I shadowed us back to his basement, and then I followed the Joker upstairs. Reaching the second floor, the Joker turned down a hallway I've never been down, or maybe I had since this place was like a maze. The Joker stopped in front of a door and beckoned me closer.
"This is, ah, where I let my boys hang out," he said. "I don't know how much alcohol might be left."
"I'm not drinking," I told him.
"Neither am I." The Joker grinned. "KGB, Shadow, remember the KGB."
"And you remember Stalin."
He laughed as he opened the door. The smell of beer and smoke nearly overwhelmed me. I coughed once and then covered my nose and mouth, even though I knew that wouldn't do much.
It was a living room with a television set and several couches where eight guys sat, drinking and smoking. They were watching a football game, up until the Joker and I entered.
"Turn that off," the Joker ordered, and Ryan quickly moved to obey. As soon as he shut it off though, the Joker pulled a gun from my belt and shot him dead. His men jumped, and I merely flinched.
"We have, ah, some things to discuss, boys," the Joker said, taking on the act of the serious boss – or trying to. Killing Ryan seemed to have an immediate effect on him, like killing someone was the Joker's version of marijuana. As he motioned for me to go into the room, his body seemed to vibrate with a frenzy trembling.
I moved along the shadows of the room. His men were focused on him, and when I looked back at him, the most menacing smile appeared on the Joker's painted face. He had his eyes closed, and his head was slightly bowed. His gloved fingers were twitching, and his hunched shoulders were shaking. If it weren't for the Glasgow grin on his face, I would have thought he was crying.
Suddenly, the Joker's head jerked up, and his smile was gone. "Mark," he barked, and one of the men jumped to his feet. The Joker shot him down without any hesitation. "Conor," he said, lowering his voice to normal. "Where's, ah, Peter?"
"I-In his room, boss," a man answered. He started shaking as the Joker began flipping his gun around.
"Why so scared, Conor?" the Joker asked, approaching the man and placing his face close to Conor's. Conor flinched back, and then, he jerked forward as the Joker stabbed him in the gut with his switchblade. "Death comes quick, ah, only when you're brave enough to face it." He twisted the blade in Conor's gut, causing the man to grunt in pain. Only the alcohol could be saving him from feeling most of the pain.
The Joker looked up at me, a mad bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. He grinned. "Sick 'em," he giggled.
I reached for my two weapons and released fire. The Joker's men moved, jumping off the couches and heading for the door or windows. With rapid fire, I shot each of them down before they reached their destination. Conor was still alive to watch it all, and he finally looked up at the Joker.
"What did we do, boss?" he asked.
This simple question seemed to take the Joker off guard, but as twisted and as restless his mind might be, the Joker sure was cunning, a pure genius.
"Even heard of Stalin and his secret police?" The Joker held up his bloodied knife. "Think of it as, ah, permanent dismissal." He put the gun to Conor's head and shot him ending his torment.
The Joker stood there, hovering over the dead man, holding the gun and knife easily in his hands. His body shook, but it wasn't because he was affected negatively to the sudden death around him. He turned away from me when he asked, "Shadow, mind getting Peter in his room?"
"Which room is his?" I asked.
"Two doors down."
I shadowed out into the hallway and knocked on the door at the very end. "Peter, the boss wants to see you."
The man opened the door right away. He looked at me hard and asked, "Was it him doing all the shooting?"
"No, he put in three bullets."
"What does the boss want?"
I glared at him.
"All right." Peter shoved his way past me. Angered, I shadowed in front of him, punching him in the nose before I shadowed back to the Joker.
The Joker sat on the couch, his arms resting on the back of it on either side of him. His left leg bounced at a rapid pace, and his right hand – which held his knife – twirled the blade with ease. Something about his expression made my eyebrow rise, but I didn't say anything.
Finally, Peter entered the door, not seeing me in the shadows. He looked around to see his dead mates on the ground where the Joker had shoved them off the couch. Peter didn't seem to be sickened by the sight – not like I was, but it did cause an involuntary shiver to run up my spine.
Peter finally met the Joker's gave without any sign of fear. "Yes, boss?"
"Peter, as you can, ah, see, I'm in need of new men."
"That depends which kind you want. Sane or insane?"
