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Chapter Nine: The Italian

Joker and Nora laid on her bed, contented and basking in the afterglow of their consummation, the room dimly lit by a nearby lamp. He was on his back with Nora's head rested on his shoulder and her hand on his chest, running her finger along the fresh scar from the glass shard. He picked up her hand to lazily inspect her fingers and palm, making her giggle.

"You have long fingers," he said.

"Surgeon's hands," she replied, matter-of-factly.

Joker laughed and said, "Ahhh, is that so? Well I learned some, uh, other things they can do," turning his face to her and bouncing his eyebrows.

Nora laughed and blushed, putting her hand over her eyes in her embarrassment. He lifted her hand from her face to make eye contact with her, a little smirk on his face. Then he placed her hand back on his chest and laid his head back to close his eyes. She took a deep breath and sighed, getting comfortable as well.

"Well doll, was that as good for you as it was for me?" Joker asked, his eyes still closed.

She smiled and replied, "You have no idea."

He giggled a bit before opening his eyes and saying, "Ah good, I don't like to make assumptions bu-t, uh, you sounded like you enjoyed yourself."

"You're correct, very much," she said, chuckling softly.

He tilted her chin up with his fingers and touched his nose to hers. "Goood," he purred, before kissing her firmly.

After releasing from the kiss, he buttoned his pants and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, putting two between his lips. Then he shifted and sat up on the bed before standing and bending over to pick something up off the floor. Nora smirked when he tossed her t-shirt to her and she put it on to then take his hand he offered her. They walked out into the living room where the large window was open and sat on the wide windowsill, leaning on opposite walls and facing each other with their feet resting side by side. Joker retrieved a lighter from his pants and lit the cigarettes. He handed one to Nora and she took it between her fingers. They sat leaning against the window pane and looked at each other as they smoked in silence, Nora in her t-shirt and panties and Joker just wearing his pants. It was a comfortable silence. The lit ends of their cigarettes illuminated their faces each time they brought it to their lips to inhale.

Her mind was still swimming in hormones, the nicotine now adding to the satisfied feeling. Taking a drag off her cigarette, she then began to feel an overwhelming sense of relief. After days and days of wishing and wanting, her innermost desires had been fulfilled. She wasn't at all disappointed with the result. Now she hoped that Joker felt the same way, she didn't want this connection to slip through her fingers just after taking hold of it. She certainly didn't expect a normal relationship with him, she wasn't naïve. She wasn't sure what she expected. But there was a great hope that this wouldn't be the first as well as the last time they became intimate.

Joker spoke up to say, "I know what you're thinking." Nora silently raised her brow and tilted her head in response. "Youu are thinking about whether this is going to happen again, hm?" he asked before bringing his cigarette to his lips.

She exhaled a mouthful of smoke and replied honestly, "I was."

"No need to worry about that, doll. One night stands aren't, uh, my sty-le. Also I don't know how you could expect me to stay away from thiss," he said, closing one eye and forming his thumbs and forefingers into a frame over his view of her.

Nora grinned at him and giggled, her sense of relief coming back to her. "Good," she said.

He smirked back at her and put his cigarette in his mouth, freeing his hands to tug at her ankles, pulling her toward him on the windowsill. She laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist before taking the cigarette from his mouth to bring her lips to his for a deep kiss. He held her face in his hands as they continued to meld mouths.

Once their lips parted, Joker inhaled deeply and looked Nora in the eyes. "Mmmm. Tell me doll, what would people think? Sweet Nora Hawthorne, fucking Gotham's most wanted man?" he asked.

She looked to the ceiling for a moment before she replied, "I don't care."

He grinned as he continued to look at her through heavy eyelids and said, "Good answer." Then he slid his fingers into the front of her panties and reconnected their kiss as Nora gasped. She moaned into his mouth and her body melted against his, the gentle strokes of his fingers bringing Nora to climax for the third time that night.

The Joker always knew what to say to get the reaction he wanted from people. That was a big part of the power he held over them. He often used his mind games to cause aporia in people, uncertainty and confusion caused by irresolvable internal confliction, to stun them and turn them against themselves. This method handily took both Batman and Harvey Dent out of the picture simultaneously. But it was different with Nora. Instead he followed her reactions to see where they would go, leading them to a place of new confidence where they both broke through what would be expected of them and gave in to their unconventional attraction. The magnetism between them fueled this fire and there was no sign of it burning out any time soon.

