chapter 9

I was thankful to see when I got outside that we weren't terribly far from my apartment. The building we were holed up in was about six blocks away, which wasn't a very long walk at all. My clothes were still damp from the rain the other night, not allowed to dry from being scrunched up on my body for the past two days, and one of my heels was chipped, so I held my shoes as I walked home. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do when I got there. I was sure the cops would be looking for me. I wondered how much damage had affected Arkham. Who had been lost in the casualties? Was Sean okay? I wasn't even sure if Dr. Lawrence had been there last night. I was aching to watch the news, but I was also much too stressed to even think about returning to the asylum. I'd be bombarded with questions that I didn't know how to answer. I wasn't sure whether or not to tell anyone about Crane's secret identity.

I knew he would do good on his promise.

I didn't want to get any further on Crane's bad side than I already was.

The first thing I did when I got home was strip myself of the soaking clothes I'd donned and changed into something more comfortable. The next step was turning on the coffee pot. I'd left before the coffee had finished brewing at Crane's, and it had been haunting me ever since. After I had a mug filled, I left the kitchen and sat down on my couch, grabbing the remote and anxiously flipping to the local news station. I wasn't at all surprised that Arkham Asylum was printed in bold at the bottom of the screen, followed by the title: Inmates Overthrow. Footage of the breakout was played from what looked like a helicopter circling overhead. The barricade of cops were making their way towards Poison Ivy's giant plant. The vines were swinging haphazardly. I couldn't keep my eyes off the main door, trying to spot the Joker (and myself, or Crane) but no such luck. This must have been shot before we'd came out or just after we'd left. The anchorwoman of GCN began to speak, frightening me. I'd almost forgotten I was watching the news. "While most of the damage at Arkham Asylum is calming down, the authority and security are in question by Mayor Anthony Garcia. Commissioner Gordon has called into question the dependency we really have on Arkham. On another note, most of the patients have been re-apprehended; except for a total of three patients. Most of which are a part of the Intensive Treatment team. These include Ex-Doctor Pamela Isley, also known as Poison Ivy, Edward Nigma (The Riddler), and the unidentified terrorist we've come to know as the Joker." My stomach twisted just then as his face flashed on the screen. A picture of his mugshot from Arkham - his skin pale but free of his greasepaint, hair faded and donning his Arkham jumpsuit - right beside a security camera's shot of him in costume. It was a picture from the bank he'd robbed last month, him staring at the camera, eyes framed with dark black circles and a bright red smile covering his mouth and scars.

Where could he have gone?

"Hello?" I slurred against the cordless phone.

"Harley? Is that you? Oh shit, I thought you were dead. Wow, that wasn't tasteful. Are you okay?" Sean's voice asked. He sounded breathless. I sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I stuttered.

"Uh, yeah. Shit. Sorry. Uh, it's been a rough couple of days."

"I'll say," He replied. "Lawrence has been trying to get ahold of you. Hell, everyone's been trying to get ahold of you. Where have you been?"

My eyes shot open. What could I say? What story could I fathom up? I was suddenly very angry with myself for sleeping instead of coming up with a valid alibi. "I got home last night. I passed out as soon as I got in the door. I must have left my cell phone at the asylum when the breakout happened."

"Where were you all yesterday, then? I've been worried." I smiled slightly from his concern. Sean was such a sweet guy.

"I was knocked out when the breakout happened. The Joker had me. I can't really remember much…" I tried to make my voice seem like I was confused, but I wasn't sure how well I was doing. "I was out for quite a well. I don't know what happened."

"Wow. What happened in the asylum, with Joker?" He asked. "Nevermind. I'm coming over. We'll go get coffee. Then Lawrence wants you to come in as soon as possible. The cops have a lot of questions for everyone. I've been interrogated nonstop since it happened."

I smiled as I pushed my hair out of my face and yawned loudly. "Coffee sounds really nice." I glanced at the time. It was around one p.m. and my last cup of coffee was three hours ago. The sleep made it wear off. Going to get an espresso sounded like a good way to get back into the swing of things, even though I knew nothing was ever going to be back to normal.

"Wonderful. I'll pick you up in thirty," He said, more cheerfully than anything else he'd said all day.

"See you then," I replied. I put the cordless phone back on it's charger and went into the bathroom to take a look at myself. I looked like absolute hell. Going without showering for two days after being pushed around in the rain and sleeping on a nasty sofa is not good for your appearance. I knew I wasn't going to get away with not taking a shower today.

Twenty-five minutes later I was showered and dressed in a pair of black slacks, a white button-up shirt and a black jacket. I felt strange not having my purse. Of course, all of my personal things were in my purse, including my cell phone, wallet (filled with all my money, and credit cards), and driver's license. I scrounged around the house for enough money for a cup of coffee, not wanting to make Sean drive me and buy my drink. A knock on the door caught my attention and I quickly went over and opened it to see Sean standing there, rubbing his neck. "Morning," He said.

"Hey," I said with a smile. "Come on in."

