I groaned as I slowly lifted my head, groggily looking at my surroundings. The white curtains, white floors, white walls, and medical equipment around the room told me I must be in the hospital. My head began to throb, causing me to groan in pain.
"What the fuck happened to me?" I muttered, looking around for a nurse. I sat with my head in my hands for a second before the door flew open.
"Jessica, are you okay?" I looked up to see the worried face of my best friend and colleague, Harvey Dent, as he rushed over to me. "I'm a lot better now that you're here." I chuckled as he hugged me tight. "I thought that mad man would have killed you for sure….Thank God you're alive!" I hugged him back, but the throbbing in my head soon became too much for me to take as I pulled away from him and groaned.
"What happened? Did he give me a concussion or something? How much money did he steal? Where did he go?" I asked Harvey curiously.
"Woah, slow down Jess! One question at a time!" Harvey chuckled. "Well, first off, you don't have a concussion. Just a wicked bruise on your forehead, and slight hand marks on your neck. As for the money, Bruce is working with the bank to try to figure that out now. And no one knows where he went. That deranged clown has a talent for randomly appearing and disappearing without a trace."
I processed everything Harvey told me with a quizzical expression on my face. "Why would he randomly steal a bunch of money from Gotham's top bank, killing but one of his henchmen in the process, and leave me alive? None of this makes any sense!" I wondered.
"I wouldn't question why he does anything, Jess. The man's fucking crazy. Maybe he has a huge master plan, or maybe he just felt bloodthirsty and money hungry. Who knows? All I know is the sooner someone locks that clown up in Arkham, the sooner we'll be able to clean up this God-forsaken city." Harvey sighed, gazing at me with concern. "That bruise really is nasty. He sure hit you pretty good!" He chuckled, handing me a mirror so I could see.
"Oh shit!" My forehead was splotched with black and blue bruises, my ice blue eyes were slightly bloodshot, my normally smooth, clear skin had leftover bloodstains, and my long brown hair was frizzy and tangled. "I look like shit." I chuckled, laughing at my reflection as I handed Harvey the mirror.
"You could never look shitty, or even close to that." Harvey said in a deeper voice than normal, causing my heart to race and my palms to get slightly sweaty. I had always admired Harvey for his legal work, and loved him for his heart. He was one of the best men I had ever known, and he had shown me more kindness than anyone I had ever met. We have both had feelings for each other ever since we first met back in law school, but neither of us gathered the courage to tell each other before he met Rachel Dawes. Rachel…. She stole him right out from under me, and now they were engaged. I should be happy for him because he's like a lovesick puppy when he's around her, but I don't think she's good enough for him. I can see the attitude she constantly gives him.
"Harvey! Where are you?" Speak of the devil.
Rachel ran into my hospital room along with my lifelong friend, Bruce Wayne. Harvey spun around to quickly hug Rachel. Rachel and Bruce came in the room and gasped, looking directly at my forehead.
"Oh come on, is it really that bad?" I joked, knowing fully well how horrendous I looked.
"You poor thing! I will put that clown away if it's the last thing I do!" Rachel said, coming over and hugging me.
Well, that's a first.
I'm sure everyone had the same astonished reaction as I did, since it's incredibly obvious that Rachel and I don't exactly get along.
"What do you think his plan was?" Bruce asked, coming to my side. "You saw the entire thing happen; did he seem suspicious? Did he talk to his lackeys about where they were going or what the money was for?"
"Do you really think he would? All he did was shoot his other clowns, sit back as the rest of the men stole the money for him, and drive away. Oh, and practically molest me and give me this nasty bruise. Other than that, nothing." I replied, reminiscing the last events I could remember. "Even if he did say anything, I don't think that's what I would've remembered."
"Let's see if there's any news coverage about this!" Rachel suggested, turning on the tiny television in the corner of the room. She kept flipping through channels until she could find the news channel. Sure enough, there was plenty of coverage about the robbery.
"The Joker is at it again! Just when we thought he couldn't wreak enough havoc through our city, he struck again yesterday in the most unusual way; by stealing 1.5 million dollars from Gotham International Bank! His actions are anything but typical, but police officers and citizens alike are wondering what his motivations could be, and what will he do next? There were other men in clown masks in the banks, but each one of them was shot in the head, suggesting to us that the Joker killed him. The reasons are unknown, but police commissioner Gordon has released this statement to Channel 6 News; 'No matter what, he will be apprehended. We will not let another tragedy happen because we are too scared take action against this madman. Mark my words, the Joker's reign of terror will end!'. Well, commissioner, those are some - what, what's going on?" The television screen erupted in static, and white noise filled the room as we all gazed up in fright. "Is the station being hacked?" Images of the reporter faded in and out until eventually she vanished altogether, and suddenly an image of a barren room was on the screen. There was a slight staticky noise in the background, then the camera began shaking violently before flipping over and revealing a familiar face; the Joker.
"Hello fellow Gothamites!" He cackled. "I do sincerely apologize for cutting off your precious newscast, but, frankly, my information is better!"
I felt the blood drain from my face as the feeling of his hand around my neck and his burning gaze capturing me paralyzed me. Bruce gripped my hand tight to help me calm down as we continued to listen to the Joker's newscast.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why I hijacked the news, and what horrid plans my sick mind came up with next. Well, I can't tell you guys all of my secrets! But I want to quickly introduce you to my little friend, Scotty!"
I held my breath as the camera shakily turned again and showed a young boy, probably eight or nine years old, tied to a chair, with his face painted in Joker-esque makeup. I gasped in horror, a single tear running down my face.
"Say hi to everyone Scotty!" Joker giggled.
The young boy began to cry softly.
"Come on Scotty boy, don't be rude! Say hi to all of the nice people in Gotham! NOW SCOTTY!" He boomed, scaring the boy.
