Title: Control
Fandom: The Dark Knight
Rating: M
Pairing: OC/Joker/Harley
Genre: Drama/Angst
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.
A/N: Sorry for missing the update yesterday! But here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lacy walked into the safe house, amused when she saw Crane lying on the couch. He was fast asleep, clutching the television remote in his hands and she could swear that was a drool spot on the pillow. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
Shaking her head, she snatched the television remote from his hands and flipped it off. Grabbing the remote from his hands so she thought of a better way to wake him up. Moments later she returned from the kitchen and stood next to him. On the silent count of three she banged two large pots together, causing a loud clang which woke him up.
He jumped nearly a foot in the air, surprised and jolted awake by the noise. "What the hell?" He yelled, sitting up and seeing Lacy there. The pots in her hand explained the noise. "What did you do that for?"
"I needed to wake you up." She explained innocently.
"There were several other ways to do it." He pointed out, more annoyed than angry. "You didn't have to try and give me a heart attack."
"But it was more fun this way." She grinned, chuckling softly. "Besides, it got the job done. You're wide awake now."
"Gee, thanks." He rolled his eyes. "So to what do I owe this visit?"
"I came to say thank you." She told him, setting the pots down on the coffee table. "Your gas canisters worked perfectly and I was glad to see that you didn't try any funny business."
"You made it clear that I shouldn't." He explained, stretching out for a few moments. "And you're welcome. I suppose congratulations are in order."
"Congratulations for what?" She asked, not understanding.
"I've seen the news footage." He motioned to the television. "You used my canisters to ruin the Joker's plans and it worked. He's now the laughing stock of the city. I can only imagine how upset he must be right now."
She smiled. "He must be extremely upset by now."
"Yes." He nodded. "So what's next in your plan for him?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. What plan?" She pretended not to know what he was talking about.
"You have to have some kind of a plan for dealing with him." He pointed out. "So what's next?"
"Even if there was a plan, why would I tell you?" She asked.
He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get any information out of her. "So now that I've done the job you wanted me to do, when am I getting out of here? When are you going to call off the bodyguards and let me leave town?"
"I haven't decided." She told him. "Honestly, I don't think it's a good idea for me to let you go yet. So for the time being you will be staying here indefinitely."
"That's not fair." He complained. "I don't want to be cooped up in this house anymore. I want my freedom."
"Well I want to own my own tropical island but we don't always get what we want. It's called life. Deal with it." She pointed out. "But if you are so intent on leaving, go ahead."
"Really?" He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, trying to figure out the catch.
"Really." She nodded, motioning toward the door. "You are free to leave anytime you want. Of course, if you decide to leave I will have to have the guys follow you and then I'll call up the Joker and tell him exactly where you are. I'm sure he would be interested in seeing you again."
"Probably almost as interested as he would be to see you again." Crane countered. He knew that his freedom wouldn't be that easy. There were always strings attached.
"Probably." She smirked. "That's why there are no phones in here."
"You don't trust me?" He feigned a look of hurt.
"Nope." She shook her head. "Sorry."
"Then you're smart." He smiled.
"Look, the bottom line is this. I've gone to considerable lengths to free you from Arkham. I've put you in this really nice, suitable house. I've kept you safe and well fed. So while this isn't a villa on a private beach, it's far from prison, Arkham or death—which is what you would find yourself in without my help." She calmly explained.
"I suggest you start acting a little more grateful and a little less whiny because you have it pretty good here. It's not like I'm going to keep you here forever. You'll get your freedom soon enough. But I would appreciate it if you could be a little more patient."
He listened to her and thought about what she said. It was true. Without her help, he would still be in Arkham. And without this safe house he would be vulnerable to the police and the Joker. "Fine." He sighed. "I'll work on being more patient and grateful."
"That's all I ask." She grinned. "Now, I have a question. How good are you at making explosive devices?"
The Joker picked up the newspaper the next morning, immediately regretting that decision. He had stayed at the other safe house, purposely staying away from Harley. He was still furious with her for botching her scheme at the warehouse. Whether or not she did it on purpose, the fact remained that it had done serious damage to his reputation. All he had to do was look at the headline on the Gotham Daily Times this morning to find proof of that.
Joker Bungles Another Crime
It went on to detail Harley's scheme and the ways it failed. It angered him, but not nearly as much as the anonymous letter to the editor. Given the format is similar to the previous ones, he suspected they had all been written by the same person.
