I didn't lose consciousness, though in a way, I'd rather be unaware of the Joker simply carrying me away from my Toyota and toward the SUV, which was hidden well down the street. The sensation of moving your body but not being about to feel it move was frightening. I didn't try to move my head, afraid I wouldn't be able to move it again, so I got stuck with watching the Joker's painted face. I couldn't take my eyes away from the scarred lips though as they were obviously showing his pleasure in carrying me, though I didn't understand why.

However, those lips managed to form a demented-looking frown as the Joker's dark eyes narrowed. He came to a stop and started tapping his foot, though I could only tell by the sound of the tapping rather than the movement his entire body made.

"Why isn't the car on?" he demanded. I turned my head to see four guys waiting around the SUV. I recognized the first guy who had pointed me out to the Joker and the guy named Ryan – the one who looked like he was suffering from a hangover, despite it had only been an hour since I last saw him wallowing in a puddle. The other two goons, I wondered where the Joker had gotten them.

"Don, you've already done this once before, har-dly an hour ago," the Joker growled. "Were you distracted by yet another girl?"

"No, boss, I…we thought," the first guy began. The Joker dropped my lower half, pressing me into him as I fell so that he could support me. I couldn't even feel the jarring that went through my body from my feet hitting the ground. The Joker reached into his pocket, pulling out a handgun – my gun – and blew the goon in the chest.

I watched the dead guy drop to the ground with a thud. The Joker wrapped his arm around my shoulders, holding me tightly as if to keep me from running away, even though I was too numb to be able to figure out how to run away from him. He glared hard at a large, bulky man.

"Wanna try explaining, John?" the Joker asked, waving my gun around threateningly.

The man shook his head and walked around the car to the driver's seat.

The Joker cleared his throat as the SUV started up. "Shall we?" he asked me.

"I suppose," I mumbled, narrowing my eyes as a headache emerged.

"You suppose?" the Joker repeated. Even though he was looking at me, he was gesturing to the other two guys with my handgun. When one of them didn't move fast enough for his liking, the Joker shot him in the leg. The guy gasped and collapsed to the ground, grasping his bleeding leg.

"C'mon, girl," the Joker growled, roughly grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him, "Try to be a little more…enthusiastic."

Well, if he wanted eagerness – and he said that he always got what he wanted – then I might as well give him my enthusiastic self.

I stomped down on his foot – which sent painful pins and needles through my foot – and pushed his chest to try to break from his one-arm hold on me. He slipped a bit, and I was able to rip out. However, the Joker caught my wrist again which I would have to assume was a bruising hold because of the whiteness on my arm around where he was holding me.

"Nuh-uh," the Joker said, smiling at my attempt as he pulled me back into his hold. "You running away from me again. Not. Gonna. Happen." I struggled, but he used both of his arms this time, trapping me in a strong embrace. Despite being numb, I did feel another prick, and I looked down to see him injecting something into my arm. I winced as the sensation of pins and needles ran through my entire body, all at once, which was painful. The Joker jerked his head toward the cardoor, and one of his guys opened it.

When I realized that the Joker was pushing me toward the SUV, I got desperate and was able to ignore the pins and needles sensation. I put my mouth to the Joker's arm and bit down as hard as I could, biting so hard that I went through the leather jacket to his skin. The Joker actually gasped in pain – and I was sure it was pain this time – but he still shoved me into the car, falling into the backseat with me. I wouldn't let go, just biting harder, and the Joker got angry. He growled angrily as he pushed my head, tearing his arm out of my mouth.

Before he could scramble out of the car, I grabbed hold of the Joker's head and yanked him forward. I slammed his head against the car window as hard as I could, and then, as he dropped to the floor of the car, I tried to climb out.

The wounded guy grabbed hold of my ankle, and I fell as I jumped out of the car. The other goon grabbed the back of my shirt and lifted me off the ground, holding me in a headlock with one arm around my head and the other wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms to my sides. My feet dangled in the air, and I twisted to try to get out of the hold.

