Sorry that I haven't updated the story on this site. I kinda forgot I was uploading it here as well. Two more chapters are coming soon after this one.
You know being carried around like a sack wasn't so bad. It was kinda exciting. You know when you get over the fact you're being kidnapped. And the blood rushing to your head. And the fact he's taking the opportunity to grab your ass. Or the fact-
"Gently now." Joker ordered. The man, at what Harleen guessed was him trying his best to be gentle, threw Harleen into the back of a van.
The van didn't have back seats, but for some ungodly reason it had a carpet. Which totally would have burned Harleen's knees as she scooted out of the way if it wasn't for her dress being floor length. The men jumped in behind her, the Joker coming in last and being the one to close the door.
"Damn it, go!" Someone from the front shouted at the driver. The driver pressed hard and the van shot off into the streets of Gotham.
Harleen quickly squirmed herself over to a corner of the van, closest to the door. On one side was a group of henchmen and on the other side was the Joker. Surprising her, the men immediately took the masks off their faces. They weren't worried about Harleen seeing them and that frightened her. She wrapped her arms around her legs and realized that she hadn't had anything put on her to make sure she stayed out.
"You aren't going to restrain me?" Harleen finally asked. No one answered her, though a few of the men did look at her as if to say 'no, but I want to.'
"Now why would I do that. Are you planning to escape?" The Joker asked from beside her. He was giving her a gaze full of amusement, like he wanted her to fight with him over giving her restraintments or not.
But they both knew if Harleen really wanted to leave, she would have tried to open the door Joker was sitting in front of. Harleen wasn't going to take that chance. Last thing she wanted was a stomach full of stab wounds. Or bullet holes.
"Both hands on the wheel." The man sitting in the passenger's seat said to the driver. Harleen, however, was not listening. She stared at her hands as the seconds, minutes ticked by. Thought about how the last moments of Osman Thomas's life was defending her like an idiot. The guy had seemed to have a hero complex. Why else would he have tried to protect Harleen from the Joker.
But he hadn't deserved to die. No one did. Not like that.
"You're shaking real hard over there." Joker commented. Harleen gave him a glare. Geez I wonder why, she thought. It wasn't like he had totally killed someone in front of her, again, and then proceeded to kidnap her. Oh, but not before shooting her boss who she didn't know was dead or not.
She looked away from him. The other men were still silent, but Harleen could see that they all had been watching her and Joker. Looking away when Harleen turned to them. She examined them, noting the differences of ages and races. The Joker had a surprisingly diverse crew.
"The last time I saw you, you killed someone." She finally said. She was able to see through the windshield just a little as they drove through the streets of Gotham. This was the way to the freeway. She slumped, they could be going anywhere at this point.
The Joker snapped his fingers making the group look at him. "Oh yeah! I remember her. It was that..uh..that nurse..whatever her name was!" He rubbed his chin like he was actually thinking about it. Harleen knew for a fact he didn't give a shit and was only toying with her. Like a damn fool she took the bait.
"Her name was Judith Harris you-" The van came to an abrupt halt. Harleen would've flown out the window if it wasn't for the men in front of her falling over first. The man in the driver's seat turned around with a quick 'sorry'.
"Boss, they've blocked off the highway." He told the Joker, who had also fallen over. He looked up at the...boy, he was a boy. He looked incredibly young. When Harleen said diverse she didn't mean this diverse. The Joker looked up at the boy in rage but just as fast gave him an uncharacteristically patient smile.
Through gritted teeth he muttered. "It's called taking the streets Eddie."
The boy nodded. "Right." The van started moving again. This time the boy did a series of turns and incorrect movements that made Harleen wonder if he even had his goddamn license.
Eventually they started moving at a normal pace again. The men got off the van floor and back into their sitting positions.
The group fell into a silence. Harleen didn't dare look up from her lap, she really didn't want to be able to recognize these men later. She really did fear retribution. "So…." The Joker began next to her.
She gave a sigh, turning to look at him with tired eyes. He was holding a knife, twirling it between his fingers like a fucking child. "How've ya been?"
Was this really what he wanted to ask her? How she'd been? Not, not…whatever else he could've asked! God she could kill him.
A thought suddenly hit her. Something she'd been thinking about for the past month. "Whose cat is it?"
