Chapter 8
We got into J's car and I was silent.
"Come on dollface. I will make it up to you I promise. I'll kill anyone you want me to. Name em." He said as we sped back to the city.
"You almost got me killed. Quinn said you are selfish but Jesus." I said. He slammed on the breaks.
"Careful. I don't want to talk about Harley. Ever. Got it?" He said in a serious tone. I scoffed and continued to look out the window.
"Where are we going first?" I asked with attitude in my voice.
"City Hall. Then Gotham Museum. Then the grand finale." He said smiling.
"Grand finale?" I asked.
"Wayne Enterprises." He said flashing his silver smile. I wouldn't lie, I was pretty excited about that one. Bruce Wayne was a tool.
"We do have one tiny problem." He said. I raised my eyebrows curiously.
"Sal Maroni. We have to get him on board. He is my competition and if we are going to pull this off, he has to be behind us. He hates my guts though ever since I killed one of his girlfriends by accident. He got all salty about it for some reason." He said. I rolled my eyes.
"I can talk to him." I said as I looked back out the window.
"You a friend of his?" He asked.
"Sort of. Just trust me, I can talk to him." I said.
"Okay. If you say so. We can head there now." He said.
"No. I should go alone." I said quickly.
"No way. I don't trust Maroni as far as I can throw him. You aren't going alone." He said. I could tell there was no arguing. I sighed in frustration.
"Fine." I said as I threw my hands in the air. "Head to his place then." I said. He nodded and sped up. We reached the penthouse building that Maroni lived in and we got out of the car to be greeted by two henchmen. They saw me and nodded.
"He's in his office Miss Cee. But the Clown stays here." One of them said as he put a hand on The Jokers chest to stop him from walking into the building.
"He's cool Dave. Just let him by." I said. The Joker giggled.
"Yeah Dave, i'm not here to fight. What kind of guy do you think I am?" He said as he chuckled. I rolled my eyes and he followed me closely.
"How well do you know this guy?! No one can get in here to meet him unless they have a meeting." He said eyeing me carefully.
"Don't worry about it." I said as I pushed the elevator button. We got in the mirrored compartment and I pushed the P button. It took us to the very top and we walked into the Penthouse. I walked immediately to the right where Maroni's office was. The Joker followed.
"Guy's got fancy taste huh?" He said chuckling.
"Something like that." I said. I knocked on the office door.
"Yeah?" Maroni said from inside. I opened it and he looked up from what he was doing on his desk.
"Luna?" Maroni said as he got up.
"Hey Dad." I said back and smiled. The Joker looked at me with shock. Maroni looked over at J and got a mean look on his face.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Maroni growled.
"Now Dad come on. I know you two have a history but we need to talk to you." I said.
"Fine. How did you get out of Arkham?" He asked.
"Long story. I know you tried to bust me out. So thank you for the effort." I said smiling.
"Yeah I tried hon. You know I gotta lay low lately." He said.
"Yeah I know Dad. It's not big deal. Listen we need to talk. I guess you already know what has been happening?" I asked. He nodded.
"Yeah. That Waller. She is a character. I gotta hand it to her though, she was able to recruit a bunch of bad guys to do good deeds." He said as he laughed.
"Yeah. It's crazy. But J and I are trying to get Gotham turned around. With the Bat and Gotham PD, it's nearly impossible to run this town the way you used to when I was a kid. Don't you want to help us get that back?" I asked.
"You mean work with this nutjob? He killed Charlotte, Luna." He said eyeing the Joker.
"It was an accident Maroni! The broad was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Joker said. My dad growled and lifted his fist.
"HEY. Knock it off both of you." I said putting a hand on my dads chest.
"He started it." The Joker said quietly. I shushed him and continued.
"Look I know shit has gone down between you two. It's always been a huge competition. I get it. But we have to come together in order for this to work. Do you think the good guys are going to make this easy? Batman won't go down without a fight, same with Wonderwoman and Commissioner Gordan." I said.
"Like one big happy family!" The Joker said smiling a huge grin. My dad rolled his eyes.
"Okay baby. I will agree to this. For you. But I would feel better if you stayed here. You know you apartment is still yours." Dad says. He had given me the 10th floor as my own apartment a few years back.