The two of them now laid in Nora's bed, sound asleep under the covers. Their arms and legs were tangled around each other as they slept. This novel vulnerability from Joker had been a long time coming, he was a person after all. An impulsive, strong-willed, eccentric, borderline insane person but a person nonetheless and Nora had been the only one to see this. Some form of trust had developed between them to allow intimacy at this junction between their two worlds.

The morning sun began to shine it's rays through the windows of Nora's apartment and soon the sound of her alarm disrupted the peaceful silence. Joker grunted as she stretched her hand out from under the blankets to smack the snooze button. She pulled the covers over their heads and rolled over to face him. His eyelids cracked open to look at her briefly before closing them and wrapping his arms around her to bring her head to his chest. He sighed and Nora chuckled a little. It appeared that Joker wasn't always a morning person.

"Well good morning, sunshine," she said, her cheek pressed firmly against his skin.

"Mmm and what's good about it?" he grumbled with his eyes still closed.

She chuckled again and replied, "You're in my bed."

He opened them, grinned, and said, "Ahh this is true. That is quite good."

Nora laughed and wiggled her way up to his face to give him a kiss after his grip on her loosened. Then she looked at his face and laughed again, causing him to raise his brow curiously with his sleepy eyes still half-lidded.

"Sorry. Your face paint is um, quite smudged," she giggled. The black around his eyes had blended with the white around them, turning his temples and cheeks grey while the red on his mouth had spread to his chin in a thin layer. Much of the rest of it had been rubbed off, leaving the skin on his nose and forehead peeking through.

He responded by flashing a sinister smile and saying, "Ohh I think I know the reason for tha-t," before lifting her t-shirt and ambushing Nora's exposed belly with his teeth. She broke into hysterical giggles that drowned out her alarm as it went off again. She finally caught her breath after he finished tickling her and threw the covers off of them. He then reached to turn the annoying device off before sitting on his heels, knelt over Nora, and pointing to her abdomen.

"And there it is!" he cried.

She looked down to see red, white, and grey smears all over her skin and laughed. Then she looked up at him and sighed. "I have a shift at work soon," she groaned.

"Ahh du-ty calls, hm?" he replied and she nodded her head. "Well don't let me uh stop you, doll."

"Um, you can stay here if you want," she said, sitting up from beneath him.

"Mmm I'd love to doll, but duty also calls for me."

"How are you going to leave here in the daytime without someone seeing you?" she asked, getting a little nervous.

He smirked and said "Wanna see a magic trick?" before climbing off the bed and heading into her bathroom. She heard water running in the sink as she stood and walked toward the doorway to follow him. Once she reached the bathroom, she saw him with a towel, drying his face. Her eyes widened when he moved it to reveal his clean face, no makeup.

"Tadaa!" he exclaimed, tossing the towel to the side. Nora stood there and silently stared at him. He looked so different without it but he still looked like himself. He was quite handsome. It was still a bit dark around his eyes and his scars stood out but if he kept his head down, he could blend in with a crowd. His tongue darted over his lip and he stared back, tilting his head. "Good trick, isn't i-t?" he said in a deep gravelly voice, giving her goose bumps. Nora nodded. He kept his eyes on hers and continued, "They say if you give a man a mask, he becomes his true self. Luck-y for meee, no one recognizes him without it."

Nora blinked and replied, "I like both."

A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. Then he took her face in his hands and brought his lips to hers for a lustful kiss which she hungrily returned, putting her arms around his neck. He dropped his hands from her face to put them on her waist as they separated from the kiss.

"And just howw am I supposed to get any-thing done today with you parading around like this? Hm?" he said loudly, snapping the elastic on the waistband of her panties with his fingers.

"Ow!" she chuckled, rubbing her hip. "Well how am I supposed to get ready for work with you giving out kisses like that?" she replied.

"That's fair, doll," he said, hopping up to sit on the sink top. "Just, uh, pretend I'm not here."

She raised her brow at him and said, "Ok." She walked across the bathroom and opened the glass shower door to turn the water on. Then she pulled her shirt off and slid her underwear down to land on the floor, leaving her standing there completely naked. After she kicked the small garment off of her feet, she looked over to Joker. His eyes were wide and he was breathing heavily. She smirked and stepped into the hot water to lather her hair, then bathe away the grease paint from her skin with thick soap suds. The water turned off and her arm reached over the door to grab a towel to dry herself. Steam released into the room as she opened the shower door to see Joker frozen in place, still sitting on the sink top. Then suddenly, keeping his fiery eyes on her, he slid off his perch to walk toward her.

