Life and Death: Chapter 19

"You got blood on your hands, but you don't know where it's from
You'd better run when you hear the sirens coming
'Cause they will be coming for you"
- Blue Lights, Jorja Smith

"Puddin', I can't find Jay." Harley was standing in front of him, impossible to ignore.

Without looking up from the screen in front of him Joker rolled his neck, hearing it crack. Since the incident at the club the kid had been gone for two days and he had let her. He'd deal with her eventually, when he felt like it.

"I'm gonna go looking for her. She won't answer her phone, and I don't want her alone in those clubs, with all those braindead guys around!"

He pushed the tablet aside, rolling his eyes. "Then go get her, Harls."

She put her hands on her hips, staring him down. "Are ya listenin', Mistah J?" I don't know where she is! Ya know what's going on aroun' here!" Something shifted in her voice, pitching up. He almost chuckled at her; she was as self-serving as ever.

Harley always lost all composure when it came to that kid, and while it was always fun watching her engage in brutal activities, it cost him resources all the time. He ground his teeth together. If the brat had got herself drunk again or decided to deal with mobster bosses on her own, he would do something, he wasn't exactly sure what, but he would decide once he found her. He got to his feet, picking up his phone.

"Jonny," he barked, seeing his aide-de-camp appear in the room.

"We haven't tracked her down yet, Boss. She's not in any of the usual places."

Joker turned to him with a metallic grimace. "Ya don't know where she is? Geez, it's hard to find good help these days."

He picked up his favorite assault rifle that was standing against the wall, stroking its smooth surface for a moment. He already imagined himself paving the way through a crowd with it, or better yet, using it to paint the walls like Jackson Pollock with whatever no-brainer in the underworld who thought they could play this game without him.

"Then you better find out, Jonny-boy. If I do it first, you can consider yourself… retired." He tapped his finger lightly against the trigger, appreciatively watching Harley pack up her weapons and strap a knife to her thigh.

So, his little doll was playing a good old game of hide-and-seek. The promise of a challenge was as fun as ever, and she couldn't hide from him for long.

.

.

Zoe looked from her milkshake to the girl sitting across from her at the small diner. Jaylie was as calm as ever, absent-minded as she sipped her vanilla drink through a straw. The past two days had been a thrill: Jaylie had taken her to several clubs through hidden backdoors and they had watched people from a secret place, drinking soda while Jaylie told her funny stories about the guests. They had slept in luxurious hidden lounges that Jaylie had access to, moving quickly from place to place. But the staff always exchanged funny looks whenever Jaylie spoke to them, and even now at the diner they got strange looks. They had broken into a costume shop and changed clothes several times just to play.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Zoe asked. She would never get used to that feeling when Jaylie turned her full attention at her, her big eyes studying her.

"Are you bored"

"No - I really like being with you."

Jaylie played with her gold bracelet with a green and red diamond on. "It's gonna be real fun tonight. I know a special place and you're my VIP guest. The staff know me, they'll do what I say."

She smiled and Zoe found herself unable to argue with the reality of it all, what they were really doing, but nobody would come looking for Zoe, and she knew that. It wasn't too unusual for some fourteen-year-olds to be like her in this part of Gotham, after all. If she had been on her own, she would have been afraid of the shootings and robberies. But now, she wasn't.

Jaylie was younger, but it always felt like they were the same age. Zoe didn't want this spree through town to end - with no one to tell them what to do and Jaylie's amount of money, they could do anything.

She flinched when her friend's diamond-encased phone vibrated again, displaying another text message. She had not picked up any calls, but Zoe had seen her write a short reply to her mother's many messages, before flicking it aside again.

"They really seem to care."

Jaylie looked up at her, tilting her slightly to the side. Zoe looked at the one-hundred-dollar bill on the table in front of them.

"They're looking for you... maybe we should go back."

"No," Jaylie said, reaching out and grabbing Zoe's hand. "Let's go."

On their way out they passed two men sitting by a table who looked up at them. Walking closely behind her together with Lucifer, Zoe saw her hand tighten around the sharpened edge of a candy cane in her pocket.

.

.

The kid must have brain damage. Maybe Harley dropped her on her head too many times when she was a baby. After everything he had seen her do, Jonny Frost didn't know why she wasn't smart enough to know that going off on her own was a stupid move.

