Holly, it's been six years since you were bought into the world. You will probably never meet me, your adopted family giving you all the love that I cannot. I would not blame you if you never asked about your father.
Nevertheless I want you to know, that since you were born I have never stopped thinking about you. I wonder if you got my brains,and how you are doing at school. I wish I could see you, I know what I am but know that I would never scare you, I would never hurt you, my dearest child.
I know I have made mistakes in my life. Hell, I'm a monster, even I find it hard to believe that I am human. I've committed heinous crimes, I've murdered, I've driven people insane, I've stolen more than I have earned. So many mistakes my little flower, but please believe me when I say being your father was not one of them.
I apologize for everything that I have done, maybe if I was someone else we could be father and daughter. I could be the man who made you laugh for hours, dry your tears when you are sad, tell you bed time stories, and give you away on your wedding day. You would never need to be scared of me, even now you are the only person in this world who has nothing to fear from me. I should know.
Perhaps one day we will meet. I would like that, but I understand why this can't happen. It's my fault. I know and accept this, and I wish things could have been different. I wish I had been born in another time, I wish I had met your mother in better circumstances, I wish you hadn't been taken from my arms just minutes after you were born. I wish I was someone else.
Just know that what I am is just a mask, and I will always love you, no mask will ever change that. My beautiful little flower.
Love Always
Dad
Aaron Cash frowned as he glanced over the inmates in Arkham Asylums recreation room. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall trying to get a better view of what he thought he saw.
Jonathan Crane was writing something, which was unusual. This time was normally reserved for outside correspondence. No-one visited the Scarecrow, save his lawyer, and Cash knew of no living relatives either.
Crane saw him looking, started a little in surprise, then checked himself and glowered menacingly. Cash averted his eyes quickly, he wasn't afraid of the inmate, with his slender, willow-like figure, Crane was hardly a match for him. But there was something about that baleful stare that was a little unnerving.
When Cash looked back again Crane was reading a newspaper, no sign of a letter, and Cash wondered whether he had imagined it, Crane was fond of the Sudoku, and Cash concluded that he must have been on the puzzle page.
When his rest break came around Aaron Cash was thankful. It had been a slow day at the asylum and the inmates had been remarkably well behaved. This in itself was both a blessing and a curse, as a lack of action made the day go slower for Cash.
The Arkham staff room was empty except for Clarissa Davey one of the senior doctors. Aaron greeted her with a cheery wave and made his way over to the coffee machine. He searched in vain for a clean cup, and failing to find one settled for the least stained one of them all.
"Hey Clarissa," Cash grinned. "Just been stared out by your favourite patient."
Clarissa laughed. "He's better than he was," her eyes crinkled slightly at the sides when she laughed. Not much got her down. "At least he's stopped trying to conduct the sessions now, I think he's finally worked out that he's the patient, not me."
"It's a start," Cash chuckled. "Real head case that one. Fear... why can't he be obsessed with something nice... like puppies?"
"If he was I'd be out of a job," Clarissa pointed out. "But yeah he's a head case alright, just have to find out what makes him tick now. Easier said than done, he's not easy to trick, and he's impossible to intimidate an answer out of as well. It's like he's just flicked off his fear switch."
"I made him jump this morning," Cash said absent-mindedly.
Clarissa's face suddenly became very serious. "You startled him?"
"He certainly looked spooked for a second, why?"
"He never so much as flinches normally. You could set an explosion off behind him and he wouldn't so much as twitch. You must have really caught him off guard."
"It looked like he was writing a letter for a minute. I thought it might have been one of the newspaper puzzles he likes, but now you say that I'm not so sure."
Clarissa pushed her glasses up her nose. "Interesting, I may confront him about this at his next session, it may break down some barriers. Thanks Aaron."
Cash opened the door to head back out to work. "Your welcome."
Gotham City: Diamond District
The light glinted off of Edward Nigma's binoculars as he lay prone on his belly on top of a block of flats.
Just across the street was a jewellery store, and Nigma had spent the last week camped out on the rooftop as a pre crime reconnaissance mission.
There was a Rolex display at the rear of the store that Eddie could make a killing on, even give up a life of crime for good, of course he had laughed at that thought. The thrill of the chase was like a drug, and Eddie was too far gone for rehab.
The snatch and grab would not have required the pain staking hours of watching the stores comings and goings, indeed Eddie's above average intelligence had already given him fourty different ways that he could empty the store and noone would ever know that it was him. But that wasn't it. It simply wasn't a Riddler crime without a riddle, what would be the point of it if he could not match wits with Batman.
Eddie had money, it was never about the money. For once he wanted to create a Riddle of such genius that even the Dark Knight would be fooled. An IQ of 180 just wasn't enough for him, there was only one person worthy of impressing.
Eddie was mulling this over in his mind, when he heard footsteps close by. He cursed to himself, he had paid a substantial lump sum to the hotel receptionist downstairs to lock the roof access door behind him. He would find his own way down. How could someone else be up here?
Instinctively he reached for his pistol, just as a tall shadow fell over him. And a wheezing, cackling laugh echoed off the walls around him.
"Eddie," the Joker cackled. "Fancy seeing you up here!"
Eddie's mouth was suddenly dry. He snatched the pistol out of the waistband of his trousers, rolled onto his back and pointed the barrel into the centre of the Joker's leering grin. His hands shook but his expression was stone cold. He narrowed his eyes, teeth gritted. "You."
The Joker shrieked with maniacal laughter, his body contorting grotesquely. He was ridiculous, but somehow that made him all the more intimidating. Once the uncontrollable laughter died down to dry wheezes, the Joker straightened up, and took a step towards Eddie.
The effect was electric, Eddie's hands stopped shaking and he brandished the gun dangerously. "Don't. Come. Another. Step." he snarled.
"Now is that any way to greet an old friend, Dear Edward?" The Joker grinned grotesquely.
Eddie did not budge, just merely kept the gun steadily trained on the Joker. "We are not friends."
Once again the Joker laughed maniacally. "Oh, Eddie, Eddie, you wound me, after all that I've done for you!" he wiped away a mock tear. "Why I even gave you my special gift!"
One of Eddie's hands went involuntarily to one of the scars on his face, the memory rising unbidden of the grin the Joker had carved into his cheeks. The marks had faded, but the memories were all too fresh.
Eddie was unnerved. He steeled himself, but he could not stop the higher pitch in his voice as he yelled, "What do you want!" at the Joker.
The clown prince of crimes grin dispersed in an instant, only to be replaced with a fearsome leer. "Wouldn't you like to know, Riddle Boy."
With that he turned on his heel and stalked away. By the time Eddie had recovered his wits, the Joker was gone. On the ground where he had been was a single card.
Biting his lip, Eddie picked it up, expecting to see the usual Joker calling card, but instead he was surprised to see a Tarot card.
And it was death.