"How long do we have?" he asked quickly, standing over her with stiff posture.

She glanced at the clock and said, "Twenty minutes."

"I can work with tha-t," he said, pulling the towel from her body and hoisting Nora up by her rear for her to wrap her legs around his waist. She giggled and he kissed her neck before carrying her into the bedroom.

"At least you won't get paint on me now," she said and they laughed as he tipped over onto the mattress.

Twelve minutes later, Nora was pulling a pale green scrub top over her head as Joker laid on his back with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. They could keep going at it like rabbits all day but she didn't want to arise suspicion at work by calling in sick too much. As she hurriedly pulled on a matching pair of pants, a thought came to her mind.

"Wait. You're not going to walk out of here in your suit are you?" she asked.

He giggled and propped himself up on his elbows. "Ah well I can't qui-te go out like this," he replied, gesturing to his bare body, only his middle covered by black boxer shorts. She cocked an eyebrow at him and he said with a smirk, "You have some, uh, spare clothes?"

She opened her dresser and after a moment of searching, she found large hooded sweatshirt. Then she went to her closet and pulled out a duffel bag. "Well, it's gonna look ridiculous but you can cover up your hair and keep your coat in the bag," she said, putting them next to him on the bed.

He chuckled and put his pants back on before throwing the sweatshirt over his head. "Alas, it's the price I pay for stealth," he giggled as he rolled up the rest of his clothes and stashed them in the duffel bag.

Bowie greeted them in the living room with a loud meow as she tip toed in from the fire escape through the open window. "There you are. Morning, Bowie," said Nora. She chirped in response and ran to her food bowl as Nora refilled it.

"This cat has you trained," said Joker.

She smiled and sighed. "I know. But she's so cute."

He chuckled and said, "Ahh the house cat, mis-chievous creatures."

"Yeah, you two have a lot in common," she replied.

Joker burst into a loud fit of laughter that Nora hoped her neighbors wouldn't hear. Then again, it was unlikely that they didn't hear their sexual escapades last night and again that morning. They'd never believe the Joker was in my apartment anyway.

"Very clever, doll," he said, wiping a tear away from his eye as his laughter died down. Then he reached into his pants pocket to pull out a small cell phone. He licked his lips and typed out a message before putting it back in his pocket and looking to Nora.

"Tell Q and Enigma I said hello," she said.

He smirked and nodded his head, "I'll make sure they know, uh, Dr. Hawthorne sends her re-gards."

She nodded back and thought about what they had said to her at the diner yesterday. She was quite sure that at this point, they'd know exactly what went on last night. But it didn't matter. Joker must trust them to keep it to themselves so she did too.

Joker brought the hood up over his green-tinted hair and they walked to the door. She stood in front of it and looked at him. He saw the worried look on her face and made eye contact with her, putting his hand on the knob. Then he gave her a kiss on the lips before turning it and swiftly opening the door to disappear down the hall toward the stairwell, making a quick exit. She wanted to follow him so badly but turned to lock her door instead, taking deep breaths.

Nora felt a little silly but couldn't deny the empty feeling that was taking her over and he had only been gone a few seconds. She made her way to the elevator, not wanting to run into him on her way out and have to go through this again. Fortunately, it was empty and she stepped in to the hit the button for the first floor. Once the doors slid shut, a goofy smile formed on her face. I fucked the Joker… and he liked it. As the elevator car descended, she started to slowly sway, her movements turning into a little dance. The doors opened and several people waiting for the elevator saw Nora dancing to herself, alone in the car. She felt eyes on her and looked up. Her cheeks flushed but she brushed it off with a giggle and walked past them to head to the bus stop.

On the ride to work, she stared out the window, thinking about how he touched her. He seemed to know exactly where to put his hands, his lips, and his tongue. Her heart rate started to speed up and she felt warm tingles in her face and between her legs. She quickly brought herself back to reality and shifted her eyes around to look at the people on the bus. An elderly man read the newspaper. Several teenagers had headphones in, looking down at their phones. Another woman gazed sleepily out the window in front of her. She knew that no one could possibly know that she just got wet thinking about the Joker but she shrank back into her seat and made an effort to get ahold of herself anyway. Christ, getting through work is gonna be interesting.

