Chapter Five

Samantha finished telling her story to the detective and waited. She had driven directly to police headquarters and asked to speak to someone immediately, saying she had information on the Joker. Samantha was set up with Detective Stephens.

She had left out one thing though, that she had known the Joker in high school. Samantha knew there were some dirty cops in the system.

If she told the cops and if one of them worked for the Joker; she didn't want to think of what he'd do to her. She wasn't so sure Detective Stephens was legit or not. He had listened to her with his arms crossed and a doubtful look on his face the entire time she spoke.

"How do we know that you're not with the Joker? How do we know this is not some elaborate scheme?" the detective, Stephens, asked her in a hostile manner.

Samantha stared at him, slack-jawed. "You've got to be joking!" she blurted.

"I'm sorry Miss Reads, but with the Joker we have to take these precautions."

Samantha put a hand to her forehead and massaged her temple, closing her eyes as she sighed.

"And you should be. The Joker…he's not like past criminal masterminds; he's the top guy now. Jack the Ripper, Al Capone, the BTK Killer, they're nothing compared to him. Don't take him to be just a wack job," Samantha warned.

Stephens eyed Samantha skeptically. He wasn't taking her seriously, she could plainly see that.

"Sure ma'am, leave us you're name, number, and all that jazz, and we'll contact you if we have anymore questions."

Samantha was still a few seconds, not believing what she had heard. She slowly stood up from her metal chair and left the building after giving them her number and other information.

She shook her head angrily as she made her way to the van. Samantha stared at it and suddenly kicked its front tire in frustration. She regretted the decision when her foot received a sharp stab of pain from the impact.

Samantha headed for the street to catch a cab, leaving the van for the cops to analyze. She slid into a taxi and gave him her address. She couldn't stop glaring the entire ride to her apartment. Samantha paid the driver and got out, storming up the steps of her apartment complex.

….

"How could he do that? He's a detective! He should be investigating!" Samantha exclaimed as she flopped onto her sofa.

She saw her radio remote on the small coffee table in front of her and snatched it up, flipping her radio on. Samantha stretched herself out on the sofa and yawned. Pure exhaustion was setting in on her and soon her eyelids grew heavy.

The melody and lyrics of 'Sway' began to play on the radio.

"When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more."

"Would you like to dance, Samantha?"

Samantha's eyes flew open and she sat upright.

The Joker stood at the end of the sofa. Samantha was frozen in place as he cackled. She bolted up, only to be pinned down to the wooden floor.

"So you thought you could run?"

He pulled out a switchblade, stained with blood.

"Big mistake."

The Joker licked his lips and slashed at Samantha's cheek, drawing blood. He began to snicker as the blood dripped to the floor.

Samantha slugged him in the gut. The Joker let out a grunt and collapsed to his side. She darted to the kitchen where the kitchen knives and the phone were.

The Joker growled as he appeared out of nowhere and body slammed Samantha into the counter. She rebounded off the counter and fell to the floor, hitting her head.

The impact left her disoriented. The Joker grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned Samantha against the counter. He flipped his knife once, twice, and held it in front of her face.

"I really do not appreciate it when someone runs from me…they always get hurt." He put the knife to her throat and licked his lips. "Such a waste Samantha…Esmeralda." The Joker grinned down at her.

Samantha tried to scream but her throat was knotted up.

"You see, this is what happens to the people who squeal on me," he said and laughed and laughed and laughed.

...….…

Samantha woke up from the nightmare with a cry and lay there, gasping for breath.

She put a hand to her cheek. No cut.

Samantha looked around the apartment to find no one inside but herself. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Samantha looked down and saw she was still wearing the clown boy's clothes, so she hurried to her bedroom, showered, and slipped into a white tank top and blue striped bottoms.

She threw herself onto her bed and grabbed the phone off of her nightstand. She dialed two old friends' numbers, Alice Fredricks and Harleen Quinzel.