He followed me into the apartment, looking around all the while, before sitting down on the couch as I grabbed a pair of shoes from my closet and went about putting them on. "I'm sure you can guess that I have dozens of questions." He leant forward as if he was conspiring with me and I raised my eyebrow.

"Alright, Officer," I said, facetiously.

He rolled his eyes. "Are you okay? Like, positive?"

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up is all." I stood up with purpose after slipping on the other heel.

"You look different. There's something about you." He said, rubbing his chin. The action almost made me laugh but I felt it was an appropriate move for the situation. "Maybe I'm just imagining things. Anyway, are you ready?"

"Mhm," I muttered. We wandered out to the car and Sean's curious stare was on me the entire time, making me paranoid. I knew my story didn't add very well, and he probably was very confused, but then again, so was I. Besides, I hadn't done anything wrong. I don't know why I was feeling guilty. I tried to convince myself that the only reason I was trying to draw up an alibi was because of Crane's threat, but for some reason it just seemed like a lie to me. I knew it was because I wanted to find J so bad, though I didn't understand why I was feeling nervous now, when I hadn't even done anything.

The coffee shop we frequented on Fourth Street was a small cafe that was filled with writers and hippies and people that looked like they could use one less cup of coffee everyday. We fit in well. Once I had my coffee in hand and we were sitting down, Sean sighed loudly as if he was impatient. I glanced at him from under my lashes as I stirred in my creamer. "I'm dying here. What the hell happened the other night?" I gnawed on my lip.

Did I tell him the Joker came to my office? I didn't see why not. It wasn't like I let him out of his cell. It wasn't something that needed to be lied about. "The Joker showed up in my office. I had just gone for dinner and then came back to finish up some paperwork, and there he was." I shrugged. Sean was staring at me like my skin was melting off, but I relented and kept talking. "He told me he was just telling me goodbye, and then dragged me out of my office and towards the front. That's around the time the alarms started blaring." I remembered seeing him wandering the halls with the 10/6 card wrapped onto his head and I flinched. He caught the action and jumped on it.

"What? What was that reaction?" He asked.

"That was around the time I saw you."

His brow lowered in confusion. "Oh. When the Mad Hatter…?"

I nodded and he returned to sipping his coffee. He was obviously upset about that. Upset that he'd been overthrown by someone like Jervis Tetch. "He led me down to Intensive Treatment where someone had left a knife for him in the guard's station, and then we went towards the front door. When we got outside," I paused. I had almost told him about my shoulder, but that would give away Crane's involvement. Who else could have fixed it? "When we got outside, I was shocked. I saw hypnotized cops getting mowed down…" My voice trailed off, but in actuality, I was imagining the look of bliss in Joker's eyes as he watched his masterpiece unfold. My stomach clenched in some strange reaction to the image. "The Batman showed up, and J threw me to the ground. That's the last thing I remember." I bit my tongue when I realized I was using J's nickname freely with Sean, but he didn't seem fazed by it. He was too busy taking in the story I'd told.

"Jesus," He muttered, scratching the back of his head. I apprehensively awaited him to ask where I'd woken up and how I'd gotten home but he didn't. I knew the cops would definitely have some questions. I'd need to think up a story before I got to work. "Well, I guess we should head on out. Lawrence needs me at the asylum. We're trying to figure out which of the guards are corrupt."

I laughed at that. "All of them? You know the patients pay them off for things all the time. I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner."

"I know, I know," He said. He seemed tired, and I could see the stress in the dark circles under his eyes. By the time we got to Arkham, it was around three. There were multiple cop cars parked out front as well as a news van that was being corralled away from the main entrance. My nose wrinkled at the tenacity of the press. We parked and were able to get inside without too much of a hassle, but I knew the real struggle was inside these doors. What would I say? Would I tell them I woke up on the property somewhere? I was dragged away by a random man and then found myself later in the Narrows? I wondered if that would leave too many questions about Crane, especially because I doubted he'd be showing up to work anytime soon. Sean glanced at me as we walked through the halls with concern, so I gave him a tight-lipped smile and told him I was just nervous about talking to the cops.

"Quinzel! I was worried," Lawrence's voice said from down the hall. I smiled at him when I saw him. "You look… Come on, lets get you another cup of coffee." I frowned. I hadn't thought I'd looked that tired this morning. Maybe I hadn't covered the bags under my eyes very well. After I'd gotten another paper cup full, I was taken to one of Arkham's many conference rooms and sat down on one side of the table. Lawrence sat down two seats to the right of me. The table was covered in papers and a black briefcase. The door opened and both of our heads snapped up to see the cop that would be interrogating me.

"Miss Quinzel?" She asked. "I'm Detective Ramirez."

"Doctor, actually," I corrected, out of habit. "It's nice to meet you." I shook her outstretched hand and then she sat down across from me, setting her own cup of coffee down beside her. She drunk it black. Detective Ramirez was young, young to be a detective anyway, maybe in her late twenties, with long dark hair tied back in a ponytail behind her head and caramel-colored skin. Her eyes were untrusting.