It was an eventful day so Nora was able to focus on her patients but she was in a noticeably good mood. One of her morning patients was a five year old pit bull with a pyometra that she took into surgery that afternoon. She hummed with her music that echoed through the surgery suite as she sterilely gowned and gloved then proceeded to open her instrument pack on the stand next to her. Nora liked to have music on when she did surgery, it kept her calm and focused. She continued to softly sing to herself, placing her drape over the anesthetized patient and securing a scalpel blade on its handle while Jen watched the monitors on the anesthesia cart.

"Cutting," she said through her surgical mask, making a midline incision in the skin over the belly. It didn't take long for her to open the abdominal cavity and find the large, fluid-filled uterus. She managed to carefully exteriorize one side and place her clamps. As she began to tie her ligatures onto the organ's vessels, Jen spoke up.

"So, um, how are things with your grandma?" she asked.

"Hmm?" replied Nora, keeping her eyes on her work.

Jen cleared her throat and continued, "Well you seem really happy today so I was wondering if she was doing better."

She paused for a moment before continuing to tie her suture. Nora had forgotten that she used a non-existent sick grandmother as an excuse for her foul mood the other day. She suddenly remembered the lie and stuttered, "O-oh yeah! Yes, she's doing much better now. Thanks, Jen."

"Glad to hear it," she replied.

An awkward silence floated in the air as Nora moved on to tie off the vessels at the other ovary to free it before flopping the distended organ out onto the drape. Ok, focus. She got back into her zone and finished up, humming along as she went. Large clamps were placed at the base of the uterus to prepare it for removal. After securing ligatures in place, she excised it and placed the heavy infected tissue aside on the table. Then she swiftly flushed the abdomen and closed it up, followed by the skin, with a long line of suture. Once the patient was safely recovered from anesthesia and resting, they proceeded to clean up the surgical suite. Nora collecting the sharp instruments and bagging up the discarded uterus, while Jen cleaned the equipment. She smiled to herself when she thought about Joker lying on the same metal table not too long ago. That night, simply being in the right place at the right time changed her life. If it was for better or for worse, it wasn't clear yet but she was enjoying the ride.

"You know, I think you'd get along with my friend, Rob. Are you dating anyone?" Jen suddenly asked.

Nora's daydream came to a screeching halt and she froze. Does she know? How could she know? "Um, uh. Well I dunno," she quickly stammered, making it obvious that the question made her uncomfortable.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get too personal. I just think I'm a pretty good match maker and I thought maybe you'd like a guy I know," she replied.

Nora swallowed and said, "It's ok. Um, I'm not exactly looking to date anyone right now."

"Ok! Well if you change your mind, just let me know. He's really cute," Jen said with a smile before leaving Nora alone in the surgery suite.

She blinked a few times and sighed. She was being paranoid but better safe than sorry. If anyone knew about her involvement with the Joker she'd probably lose her medical license and she certainly didn't want that. Sneaking around the Narrows, stitching up goons, and having sex with the infamous Joker on the side sounded even crazier than before when she phrased it that way in her head. But what a thrill it was. She'd never had this much excitement in her life before. After a deep breath, she went to her desk to type up her procedure notes.

Pulling out her chair, she sat down at her desk and reached for the computer mouse. Before taking it in her hand, a red envelope on her keyboard caught her eye. Written in neat handwriting, it read, "Dr. Nora Hawthorne". She turned to Jen stocking drawers and asked, "Do you know who this is from?"

Jen looked up and said, "Oh yeah, Steph up front said it's from a client who said you treated their dog last week."

Nora nodded. "Ok cool. Thanks," she said. This wouldn't be the first card she'd gotten from a client but it didn't happen that often and she didn't remember any particularly friendly people or serious cases in the last week. But then again, she sometimes didn't remember cases she'd seen a day ago so she turned her chair back around and opened it. Inside was a card with a picture of a dog that had a cast on it's leg on the front and in big letters was, "Get Well Soon". She furrowed her brow in confusion and looked at it for a moment. That didn't really make sense. A bad feeling started creeping its way into her stomach. You're being paranoid again. She took a breath and cautiously opened the card. A note written in red ink was scrawled across the inside of the card. It read, "Watch your back, doc. Falling in with a bad crowd can get you hurt." Nora gasped and dropped the card before breathing rapidly as she stared down at it. Her mind started racing with questions as fear ran through her veins like ice. Who is this from? How do they know who I am? Fuck! With shaking hands she picked the card back up and looked it over for any clues. Nothing. The label and barcode on the back had been scratched out with something sharp and there was nothing else written anywhere. Ok get ahold of yourself, you can't have a meltdown here. She turned to look behind her and fortunately the treatment room was empty aside from herself. Deeeep breaths. She closed her eyes and took several breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. Her eyes opened and she tried to think rationally.

