Chapter 3

Equal.

It had to be equal numbers. She never quite understood why she was like this but she was. She couldn't stand it if there was not an equal amount. Not one bit.

If there were three chips left she would offer one to someone else just so she would eat two chips. If there were five cars parked in one lane she would destroy the fifth one just so there would be four cars parked in the lane.

And as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other she contemplated how she would equal out this one.

It was a box with three flashing dots. Three!

Though on the outside she looked calm and collected Adam knew better. This was killing her on the inside…

When he and the guys found this box in the alley they thought best to leave it but Guy was oh too curious and snatched it off the wet ground before they scuttled back to the hideout. He said something along the lines of 'It's ain't ticking so it ain't a bomb.' Now, originally Guy promised to keep it to himself yet as soon as he began to examine the box he tossed it to Adam and demanded him to open it up for him. Problem was even he couldn't solve the enigma and Georgie wasn't the smartest cookie out of the batch.

So they called the smart one of the group: The Mime.

Her frosty gaze dragged over every inch of the box. "At the very least the lengths are nearly equal and straight…" Mime mused to herself.

Guy shoved Adam to a side and ensured Mime could see his face. "So you think you can do it?" Guy requested, with a twinkle in his eyes.

Mime cocked her head, scowling at the box. She abruptly took a seat in the rickety chair near the broken circular table and cocked a brow at the box. It had a green question mark splat down in the middle.

Adam hastily took a seat to Mime's right, he cleared his throat "if it's any consolation, the... the dot of the question mark can be the fourth" he locked with Mime's eyes "…dot" he mumbled in the end.

"What did he say?" Georgie rambled behind them.

Adam looked over his shoulder "I said 'if it makes ya feel better we got some pot lyin' around. A lot of pot'. That's what I said!" irritably he yelled.

When Adam looked back at Mime her brows had reached the middle of her forehead. Adam fidgeted in his seat embarrassed by his outburst so Mime brought her attention back to the box.

"Don't focus on it, don't focus on it, don't focus on it." Mime chanted in her mind and tried not to let her mind ruminate about the flashing dots.

Mime lifted the box, weighing it, then revolved it in her hand. There was a button on every face including the bottom. The button on the front face had a symbol of a tree, the button on the left face had a symbol of wings, the button on the right face had a symbol of a key, the button on the back face had a symbol of a quaver, and the button on the bottom had a symbol of tides.

The note stated "I do not have a body but I can take shape of anything. The wind is my friend, adding to my ferocity as does time."

Mime pouted slightly in thought, her eyes shifting to the ceiling.

Adam gawked at her intently so did Guy and Georgie so much so that they didn't notice a shadow sneaking up behind them. Georgie and Guy froze when they both felt a hand snake behind their necks. Guy broke out in a cold sweat and Georgie clenched his hands into fists.

Simultaneously, both looked over their shoulder only to find that Joker had squeezed his head between their shoulders and was eyeing both Adam and Mime but more so Mime.

When Joker finally took notice of Georgie and Guy's gaze on him and put his index finger on his lips and then rather loudly "Shhhhh!"

Adam waved his hand at them but dared not to shift his gaze from Mime "Shut up, you idiot!" he harshly spoke in a hushed tone.

Georgie and Guy felt the hands on their shoulders tighten. Guy inhaled sharply which led Adam to wave a hand towards their way again "She's concentrating, trying to figure it out so shut up!"

True, Mime was concentrating, concentrating hard… just not about the riddle. "There's five buttons, there's five buttons, five buttons! I can't be defeated by buttons. How shall I remove the fifth button? Something like this could ruin my life. No, I should focus on the riddle. I have to get rid of the fifth button or I could add a button to the top face that way there will be six buttons, an even number."

So absorbed she was she was not even aware of Joker's obnoxious voice "So, Ad-a-m. Having a little get together without little ol' me?"

Adam became rigid instantly: his palms began to become clammy and his back had become stiff straight with fright. "B… boss. We were just uhm…" Adam fidgeted with Mimer's hat which he had taken from her out of courtesy when she arrived.

'Click'.

All eyes were on the box. Mime had her finger on the button on the bottom, the symbol of the tide. She set the box down and peered inside. She pulled out a neon green question mark trophy.

She examined it closely before setting it down on the table. She turned to Guy and grinned but nodded her head in acknowledgement at Joker who merely smirked at her maliciously.

"Aw come on! Don't tell me that was all that was in there?" Guy huffed, frustrated. "That's the second one and I don't even know what they're for!"