Joker raised an eyebrow at her. "You'd have to ask Toby that one Harley, he's the one who came up with that plan." What? Toby? Was that supposed to be Tobias? But Tobias had said it was the Joker's plan. So Tobias had lied to her. Or...maybe Joker was lying to her to skip the question. Honestly it all just made her so-wait a minute.
"Harley?" She asked. A little too loud it seemed since the group of men looked sharply at her.
Joker gave a dry laugh. "Isn't that what your friends call you?"
"I'm not your friend. You have no right to call-" The van jerked to a stop again. Not as hard this time but just as annoying as the last time. This time, Joker looked like he really would kill the kid driving.
"It's the Bat!" The passenger shouted. Everyone in the van froze, a strange hush surrounding them. The Joker suddenly stood up in the van, staring out the windshield to see the lone figure.
The group of men got up on one knee or leaned up to look outside as well, Harleen following them. Look over the shoulder of one henchman she saw what she could only guess was the Batman standing not too far from the stopped van.
The men turned to the Joker. All with looks of apprehension and nervous shifting. "What you wanna do boss?" One of them asked.
Harleen saw him clench the handle to the door behind him. She could see the excitement and anticipation on his face. She knew this would be the highlight of his night. However his eyes twitched over to her. He seemed to be lost in thought, if only for a moment.
He let the handle go and dropped back down. "Distract him." The men looked at the Joker with shock on their faces. Joker glared at them. "We all of a sudden don't know how to listen to orders?"
Six of the men moved over to the side door, jumping out and closing it as the sixth leapt out. Meanwhile, the kid, Eddie from what the Joker said, backed up and hurried down a different street. Harleen desperately wanted to turn to the backdoor window and watch the men face off against Batman, but the Joker was in her way and didn't look to be in the mood to move from his spot.
She could feel her mind twitching. Transferring into Doctor mode to figure it all out. Why had he stayed behind. Why didn't he go to face Batman. Was he afraid of getting captured? He's eluded Batman since the breakout, what was he afraid of?
He looked at her like she was part of his decision. Did he not want to leave Harleen alone with a bunch of his henchmen? Afraid they'd lay their hands on her? Why did he care?
God she wanted to ask him so much. This was more information then she would have ever gotten at Arkham. This was what she wanted. What the higher ups wanted. Just a little knowledge of what goes on in his head.
The Joker loved fighting the Batman and he'd given it up to supposedly watch over Harleen. Why? Why had he done it? That's all she wanted to know and she couldn't even ask him.
At least not now.
After a few minutes passed, the van started to slow down. "We're here." Eddie called from the front. He pressed a button on the mirror and Harleen could hear a garage door opening. Eddie drove inside and pressed the button again when he got inside. The place was a lot larger than Harleen could see because it took a moment for Eddie to park and turn off the car.
The Joker turned to Harleen, giving her a smug smile. "Welcome to the clubhouse, Harley." Harleen glared at him as he opened the back doors and leaped out. The four remaining men hurried out the doors while Harleen stayed in her position.
"You can get out now." The Joker said. More like commanded she thought. But it wasn't like she could stay in this van forever.
Well, she could but he definitely wouldn't let her.
She decided to finally take her shoes off. From what she saw briefly outside, this building had stairs and no way she was letting the Joker drag her up a flight of stairs with heels on.
She scooted to the edge of the exit and swung her legs out. No leaping out like everyone else. "Where are we?" She asked. Like he was going to tell her the truth.
Instead of answering, the Joker simply closed the doors behind her and started walking towards the garage exit.
Some garage. It had to have at least twenty different parking spots and six of them were already full of similar looking vans, the one they rode in included. Two black SUVs and one dark blue Subaru. Not a single one had a license plate which only made Harleen wonder further if Eddie had a license.
Because if he didn't…
Harleen followed after Joker even though she really didn't want to. If she was smart she would've dashed for the door on the other side of the garage and got the hell out of dodge. But she wasn't smart. She was wise.
Harleen had no idea where she was. In all the years she'd lived in Gotham, she'd barely taken the time to explore it. Even if she did get away, she would have no idea where in the city she was. And if someone saw Harleen walking through the neighborhood with no shoes and a fancy dress on….
Opening the door, she was greeted to the sight of the men from before converging inside a lobby type area. But now there were a lot more men than before.
"-ut of fucking nowhere! Louise and the rest of 'em had to distract the lout." Someone was saying. Apparently explaining to a group of men why they were suddenly down six bodies.
