Author's note:Well...another week...another chapter... Here is the next installment of this story. I hope it's of your liking. In the meantime, and as like I always do...thank you to all the kind readers. I appreciate you taking your time to read this piece of my imagination...thanks to those that have left their voice heard in reviews...all corrections are taken care of as soon as received, and your positive encouragement is appreciated. Please let me hear you...You all are part of the reason this story exists (the other one is that I have Joker as a roomate...HAHAHAHA!).
Disclaimer1: Batman and related characters are owned by DC COMICS
Disclaimer2: Some scenes might contain some VIOLENCE, MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATIONS. Readers be advised.
Now enjoy...
CHAPTER 35: "...DELIVER US FROM EVIL"
Inside the warehouse the light was dim, and the temperature was markedly higher than outside with an increased humidity, making the atmosphere within the metal structure felt mucky and steamy. There were two large nonfunctional fans on the back of the building. Not much to remove the heat inside, but at least they allowed for some air exchange with the outside. The interior of the warehouse looked almost completely empty, except for piles of old, damp boxes scattered on the corners and two old large metal bins to the right.
The group of Leopards walked deeper into the building until they reached the center of structure. All they could hear were the echo of their own steps against the sandy floor. It was an eerie sensation; the immensity of the building overwhelmed them. Where was the rescue team..?
"So what's up, where's everybody?" Neo asked while looking around the empty surroundings. "Where's the boss?"
"I really don't like this, man," said another Leopard looking around him with obvious concern.
"Thought we 'ere gittin' rescued," interloped another gang member. Jake lifted a hand to the team and advanced a few steps in front of them.
"Hey, Mr. J-man, Charley! Jake yelled to the empty air. "Jokemeister, yo' 'ere, boss?"
"Is the Joker really the Grand Snow Leopard?" A young blonde Leopard asked to 'Mountain man' Washington. "I 'eard stories of the clown in prison, man. He's nuts. I don't like him and I don't like this place either."
"Shut yo' hole, man," Jake said pushing the Leopard forcibly onto the floor. "Nobody should know that. The guy's just a bit odd, OK?"
"That's funny coming from someone who called me a fruitcake once," said a voice from behind them.
Everybody turned around and saw the Joker standing very still in a very dark purple suit, with a green tie and green spats covering his shinny black shoes. His hands were clasped behind him and he was sporting a very large smile on his face. Four of his thugs were with him, two on each side on similar suits and all wearing gas masks.
"Hey, hiya boss, we 'ere worried… what's up with the masks?" Merckle asked eying the receiving committee with suspicion.
"Saving my little stinkers' asses. Don't hate me for what I'm about to do, eh guys?" Joker smile widened. "Please?"
"Hey, if it's 'cause I called you a nut…"The black mountain of a man said stepping in front of the group.
"No wukkas, Jake. Nothing personal. Bye, bye and… Say cheese." Joker covered his nose and mouth and let go of two green balls that landed in the floor among the group of men. The other henchmen did the same and once in the floor all the spheres started to smoke. The two dozen Leopards coughed and fell to the ground one by one. The last one to fall was Jake 'Mountain Man' who before touching the ground gave the Clown Prince a look that could kill. That one will be harder to explain. Maybe Charley would have much better success talking to him. She always did. The gas dissipated quickly and Joker started to move amongst the unconscious Leopards on the floor.
"What are we looking for again , Boss?" One of the Joker's henchmen asked after he removed his mask.
"See if any of these guys is wearing makeup or a mask; is losing its shape or turning to goo… something out of the ordinary."
"Why?"
"This is too easy…don't ask questions and do as I say. When you're done with that, remove all their clothes and toss them into a pile, then take them boys out of here. Time is of the essence…we need to leave the docks quickly, so hurry up!"
