AN: Eep—where'd all my readers go, eh? Thanks for the unyielding loyalty, WordNerd! Well, without further ado, here's the next part—this is where the title comes from.
7: Then.
"You know what you need?" He lounged in the driver's seat of the delivery truck we'd stolen, gesturing lazily with a pistol while we both waited for the little egg timer on the dashboard to reach zero. The car idled grouchily, like a slumbering wildcat. The Joker had put his seat back almost flat and crossed his ankles on top of the steering wheel.
"What do I need?" I asked him.
"A name."
"You know my name."
"No no no," he stammered impatiently, "not that name, something to actually call you. A nickname, y'know, an alias."
It had been two weeks since he'd come for me. The authorities were becoming more anxious by the minute, as they had not discovered our whereabouts yet. So they had made the useless, desperate gesture of putting my picture under the heading 'Wanted' and asking the general populace to aid them in searching for me. My name was listed as 'Unknown.'
"They'll give you one whether you want them to or not," said The Joker. "Might as well make it something with a little pizzazz, doncha think?"
I turned in my seat and propped my chin on my fist. "Something that will strike fear into the hearts of the wicked, then?"
He looked at me, and his dark eyes flashed. "And the righteous," he said.
I grinned slowly. "Do you have something particular in mind?"
"I was thinking of 'The Queen of Hearts.'" He sat up and made a wide, sweeping motion with his gun-wielding hand, imitating the way I swung my sword. "Off with their heads!" he shrieked, and then he began to cackle.
I laughed at the gruesome image and grabbed his free hand. "I like it," I said.
His maniacal laughter waned and our eyes met. The painted mask went still, a lusty blaze ignited in his heart, and I knew he was about to kiss me. I reached for him, but then the egg timer went off, startling us both. He laughed weakly and tipped my chin up with a gloved fingertip. "Work, work, work," he said with mock wistfulness. "Let's pick this up later, shall we?" He kissed me quickly then righted his seat and gunned the engine. The shining blacktop disappeared underneath us like water.