MCU Building, August 17, 10:59 PM
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"Lieutenant
Gordon," said the deep voice of Gotham's "superhero,"
or, as some preferred to call him, the night vigilante: The Batman.
The Batman and Lieutenant Gordon stood on the top of the MCU Building, next to the spotlight with the bat-symbol that Gordon often used to scare people off and to "summon" the Batman, but that didn't always work. The Batman came when he wanted to, subject to his own personal agenda.
"There was a break-in at the uh... Thrift Store down by –"
"Gotham National?" the Batman asked. "I know."
"The owner's dead. Seems to be one of the same escapees from Arkham Asylum let out by –"
"Ra's Al Ghul. For the diversion," finished the Batman. "What does this one look like?"
Gordon pulled out a picture from the security tapes at Mike's Thrift Shop. "He left a 'Joker' playing card with this victim... and the last."
"The last?" Batman stared at the picture. What a freak.
"Yeah. Left one with a body near Falcone's cell down at Arkham."
"Sounds like this guy wants to be known as the Joker."
Gordon nodded, taking the picture back. The Joker had a ghastly appearance. "I wonder how he got those scars."
The Batman shook his head. "I don't."
"It should be nothing. This Joker guy's probably just been –" Gordon looked up. The Batman was gone..."hired..."
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Gotham City
Olive Garden, August 17, 11:01 PM
"Desserts?"
"No, thanks. Um... Rachel, do you...?"
"Oh, no thank you, but I would like another glass," Rachel said, pointing at her drink.
The waitress nodded, smiled, and left.
"So, Rachel, how was tonight? Be brutally honest."
"Harvey... do you really have to ask?" asked Rachel. "Look, I'm having a great time right now, probably one of the best times since... Well, I'm having a great time, and I want you to know that I would have said yes if you just asked me."
"Really?" Rachel nodded. "And here I was getting my palms sweaty over how I thought you might've been getting bored because of me."
"Well, you're not, Harvey. You've always treated me like a real person. And, not to mention how many criminals you've already gotten set for trials, like the mafia... You know, Falcone's –"
"—Crime family, yeah," said Dent. "Rachel... I always wanted to ask you. I just – didn't know the right place or time."
"Harvey, that was the right place and time."
"Okay," said Harvey, laughing. "And uh, not to pry, but since... what? Or who, should I be asking?"
"Since..." the waitress came by and gave Rachel her drink.
"Anything else?"
"No, we're good," said Rachel. The waitress left.
"Since?"
"Oh, right," Rachel said. "Since... I was with Bruce."
"Bruce? Who's – oh, wait, Bruce... as in Bruce Wayne?"
"Yeah," said Rachel quietly. "I still don't know where things lie with him. I mean, I've known him my whole life."
"Oh," Harvey said with a twinge of jealousy.
"Look, Harvey," Rachel said, sitting up a little straighter. "That's the past. For me, he's nothing less than my best friend, and for me, right now? He's nothing more, either. We know and trust each other with everything, and I guess, since... at the time, I didn't really have anyone else, I went for him. But I don't know. I don't feel like now is right for him, you know? He's got to go and let go of some stuff."
Harvey nodded.
"I think this is a good change for me, you know, seeing other people," said Rachel.
"You do?" asked Harvey.
"Yeah, I do. I definitely do."
"All right, then. That's just what –" Buzz. "Oh, wait one second. I have to take this."
"I know, Harvey."
"Hello?" Harvey's face twisted into confusion. "What? Slow down. Tomorrow? Wait, that can't... Okay, okay. Yeah, no problem, Garcia. Sure thing."
Harvey hung the phone up.
"What did Garcia say?"
"Ugh. The courtroom trial for Maroni's gonna be pushed to tomorrow, instead of Wednesday."
"Oh God. Okay," said Rachel, rubbing her eyes. "Okay, we'll meet up early at your office to discuss these briefs. Make sure we've got everything."
"Right," said Harvey. 'That's exactly right. The trial's at ten in the morning.."
"...so we should meet at six," said Rachel. "I'm on it."
"And here I was hoping I'd get a nice sleep-in after this long week."
"Harvey, in this office? You never get a nice sleep-in."