Dear citizens of Gotham,
Well, our least favorite clown has done it again! He has botched yet another attempt to bring our city down to its knees. One has to wonder what is wrong with him. Is this really the same guy who we were afraid of two years ago? Has he lost his touch or have we just finally had enough and see him for the bully that he is?
Either way, it doesn't really matter. I believe that the Joker is a has-been and it's only a matter of time before the police catch up with him.
This city is going to be better off without idiots like him walking around. I can't wait for that day, although I have to admit I am having fun laughing at the Joker's mistakes.
If he ever got a hold of the person writing these letters he would show them that he was not a has-been and that he hadn't lost his touch. He would make them scream and beg for death, only to keep torturing them.
He sighed, flipping on the television hesitantly. He knew that GCN would most likely still be covering the warehouse incident and dreaded hearing what they had to say. The program was one of the early morning talk shows called Julie and Julie. It was aptly named that because both of the hosts were named Julie.
"You know, I think what the last few days have shown us is that we as Gothamites have had enough of the Joker and pretty much all crime in general." The Julie with blonde hair ruminated. "Let's face it. We've been terrorized quite a lot the last few years. There was the fear toxin, the mob, and then the Joker. For some reason criminals feel the need to converge upon Gotham City and spread their evil here."
She continued. "We've had to deal with some horrific situations but the one thing we've never done is given up all hope. Sure there were times when we have felt defeated and deflated but we've never given up the hope that things could change. I think that time is coming."
"You think a change is coming?" The Julie with brown hair asked.
"I definitely think a change is coming. I can feel it. I feel like brighter days are on the horizon, days where the Joker no longer runs around as a threat to us and we don't have to live in fear." Blonde Julie replied.
"And why do you think that?" Brunette Julie asked.
"Because look at the Joker's recent attempted crimes." Blonde Julie pointed out. "He can't seem to do anything criminal without someone ratting him out to the police or fouling it up himself. The times are changing and with any luck it won't be too long until we no longer have to report on anything having to do with the Joker."
He flipped off the television and threw the remote across the room. Everyone in this town had now become unafraid of him. There was a time that no one in the media or even in private would dare speak like that about him. They would all be afraid that he would come after them. But now no one was afraid and they all spoke their minds.
It infuriated him. He would have to do something to prove them all wrong. There had to be something he could do to bring the fear back into their hearts. But it was hard to plan something since he didn't know who he could trust and who would betray him. He had his suspicions about who the leak was, but nothing definite.
Although proving to the city that he wasn't going anywhere and they should fear him that was just one of the many things on his mind nowadays. He still had to deal with the fact that Crane was alive and running around somewhere in the city. There was his anger with Harley and his suspicions that she was working with Crane and/or being manipulated by him in an attempt to bring him down.
Then there was Lacy. After getting some sleep he grew even more confident and sure that she was alive. After all, if the police faked Crane's death, whose to say they didn't fake Lacy's too?
He also knew he couldn't discount Lacy. She could somehow be involved in his recent troubles, maybe even working with Crane.
He would find Lacy and make her answer some questions, and he had the perfect plan for how to do it. Now he just had to figure out which of his men were trustworthy enough to help him execute it properly.
"Do we have any leads on who sent the text message last night that led us to the warehouse?" Gordon asked Locke as they walked into his office.
"No." Locke shook his head. "It seems that the message was sent through a prepaid phone and we haven't been able to track down the location of where the call came from."
"Damn." Gordon sighed. "While I appreciate whoever is helping us, I don't want to appear like I'm encouraging vigilantes doing the job of the police."
"I know." Locke nodded. "Plus, it would be safer for this person if they had police protection and we might be able to get more information from them."
"Whoever is helping us seems to know what they are doing, and is good at covering their tracks." Gordon pointed out.
"Are you sure it isn't Batman?" Locke questioned.
"I'm sure." Gordon replied. "This isn't Batman's style. He would have found a way to contact us and let us know what he was doing."
"Word on the street is that Batman hasn't been seen in awhile." Locke reminded his boss. "Should we be worried about that?"
"No." Gordon shook his head. "I'm sure Batman is fine. Our priorities are finding out who this informant is and finding Crane before the media finds out about him still being alive."
"Right." Locke nodded. "We still haven't been able to find out anything about Crane either. It's like he disappeared right after escaping from Arkham. His trail has gone cold."
"He has to be somewhere in the city." Gordon pointed out.
"Maybe the Joker found him first and finished the job for us." Locke chuckled at the thought.
"That's too much to hope for." Gordon sighed.