As soon as Harleen stepped inside she instinctively stood a little closer to the Joker, but almost immediately stepped back. Yeah, like he was going to protect her from, what she could tell to be, forty dudes. Some of them were looking at her with confused glances, others just gave her one look and ignored her presence. She didn't think about the third group.
"Dr. Quinzel?" A voice called from the crowd. A tall man stepped away from his group and bounded over to the duo. As soon as she caught sight of the man, Harleen was ready for him.
"Why did yo-" He wasn't able to continue before Harleen punched him in the face. Tobias stumbled back in shock, bumping into another man who was looking at Harleen in shock.
Harleen was suddenly so pumped full of adrenaline that she didn't realize the danger she had put herself into. The men's focus was on her now and they were ready to kill her with a single command.
However, the Joker made a strange, choking sound before he started to laugh. It filled the whole room and made his men look at him with worry in their eyes. For them, what Harleen did was unforgivable. But for the Joker, it was funny as hell.
The whole time, Harleen's gaze was fixed on Tobias. "You hit me with a gun." She seethed at him.
Tobias had the audacity to look sheepish. Like he was embarrassed by the fact he had done it. He rubbed the spot she had punched, stepping up to the pair. "If it makes you feel better, I am sorry."
Harleen clenched her fist. "It doesn't."
The Joker, who was by now calming down from his laughing fit, placed a hand on Harleen's shoulder. She jumped from that, remembering where she was and who exactly she was with.
She shrugged his hand off her shoulder, glueing herself to the garage door behind her. "Why am I here?" She asked him. The Joker ignored her, walking past to move closer to his group of henchmen.
"Alright boys," He began to say. "We're down six men. Not too bad, I wasn't expecting for any of you to still be here, but this is amazing!" He gave a short laugh, not as strong as the one from before. The men around him weren't sure how to react to that, some even giving their own little nervous giggles.
Harleen was kinda impressed by it. Even though the Joker had killed so many people at Arkham, all these men were much more physically powerful than him. And it showed. Yet they were all incredibly nervous around him.
If it wasn't the look in their eyes it was the body language that gave it away. The only ones who didn't seem as affected by him were Tobias, who's probably seen him at his worst if Harleen could guess, and a group of boys near the front entrance who weren't even paying attention.
Eddie was amongst them, excitedly retelling what happened to him on their way to the building. There were only the three of them, but from the looks of it none of them seemed to be over the age of fifthteen. Harleen was shocked and increasingly worried.
For one, a literal child had been the getaway driver, and two, why was the Joker employing such young kids? Most of the guys here were around Harleen's age or older. Yeah there might be young guys but this young? And they didn't seem to be interested in what the Joker was talking about at all.
Oh shit she hadn't been paying attention.
"Also, one more thing." He started to say as Harleen turned back to him. He was pointing at her and Harleen could feel all those eyes on her again. She really, really wished he'd just kill her and get it over with. The wait was starting to antagonize her.
"Boys, this is Dr. Quinzel. My therapist." That sent all of them to different stages of confusion. Why had he brought her here, why had he admitted he actually needed a doctor? A few even seemed surprised he had admitted to getting help. But everyone knew the Joker had gone to Arkham so these guys must have really been out the loop. "She's going to be staying here for a little while."
"What?" Harleen had said. She ignored the stares from the men and put all her attention on the Joker. "No. No! Why am I here Joker?"
He started to turn around to face her, but stopped when they all noticed a hand had shot up from the group. It was one of the kids, he was wearing a red cap that said Detroit Pistons on it. If this boy was from Detroit what the hell was he doing in Gotham?
Harleen watched as the Joker's face went from irritated to uncharacteristically patient. Just like in the van with Eddie, Joker was trying to be calm towards the boys. Harleen didn't understand why, but then again she didn't really want to understand the dynamic he had with his crew.
"Yes?"
"Ah..you said you wanted that dude's daughter, why'd you grab your shrink instead?" Harleen gasped at that information. The boy looked between her and the Joker with widening eyes. He took a step back when he saw the Joker giving him a murderous look. Apparently he wasn't supposed to go around exposing the Joker's plans.
The Joker spat, "None of your business," and the boy nodded, turning away and walking out the front door, his buddies following behind.
Carolina. He was talking about Carolina.
Joker turned to Harleen, walking up to grab her arm again. "Take her to 407." He said handing her off to Tobias. Tobias went to touch Harleen but she gave him a hard look and he dropped it.
