Lady Slone—Glad that I'm your hero, I guess. =) They will talk eventually. I don't know when though. I do have a couple tricks up my sleeve however.
Hannah—Here's more. Sorry it took a while.
Haha21—Yes, it was short and rushed, but I don't think it was sporadic…. It could've been better, which is why I edited it. Hope this one is better.
Sabre—Thanks for the encouragement. Yeah, I feel sorry for her too, especially since it's not over yet. Nowhere close to being over. I get your viewpoint on the Joker; he is an amazing character, but a dark, evil, and sick character never the less. I don't mind the rant, and I think the reason why people like him is just because he seems so much more real than any of the other characters (yes, they all seem real). Also, maybe people try to see the good in him. I don't know. Sorry for my rant. Lol Don't worry about ducking the system. Glad that it was better, and I totally agree about the writing thing.
Fairy Skull—Glad that you like it.
—I'm glad that you like it sooo much. Sorry that it's taken a while. There will be some interesting things to come, if I write them right.
Blpaul—Lol I'm glad that you liked the action. I don't know how much more will be in the rest of the story. Hopefully some. =) Glad that you liked the party.
Okay, this may be the last chapter up before school's over. I hope that you all understand. It's the end of the year, so it's getting busy and I don't have that much time to write any more. It gets out in about a month, but I have sooooo many papers due in the next couple weeks. Sorry. Enjoy the chapter.
The next morning I sluggishly got out of bed and moved to the kitchen for coffee, and ice. My face felt very tender and slightly swollen, and I couldn't move my fingers very well from the cuts and bruises on my knuckles. I laid an ice pack over my left eye that I could barely see out of. Dang fight! I put the coffee beans in the pot and poured water in there and waited for the coffee to give me some relief. I stuck a piece of bread in the toaster as I walked back to my bedroom and untied the dress. I set the ice pack on the dresser as I pulled on a pair of black pants and a white tank top. I would grab my shirt later. I slid back to the kitchen with the ice pack in hand and grabbed the toast that had managed to pop out of the toaster on its own. I smeared butter on it and looked down at my hand. The knuckles were a nice shade of purple with jagged lines of red through them. I rolled my eyes as I munched on toast. I checked the coffee, but seeing as it wasn't done, I moved to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair.
I splashed cool water on my face to relieve a little of the aching and wash away anything that could be (i.e. makeup and dried blood). I opened the mirror and pulled out the toothbrush and toothpaste. I swished the brush in my mouth and spit it all out. I ran the comb through my hair and pulled it back in my normal ponytail. I looked in the mirror and gently touched the black eye, bruise on my cheek, and cracked lip. I looked as if I had been kicked really hard on the left side of my face, which was a very distinct possibility. I blinked my left eye, which hurt, and continued to keep the ice pack on it. My hands were beginning to feel better now. I grabbed a striped polo shirt and a denim jacket and went to the kitchen and poured some coffee into a mug as I slipped my badge and gun onto my belt. I stuffed my phone into my pocket since I had lost its case, and grabbed my keys. I downed the coffee and walked out the alley by my apartment building and straddled my bike. I took off for MCU.
When I reached the building, I didn't even bother taking off my helmet as I walked into the building. I stepped into the elevator and pressed the level that I needed. As I waited to get up to my floor, I pulled off my helmet and let it dangle in my hand. The elevator doors slid open and I walked to my office and dropped my helmet on my desk and walked back out the rest of the desks. I had caught a glimpse of Wilson sitting at his desk so I strode out and plopped down in the chair on the opposite side of his desk.
"You're here early," I greeted.
He narrowed his eyes in fake anger. "I could say the same to you, Gordon."
I narrowed my eyes back. "Shut up. I'm always here this early. You're not."
He shook his head in amusement with a smile on his face. "What the Hell happened to your face?"
Figured that was gonna come up. "Got in a fight."
"I guessed that," he admitted. "I thought you were at Wayne's dumb fundraiser."
"I was," I stated. "Joker crashed the party."
"How fun for you."
"Oh yeah."
Our bantering was cut short when the doors opened and Stephens walked in. "Morning, Wilson. Gordon." He sat down at his desk and began filing paperwork.
Wilson and I just stared at him. There was no way that he was done, especially with the Commissioner dead. "How was the party, Gordon?" he finally asked.
I looked at Wilson. "Told ya."
"Did not."
I shook my head. "It was absolutely lovely, Stephens. What about your night?"
He looked up with one eyebrow raised. "It was okay. Commissioner's dead."
"I know," I said. "Such a shame." A little bit of sarcasm wouldn't hurt.
"You get hit by a car?"
I glared. "I got in a fight."
"Whatever," he dismissed as the elevator slid open again and Dad walked in.
"Morning all."
"Morning," we all said in unison. It amazed me that we went on with work as if nothing had happened last night. Was really possible that we were that jaded? Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe none of us cared that the Commissioner was gone.
Dad set his coat in his office and glanced at the holding cell that Lau was in. Lau was sleeping relatively peacefully. He probably wasn't comfortable however.
