(Okay, okay, I admit it! I got lazy and took a short break on updating. But, I'm updating it now. The Joker wasn't very happy that I was taking a break and decided to sing the entire time I didn't work on the story. *turns to Joker who is still singing* "I know you're singing off-key on purpose! No one can really be THAT horrible!")

Chapter Six

At 9:00pm, Samantha got out of her taxi and looked up at the enormous building in front of her. The purple, silken, material of her dress fluttered slightly in the breeze and she shivered since it was sleeveless.

She checked her wristwatch and sighed.

"Now or never."

Samantha went into the building and took the elevator all the way to the top.

When the doors opened and she saw the crowd of well-dressed people in the large, lavish room, she almost turned around and left.

"What was I thinking? ...You were thinking that you don't get out much. Plus, it's for Harvey Dent and he actually does his job."

Reluctantly, Samantha stepped out of the elevator before the doors closed and stood frozen. She didn't know a single person in the room! What was she supposed to do?

"I need a drink…"

Samantha headed over to the refreshments at the center of the room.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself before she took a sip of water.

"You're taking a drink," a man's voice informed her.

Samantha turned to her right and was surprised to see Harvey Dent standing beside to her.

"Harvey Dent?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I don't you," he said as he shook her hand.

He was just as handsome in person as he was on the news and newspapers. He was the image of an American hero; blond hair, friendly blue eyes, five foot eleven, slightly muscular. The look was complete with the classic cleft chin!

"Samantha Reads," she answered.

Harvey's brow wrinkled at the mention of her name and then raised his eyebrows.

"Aren't you the one who was kidnapped by the Joker?" he asked.

"That's me," Samantha said unexcitedly.

"It's really nice to meet you. I can't even begin to imagine what you went through."

"Well, it's really great to have you as our district attorney," Samantha complimented, trying to steer the conversation away from herself.

"Thank you very much."

Harvey looked around nervously.

Samantha chuckled softly. "You look like you expect the mob to jump out at you any minute."

Harvey's eyes smiled at her.

"I'm just more scared of these people; the trust fund," he replied.

"Are you really?" Samantha laughed.

Harvey chuckled. "Sounds ridiculous, I know," he said.

He took a sip from his drink and looked over her shoulder. Harvey spotted someone and grinned.

Yep. He even had the classic American Hero grin.

Harvey turned his attention back to Samantha. "Excuse me," he said and walked past Samantha to a woman with dark brown hair and a dark green dress. Samantha guessed her to be Rachel Dawes, his assistant and girlfriend.

An uncomfortable feeling of being invisible crept over Samantha. Where was Bruce Wayne?

Samantha heard a whirring noise and looked out the windows to see a helicopter landing on a helipad above the terrace. A few seconds later, the Prince of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, stepped out of the helicopter with three young women in short, colorful, cocktail dresses.

"Hm. Looks like the rumors are true."

The billionaire and the women entered the building, all smiles, and the crowd parted for them.

"Sorry that I'm late. I'm glad to see that you all got started without me," Bruce said.

He separated from the women and stood in the middle of the room.

"Now, where is Harvey? Where -?"

He spotted Harvey among the crowd.

"Harvey Dent, the man of the hour. Where's Rachel Dawes?"

The crowd parted to reveal Rachel Dawes.

Samantha thought she did not look too happy. Rachel had her arms crossed and a suspicious look on her face.

"She is my oldest friend. Come here."

Rachel began to walk to Bruce, arms still crossed. Dent's eyes shined as he looked at Rachel.

"You know, when Rachel first told me that she was dating Harvey Dent, I had one thing to say: The guy from those awful campaign commercials?"

Samantha giggled as the rest of the crowd laughed. Harvey grinned and scuffed the floor with the toe of his polished shoe, bashfully.

"'I believe in Harvey Dent'. Yeah, nice slogan, Harvey." Bruce gave him a thumb up and then gestured to Rachel. "But it caught Rachel's attention. And then I started to pay attention to Harvey…and all that he's been doing as our new D.A. and you know what? I believe in Harvey Dent.

"I believe that on his watch, Gotham can feel a little safer, a little more…optimistic. Look at this face; this is the face of Gotham's bright future."

Bruce waved his hand at Dent. "To Harvey Dent, let's hear it for him."

Everyone began to applaud for Dent.

"Huh; I'll give him one thing, the rich playboy can give a speech," Samantha thought.

