Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You
Fandom: The Dark Knight
Rating: M
Pairing: Joker/OC
Genre: Drama/Angst
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad to know that there are people who are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it!
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lacy got into the car that Bruce had left at the restaurant for her, desperately wanting nothing else but to go home. Seeing the Joker was tiring and only added more stress to her already over-stressed brain. She thought back to what he told her.
She hated to admit it but he was right. If Bruce knew who she really was and what her connection to the Joker was he would hate her. And she wouldn't blame him for it one bit. There are no excuses in the world good enough to justify what she's done, or more accurately, what she hasn't done.
Her lack of action to neutralize the Joker has led to countless deaths, including that of Rachel Dawes. Bruce would never forgive her for that death, yet alone all the other deaths and crimes the Joker has committed. How could he? It's unforgiveable and she can't even forgive herself.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that any kind of relationship between her and Bruce probably would never work out. She would have to lie to him for the rest of their lives and that's not right. On the other hand, the rest of their lives could be short if the Joker carries out his plans to kill Bruce.
No. As much as she's tempted to it wouldn't be fair to start any kind of relationship with Bruce other than possibly friendship, and she wasn't even sure a friendship would be safe.
Her cell phone rang, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Hello?"
"Lacy! I am so glad I got a hold of you!" Chris exclaimed.
"Chris? What's going on?" She asked, wondering why he was calling her so late in the evening.
"Have you seen the news recently?" He asked.
"No." She answered. "I've been out and away from radios and televisions. Why? What's happened?"
"I think it's best if I tell you in person." He replied. "You said you've been out, right? Are you still out?"
"Yes. I'm on my way home." She didn't understand why he wasn't telling her what was going on. "Why?"
"Why don't you come over to my house and I can show you the news report? I think after you see it we should talk." Chris explained.
She sighed. So much for heading straight home. "Ok. I'll be right over."
The Joker stormed into his warehouse, throwing his jacket on the floor and pacing around the room. He couldn't believe that Lacy had the nerve to insinuate that he needed her! It was preposterous! He was the Joker. He needed no one for anything.
"Is everything ok boss?" One of his guys asked as they approached him.
Without a word, he took out a knife and threw it at the guy who asked the question. The knife pierced through the guy's heart, sending him to the ground with a thud.
"Well that makes things a little better." He smirked, turning his attention to the two guys standing next to the body. "Clean that up and be sure to return the knife to me after it's been cleaned."
He watched the guys rush to get the body out of there and took a deep breath. He cursed himself for letting Lacy have any kind of effect on him at all. It was pathetic.
He realized now that Crane's programming idea would be the only way to ensure that Lacy stayed loyal and kept his secrets. He could apparently no longer rely solely on intimidating her and bringing her down with insults and manipulation.
Her boldness tonight was surprising, irritating, but strangely refreshing in a way. She showed a resilience and stubbornness that he hadn't seen in years. He had to admit that he actually found her incredibly sexy tonight. She had stood up to him before, but tonight seemed different.
He realized that she was starting to revert back to her former self. She was acting the same way she used to before Alexis died. Back then she would keep him in check and wouldn't take shit from anyone.
He started pacing again. It's been a long time since he's thought about Alexis and the life he used to live with her and Lacy. He growled softly. The last thing he wanted to do was think about his former life. It was so common and beneath him. He was so much more than the pathetic husband and father he used to be.
He was the Joker. He was the bad ass villain in Gotham City who didn't care about anyone. He was the one who could happily cause destruction and chaos with a smile on his face. He was the one who decided who lived and died.
He has risen from the depths of obscurity and reached a level of infamy that most can never even dream of. People fear him, and those that don't learn the hard way that they should.
So what if Lacy's words were true and he had missed her. So what if he needed her. That doesn't mean he wouldn't kill her if he had to. And it certainly doesn't mean that he's any less of a bad-ass villain.
His little mental pep talk helped him calm down from his visit with Lacy and now he became focused on the job he had to do. He picked up his phone and dialed.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end answered.
"Crane, how is the programming going? Are you almost done?"
Crane sighed. "You just gave me specifications three hours ago. It's not done yet."
"How much longer is it going to take?" He was getting frustrated.
"I told you it would take me a few days once I got the specifications." Crane reminded him.
"Well why can't you get it done sooner?" The Joker asked.
"Because it takes time to get everything perfect. You don't want me to rush and make a mistake, do you?" Crane asked, getting frustrated with him. He hated when other people tried to hurry his projects.
"No, I guess not." The Joker had to admit that he had a point. He would rather have it perfect than quick.
"By the way, nice handiwork tonight." Crane laughed. "It was quite a show. I especially enjoyed that you slashed him once for every year he was alive."
"Oh, you saw that on the news?" The Joker asked, proud of his earlier work.