When Mime didn't respond Adam nudged her and gave her back her hat. Mimer jumped and smiled gratefully at Adam before taking her hat. She almost got lost in those intense black pools that were in Joker's skull. So intense his eyes were.

"Did she hear me?" Guy asked Adam. Adam shook his head and Mime having paid attention this time chuckled lightly and her shoulders rose to her ears.

Adam smiled knowingly, she hunched her shoulders when she was embarrassed as if her shoulders would be the centre of attention rather than her face.

"Hey Georgie!" the moment was ruined by Joker "Did you get rid of the trash like I asked you to?"

By 'trash' he meant the dead bodies that were down in the basement. Georgie inclined his head "Yeah got them all 'cept for one."

"Well"

Then Georgie was off. "I'll come with." Guy was gone too. Now it was just Adam and Mimer… oh and the Joker.

Adam pulled a bag out "Here's the take away, Boss"

It was probably cold by now but he didn't know this since time with Mimer simply flew by.

"Ah, you mean the one I, uh, ordered two hours ago?"

He hesitated "Yeah".

"Well Adam. Tell me why I shouldn't-"

He was cut off by a buzz. It had come from Mimer's pocket. She pulled out her flip phone and scanned it. She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. She stuffed it in her pocket and pulled on her hat. She faced Adam and quickly signed to him.

She attempted to rush past Joker but he grabbed her wrist in a bruising grip which made her gnash her teeth together. "Where are you going? You just got here, Mime-mah!"

"She's gotta go Boss. It's an emergency-" Adam interjected but Joker growled.

"She's got'a tongue of her own, doesn't she?"

Adam looked unsure and clenched and unclenched his fists. He glanced at Mimer who glanced at him confusingly. She couldn't see Joker's lips.

Adam gaped at Joker, not knowing how to break it to him but Joker was growing rather bored of Adam and snatched the bag before he marched off to his lair. Adam wanted so badly to follow them but… he knew better. He knew that look Joker flashed him before he stomped off. He just prayed Mimer would survive the night. He hated himself for being so weak.

Mimer had attempted to yank her arm back but whenever she did his grip increased like a python around its prey. Suffocating it. She couldn't over power him at least not now in the narrow corridor that they were in.

He finally let go when they got to his room. Mimer rubbed her wrist and looked at him expectantly. Joker tossed the bag on the table that was now clear of blueprints and mirrored Mimer's expression.

"So beautiful, are ya gonna stand there or are ya gonna take a seat while I'm still offering it-ah?"

Mimer vaguely wondered what he wanted with her at this time. She was in a hurry if he couldn't see that. She frowned and popped down in the seat in front of him, she was just going to hear him out and then go.

Joker pulled out two boxes of Chinese, slamming one down in front of her, along with chopsticks. He then fell in his own chair and began to scoff down his food. Mimer was taken back by his manners, or lack of. He paused, she thought to breath, but it was to look over to Mime "Ain't ya hungry?" he pointed at her with his chopsticks.

Mimer felt her brows furrow and she looked him over puzzled. This painted man, clothes half covered in dirt, and noodles dangling from his mouth had dragged her up to his room to share his dinner with her.

Joker blinked several times at her before he spoke.

"I'm bored-ah." I need company.

"And you seemed to fit the bill." And you're here to entertain me, to give me company.

Mimer slumped in her chair and shook her head. As if making up her mind she pulled off her hat and set it on the table. She was lucky and she knew it. He could've killed her and she knew it. He could still snap and kill her and she knew it.

Mimer didn't touch the food but gave him her attention nonetheless, "So?"

That was the first word she had said to him since they met. So.

Her voice was stern but had a certain flow to it. Joker could only describe it as the flow of water. Rippling yet mellow.

Joker swallowed his noodles, paused. "So-oo?" he dragged it out.

Mimer paused herself too, "What do you want?" she clasped her hands and rested her hands on the table, shifting to face him entirely. She didn't feel safe and she was right to feel so.

It was there, very faint, but still there. She had an accent. A French one.

"You're not from 'round here, are you?"

Mimer blinked at him in surprise. There it was again, she paused as if she didn't want to speak in the first place, "No, I'm not."

"You a Frenchie?" Joker wagged his brows, wolfing down some more noodles.

She nodded. "Yes."

Joker nodded and spoke through a mouth full of noodles "What's a Frenchie doing here in Gotham?"

Mimer's lips twitched downwards briefly. She was staring at his lips again, was it the scars?

"What?" she cocked her head slightly.