She glanced over at Rachel, expecting to see her smiling but nstead caught the woman with her eyes narrowed at Bruce. She wondered why Rachel was being so hostile to him if she was his oldest friend.

Bruce looked Samantha's way and she waved to get his attention. He saw her and smiled as he came to her.

"Wow…Samantha Reads," he said with surprise as he stared at her. "You look … really …wow. You've changed. You look amazing."

"Did I not look good in high school?" Samantha asked.

An old man came around carrying a tray of drinks. Bruce took two glasses off.

"Thanks, Alfred," he said.

Alfred smiled and walked away. Bruce turned his attention back to Samantha as he handed her a drink.

"It's not that you didn't look good back then; it's just that you were cute and now you look like a model I should be dating."

Samantha blushed.

"You look great too, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce raised his eyebrows at her. "Did you just blush?" he teased.

She laughed a little nervously.

Bruce really did look good. Just as Harvey Dent looked the very image of an American hero, Bruce was the very picture of tall, dark, and handsome.

His hair was a very deep shade of brown, almost to the point of being black. It was slicked back and made him look dashing. His eyes were brown and when he had greeted Samantha, they seemed to be hiding a double meaning to the reason he had invited her to the party. Samantha judged his height to be about six foot three.

"Taller than the Joker," she couldn't help but think.

"So, I heard about you and the bank robbery and how you were there. If you wouldn't mind staying after the party, I'd like to talk about it?" Bruce asked her.

"It's not something I'd usually tell at a party, but…" Samantha slowly nodded. "I guess so," she answered.

Bruce smiled. "Great."

He looked around, his brown eyes taking it all in, and sighed. "I'll talk to you later, okay? I have a lot of other guests I have to shake hands with."

"Alright."

Bruce leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Samantha looked at him with surprise. He winked and walked away.

"It's a good thing Alice and Harley weren't here," she thought to herself. "Their jaws would have come unhinged."

Samantha glanced over her shoulder to see Harvey Dent a few feet away. His gaze met hers for a moment and he waved. Samantha waved back before he looked at someone else.

A few minutes later, she saw Bruce standing out on the terrace with his back to the crowd. Rachel Dawes made her way to the glass doors and opened one. She stepped outside, walking determinedly towards Bruce, an angry expression on her face. Bruce turned to face her and they stood with their profiles in view.

Samantha couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was obvious they were arguing. Dent soon went out to join them and left with Rachel holding his hand. Harvey took her to a corner with few people around and began to talk to her.

Samantha caught herself straining to overhear them and stopped. "Nosey," she scolded herself.

So she wouldn't be tempted at eavesdropping again, Samantha walked over to the refreshment table and helped herself to some grapes.

Samantha noticed Alfred go to the elevator and press the button. Right as the doors opened, a man came up behind her, offering a drink. Samantha politely refused, seeing he was slightly drunk.

"We made it," a familiar voice said. A voice Samantha had never wanted to hear again. A gunshot went off and she whirled around.

"Goood evening ladies and gentlemen," a husky, alto voice greeted.

The Joker was walking out of the elevator with a shotgun, the bank manager's shotgun, and a group of men in clown masks.

Samantha was so shocked at seeing him that she backed into a metal tray, knocking it to the floor and causing a terrible racket.

She ducked when the Joker cast a quick backward glance in the direction the noise came from.

"We are tonight's entertainment," he announced and bit into a shrimp he seized from a table.

He looked around at the crowd of people as his thugs aimed their guns at them.

"I only have one question…," he chewed on the shrimp, "where is Harvey Dent?"

He began to saunter up to the crowd and aim the shotgun at them. The Joker snatched a young woman's drink, spilling most of it on the floor, and not even caring.

The woman made no protest as he tipped his head back and downed what was left. The Joker slammed the glass on a table and looked at the people, carelessly pointing his gun barrel at them.

"Do you know where he is? Do you know who he is?" he asked them.

He moved on to someone else, grabbing a man by the jaw.

"Do you know where I can find Harvey? I need to talk to him about something, just something little, huh?"

He put his hand on the top of the man's baldhead and moved it around for a bit. The man remained quiet.

"No," the Joker said irritably.

Samantha tried to hide herself among the crowd as the Joker kept getting closer to where she was standing.

The Joker stood in front of an older man and swiped a piece of shrimp off his plate. "You know, I'll settle for his loved ones." He stuffed the food into his mouth and stared at the man, waiting.

"We're not intimidated by your thugs," the older man said.

The Joker paused, still chewing on the shrimp. He looked at the man with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Oh no…," Samantha murmured.