J had connections all over the place, and as far as Frost knew, she didn't, but J also had enemies, and it was far too easy for a girl like her to disappear. Maybe Harley's connections could save her, but he doubted it. One thing was clear: if they didn't find her soon, she'd be gone permanently before the end of the week.

It took him another day before he finally got hold of someone who had seen her, the now infamous kid playing in the underworld, always under the watching eye of the Joker. It was harder than usual – he guessed she had paid the staff, or by other means quieted her tracks. Good thing Frost could offer ten times as much as she could possibly bribe them with, and her father was scarier than she could ever be.

He headed to The Red Lantern, a renowned club that had been inactive for many years, after notifying the Boss. By paying his way into the place, Frost found out that the enormous building had been rebuilt over the years, and getting into contact with one of the "patrons" that was rumored to be there was not easy. He found her at last, in a luxurious lounge with a private bar. She was sitting in a plush seat with another girl next to her, noticing him at once. The hyena-like dog was lying by her feet.

"Welcome, Frosty," she said calmly.

"They're looking for you," he informed her.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You're dismissed."

"Look." Frost removed his sunglasses and knelt to her level. "You can't run this kind of thing by yourself. You've got no protection."

"I do," Jaylie said blank-faced and nodded to Zoe sitting next to her, then the other, armed men lingering around the room, talking quietly and drinking at the bar. He didn't recognize them and he wondered for a moment how much of the Joker's cash she must have got her hands on.

"How do you know they're loyal?" Frost lowered his voice. "This isn't J's turf, you're not safe around here. You piss someone off, they'll come here and put a bullet in your brain."

"My dad's a hitman," Zoe explained to him as if she was talking to a very small child. She was sipping a coke, leaning back in a more relaxed way than Frost had ever seen the rigid, shy girl before.

Jaylie rose to her feet, staring him down in a way that reminded him too much of the Boss, only he did not bother explaining himself before he fired. "This is my turf."

He rose to his feet too, careful to not show any hint of defiance. Apparently the Joker possessed enough parenting skill to not let his heir run a drug cartel before she even hit puberty, or it could be a simple matter of possessiveness on his part, there was no telling, but Frost did not want to be in the middle of this family affair.

Did nobody ever tell her no when she was younger? He tried to recall but came up with nothing.

Jaylie sat down again as if he was just a fly on the wall, turning to Zoe and whispering something in her ear. Zoe smiled at her, leaning into her side.

Frost tried one last time. "Why don't you both go to the Grin and Bare It? J will let you run his business some days, you know that."

She grimaced at him, her Lucy persona prominent. "Don't wanna. Go, Frosty, you're boring."

"Listen," Frost said. "J's on his way. He wants his club back and he's gonna bring this place to the ground." He made a gesture at Zoe without looking at her. "If she stands in his way, she might get hurt."

It was a simple fact, and true. No matter how much these kids always got in his way, he wouldn't want to see that girl dead because she got caught up in something she couldn't comprehend.

He was surprised to see Jaylie push Zoe behind her while her eyes dug into him, so similar to the Boss', blank and calculating. The hyena-dog had roused from his place on the floor as well, looking intensely at him.

He quickly excused himself and left the room, staying nearby in case she would need him.

.

"Princess Quinn of Gotham."

Jaylie looked at the man kneeling in front of her, paying his respects. "There's someone who wishes to see you. Says it's urgent."

"Who is it?"

"Says his name is Mr. R. He has requested to talk to you in private."

She giggled, then looked at Zoe. "I got a special guest - I know who it is. I'll go see him. Just tell the guys if you need anything."

Zoe nodded, a bit hesitant. Lucifer was sitting next to her, leaning into her side. The hired goon showed Jaylie the way through the building and once they got there she ordered him to wait outside.

She entered the room silently, in the way she always did. Robin was speaking to someone on a small device, then putting it aside. Standing in the corner of the room, she watched him.

"Long time no see. Watcha doing here?"

He turned around quickly, his eyes widening before he composed himself. He hurried over to her.

"There's mobsters here, they're looking for you. You need to get out of here."

"They've heard the news, that I've claimed this place?" She smiled. "You wouldn't snitch on me, would you Robin? After I saved your life and all?"

"I'm serious, you can't stay here!" He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her towards the exit, but she snatched it out of his grip. He tensed up. "Quit playing around, you have no idea how dangerous this is!"

She bared her teeth for a moment, then hid it behind a smile. "I guess I don't."

"What's wrong with you?" he spat.

