Chapter 5
Andrea had pinned the girl against the old drainpipe. By ripping off the clown's headdress, she could strip the cloth to quickly slip it around her wrist and efficiently tie her to the rusty base. The entire time Quinn screamed, 'Puddin'! Run Mista J! Run!"
When Andrea whipped around, The Joker was leaning against a telephone pole, a bemused expression playing on the edge of his fixed smile. The black fire she'd tried to escape for so long was threatening to overtake her again. The turmoil inside her heart was no match for the pulsing and blinding rage overtaking her thoughts and bending her will. Cold regret that had seeped into her mind eclipsed with the dark hatred for the men who murdered her father… The twisted remnant of a man that stood before her caused her glare to deepen and fixate.
She swallowed the chaos churning in her throat and listened to the deafening ring in her ears, feeding off of her ire. She strode to the pole, but not before muting the screeching Harley with the remainder of her hat. Joker's smile dimmed a bit as Andrea slowly moved toward him.
"Napier."
His eyes darkened and his lips curved downward, morphing his smile into a red grimace.
"It seems Batsy has a girlfriend!" He trotted around the pole, regaining his smile and cackling with emphasis.
Her baleful glare impaled him.
Silencing that horrid laugh was the only thing on her mind, which was now completely and irrevocably beyond reason. She reached into Bruce's spare utility belt that adorned her waist and grasped her lifeline. The tool she'd laid there secretly would be the only thing to ever quench the retribution she had wanted for so long. She knew Bruce would never forgive her. So be it. This was something she had to do.
When The Joker caught a glimpse of the metallic barrel of a gun, he sobered.
"The Bat would never approve!" He said, wagging his finger at her.
Andrea planted both feet firmly apart, and held the gun with both hands.
"Batman's not here."
A muscular arm was suddenly wrapped around her throat, constricting her before she could react. A familiar voice whispered darkly in her ear.
"Think again."