"Well, I am not leaving him. Can he stay with me Daddy? Please?" I asked. My dad growled and gave J a look.
"He and his crew can have the 9th and 8th floor. But he isn't allowed in your bedroom." Maroni said strictly.
"Jesus Christ Dad. I am 27 years old." I said rolling my eyes.
"I don't care. He doesn't stay with YOU. He can always go back to his dank hideout." Maroni said.
"Dank? What are you talking about Maroni? I know I have seen you more than a few times at my club mingling with my dancers." J said. I gave a disgusted look.
"No, they should stay here. The Squad knows he will be hiding out there. They don't even know we are joining forces yet so here would be better." I said. My dad nodded.
"Okay well, this is all going down in about...twenty minutes. Want to join us and see Wayne Enterprises go down in a piling heap of dirt?" J asked my dad.
"No I shouldn't. Gordan is still looking for me since that little mishap we had last week. I need to stay hidden. You go hon. Be careful now." Dad said.
"Okay Dad I will." I said as I gave him a big hug. He kissed my forehead and J opened his big fat mouth.
"So 'Daddy' are you gonna ask me what my intentions are with your little girl?" J asked smiling.
"Now that you mention it, yeah." Maroni said sternly.
"Well, I intend on blowing shit up with her, over-running Gotham, then taking her back to my place and…." J proceeded. I covered his mouth with my hand and my Dad looked like he was turning purple from anger.
"Ah ah ah. Shush. We will be going now Dad. I will check in later." I said as I led J out of the double office doors. I pushed him out of the door and he laughed.
"What?!" He said still laughing and fixed his hair which was now hanging in front of his face.
"What the hell is the matter with you?! Do you know what he did to my prom date?!" I asked.
"I can only imagine." he said giggling. We got into the elevator and J pushed me against the back mirror and started kissing my neck.
"You didn't tell me that you're a crimelord baby." He said in between kisses.
"It just never came up." I said back. He looked back up at me.
"So wait, your sister. The one the Bat killed, is she Maroni's too?" He asked. I nodded.
"Yeah. They weren't close though. Lori didn't really ever forgive my Dad for leaving our Mom. She swore up and down that Dad killed Mom. I didn't buy it. I still don't. My parents hated each other but my Dad wouldn't kill her. Lori was a little out of it back then." I said looking down. J wasn't one to get all sentimental so he changed the subject quickly.
"Alright well, Frost just texted me and said the museum and city hall are done. We should head over to Wayne Enterprises now if we wanna catch the big show." He said. I nodded and we headed towards the heart of the city. We got out of the lambo and Frost was on his bluetooth.
"Update?" J asked him.
"Yeah boss. The Super Squad, PD and Batman are all at the museum. The diversion worked. We have three minutes until this baby blows." Frost said. J nodded and smiled.
"Are we clear here?" I asked looking around me.
"Yeah, we should be fine. Don't worry sugar. I won't let you get hurt." J said. I scoffed.
"How many people are inside?" I asked.
"Just Wayne's legal team and Board of Directors." Frost said.
"Only the important people." J said.
"What about Wayne? Isn't he one we want to get rid of?" I asked.
"Well yeah, but he's a little bit more untouchable." J said. I shrugged. Then I saw Batman flying through the sky towards the building.
"Um fellas, we have company!" I yelled. I pointed to Batman who was headed to the top floor where his people were held up. J started cursing and got on Johnny's bluetooth.
"Detonate now you hear me!" J yelled. I could hear a henchman saying 'we're trying boss' over and over again.
"Shit." I said as I saw people running through the revolving doors in the front, screaming.
"DAMNIT!" J screamed and ran his hands through his hair.
"Alright we can't stick around boss!" Frost said. I nodded quickly and tried to grab J. He pushed me away.
"NO! I am not letting this winged douche bag get away with this!" J screamed and opened his trunk. J pulled out a bazooka and starting laughing a harsh laugh.
"Oh fuck." I said softly.
"Come on Luna, we gotta go." Frost said as he tried leading me to his Hummer.
"No, I can't leave him." I said.