When she answered the phone, Alice nearly blew out Samantha's eardrums with her squeals and questions. She had heard about Samantha's disappearance and had been worried sick about her. Harleen Quinzel had also heard about it.

The two women insisted on coming over to her apartment immediately and sleep over for the night. Samantha had no say in the matter.

She sat on her sofa, waiting for them to arrive and realized she would have to lie to her friends. She'd have to 'edit' her story and leave out everything that linked with 'Allan'. It was best this way. If Harleen and Alice didn't know, then they'd be safe.

When the doorbell rang, Samantha opened the door and was almost knocked off her feet by Harleen when she launched herself at Samantha. She wrapped Samantha in a death hold of a hug and squeezed.

"I'm so glad you're alright! What the heck were ya thinking when you jumped on the bus?"

"Harley, I can't breathe!"

"Oops. Sorry."

Harley let go and moved aside to give Alice her turn for a gentler hug.

It wasn't long before they both started asking to her what had happened. Samantha told them her edited version of the story and what had happened at police headquarters with Detective Stephens.

Harley and Alice both frowned.

"You're kidding, right? He just blew you off like you had never even been a hostage for almost five days?" Harley asked.

"I don't think he's even going to make sure if the Joker's hideout is investigated or not."

"That's just wrong!" Alice cried.

"That's Gotham for you," Samantha told her.

That was one of the things about Alice that Samantha loved. By some miracle, Alice had still kept a certain amount of innocence while a good ninety-nine percent of the city's population had lost all of it by the age of five.

Gotham had given up on its police and any efforts of cleaning the city, until about a year ago. Some man who dressed as a bat and called himself Batman had taken matters into his own hands and began to change everything.

People were starting to believe in things again. Crime had actually gone down slightly, not much but it was noticeable. But with Batman came others who were not for the good of the city.

Jonathan Crane, former psychiatrist in Arkham, had gone rouge and was part of a plot to tear Gotham apart on a night the citizens of Gotham called "Fright Night."

Chemicals that Crane created to make people hallucinate their greatest fears had been released all throughout the Narrows, the worst part of Gotham, and near Arkham, who went through a break out of all of their patients. They too were exposed to the chemicals and all Hell broke loose.

Jonathan Crane had created a new persona for himself and wore a mask that resembled a potato sack. He called himself, Scarecrow.

Batman had put a stop to the nightmare before it had spread throughout the entire city.

Scarecrow had escaped but now there was another psycho Batman and Gotham had to deal with. And Samantha had spent five days with him.

Also, out of the crumbling city came their new district attorney, the handsome Harvey Dent, otherwise known as Gotham's White Knight. He was a whirlwind of plans to clean up the city and so far, he was having some success.

Harley and Alice tried their best to get Samantha's mind off of what she had gone through. They laughed and joked together just like they use to in high school. By the end of the night, Samantha had almost forgotten it had even happened.

"Thank you both," she managed to say before falling asleep on the sofa.

Alice and Harleen gathered some cushions from the couch, some pillows, and blankets and placed them on the floor.

"Why would the Joker keep her alive? She never told us why he didn't cut her throat like he had intended to do to her," Alice whispered to Harleen while Samantha was sleeping.

"Samantha's a beautiful girl; maybe the Joker liked what he saw?" Harleen offered with a smile and gave a long yawn.

"I hate what she's gone through," Alice said.

"Yeah, it's horrible, but it's just like her to go and try to stop a criminal all by herself."

"But Samantha's so strong willed, I'm shocked he didn't turn himself in to be arrested," Alice giggled.

Harleen snickered and soon the two of them fell asleep. They never saw Samantha tossing and turning in her sleep.

…..…..

It was the next morning when Samantha was woken up by the smell of food.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and raised her head. She stretched as she inhaled deeply.

"I smell bacon," she called out.

"You smell correct," Alice answered from the kitchen.