"I've been informed that you were at the asylum the night of the breakout. If you could recall the nights events for me, from start to finish, that would be great." She turned on her tape recorder and leaned back, patiently waiting for me to begin. I could tell Lawrence was watching me from the corner of my eye.

I crossed my legs before I started to talk. "I was working that day, and later in the evening Dr. Lawrence came by and suggested I get out of here for a bit - Go grab dinner, or the like. I took his advice and was gone for around an hour and a half before I came back to have some peace and quiet in my office to finish some paperwork. Around that time, our unidentified patient, the Joker came to my office." I could see Lawrence's eyes widen. This was news to him. Ramirez kept her face void of any emotion but I could see the surprise in her expression. "I was frightened, of course. I thought he'd came to hurt me, and when I voiced that, he told me that he'd only come to say goodbye. That he'd enjoyed his stay but that it was time to go. Once he dragged me out into the hallway, I saw that Dr. Sean Warren had one of Jervis Tetch's - another patient here, I apologize - mind control cards tied around his head. Around that time I knew we were in serious trouble.

"The Joker led me down to the Intensive Treatment area where all the cells were already open and empty. In the guard's station, someone had left him a knife to use. He dragged me out the front doors of the asylum and by then the grounds were chaos."

"So you saw the other patients? Did you see either of the other escaped convicts? Edward Nigma, or Pamela Isley?" Ramirez asked, leaning forward and cocking her head to the side.

I nodded. "I saw Ms. Isley, but I didn't see the Riddler anywhere."

"Please continue," She said as she jotted something down in a small flip-cover notebook.

I cleared my throat. "The Joker - without releasing his hold on me - went up to the first person he saw, who happened to be my patient, Timothy Blank… And he slit his throat right in front of me. Around that time, the Batman showed up, and in his distraction, the Joker threw me to the ground. I remember being approached, but I don't know by who or what. That's all I remember. I woke up yesterday near the end of the road leading into the Narrows and walked myself home."

Ramirez was frowning as she wrote down what I was saying. My throat was dry from nerves, but I kept my cool on the outside. After all, I was trained to stay calm no matter what. I was a psychiatrist in an asylum, after all. "I see. How long after the alarms sounded did all this happen?"

"The Joker showed up in my office a couple minutes before the alarm started. It was about another fifteen, twenty minutes before I passed out."

"Okay," She mused, scribbling more onto her paper. "Okay, Dr. Quinzel. Thank you. I think for now that's all we need. We might have another Officer come by with more questions another time. For today, that'll be all. Thank you, Doctor," She said as she stood. We shook hands and then she offered her hand to Dr. Lawrence. "Dr. Lawrence. You both have a good day."

Once the detective was out of the room, Lawrence turned in his swivel chair towards me, chin resting on his fist. "You were face to face with an unrestrained Joker, and you're still alive?" He asked.

I shrugged. "He didn't seem interested in hurting me. I think he just wanted me along for the hell of it."

"For the hell of it," He scoffed. "Well, I'll give you one thing, Quinzel. You have guts. I'm sure anyone else in this building would've shit themselves if the Joker had showed up in their office." I was looking at my lap then, and he said, "Are you sure you're alright, Harleen?"

"I'm fine, really. Thank you," I replied. "I'm going to get to work."

"Quinzel," He said, with almost a laugh in his voice. He stood as I did. "You aren't working today. You've just had a terrible past few days. Take a couple days off."

I cocked my head to the side and sighed. "I'm fine. I want to be here."

"Harleen, I'm not asking."

I frowned. He was putting me on suspension? "Come on, you can't be serious."

"Oh, I am. I'm not going to have you working after this. Not for a few days at least. Go home. Get some rest. Watch TV. I don't care. Just relax." Lawrence didn't look like he was interested in arguing with me. I rubbed my temple and nodded lazily.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. I will."

"Thank you," He said, trying to show that it was for my own good. I made my way up to my office to find my purse. My office was a mess from the struggle with Joker the other night. I grabbed my cellphone out of my purse first thing and turned it on. I had fourteen missed calls. The majority of which were from Sean, some from Lawrence, one from the asylum's number, and a number that was unfamiliar to me. I went ahead and listened to the voicemails as I gathered the rest of my belongings. While I was listening to Sean's voice screaming in my ear, I frowned. Everything else was in order. My wallet was still in my bag, complete with all my cash and cards and ID. Nothing was out of the ordinary, except for the fact that I couldn't find my keys. I turned off my phone and threw it in my bag as I scrounged around through my papers. They had to be in here. I didn't take them anywhere, and the last time I saw them was before… As realization dawned on me, the creases on my face from confusion smoothed out and were replaced with a mix of irritation and amusement.

Forgetting my items for the time being, I sprinted down to the parking garage, unsurprised to see the parking spot I'd been in was empty. There were large black tire tracks leaving the spot and swerving out of the garage. I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. I walked over to the parking spot, my heels clicking on the concrete, and I shook my head as I saw the ripped piece of paper taped to the wall right where my car had been.

Finders keepers, losers weepers. - J

Two updates in 24 hours? I must really love you guys.