She took a step closer to him, smiling. "Are you scared, Timmy? Maybe you should go. It isn't good to be alone around here."

"I can handle myself."

She stood in front of him, so close she could feel his quick breathing. "You were talking to Batman, weren't you? Did ya bring him here only for me?"

She saw it in his face before he shook his head. She stared at him, studying every detail of his dark eyes.

"They are here, aren't they? You brought Batsy to them."

"People are in serious danger, this city is turning into a no-man's land! This is what we have to do! I'll escort you out."

She took a step backwards, hand in her pocket. "I'll find the way out myself."

"Then hurry up!"

She saw him pick up his phone, trying to contact his mentor again, but he was met with a static sound filling the room. He looked over to the door when the sound of a grenade came from the floor below, followed by the sound of screams. The room shook and flakes of debris fell from the ceiling.

"Shit!" He turned against the door when the hammer struck his skull from behind. One hard, well-placed blow.

When he had collapsed to the ground Jaylie raised it again. He was half-conscious, his eyes rolling to the back of his head and his mouth gasping for air. A string of incoherent sounds left his mouth.

"We had a deal," she said solemnly. It would only take a second blow to kill him, but she didn't want it to be like this. She wanted them to see this, that she was capable. She'd caught the Birdie all by herself and she knew they would be proud.

Robin's eyelids fluttered and he panted, and for a moment his eyes caught hers, and she knew she had to act now. She locked her gaze with his and felt nothing, but the fact that he had been useless. He had lost the game.

"Don't do it!"

She turned to see Zoe standing by the door, her eyes wide. She was gasping as if she had been running, the door wide open behind her.

Jaylie didn't move as the other girl slowly walked over to her, putting her hand on top of hers. Her hand was so warm.

Zoe looked into her eyes. "Let's just leave him here. You don't have to kill him."

"I want to." Jaylie was completely calm.

"What good is it gonna do? Batman will keep on hunting you even more. I don't wanna lose you."

Jaylie lowered her arm but Zoe didn't let go of her grip. Jaylie looked at their hands around the weapon but made no attempt to pull back.

"I have to go," Zoe said, and reached out, wrapping her arms around her. "My dad's out and he will pick me up soon. I need to go with him. You should come too, he won't mind. Unless... you want to wait for your parents."

Jaylie opened her hand and let the hammer fall to the floor.

Zoe hugged her harder. "I've had so much fun. When dad lets me, I'll come to see you again. Okay? You're... you're my best friend. I like being with you, a lot."

Jaylie looked into her brown eyes, studying them for a moment, before kissing her.

Zoe gasped, before leaning in to quickly meet her lips. It was clumsy and innocent, and she pulled back slightly flushed.

"Bye, Jaylie."

She reached out to catch Zoe's hand, holding it tightly. "I'm coming with you."

Robin was coming around on the floor, reaching for his phone, but Zoe snatched it up as Jaylie picked up her hammer and they ran out of the room. There was no sight of the hired goon. Zoe threw the phone into a trash can, as they ran back towards the lounge.

Frost was waiting for them in the empty room, looking at them in a way Jaylie had not seen before.

"They got caught up on their way here," he said. "Come with me right now."

Jaylie was still holding on to Zoe's hand. "Where's Lucifer?"

"I don't know. Everyone had left when I got here -"

"Where's Lucifer," Jaylie repeated through her teeth, looking around in the room. "Lou!"

She was heading towards the opposite door when four men burst into the room with weapons drawn.

"Now where's the little bitch?"

As they lunged towards Jaylie, Frost made a move to draw his gun and the other men restrained him from behind and locked him in place. The leader was panting heavily. "Imma leave the clown a gift - his pretty kid all tied up! Not so cocky anymore, are we?"

Jaylie picked up a crystal glass from the table next to her just as the man yanked her from the floor and slammed her against the wall, slapping her with the butt of his gun when she tried to bite him. She spat blood out of her mouth.

"Don't touch her!" Zoe yelled as she was restrained by another man. The leader locked Jaylie's hands in place and started tearing off her shirt and ripping her pants open. A gunshot was heard when Frost tried to overpower his captors and he doubled over, clutching his bleeding leg. Through the haze of pain, he saw someone run into the room, an unfamiliar voice - a young boy.

"Hey, stop!"