Samantha got up and found Alice and Harleen were at the oven cooking breakfast.

"Mmmh, it smells good enough to eat."

"I'm glad."

The phone rang and Samantha went to answer it in her bedroom so she wouldn't get in her friend's way in the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Samantha Reads?" a male voice asked.

"Yes."

"Samantha? This is Bruce Wayne."

Samantha's brow furrowed. "Bruce Wayne? Gosh, it's been a long time."

"I know, and that's why I'm feeling kinda awkward about calling to ask you to come over to my place tonight. I'm hosting a fundraising party for Harvey Dent."

"Uh…I-."

"You don't have to, but I'd really like to catch up with you. I heard about that bank robbery and how you had been there and kidnapped by that Joker guy. I wanted to check up on you," he said sincerely.

Samantha hesitated.

As believable as he sounded, Bruce Wayne also had a reputation for being a playboy and careless. The burning of Wayne Manor only increased the rumors that he was nothing but a stuck up, drunk, irresponsible man. But she didn't want to be rude.

"I'll think about it."

"You do that. It's at eight and it's formal wear; feel free to arrive anytime though. Bye."

Samantha got off the phone, feeling a little confused. She left the room and went back into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Alice asked.

"Boy Billionaire Bruce Wayne."

"Bruce Wayne?" Harleen squealed.

Samantha nodded.

"Yep, he called to check on me when he heard about the bank robbery and how I was missing."

"After all these years?" Alice asked.

"I know, it's strange, huh? We hardly even spoke in high school. The number of times that we did speak to each other would barely make two conversations," Samantha admitted to them.

"Hmmm…Interesting," Harleen said and put a hand on her chin, pretending to think hard. "Maybe he finally realized that you're the woman he was meant to be with?" she offered with a grin.

"Harley, you have an internship in psychiatry; can't you think of something better than that?" Samantha laughed.

Harleen shrugged and helped Alice put food on their plates.

"Did Bruce say anything else?" Alice asked.

"He invited me to a formal fundraising party at his place for Harvey Dent."

"Hurry up and eat!" Harleen nearly yelled. "Because me and Alice are taking you shopping for a dress!"

…

The Joker and his men were still at the warehouse while he had sent Red and Jamal out to scout for a new place. For now, his mind was on something else.

The Joker had gone to the room he had kept Samantha in and decided to investigate how she got free.

The room was completely empty…except for the tiny, thin stick of metal he saw on the floor near the door.

He crouched down and picked up a hairpin between his thumb and middle finger.

"Soo, this is how you got out, huh?"

He bit the inside of his check and snickered.

"Note to self: Check for hairpins next time."

There was the sound of a cell phone going off in the Joker's pocket. He looked smug as he brought the disposable phone into view. The Joker cleared his throat and pressed the button to talk, placing the phone next to his ear.

"Helloooo?" he greeted.

The smug look on his face increased as he heard the voice on the other end.

"Joker man?" a Russian accent asked.

"Speaking," the Joker replied with overly fake politeness.

He heard Chechen sigh before the man continued.

"I want Batman gone. He is problem, like you said. He bring back Lau from Hong Kong and gave him to the police."

That really didn't shock the Joker. He knew it would happen, he even told them it would happen, but did they listen? Noooooooooo. Apparently, no one took a guy wearing clown make up and a purple suit, seriously.

"We need Lau back. Find a way to get him to us."

"Who is 'us' exactly?"

"Maroni and Me."

"Oh? No Gambol?" the Joker asked with mock curiosity.

"…I know what you do to Gambol and his men. Why? Because he insulted you?"

"I tend to kill the one's who put a price on my head and present-ah a problem."

There was the sound of a voice in the background.

"Sir, your table's ready."

He heard Chechen say he'd be on his way and speak into the phone again.

"Can you handle this?"

"Of course. Now, about my pay? I still hold to what I asked for."

"No; too much."