Joker chuckled darkly; he thought she was distracted by his scars. How wrong he was. "I said, what's a Frenchie doin' in Gotham?"

It was her turn to chuckle but in a much lighter tone, "Why? Am I not allowed to be here?"

Joker examined her eyes, "Just wonderin' why a French gal like you would come to America, Gotham, of all places?"

He watched her jaw work. She had taken it the wrong way, "A… gal… like me?" she mimicked him.

"A gal like you" Joker repeated. "Got sick of home, did ya?"

That struck a nerve and they both knew it. Oh he wasn't going to let go of her now.

"Oh I don't blame ya. I would get sick of frogs and snails too if I had to eat that every day."

Mimer pulled back on her reins, her rage being subdued.

"Not to mention all of the lover boys there with the ladies hooked to their arms like fishes… Paris, the city of love. More like-"

"I'm not from Paris. Even so, I know for a fact that Paris is not full of love struck fools and nor do we eat frogs or snails… it is a delicacy. Like Foie gras. You either love it or hate it."

There it was again, she pronounced Paris and Foie gras like how the French would pronounce it, not like the Americans.

"Fua gua?" Joker asked amused.

"Foie gras" she corrected him,"it is a dish consisting mostly of goose liver."

Joker grimaced, "How scrumptious-ss. That must be, uh, fun to make."

Joker began to cackle until he caught her staring at his lips again. It was starting to irritate him. His laughter abruptly ceased and he grabbed her by the back of the head. He dragged a switchblade over her jawline, catching some make up along the way.

She didn't even flinch. But her eyes were hard. His eyes twitched with vexation as her eyes were still locked on his lips.

His tongue slithered out in a flash and returned to his mouth, "Is it the scars? Wanna know how I got 'em?"

He nodded but she gawked at him astounded. What made him think that?

"So I had a fine gal once, she was beautiful, like you. Who would look out for me even though she couldn't stand the sight of me." He nodded, "one night I come home and there she is cryin' her eyes out 'cuz I work long hours, yaknow."

He leaned in, his blade hungrily reaching for Mimer's plump lips "she looks at me and says 'Jay, when are ya gonna stop workin' these long hours and look after me?'"

Mimer knew this was a fib the moment he began his little 'story'. She could tell by his heart beat. A person's heart beat became irregular if a fib slipped through their lips.

"So I said to her that she needed to lighten up. And passed out in my bed" He had dived deep into the story by now "when I wake up she's on me with a knife. I scream, tell her to, uh, get off. She carved my face up and left me."

Finally, Mimer looked straight in Joker's eyes.

Now she understood.

He didn't know.

She assumed Adam had already told him.

When she felt the blade touch the left corner of her mouth she did the first thing that came to mind and grabbed his wrist, pulling out her own butterfly knife and held it to his jugular.

Joker tensed, that wasn't a good sign. She was treading on very thin ice.

Mimer's eyes blackened, her gaze as strong as steel. She was a wounded dog and her teeth were sharp and bare, very to maul anything that dared to come in to close proximity to her. When she finally verbalised her musings it was with great care, "*1Ça m'est égal. I don't care about the scars, I just went to get down to business. Or perhaps you want a war, *2 une guerre des mots."

Joker wasn't fluent in the French language but even he understood that she genuinely couldn't give a tosh about his scars.

Joker's tongue flashed over his lips which caused Mimer to shift uncomfortably. "Well, you-ah seem very fascinated by them. I could only assume-"

She quickly fired back, "Don't presume anything about me and I will do the same for you."

Joker smacked his lips loudly "Then why are you still staring at them?"

Mimer grew silent and the atmosphere grew bitterly cold like winter had just taken summer's limelight. Joker narrowed his eyes as both persons removed their weapons. Without another word Mimer dived for the exit and that was the last Joker saw of Mimer for the weeks.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;

"What's wrong wit Mimer?" Guy queried, "She hasn't even given'a friendly 'hello' like usual."

Georgie concurred "Yea, she even missed out on our night."

None were aware that Joker was silently eavesdropping on their conversation. Having come back from recruiting some more scumbags for Joker and his big 'idea', the gang sat near the pool table and were on their smoke break. At least Guy and Georgie were; Adam never went near the cancer rolls though he was used to the burning fumes now.

"I dunno. She hasn't told me much" Adam began. "She wasn't too happy when the Boss… intervened with her business."

Joker cleaned his knife a little more aggressively with a cloth.

Guy took a long drag "You don't mean…"

Adam nodded "Yeah, probably."

