She didn't know why her husband insisted on her always taking a taxi to his office. It was such a lovely morning and the streets weren't very crowded. And it wasn't very far for her to walk anyway.

There were dozens of patrol cars and an ambulance or two parked haphazardly all over the road in front of the MCU. However, the thing that stuck most in her mind was the swarm of reporters, all eager for the story or a photograph. She felt saddened looking upon the scene. She had been in Gotham long enough to know that when there are that many official cars and that many reporters and photographers, something quite drastic had happened there.

Several blocks away from the MCU, she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks. She was the only one on the street, except for one man who was covered in blood. She made her way towards him and noticed that he had left bloody footprints on the concrete. Empathy for the unknown man gave her the desire to move faster, especially when she saw the extent to which he was covered in blood.

Approaching him cautiously, she began to have second thoughts as she saw his off-colour hair and recognised his unusually coloured suit. Before she was given a chance to make up her mind and re-evaluate her decision, he turned and she was reduced to a slack-jawed fool as she stared at the infamous scars covered in red paint. Then it all suddenly clicked; the crowd in front of the MCU, the blood on the sidewalk, the deserted streets. She understood what had happened.

Regaining her senses, she turned away from him and began to run, summoning the strength to scream. Before she had taken a dozen steps, she was on the ground, pinned down by his weight. She began to scream just as his gloved hand clamped down over her mouth. Unable to make a sound, she nervously swallowed, tasting blood of an unknown origin as she did so.

He straddled her, searching through his pockets for his knife as he kept his hand over her mouth. He had left the thug and his victim on the streets a few blocks away and had headed back towards his apartment. This woman had surprised him; he wasn't expecting to see anyone else this morning. But no matter; she would suit, he thought as he located the knife out and bent down over her back. Bringing the knife out of his pocket, he got off her and pulled her roughly to her feet, keeping his hand over her mouth and putting the knife to her neck. "Come on," he muttered as he pulled her towards the alleyway he had just come from.

She struggled all the way there, losing her handbag and one of her shoes along the way. Annoyed, the Joker pushed her to the ground then straddled her again, rolling her over onto her back. He clamped his hand back over her mouth and pinned her arms beneath his knees while he stared at her, his tongue running along the scars on his lower lip. Trophy wife, he thought. He could tell from the blonde hair and obscene amounts of makeup. Not to mention the impractical getup she was wearing.

Slowly he brought the knife down in front of her face, watching her pupils dilate with fear. Her sudden appearance had annoyed him, she had almost ruined everything. The Joker was determined to make her pay.

He moved the blade away from her face, watching in amusement as she strained to see where it went. Then he suddenly plunged it into her chest, smiling as the blood began to flow from the wound. Behind his hand, he could feel her attempts to call for help. Withdrawing the blade from her body, he leant forward and wiped the blood on her hair, cooing all the while in a mock attempt to soothe her.

He stopped the cooing with a smile, moving the blade back out of her field of vision. With chaotic glee he stabbed the knife through her throat, blinking as blood sprayed back at him. He removed his hand and she gurgled incomprehensively as blood flowed smoothly down her neck and onto the concrete footpath beneath.

Again, he removed the blade and brought it back to her face. Prying open her lips, he slipped the blade in and moved it to the corner of her mouth. She gurgled and her eyes went wide. In a smooth motion, he brought the blade to rest half way between her ear and her now mutilated mouth. Smiling cheerfully at her, he brought the blade back to the other side of her mouth and repeated the motion, enjoying the contrast between her pale cheeks and the scarlet blood that was pouring out over her face.

Standing up, he took a few steps backwards and watched as she bled out. The blood formed a red sea around her, framing her motionless form. The Joker walked gingerly towards her, withdrawing his deck of cards as he did so. Withdrawing the top card with a flick, he laid the Ace of Diamonds over her abdomen.