"It's either half or no deal."

"Fine, Joker man, half. Now get to work."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Chechen muttered something Russian and hung up.

The Joker dropped the phone into his pocket and returned his attention back to the hairpin. He heard footsteps approaching and stood to his feet when the person appeared.

"It's the schizo boy," the Joker thought.

The schizophrenic's name was Thomas Schiff. He was a shifty, brown-eyed guy with a head full of thick, black hair. He always looked like he was shivering or expected something to jump out at him any second.

He stood in the door way, nervously fidgeting as usual. His eyes darted all over the floor, occasionally peeking up to make eye contact.

"Th, there's something on GCN about that Lau guy and Batman," he sputtered.

The Joker moved past Thomas and could hear the sound of Harvey Dent talking to reporters.

"Well, I don't know about Mr. Lau's travel arrangements, but I'm sure glad he's back."

The Joker's men were gathered a crummy little T.V., listening in. He spotted an empty chair and turned it around to where he could straddle it.

The Joker rested his arms on the top of the chair and leaned on them, all the while keeping his eyes on the screen.

Harvey Dent, the one who promised to clean up Gotham's streets and so far, he seemed to be trying his hardest to do just that.

A reporter asked if it was true that Lau had been brought back by Batman. The Joker's ears perked up. He couldn't wait to hear the answer to this one.

"I'm not aware of any participation by the Batman at this time-,"

The Joker burst out laughing, nearly falling off of his chair.

"He's lying! He knows all about it, you can tell just by looking at him. Go on, Dent, lie! Lie your face off to the public!"

The sound of his cell phone going off again made him stop laughing. He pulled out the phone and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Boss, you wouldn't guess what me and Jamal just saw while we were out looking for a new place."

"What?"

"Maroni, Chechen, and all of their members, were being hauled out of a restaurant by Lieutenant Gordon and the police."

"Maroni arrested?"

The Joker couldn't help but grin.

"Jamal says he saw the same thing happening to some other mobsters. I think Lau might have ratted them out."

"You'd be right, but they need the squealer to testify in open court, knowing Dent, he'll try to get that fast, so we don't have much time…You wouldn't happen to know who Maroni and Chechen's judge is going to be?"

"Not yet."

"Find out. I've got something that needs to be done."

"Right Boss."

…...….

When Samantha, Alice, and Harleen returned to the apartment, it was in the middle of the afternoon.

"Sammy, you're going to look stunning in that dress," Harley remarked.

"Thanks Harley, hey, do you guys want to watch a movie and have some lunch?"

Alice felt her stomach growl.

"I believe something is telling me to say 'yes.'"

She and Harleen went to the kitchen to grab some food, while Samantha waited for them in the living room.

She turned on the T.V. to find the news on. What she saw was a gruesome sight that made her stomach turn.

A crowd of people was gathered around a team of police and paramedics as a man dressed in a Batman suit and a rope around his neck, was lowered down to the street from where he dangled out the window of City Hall.

A question was splashed across the bottom of the screen: Batman Dead?

"Sammy, what are you watching?" Harleen called out from the kitchen.

Samantha didn't answer; her eyes were fixated to the words on the joker card pinned to the dead man's chest.

WILL THE REAL BATMAN PLEASE STAND UP?

The image changed from the body to GCN anchor man, Mike Engle.

"Police released video footage found concealed on the body. Sensitive viewers, be aware. The image is disturbing," he warned.

Samantha wasn't prepared for what happened next.

The image changed once again, this time to a man tied to a metal chair, dressed in a Batman costume he had clearly put together himself.

He was in a meat locker, surrounded by raw and bloody meat hanging on the sinister metal hooks from the ceiling. The white paint was peeling from the dirty walls of the room.

At that moment, Harleen and Alice arrived with their drinks and popcorn.

"Are you watching the movie without us?" Harleen asked with a smile. She looked at the T.V. and froze. Her smile faded as all three women watched the screen.

