"So you're the barker. Manchu. Sit," gestured Manchu, waving the Riddler into a seat.

"Edward, but you can call me Eddie." He looked at the man who sat down opposite of him. "You're her friend."

"That's right." Manchu opened a bottle of wine and poured.

"Her boyfriend." It was said more as a question than a statement.

Manchu laughed and pushed a glass of plum wine over to the man in question marks. "I'm not crazy. We are very close, but no. She is not my type. But I think she is your type, is she not?" He sipped his wine and looked at Edward. "You want her to come work for you, right? Tell me, did you ask her before or after you found out she was the girl from that day?"

"Before. I asked because she has skills that I could use in my gang. Now, I'd like her to work for me because I want to know her more." Had she given me the chance, I would've asked her out that day, he added in thought.

"She got to you, didn't she? Dee has a way of doing that. It's fair because you got under her skin." Leaning in close, Manchu said, "What we say here, stays here. She would skin me alive if she knew I was telling you anything about her."

The Riddler nodded and sipped his wine. It wasn't exactly his drink, but it would do for now. He explained what had happened when he woke her, asking, "Is she always so violent? And how does she do that cat thing?"

"Ask her about the cat thing yourself. She's just cautious. If you learn to handle her properly, she is no problem at all. It is a very delicate and tricky operation. Within the same breath, I have seen her beat a man up and cry about being lonely. The phrase 'walking contradiction' was invented for her."

He nodded. "Anything you can tell me about her to make things a bit easier on me?"

"I thought you enjoyed a good puzzle? But what the heck, she'll give you plenty even if I give you a few clues. First off, if you want to get to know her and be her boyfriend, ask her out. Don't just assume that you two are dating because you spend time together and perhaps eat out a few times. If you haven't officially asked her out, she won't consider it a date. Even then, it may be a while before she thinks things are headed anywhere, so don't assume."

Manchu answered the Riddler's questions for the next hour, giving him subtle hints about how to handle certain situations with Dee.

"What makes you so certain she'll be allowed to work with me," the Riddler asked finally.

"She will be. Don't worry about it. All you need to worry about is yourself and Dee." At the sound of a bell Manchu rose out of his seat and leaned across the table. Without changing his tone of voice, he added, "Because if she comes back here and says that you've hurt her, you will be sorry. Hope that if that happens it is me who punishes you and not her."

With that the man turned his empty wine cup over and left the kitchen. Blinking at the rate from which the conversation had gone from pleasant to threatening, Edward Nigma simply stared at the man's back.
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