"The insane seem to work, ah, better. The sane…" The Joker glanced over at me. "Seem to be too observant." I nodded. "But then again," the Joker added, looking back at Peter. "Half-insane might be something to try."
"Something like you," I murmured. Peter didn't hear, but apparently, the Joker had heard; he grinned.
"When do you need them?"
"Before dawn."
Peter looked around. "You know I need another man."
"I have someone, ah, better than all the rest of them." The Joker motioned me forward, and I stepped out. I thought Peter would be surprised, but he wasn't. There was this blank gaze in his eyes. "Take her and make some, ah, friends, Peter."
At that point, I had to speak up. "You're not coming?"
The Joker looked at me, grinning. "Don't worry about it." Meaning…no. "Both of you go," the Joker said, motioning us to leave. I glared at him as I followed Peter out of the room; the Joker simply ignored me.
Peter was a case. I didn't know if he was ignoring me on purpose or if he just didn't remember I was there. Following behind him wasn't working so I moved to walk beside him, wondering what he would do.
He picked up his pace. That proved it; he was ignoring me, and I knew that I didn't like it.
Before we reached the stairs, I grabbed his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. I met his startled gaze. "I wanna make something clear, quiet boy," I said. "I don't like how this is set up either."
"That's not my problem," he said. Wow, make me look like the idiot.
"What is your problem then?" He shrugged. "You don't even know…" I shoved him against the wall again and then headed down the stairs. Behind me, Peter followed. As I headed for the front door, Peter grabbed my arm.
"Not that way," he told me as I glared at him. He released my arm and headed towards the back. Curiosity smothered my anger so I ran after him.
Walking outside, I stopped, my eyes widening. "A Volvo," I gasped, my considered dream car. It was silver, just like any other car in the world.
Peter went around to the driver's seat. I climbed into the passenger's, buckling up. Peter did the same. It made me wonder if he was a good driver or not.
He wasn't a lawbreaker, that's for sure. We drove at the speed limit, and when he passed police cars with their flashing lights, he got out of the way. The ride was completely uneventful. Eventually, we arrived at the casino.
Peter had poker in mind. I had never played the game before so I watched him for a bit, letting him explain it all to me. He helped me play it once, and he laughed when I lost the bet.
"You'll learn," he said.
"As if I want to."
"Why are you asking questions about the game then?"
"Curiosity."
"Hm." Peter steered me over to a corner table where there were five guys playing their own game of poker. Peter and I stood there, watching a game until one of the men looked up.
"Did ya get lost?" the guy asked, smoking a cigarette.
"Thought you had a good game going," Peter answered. "We didn't mean to interrupt."
"You wanna join?" one fellow asked. Two of the others glared at him.
"I don't think so, but my companion here would like to." He motioned me forward, and instantly, all the men relaxed, losing their hostility. "She has a sharp mind and eyes. She's a tough one."
"What's your name, gal?" a man asked.
"Susan," I replied.
"Cute name," another man complimented. "All right, deal out the cards, Dean." The fellow who had asked if Peter wanted to join dealt out the cards. I looked around; Peter was gone. "The name's Jonathan, Jon for short."
Another John, I wondered if he would last long.
"These are my pals Dean, James, rain, and Cory. We have a Shaun, but he's always late."
"I am not." A man had approached the table. "Well, well, who's this?" He had noticed that I was the only girl there.
"Susan," Jon answered. "She's playing with us tonight."
"Really?" Shaun took a seat next to me. "You a good player?"
"A modest player," I answered, calmly.
Shaun nodded. "Give me my cards, Dean. Let's have the lady go first."
"Let someone else start," I said, "I insist. It would give the rest of you more of a chance of winning."
The guys laughed. I was beginning to like this group. I wondered if Peter would choose them to be the Joker's new men; they had a good sense of humor.
As we played, the fellows joked and teased one another; they were a rather cheery group, something the Joker might like. It seemed like they knew one another for a good amount of time. They caught each other cheating constantly.
Out of all of them, I liked Dean the most. He had to be the best in the group because he won more games than the rest of them combined, which was saying quite a lot. Unlike the rest of them, he held some kind of innocence that helped hide his expression so then they never caught him when he was cheating. I only noticed because his foot would touch mine, and I would call him out. Dean was a cheerful guy, too naïve though.