"407?" He asked. "But that's…" Tobias didn't finish. The Joker was giving him a long stare that even gave Harleen shivers. "407. Right. Come on."
The Joker turned back to the group of men. "Boys! In the vans!" Harleen trailed after Tobias, looking behind her shoulder to see all the men hurry through the back door into the garage. The Joker closed it behind him and Harleen could hear the group starting up the vans.
"We'll take the elevator." Tobias stated. Harleen followed him around a corner where a shabby looking elevator stood waiting. Harleen, in a surprising twist, really did value her life and really didn't want to enter that elevator. But Tobias had already pressed the button and she could hear so many noises as it came down that she knew shouldn't be making noise.
"You use this thing often." She asked as it finally stopped at their floor. As he stepped inside he looked at her as if to say 'what do you think?'
Harleen gave a sigh and walked inside beside him. It looked just as shabby on the inside, though slightly cleaner. Like someone actually wanted to try to make it look presentable and not the death trap it really was.
Tobias pressed the 4 button. Below it was 3, 2, L and B. The fourth floor being the guest floor. The fact the place apparently having a basement did not make her feel any better about being here. And those sounds coming from the elevator as they ascended made her even more nervous then she already was. She needed a distraction.
"Where are they going?" She asked, though she didn't know why she asked that question. Not like Tobias would give her a straight answer.
"You don't need to know." See? She sighed.
"Alright, but you lied to me." Tobias seemed a little taken aback. The elevator stopped at the fourth floor and Harleen was quick to follow the man out.
"What are you talking about?" He asked. Harleen looked around the long hall that was in front of her. Where was she? A hotel? "Dr. Quinzel?"
She turned back to Tobias giving him a harsh glare. "You said you gave me that cat because Joker told you to, but he said that was all your plan."
A look of understanding passed on Tobias's face. He cursed under his breath and began to try and explain. "I mean sorta, I mean, to give the cat to someone part. But he was the one who suggested you."
Suggested her? Yeah Harleen had grown to love the little guy. But she really wasn't in the position to be taking care of a pet. Selina had offered to take him, but Harleen didn't want to get her friend involved. Who knows what the Joker would do if he found out Harleen didn't have the cat anymore.
She wanted to ask him so many questions, but as usual, all that came out was, "Why?"
He shrugged, shaking his head with a wary look. "I think it's better if you had this conversation with him."
Tobias had said the cat was leverage against Harleen to get her to help them break out Crane. Something Harleen still wasn't going to do mind you. Maybe that's why he kidnapped her and not Carolina. She would never agree to help the Joker and Harleen considered herself mentally weaker to her boss's daughter. She knew if she didn't get out of here herself, they would break her.
"Well he's not here, you are." She commented as Tobias started walking down the hall. He stuck his hand into his pants pocket, coming out with a chain full of keys. A master key? Looking on the floor, Harleen saw it didn't have a carpet. That wouldn't be strange for a motel, but this was an enclosed space.
She clenched her heels in her hand. If the floor was carpeted she'd had put them back on, but the floor seemed to be relatively clean. Some stains, but nothing Harleen couldn't sidestep. The place was still disgusting.
"They'll be back." He started to say. "Just wait a few hours." He stopped in front of a door. When she looked it read 407. The room Joker had mentioned earlier.
Tobias picked a key off his chain and unlocked the door. As soon as he opened it Harleen realized she was definitely not in a motel. "In here." Tobias said, gesturing for Harleen to step inside.
She didn't want to. She really didn't want to. But Tobias was bigger than her, that elevator was slow and Harleen didn't want a repeat of the last time she tried to use the stairs.
Harleen stepped inside first, taking the small apartment for all that it was. To her right was a kitchen area. It looked surprisingly clean, but that could be that it never got used. She could see just a hint of dust over the counters and fridge.
In front of her was a living area. Not as clean, looked more used. Traces of someone obviously coming and going we're still around. Plus the tv was on, playing a news channel.
"Wait here." Tobias said, closing the front door and walking over to the bedroom. He went inside leaving the door slightly open behind him.
Harleen gave another thought of running out. But the sight of what was on the tv distracted her. Harleen quickly went over to the tv. On the screen was GNN, two men and a woman were on the screen having a discussion. At least what Harleen hoped was a discussion. Below their faces was the headline, 'Joker kidnaps doctor; 1 dead; 7 injured, 1 critically injured'.