"Yessir!"
ooooooooooooooooooooooo
After the long walk from the subway tracks, the tunnel Harley was walking through came to an end, opening to a large vaulted area. She peeked gingerly from the tunnel into the vast space that seemed empty, when she heard some footsteps approaching close. Harley receded slightly into her tunnel without losing sight of the vaulted space when she saw a man emerging from a smaller tunnel a few yards away, dressed up in a black leather jacket, with a faux leopard collar, smoking a cigarette, and carrying a UZI in his hand. The man started to move towards her tunnel and she slid back in away from view.
There was a momentary silence. The man should have stopped short of her tunnel, Harley thought, while she tried to look back into the vaulted space. She saw the man standing mere feet away from her tunnel, his back turned to her. He took the cigarette and after a deep drag, flicked it to the floor and stepped on it. The man exchanged the hand holding the UZI and pulled a communicator from one of the inner pockets of his jacket.
"The coast is clear in tunnel 23B, Elliott. Can you get someone to relieve me? This is the most boring job that clown could have assigned me…" Harley's ears tuned in at the word clown in the conversation. Could it be that this man knew the Joker? "Nobody knows we are here…so why keep me doing these rounds when he could've made his computer geek build some surveillance system to protect this joint?"
Blip. He had to be speaking of Blip. She felt rejoiced she was on the right track.
"Beats me…you are the one who called him a jerk…consider yourself lucky you still alive to make the patrol so don't screw this up." Elliott's voice came through the communicator loud and clear. Lee snorted disgustingly. "And…there is no one her to relieve you for now until the boss comes back. Joker better not find out that security is lacking in his absence or he's gonna have some heads rolling… yours literally."
"Yeah, yeah…I know. It's just that I'm so fucking bored….there's nothing happening here." The man started to slowly walk away from Harley. "What about the other Leopards…when are they going to be back?"
"Soon, the Boss promised…didn't he?
"You might've worked longer with 'im a long time, Elliott, but I don't trust the Clown. The guy's nuts…heard him talk to 'imself in his office."
"Just do as he says and I promise you, you'll make good money… just don't contradict him and always…always laugh at his jokes, OK?"
"Sure, sure…whatever. Lee out." The man replaced the communicator in his jacket and continued walking down the vault. "Laugh at his jokes…yeah…not easy when the guy is as funny as a doorknob..."
Harley frowned. How could people be so ungrateful to the Joker when he offers them a job and financial fluidity? Joker was funny … in his own twisted way. She will have to tell Puddin' about hiring these people, but first she needed to find out where Joker was spending his nights and that meant first locating the hideout. She followed the man with her eyes until he disappeared through the same small tunnel she had seen him come from. That could be the Joker's hideout, or at least, the entrance. The question now was how she was going to get through security and into the hideout.
She thought that she could just go and introduce herself to the man with the UZI and once he realized she was the Joker's girlfriend, he will personally let her into the lair, but something inside her told her that was not such a good idea. She didn't know this guy, and he didn't know her and before any introductions could be exchanged, the man with the gun can go berserk and start shooting first and asking questions later. He looked like that type of guy...no sense of humor. Too risky.
Harley decided it would require a different approach to the whole situation. She did not carry a real weapon with her, but that didn't mean that she did not come prepared for the unexpected. She went to her police belt and opened some of the small pockets. Where the shackles would have been stored, she had half a dozen of Jokers exploding marble grenades. Good to make a statement, but this was calling for stealthy maneuvers. In another pocket she found some smoke screen tablets, a ping pong ball, sneezing powder, and some other gadgets. She remembered her police baton, customized by her into a taser gun, and after unscrewing the bottom half she was ready for action. She only needed a way of getting the man's attention….and be able to sneak very close to him.
She walked stealthily over to the tunnel and peeked insidel. The man with the gun was now seating on a metal chair against the wall while eating half a sandwich. He had set the UZI on his lap while he eyed a Playboy magazine with great interest. Behind Lee, there was a gray metal door that looked like it had an electronic combination lock in it…Damn it! That was going to be difficult to bypass.
