It's been a while.
Sorry guys, going through the process on getting a new comp set up. I'll try to have the next one up quickly.
Anyway, hope you like it. Leave me some feedback.
The vans were rumbling and ready to go when the Joker and I got outside. We hoped into the growling monster in the front, Mr. J sliding into the passenger seat beside Alec with a sly grin. The Brit, to his own credit kept his face carefully neutral, even as the clown leaned over to murmur something close to his ear.
I was busying myself with my hair, putting it up into curling pigtails, but my eyes were on the rearview, and Alec's face. I watched as he went very pale and glanced back at me. He didn't hold my gaze, couldn't. The Joker laughed soft in the back of his throat and leaned against his door with a wide grin.
"Do we understand each other?" he asked slowly, watching as Alec gave a jerky nod and made the first turn onto the highway. His knuckles were white against the steering wheel, his posture stiff and tense. Whatever it was the Joker had said, it was making the Brit very uncomfortable. My fingers brushed the shiner around my eye as I finished with my hair and I sighed wearily.
It seems I'd gotten him in trouble.
The Droogie beside me chuckled, shaking his head at the Brit and pulled out his knife. All the boys seemed to be checking their guns and whatnot. He oiled a small sharpening block and slid the blade across it. I watched with slightly narrowed eyes as he continued scraping the blade across the block. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard and I grit my teeth.
No one else seemed to notice, and the Joker was too busy staring out the windshield in thought to pay attention to his boys. The sound however, seemed to grow worse, grinding into my nerve and lifting the fine hairs on the back of my neck. It was terrible! The thug turned the blade over and began on the other side, but I couldn't take it.
"It's sharp enough!" I snarled, snatching the blade and stabbing it downward, missing his hand by a breath. The thug's eyes went wide and he scooted back in his seat, glancing up at Mr. J who had turned around in his seat at the outburst.
He titled his head at me, glancing down at the blade buried in my seat cushion. His lackey's jaw bobbed before h managed to exclaim.
"She tried to stab me!"
I took a deep breath, wondering why I had lost control like that and shook away my irritation as best I could. My finger, as white as Alec's, jerked away from the blade so that the thug could pull it back and tuck it away. He watched me carefully as Mr. J motioned for me to come closer.
With nowhere else to sit, I settled for his lap, pleased when he didn't object.
"Do you feel better?" he asked, starring up into my eyes too intently for me to hold. I nodded. "Good. Now, this is what you're gunna do when we get there."
xXx
I was the first person at the front door when we arrived at Kuklinksi's house. (If you could call the huge, green lawned mega structure a house) It was covered in huge windows and fancy siding, the door under a dark overhang supported by small pillars. I felt like I'd stumbled onto Hollywood.
When the Joker had explained my role to me, I'd opted for a better front line than myself. It often saw first fire, but Mr. J was not listening to my input. (He might have still been mad at me.) When the bulky guy opened the front door, my heart kicked it up a notch. Mr. J had given me a fitted leather jacket, dark red, but beside the piece in my inside pocket and the blade up my sleeve, I was clean.
And vulnerable.
"Hey there, I'm here to see Richard." My smile was flirtatious and I cocked my hip, winking. The guy's eyes went to the strip of flesh between my shirt and leather pants, then rose to my face, making a pit stop at my chest of course. What was it with men in this town and ignoring courtesy? Already I was getting more uncomfortable with the plan, but took a slow breath and kept up my act.
"Mr. Kuklinski is unavailable. Why are you here?" He was short and to the point, this one, which for a moment wasn't good. If he was one of the single job-oriented bodyguards in this city, I was going to be pissed. And a little screwed.
I gave him my best little pout. "I was told to come to this address for a Richard. Unless this is the wrong place." I twirled my pigtail and nibbled at my lip a moment as if in thought. "Are you sure you can't help me?"
The guy's cold grey eyes lit up. He seemed to have caught up with my story, but his smile turned malicious. Suddenly I was starring down the barrel of a gun.
"Kuklinski ain't here, but why don't you come on in?"
Holding up my hands, I swallowed and glanced toward the street. "Whoa there honey, I can just come back later."
He lost his grin and cocked the gun. "Get inside."
Ok, so this hadn't been the plan, but I could work with it. Hopefully.
"Ok, big fella, just calm down." When I stepped inside, he followed me with the handgun and looked me over again. I heard footsteps down the hall and lowered my arms so I could get to my knife, just in case.
"Never seen you around here before," Mr. Friendly chuckled, "Guess the guy ain't as clean as they say."
I didn't bother replying, just took slow steps back into the room until he laughed, turning his back on the door and shook his head.
"Come on, sugar, why don't you take off your jacket? Stay awhile."