Harleen's chest tightened. She sat on the floor in front of the screen and listened to their conversation. Well, she didn't really listen. She was more in the line of staring at the '1 critically injured'.
That was Arkham. It had to be him, who else would it be. Arkham was still alive. At least for the moment. But what would happen if he did die? If he had died? What would have happened if Joker actually kidnapped Carolina?
Oh god. If Harleen gets out of this alive she would have to face Carolina again. She couldn't face that woman again like this, not like this.
…
Wow, after all she's been through. She's more worried that she'll have to talk to her boss's daughter than the fact she'd been kidnapped by a literal terrorist.
"Here. Change into these, you'll feel better." Tobias walked out with what seemed to be a pile of clothes. He looked at her, sitting on the floor, and decided he wouldn't ask about it. He dropped the clothes by Harleen who stared at it with mild shock.
"Why?" Harleen cringed. She'd asked that so many times, but she just wanted an answer to something. They've kidnapped her so why can't they just answer her questions!
He gave her a once over. "You wanna stay in that dress forever?" He pointed at the bedroom which Harleen definitely didn't want to go in, but she was slightly more nervous about entering the bathroom.
Plus he was right. She didn't want to stay in this dress. She looked down and froze. On the edge of her dress was something dry she hadn't noticed before.
1 dead.
She grabbed the pile of clothes and walked inside the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Oh she definitely made a mistake choosing the bedroom.
The place was a mess. An absolute mess. Clothes were thrown either which way. Trash scattered about. The covers and sheets were barely on the bed. Harleen knew some men didn't try but this man just didn't try at all!
She sighed. The sooner she gets changed the sooner she can get out of here.
She sent on the clothes on the floor. A set of a black t-shirt, sweatshirt and sweatpants. They were clean, which instantly made her suspicious. These were probably meant for Carolina. Now they were going to her.
She took off her earrings first. Throwing them on the ground, not expecting to get them back later. Stupid cheap things she bought from a mall years ago, she wouldn't miss them.
"This one belongs to Joker, right?" She asked as she walked out the room a few minutes later. Tobias was sitting on the couch watching the same news broadcast Harleen had turned on. He'd pushed whatever had been on it on the floor, a bunch of backpacks.
She didn't want to know.
He looked over at her. He examined the clothes she was wearing, lifting his brow. "This one?"
She groaned in frustration. "The apartment, the apartment Tobias!" The shouting had made him twitch and that made Harleen feel so satisfied.
"Yeah." He finally muttered. Harleen nodded. She was trying her hardest to get herself under control. She sat back down on the floor. Not wanting to be any closer to Tobias then she needed to be.
The host was by their self now, directly addressing the audience this time in their own personal thoughts. Harleen found herself not really listening. She wasn't really thinking of anything either.
It was like sitting down had finally drained the last little energy she had. She refused to sleep. She wouldn't sleep here, not on her life. Especially not in the Joker's apartment where Tobias had master keys.
Speaking of Tobias, he made a sound in his throat, trying to get Harleen's attention. She turned her head a little to look at him. She knew she was giving him some major side eye, he deserved it.
"Ah…if you don't mind. I actually prefer to be called Toby." He confessed. Harleen almost, almost dared to think. Think for a moment that maybe if she jumped out the window she would die and this would all be behind. Let's try again in the next life.
Her cold stare was enough for Toby though. "Right…"
She looked back at the screen. Now they were playing live footage of the scene. Harleen could recognize some of her coworkers amongst the crowd of people. They all had frazzled or worried looks on their faces. Most likely worried about her and her current whereabouts.
"How long have you worked for him?" She suddenly asked.
Toby didn't say anything at first. Harleen wasn't expecting him too. "Is that something you need to know?"
She shrugged. "You've worked at Arkham for a long time. It's just a little weird that you'd suddenly decide to join up with a known terrorist." Harleen didn't actually know how long Toby worked at Arkham. He'd been there when she first joined, so she just assumed.
He didn't reply for a long time. "We all have our reasons." He finally said. She sighed. She wasn't going to get anything out of him, so might as well stop trying.
Two hours later Toby got a message on his phone. Harleen heard it ping and turned to look at him. He had a tense look on his face, putting his phone away to look at her.
"Look if I leave you here, will you promise not to escape?" Harleen only gave a blank stare. She turned back to the tv, ignoring his question altogether. "If you leave he'll just kidnap you again." He warned.