Then suddenly Lee coughed up some of his sandwich. He looked around him gasping for air and as if searching something, rose from the chair and staggered towards the door still coughing and turning a deeper hue of red. He started to press numbers in the keypad by the lock when he stopped.
"Fucking security codes…(koff, koff)…why do they keep changing them every week?" The man said between coughs pulling a small piece of paper from the right pocket of his pants. After looking at the paper for a moment, he continued keying in the code. The door beeped and opened with a soft hiss. Lee replaced the paper in his back pocket and peeked inside sliding quickly and leaving the door open behind him. Could it be that easy? Harley waited for a moment and when she was ready to get to the door, Lee came back drinking a soda. He closed the door behind him and sat back on his chair as he continued eyeing the magazine.
Back to plan A thought Harley as she went down on all fours and started to pant loudly. The man with the UZI dropped the magazine momentarily to listen to the panting, and that is when he heard some barking coming from the vaulted space and the sound of paws echoing on the tunnel.
"What the fuck…?" Lee said setting the magazine down as he rose to walk towards the noise. There was some more panting, more barking and finally some whining and whimpering. "How the hell did that dog get down here?"
Lee held the UZI tightly in his hand and walked slowly towards the location of all that noise. It was odd to hear a dog this deep under the city, it could be a trap, but there were stories of killer crocodiles in the sewers as well, even Joker had seen one according to him…so why not dogs as well. If there were…would they be as dangerous as Joker had said the crocodiles were? Lee continued to advance through the tunnel and when he was about to turn into the vaulted place he was surprised by a cloud of thick black powder that made him start sneezing uncontrollably.
He was forced back a few steps with every sneeze and that is when something grabbed his arm and remove gun out from his hand and he felt a jolt of electricity that made him go into spasms on the floor. He saw sparks in front of his eyes, then streaks of colorful brilliance and then nothing.
Harley looked at the man on the floor for a moment to make sure the man was unconscious. She kicked him softly on the side and he didn't move. That was a good sign. She pulled the man with great effort back into his chair and took his leather jacket from him. After ripping both long sleeves from her police uniform, she slowly tore them into strips she used to tie the hands and feet of the Leopard tightly to the chair. She got out her ping pong ball and with some effort passed one of the strips though making a rudimentary ball gag that she secured on the man's mouth.
Harley searched into the man's pants and found the piece of paper. With great effort she pulled the man's chair and set it against the wall, then walked to the door. She stopped by the keypad and started to enter the code. The door hissed and open. After checking to make sure there was no one else in the vicinity, she slid in.
Harley closed the door firmly behind her, and took a good look at the place. There was a large green sofa, a TV set and small table on the right corner with what looked like a whole deck of cards on its surface. It looked like someone's unfinished poke game. She definitely had never seen this place before…but she could see that it was well equipped with anything people will need for a long stay. In the left corner of the room, Harley noticed a small refrigerator and some opened bags of chips as well as some sandwich wrappings on a table by the fridge.
There seemed to be a large room towards the back with large darkened windows, occupying what could be the center of the room. In the small space of white wall, there was some graphitti. A large spotted Happy Face. Harley walked cautiously towards the room that she noticed that the door was slightly open. She pushed the door gently and saw the large mahogany desk with the two carved jesters in each leg. Harley smiled of joy…this must be Joker's office. She continued to walk into the office and noted the computer screens on his table and the small Jack in the Box in the corner…She remembered the Jack in a Box….she had one identical, that Joker gave her for her birthday. Well, the truth is that she had bought one just like that on her birthday after the Jester told her she could go and get whatever she wanted…Harley giggled childishly as she walked towards the mahogany desk.
On her way in, she noticed the red velvety armchair on the right. On top of the chair were some clothes, women clothes. Harley walked slowly over to the clothes and held a petite black glittery leopard print shirt on her hands. What were those garments doing in the Joker's office? She felt heart sink in her chest. She looked around and noticed more pieces of clothing lying on the floor including some stockings and a pair of high healed leather boots neatly set by the chair.