"You know…," the Joker put the shotgun down on a table and reached into his pocket, "You remind me of my father."

The man didn't know what to say to that.

Suddenly the Joker pulled out a knife, grabbed the man's head and put the knife close to his face.

"I hated my father," the Joker growled.

"Okay, stop," a woman's voice ordered.

Samantha snapped her head around to see that Rachel Dawes had stepped out of the crowd and was glaring at the Joker.

He slowly turned his head to look at her, eyebrows raised.

"Well hello beautiful," he said with surprise.

He left the old man alone and strutted towards her. He swept his faded, green hair back, an attempt to look presentable. The Joker pointed the knife at Rachel as he walked.

"You must be Harvey's squeeze…hm? And you are beautiful."

The Joker stood very close and began to circle Rachel like a predator. She cringed a bit as he walked behind her.

The Joker stopped in front of Rachel, seeing the look of unease on her face.

"Well ya look nervous, is it the scars?" he gave a leering grin as he leaned in. "Wanna know how I got them?" he asked.

The Joker reached for Rachel's face. "Come here."

Rachel refused to look at him and kept flicking her head around to try avoiding his grasp. He finally wrapped a gloved hand around her face.

"Hey…look at me."

She looked at him with surprising lack of hesitancy.

"So I had a wife, she was beautiful, like you, who tells me… I worry too much, who tells me I outta smile more…who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks."

Rachel looked away.

"Hey."

He made her look at him again.

"One day they carve her face. And we have no money for surgery, she can't take it…I just want to see her smile again…hm? I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars…Sooo," he pointed to his face, "I stick a razor in my mouth and do this-," he turned his face from side to side to display the torn flesh and licked his lips, "to myself. And you know what?"

His voice shook as he spoke. "She can't stand the sight of me! She leeeaves. Now I see the funny side…," he swung out the arm holding the knife into the air and away from Rachel, "now I'm always smiling," he said and grinned.

Rachel took the opportunity and kneed him in the groin. The Joker bent over and groaned while laughing.

"Oh, ha ha ha! A little fight in you."

He straightened up and began to walk towards her. "I like that."

"Then you're gonna love me," a gravelly voice said.

"Hm?" the Joker managed to say before Batman appeared out of nowhere and gave him a blow to the face.

The Joker staggered back as Batman began to fight his thugs. He stared at the Batman for a moment before running over to one of his clowns and grabbing him by the arm. The Joker waited until Batman was running out of men before he shoved the goon into the fight.

Fortunately, the Joker did Samantha's group a favor by removing the person that had been watching her group. It gave them a chance to call 911.

She turned to the man beside her.

"Do you have a cell phone?" she asked.

The man nodded, his eyes flicking from her to the fight before them.

"Call the cops," she said quickly.

When he hesitated, Samantha's frustration welled up.

"Now!" she snapped.

He flinched and hurriedly dug out his phone. Samantha watched as he dialed the number and kept an eye on the fight. The man delivered a brief message and hung up.

"Now what?" he stuttered.

"We wait… and pray."

Out of the corner of her eye, Samantha detected movement. "… Did the man just cross himself?"

The Joker tapped his right foot on the floor and a blade sprung from the front of his shoe. He kicked upward and the blade slid between the plates of Batman's body armor.

Batman sent the Joker sprawling to the floor on his hands and knees. While he was down, Batman busied himself with the remaining thugs until they were no longer an immediate threat.

When Batman tried to locate the Joker again, he was nowhere to be seen. Batman looked up at Samantha's group, searching for the Joker.

Samantha saw his eyes lock with hers and she pointed behind him. He turned to see the Joker with a gun pressed to Rachel's head and his arm wrapped around her neck.

"Drop the gun," Batman ordered.

"Oh, sure. You just take off your little mask and show us aaall who you really are, hm?" the Joker chuckled.

Rachel shook her head: No!

Without turning, the Joker aimed the gun behind himself and shot the window. Rachel flinched. He dragged her to the window and held her out over the open nothingness with his hand around Rachel's arm being the only thing that kept her from falling.

"Let her go," Batman demanded.

Samantha winced.

The Joker furrowed his brow and voiced Samantha's thoughts.

"Very poor choice of words."

He cackled as he released Rachel. Rachel let out a terrified scream as she plummeted down.

The Joker moved aside as Batman dived out the window after Rachel Dawes. As soon as he had vanished from sight, the Joker turned, still laughing. He froze when he saw Samantha among the crowd. He barred his yellowed teeth and gave her a murderous glare.