She turned to him again. "Really?" That was a terrifying thought. One she didn't want to come to fruition.
Toby shrugged. "He's done it before."
Harleen turned back to the tv. Thinking once again if she could actually outrun Toby. But what if Joker had come back with his men already? She couldn't outrun them. Couldn't outrun him.
She fell on her side, resigning herself to her fate. "Fine." Toby didn't say anything. He got off the couch and swiftly headed towards the front door.
Harleen listened as he opened and closed it behind him. He locked it, though she could easily unlock it from the inside. Probably to protect them to keep her imprisoned.
Harleen stood up anyways. Walked over to the window, pushing the curtains to the side and looking out. What she saw made her duck down, peeking back out to see the men on the other side of the street.
A few of Joker's men were loitering around a light post. A car, that Harleen hadn't seen in the garage, next to them with another man inside. They didn't seem to be up to anything, but Harleen didn't want them to know she was watching them. She backed away, closing the curtains.
She finally walked to the couch. Flopping down in another moment of defeat. The news playing was still about the event. Her eyes started to get heavy. As much as Harleen didn't want to let her guard down, she was so tired. There was nothing wrong with closing her eyes for a moment.
However, a minute turned into an hour. It wasn't long after that someone came back into the apartment. Harleen, being the light sleeper she was, abruptly woke up at the side of the door closing.
She sat up, expecting to see that Toby had returned, and instinctively gave a little shout. The Joker stopped in his tracks. Raising his hands as if to say 'I'm not going to hurt you.'"
"So glad you've gotten comfortable." He commented. He put his hands back down, pulling off his overcoat and suit jacket. "Wouldn't want you to feel unwelcome." He hanged the two on a hanging rack that Harleen hadn't noticed was behind the door.
She clenched her hands. She really didn't want to be in this room alone with the Joker. All their interactions together had always been physically in her favor. Him in chains, attached to the chair and the table, with security cameras and two orderlies outside the door. Harleen had never felt mentally safe but him, but she always knew he couldn't actually hurt her.
But this? Oh, Harleen was scared.
"Are you finally going to tell me why I'm here?" She asked. He didn't answer. Instead he walked a little closer. He turned to look at the tv screen. She looked at it too and saw that a new host and a new group of people were having a discussion.
Joker kidnaps doctor. Leaves 1 dead, 8 injured
There was still only one dead. As far as Harleen knew Arkham was still alive. As long as he was alive, Harleen could breathe. As long as she could breathe she could survive this.
Joker still hadn't said anything and it didn't seem like he was really listening to the news broadcast. "Why'd you give me the cat." She dared to ask.
"Didn't ask Toby?" He questioned back. His eyes didn't move from the screen and that pissed her off.
Her body moved faster than her mind. Harleen found herself on her feet, throwing the pillow she had been laying against at the Joker. "Stop playing fucking games with me! He said you told him to give me the cat! Why?"
The Joker had flinched at that. Stepping back in mild shock. "If this is about Crane, I'm not doing it! I'm not! You can kill me if you want, I'm not doing it damnit!" He was staring at her. It shouldn't have made her so uneasy.
Harleen had been pinned against those eyes for months now. Sometimes in anger, but only so many times, Harleen could count on one hand. He wasn't angry but that didn't matter to her.
He was still staring at her.
"It's nice to see you with your hair down again." He said.
Harleen flinched, softly touching the hair that laid on her shoulder. She always wore it in a bun. Professional. How she always wanted to present herself. No one had ever seen it down when she went to work. No one.
"You've never seen me with my hair down." She defended. Harleen narrowed her eyes at him as he stalked closer. She took one step back but that was it. She wouldn't let her fear of him control her.
"Oh, but I have." Joker smirked. He went to touch her hair but Harleen smacked his hand away. However he quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. Harleen missed the couch, falling down hard on the floor. She grabbed her head and groaned. That really fucking hurt.
He bent down with that sucking smile on his face. Maybe Harleen had made a mistake, but she'd rather die then let him just touch her. "Remember?"
Harleen glared at him and he giggled. "I remember." He looked away, having eyes of someone thinking back on a fond memory from the pas. "I remember you, walking into the room, you're hair down. You were completely out of your element. And totally hungover."he laughed again, a little harder the time. It made Harleen flinch.
"Hungover?" She whispered.
Suddenly it came flooding back to her.