It really didn't seem likely that Joker did this. But it wasn't impossible, he wasn't known for being rational. He wouldn't do this, right? She started to feel hot tears coming to her eyes just thinking about it. That didn't make sense, though. He hired her, after all. Then who would threaten her like this? One of his crew members? There was that guy that Joker killed over being hostile toward her the other night so she supposed it was plausible another one could hate her enough to do this. Who else? The note referred to her falling in with the wrong crowd. It was reasonable to assume that meant working for Joker. He seemed to have one primary enemy right now and that was Sal Maroni. Oh God, the Mob? Her mind stopped whirling for a moment and she sat there in silence. It made sense. There wasn't anyone else she could think of that would care about her involvement with the Joker enough to threaten her. Threatening her was in some way a personal attack on Joker too. They must see her as a weak link because she's a woman. Or maybe they knew about her relationship with him? But how? Suddenly she heard the door from the front lobby open and she hastily hid the card in her bag on the floor.

"We have a walk in here. A dog with marijuana ingestion," the receptionist, Steph, told her.

Nora tried to act casual and said, "Ok, I can see it. How long ago did it eat it and how much?"

"I'll have Jen talk to them and find out," she replied before walking back toward the lobby.

Nora blinked and let out a breath she had been holding. She had to tell Joker about this. She decided to figure out how to contact him after work. Until then, she had to try to keep calm and focus on her patients.

Closing time finally came after a few excruciatingly long hours. Nora had been frantically typing up notes and returning calls so she could leave on time, doing her best not to make Jen suspicious about her change in attitude. It seemed to be tough to hide anything from her. She left Jen and Steph to lock up, bursting through the side door and walking quickly out of the alley toward the bus stop with her eyes down. Halfway down the block, she stopped in her tracks. Wait. This isn't safe. The Mob just threatened you, you idiot! Panic set in and she anxiously looked around to scan the street for anything suspicious. The evening sun was low in the sky and cars were parked down both sides of the street. She didn't see anyone else out on foot and this made her feel incredibly vulnerable. The businesses nearby were all closed, leaving nowhere for her to get off the street. Her breathing started turning rapid with her panic level rising and hear head buzzing as she eyed the parked cars around her for anyone watching. Her eye caught a black SUV with tinted windows across the street. Fuck fuck fuck. Ok you're ok. She looked to the cars passing by and saw the welcome sight of a yellow taxi approaching. She gasped, her arm flying into the air and thankfully it pulled over. A sense of relief washed over her as she climbed in.

"64th and Bowery please," she quickly told the driver.

The pointed nosed man cocked an eyebrow at her in the rearview mirror and asked, "You sure?" Nora nodded. "Ok," he replied.

She sat back in the seat and sighed. Once she got to the Narrows, she planned to try to call Joker from the phone he gave her. She watched buildings pass by the taxi window and thought about how what he was going to do when he found out about this. It was likely he'd be pissed off. Someone must have told Maroni about her. Maybe he had a man on the inside in Joker's crew. She searched for any feelings of regret for getting herself into this. It seemed that her life may be in danger but she didn't have any second thoughts. This could mean her feelings for the Joker went beyond physical desire.

The taxi turned down the bridge into the Narrows, the buildings becoming progressively more dilapidated. But instead of taking 64th toward Bowery, the car then made a turn down a narrow alleyway. No. No no no! You idiot! Nora's heart dropped like a stone and she swung her head around to look toward the driver after pulling on the door handle to find it locked. He put the car in park and turned around to point a gun at her. She froze and quickly put her hands up in front of her with her eyes wide.

"Alright, lady. Nice and easy. You're comin' with me. Don't do anything stupid and no harm will come to ya," he said. She nodded her head, trying to control her ragged breathing. "Keep ya hands up and do what I say." He got out of the car and opened her door, keeping his pistol pointed at her.