Samantha sprinted to the elevator, which had been left unguarded since Batman had distracted the Joker and his men.

She got inside and pressed the button for the main floor. Samantha knew that the Joker would follow her and that's exactly what she wanted.

She would lure him away from the partygoers so he couldn't harm anyone else.

"Take the stairs!" the Joker shouted to his thugs.

He leaped into the elevator just as the doors were closing. The Joker landed on the floor, looking up at Samantha. He immediately stood, glaring, and swung her against the wall.

"Samantha, what exactly did you think you were doing?" he hissed.

"I believe I was alerting the police where an insane, psychopathic, killer was hiding out."

"Do you know how close I am to slitting your throat?"

Samantha rolled her eyes.

That ticked him off.

The Joker shoved her against the wall again, making her wince. When she opened her eyes, she saw him holding a knife to her throat.

"This close," he growled. His other hand grasped Samantha's shoulder, keeping her from moving. "I'm warning you, Samantha, don't ever do that again, because if you do…I will kill you. I'm a man of my word." He licked his lips and grinned.

Samantha involuntarily shivered. The Joker saw this and grinned even bigger. The elevator doors opened with a 'ding' and he hopped out.

"By the way, I like the dress. It's a great color for you." He adjusted his purple suit's jacket. "I should know."

He laughed and waved at her. "Bye Samantha!"

The elevator doors closed on his retreating figure. Samantha backed up against the wall and she slide to the floor. She drew her knees to her chest and stared ahead.

"He let me go."

She couldn't believe it. This had to be some kind of a sick joke. Any second he would come back and take her, but he never did.

Samantha stood to her feet after a few minutes and breathed in deeply. She pressed the button to Bruce's penthouse.

…...….

Samantha stepped out of the elevator and was immediately surrounded by people wanting to know what had happened and why she was still alive. All Samantha wanted to know was if Rachel Dawes and Batman were safe.

Someone told her that Batman had grabbed Rachel in time and used his cape to slow their fall and land on the hood of a car. Both were alive and unharmed…well…probably badly bruised.

Like the Joker, Samantha and everyone else had one question: Where was Harvey Dent?

Samantha had seen him seconds before the Joker appeared and then he vanished. Samantha also noticed that Bruce Wayne was missing too.

She made her way to the spot she had last seen Dent and glanced around. That's when she heard a thumping noise coming from inside of a closet. Samantha saw that the door was locked with a metal pole resting in the handles.

"Get me out of here!" a voice roared.

Samantha quickly pulled the pole out and opened the closet.

Harvey Dent tumbled out, his blond hair askew and his necktie crooked. He looked up at Samantha and gave a frustrated sigh.

"Hi," he deadpanned.

Samantha got over her shock and bent down to help Dent to his feet. "Who put you in here?"

"I don't know; I-," Dent began to sway and she led him to a stool at a bar. He put a hand to his head.

"One second I'm talking to Rachel, the next I feel an arm around my neck and I black out," he explained.

Dent's eyes widened. "Where's Rachel? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, just look at me for a second," Samantha said as she grabbed him by the chin and examined his eyes to make sure no damage had been done.

Harvey smiled a little. "What are you, some kind of a doctor?" he asked.

"Nurse actually," Samantha replied. She straightened up when she was sure he was fine and let out a chuckle. "Looks like it wasn't the trust fund you needed to worry about."

Harvey gave a half-hearted laugh and sighed.

Five minutes later, the police arrived along with an ambulance. Around that time, Bruce Wayne revealed himself and made his way towards Samantha.

"Were you hiding somewhere?" she asked him.

"Yes," was his only answer.

Bruce knitted his brows together as he looked at Samantha intently. "I heard that you used yourself as a distraction against the Joker. Care to elaborate?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I ran into the elevator and the Joker chased after me; I wanted to get him away from everyone," Samantha explained.

"Very brave of you."

"Thanks."

"Tell me about your time with him when you had been kidnapped."

Samantha bit her lip uncertainly and looked around them.

"Can we go outside?" she asked.

"Sure."

They went to the terrace. Samantha then told him about her encounter with the Joker at the bank robbery, excluding any parts related to high school.

Bruce put a hand to his chin.

"And you're still alive? That's surprising," he told her.

Samantha rested her elbows on the terrace railing as she gazed at the city.

"No one is more shocked than I am, Mr. Wayne."