"Yeah." Crane admitted. "It was very entertaining."
"Thanks for admiring my work." The Joker responded. "Now stop watching tv and get back to your task."
Crane rolled his eyes. The Joker obviously didn't realize that he wasn't going to blindly take orders. He was his own person and didn't appreciate having orders barked at him. "This is a delicate operation. I'm not going to let you rush me."
"Fine." The Joker sighed. "Just get it done, and the sooner the better."
Lacy rang the doorbell at Chris' house, nervously waiting for him to open the door. As soon as he did, he pulled her inside and placed her in front of the television. "What is going on Chris? You have me really worried."
"Before I turn it on I have to tell you that I am scared by this." Chris warned before turning on the television.
Lacy watched in horror as she saw the news report on her boss' murder. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh my god."
"Now do you see why I am so worried?" Chris asked.
"I can't believe it." She stated. "Well actually I can. I feared this kind of thing would happen but I didn't expect it so soon."
"I don't know what to do Lacy." Chris said, starting to pace around his living room. "I mean, I'm next. I know I'm next. I've got to be next, especially since I can't give him any information about Bruce Wayne that he can use. So I'm of no use to him anymore. He's going to kill me."
Outside, Bruce lurked in the shadows. He had decided that Batman should pay Chris a visit tonight. Before he entered the house though, he saw that his car and driver were waiting outside Chris' house. That meant that Lacy was inside.
Upon closer inspection, he could see the police car which was following her. He snuck around to the back of the house and turned on his surveillance equipment. That way he could hear everything happening inside the house without them knowing about his presence.
She tore her eyes away from the television and walked over to him, standing in his way so that he couldn't continue pacing. "You're not going to die, at least not if I have anything to say about it."
"I mean no disrespect, but how are you going to keep me from dying?" He asked, highly skeptical that she could do anything to stop the Joker.
"I've gotten you some help." Lacy informed him.
"What kind of help?" Chris asked. "Nice men in white coats aren't going to come and take me away, are they?"
"No." She laughed. "It's not that kind of help. I've gotten Bruce to help you."
"Bruce Wayne doesn't like me." Chris pointed out. "Why would he do anything to help me?"
"Because I asked him to." She answered. "He's a really good guy and he wants to help you."
"Ok." Chris replied. He knew that the only reason Bruce agreed to help him was because of Lacy and appreciated that she would go to such lengths to help him. "So how is he going to help me?"
"He's getting you a job in another country. You're going to take your money and move far, far away from here as soon as possible. He's going to get the details worked out in the morning." She explained.
"That's your solution?" He asked. "I'm gonna run away?"
"Yes, although I don't consider it running away. I consider it relocating." She replied, getting frustrated with him and his attitude.
"And how is that supposed to keep me alive?"
"It's going to get you out of Gotham and far away from the Joker." She told him.
"But what will stop him from finding me?" He asked.
"He won't come after you." She assured him. "I'll make sure of that."
He laughed. "I'm curious as to how you're going to do that."
"You don't need to know the details." She wasn't going to tell him part two of her plan. It was for his own good.
"I'm sorry Lacy but I just don't see how this will work." He walked around her and started pacing again. "He'll figure out that I've left town and come after me because I know too much."
"He won't." She sighed.
"But how…"
She interrupted him. "Do you trust me?"
"Lacy, you know I trust you." He stopped pacing and looked at her.
"Then trust that as soon as you're out of the country you'll be safe. He won't come looking for you. Don't focus on how. Just trust me. Ok?" She needed him to drop this subject because she didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"Ok." He relented. He would drop this subject for now, but still wanted to know her grand plan. "I'm sorry if I appeared to be ungrateful or anything. I'm really not. I'm just freaked out by what happened to Mr. Drake."
"It is pretty gruesome." She had to admit. "I can understand why you're freaked out."
"Look, I realize that you've done a lot for me. It took a lot of guts to go to Bruce and ask for his help and I appreciate it. But you didn't tell him details about this, did you?"
"No." She shook her head. "It's for his own good that he doesn't know. In fact, I tried to make it seem like you were involved with the mob."
"I wish." He laughed.
"Can I ask you something else though?"
"What?" She asked, hoping it wasn't a complicated question. She felt like her head was going to explode.
"What's going to happen to Bruce Wayne? I mean, I won't be helping the Joker plot to kill him, but I have a strong feeling that the Joker will continue to plot his demise with or without my help. Are you planning on helping him too?"
"I don't know what's going to happen to Bruce." She answered honestly. "I don't want anything to happen to him and I certainly don't want the Joker to kill him, but I haven't figured out a way to help him yet. I guess I figure you are the priority right now, especially after what happened to Mr. Drake tonight."
"But you do want to help Bruce?" Chris asked.
"Of course I do." She replied. "I just don't know how yet."