Then, there was Shaun. Since he was sitting next to me, he had to work little to grope my leg, but instead of jabbing him with the Joker's pocketknife from years ago, I stomped on his foot, digging my heel in.
"Leave Susan alone, Shaun," Brian finally told him after a few grunts from the hurt man. "Susan, just tell him to leave you alone. He's a good boy when he's told off."
I turned to Shaun. "Shaun, it's your fault I haven't won a single game. You're distracting me, and I don't like you touching me. Lay off!" I looked up and put on the act of pondering. "Dean, will you switch with Shaun, please?"
"That's no problem," Dean said, cheerfully. From then on, I started winning games with Dean's subtle guidance.
As Dean dealt out the cards for the umpteenth time – I don't know how many games we had played – a newcomer arrived.
"You just starting?" he asked. I looked up at him with my fellow players, trying to see his face, but the brim of his hat shadowed his face. "Mind if I join you?" The stranger took a seat right across from me without waiting for permission.
Jon looked suspiciously at the stranger while Dean, the ever cheerful one, shuffled the cards, innocently giving his pals time to deal with the stranger.
"Go bother someone else," Jon said, "We have enough to play our own game."
"You don't like a new challenger every now and then?" the stranger asked.
Jon still gave him a calculating look, but he motioned for Dean to deal the cards. "What's your name, stranger?"
"Jack." The stranger responded, his voice turning husky. I knew exactly who it was.
My fellow players seemed to be uptight over the stranger, and I wanted him to see how easygoing they could be.
"You've been here before, Jack?" I asked.
His hat moved so he had lifted his head to look at me. He had sat himself in the darkest area so then no one could see his face. "So, ah, curious, aren't you, gal?"
My fellow players came to my defense by shifting closer to me and sending hostile looks in the stranger's direction.
"Don't worry, boys," I told them without looking away from him. "He's a good kid."
"But he-," Dean protested, being the one more attached to me.
"Is a friend," I finished. "I didn't recognize him at first, but I know him. Don't worry."
My boys – I've decided to call them – relaxed a bit, but still watched the stranger warily, Dean and Shaun in particular.
As we got into the game, I started to worry. What if the Joker didn't like this group of men? I had them on tight leashes, despite the fact that they were sitting obediently at my feet.
"Do you, ah, come here often?" the stranger asked.
"When I'm getting some business done," I said. "I came with another friend."
"You know, ah, I'm on business."
"What is your business?" Jon asked.
"Professional criminal. I'm looking for men to hire."
"Being straightforward?" I asked, startled. "No riddles." I grinned, seeing my boys look at one another.
"I'm not, ah, the Riddler, Susan." He had caught my name, or he had asked Peter.
"Then who are you?" Dean asked. He was clueless; my other boys were getting tight again. At this point, everyone had put down their cards, except "Jack".
He bent forward and put his cards down on the table. Among the five cards was a Joker card.
The boys shifted, but Jon and Dean remained still when I poked them with my weapons.
"I'm not, ah, finished yet," the Joker said, dropping his husky voice. "I'm an easy guy to satisfy. I tend to be a winder, but, ah, I leave my men alone most of the time." The Joker licked his lips, leaning forward slightly to show some of the white on his chin. "Shadow here, ah, seems to have gotten your attention."
"Shadow?" Brian asked, surprised. "The one who dealt with the Riddler and Catwoman, putting them behind bars in the same night?"
"That's me," I said.
"You all seem to, ah, know too much already," the Joker murmured.
"Are they too observant for you, Joker?" I demanded. "If so, just say the word. I'm not permanently attacked to any of them…except maybe this one." I lifted a gun to place it close to Dean's head. "He's a good kid."
I saw something like jealously flash across the Joker's face, and I grinned. "But, ah, I think if you say the word fast enough, I can still be rid of him as well."
"That won't, ah, be necessary." The Joker fidgeted. I finally noticed that he had kept himself still like everyone else. "How 'bout it, boys," the Joker asked. He picked up a poker chip. "It's good money. A benefit for both sides. Money for you, men for me. You'll be able to join in real poker games, rather than, ah, just play against one another." I looked up as a shadow approached behind the Joker, but it was only Peter.