As Robin ran up to them, the leader turned his head. Jaylie finally moved from the shock and acted on her only sane instinct. She tore her wrist free when he shifted, broke off the foot of the glass against the wall and brought the sharp object down into the man's throat, over and over. The blood spread all over her arms and his head when he slumped to the side. She collapsed to the floor when his grip loosened.

The other men looked at her, shocked at the death of their boss. Robin approached the man who was holding Zoe, and he immediately loosened his grip.

Staring at her hands covered in her own blood, Jaylie tumbled backwards. Zoe rushed to her side and wrapped her arms around her. Two of the goons suddenly shot at Robin, forcing him into the corner.

Frost struggled to get free while he watched. For a moment Jaylie was just a regular twelve-year-old caught up in ugly business and he couldn't believe it. This was the same girl who had murdered in cold blood since she learned to hold a toy, who he was convinced lacked the ability to sympathize with any other human other than her mother, a psycho kid from hell. And now she was bleeding, trembling, and one of the goons was reaching out for her again - fuck.

With one sudden move, he kicked his captor's body backwards, feeling the stinging pain from the bullet wound in his leg, and crawled over to her in the chaos that followed when more people finally arrived, opening fire.

He ripped two pieces of fabric from his shirt and tied it around Jaylie's bleeding palms. Even though it was suicidal, he wished intensely the Boss and Quinn were here right now, if only it could stop the strange sounds coming from Jaylie's throat. He looked at her face, crouching in front of her.

"Hey, don't be scared," he panted, then got up again and looked at the girls huddled together. It wasn't much to comfort her with, because she definitely had reason to be scared. Jaylie wrapped one arm around Zoe as if to push her down from the gunfire around them. "Stay close to the floor," he ordered.

Frost turned around, feeling around for his spare gun. This was not because this was his last day alive – failing to protect Jaylie meant assisting in causing her harm. This was not because he had known her since she was a baby - hell, he had seen her miraculously survive her first years. He had always regarded her as some sort of niece, maybe even a stepkid, and he did care about her. He had wisely not informed the Joker of that fact or been too soft around her. She was definitely strange and messed up, but now she was just a scared kid.

He fired, as the room started shaking from the chaos around him, debris raining down. Another bullet tore through his flesh and he knew he was going to take out as many as he could before his own heart stopped. Somewhere in the mess, he saw Robin fighting the same men as he did.

And there, at last, was Harley Quinn, rushing over and kneeling down in front of them, pulling Jaylie into her arms. She looked over to Zoe as well. "Your daddy is on the way," she said and patted her hair. "Let's go."

Zoe screamed as a group of heavily armed men stormed the room, and Harley was pushed to the ground by the enormous shadow that tore through the ceiling.

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.

.

All the years where Batman had lost and failed were worth it for a moment like this, for one time of success.

Every day since finding Jason Todd's body so brutally handled had been a failure. He had to come to terms with the truth he tried to avoid for the longest time: that everyone could not be saved. The most important exception was one small child he had seen years ago, and the fact that she got away was the worst of all.

After the SWAT team had stormed the building, on Gordon's order, the way was clear for all of them. He had taken Harley Quinn on himself and now she was down, restrained and sedated. He saw the fine lines of aging in her face and he knew that the psychiatrist he once had tried to save never existed. She had aged just like he had, but she still looked like her old self. Despite the signs of tiredness in her face, it felt like she was grinning at him even in her state of unconsciousness, like that time when he saved her life so many years ago. He watched her being taken away, contained at last.

The other girl, Floyd Lawton's daughter, was unharmed but she had been screaming when they took her to the police cars. To drive her home, he supposed - she was not a criminal, only a kid caught up in this.

There among the shattered glass, next to the body of a dead mobster, lay a girl. Her hair and shirt were smeared with blood. He lifted her limp body up, seeing her eyelids flutter. She was just a child, looking peacefully asleep, even with her fist curled around a piece of broken glass.

Bruce saw himself standing in that alley again, staring into the face of death, his parents on the ground. This was his victory.

He carried her out to the paramedics, away from her mother and the club, finally easing his conscience, thinking of a silent apology that he couldn't get to her earlier.

He met Jim Gordon's concerned face right outside the building, running from his car to meet them. "What's happening? We've just apprehended the Joker. Did you get Quinn?"

"It's over now. Get me Amanda Waller and the CPS."

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's note: I've worked really, really hard on this and I'm happy to share it with you all, so it would mean the world to me to get some feedback on this.

Love, Crystallinee.