Thanks so much to Leslie and kykyxstandler for the reviews! And thank you Leslie for keeping in touch with me; I really, really apologize for the wait.
Katy's alarm went off at 10:00PM. She was amazed she had slept so long! She quickly hopped out of bed and threw on some a pair of jeans and a pink shirt. Then, she changed her mind and threw on a black shirt instead. It was probably better that she blend in with the dark. Seth was a criminal and she didn't want him to get caught because of her love for colorful clothes. She didn't want to look suspicious either so she decided to go with an emerald cardigan instead of her black hoodie. Maybe she was over-thinking all this, but she had no idea what to expect. All the note said was meet at the bridge at 11. Did Seth just want to talk? Or was he planning something else?
Katy was going to be late if she didn't hurry up. With one final look in the mirror, she grabbed her car keys and drove out to the parking lot beneath the bridge. The parking lot was empty, but it wasn't late enough for the roads to be clear. She locked her car behind her and climbed the stairs onto the bridge. She looked around but didn't see Seth. Checking her watch, she saw that it was 10:53. She was early. Katy sat on a bench to wait, but found herself to anxious to sit.
She began to pace around trying to distract herself. Nothing seemed to work. Just when she thought her head would explode, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She whipped her head around and found herself looking into the eyes of Seth. He smiled and surprised her by pulling her into a hug.
"How are you doing? I missed you!" Seth exclaimed.
"I'm fine, been better obviously. I missed you too!" Katy found that she actually spoke the truth. She had missed him! Right now though, the curiosity was killing her. Seth seemed to see that in her eyes and he motioned for her to follow him to the bench.
"Here's the thing. The men and I have a plan to get the boss out. We can do it without you, but it would be a whole lot easier if you helped out. All we would need you to do is somehow distract any nearby guards."
Katy sighed to herself. She did want the Joker to escape. She just didn't want to be a part of a plan where someone got hurt. "What are you guys going to do?"
Seth wasn't sure if he should tell her or not. He wanted to trust Katy, and he really did believe she cared about his boss. But she had also been kidnapped by him and didn't approve of his ways of doing things. Seth didn't want her to turn them in.
After a while Katy asked another question, "Is anyone going to get hurt?"
Seth decided to answer honestly. The plan itself doesn't involve anyone getting hurt. But if anything goes wrong or anyone gets in the way, there are no guarantees. That's where you'll come in. If you can get any nearby guards out of the way, we won't have to kill them. But if you don't help us, we may have to. I don't want to do that, that's the part about this job that I hate. But most of the other men don't care. They'll kill without any hesitation. They didn't think I needed to come ask you this, but I want to avoid any unnecessary deaths if I can."
Katy felt better knowing she would be helping prevent people from getting hurt. She still didn't like the idea of things going wrong, and she was also afraid for Joker if things didn't go according to plan. But it didn't sound like there was anything she could do to stop them. She could tell the police of their plan, but they would just come up with a new one. It seemed like no matter how many times the Joker was caught, he always escaped. So she found herself agreeing to help Seth. He told her they were planning on doing the escape plan in three days from then.
When Katy got home she collapsed on her bed and fell back asleep until morning.
The next day she woke up a bit nervous, but mostly really excited. She put on an outfit, changed it twice before settling on a pair of jeans and a cream colored blouse. Then, after looking at herself in the mirror, she threw on a scarf. At 2:30PM, after a day of doing nothing but pretending to read and pacing, she headed over to the prison, unable to wait any longer. She pulled up and jumped out of the car, hurrying inside.
"I'm here for my visit with..." she paused. Did she give his real name or call him the Joker? What if the police didn't know his real name? She didn't want to give that away. Luckily, the squeaky voiced receptionist remembered her.
"The Joker, right? Yes, have a seat over there. You're a bit early. We'll call you in when it's time, sweetums."
"Is Officer Franklin here?" Katy asked.
"No, he's down at the main station."
Katy sighed in relief. She was afraid if he saw her with the Joker, it would be obvious that she was on his didn't want Officer Franklin getting any suspicions. It was good to know he'd probably be at the police station rather than the prison when the escape day came.
She wanted to stand or pace or do something other than sit, but she didn't want to raise any suspicions. So she somehow got herself to sit quietly and wait. She couldn't stop herself, however, from practically flying out of the chair when her name was called.
"Katy Ellis." The guard who called her name opened the door for her. "You're here to see the Joker?"
"Yes," Katy replied as she followed him into a small room where the top half of the walls were windows.
"Visiting appointments are fifteen minutes maximum." Katy couldn't stop the disappointed look that passed over her face.
The guard continued. "Since the Joker is a top-security inmate, no items will be allowed to be exchanged between inmate and visitor and no physical contact will be permitted."
