Chapter 10

I awoke to the utter darkness of the same room that I had stayed in the last time. Of course. There were no windows. I stretched, standing up and stumbling blindly around the room, searching for the light switch. I was glad that little filled the room at this point; I probably would've broken anything in my path.

I pressed my hand to the wall, running it over the chipping white paint. At last, my hand had located the switch, turning it on. The light flickered on, dim and greenish. Everything became visible; everything meaning the mattress I had slept on, the faded rug, and my shoes. I bent down, slipping them onto my feet. It was a relief to have some protection from the chill of the cement against my skin.

For a few moments, I considered what I should do. I could stay in the room I was in and wait. I knew that The Joker would come for me no matter where I was, though, and my stomach was painfully empty. With a somewhat shaky sigh, I opened the door, closing it carefully behind me. There was no one in the hallway, thankfully, and the door to The Joker's office was closed. I was tempted to let out a breath of relief, but chose not to, as I wanted to remain as quiet as possible.

That was difficult to do, though, as I walked down the metal stairs. I took slow steps, my speed decreasing the sound of the clanking. At last, I reached the bottom of the stairs. There were, surprisingly, no henchmen in the front room. I made my way into the kitchen. The same dim light filled the room, illuminating the mess before me.

The counters were covered with some sort of peeling, blood-stained vinyl. Some food crumbs were scattered across the counters and the filthy floor. The sink was covered in water spots and filled with dirty and broken dishes. The refrigerator was stained as well. I opened the door, gazing into it. In it was a pack of beers, the remaining half of a chocolate cake, old lunch meat, and several brown bananas. With a sigh, I closed the door, turning to the pantry, which was almost as sparsely filled. It in it was an open bag of cheetoes, a nearly empty box of popcorn bags, containers of flour and sugar, and several potatoes. Wonderful. There was practically nothing to eat, and my stomach was eating itself.

I decided that the cake looked the most promising, as part of it had already been eaten, most likely by The Joker. It was the same cake that I'd seen on his desk the first time I was here. I walked over to the fridge again, opening it and pulling the cake out. I opened several drawers, finding only one clean fork. I used it to slice a chunk of cake off, transferring it to a semi-clean plate. I didn't care at this point how sanitary the kitchenware was; I was too hungry. Without a second's delay, I dug into the cake, chewing quickly and swallowing. I groaned after my first bite; I'd almost forgotten the taste of food.

"Do you like it?" A voice asked from behind me. Almost immediately, my appetite diminished. I set the plate down as The Joker walked in front of me, leaning against the counter. His tongue flicked across his lips before he spoke again. "I've never been much of a cook, but this, this is an old… family recipe." He informed me.

"You want something." I said, edging away slightly. He gave a small chuckle.

"Last night we talked about our second date, remember?" He questioned, quirking an eyebrow. The question completely purged me of my appetite.

"Yes." I managed, clutching my stomach; not from hunger pains, but in shock from the wave of numbing fear that shot through me. A date with The Joker meant sealing the fate of one, if not more, of Gotham's citizens.

"Good." The Joker began, clapping his hands together once. He turned away from me, reaching an arm over to another counter, lifting a magazine from it. I waited silently as he flipped through the pages. "Ah." He murmured when he reached his desired page. He slammed the magazine onto the counter, causing my plate to lurch forward. "Here."

I let my gaze drop to the pages that he had opened to, my eyes widening. My heart sunk into my hollow stomach, causing me to place a hand lightly to my chest, gasping. Covering the upper half of two pages were two both a picture of me and a picture of my ex-boyfriend, Peter. The Joker had drawn over his face, painting black rings around his eyes and a jagged red smile over his lips. By contrast, several hearts were drawn around me. And yet the word "HA" had been scattered everywhere across the two pages.

"So, I was thinking we could start by meeting up with your ex-boyfriend, hmm?" The Joker suggested. It took several breaths before I could properly speak.

"Who knows about this?" I asked, my eyes meeting his, burning with anger and panic.

"Don't worry, doll face." He comforted in a mocking tone. "It's just you, me, Commissioner Gordon, and Peter, here."

I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowing my rage and becoming temporarily emotionless. "And what do I have to do with this?"

"Well, see, this is the fun part." The Joker started, smacking his lips. "It seems that Peter isn't willing to believe that there's really a threat against his life." He informed me, pausing to see if I was following him. I gave one solemn nod, inviting him to continue. "So, I want you to go talk to him. The man has a right to know the truth."

