Chapter 29
"Who did it?" asked the Joker calmly. He licked his lips and wiggled his eyebrows encouragingly at the man stood in front of him.
"We don't know yet," the man responded and his nerves were clear to hear as well as say. He kept looking over his shoulder, a nervous tic working at the muscle in his left cheek. "There was nothing left at the bank; faces were covered with masks and the only one who spoke had his voice contorted with a voice box. Medium height, medium build, nothing at all from witnesses as of yet…"
"What masks?" interrupted the Joker, his voice still deceptively calm and neutral.
The man gave a nervous laugh and looked at the Joker quickly before looking away and clearing his throat.
"Batman masks," he said and took another quick glance to gauge the Joker's response.
"Bat man?" he queried and broke out into peals of laughter. He smacked his hand against his thigh and the laughter quickly escalated into the manic laughter that sent shivers down the man's back.
"Bat man masks!" cackled the Joker and did a strange little dance that made the man wipe nervously at his forehead. "Poetic! How fucking poetic! I'll bet the bat man is going to love this!"
"They also had some of your clown masks as well," the cop suddenly said and tensed.
The Joker calmly down abruptly and it made the man blink at the sudden change in attitude.
"Clown masks?" he queried with a lilt in his voice that made the cop swallow violently. "Bat man and clown masks? Sound to me someone is taking the piss. Anything else I need to know?"
"Gordon's kids have got mixed up in it; they're on the bus that was hijacked."
"Oh this is too good to be true!" howled the Joker and he turned to where Jimmy was leaning against the wall, one hand on the collar of Tiny and the other holding a semi automatic. "Did you hear that Jimbo?" cackled the Joker.
"Yes, boss," he replied dutifully, his eyes on the uniformed police officer in front of him. He knew the Joker used anyone and anything that could be corrupted but it didn't mean he had to like having a cop so close to home. In theory they were so far from home that they weren't even in Crime Alley anymore, but it still made Jimmy uneasy to have a cop this close and not be firing his gun.
"Listen, Henry, go back to your job, keep your ear to the ground and anything else comes up… well, you know how to find me."
Henry nodded violently and began to shuffle backwards.
"How's your pa now, Henry?" asked the Joker with apparent concern. He licked his lips and tilted his head.
"Fine, er, he's fine."
"Good, let's hope he stays that way. Fuck off now, and don't get lost on your way home."
The Joker turned away from him and Henry took his cue and scrambled from the alley and out back onto the streets.
"His pa?" questioned Jimmy the words slipping out before he could think properly.
The Joker glared at him and then ran his hands through his hair.
"He made my suit," he said by way of explanation and the look on his face told Jimmy clearly that he was lucky it was an explanation he was getting and not a bullet through his skull for asking questions.
"Sorry, boss," he mumbled and stood up from the wall and patted the dog beside him.
"Find out what you can about the Commissioners kids," the Joker replied and grunted when his cell phone went off. He opened it and saw a message coming from Mark.
"What's he want?" he muttered and opened the message.
"The kids are still on the bus… Janey xxx"
"And?" he drawled and rolled his eyes as he pressed the number to ring Mark. He really ought to get yet another phone for her; it would be interesting to see how she lost the next one.
His call was answered straight away by Janey.
"Mark, your voice is considerably higher than last time I spoke to you," he cackled.
"It's not Mark, it's me," Jane replied seriously and he rolled his eyes.
"Well, I was hardly expecting Mark to have grown a conscience when it came to pointing out the obvious," he drawled.
"Joker, they're just kids, not one of them is over twelve!" came a squeal that had the Joker pulling the phone from his ear with a look of disgust. "Please do something!"
"You dialled the wrong number, Janey, you should have hit 911," he snapped.
"Please?" came a slightly lower cry. "What if it was our kid on that bus?"
"It would be a medical impossibility considering you're only 15 weeks along; besides it wouldn't ever happen, you're gonna teach the kid at home."
"I am?" came a surprised answer and he smirked slightly.
"Well, sure you are," he replied smoothly. "Don't think we'd go down to well at Parent's Meetings."
"Well, no, but… I hadn't really thought about it," came the vague reply.
"Well, there you go, now fuck off Janey, I'm busy." He snapped the phone shut and swore loudly as looked up at Jimmy.
"I am not a fucking charity; I don't care if half the world's population of brat is on that bus; why the fuck should I?"
Jimmy mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "they're just kids'.
"Yep, but that will be cured in one of two ways; time or they'll be blown to bits," the Joker sneered at him and without another word he stomped out of the alley grumbling under his breath. He stopped suddenly and looked back at Jimmy.
"Thought I told you to find out about the Commissioners brats!" he spat and then carried on, whistling at Tiny to follow him. His phone beeped a message and he swore when he read the three word text.
"For me? Please?"
Gordon put the phone down and rested his head in both hands; his whole world was coming apart at the seams. He'd seen enough violence to last a lifetime; he'd watched one madman try to destroy his family and now, another madman was trying again.
