Brittany Wilson took a huge bite of her sugar glazed donut when the door to the Gotham Police Station opened with a bang. She quickly sat up to see the commotion, chewing on the fattening pastry at the same time. In came Lieutenant Gordon and a repulsive looking man with red lipstick smeared on his lips and white powder messily dabbed on his face. There were black circles under his eyes and Brittany wondered if the frightening man, or thing, liked to play with his mother's make-up kit. From the videotapes she had seen on the news, she knew that the man was the infamous Joker. She looked around the room and saw that many of the other police officers were shaking in fear and nervousness. She did not blame them. He was a grotesque looking man and his evil deeds only exacerbated his creepiness.
"I'm bringing him in," Lieutenant Gordon announced to the crew of police officers.
Brittany watched as the respected lieutenant took the criminal mastermind into the interrogation room with a two-way mirror. They talked for a few minutes before Lieutenant Gordon walked out, shaking his head. "He won't talk," Lt. Gordon said with a sigh.
"Who can make him talk?" asked Detective Ramirez, a petite Latina with dark hair tied up in a bun.
Brittany took another bite of her donut when she noticed Lt. Gordon staring at her. She swallowed the sweet pastry in one gulp. "What? Is there something on my mouth?" She took out her black compact mirror and inspected her face for any embarrassing food crumbs but saw none.
Lt. Gordon walked towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Brittany, you've always been a smooth talker. If anyone can convince the Joker to reveal the locations of Dent and Dawes, it's you."
Brittany dropped her donut in shock and pointed an index finger at herself. "Me?" she squeaked. "Talk to the joker?" She pointed a finger at the window where the Joker was sitting on the other side. She shook her head furiously. "No way," she protested adamantly and took a step back.
Lt. Gordon put another hand on her shoulder, so one hand was on each side. "Normally, I would not ask you to do this. But desperate times calls for desperate measures. I know you are scared of clowns but I am begging you, as a Gotham citizen and your superior, will you please speak to the Joker?" His eyes were pleading with her to agree.
She looked around and saw that the other officers were whistling and staring off at the ceiling or the floor. No one was going to speak up for her or offer to take her place. She sighed. "Okay," she agreed reluctantly. "I'll try to speak to him but I'm not promising anything." She saw her peers exhale in relief and her eyes narrowed. Today was the day that she found out her co-workers were cowards.
Lt. Gordon smiled and slipped his hand from her shoulder to the small of her back. He gently pushed her towards the interrogation room. When he saw her cowering in fear, he attempted to reassure her. "Don't worry. He won't hurt you; he's retained by handcuffs. Besides, the night is dark," he said with a glint in his eye.
She gave him a strange look. She never understood his ambiguous phrases, always thinking they were too deep for her simple mind. She stopped at the door, pressing her hands against it but not pushing. "Are you sure he won't hurt me?" she asked nervously, turning her head to look at the older man.
"Trust me," he said with a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, yeah. The night is dark," she repeated, rolling her eyes. She pushed open the heavy door and saw a pair of black eyes looking at her with interest. She inhaled deeply when she saw the Joker's clown visage; all her life she had a fear of clowns which no psychiatrist could cure.
"Joker, I would like you to meet Brittany. She will be interrogating you for a while." Lt. Gordon pulled out a chair and ushered Brittany to sit down.
"Ooooh, a new one. She's much prettier than you," the Joker remarked, grinning at the frightened girl.
Lieutenant Gordon leaned forward to whisper into her ear. "Don't let him see that you are scared. He feeds off of that," Lt. Gordon warned before standing up straight again. "I will see you two later," he said before heading out and shutting the door.
The Joker licked his lips, eyeing the girl with interest. "It's just us," he uttered in a raspy tone. He leaned forward. "How exciting," he whispered before breaking off into laughter.
As a police officer, Brittany had seen many weird criminals but none as crazy and off the wall as the Joker. She opened his thick file contained in a manila folder. Her eyes widened as she scanned the list of crimes that he had committed. He would put those on the top 10 FBI Most Wanted list to shame. Her eyes wandered to his profile and she saw that his first name was Jack. That figures. She shut the folder and looked up at him. "Jack," she said with a small smile.
"Brittany," he mocked back in the same tone.
She sighed inwardly. She knew this was going to be a long night. "So tell me about yourself." Maybe if she got to know him better she could spot his weakness.
He looked at the ceiling. "Uh…let me see…well my name's Jack. I like purple and I have a deep fascination with Batsy." He giggled. "Batsy. Get it? That's what I call Batman." He slapped a hand on the table and roared with laughter at his own joke.
She flinched at his oddness and pretended to laugh along with him. God, this man is insane. "Ha-ha-ha. Good one." She saw him put his head in his hands, elbows propped onto the table, staring at her goofily. He looked somewhere between drunk and dazed. "So…uhhh Jack…why are you so fascinated with Batman- I mean Batsy," she quickly corrected.
The clown criminal tapped a finger onto his chin. "Hmm…good question. Why am I so fascinated by Batsy?" He pressed his face up against hers and she forced herself not to cower in fear. "Because he's the dark knight. Because he's fun," he answered with a maniacal grin.
"Of course," Brittany agreed with a nod. "Batman- I mean Batsy- is lots of fun. Can I ask you something?"
The Joker smiled at her, baring his pearl white teeth. "You just did."
Despite her fear, Brittany could feel her temper flare. If there was anyone she hated more than a clown, it was a wise-ass. "Can I ask you another question?" she asked, not attempting to mask her irritation.
He gestured a hand towards her. "Go ahead, Ms. Wilson."