She tossed the shirt angrily on the floor. Killer Croc's words came back and hit her like a sledgehammer. There was another woman searching for the Joker…a beautiful brunette, with looks that could kill, whom the Joker had invited to meet here…for what? She walked around the desk and sat at the luxurious black leather chair. She couldn't take her eyes off the women's clothes scattered in front of her.
Beside her she saw a white tie hanging from a perch, from which a black Humphrey Bogart hat hung as well. Two jackets hung from the wall; one dark brown and other navy blue. These were not Joker's regular color scheme, but judging from the style, they would fit a man of Joker's height comfortably. Was this Joker's new attire? Where were his purple tux, his yellow shirt and his turquoise vest…? She put her hands over the desk when she noticed the small dried puddle of blood on the center or the reddish surface, and the bloodied letter opener beside it. What had happened in this room?
She looked around the desk for clues as to explain what had transpired in this room in the last weeks. What she had seen so far was confusing and to a certain point alarming. Who was the woman that felt so comfortable of relieving her clothes like this? Was Joker here while the woman undressed, and if he was…what was he doing? Did he enjoy it? And why did Joker changed his dressing code? Did this woman have a say on the Joker's new style of clothing and if so…how much more influence she had on the Clown Prince?
Harley couldn't take it anymore. In her mind, the questions and the images of things that she thought might have happened started flashing like a movie in front of her. A movie she didn't want to see. She put her elbows on the table, held her head between her hands, and shook her head. In the process, she hit the keyboard and the screen image of the Joker appeared on all three large computer screens smiling maliciously at her. She looked away. She didn't want to see his face, but more importantly she didn't want to be seen like this by him. Her eyes had filled with tears and she had turned red as a lobster. She was really upset, but she had her pride.
Harley tried to occupy her mind in other thoughts and she started to explore the multiple compartments on the desk. She opened a drawer under the desk, noticing a small black notebook, with the cover all battered and torn, lying neatly on a corner. She opened the cover and immediately recognized the Jester's handwriting. She pulled out the notebook and started to read. The handwriting started as a jumble of thoughts, thrown at random into the page along with small doodles covering the corners, mostly of bats and birds. Every word seemed to be written in a different style font, almost as if they were written by different people and even the style and syntax varied between thoughts. Then the writing became more organized, more proportional, and the sentences started to make sense…
God….had this been a trip or what? How long will I be able to be coherent is a mystery even to me…but it will be long enough for me to see the Bat die. I can still hear Joker in the back of my head…reminding me of who I have become…reminding me of jokes I am suppose to be laughing at, but that are not funny anymore. Have I lost my sense of humor? Maybe…but death in my world is not a joke, but my job, so when the Clown starts joking about murder…I really don't see it…
Harley read some more and one more passage caught her attention.
Today I remembered my mother…had forgotten how blue her eyes were, like the sky, and how beautiful her smile was. I miss her... until she started going to the hospital, then the smile was erased from her face and she became hateful... I hate hospitals. I hate what they made of her.
ARRGH! I don't want to remember this pain, this was not part of the deal, Joker…I hate my life…it's not fun…just kill the bat…and all the sorrow will be gone…KILL THE BAT…have to KILL the Bat. Laugh, laugh some more clown…Let the joy fill you…KILL…DESTROY...OBLITERATE...and don't forget to laugh...It's a lot of fun.
A few pages later there was still some more…
I'm so lonely…I'm the only one that feels this horrendous hole in my chest…like someone ripped my heart out…I want to die. No…not die…I want to make everybody feel my pain…YES! It will be hilarious…the greatest joke. Suffer as much as I suffer and in their suffering, I will relieve this load within me with their dying breath...
I'm laughing at your pain, Gotham…laughing until you all die-- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-- (Abruptly interrupted entry).
One paragraph below, same date entry…she continued.
