My caddy roared over pavement, the V8 vibrations running up through my entire body, reminding me once again why it is that I don't go for modern cars. I flew to the edges of the Projects where the orphanage resided. If my hunch was right, this was where Joker was planning his next move. As I approached, I could see a big hot air balloon on the roof that had a joker playing card on it. The Joker might've been a criminal mastermind but he apparently didn't care to be discrete. I pumped the accelerator, smashing my chrome bumper into the front gates, forcing them wide open. The car skidded to the side, running alongside the front door.
A goon showed up with a shotgun, ready to blow my head clean off. As my caddy spun to the side, I fired a shot through his crown. The car was put in park and I leapt out as two more goons came racing down the front stoop. I fired from both barrels, putting a few holes through their guts before I hit the ground. I reloaded and moved inside. No reason to play it quiet.
The hallway was empty which made me all kinds of nervous. I crept along the wall, peering into a dorm. A few kids were tied up and left without a guard. Seemed like the kids were prepared for something. What it was, I was afraid to find out. I put my lips up to my mouth, making sure they kept quiet. If I let them go, they might've gotten killed or worse. I raced toward the stairs just as a shotgun blast erupted above me, spilling wood and tile. I threw myself onto my back and shot upward at the jerk on the floor above me. I clipped him, forcing him to fall over the railing. I can't lie. A little bit of me actually enjoyed the sound of his neck breaking when he fell. I made my way up the stairs to the second floor.
As I came up, another goon flung a door open, firing from around the doorway. I rolled along the tiles, putting a few shots through the wood paneling. Luckily, the city had cheapened out on the orphanage. My bullets had no trouble making their way through the door and straight into the bastard. I saw a shadow on the wall and leapt to my feet just as I felt the air slice under me. I spun around and saw another clown brandishing two knives. He was pretty good. I had to duck down and fire a shot under his ribcage. He was thrown off his feet and fell back down the stairwell.
"Screw this," I said out loud. This place was crawling with Joker's men so I decided the stairs were the worst place. It was too open. I slipped into a nearby classroom and jumped onto the teacher's desk. "Mother Mary Catherine is gonna hate seeing the sneaker marks on her desk in the morning," I thought to myself. I opened the vent above me and crawled in. From there, I made my way across the shaft into the upper level. I pressed my palms and heels against the walls of the shaft and shimmied my way up. Eventually, I ended up in the third floor. I peered through the next vent, seeing two more guards. Apparently, they were waiting for me at the top of the stairs. "Surprise, assholes!," I said as I hung upside down, firing away. Their dead bodies tumbled almost all the way down to the first floor. I dropped down and sprinted to the maintenance door leading to the roof. I slammed my shoulder into it, knocking it open then reloaded as I ran up the final chunk of steps. My heart was pumping, my eyes were narrowed, and I was ready to do some killing.
I busted my way onto the roof. I fired a couple of shots into the jerks standing guard before they had a chance to raise their shotguns. There was another one next to the edge who managed to get a shot off. I rolled along the roof and sprang up, giving him a good kick to the chest, spilling him over the edge. Once the smoke settled, I got a good look at my surroundings.
The hot air balloon stood in front of me with a rope securing it firmly to the roof. On the other side of the roof was a load of TNT and a timer. It was set to go off in a little over five minutes so I didn't have too much time to think. Several metal tubs were wired to the dynamite that I figured were filled with the stuff Joker was using to turn people into psychos. I guess once he bombed the orphanage, the few survivors would be dosed with the stuff and be turned loose on the city. I hefted the bomb into my arms and wondered what the hell I thought I was doing playing the hero like that. I set the bomb inside the balloon's basket and disconnected the tubs from the dynamite. I had no way of getting rid of the tubs or the goop inside but it was probably best to not mess with it anyway. Two minutes to go. I whipped the rope off, allowing the balloon to float into the air. I ducked back as I watched it float away from the roof. Wasn't long before the entire thing went up in a ball of flames; whatever was left fell to the ground. In the distance, I could hear sirens from Sin City's finest. I decided to haul ass out of there and let them clean the mess up. Let them earn the money tax-payers give them for once.