Joker slammed his knife into the counter wedging it into the table and continued on with the other knife. Funny, none of his buffoons were even aware that Joker was leisurely lounging in the adjacent room on the bottom floor as his idiot men were going high whilst grunge music blared from the speakers. Some were killing their brain cells by drinking, some were losing their minds by something various amount of drugs, some were already bonkers as it was and some were creating a tumour for their lungs.

Ah, the pleasures of life.

When Joker finished with his knives he collected them in his pockets and entered the main room that the imbeciles were occupying. Their laughter and whoops died down once they saw a flash of purple and someone even hurriedly shut the music off.

"Boss."

Joker merely stared at his men. He didn't see men, or even humans, he saw monkeys at his disposal like pigs for slaughter. When he didn't move a muscle one man dared to take a swing of his beer but found a knife lodged in between his ribs. He screamed in fright but no one dared to aid him. He fell to the floor and clutched his side.

Joker was thoroughly out of his mind. He needed to get work done but he still didn't have enough man power and at the speed he was receiving men he wouldn't be able to carry out his grand plan – apologies, his grand idea - in like twenty years.

Two years had passed since he had been put in Arkham and the Batman had apparently retired. Joker was not so pleased when he became aware of that fact and he was going to make sure that Batman only truly retired until he reached the grave.

Never had Joker thought that Harvey Dent-ah could've been such a pain, even after death.

If he could he would resurrect Harvey just so he could kill him over and over again. Skin his alive, disfigure him even further, break him until he was nothing more than the average man.

If he was going to hire men and quick for that matter he would have to recruit them himself.

"You!" Joker pointed at Adam with a knife he had just pulled out of one of his men "Come with me."

There was no hesitation. Joker slipped on his large trench coat and sauntered off into the night. He always loved to work during the night as there was more of a chance to run into his dear Batman and because he thrived more in the dark. He leeched off of the darkness by physically and metaphorically.

They didn't take the van like Adam thought they would. Instead they went on foot.

Adam went out of his way to make sure he didn't get on Joker's bad side which was the quite hefty task considering that almost anything and everything got on his nerves, except for Batman. Now that was a special case.

"Know any good speakeasies?" Joker inquired from Adam. Now this was not the speakeasies that normal people thought of. No, when any criminal mentioned a 'speakeasy' he would be referring to the hell holes where hired muscle could be bought and where criminal occasionally held several conferences, so to speak. Speakeasies were also physical gateways to the black market.

"Yeah, The Tomb."

The Tomb was one such speakeasy and it was the hotspot for most criminals in central Gotham especially for those who wanted a part in something big. The real kicker was that it was located directly under GCPD.

Joker once remarked 'so how do you hide something form the world's greatest detective? Well did you know, you stick right in front of him, right under his long pointy nose.'

Once they went underground, Adam had his hand hovering over his hand gun whilst Joker merrily skipped over to the entrance of the speakeasy. Of course it was guarded and manned constantly and you only got a free pass if you were recognised. Joker didn't even have to stop for the doors to open because they were already half way open by the time he reached them.

As the metallic vault groaned in its opening Adam heard heavy breathing from behind them. He glanced behind him only to be met with sewage water. He really didn't like this place particularly since he knew that thing was down here somewhere.

Adam took off the safety of his gun and scoured the area but just as he turned he saw movement in the sewage water.

It refused to stalk Joker and his dog anymore so scurried off to the maze of a sewage system. Adam relaxed only slightly when he saw it move away from him. He holstered him hand gun and trotted after Joker.

That was a close one.

Did I mention, speakeasies were a different world entirely? The Tomb resembled more of a Stone Age society rather than a modern one. It was not a place for the fragile or light hearted ones.

Joker weaved through the crowds not going unnoticed by the crowds. They would've parted like the red sea if they could however The Tomb was packed to the brim; one could've choked to death if they weren't careful.

Adam struggled to keep up with Joker as he headed for his turf. The structure of The Tomb was beyond strange when compared to how things went up on the surface. Strange in the sense that the proximity and level of calmness was almost abnormal.

The ceiling was covered with leaky piping, the main conference room was just below the piping and had several metallic stairwells leading up to it and just below in the middle was a stage of sorts which was where usually the announcements were made. However, it wasn't all nice and dandy. Criminals naturally detested each other – hostility was normal between everyone, the only exception was when they would join forces for mutual interests arising. And so the middle ground was for everyone to 'mingle'.

The Tomb had several corners, corners which would be invaded by different gangs, the largest corner was reserved for the most powerful, of course. In this case it was Joker currently although when there was a shift in power things would get messy down here. Thankfully, it wasn't every day when someone had the audacity to challenge the King.