"Do you need, ah, a few more games to decide?" the Joker asked. "More time with the Criminal Catcher?" He jerked his head in my direction.
"Y-Yeah, a few more games," Jon said, unsettled.
The Joker grinned as he stood up, straightening his jacket.
"You staying, Susan?" Dean asked, his face innocent. I looked at him hard. He didn't flinch. He had this kind of child innocence about him. Someone the Joker would enjoy trying to ruin.
"No, I'm done for tonight. You fellas enjoy." I got up and moved after the Joker. Peter distracted the casino owner while the Joker slipped into the back. I followed him.
"What the hell, Shadow?"
"Don't swear at me," I told him.
The Joker rubbed his face, backing off. "Damn, Shadow, what were you thinking?"
"You don't want them because they like me?" I demanded, "Or are you jealous of Dean?"
"Is that the fellow's name?" The Joker licked his lips and then started pacing. He was trying not to focus his anger on me. "I just can't see how you could have messed that up! Peter has never-!"
"It's not my fault," I told him. "Peter basically placed the burden on me." Then, I cowered away from him, to lean against the wall. "Why couldn't I have made friends that easily years ago?"
The Joker unleashed his anger on me. "Focus on the present, Shadow! Damn, if I ever hear you say something like that again-." He stopped and looked at me. His lean frame shook with fury, and the expression on his face frightened me. The hat he wore made him look more menacing.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. The anger in his eyes paralyzed me. I couldn't do anything when my legs gave way underneath me. As soon as I hit the floor, the Joker jumped forward, kicking me in the rips. I held in my cry of pain, only curling up into a ball.
The Joker stood over me, breathing heavily. His empty hands clenched and unclenched several times, but he stayed there, a dog waiting to finish off his wounded prey.
I didn't dare move. My eyes were glued to him, my heart pounding with fear, fearing what he would do if I moved.
Then, Peter came into the back, talking evenly as if he wasn't aware of the situation. "They've changed their minds, boss."
The Joker didn't respond for several seconds, one of his hands digging into his pocket for a knife. As soon as he had clicked one open, the Joker said, "Fine, set them up in the second apartment of ours. The people around there are getting, ah, suspicious." He licked his lips as he bent down next to me.
I shivered as he reached into his pocket again, this time pulling out a small object. The Joker pushed it into my ear. "For your chat with Gordon," he said, plainly. Then, he stood up, straightening his jacket.
I watched him still afraid that he would do something unexpected. The Joker stared at me and then prodded my side with his foot. "You, ah, getting up anytime soon? I've got to take you home." I was too scared to move.
The Joker chewed on his lip, and then, he clicked his knife closed, shoving it in his pocket. He crouched beside me again, turning his head to look at me. "I think, ah, that this will be the last night we, ah, see one another for a time, Shadow."
"What?" I whispered.
"You've got to deal with Gordon; I've been slacking in my job. It would be, ah, a good time to separate until we set things straight again." He licked his lips and continued. "Who knows? If you, ah, are cunning enough to convince Gordon, he might let you on, and the next time you see me would be behind bars."
I finally closed my eyes. A headache had started up again. "All right," I said, "No contact until the next time we meet?"
The Joker nodded.
I slowly got to my feet with the Joker's help. When I looked into his eyes, there was a kind of distance between us. He kept a hold on me, even if it was merely holding my hand as we left the casino through the back door. The Volvo awaited us.
Lordlink13: All right, there are some readers that I need to speak directly to. Welcome, RexTR, to the world of fanficion, where writers can use their favorite fiction characters in their own little stories. Hope you enjoy exporing the realms of fanfiction. And just a little note, don't call the Joker 'adorable' anywhere or at anytime. Sure, he's a touchy guy, but I promised some daring readers (a.k.a. Sinario) that I'd put him in a freezer (quoting from Sinario) to hard him up. NiftyxSara, until you come to visit me at my workplace (you know where and when) the possible gal pal for Shadow idea will be on hold. As for keyboarding, Boychild told me about the down Internet problem. WolfxAngel, yeah sure the wife thing is cliche, but if you hadn't noticed, I've been adding bits of the old Joker (comics, Batman television show) with bits of the movie (3 the Dark Knight). And Sinario, I'd appreciate it if you would stop being such a grammar nazi. It's not like this will be printed into an actual book (it's a good idea though). TheWeirdGirlFromDownTheRoad, I want to ask. What are the names of your ferrets? I love ferrets, but I could never have them in my house. Can I Cyber-nap one of them? Scarecrow'sGotMyHeart1, despite the fact that I can't hear your song, just the idea that you're singing for me makes me wanna cry.