Nothing had been heard from whoever had hijacked the bus. Witnesses from the bank had told his men about the two types of masks worn by the gunmen but Gordon knew it wasn't the Joker behind this.
"Jim," the strained voice of his wife brought him up and out of his chair. She was in his arms before she'd even crossed the threshold of his office.
"Our babies, Jim, our babies," she sobbed. He screwed his eyes shut and held her tight, no words would form through the lump in his throat.
Batman used any and every technology at his disposal. He also knew it wasn't the Joker at work, but whoever had masterminded it had worked it out meticulously. But what worried Batman more was the bus full of school children. Whoever was behind this had not finished with the children yet and that was enough to make his blood run cold.
"Barbara Gordon, 7 years old, and James Gordon Jr, 9 years old. Latest pictures I could find," Jimmy said as he handed over the two school photographs of the children.
"Well, aren't they sweet," the Joker drawled and squinted at the boy. "Named after dear old mom and dad, eh? How about it Jimmy? We could convince Janey that Joker Jr sounds good, couldn't we?"
"And Jane if it's a girl?" asked Jimmy careful not to answer the question. The Joker pondered this for a moment and then shook his head.
"It's not a girl," he said firmly. "And one Janey is enough. Now then, where are my idiots?"
As if on cue, three heavy looking thugs came into the printers looking vaguely pleased with themselves.
"Boss, we found 'em," one of them, obviously the self styled leader of the three stood forward confident with his knowledge. "Can't pull a job that size and not be known somewhere in the narrows."
"And what did you find out?" asked the Joker and slapped his hands together as he watched the less than clever man in front of him.
"Tomo, over on east side, said a gang had been making themselves at home in the old brewery on James Street. Me and the boys scouted it out and found ourselves a nice little school bus."
The Joker looked at Jimmy and then back at the three men. "Are they still there?"
"Oh, yeah," he grinned and most of his teeth were gone. "Got the kids trussed up like turkeys."
"What?" the Joker frowned at him chewing on his scars. "Why are they keeping them in relative open? Did you get a look at the main man?"
"Nope, they've all got their masks on still," he replied and snorted. "But their boss isn't there, we gathered that much."
The Joker looked at the three men and shrugged. "Get yourselves back down there, stay out of sight and let me know of any change."
"Yes, boss," he replied and they left the printers.
"Whose stupid enough to sit in the open on your turf?" asked Jimmy in amazement.
"Someone trying to attract my attention," he replied. "And it's worked."
"What next?" asked Jimmy.
"Well, they've gone to so much trouble, let's not disappoint them," the Joker cackled.
"Commissioner, a message," the young cop spoke softly, avoiding looking directly at his boss.
Gordon took the paper without a word and opened it.
Do you want your kiddlywinks back?
He turned the paper over but there was nothing else written on it and he roared in frustration.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. "Who brought this in?"
"It was brought in by a child, he's still downstairs; Montoya is with him," the cop replied.
Gordon let his office and went down to where Montoya was standing by the huge fish tank that sat in the waiting area. A boy, no more than nine was stood next to her pointing at the fish. Gordon's heart plummeted into his boots when he saw that the tousled hair was not blonde, like he'd prayed for, like James Jr. He took a shuddering deep breath and started slightly when a hand touched his shoulder.
"We'll get them back," Ron said quietly from behind him.
Gordon took another deep breath and a curt nod of his head before moving forward.
"Hello, son, my name is Jim Gordon," he spoke kindly and waited as the boy turned to look up at him.
"Hello, sir, I'm Paul."
"You like our fish?" asked Gordon and he took a seat in one of the chairs and waved for the boy to sit next to him.
"Yeah, we've got a smaller tank at home. Can I see my mum now?"
"We've already contacted his parents, they're on their way," Montoya said quietly.
Gordon looked at the boy and was taken by how calmly he was appearing to be.
"Where you on the bus, son?" he asked quietly and watched the edge of tension fill the boy's face.
"Yes, sir," he said quietly.
"You think you can tell me about it?"
"We were on our way home. We got pulled over at lights and these two big men got onto the bus with shot guns. They were wearing clown masks…" he trailed off and picked at his finger nails. "They shouted at us to shut up and no one would get hurt. I was lucky, I was sat at the front of the bus. One of them shoved the paper into my hand and told me to find you; he pushed me off the bus and I had to walk without telling anyone else or they'd kill my friends."
His composure broke and his body was racked with sobs. Gordon reached out and held his shoulder.
"You've been very brave, Paul, very brave," he whispered.
"Paul! Oh thank god, Paul!" a high pitched voice brought Paul's head up. He flew from the chair and into the arms of his parents.
Gordon stood up and looked at Montoya.
"Organise a press conference straight away."
"The children have been put into a removal van and they're on the move."
"Where to?" spat the Joker into the phone.
"Andre is following them," came the slightly static reply. "We're heading north towards Amusement Mile."
"Don't loose them," barked the Joker and disconnected the call. "They're going to Amusement Mile," he spoke to Jimmy behind him.