"Oh, please, call me Bruce."

"Bruce," Samantha smiled.

"Do you think the Joker might show up around you again?"

"There's really no way to tell, but I think he might."

Samantha paused and continued to stare at the buildings. Her face suddenly broke into a grin.

"My cell phone! He took my cell phone!" she exclaimed.

Bruce lifted an eyebrow. "Who did?"

"The Joker! Can't it be tracked down?"

"It depends on the type of cell phone."

"It was the right kind, I know it was."

Samantha suddenly frowned and slapped her forehead.

"How could I be so stupid," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.

"I forgot all about the Joker taking my cell phone and didn't tell the police," Samantha explained.

"It's understandable, you've been through a lot," Bruce said in a gentle tone.

Samantha backed away from the railing, her mind reeling at the sudden realization that there was a chance to catch the Joker.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I have to tell the police."

Bruce nodded and walked her back inside the building.

"Thanks again, Bruce, for inviting me."

"Maybe we can meet up again sometime and …catch up? You know, without the Joker and Batman," Bruce suggested.

"Maybe; see ya soon."

Samantha hastily walked to the elevator.

Bruce watched her leave as Alfred stood beside him.

"Do you believe her, sir?" he asked.

Bruce sighed. "I really want to Alfred, and I feel like she's told me the truth but…I don't know. There's something she's not telling me. I feel like I haven't heard the whole story."

Alfred gave him a knowing look.

"Going to look more into it are we?"

Bruce mysteriously grinned.

…

Samantha sat in front of Detective Anna Ramirez, who was on the phone with her boss, Jim Gordon.

"Yes, she says she can help track him down…yes, sir…..yes, sir…..We'll call you when we have answers."

Ramirez slapped her phone shut and jerked her head at Samantha.

"Follow me."

Samantha leapt to her feet, feeling like an idiot. She was still in her party dress and looked out of place in the MCU. She had long since kicked off her high-heels and was now carrying them in her hand.

"Where are we going?" Samantha asked.

"To someone who can track your phone."

They went further into the building and finally stopped at a room filled with computers. A man lifted his face from his screen and smiled acknowledging at them. His smile turned to one of curious amusement when he saw what Samantha was wearing.

"Where's the party?" he joked.

"No time for joking, Spencer, we may have a lead on the Joker," Ramirez said.

Spencer immediately grew serious.

"What have you got?"

"A cell phone number. We need you to trace its location."

Spencer faced his computer, hands hovering over the keyboard.

"Hit me with it," Spencer said.

Samantha recited the digits from memory and watched as he entered them into the computer.

"Okay, we're getting something."

Ramirez took out her cell phone and dialed Gordon.

"We've got it. He's at the Alton Warehouse."

….

Gordon hung up and started directing his team to their cars and telling them where they needed to go.

While in the squad car, the image of Commissioner Loeb's death kept playing in his mind. He had died right in front of him. He had witnessed it.

Gordon shivered in the warmth of his jacket. It did him no good against the chill he felt in his veins.

They parked out front of Alton Warehouse and scrambled out of their cars. Gordon looked over his shoulder to check if his men were ready. He signaled them and they swarmed the building, spilling inside, guns at ready. He followed them in, muscles tense. Who knew what they would find in there?

They went through every room, checking and confirming if it was clear. With each answer, Gordon began to get more frustrated.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

What if this is…

"Clear!"

…a decoy?

"Clear!"

"Lieutenant Gordon! We've got something!"

His hopes rose slightly at the different answer and he hurried to the far end of the warehouse. He found an officer crouching next to an object lying on the cracked cement floor.

A green cell phone.

He knelt down, pulled a white rag from his back pocket, and used it to pick up the cell phone. Gordon doubted they would find any fingerprints; maybe the owner's but no one else's prints. Nevertheless, he decided to take precautions anyway.

Gordon pressed one of the buttons, causing the screen to light up. When he did, it revealed a message that was left behind. Gordon gazed at it and frowned deeply.

"Lieutenant?" the officer asked.

"Tell everyone to leave the building and report back to MCU. There's nothing here," Gordon ordered.

As Gordon turned away, the officer caught a glimpse of the message.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

(So, there you have it...*looks at Joker* "If you so much as sing a single note, I swear I will hurt you worse than you've hurt any of your victims!" *Joker smirks* Let's bring on the reviews! They'll make me very happy... and encourage me to continue the story. Oh, and I still would like to know if anyone knows of some songs I should listen to while I work on this story. :)