He sat quietly in the holding cell, shuffling the deck of cards they had caught him with. Most other criminals wouldn't be allowed such a luxury but the Joker was different. The aim of the game was always keeping him happy, and then maybe you wouldn't be the unlucky one.
Time always passed slowly for those left in charge of watching him. There was the constant fear that the psychopathic criminal would attempt a breakout on their watch. This time a new recruit was given the obligation; a task he didn't take lightly. While his superiors tried as best they could to continue with their duties and paperwork, the young man fixed himself to a chair, staring intently at the man behind the bars of the cell. All going well, the Joker would be transferred to Arkham Asylum in the morning.
Over the course of the night, the MCU slowly began to empty, until it was just the recruit and the Joker, sitting opposite one another, separated only by the metal bars.
The Joker cleared his throat.
The recruit started at the sudden noise. He looked around the room, hoping that someone else had arrived. He looked back and saw the Joker sitting silently on the wooden bench, calmly shuffling his cards. He swallowed nervously and stood up to get a cup of coffee. The Joker chuckled. The rustle as he flicked the cards together was beginning to annoy the recruit. "Would you stop that?"
The Joker ignored him, fanning out the cards and peeking inquisitively at the order they had arranged themselves into. He smirked up at the recruit, pushed the cards back into a pile and smiled. Then he cut the deck, placed the two halves on his knee and shuffled them. The recruit watched silently as the Joker cut the deck and shuffled it another six times. Without looking at the order, he arranged the deck into a neat pile and reached into his pants pocket, drawing out another two cards. He flipped them over, showing the clowns on the cards to the recruit. Jokers. He placed one card face-down on the top of the deck and, lifting the deck, placed the last joker on the bottom.
The recruit walked back towards the holding cell, looking at his watch. Why wasn't it morning already? And where had everyone else gone? He shuddered as he realised that it was just him tonight. The Joker watched all this with amusement.
There was a noise and the recruit turned, looking for the source. In an instant, the Joker reached through the bars and grabbed his gun, pulling him backwards and wrapping his arm around the young man's neck. Turning off the safety, he put the barrel to the back of the recruit's head and squeezed on the trigger. There was an explosion of brain, blood and bone and the recruit crumpled. The Joker let go of him and let him fall to the floor, tasting blood as he licked his lips.
Reaching through the bars to the recruit's belt, he grabbed the keys and, carefully picking up his deck of cards; he unlocked the cell and let himself out. Walking over to where they had left his coat and his knives, the Joker slipped the gun into a pocket, deciding to keep it for later use. Before he left, he picked the top card off the deck and placed it gently over the recruit's eyes.
The joker card was still there when the next shift arrived in an hour's time.