A/N: Sorry it took forever and a day to update. Had a bad cold and then got distracted by a guy. I got rid of him though (cute but absolutely useless outside of bed) so I should be back on schedule, haha.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. Love you guys!

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Bolt

"So he let you go? Just like that?"

"Yes. Just like that."

Gordon stared at her, trying to find any sign of treachery or malice. Instead he saw resignation and weariness. She'd shown up on the steps of the MCU the morning after Halloween. When he'd arrived she was just sitting there, head bowed against the rain that had begun to fall. Gordon had taken one look at her and taken her to the hospital personally. He didn't trust calling an ambulance, not after what had happened the night before.

And at the hospital he realized the extent of how she'd been made to suffer. Electrical burns. Cuts. Bruises. Marks on her wrists from handcuffs.

And this time she told him everything that had happened. She did it in a flat tone that unnerved him, her expression blank, her pupils pinpointed. She was high, he could tell. Under the circumstances he couldn't really blame her.

She admitted the Joker had tortured her after capturing her outside Arkham. He'd used a cattle prod and knife through most of the attack but had mainly relied on psychological tactics to try and break her. And when he was finished with her he had merely let her go.

"Will Dominic be okay?" Samantha asked suddenly.

"They think so. He might have some speech problems and difficulties walking but the doctors say he should be able to relearn things. But until he comes out of the coma they don't know anything for sure."

She swallowed hard. "So no one's been able to find Dr. Peloni?"

"No. Still gone along with Crane, Waylon Jones and a handful of others."

"Crane." She uttered a strange laugh. "He was roaming around Arkham after everyone went....nuts. He was in Level Four just hanging out like he owned the place. And you know what? He knew me. Knew that I'd been dosed with some of his fear toxin. He said it helped me."

Gordon cocked his head curiously. "Do you think......"

"I don't know. He might have known because of the Joker or Dr. Peloni. It was just strange. You know?"

"We'll put you in protective custody."

Samantha scoffed. "That won't help and you know it Gordon. If any of them want to get to me they will, no matter what. Especially him."

Gordon regarded her for a moment and couldn't help but wonder what she'd be like if she'd never gotten involved with the Joker. She looked so normal.

Well she isn't, he thought to himself. Normal people don't get mixed up in this type of thing.

"Well you can't leave the city," he said firmly. "I need you around for a while. You're a witness and may have....."

"Valuable information," she finished for him. "I know. I know. What, you think I'm gonna bolt? Where am I going to go?" She offered him a sad smile. "There's nowhere for me to go Jim. Nowhere."

"Anything you need to feel safer," he assured her. "We'll try to do it. Just hang tight for a while. Please."

Her gaze went to the window overlooking Gotham. "What happened last night......this city won't recover for a while. All that chaos."

Gordon chose not to answer. The ramifications of the Joker's actions still hadn't completely sunk in. The city would be on lockdown for a while, the citizens would live in fear and paranoia for years.

And still the newspapers and talking heads pointed fingers at Batman. They blamed him for what Dent had done and in the same breath accused him of not doing enough last night. Never mind he'd singlehandedly caught several maximum security prisoners from Blackgate. Murderers and rapists that would be free and wreaking havoc if it hadn't been for Batman. The man was both reviled and needed. Gordon wondered how the man kept from throwing his hands up and leaving Gotham to its misery.

That reminded him........

"You said you needed to talk to," he cleared his throat. "Him."

"Yeah. Your friend. The Joker told me to pass a message to him. Just between them and no one else is to know."

Gordon frowned. "But you know."

Samantha grinned at him but no mirth touched her eyes. "Yes, but I'm just the messenger."

Vance and Winston watched the boss with wide eyes. The Joker had told them to drive him to the old farmhouse hideout. Once there he'd told them to go out in the woods behind the house and dig up Glen's body. Out of all the crazy things they'd done for him this was by far the craziest. They'd done as they were told though, digging and gagging at the stench. Harold and Jake's body were in the same hole, as well as a dog, and it was a nightmare disentangling the bodies and figuring out which was Glen's after a month in the ground. Vance was finally able to figure it out by the clothes.

And the entire time they dug the boss stood behind them, oddly silent.

When Vance was finally able to drag Glen's body out of the hole the Joker sent them away to wait by the car. As they waited they could hear him muttering under his breath. Then kicking sounds.

"Is he.....doing what I think he's doing?" Winston asked, looking a little green. He'd already puked once.

"Kicking the body. Yeah." Vance answered, trying to sound nonchalant. In all reality he felt horrified. Funny how he'd participated in spreading mayhem in Gotham last night and it hadn't bothered him but this did. What kind of sick fuck would want a body dug up so he could kick it? The guy was already dead, didn't make a bit of sense.

A few more thudding sounds and then they saw the flicker of flames and the silhouette of the boss pacing back and forth like a restless animal. After a couple of minutes a horrid smell filled their nostrils.

"Jesus." Winston moaned, clapping a hand over his nose.

He was burning Glen's body, Vance realized. Not Harold or Jake. Just Glen's.

What the hell did he do to piss you off? He wondered and decided he was better off not knowing.

Within a few minutes the boss appeared from the woods carrying a trash bag. Without a word he pointed at the car and they piled in. On the way back to the warehouse they rolled the windows down to dampen the stench coming from both the Joker and the trash bag.

The entire time the boss sat in the backseat humming, matte black eyes staring out the window. The reek didn't seem to bother him in the least. Vance had always feared his boss but what he felt now went beyond that. He looked in the rearview mirror at the Joker, then his eyes went to the bag sitting next to him.

Wonder what's in there?

But he had a good idea. No reason to wonder. He knew and shivered with disgust.

Maybe it was time for him to bolt this city.

"You have something to tell me?"

They were alone on the rooftop of Gotham City Hall. Samantha stared at the shadowy figure before her and pulled her jacket tightly around her.

It isn't fair I have to do this. I didn't ask for this. Don't want this knowledge.

But they had a deal, her and Jack. This was part of it. Her long leash had cost her a lot.

"Yeah. I do." She shuffled uncomfortably and glanced around.

"Tell me then." Batman's voice was impossibly gruff, the voice of someone trying hard to disguise his identity.

She looked into his dark eyes, shook her head and stepped close to him. When she was only a foot away she stopped.

"He said to tell you........." she leaned in, painfully aware of his tension. He didn't trust her. And why should he?

She continued, feeling sick. "Why do you think he picked Wayne Tower? He told me to tell you 'Hi Bruce'."