Joker: Are you, ah, done talking yet?
Shadow: You're impatient.
Joker: *glares at her* As far as the readers know, I'm mad at you.
Shadow: *innocently* Why?
Joker: That other good kid.
Lordlink13: Shadow, I need you to go Cyber-nap one of TheWeirdGirlFromDownTheRoad's ferrets.
Joker: *stomps foot* No, she's staying right here.
Lordlink13: Stop acting like an upset child. Go, Shadow, or I'll-.
Shadow: Don't finish that threat. I'm going. *shadows away*
Lordlink13: *looks at the Joker* Stop growling at me. I told you to go sulk in a corner.
Joker: That's not what you said in the last chapter. You said 'sluck'.
Lordlink13: You read Sinario's nazi review, haven't you? Seems like you're a nazi in the grammar department as well.
Joker: ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
Lordlink13: Then shut your mouth and go sulk. Where the heck was I?
Joker: Weren't you thinking of talking to your little too happy readers who are giving you those wonderful names.
Lordlink13: Since when did you read my mind?
Joker: Since you let me.
Lordlink13: When was that?
Joker: *shrugs* No idea, I just didn't realize that I could read your mind until now. Oh, wait! *moves to run out of the room*
Lordlink13: Where are you going?
Joker: I, ah, promised someone that he could come into the next chapter.
Lordlink13: What? Did I give you permission to bring one of your buddies?
Joker: Oh, but this guy, you'll like. Actually, you already love him. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't be here.
Lordlink13: Is it the original author of Batman?
Joker: You'll see. *runs out of room*
Lordlink13: All right, then. I'm as clueless as the rest of you. Anyway, why the heck did you start the name trend, Scarecrow'sGotMyHeart1? I have like four people giving me names. I've listed yours and JimandSteve. The new ones are by Sinario "All-Powerful Lordlink13" and midnighthorrors "oh wonderful, mighty, brilliant Lordlink13". Then, I got NiftyxSara - a friend - calling me "home skillet". funny, NiftyxSara, I named Shadow after you, if you haven't noticed. I'm curious as to what kind of names people can come up with before they start repeating others...no, actually I might regret that since there are so many adjectives in the world. Hey, I forget who it was...I think it might have been a mix of Sinario, midnighthorrors, and LaughingAngelsGibberish. The sun finally came out back in MA, but the unfortunate thing is that I have finals next week. It sucks. I'll keep working on this fanfiction; I'm up to chapter 28 so I'm not that stuck anymore. (Sinario, the advice was wonderful, thing was that I was already doing that stuff. I just had to keep hitting that darn wall until I cracked it. It's not broken, I'm still unsure of how this story's gonna go, but...I'm working on it. I might leave chapter 26 how it is, despite how fast it goes and how much I hate it cause it goes so fast. I'll upload it next time and give you guys a note on the top so then you guys can review and encourage me to redo it and make it go slower and explain more. Who knows? Chapter 26 might turn into another chapter 20 (don't remember that little story? It's the one where I took chapter 20, which went too fast the first time so I rewrote it and made it into almost two chapters total. Shadow mentioned it at the bottom of chapter 19, if you don't remember. yeah, the story about my two notebooks being blue and red, that one.)
Shadow: *holding a ferret* Don't forget to review, people. And Sinario, stop being such a nazi. I'd honestly would enjoy seeing you trying to hunt me down. Did you forget that I'm the one with the supernatural ability of shadowing? *holds up ferret* It's so cute.
Lordlink13: I wanna hold it.
Shadow: No, Lordlink13, I'm older so you can't unless I say so.
Lordlink13: For cryin' out loud! Review, people, always remember to review!