I had been feeling sick since walking into work this morning. Praying that Jonathan had forgotten to give me the files on the Joker as I walked into my office left me disappointed as he had indeed delivered them to my desk. Flopping down into my chair, my hand cautiously hovered over file as if there were some invisible disease preventing my hand from opening it. It was easy to tell that these were Crane's own notes as his handwriting was neatly visible on the top cover of the folder.
"Why did I agree to this again?" I had been repeating this to myself since returning home from dinner the previous evening; which had been quite a pleasant experience actually. After what seemed a lifetime of waiting, I flipped the file open and out sprawled a dozen pages of Jonathan's personal theories and thoughts on Joker's mental state. There were diagrams and equations, notes, lists and even a mugshot of the guy still donning his clown 'warpaint'. I wonder if they had let him keep the makeup on when he arrived at the asylum? Maybe the guards had been too afraid to go near it, Joker made them uneasy which was remarkable because usually the security guards were unfazed by anything; they hardly flinched when the Dollmaker was brought in. On the other hand, I felt slightly sick upon seeing the mask he wore which contained parts of his father's flesh so Doctor Crane told me.
My appointment with Joker was just under an hour away and the sickness within my stomach refused to disappear. I scribbled a few basic questions in my notebook in case my nerves decided to play up and my mind went to mush leaving me unable to remember anything; I hoped that wouldn't happen.
"Just think April, he can't be any worse than Bane," I tried telling myself, but who was I fooling. This was the Joker, the self proclaimed Clown Prince of Crime and the guy who could break the minds of psychiatrists in a short space of time; take Doctor Quinzel and Jonathan. How long would it take before he broke my mind too?
Taking a deep breath and reluctantly lifting myself from the chair, I left my office and headed towards Joker's cell. Security around the clown had doubled since his arrival. After his previous breakout the Warden deemed it necessary to separate him from the other inmates and place him in his own high level security cell with twice as many guards surrounding him to ensure he didn't escape again. Even with the doubled up security I couldn't help but be fearful of what he could possible do to me.
Flashing my card towards the the security camera, the large doors opened and I was greeted by half a dozen guards chorusing 'good morning Doctor'. I could see Joker sat within his small box staring at me through the glass. One of the guards granted me access to the cell and I proceeded to walk into the lions den.
The clown was already sat at a small table, another chair had been placed across the other side presumably for me. Walking in slowly and placing myself down on the wooden chair, I refused to look at him directly at first. Of course, the guards had let him keep his warpaint, it added to his character; one that made me feel uneasy.
"Well, good morning beautiful." My eyes diverted to the source of who had spoken, and found myself staring at the Joker, His green hair was slowly being overtaken by dirty blonde roots, the makeup upon his face was smudged and the scars on his cheeks became even more noticeable.
"Good morning, my name is Doctor Jones." I tried to keep my composure as best I could.
"You seem nervous, doll. Is it the scars?"
"I'll be the one asking the questions during our sessions, Joker." I had to dominate the conversation, otherwise he'd probably break my mind within minutes of him taking over.
"If you say so, Doc," the clown leaned back in his chair, refusing to break his dark glare towards me.
"I thought maybe we could start with your childhood, since Doctor Crane hadn't gotten very far with that subject."
"Doctor Crane," Joker started, "he wasn't much fun, too serious" the man began laughing to himself.
"I see, so your childhood.."
"You know, a man hears a lot of things whilst cooped up in this tiny box."
"Like what?" damn, I slipped up.
"Your dinner date with old Craney yesterday." Bastard was trying to get to me already.
"How could you possibly know that?"
"You two were the talk of the asylum this morning. The guards there," he pointed to the half dozen stood outside the cell, "had a nice little chat about it." he laughed to himself again; I now see why they call him the Joker.
"It was just business."
"Oh, I ain't jealous, honey. Although you are rather beautiful.." I could feel his eyes looking me up and down.
"Stop that."
"Stop what, Doc?"
"You may have been able to break Doctor Quinzel but it won't work on me." That's right, stand your ground, April.
"My lord, that girl was a pain in my ass for several months."
"I thought Harleen was your girlfriend?" Now we're getting somewhere. Joker shifted his position in the chair again.
"Look, I'm gonna be honest here and trust me that doesn't happen very often. That girl was my way out of here, no more no less. I didn't expect her to become sooo infatuated with me."
"I take it you know that she now resides at Blackgate prison?" The clown began laughing again, however this time it was more chaotic and twisted. It took a while before he could compose himself.
"GOOD!" he shouted. The guards outside all turned their heads at the same time. "Well, now I can sleep a little easier, knowing that psychotic bitch ain't coming for me!" Joker laughed again, clearly enjoying this too much.
"Yes well, back to your childhood."
"Oh come now, Doc, don't go all Doctor Crane on me, lighten up!" By now he was standing, towering over me. His smile was becoming wider as he cackled again, the sound vibrating off every wall and hitting me harshly. When he had finished, he swiftly brought the chair to my side of table, and before I knew it, the Joker was sitting beside me, his face inches from mine. He became a lot more intimidating close up.
"They say laughter is the best medicine, isn't that right Doctor Jones?" I could feel his breath upon my skin. I had noticed that he had a habit of licking his lips which he continued to do whilst in close proximity to me. He seemed to be getting closer,
"I think we'll end the session here." I whispered. Standing up, I signalled to the guard who then allowed me to leave the lions den. I could feel Joker staring at me as I briskly walked away.
"Until next time, dollface!" he called out to me.