Three weeks after the Joker had been sent to Arkham, Selina had celebrated her 26th birthday. Selina was younger than Harleen, therefore, she wanted to go out and have a good time. Unluckily for Harleen, Selina's birthday had fallen on a Wednesday.
Harleen had been so sure she could handle the hangover she would have the next day, but she really couldn't. The bun she always had on made it worse, so Harleen had worn her hair down that day. What made it worse was that she had slept over at Selina's apartment and found herself an hour behind her usual schedule. She couldn't go home and while Selina was sweet enough to lend her a shirt, Harleen still felt like crap walking into work that day.
Back then, before she had become Joker's regular doctor, a group of doctors would observe all the sessions that involved the Joker. Afterwards, when he was escorted out, the same group would be in the hallway to watch him leave. It was more of a test to see if he would ever do anything in front of the group of them then anything.
Harleen did remember him giving her a glance longer then he had ever given her. At the time, Harleen had believed he was trying to intimidate her. It had worked of course, but she hadn't thought anything else about it.
By the time she became his doctor, she had forgotten all about the incident. She never thought he would remember something like that.
"You remember." He said. It snapped Harleen out of her trance, remembering her current situation. On the floor with the Joker leaning above her.
Harleen pushed herself to sit on her arms. "I hadn't interviewed you that day. That was weeks before I became your doctor!"
He smirked. "And from that first moment you left an imprint on me."
Harleen felt something flip in her stomach. Surprise? Fear? Even if she had been the only doctor to get anything out of him, she never believed she left any impact on him. Just a conversation partner he was allowed to have three times a week.
The door opened again. Looking over, Toby walked in and briefly paused. He observed the two for a moment before turning back to close the door.
"I brought you food, Doctor. I assumed you might be hungry." He plopped a bag on the counter. It didn't have any logos. It could've been anything and that made her nervous.
"You assumed wrong." She gritted. Toby shrieked back but altogether took it in stride. He seemed to be getting used to her anger.
"Now, that's not nice, doc." Joker said. He roughly grabbed her arm, pulling her up as Harleen struggled to keep up. "Toby here went through a lot to get this for you. I'd show a bit of appreciation." He pulled her over to the counter, forcing her into a stool to sit.
He sat in the one next to her, giving her a smile that she knew meant he wasn't playing games. "I appreciate it." She said to Toby.
He looked between the two of them before finally letting whatever he was thinking go. "Right. You need me for anything else." He asked the Joker.
Joker kept his eyes on Harleen for another moment before hopping off the stool. "Yeah, in here." Joker and Toby both walked into the bedroom, closing the door to thus leave Harleen by herself.
They must have really believed that Harleen wouldn't escape.
She sighed. She couldn't. She remembered the men from outside and slumped in her seat. They'd probably grab her even if she made it out the building.
She looked over at the bag Toby had left for her. She could smell something nice coming out of it. Damn him for being so kind after everything she's been through.
It must have been some food from his own apartment. Inside was a container of spaghetti and bottled water. The container was slightly warm which meant he probably heated it up for her. She gave a sound in frustration. She hated that he was being so nice.
For the next few minutes she ate the spaghetti slowly in silence. Even though she was starving, she was also too nervous to really enjoy her meal. Just knowing the Joker was in the other room was enough to paralyze Harleen. If she could just be sure that she'd be safe if she left the building she would risk it.
She had to be sure she was safe.
The door opened again and out came Joker with Toby following behind. "You're still here?" He said jokingly, fully aware that he never expected her to leave.
"Where would I go?" She spat back, not taking her eyes off the container infront of her.
"I'm off then." Toby announced. He stopped a moment to look back at Harleen. "I'll see you later, Doctor." With that he was out of the apartment.
Joker sat right back next to Harleen. She could feel his eyes on her, watching her as she continued to eat. Though the bites now felt more heavy in her mouth as her heart beat. She was used to his stares, but this was a whole different level.
Before, it had seemed like the Joker was always waiting for Harleen to slip up. Now, she couldn't tell what he wanted. For her to crack? To breakdown? Harleen liked to think she was stronger than that. But was she really?
"You can ask one question."
She turned to him at that. He had interrupted her thoughts and surprised her. "What?" He didn't repeat his sentence. Oh Harleen had heard him, but she couldn't believe it.
He was going to actually answer her questions? Well, question. She was relieved but also disappointed.