Time to plan a new crime spree like they have not seen in ages, Joker style, because I'm here to stay. It has to include cherry pies, and whipped cream…I like cherry pies. The cherries need to be sweet and gooey...just like brains splattered on a wall. Murder just sparks my creativity…and makes me hungry. Yum! Let me think this one out for a while…in the meantime I can dream of all the people that are going to die when they hear the news of the big mushroom cloud that will envelop Gotham. Mass murder while on vacation, brings a smile to my face and since I smile all the time, so I should kill all the time...It's so envigorating…
That's gonna be one to watch…like Bette Midler's song…from a distance. HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Harley closed the notebook. This was too heavy for her. Those words written in dark blue ink were full of strong emotions, of pain and sorrow. Was this what Joker was feeling? Was it true that Joker could not see the humor in his own crimes? She knew the Jester well…at least she thought so until she discovered this place, but she could only explain Joker's change in his behavioral pattern as a result of a severe trauma, but what? And she couldn't shake the idea of the woman that seems to be part of Joker's life now. Was she the catalyst of the transformation? She needed to find out and if she needed to find a way to reach the Clown Prince of Crime, somehow she had to ease that pain…
Harley lifted her eyes and saw a shadow walking outside the office, large almost seven feet tall, and was moving fast towards the main room. It must be the other henchman in the liar. She closed the notebook and put it inside one of the pockets of the Leopard jacket she was wearing. She had to leave and leave fast. Once that man finds about the one tied up by the door, all was going to fall down like an avalanche on top of her.
She rose from the chair and walked gingerly to the door peeking timidly outside to make sure the coast was clear. No one was visible and she stepped out when she heard the click of a cocked gun behind her.
"Don't make a move, Missy." She heard Elliott's voice say firmly. Harley turned around slowly and looked at the towering man who aimed his automatic to that space between her eyes. "…and start praying."
She forced a smile and waved at the man who did not seemed amused by the gesture. "Hi Elliott…long time no see."
That voice…
"Ms. Quinn?" Elliot said taking a better look at the intruder's blonde hair, baby blue eyes and sweet smile. She was smiling…why?
"In the flesh…missed me?" Harley said sheepishly wiggling her fingers.
"I… I don't think you should be here. How did you get in…?"
"How else, silly…used the door." Harley giggled. "What you mean I shouldn't be here…? And where is my Jokey Pooh?"
"He is…working on a mission. You left Lee unconscious, didn't you?" Harley looked down. She had been caught sneaking into the hideout.
"Sowy Elly," Harley clasped her hands beside her and tried to look as innocent as she could. A childish smile beamed on her face. "…but the guy had an attitude problem…"
"You shouldn't have done that Harley…the Boss is not gonna be happy." Elliott was still aiming the gun at her.
"I know… and I said I was sorry an' …are you gonna shoot me? 'Cuz I'm disarmed, Elliott…and the Boss is not gonna like that either, you know?"
"Personally, I don't think the Boss will care…" Elliot said matter-of-factly. Harley's eyes narrowed with resentment. "You shouldn't have come…It would have been better for you."
"Why Elliott…because there is another person taking my place at Joker's side now?" Even the thug could feel the anger behind that statement.
"You…know?"
"The brunette? Yes, I know. Who is she, Elliott?"
"Charley? She's the Joker's Lieutenant. She leads the Panthers or Leopards or whatever that gang is called."
"A lieutenant? That's all…you sure?"
"Harley…I'm sorry…but you're not welcomed here anymore…"
"And who said that…. Charley?" She couldn't hide the resentment in her voice.
"Joker…things are different here now…"
"I see." Harley said softly lowering her face sadly. "There is no space for little sweet Harley Quinn any more, is that it?"
Elliott lowered his gun a few inches. "Look, Harley. You are a good gal and I really don't wanna do this…so I'll cut you a deal. If you just leave now, I won't tell Joker you were here. Just leave, please."
"Elliott…what happened to my puddin'?"