"I promised J I would keep you safe if he can't. Now come on!" Frost picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I fought like hell.
"PUT ME DOWN DAMNIT!" I screamed as I hit Johnny. I could tell my punches and wailing about were tough on the giant.
I saw J arm the bazooka. He was laughing uncontrllably. Frost shoved me into the Hummer and sped off. I watched behind me and saw J fire into the middle of the building and the force of the bazooka almost knocked him back. I smiled thinking he did it. Then I saw Batman come out of the sky and knock J down. We turned a corner and I couldn't see anything.
"We have to go back Frost! The Bat is gonna kill him!" I screamed.
"We can't Miss Cee. I am under specific orders here." Frost said heading back to Maroni's place. I sat there with my arms folded. I was pissed and worried. He may have almost gotten me killed but I couldn't sit back while he potentially got beaten to death. But there was nothing I can do.
"He will be okay Miss Cee. I have seen that guy take a pretty good beatdown before." Frost said reassuringly.
"You better be right." I said glaring at him. He gulped. "Until he gets back, I am in charge. Have your guy's station out at my dad's building. Floors 8 and 9. Wait for further instructions." I said as I got out. Frost nodded and went to park the Hummer. I stomped up to the Penthouse.
"DAD!" I yelled when I got inside. Maroni emerged from his conference room.
"What is it Luna?" Maroni said concerned.
"Until further notice, I am in charge of this mission we started." I said trying to fight back tears of frustration. "I need your guys to brief J's men on what we are gonna do next. I want the Bat dead. For good this time." I said gritting my teeth.
"Okay baby. I'm on it. What's wrong? I thought this is what you wanted?" He asked.
"I had to leave J behind and leave him as Bat bait. I should have stayed." I said looking away.
"Now honey I know how you feel about him. But I have seen that kid do some heavy damage in this city. I think he will be fine." My dad said as he gave me a hug. He stepped back and took my head into his hands.
"You look just like your mother. Strikingly beautiful. Nothing like her old man." Maroni said smiling. I smiled.
"Thanks Dad. I'm gonna get some sleep and wash all this blood off of me." I said.
"Is that your blood?" He asked. My Dad was used to seeing my face mangled up.
"Some of it. Most of it is cop blood." I said smiling.
"That's my girl. Handsome is still there. Right where you left him. He has grown since you last saw him. He isn't a cub anymore. He has been a handful." Maroni said smiling. He kissed my forehead and headed back into the conference room. I went down to the 10th floor. The elevator opened and I was home. I hadn't seen my apartment in almost a year. Everything was clean and spotless. My Dad obviously had it kept. The lights were all off and I saw through the long hallway, a pair of two glowing eyes. I heard the growl.
"Handsome!" I yelled excitedly. My now full grown tiger emerged through the dark and stood on his hind legs and gave me a tiger style hug. He purred and almost knocked me down. "I missed you too buddy." I said. He jumped down and went back into his habitat room. I trained Handsome well. When Batman had me locked up at Arkham, my Dad had hired a trainer. Handsome could now kill on command.
I went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. I checked the freezer to see if I had any food in there. I smiled.
"I forgot about this!" I said as I pulled out a finger of one of Dad's cronies who hit on me once. I kept it as a trophy after he smacked my ass. He was lucky I didn't tell my Dad. My Dad would have just killed him. I chopped his fingers off and sent him packing.
I sat down on my red leather sofa. I was unsure how I was going to sit here and wait. I looked out of the giant window and saw J's guys coming into the building. One big happy fucking family. I went to Handsome's habitat room and pulled a piece of meat out of the freezer in the little closet like room inside of the habitat. I threw the meat at Handsome and told him good night. I locked him in his room and headed to mine. My room had black walls and painted pipes above. My Dad had a professional decorator re-do my bedroom for my 25th birthday a couple years ago. I was the complete opposite of Martha Stewart. I couldn't even cook.
I took my pants and top off and got under the covers. I felt like I could cry. I felt like The Joker was really the only person who understood me. I had only been in two relationships and both ended badly. Mainly because I am clinically psychotic (supposedly). But he was just like me.
I quickly fell asleep.