One question. Why one question? Why couldn't he just tell her everything. Why was she here? Why wasn't Carolina? Did he mean to shoot Solomon? Did he want to kill him. What about the cat? Harleen loved the guy, but why her? Was it Crane? But why Crane? Why could Crane do for the Joker?
"Why didn't you go after Batman?" She finally asked.
This seemed to take the Joker back. His eyes flicker away from her face for just a moment. He was expecting that and honestly neither was Harleen. Out of all of the questions swirling in her head, why was this the most pressing one to her?
Who was she kidding? She knew why.
The Joker prepared to answer, but Harleen stopped him. She could see the muscles moving on his face through the makeup, the way his eyes looked into hers. The same look he gave when talking about his past. "Don't lie! I know when you're going to make a bad lie. I'm your physiatrist, remember?"
He had almost a shadow of a smile pass his face. But it disappeared just as fast. "You wanted to be left alone with my boys?"
"What would it matter if something happened to me?" He didn't answer. He did say he would only allow one question, but Harleen didn't care anymore.
"Is it Crane? Is that what this is about?" She turned towards him in her seat. Now they were facing each other. Harleen was still scared, but her anger outweighed everything. This wasn't fair. Why had she been kidnapped. Wouldn't have been easier to just kill her?
So she spoke her mind. "You could kidnap any doctor to help you. If you tortured Carolina for long enough she would have agreed to to do it. It doesn't have to be me!"
"But it does." He finally whispered. Harleen shut her mouth. She didn't like the way he had said it. She leaned back a little, nervous about what he might do next.
Joker looked away from her. Suddenly seeming to be in thought. "What was it they all said about me? You know, how, my eyes linger on you for too long. How, every word you say leaves me hanging for more. How, I always seem to want our sessions to go on longer than they required." He looked around like he was searching for an answer, even though they both knew what he was talking about. It was the word Harleen had always hated hearing from others. It wasn't true and he was acting like it was.
"Ah! I've become…attracted to you."
Joker leaned over close to Harleen. Setting his left hand on the back of her stool. Harleen stared at him, frozen solid. The Joker had an intense look in his eyes that made something in her stomach drop up and down.
"It-it's attached…" She tried to correct. Her voice travling back down her throat.
He didn't mean it. He couldn't have meant it. There was nothing about Joker that…that…
He was shaking his head, his eyes still boring into hers. "Mm...no. I know what I said." This time he hooked his left foot on her stool, pulling her closer to him. Their knees touched and Harleen instincts jerked back.
Harleen was scared. She was so scared. Joker could kill her at any second if he wanted to. But at the same time, she knew he wouldn't. If he wanted to kill her, he would've. From everything he's done until know, she could see he didn't want to kill her. If he killed her, his hard work would be ruined and he would have to start over. And Joker was not a man who enjoyed starting over.
But she was also scared for another reason. She could feel something in her that she shouldn't be feeling. But it still made her heart beat. And that's what made Harleen scared too.
"I didn't go after Batman because I had a more important objective, Harley."
The sound of ringing could be heard coming from somewhere close. Harleen searched for it with her eyes but zeroed in on Joker's coat when he looked back at it. Someone was calling him.
"Are you not going to take it?" She asked. He turned his head back to her. His stare not as intense as it had been but just as chilling. He let her stool go standing up to go answer his phone.
Harleen took the opportunity to get out of dodge. She swiftly stood up and hurried over to the other side of the living room space.
"What?" She heard him answer the phone. Harleen looked away from him, instead looking back at the screen.
Eamon Quinzel, Brother of kidnapped doctor, Harleen Quinzel
"I'm working on it." The Joker said. But Harleen had already delegated his conversation to the back of her head.
On the screen stood her younger brother Eamon. Still the strapping young man Harleen had always known he'd turn into. He looked a lot like their mother. More than Harleen and Odelia ever would.
He was standing in front of their grandmother's house, giving a statement to the news reporters around him. Harleen couldn't hear what he was saying, the volume on the tv too low. But it didn't matter.
Harleen had completely forgotten. If she was kidnapped, the police would of course report it to her next of kin. Which meant that her grandmother knew that Harleen had been kidnapped. She could throw up.
Eamon spoke for a few more seconds before stepping away. The police stopped any reporters trying to step closer, but Harleen could still see him walk inside the house.
She had to get out of here. She looked at the Joker who was still on the phone. She had to get out quick.