Each corner was sectioned off by the gang's lower members, almost patrolling a perimeter, and if one had business with the leader they would have to get past the dogs. Almost anything could come into the category of BUSINESS: from wanting a job to duelling and passing on information on anything. If you wanted to know anything you would come to a speakeasies as they were the cesspool of scumbags but also information and resources.

This is the reason why not just everyone could enter. For if anyone could enter then Batman would've tracked down each and every one of these speakeasies.

Now depending on the gang's power they would have more materials to themselves in the speakeasies. So if you were on the lower end of the food chain your corner would be bare.

Fortunately, for Adam he was right. There were dozens if not hundreds of men awaiting for Joker. Ever since it was announced that Batman had gone missing for the first year, criminals came pouring in, one could dare say that there was a crime boom.

The amount of theft doubled and activity in the black market tripled in Gotham. Everyone was rushing to get the job done before the Batman came back… if he came back.

As Adam stepped into Joker's territory Adam did a double take to his left. He thought he saw Mimer amongst the men that were awaiting Joker's judgement. It was probably his imagination. After all, he was missing her terribly. Besides Mimer would be crazy to come to the Tomb of all places. The Tomb was one of the speakeasies with connections to the Mob: she wasn't welcomed.

It was rumoured that someone had hired a hitman to get rid of the Maroni clan, a hitman who was dressed as a Mime, a Mime that was as silent as death itself. The strange thing was that in speakeasies there were hardly any rumours mostly facts and figures. Rarely anything as unstable as a rumour.

So that mime, whoever he was, should tread carefully, specifically those who resembled a mime even slightly. Adam scoured the crowds as a precaution considering that Joker rarely came down to speakeasies himself. Yet, as he did so he began to wish he didn't.

He wasn't imagining things.

Joker swiftly went through the men he would accept and those who would not but he came to an abrupt halt as he spotted a flash of white.

The crowd parted as if the plague had entered the area and it became eerily silent in his area. That never happened, ever. It was only ever silent if someone were on the stage yet even then one could catch the tell-tale signs of a whisper or a snigger here and there. The silence was like an infection. It rooted out to the other gangs who were now acutely aware of a certain guest who was visiting Joker.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

The cane came to a halt. There in all her glory stood the Mime. Oddly, Joker noticed that she did not tip her hat during their exchange of pleasantries in fact she did not offer any at all. Quite the contrary, it looked as if she were about to scowl at him.

"Well, what can I do for you Mime-ah?" Joker licked his scars in anticipation. He didn't know what he did to set her off on him like this but he welcomed it either way.

Mimer eyed him down but when she opened her mouth to rebuke him she was interrupted which didn't please either Joker or Mimer.

"You ain't welcomed her, you twat!"

Penguin came trudging down from his little castle and was bold enough to step into Joker's territory. Penguin of all had suffered most from the attacks on the Mob, so one could say that the volcano was erupting within him.

Mimer gave no indication of annoyance and simply rolled her eyes to him "Excuse you?"

"I said, you ain't welcomed here. Did you really think you could get away with wha ye did?" He smacked his cane as if testing her.

Joker saw a flicker of amusement in Mimer's eyes. She was dancing on the edge of a volcano, one slip up and she was a goner. She would fall into the mouth and she would be incinerated within a blink of an eye.

Penguin never let her answer, "I'm gonna wring yer pretty little neck and feed it to me dogs-"

"No you're not."

Her voice echoed off of the walls. It took a while for Penguin to register that she had spoken.

He looked at her down her nose "Why not?"

Mimer smirked smugly.

Joker narrowed his eyes "She had expected this."

Mime pulled out a small device from her pocket and held it at eye level, for average height people anyway. "Do you know what this is, *3pingouin?" her tone suggested she were talking to a child.

His cheeks flushed in ignorance.

"It's a heart monitor. If my heart stops this entire area will be blown up and flooded."

A series of gasps could be heard throughout The Tomb and many began to get anxious.

"*4si je peux me permettre, Joker"

Before a stampede broke out Mimer said six words which put a stop to it all.

"I challenge you to a duel."


To be continued…

*1 – I don't care.

*2 – a war of words.

*3 – penguin.

*4 – If I may be so bold/if you don't mind my asking.

A/N:
Yes, I am continuing this story before my other Hellsing stories because I need to work out how to tie up a few loose ends for that one before continuing. Please feel free to leave a review and thank you for reading.

~Suki