She froze when he said her last name. She then looked down to see a name tag on her uniform and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Why did you paint your face like that?"
The room fell eerily silent and she held her breath, hoping she did not make the clown of darkness angry. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she quickly added.
"When I was little, kids would make fun of me. They called me a freak just because I liked to kill rats and eat them. I couldn't help it that those little rodents were so tasty." He licked his lips as he talked. "I thought to myself that if they wanted a freak, I would give them a freak. So I stole some make-up from a department store and went home to 'color' my face. The next day I went to school and those kids stared at me in horror. They were so scared; one even peed in his pants." The Joker cackled and Brittany flinched in discomfort. He leaned his face in and tilted his head. "Does that answer your question, Ms. Wilson?"
She nodded slowly and cleared her throat. "What about those scars?" she questioned further, pointing to his mouth.
The maniacal clown traced the corners of his mouth. "Oh, these? One day I was walking home when a couple of kids jumped me and pulled me to an alleyway. They started beating me then one of them pulled out a knife." He pulled out a shiny blade from his coat pocket and Brittany watched him warily, gulping. The Joker put the knife near his mouth. "The kid said I was such a freak and that no one liked me. He said that since I liked being a freak so much he would help me become the biggest freak in the world. You know what he did?" The Joker looked at Brittany and she shook her head. "He put the knife to my lips and BAM!" The insane clown imitated a swiping motion near his lips. "And that's how I got my scars." The Joker smiled and leaned back against his chair.
Though the Joker was a cruel man who killed tons of innocent civilians, Brittany could not help but a feel a little pity for him. No one deserved to have his face scarred. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely.
"Don't be. I like them. They make me…stand out." He grinned at her.
She knew it was time to get to the point. "Why did you kidnap Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent?"
The Joker rolled his dark eyes and exhaled in annoyance. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? First Lt. Gordon, then you. What's so interesting about those two?"
Brittany narrowed her eyes at him. "You kidnapped 'The White Knight' of Gotham who just put away a handful of mobsters and his girlfriend. You think they are just two normal civilians?"
The Joker laughed causing her to just stare at him. Suddenly he pulled her up to face him. "Just because he is the White Knight, Gotham's day hero, he is better than everyone else? Just because he has those fancy, schmancy campaigns he deserves to be saved?" he hissed.
She swallowed heavily and made a grab for the gun in her pocket. At that moment, he released her and she slowly released her hold on the gun. "Jack, I would appreciate it if you refrain from physically assaulting me," she spoke calmly, even though inside her heart was beating rapidly.
He burst into laughter. "You called that assault? Cops these days are a bunch of wimps," he remarked teasingly.
Brittany ignored his comment. "You did not answer my question. Why did you kidnap Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent?"
The Joker sighed in comical exaggeration. "Well if you must know. I kidnapped Harvey because he was becoming a nuisance. That man is an obstruction in my plan to destroy Gotham. He thinks he's a hero by putting away all those useless mobsters? Ha!" He laughed mockingly. "Soon Gotham will see its hero become the fallen."
Brittany stared at the insane man with confusion. "What do you mean?"
The Joker sighed and rolled his eyes petulantly. "Must I explain everything to you? Mr. Dent prides himself on being the White Knight, the day equivalent of Batman. He praises himself for being moral and ethical. But I'll prove to you and everyone that when the chips are down, Mr. Dent is just like everyone else. There's no difference between him and me. Of course, I'm a much snazzier dresser." The Joker leaned back and tugged on his purple coat.
"You're wrong. Dent is nothing like you. He's an upstanding citizen, who rights the wrong. He's a hero, something you'll never be," she stated firmly. For the first time, she was not scared but rather pressed to defend Harvey.
The Joker laughed again for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Really? Well you'll see how much of a 'hero' he is when he loses everything," he sneered.
Brittany glared at him. "Just tell me where you hid them," she demanded. She did not want to play mind games with this creep anymore.
"You want to know?" he asked in his raspy voice.
She nodded.
He put his face near hers. "You really want to know?" he repeated.
"Yes!" she snapped in irritation. "Just tell me dammit!"
He wagged his finger. "Tsk. Tsk. Little kitty has a temper. I like that." He licked his lips.
She pulled out her gun and pointed it at his head. "Tell me or I'll blow your brains out." Her hand was shaking nervously. She had never threatened any criminal before, at least not of this multitude. But time was running out and she was panicking.
The Joker giggled when he saw her pull out her gun. "I thought police officers were supposed to be high and mighty, never breaking the law. I'm sure this is against the law enforcement moral code."
"Dealing with people like you, one doesn't need to play by the rules," she said grimly, not lowering her aim.
He smirked at her and it made her uneasy that he showed no fear. "The world separates its kind by black and white, bad and good. But in reality, we're two sides of the same coin. We're all the same; it's just I don't hide behind an ethical façade. You- you're just like me except you're dazzled up in a cop costume. But behind that, I see you. You're no better," he said lowly, staring at her with dark eyes.
"I'm not like you. I'm nothing like you," she hissed. "Tell me where Dawes and Dent are or I'll.."
"Or you'll what?" he pressed. "Kill me?" He laughed. "Go ahead. Shoot. Shoot me dammit!" he shouted furiously, pulling on his green dyed hair.
She closed her eyes and started to pull on the trigger.
The world separates its kind by black and white, bad and good…but in reality, we're two sides of the same coin.
Brittany opened her eyes and lowered her gun. "No." She put the gun back into her pocket.
"Why didn't you shoot me?" he asked curiously.
"Because if I did, I would be proving you right…that I was no better than you," she responded before turning around. She began to open the door when he stopped her.
"You want to know where Dawes and Dent are right?"