However, the man holding me wasn't having it. He moved his arm down to grab my neck, changing the headlock into a necklock, where my flow of oxygen was constricted. I choked as the man tightened his hold around my neck, and I couldn't breathe.

"Don't choke her!" the Joker yelled, angrily. I struggled, even as the man holding me loosened his grip. I gasped hungrily for oxygen, so absorbed in regaining my breath that I hardly noticed the Joker ripping me out of his guy's hold.

I did notice the slap the Joker gave me. I winced in pain as my cheek stung, bringing tears to my eyes, but I glared at the Joker. His face burned with fury, and I matched it, despite my blurry vision.

"Dave, get in the damn car!" the Joker growled, and the man hurried into the backseat. "Move over to the window!" the Joker yelled at him as he shoved me into the SUV. "Ryan, in!" the madman yelled at the hangover guy on the ground. Ryan whimpered as he tried to move into the car as fast as he could , but the Joker suddenly shot him in the leg, causing him to cry out in pain. Then, the Joker lost all interest and headed back toward the motel.

I settled behind Dave and Ryan, heaving a deep sigh of surrender. Here I was, stuck between two of the Joker's guys, already a hostage. I rubbed my still stinging cheek to ease the pain, but there was nothing I could do about my throbbing headache.

John, the driver, looked into the rearview mirror at me, but I looked away so that he didn't meet my eyes.

"You should be careful around the boss," Ryan said, beside me.

"Why do you care?" I demanded, irritably. Ryan winced and shifted away from me, giving me a bit more elbow-room.

The Joker returned, carrying my duffel bag, and he threw it into the trunk of the SUV. Then, he came around to the passenger's seat, opening the door. He turned to the motel and pulled out something from his pocket. I thought it would be a knife, but it looked to be a switch. My eyes widened; a detonator!

The Joker armed the detonator and glanced back at me, his eyes still furious, but a smile appeared on his face. Then, he pushed the button.

Right in front of him – and the Joker wasn't watching – the old motel exploded into flames and bits. I gasped, jerking back into Dave in surprise. My eyes widened, my mouth dropped. Fear shot through me, nearly causing tears to fill my eyes. I choked back the sudden lump that had risen in my throat, and I averted my eyes to the Joker.

He seemed to be analyzing my reaction to the explosion, and he obviously liked what he saw. The Joker started laughing, and his goons joined him – more out of fear of him rather than their own amusement. The Joker slipped into the passenger's seat and shut the door.

"Home, Martin!" the Joker said, clapping his hands together. John hesitated, glancing at his boss – since 'Martin' wasn't his name – but then decided not to push it. He pulled away from the curb.

"Oh, Dave, mind tying the pretty lady's hands?" the Joker asked, pulling a piece of rope out of the glove department and tossing it back.

"Sure, boss," Dave said, reaching for it, but I snatched it out of the air and hid it behind my back. "Um, boss…"

"Is it really that hard to, ah, to tie up a woman?" the Joker demanded, angrily. "I thought you did it all the time!"

Dave's voice lowered in fear. "No, boss, it's just that…she took the rope."

The Joker twisted in his seat, and he stared hard at Dave and me. He noticed me adjusting my arms into a more comfortable hidden position, and his scarred grin reappeared. "Well, Dave, you obviously never played base-ball before."

I ducked my head, feeling a smile making its way onto my face. I really must be tired if I thought the Joker teasing one of his guys was funny.

Abruptly, the Joker threw himself into the backseat. I squeaked in protest as the Joker stood bend over in front me, his hands reaching behind me, searching for the piece of rope. I headbutted his forehead hard, and he laughed as he fell back, grabbing the backs of the front seats.

"You're just a, ah, a load of trouble, aren't ya?" the Joker asked, licking his lips.

"I warned you," I snapped.

"You did. I probably should've taken you, ah, seriously about that." The Joker leaned back, reaching into the glove department again. Then, he came back and wrapped his arms around me, swiftly tying my hands behind my back. I growled in irritation, and the Joker laughed as he leaned back, twisting the previous rope around his gloved hand. "Now, how's that, dar-ling?"

"I have a name," I growled.