"Ok," Katy said frowning. She didn't have anything for him, but she wanted to be in his arms more than anything. That would blow her cover, however, and she could touch him again once he escaped. She didn't dwell on any possibility that their escape plan would fail.
The guard left and Katy sat in one of the chairs. The instant she saw the Joker through the window on the door, she jumped up. The guard poked his head in and asked if she was ready. Irritated, she wanted to shove him out of the way, but she forced herself to smile and reply that she was ready.
Katy couldn't take her eyes off the Joker when he entered. His face was devoid of his classic makeup, which somehow made his scars pop out more even though there was no red coloring to define them. His expression was slightly crazed, like it always was. But in his eyes she saw the passion that was probably reflected in her own eyes. She let out a shaky breath as he took a shaky one in at the sight of her.
The guard roughly pushed him into the seat and handcuffed him to the some chains that were attached to the ground. "No sudden movements," he spat out at the Joker. Turning to Katy he said, a bit more softly, "Just give a call if you need anything. We'll be right outside the whole time."
At his mention of "we" Katy looked up to see about a half dozen other guards standing outside ready to jump in at a moment's notice. Katy had to admit, if she hadn't known the Joker would never hurt her, she would have been relieved to have so many people watching. The Joker could be quite scary if she didn't know him so well. She was only momentarily surprised to see Officer Franklin among the guards, but just nodded to him. He nodded back to acknowledge her.
The problem was that now she couldn't talk freely. It had been a high hope, but she hoped that once he was chained down, the police wouldn't see a need to stick around. It would be impossible for her to get a private word.
"How are you... ah... feeling Ms. Ellis?" the Joker said in a sing-song manner. He smiled like a mad man, but gave her such an intense, serious look, she had to pause to remember how to speak.
"I've been better," Katy replied. "Things are... different now that I am home again." She was choosing her words carefully to avoid police suspicions. The Joker's face fell, however, as he believed she meant she didn't have feelings for him now that she was back to a normal life. He had to make sure.
"Different how?"
Katy thought about her answer carefully. "It's been weird going back to my normal, boring life." She made sure not to say that it was bad because she couldn't let the police know that she was friends with the Joker. However, she decided to add the work "boring" in there to be sure that the Joker didn't think she didn't miss him.
"I see. Well bunny, I must say it has been... uh... different for me too. Jail is so.. well it's so dull. And orange is so not my color." With that he winked at her, and she didn't smile but her eyes shone with amusement. Katy cleared her throat and went on to say, "While you deserve to be in here," she looked up at him to make sure he wasn't offended, but he merely raised his eyebrows and his lips quirked up a bit, "I must say I do miss you're purple suit."
They both stared at each other, wanting nothing more than to speak freely. Katy spoke first. "I'm here to request an interview with you. You have changed my life and I think it will be difficult for me to get over what happened when you kidnapped me. I was hoping you would allow me to question you for a book I'd like to write."
The Joker's eyes lit up in amusement. "A book? About me? How... flattering! Yes, I would very much like a book about me. Especially if I get a photograph for the cover. Actually bunny, perhaps you can write a movie! I could even be the star! Books are too organized, too easily left on the shelf. You'll get a much better description of me if you make it a movie. I'd very much like to see a movie about myself."
"You seem to misunderstand me. I'm not writing a book about you. You're in it, but I am the main character. It's an autobiography. You're merely a supporting character. I'm the star." Katy was smiling a bit at this point.
"Who want to hear about you? Everyone wants to know me, know my story. Your's is boring by comparison."
"I disagree Mr. Joker. You're story is well known. It is the same story told again and again with slightly different characters and situations. But the plots are the same. And you stay the same. It is not me, Mr. Joker, but you who are boring. You are static. I am much more interesting as a dynamic character."
The Joker's gave a loud laugh. Katy was the only one who had ever challenged him. Even the police were often afraid to disagree with them. The few that did usually ended up dead.
"You would look much better on the big screen anyways. So I take it you'll come see me until the movie is done? I'll make sure to make it as difficult for you as possible." He winked again.
"In that case, sir, I will be sure to finish my book as soon as possible."
"Time's up Miss Ellis." and officer announced.
Katy looked up in surprise. Had it really been that long? She was disappointed to go, but hopeful that there next meeting would be in person. She couldn't say this to the Joker though.
"Should I expect another visit soon?" the Joker inquired, looking suddenly very serious. He moved his hands forward on the table. Katy leaned forward as casually as possible and put her hands as close to his as she could without touching. The almost contact was going to kill her.
"Yes," she said and sadly stood up. She was escorted out of the room by an officer, and as she walked passed the Joker, he managed to reach out and lightly touch her arm. The heat of their touch sent shivers down her body.
The Joker watched her until she was out of sight and then put the fingers that had touched her to his lips.