"Walk," he said, with the gun to her back. He led her to a door under a green awning where he knocked twice. The door opened, revealing two large men wearing black suits. They nodded at each other and took Nora down a hall, into what looked like a dining room. It had dim lighting from stained glass lamps hanging from the low ceiling, round tables with red and white checkered table cloths, and a dark wood bar on the side wall. It smelled like tomatoes and basil. One of the men in suits put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump, to sit her into a chair at a small table. The man with the gun stood behind her, keeping his aim on the back of her head, as the other two stood behind the empty chair across from her. Nora kept her hands in her lap, counting her breaths in her head in an effort to keep herself composed. The swinging door to the kitchen opened and a man with silver hair came walking through. He silently made his way to the table and sat down. He wore a grey suit with a yellow tie and had gold rings on some of his fingers.

He made eye contact with her and asked, "Do you know who I am?" Nora remained silent, unable to speak as she stared back at him. He blinked at her and motioned to the man behind her. She felt the barrel of the gun against her back. "I'll ask you again. Do you know how I am?" he said, starting to raise his voice.

She took a breath in and stuttered, "Y-you're Salvatore Maroni."

He nodded his head slowly and said, "And you are Nora Hawthorne. You hang around with the clown."

Calling him a clown struck something in Nora and she felt a twinge of anger burning in her stomach. "Yes," she replied plainly, a dirty look forming on her face.

"As you may know the clown and I don't exactly get along," said Maroni. She had to stop herself from scoffing out loud. "He may have made you think he's some kind of fuckin' Robin Hood but that 'aint the case. If you forgot what he did to Gotham just months ago, he's a dangerous man."

Nora frowned and spoke up, "What do you want from me?"

Maroni grinned and replied, "Well, doctor, I trust that you have some human decency. If you do, you'll think hard about this. Bring the clown to us. Get him here and we'll take care of him. His circus won't tear this city apart no more."

She had to think quickly. Maybe he didn't know about her romantic involvement with Joker or he wouldn't waste his time trying to get her on his side. Don't refuse outright though, that'll just make him suspicious. "How would I get him here?" Nora asked.

"You leave that to me, doc. You think about it. Be at Gotham Freight Shipping in three days, 9 pm, alone. If ya got any integrity left," he said. Then he abruptly stood and disappeared back into a dark adjoining room. The man with the gun lifted Nora from her chair by her elbow. He pulled her back through the dining room and outside to the alley. Suddenly, the butt of the gun smacked her across the face and stars to flashed before her eyes. The door slammed and before she could react, she was alone.

Nora looked down both sides of the alley. The taxi was gone and there was no sign of Maroni or his men. She leaned against the brick wall and started panting, letting out all of the fear she had been holding in. Her hand shook as she brought it to her sore face, trying to calm down after letting her panic run its course. She forced in a few deep breaths and took another look around. There was a camera above the door they had come through. Her frozen muscles came to life and propelled her down the alley and to the street. She had to get her bearings and figure where she was. Behind Maroni's supposed hideout was a meat packing plant and a lot full of parked semi-trucks. Looking up, she saw a blank billboard sat atop the building. Ok, remember the landmarks and tell J. Her heart pounded. She couldn't fight the urge to run anymore and took off down the street toward the corner. Meat packing plant, trucks, billboard, alley door. She repeated the mantra in her head as she ran. Once she reached the corner, she stopped and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. It was dark and the street lights weren't very bright. Nora had never been to this part of the Narrows before and had no idea where she was. A lump formed in her throat and tears started to come to her eyes. What am I gonna do?

The weight of Joker's phone in her pocket caught her attention and she quickly pulled it out. She looked at the lit screen and opened the contacts list. There was nothing. She groaned and checked the call history. "Unknown Number" appeared all the way down the list. Taking a deep breath, she selected it and hit the call button. The ring-back tone came through the speaker and she quickly held it to her ear. It rang for a few seconds before she heard a dial tone. No! She lowered the phone from her ear and a tear ran down her cheek and she slumped onto the sidewalk. Her heart ached, overcome with disappointment and hopelessness. Shame began to rear its ugly head when suddenly, the phone in her hand started ringing, startling her. She gasped as "Unknown Number" appeared on the screen and she swiftly answered the call.

"H-Hello?" she stammered.

"Nora," the sound of Joker's voice came through the speaker.

She closed her eyes with relief and said, "I need help."

Song for this chapter: Fire by Vince Staples