"Don't ask…long story that even I don't understand with this new sanity crap, but he doesn't want you 'round no more. Come on, Harley…you are an intelligent girl…you have a future on your own. Don't make me do this…just leave."
Harley cocked her head. "Sanity? I don't understand…and how're you gonna explain Lee?"
Elliott's gun dropped a few more inches. "Leave that to me…go now…"
"You're a good man, Elliott."
The thug shook his head. "Don't say that…look who I'm working for…But you…you are and all around nice girl."
"Thanks, Elliott, but I'm sorry to disappoint you…" Harley said softly tossing a few of the smoke screen capsules that after hitting the floor produced a cloud of smoke so thick that visibility was almost completely nil.
"SHIT, HARLEY…WHY YOU'VE TO MAKE THIS DIFFICULT!!" Elliott yelled as he aimed and shot twice to the thick mass of smoke in front of him…and fired two more shots to his left. He then felt a deep pain in his groin that radiated to the base of his skull, his sight tunneled, everything turned a dark shade of black and he couldn't concentrate on anything but his testicles that he felt had crush against his groin. Elliott dropped the gun and held that space between his legs in his cupped hands as he fell to the floor in pain, holding his breath.
Something hit him flat on the face, and Elliot fell on his back a few feet behind him moaning painfully. He let out an angry grunt, and still wincing from the pain started to rise from the floor when something hit him on the upper back, like a lightning bolt making him loose control of his body and lose consciousness.
Elliott stopped jerking on the floor and the smoke had begun to dissipate already from the room. Beside the thug, Harley stood proudly with her homemade taser still sparking in her hand.
"…I'm not gonna play nice any more, Elliott…I'm tired of playing nice." She started to head out to the exit when she heard a voice that sounded more like a whimper coming from behind Joker's office. There was someone else in this place, someone that sounded in distress. Harley really wanted to leave, but she needed to find out who was calling out for help.
She picked up Elliott's gun and left the thug on the floor as she headed back to the origin of the voice. She passed Joker's office and continued to the back of a room that extended a few more meters. She noted this was where Elliott had come from moments before. At the end of the room, there was an open door and some stairs that led down. She followed the stairs, Elliott's gun held tight o her hand and she reached the poorly lit basement cautiously. What she found made her heart skip a bit.
Tied to a chair was an old man, on his late fifties, his face swollen, sweaty, and covered in a splash of red green and white, and what looked like blood caked on his chin and moustache. The white hair and the bloody moustache looked disheveled and dirty as the rest of his clothes that were ripped on the left side exposing a blackened chest. His right leg was badly injured, with what looked like a gunshot to the knee, and dried blood covered his leg down his pants. The man slowly lifted his face to look at Harley, and the slow motion movement denoted great effort. The man coughed once.
"Please….help….me." The voice came like that of a ghost trying to reach the realm of a living: hoarse, tired, and weak. Harley had heard that voice before not one but many times before, but she remembered that voice as robust and full of energy, strong and commanding from a man who always looked younger than he really was. This man was not even the shadow of the man she remembered and looked ancient, exhausted.
"Commissioner Gordon…?"
"Who…who are you?" The old man said to a whisper as he tried to focus his eyes on her.
"Harley…Harley Quinn. You remember me?" She said coming closer to the old man so he could have a better look. Without his glasses, the Commissioner had to squint to be able to see anything. Gordon responded to the voice by straightening on the chair and fighting his binds with renewed strength.
"Get away from me…he sent you, didn't he? So you can have your fun too… Don't come any closer."
Harley knelt in front of him and spoke in a soft almost childish voice extending one timid hand to touch Gordon's face. "Hey…calm down Commissioner. I'm not here to harm you…I swear."
"GO AWAY! What else would you be doing here…and I said get away from me!"
"You have to believe me. I have no reason to lie. Did he …did he do this?" Gordon tensed on the chair at her touch. Harley ran a tender hand along his face and cleaned a little blood from his chin. The Commissioner reacted in pain. "I don't understand…it's not funny…"
"What?"