My teeth dug into my cheek momentarily, biting down hard before I allowed myself to speak again. "But Jim Gordon knows about… whatever it is you've planned." I reminded him in a quiet voice. My eyes narrowed as he gave a laugh, patting me on the cheek.

"I think you'll make an excellent little actress, beautiful." He laughed. I tensed as he reached his hand into my front pocket, taking hold of my cell phone. He let his hand remain in my pocket for several seconds, his touch chilling, even through my jeans. He pulled the phone from its place, tossing it lightly in the air and catching it. I stood, motionless, as he dialed a number. He pressed the send button, handing the phone to me. My heart was pounding in my ears, distorting the world around me. A voice broke through the confusion.

"Hello?" They asked, distressed. Jim Gordon. I could hear the shuffling of papers on a desk as well as the faint sound of him sipping something; most likely coffee.

"Commissioner Gordon?" I inquired, my voice strangled and weak. I inhaled sharply as I felt the dull edge of a blade press against my neck.

"Tell him who you are, sweetheart." The Joker whispered in my ear.

"This is Addison Wayne." I continued. The sound of paper shuffling had stopped completely.

"Miss Wayne, thank god you've called!" His voice was filled with relief, and yet, at the same time, frustration. "I'm sure you've heard about the death threats against Peter Benson?" He probed.

"Yes, I have." My voice grew slightly in volume. I couldn't sound too weak, otherwise Commissioner Gordon might've suspected my whereabouts. "That's why I'm calling you."

"Well," He began, giving an exasperated sigh. "We think that The Joker might've taken a special interest in you, too, Miss Wayne." He told me. I could almost picture him at that moment; standing at his desk, coffee cup in hand, anxiety and frustration clear on his face.

"And how do you know?" I questioned carefully. Had someone discovered The Joker's kidnappings of me?

"He sent us a magazine." He began. I wanted to turn around and ask The Joker what had been accomplished so far of his plan, but the blade pressed harder against my neck, demanding that I keep up whatever charade I had put on. The Commissioner continued: "There were a bunch of bleeding hearts drawn around a picture of you."

So The Joker had sent them the same magazine that he had showed me. "Oh." Was all I could think to say in my slightly distressed voice. I heard The Joker chuckle behind me. While he still held the blade to my throat, I couldn't help but dig my teeth into my lips as he bent down, touching his tongue to my neck, sliding it once across my skin.

"Miss Wayne, I think it would be best if you left the city with someone you trust. Things could get ugly." Commissioner Gordon advised.

"Tell him that you're going to see Peter." The Joker whispered against my skin.

"I-I…" I stuttered, distracted. It was only the pressure of the knife that urged me on. "I'm going to leave Gotham with Peter." I lied, hoping that it might help avert police intervention. Though guilt filled me to the brim, I didn't want to tell anyone everything that had happened when I was with The Joker, especially the cops.

"Are you sure that's a good plan?" Gordon questioned, doubt clear in his voice.

"Commissioner Gordon," I began, turning my neck slightly away from the knife. "It'll offer him more protection than anything we could do here. This is The Joker." I stressed, eliciting a giggle from The Joker.

There was a moment of silence on the other line. At last, I heard a defeated sigh. "Fine, but I want you both to be leaving Gotham within the next hour." He commanded.

"Of course." I promised, my voice faltering as The Joker wrapped an arm around my stomach, nearly cutting off my air. I was about to hang up, when Gordon offered one more thought.

"If anything should happen, I want you to call me, alright?" He questioned in a deeply pleading voice. I was ashamed at my own malice as I promised to call him if the need be, which of course there would. My goodbye was barely a whisper. Perhaps there was a way, some way, that I could convince The Joker to leave Peter alive.

At last, The Joker pulled the blade away from my throat. I exhaled shakily in relief, putting my phone back into my pocket. I my eyes followed him as he stepped in front of me; switchblade still open. "You really are a terrific little actress, doll face." He began, pointing at me with the knife. " I couldn't have done it better myself." He complimented, smacking his lips.

"Lies." I whispered under my breath. The Joker gave me a sideways glance at that, obviously having heard.

"You know, I was actually being serious about that, Addie." He told me with a mocking smile. "And I expect you to do as good of a job with your little ex."

The Joker reached into his pocket, pulling something out. My keys. He grasped my hand, turning it over and dropping my keys into it.

"Go get 'im, sweetheart."

I would like to apologize hugely for the delay in updates. I have been rather busy, but I'll spare you the details. Only know that I will update without fail within the next twenty-four hours.

Reviews always appreciated!

-HarlequinEnigma