"H-hi! Please help me! I just want to go home!" Scotty whimpered.
"As you can all probably see, my little friend doesn't seem to like me very much." Joker said, bursting into a fit of giggles, turning the camera back to his face. "But don't worry! Scotty can return home to his worried parents, on one condition. Yesterday at the bank I met a simply astonishing woman! I know, it's a little crazy; me of all people!" He kept laughing as my face dropped.
"Unfortunately for all of the hopeless romantics out there, I did not get her number. But I was able to, shall I say, sweep her off her feet." He winked to the camera as I shuddered in disgust, my stomach churning as Bruce and Harvey glared in anger at the madman on the screen.
"However, I would love the chance to meet this woman again! I don't know, there was just something there, ya know? Now listen; I have a little game for her to play, and it's incredibly simple. All she needs to do is stay put, not change her schedule, and wait for me to meet her again! Simple enough, right? But the consequences for not playing along are dire for not only her, but also my little friend Scotty. Ya see, Scotty has a little, itsy-bitsy bomb strapped to his chair. In three days, if I can't find her, she's locked up at a hubby's place, or she tries to run, little Scotty will turn into confetti! But if she plays along, Scotty boy can go home to his parents! It's simple enough. So, wherever you are, the life of this young, frightened boy is in your hands. Ready to play, dollface? I'll see you soon," He giggled, his voice suddenly dropping down, "then our real games can begin." He smirked at the camera, then belted out his signature cackle before cutting off transmission.
There was monetary static before the newscaster popped back onto the screen with the same astonished face everyone in the room had. "Well, um, that was certainly unlike anything we've ever seen here at Channel 6 News! That is all from Channel 6, report back later at 7pm to hear the details of this shocking story as they occur!"
Rachel abruptly shut off the television and rushed over to hug me again, which I returned. We were both shaking in fear at the Joker's proposition and random newscast.
"What could he possibly want with her?" Harvey questioned in anger, starting to pace.
"I don't know, but whatever the sick bastard wants, he isn't getting it!" Bruce was seething in anger. "I will not let him hurt you, do you hear me?"
"But what about that little boy?" I asked. "I don't want him to try kidnapping me, but if I didn't agree to the conditions of his 'game' and let that boy get blown up, I would never be able to live with myself!" I cried, feeling hopeless.
"No, we won't let him hurt you or that little boy! I know Gordon will help us. We'll figure this out!" Harvey said, continuing to pace.
"Until we do, I want you to stay with me," Bruce said, "I have the best security system in all of Gotham, and I'll be there to protect you if he tries to get you."
"What could he possibly want from me? I'm just a lawyer-"
"But you're a lawyer with more convictions than Dent. Hell, you convicted Sal Maroni and his gang! If he doesn't already know that, which he might with his uncanny way of finding out information about people, then that will definitely not work out in your favor. You have a lot of power in the legal field; he probably sees you as his possible golden ticket to get to the thugs in prison, or committing some sort of crime he can't commit by himself. Besides, the fact that he's seemingly smitten with you doesn't help matters either." Rachel said.
"All I know is I can't let that boy die, but I don't know what else to do besides go with him! I just want to get checked out of this hospital and go home…."
We all left my hospital room and I checked myself out, quickly going to my apartment to gather some stuff to bring to Bruce's. The others waited in my living room while I went through my bathroom and bedroom, bringing what I thought was necessary. Before I left, I saw what looked like a note on my nightstand. I quickly picked it up and opened it, scanning it to see who it was from. The handwriting was sporadic and sloppy, and I saw a sloppy J at the bottom, so I knew it was from the Joker.
How could he have gotten into my apartment? How does he know anything about me?
My heart raced as I read the note:
Hello there, sweetcheeks!
I bet you're probably wondering how I got into your humble abode, right? Or how I even knew your name? Well, this may sound surprising to you, but I actually follow up on legal proceedings in this city. I kinda need to make sure all of my go-to guys aren't getting locked up, ya know? That's how I knew your name; once my friend Sal Maroni got locked up, I had a feeling you'd be trouble for me! I just have to say, you're a lot less feisty in person than you are in court. It's kinda disappointing, Miss Alford! But nevertheless, I found out your name from that proceeding and others, which gave me a whole myriad of information. Social media sure is a wonderful thing! I could track your likes and dislikes, your hobbies, even where you live! This made getting to you a LOT easier. Now, I really hope you play along in my little game. You "seeking justice" types are always the kinds of people to put other peoples' lives before their own, right? Scotty and I sure hope I assumed correctly! I hope you enjoyed my newscast; I put a lot of effort into it. It sure is hard to get in touch with you when I don't even have your phone number! But regardless, I hope you're ready for me! I can't wait to see ya again toots!
Until next time…
J
Oh, and by the way, I know your friends too, so don't think you'll be safe if you go there. Even though that's one of my no-no's! I hope you do a good job of following my rules, or you'll see me when I'm angry; and NO ONE likes me when I'm angry. Ta-ta!
As soon as I stopped reading, I dropped the note and grabbed my stuff, running to my friends then straight out the door. They all ran after me, but I immediately ran to the car and shut myself inside. Bruce, Harvey and Rachel gave each other confused glances before Bruce came to the car, and Harvey and Rachel went to theirs.
"What happened in there? Are you okay?" Bruce asked as soon as he got into the car.
"He left me a note….Just, just drive Bruce. I'll tell you about it once we get to your house and I can truly feel safe." I murmured, gripping Bruce's hand tight.
He opened his mouth to ask more, but the terrified look on my face made him hold his tongue and start driving up to his house.
Hopefully I'll actually be safe with Bruce, and not as vulnerable as I have been….