"What he did to you…it's not funny…It's mean and hateful. A man your age…beaten up like this?
"Forget funny, he's nuts…has completely lost his mind."
"Gordon..." Harley smiled softly. "…he's always been a little cuckoo. It's his trademark…you know that, but this is…this is…not like him."
"The things he has done…the things he said…Harley, wake up…this clown is not just cuckoo…he's totally insane and extremely dangerous."
"There is something wrong with my Jokey Pooh…that is for sure, Commish. He wouldn't have done this to you if there wasn't something happening to him…I think I know what it is… and I'm gonna fix it."
"Harley…no. You-"
Harley pressed a hand on the Commissioner's lips. "Shhh. First…I have to get you out of here…and fast. Elliot is not gonna be too happy when he wakes up." Harley started to undo the binds on Gordon's wrists. "I don't think I can carry you…you think that if I help you…you'll be able to walk?"
Gordon nodded silently while Harley released his legs from the chair. Harley held the Commissioner's hand and pulled him to his feet. He wobbled on his feet, trying to find a posture where he would not feel the pain, when he's legs gave up and he fell to the floor, hitting the linoleum with his injured leg that had started to bleed again. Gordon screamed in pain as he sat on the floor, his head pressed against the cold surface, trying to ease and let go of the electrifying pain that now ran all along his leg and up his spine to the base of his skull.
Harley knelt down on the floor and ripped a strip from the Commissioner's pants and tried to apply a little of pressure over the bleeding knee. Gordon winced in pain as she worked on the makeshift bandage.
"Now Commish, you have to do this very cautiously." Harley said holding Gordon tenderly in her arms and encouraging him to get up again. "No need to be greedy. Just take my hand and support yourself on your good leg."
"The Joker will be back any moment..?"
"I know…that is why we need to leave now."
"Why are you doing this, Harley…isn't it better to get the Commissioner of Police out of the way?"
"Not this way, Gordy. My puddin' has lost his calling…he's confused. Hurting you this bad is not…funny anymore…can't have my Jokey Pooh make a mistake he will later regret." She said with a smile while she forced the Commissioner up to his feet and steadied him with her hand.
"You don't understand. He was enjoying it. This is not the same Joker you have dealt with before."
"What makes you think I don'tt know Joker, Gordy? I was his psychiatrist for a while, remember?"
"He drove you insane."
"No, I chose to follow his path…I chose to leave my life at his side."
Gordon looked at her silently. The Commissioner had always thought that the murderous clown had seduced the innocence of a young, ambitious psychiatrist to satisfy his own perverse needs. He never expected for Dr. Quinzel to confess that turning into the Harley Quinn was a matter of choice. Joker was out of his mind, might not control himself, but this confession made Harley even guiltier of her crimes…and why did she confess? Joker was not the only one changed around here, this woman was different as well. Harley started undoing the ropes on Gordon's hand
"You what? How could you…?"
"Joker is more than you allow yourself to see, Gordy. He has many layers, and he is really a lot of fun, once you start peeling those layers…until you find the scared child in the middle of those layers."
"Stop fantasizing, Harley. There is no child anywhere. For your own good…get away from him."
"He needs help, Commish. Didn't he tell you that this was not him, that he felt guilt and that he felt pain? Didn't you hear him calling for help?"
In Gordon's mind the only thing he could hear was the Clown's crazy laughter as he spoke of death and mayhem. Could it be possible that between guffaws, the Joker had tried to tell him something? He had offered to help, but the Jester refused the help openly…or did he just ask for help in a totally different way? Gordon held tightly to Harley and moved slowly, hopping around on the leg that didn't hurt. He ran an arm around the girl's shoulder and steadied himself. With Harley's help he started to head towards the stairs.
"Harley…"
"That's it Gordy…you can do it." Harley said patting the old man softly on the hand over her shoulder. "You will be out of here in no time and we can talk some more. OK?"
There you have it friends...TBC