"Really? How con-ven-ient? I do too!" the Joker exclaimed excitedly, poking a finger into his chest. He gestured to his guys wildly, nearly hitting the driver in the head. "Same with these guys. You're not the only one with a name, girl."

"And I'm hardly just a girl."

"What? Are you secretly a guy?" I glared at him, and the Joker giggled. "I'd kid-ding, sweetheart."

"I'm not your sweetheart either."

The Joker leaned forward, grabbing my chin roughly and forcing me to look him in the eyes. "If I call you 'sweetheart', then you surely must be mine," he growled at me, his eyes flashing. I tried to free myself from his hold, but he jerked my head back. The touch of his cold metal blade against my throat persuaded me from moving my chin again. "How 'bout doing my boys a favor, sweetheart, and acting your age?"

Before I could reply, the SUV unexpectedly came to a skidding stop. The Joker was flung backward while the rest of us – who were facing forward – only leaned forward. Since none of us were wearing seatbelts, Dave and Ryan hit their heads on the back of the front seats, but I actually flew forward, landing on top of the Joker on the floor of the car.

The Joker grunted as the SUV came to a complete stop, and he yelled up at the driver. "What exactly was that for?" he demanded.

"Sorry, boss," John responded. "The light changed."

"That's when you speed up!" I found myself yelling, and then my eyes widened in surprise. I glanced at the Joker underneath me, and he was looking at me with surprise. "Oh, geez," I said, trying to use my abdomen muscles to pick myself off him, but I couldn't.

"Well…" the Joker said, his smile returning. "It's certainly hard to, ah, to pick yourself up when your hands are tied behind your back, isn't it-ah?" I just glared at him since there wasn't much else I could do on my own. "I don't know 'bout you, ah, but I like this."

"If you really like it, why don't you wait until we're alone," I spat at him, without thinking.

"What a marvelous idea!" The Joker placed a hand on my stomach and pushed me off as he picked himself up with his other hand. He shoved me back between his two goons, and he perched himself on the arms of the front seats. His piercing gaze wandered over me, and I squirmed under his eyes. I watched his tongue as it slid out and over his scarred lips, wetting them.

"How 'bout not staring at me?" I said. "You stare too hard, and you'll burn a hole through me." I hadn't really meant for that to be funny, but the Joker chuckled anyway. Much to my relief, he finally climbed back into the passenger's seat.

I settled back, trying to place my hands into a more comfortable position, but with your hands tied behind your back, there's a limit to how comfortable you could get. Even as I was doing this, I realized how tired I was. After all, I had only gotten an hour of sleep within the past twenty hours, and having dealt with the Joker and his men, my adrenaline rush was running low.

I turned my head to look out the window, but Dave was too bulky to see around without shifting and attracting the Joker's attention. Ryan seemed too busy rocking himself back and forth with his hands on his head, mumbling to himself.

I just laid my head back, letting it hang over the backseat, and I closed my eyes. I doubted that I'd be able to sleep in this position, but getting my body to realize it was tired wouldn't be hard in a position like this. But the position was uncomfortable so I slouched and focused on relaxing the tension in my muscles.

I had only just drifted off when the van unexpectedly swerved, jerking my head against Dave's shoulder. I felt a hand tightened around me, as if to support me, and I realized that Dave's shoulder was slacking in bulkiness.

"Now what's your excuse for bad driving, John?" the Joker's voice demanded, sounding right over my head, making me tense. "You woke up the tiger!"

"Guy cut me off," John explained as I pulled away from the Joker.

The Joker's arm pulled me back so that he and I were face-to-face. He grinned at me, and my eyes narrowed. "Comfortable, Tiger?" he asked me. When I didn't respond, he leaned his face closer so that our breath mingled. I couldn't help but notice he smelled nice, despite how grubby he looked. "I asked you a, ah, a question, Tiger, and I expect an answer."

I still didn't respond, not knowing how to answer without giving him satisfaction in one way or another. Instead, I turned my head to see if the other goon – either Ryan or Dave – was next to me, but he wasn't. The Joker grabbed my chin and roughly turned it to face him, but my eyes flickered off to the front seat. Dave had joined John in the front seat, but I didn't see Ryan.