The Joker's voice came on.

"Tell them your name," he said as if he were encouraging a shy child to speak.

"Brian Douglas," the man stuttered.

The Joker snickered and the camera jiggled; apparently he was holding the camera.

"Are you the real Batman?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

The Joker laughed some more as he tore off Brian's mask, revealing a scared, chubby man underneath.

"Then why do you dress up like him?"

He wiggled the mask in front of the camera lens.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" he laughed.

"H, he's a symbol, that we don't have to be afraid of scum like you," Brian said, trying to sound brave but failing.

"Yeah, you do, Brian."

The Joker grabbed Brian by the back of his head's hair and jerked his head back.

"You really do! Huh? Yeah!"

Brian began to whimper and the Joker patted his fat cheeks.

"Oh, sh, sh, sh, sh, sh!"

He slapped both sides of Brian's face.

"So, you think, Batman's made Gotham a better place? Hm?"

Brian gave what sounded like a very weak 'yes'.

"Look at me…"

Brian continued to stare down at the floor; his whole body quivering with fear. Samantha's heart went out to him.

"LOOK AT ME!" the Joker roared, his voice suddenly shifting from high to a deep demonic tone.

Samantha's heart stopped at the sudden change. This was a completely different side from the Joker she had seen during her stay with him.

Brian slowly looked up, his face terrified.

The camera turned from Brian to the Joker's face.

"You see, this is how craaazy Batman's made Gotham. Youwant order in Gotham? Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in-ah." The Joker licked his lips. "Oh, and everyday he doesn't, people will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my wooord."

He let out a string of insane laughs as the camera began to move around and he ran at Brian.

"No!" Brian screamed in terror.

The Joker continued to laugh in a way that made Samantha want to cover her ears to shut out the sound.

It sounded so disturbing, so different from the laughs he had given when he was around her.

The footage was cut and Harleen, Alice, and Samantha were frozen and silent.

Samantha was the first to move when she put her head in her hands and gave a shaky sigh.

"Oh my…" Alice breathed.

Harleen was still staring at the screen. "What kind of a mind thinks of these things?" she asked.

"A sick mind," Samantha mumbled into her hands.

"Maybe…."

"What!"

Samantha turned quickly to face Harley, a fire burning in her green eyes. Harleen jumped at the tone of her voice and looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I, I, I didn't mean it like that, Sammy!"

"Then what did you mean?"

"I don't know it just came out wrong."

Alice put a hand on Samantha's shoulder. "Calm down, Samantha."

Alice had a point. Samantha took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I'm sorry, Harley."

"It's okay."

After things had cooled down, Alice, Harleen, and Samantha soon returned to their plan of watching a movie and helping Samantha get ready for the party. The whole time though, the Joker's video was on their minds.

"I wonder if he chooses his victims?" Harleen asked herself out loud.

"He might have stumbled onto that poor man like he stumbled on me."

"If I remember correctly, you stumbled on him, 'Miss Jump on the Bus,'" Alice joked.

Samantha smiled as she ran her brush through her hair.

Harley gave a sigh.

"What is it?" Samantha asked.

"Well…it's just that… the Joker seems kinda familiar to me. I just can't place how he is. It's driving me crazy," she answered.

Samantha gave a scoff.

"You don't know 'crazy' until you've been with him for ten minutes," she said as she began to fix her hair with Alice's help.

Samantha silently prayed that Harleen wouldn't figure out that the Joker was Allan Jordan.

Harleen shrugged and faced her.

"So, why don't you tell us again about how you got away? I love the part about you smashing a guy's face in with the end of a gun," she said.

Samantha whooped with laughter. "Alright," she said.

(Alright people; you know the routine. I update, you review. I pulled my half, now it's time for you to do your part. The Joker would be disappointed if I didn't receive any. We wouldn't want that, now would we? … Nah, I didn't think so.)