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Gotham City
Gotham Meta Insurance Building (Next to Gotham First National Bank), August 18, 8:24 AM
A glass window on the forty-third floor shattered. BOOM. Inside, a man in a clown mask, whom the Joker elected to call "Dopey," ejected a shell casing. BANG. A long cable was fired by the other thug in a clown mask, Happy, across to hit the lower roof of Gotham First National Bank. Dopey secured the cable line to an I-beam with a clamp and sent a big kit bag out.
The both of them slid across on the cable and landed right on the ceiling of Gotham First National.
"Right, we got this," said Dopey. "You ready?"
"'S your job," said Happy. "Get it done." Dopey shrugged and pulled out a pry bar.
"Time to break this baby open."
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Gotham City
Central and 52nd Street, August 18, 8:25 AM
Another man stood on the corner of the street, holding a clown mask. An SUV pulled up, right next to him, and the man immediately stuck the mask on his face before the other guys in the SUV could see him. He got inside and sat silently in the company of two other men wearing clown masks.
One of them, whom the Joker named "Grumpy," began pep-talking them. "Three of a kind. Let's do this."
The other, "Chuckles," looked up from loading his automatic weapon. "That's it? Three guys?"
Grumpy thought for a second. "There's two on the roof. Every guy is an extra share. Five shares is plenty."
"Six shares. Don't forget the guy who planned the job," said Chuckles wisely.
"Yeah? He thinks he can sit it out and still take a slice, then I get why they call him the Joker."
The third man, who the Joker named "Bozo," pulled the car over in front of the Gotham First National Bank. Grumpy cocked his weapon.
"This is it," said Chuckles.
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Gotham City
Gotham First National Bank, Lower Roof, August 18, 8:25 AM
It was strangely quiet. Remember, you're not supposed to know anything about me except that I hired you. Because if you do know something, Dopey will know I told you to kill him. One way or the other, the truth always spills out, Happy remembered. Yeah, okay, I'll be quiet about the Joker... except...
"Why do they call him the Joker?" asked Happy.
"I hear he wears make-up."
Happy looked confused under his mask. "Make-up?"
Dopey began pulling out thick bundles of blue CAT 5 cables. This is EASY. "Yeah, to scare people. You know, like war paint."
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Gotham Ctiy
Gotham First National Bank, First Floor, August 18, 8:26 AM
Grumpy, Chuckles, and Bozo shot their way into the bank with assault rifles. Grumpy began firing at the ceiling as Chuckles shot the Security Guard with a handgun. Bozo began rounding up the hostages, but they didn't manage to see one of the tellers pushing a button – a silent alarm – beneath her window.
We're gonna have a lotta money, thought Grumpy. This is nice.
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Gotham
City
Gotham First National Bank, Lower Roof, August 18, 8:26 AM
Dopey was staring intently at his handheld. "Come on... come on... and..." ping – the alarm hit his handheld. "Here comes the silent alarm." He pushed a button. "...and there it goes."
But the alarm didn't go to the police. "That's funny. It didn't dial out to 911 – it was trying to reach a private number..."
"Is it a problem?" Happy quietly pulled out a silenced handgun, aimed at Dopey.
"No, I'm done here." Bang.
"One down," said Happy, stuffing his gun into his pocket, picking up his bag, and forcing the roof access door. He sped down several flights of stairs to the basement, forcing open another door, right into the vault. "And here we go."
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Gotham City
Maroni's Mansion, August 18, 8:27 AM
A phone rang. "Maroni," answered its owner. "Yeah, what's going on, Pendleton? Trying to enjoy a nice hot tub here... What? A break-in? By who? You don't know? Then why are you calling me? Yeah? Well, guess what, if you live through this... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Call someone who cares."
BOOM. The door broke open.
"What you doing here?" Maroni asked. His wife left the hot tub. Police officers came in.
"You're comin' to court," said the chief officer, Lieutenant Gordon.
"Uh huh," said Maroni. "For what? And how'd you get in here?"
"Arrest warrant." Gordon waved the warrant like it was some sort of flag.
"Ugh."
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Gotham
City
Gotham First National Bank, Lobby, August 18, 8:27 AM
Bozo began handing objects from a large garbage bag to each of the hostages. Grenades and other lethal explosives, they realized. Then Grumpy followed, pulling the pins.
Grumpy cleared his throat as he moved along: "Obviously, we don't want you doing anything with your hands other than holding on for dear life."