"I thought-ah that you'd be more, uh, comfortable when it was just you and me," the Joker explained, licking his lips.

"Very thoughtful of you," I said, keeping my tone neutral. That's when I heard someone retching behind me.

"Ryan, keep it down!" the Joker yelled over my head. I shuddered, my face scrunching up in disgust at the noise Ryan was making. "Next time, I'll leave you behind rather than take you back!" With the Joker distracted, I looked at my situation, trying to find a way out, but with the Joker's arm around me and his hand still holding my chin roughly, that was going to prove difficult.

"I wonder," the Joker said, his attention returning to me. He released my chin and pulled out his switchblade. I couldn't help but wince at the click of it popping open. "You're a fighter, Tiger, that much I can tell. And…ya know what that tells me about you?"

"What?" I asked, deciding to keep the conversation going while I tried to formulate an escape plan.

"That you've been through some, ah, rough times."

I didn't know how to answer to that. It wasn't like he had asked me a question. I just busied myself with realizing that my hands were now on my lap, still tied but they weren't behind me anymore.

The SUV pulled up to the curb, coming to a halt.

"Where are we?" I asked, trying to look out the window.

The Joker opened the door and slipped out before turning back to me and holding out his hand for me to take. I glared at him. "C'mon, we don't have all day," the Joker said, impatiently motioning me toward him. When I still didn't move, he frowned at me, his expression becoming livid. "Don't. Make. Me. Come. In. There," he growled, empathizing every word.

I had reached my limit. Being so tired and so reluctant, I found myself becoming angry. Who did the Joker think he was? He wasn't the boss where I was concerned! I didn't like him ordering me around, and with my own exhaustion and anger mixing, I became a rebel with the silence promise to make things difficult.

The Joker growled and grabbed my arm, roughly yanking me out of the car. I struck him as he pulled me out, and in anger, he threw me at one of his guys. The unfortunate, wounded Ryan…

My trained reflexes awoke. I used my momentum to knock Ryan over, which wasn't hard since he was unstable on his feet already. Then, I rolled away from him and swung my leg around, knocking John over. I jumped to my feet and started running.

Behind me, I heard rapid footsteps behind me. I was slammed down onto the curb, my head smashed into the pavement.

The Joker grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me off the ground. He was growling as he punched me in the stomach, causing me to double over. The Joker grabbed my tied hands and yanked me back to his men, throwing me at Dave, the only one standing.

I tried to knock him over, but since he was the bulkiest of the Joker's guys, he was far steadier than John or the hung-over Ryan. Dave gripped me by the shoulders in a crushing grasp to avoid getting yelled at by the Joker for choking me again. My shoulders hurt nearly instantly; I worried that Dave might crush my shoulder bones.

I watched as the Joker kicked both of his men on the ground, jumping on Ryan several times, yelling at him for drinking too much and being unable to do his best work. He actually crouched down beside Ryan, pulling out his switchblade. The Joker was in my way so I couldn't see what he did to Ryan, but it didn't seem like he had done anything because he straightened up soon after, leaving a sobbing Ryan on the ground.

The Joker twirled his switchblade carelessly, a grin on his face. "So. Close," he said in a mocking tone as he yanked me from Dave's grip. "Maybe you should, ah, try again, Tiger."

I could hear police sirens in the distance, which broke the Joker's concentration on me for a moment. I used that moment to do three things: stomp on his foot, headbutt him, and dig my elbow into his chest.

All three things didn't seem to have any effect on him…despite making him really angry.

The Joker's grip on my arm tightened into a vice, and I grabbed at his shoulder. He reacted faster than I ever could. The firm muscles in his shoulder tensed and then snapped as he smashed me against the car without letting go of my arm.

I felt the glass of the window shatter as my head hit it, and I also felt a pop as my arm got dislocated. The pain in both places was so intense that I only felt it for a few seconds before my body shutdown.

Lordlink13: And here is chapter three. Again, I had to rewrite it several times before I came up with this, but I'm quite proud of this chapter. I hope you readers enjoyed it. Please drop a review before you go!