"Place has been run down and closed for years," Jimmy replied. "A huge area to hide anywhere."
"I know," the Joker replied curtly and sucked on his scars as he turned full circle and glared at Jimmy. "But it's gonna be hard to hide a herd of scared, snotty nosed, crying kids, isn't it?"
"Why take children?" asked Jimmy suddenly and the Joker tilted his head at him.
"You're obsessing over the kids, aren't you?" he cackled. "Feeling a little paternal, are we?"
"I just don't get it," he replied honestly. "Fuck with adults yeah, they can defend themselves. But kids? What kind of coward uses children to get what he wants?"
"The kind of coward that knows exactly how far people will go to get their precious little stinkrats back," the Joker replied and patted his pockets carefully as if looking for something. "Bit of an easy option if you ask me," he muttered as he located whatever he was looking for and drew it out. "No class, no style, and no chaos in taking the easy way out of getting what you want."
"Boss?" someone came into the warehouse making the Joker look up angrily. "Commissioner is on the TV."
"Well, switch it on then," he snapped and cracked his neck to one side and he ambled forwards to watch the screen.
"There is little I can add at this present time as we have no further information. I need to address whoever has taken our children. We received your note and yes, we want our children back!"
"What did the message say?" called out one reporter.
Gordon didn't say anything he just held up a piece of paper for the camera to see.
The Joker read the words out loud and burst into uncontrollable laughter drowning out whatever the Gordon was saying next.
"Oh, we're gonna have some fun now," laughed the Joker when he finally managed to calm down. Gordon had left the screen and it was some reporter who was now talking into the camera.
He turned to Jimmy and beamed at him. "You ever read Alice in Wonderland?"
"No, but I saw the film when I was younger," he replied.
"Pity," the Joker cackled.
Jane was on the Joker the minute he came through the door with Jimmy behind him.
"What's happening?" she asked and followed him into the kitchen where he took his jacket off and loosened his tie.
"I'm waiting to see what you've cooked for my tea, that's what's happening," he replied and sniffed. He rolled up his sleeves and tilted his head at her. "Have you been feeling sick again? I don't smell any food. You're not fucking giving me rabbit food again, are you? I told you I do not eat lettuce!"
"I haven't started anything," she replied vaguely and went to the fridge and drew out some meatloaf from the day before. "I can heat this up."
"Fine," he muttered and sat at the table and drew out his flick knife and began to clean his finger nails.
"What about the kids?" she asked quietly and lit the stove and put the meatloaf into the oven.
"Janey, unless it's escaped your notice, I don't have a badge, I'm not a cop, I don't have a conscience and I don't care, I really don't," he muttered and put the knife away when he saw her staring at it.
"I do," she whispered and slumped onto the chair opposite him. She leant her forearms on the table and caught his gaze. "I'm sorry, but I do. Not children, please not children."
"Didn't know you had such a soft spot for them," he replied vaguely and sucked on his scars as he held her gaze.
"They're helpless, defenceless, it broke my heart to see all those faces on the TV and not know what's happened to them or where they are. Joker, what if it's some paedophile ring? What if they're going to be sold as slaves…" she faded out and he watched as her face paled and her eyes teared up.
"It's not that," he replied and sat forwards to grip her forearms. "It's not that. That's not how those bastards work for one thing; one child picked with a lot of care and careful planning. Not an entire bus load that Interpol and the entire country will be looking for. Besides, not many paedo's will send a note asking if they're wanted back again." He saw her visibly relax and it made him snort slightly. "You really got yourself worked up about that, didn't you?"
"It must be the worst thing," she replied and bit her lip.
"I wouldn't be sitting here if it was that," he suddenly admitted. "I don't have many lines, but that kind of thing is one of them."
"Do you know who has them?"
"I have an idea," he replied and then sneered at her. "But don't ask any questions and I won't have to tell you to fuck off, will I?"
"Just… just.." she faded out again and winced at him.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Look, sugar, I know two things here. I know that if those kids get hurt your blood pressure will rocket, can't have that. I also know that someone has trampled on my turf and played games that's sent a challenge to me, definitely can't have that. Both of those things equal with putting things the way they should be around here; and if that means delivering a bus load of brats back to Gordon, then…" he shrugged. "Besides, it's not fun when the odds are so uneven. Poor old Bats won't even be able to make a wrong move here for fear of kiddys getting hurt."
"They had clown masks, didn't they?" she asked him.
"Yup," he chuckled. "And Bat Man masks, bet that got his knickers in a twist. Give them credit, though, they know how to attract attention and if the Bat Man has been listening he'll be on the same page as me."
"Huh?"
"Let's just say he's met them before as well."
"Where?" she asked.
"Blackgate," he cackled. "Now, listen, sugar, no more talk about bats and other dumb creatures. Come here and give me a kiss," he mumbled and pulled her sideways off the chair to drag her onto his lap.
A/N: Well, I hope that you were ok with this one. Has anyone guessed who's taken the kids?
Thank you so much for keeping with me and not falling asleep. Please let me know what you think. Have a great week.