Alec appeared in the doorway in time to shoot the guard who'd just come into the guard who'd just come into the room, gun drawn. Mr. Friendly spun around as if to shoot, but the Brit caught his arm and twisted the gun out of his grip, flipping I to press against his temple.
The Joker walked in, hands in his pockets, flanked by our boys. They flooded the room. When the other guards got here, we might match them.
"Holy shit, you're really here." Friendly gaped at the clown like he might dissapate right in front of him. Like he couldn't be real. Mr. J only smiled, moving to my side.
"We heard the misses was home." He said as 4 armed guys burst in. They all pulled up short at the sight of the Joker. I bet none of them had really thought they'd come face to face with the infamous criminal on this job. None seemed pleased.
"So, is she home?" Mr. J titled his head to look at Friendly who squirmed in Alec's firm hold. I was happy to see the Brit had gotten his intensity back. Even smiled as he flexed his bicep to choke the guy up a little.
"You won't find Kuklinski this way. "friendly coughed, "He's not an idiot."
"I wouldn't go that far." Mr. J raised both brows. When he licked his lips and I bit down on my own. I loved it when he did that.
Somewhere in the house bullets started popping and the guards all tensed. Our boys had the house surrounded and they found Mrs. Kuklinski fast.
"Now, Mr. J grinned at the guards, wide and crazed. "Why don't you all just put down those guns and we'll start this party nice and slow."
They didn't move to comply, so he sighed. "Fine. Have it your way." He waved a hand toward them and pulled me over to Alec. The boys smiled and unloaded a few rounds into the fucks. A fine mist of blood hit my cheek as Alec blew Friendly's thoughts into the carpet.
I let out a soft giggle and touched my face, laughing harder at the blood that came away on my fingers. It sounded somewhat hysterical. The Joker glanced over and arched a brow, but was distracted by the feminine scream deeper in the house.
"Guess we found her." I smiled to myself, rubbing the slick redness around between my thumb and forefinger. He didn't comment, but nodded toward the hall. We moved en masse ready for the next level.
"You feelin' all right, Red?" Alec murmured as we walked through the rich bastard's home office, through a pair of double doors. The room beyond was large and furnished for entertaining snobbish company. I pictured Kuklinski laughing at golf jokes and sipping scotch, but shook off the image with a grimace.
"Red?" Alec frowned, reminding me that he'd spoken.
"Oh…uh, sure." I didn't look for his reaction because it didn't really matter if he believed me or not. My mind was already moving to the rest of our night. How would this play out? Would this really get us closer to catching the Italian? I was still a bit fuzzy on the details.
"I don't understand!" the woman cried just outside the far door. "Why are you here?" She was shoved into the room and stumbled to the couch. Her eyes went wide when she saw the rest of us, then terrified when she noticed the Joker.
"Santa Maria, Madre di Dio." Mrs. Kuklinski's hand clasped at her throat and she stepped back, shaking her head. "He didn't tell me where he was going."
She was quick. Already being helpful. Part of me appreciated it, the other just saw Kuklinski's last living family member and therefore a dead woman walking.
"That's a shame." The Joker nodded, moving slowly around her to the small bar, "but I didn't really expect him to. See, listen, he- your husband-" The joker motioned fervently with his hands as he spoke, eyes dancing from her, to our people, and back again. "He still thinks that just because you don't have information, I won't hurt you."
"Um…" I gave a little laugh and held up a finger, "Which, obviously, isn't the case."
Both turned to me then the Joker looked back at his new friend. Her eyes eyes stayed on me a long moment, shimmering with unshed tears. Her expression one of terror and desperation.
"She's right." Mr. J shrugged, "I'm going to hurt you, but it's only to prove a point."
Mrs. K sucked in a shaky breath, blinking as if he might disappear when she closed her eyes. Funny, I kept expecting to see the Restaurant of the Living Dead when I closed mine.
"I…" suddenly Mrs. K was talking to us. I looked around feeling as if I'd missed something. Had they been talking long? Was I zoned?
"I don't understand." She shook her head. The Joker raised both brows and licked his lips while the Moll looked around at us.
"Richard doesn't tell me anything anymore! I barely see him and now criminals from Gotham News are barging into my home, making threats…" As she went on the Joker turned to me and flipped my curly pigtail. I smiled nice and bright back at him and stepped closer, pinching the front of his coat.
He didn't smile, but I could tell he wasn't angry or anything, just bored. And here was perky, little, leather-clad me. Red lips, rosy cheeks, and dark liner around my cold, blue eyes. Ready to give into whatever he asked.
"Cari Dio, don't you even have the courtesy to pay attention?!" Mrs. K cried at the Joker.
"Uh…No." he replied simply. As if it should have been obvious.
"And you!" she turned her angry eyes on me. "you're just going to sit there while he murders a defenseless old woman?"
"No," I frowned. My blade slid halfway out of my sleeve and shinked open.
"I'm going to help."