Chapter 12 - Divine Intervention
The room behind reception was where the personal effects of patients were kept. The walls were still standing and the door was still intact. Harley found the correct key for the door, which wasn't difficult, thanks to Kenneth's labelling. The door swung open, revealing 4 overturned filing cabinets and paperwork littered across the floor. Rows of lockers covered the walls. The Joker walked over to the locker labelled 'Ward 46' and tapped on it. "Open Sesame!" Harley followed and opened it with the appropriate key.
"Come to Daddy!" he shrieked with excitement, emptying the locker of it's contents. "Ooh, I've missed you! I've missed you." he pulled out his clothing from a clear plastic bag and set them down on one of the upended cabinets. Harley didn't know whether to look away or not as he took off his grey Arkham overalls. He looked up at her as he buttoned up his green shirt. "Don't you know it's rude to stare? If you wanted to get a quick peek, you shoulda just asked!" he teased.
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head playfully. "Just hurry up, will you?"
"I wanna look my best on the day of my release!" he said, adjusting his tie.
As she stood there looking at him get dressed, Harley felt as if this was the start of something amazing. There he was, in this snappy - albeit daft - suit, just as she had seen him on all those news reports. Just as see had seen him in the photographs in the patient file she had put together herself. And now, although she wasn't sure where her decision would lead her, she was certain that the next time his picture would appear in a news report, hers would appear next to it.
Unexpectedly, the ground began to shake once more. It was an aftershock. Harley found herself hurtling towards The Joker, throwing her arms round his neck to stop herself from falling.
"Come on Harley, let's dance! I feel like dancing!" he exclaimed, swinging her round and humming a tune loudly over the noise of the earth shuddering. Harley couldn't help but giggle. It was funny. He was strong, dragging her round and round, kicking the paperwork which lay strewn across the floor as he went. She joined in, letting him spin her in a circle. "Listen to that beautiful music!" he yelled, and Harley laughed. She felt so free, she was glad she had let herself go, just like him.
They danced until the aftershock settled and everything was quiet again. It was an eerie silence.
"We should get out off here." Harley suggested. "We don't know who else made it."
"Obstacles can be removed, Harley!" The Joker responded, pulling two knives from the plastic bag. "Ooh, my babies!" he said with a boisterous shriek, examining the knives as if to reacquaint himself with them. He started taking more and more knives from the bag, and putting them into the pockets of his jacket and trousers. Then he held one out to Harley. she took it without question and slid it into the waistband of her skirt. "Let's rock an' roll!" he stated with his eyes wide. He looked ready.
They walked back out towards reception, the security doors ahead of them. Harley went to grab her security card from round her neck, but then quickly realised it wasn't needed. All that was left was the metal doorframe and across the battered ground were shards of the reinforced glass, which obviously wasn't reinforced enough.
The pair made their way out onto the car park, which had endured the earthquake pretty well compared to the rest of the building. Harley made for her car, The Joker close by her side. "Nice wheels, Harley." he said. "Go on, let me drive!" he had the look of an excited child, she just couldn't say no to him. And even if she did, she knew he would probably take no notice of her anyway. She tossed her car keys to him.
Harley took one last look at the remains of Arkham Asylum. In a strange way, it looked like a cardboard box with the majority of all four sides ripped away, the edges uneven and serrated. Beds were randomly spotted here and there. Office desks, half a bathtub, Harley even spotted a washing machine. And there was water spurting into the air from behind what was left of a ward wall. She surprised herself by smiling at the view.
"Saved me the trouble of torchin' the place." The Joker said as they both got into the car.
They drove away from the asylum, the wheels of the car rolling awkwardly over the iron gates, which were now flat on the ground.
Harley directed The Joker back to Gotham, through the streets of the city. The damage didn't look so bad here, the epicentre of the quake must have been in another direction. There were a few uprooted trees, a street light that had smashed through a shop window, some cracks in the road, but nothing major.
"Don't you think it's odd?" she asked, as they drove through the city. "All of this?"
The Joker look over at her for a moment, clearly not having a clue what she meant.
"I sad we needed to find a way to escape and suddenly, the walls give way. It looks as if we may have been the only ones who survived, my car didn't even get a scratch and by the looks of the city, we still have an apartment to go back to!" she listed. "That doesn't same at all strange to you?"
"No." he said, matter-of-factly. "It makes perfect sense."
Harley directed him down a quiet street, towards her apartment building. She watched how he took the wheel and controlled the car. He was a good driver. She'd go as far as to say he was a safe driver. Not at all reckless, he didn't even once push the speed limit. It amused her, but she decided not to point it out to him.
Unaware of her thoughts, he continued. "The big guy upstairs probably thought his little board game was getting a bit tedious with out me playing. Think of it as a 'get out of jail free' card!" He laughed at his own analogy.
Harley raised her eyebrows "Are you saying this was all an act of God?"
"I'll settle for Divine Intervention. I told you I wasn't meant to be in a box. I told you I'd get out. And whaddaya know… I did!" he said smugly. Harley indicated for him to pull into a driveway, and he stopped the car. "Home sweet home, huh?"
Harley looked out of the windows of the car. It was still broad daylight and she was sitting in her car with the city's most feared criminal. "We need to get you inside without anybody seeing you." she said, looking down at his suit and then up at his painted face. "So… just be subtle. C-can you do subtle?"
The Joker let out a raucous cackle, and hit down hard on the car horn repeatedly. Harley made a grab for his wrists to stop him, but he was so forceful, it made no difference. So she did the only thing she knew would get his attention. She swiftly plucked the knife from her waist and held it to his throat. He stopped immediately and stared at her - a look of utter disbelief and amusement smeared across his decorated face.
"I said be subtle! she roared at him, shocked by her own actions. "Do what I tell you!"
The Joker slowly moved his hand up to Harley's, blinking slowly in a placid fashion. He prised the blade from her fingers with ease and used it to sweep her hair from her face. "Don't do that again." he said monotonously. "The next time you try to stop me from doing something, anything," he continued "I'll cut you open like a fish."
Harley swallowed hard. She felt like she should say 'Yes, sir' but she was too scared to speak.
The Joker tossed the knife into the air, catching it again by the blade. He pointed the handle at Harley and again, she silently accepted it. She returned the knife to the waistband of her skirt and the pair climbed out of the car.