"We'll get him," Dad murmured as he walked into the main area of the office.
"Jim, it's over," Stephens scolded.
"As long as they don't get to Lau, we've cut off their funds," Dad defended.
I cut in. "The prosecution's over." There was no away around that. Our police force just wasn't as strong, and Judge Sarillo was blown pieces. Nobody was gonna stand up for us.
Stephens nodded at me. "No one's standing up in front of a judge while judges and police commissioners are being blown away."
Dad lowered his eyes. His eyes had defeat in them as he mentally went over options in his head. "What about Dent?"
"If he's got any sense, Dent's halfway to Mexico by now," Wilson brought up.
The door slammed open. "Where do you keep your trash?" So much for Dent having any sense.
I shrugged and got up. "C'mon."
"You look like crap, Sergeant."
"Thanks," I said as I tossed him a Kevlar vest for Lau.
We all followed him to the holding cell where Lau had woken up and sat against the bars.
I opened up the cell door.
"You're due in court," Dent declared. "I need you alive long enough to get you on the record."
Lau shook his head. "You can't protect me. You can't even protect yourselves."
I clenched the bar on the cell door so hard that my purple knuckles turned white, but I kept my mouth shut. I glanced at Stephens, Wilson, and Dad; they all had their jaws clenched tightly. It wasn't our dang fault. I hated to admit it, but the Joker was just smarter than us.
"Refuse to cooperate on the stand," Dent threatened, "you won't be coming back here. You'll go to county. How long do you calculate you'll last in there?" He tossed the heavy vest into Lau's lap.
Dent walked out. Dad jerked Lau out of the cell.
"Hey, Dent," I called after him.
"Not in the mood, Sergeant," he growled.
I smiled. "You may be a complete idiot that has no sense of anything, but ya got guts. I'll give ya that much."
He turned around with his face completely blank.
"Good luck."
He walked away.
"Ya two faced idiot," I added when he was far enough away that he couldn't hear me.
I stayed there the entire night digging into the psychological end of the Joker's crime sprees. Maybe something about the way he did things could help us figure out who he was. Maybe, being the key word. After the day shift left, Dad and I stayed in our offices as the night shift slowly filtered in. I turned on some music from the magical website, YouTube. It helped me concentrate, but as dawn approached, my phone rang.
"Gordon."
"8th and Orchard." It was dispatch.
"What's going on there?"
"Guy says that we'll find Harvey Dent."
"Play it back," I ordered. It was the Joker. I slammed my fist on the table and grabbed my coat. "Thanks." I darted across the hallway. "8th and Orchard. Joker got Dent."
"Damn it!" Dad stood up and grabbed his walkie-talkie as we headed out of the office. Ramirez followed us.
I slid into the unmarked cop car with Dad in the passenger seat. Ramirez was getting back up. I skidded out of the parking lot and tore down to 8th and Orchard. Dad turned on the sirens. I drifted to a stop by the building. I left the keys in the ignition as I hopped out of the car with my gun drawn. The uniformed cops took the elevator, but I sped up the stairs, seeing that it was only on the third floor. I kicked the door open and saw two men over the table with the telltale smile of the Joker on their faces. I closed my eyes and backed up into Dad, who gripped my shoulder.
"Snap out of it, Alex. It won't help you."
"Easy for you ta say," I snapped back.
"I'm trying to help you, so just shut up and focus on what's going on here," he ordered.
"Yes, sir, Lieutenant."
He glared at me and was about to say something back, but he was cut off by a low growl.
"Check the names."
"Morning, Batman," I mumbled as Dad checked the names on the drivers' licenses pinned to the victims' chests.
"Patrick Harvey. Richard Dent," he stated.
"Harvey Dent," I heard Ramirez whisper.
"Clever guy, isn't he?" I added.
"I need ten minute with the scene before your men contaminate it."
Gee, that wasn't a blow at all.
"Us contaminate it?" Ramirez steamed. "It's because of you that these guys are dead in the first place!"
"Hey!" I snapped.
"Detective!" Dad snapped in unison.
She hushed up and walked out.
Batman glided across the floor to the wall where a bullet was in the wall. He crouched down with a finger to the hole.
"That's brick under there," I commented. "You're really gonna get ballistics off a shattered bullet?"
"No." He pulled a saw off of his belt and held it to the wall. "Fingerprints."
"Suit yourself." I finally made it over to the table where Harvey, and Dent were slouched. I noticed the cards were all Jokers. Dad noticed too. I picked up the newspaper that was under a beer bottle to see if they were reading anything interesting. They were.
It was the Obituaries page; main person: Mayor Garcia. There was a red smile on his face with black eye makeup. HA HA HA was written all over it with other little doodles.
"Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast," I warned. "Cuz we found his next target. He's put him in tomorrow's paper."
Batman nodded and took his bit of plaster and brick and leaped out the window.
Dad glanced at me in wonder of our dark friend.
"He doesn't know about the wonderful invention of stairs, does he?"