory. Haskell must be violating something with what they’re dumping. Who’s looking the other way? EPA?”

“I don’t know. Could be.”

“How about I find out? Then we stop it and expose it, and we make sure it’s expensive. The dumping stops and Haskell becomes an example to everyone else. A better outcome. Less pain.” Barbara gives Ivy a little smile. “And no Arkham.”

“You can’t do that legally.”

“Would I be talking to you if I cared about the law? I just don’t want innocent people getting hurt. It’s not good for business,” Barbara says.

“The people I go after aren’t innocent.”

“I know a guy who would beg to differ. Bruce Wayne’s butler. You almost turned him into a tree,” Barbara tells her. “He’s not your enemy, Dr. Isley. You want a show of good faith? Look at the amount of money the company is going to spend to spring you. This company knows who you are. We wouldn’t do this just to turn around and make you into our enemy. And I’ll take down Haskell for you.”

Ivy says nothing to that. She looks at the guards, then away from Barbara at the opposite wall.

“Why would you trust me?” she asks finally.

“I know how smart you are.” Barbara takes a deep breath. “I’m hoping that we’ll accomplish some things together. And then you’ll see how much more you can get done this way.”

“You make it sound like you’re doing me a favor.”

“Maybe I am, but I need you. I don’t mind this thing anymore,” Barbara says with a glance downward. “But there are definitely some women who do. And they need your help.”