BAM. Chuckles was blown off his feet as glass shattered from inside the Bank Manager's office. Grumpy and Bozo dove for cover behind a teller's desk as the manager, Pendleton, climbed out over the mess with a gigantic shotgun. The Hostages scrambled, clinging onto their grenades. BAM.
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Gotham
City
Gotham First National Bank, Vault, August 18, 8:28 AM
Happy clamped a drill to the vault, and the bit spun, sliding into the metal door. Suddenly, a bolt of electricity ripped through the drill, throwing Happy to the floor.
"Ow!" The clown mask slid down a bit. Happy readjusted it and got up. "I didn't sign up for this..."
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Gotham
City
Gotham First National Bank, Lobby, August 18, 8:28 AM
Grumpy and Bozo cowered again under the teller's desk as the Bank Manager fired again. BAM, BAM, BANG!
"He's got three left?" Grumpy asked.
Bozo raised two fingers. Grumpy squeezed off a shot. BAM. Grumpy looked at Bozo, who nodded in return. Yup. Grumpy jumped up and –
BAM. Grumpy grunted as a buckshot clipped his shoulder, then fell. As Pendleton began fumbling for new shells, Bozo stood up and shot with the handgun.
Bozo picked up the shotgon as Grumpy checked his wound – superficial. He struggled to his feet. "Where'd you learn to count?!"
Bozo stared him down through his mask, pushing Grumpy to his next act: Grumpy headed for the stairs in the back as Bozo began loading fresh shells into the shotgon.
"You have any idea who you're stealing from? You and your friends are dead."
Bozo stared him down and said nothing.
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Gotham
City
Gotham First National Bank, Vault, August 18, 8:30 AM
Happy was turning the tumblers with his hands covered with sneakers. Grumpy walked in.
'They wired this thing up with five-thousand volts. What kinda bank does that?"
"Mob banks. Guess the Joker's as crazy as they say."
Happy merely shrugged. I know nothing... He gripped the wheel bolt and began to spin it.
"Where's the alarm guy?"
"Boss told me when the guy was done I should take him out. One less share, you know?"
"Funny. He told me something similar."
The wheel spun to a stop as the vault door clunked open. Happy stopped with realization and turned with his gun to shoot Grumpy when he started yelling. "No, NO –" BAM.
Grumpy stepped over Happy's corpse into the vault... which was filled with an eight-foot mountain of cash. "This is nice."
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Gotham
City
Gotham First National Bank, Lobby, August 18, 8:34 AM
Bozo walked back into the lobby with two more duffels and sat them down on an enormous pile. Grumpy looked at it.
"If this guy was so smart he would've had us bring a bigger car."
Bozo shrugged and turned when he felt a sharp jab on his shoulder. It was Grumpy's pistol. Bozo looked at Grumpy as if to say, What is this?
"I'm betting the Joker told you to kill me as soon as we loaded this cash."
A stringy, very familiar voice responded from underneath Bozo's clown mask. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I kill the bus driver."
"Bus driver? What bus –"
Bozo stepped backwards as the back of yellow school bus smashed through the front of the bank, squishing Grumpy into the tellers window.
Bozo picked up Grumpy's weapon. Bozo shot at another clown who opened the rear door of the bus. As soon as he loaded the bags of cash into the bus, he made to step in when –
"Think you're smart huh? Well the guy who hired you's just do the same to you."
Bozo shook his head. Nope. He made his way again to the bus.
"Sure he will. Criminals in this town used to believe in things..." Bozo turned back to the Bank Manager and began to walk to him. "...Honor, respect. What do you believe, huh?" Bozo crouched over the Bank Manager. "WHAT DO YOU BEL—" Bozo slid a grenade into the man's mouth. A purple thread is knotted around the pin.
"I believe that whatever doesn't kill you..." Bozo pulled off his mask. The Bank Manager gasped. In the reflections of the glass, the hostages could see glimpses of a scarred mouth and clown makeup. The Joker. "...simply makes you stranger." The Bank Manager's eyes went wide as the Joker climbed into the bus, shutting the rear door, trapping the purple thread....
He drove the bus out, and the pin was pulled from the grenade. Pfffffff.... a toxic gas came out of the grenade. The Scarecrow's gas. Pendleton fell.