CHAPTER 19

"Ma'am?" a voice behind me spoke. "Can I see your tour tickets or homing pass?" Damn. Think. I shut my eyes tight, hunched my shoulders, and made a soft sniffling sound. I thought about home. I slowly turned around, pretending to be lost and somewhat scared. "Oh officer!" I said. The officer was young, a beginner maybe. But he still had authority. I was hoping to God he wouldn't recognize me. He gave me a look of concern and walked over to me, "Is everything alright Miss?" I sniffled and shook my head, "No my son. Jack he's this high," I motioned with my hand, then took a deep breath, "I can't find him. I was about to buy tour tickets for us and then I looked over. He wasn't there, I couldn't see him… I just wanna see 'im. I'm a horrible mother!" I croaked and was now all out bawling. The officer looked frantically around me, "Okay Ma'am if you could just calm down. He couldn't have gone far. We'll find him," the officer tried desperately to calm me down. I took in huge, whiney breaths and wiped the tears from my eyes with my hand. "I need… a tissue," I said. The officer nodded his head, "Follow me. I'm just going to take you down to the lobby and then we'll look for your son. Okay?" I nodded my head. Bingo.

I waited downstairs while the younger officer talked to a more stubborn looking officer. He was older looking, with graying hair and deep circles under his eyes. He looked at me a few times during their conversation. I dabbed at my eye with a tissue. Then both officers walked over to me. The older looking one, who had a badge that read 'Stanley' said, "Do you have a photo of your son? This would make things easier if we had a picture to compare him with."

I made myself look worse, crying and babbling I said, " Not on me. Maybe in the car. I can't find him. What time is it? He takes his medicine soon…. When will you start looking for him!" The officer frowned at me. "Well, we're not sure who to look for." I sighed and blew my nose in the tissue. "His name is Jack," I said. "He's only 5, has brown hair, brown eyes. Wearing a green t-shirt and jeans. A red baseball cap." I sniffled again and tried to make my voice sound as shaky as possible. "Please, I need to get him his medicine."

The officer shook his head and then said, "I'll get the others on it right now. We'll delay all tours and check every floor. You should come with one of us." I shook my head and Stanley walked away. Ah, stuck with the beginner. "Uh officer…," I said. The man looked over at me. Still frantic and still overwhelmed. Poor guy, but really? He's an officer and this freaks him out? "Can I go out to my car? I really need to get Jackie's medicine! Its his lifeline." I asked him, panicky. The man sighed. "Sure." With an appealing smile he began to follow right behind me. Ugh.

I quickly turned around, "What are you doing!" I shouted and it made him flinch. "You need to get his…" his voice trailed off. "You should be looking for my son! I think I can get his medicine without a chaperone. Now please, FIND MY BOY!" I screamed and his face was priceless. He walked away, hurriedly. I eyed the clerk who eyed me back. Oh. She knew. I smiled, but I'm sure she just thought it was to be kind. And turned away.

Outside I acted like I was looking for my lost son. I made a quick dash to the parking lot and made sure to disappear from the front entrance. Once I knew I was out of sight, I headed across the street and began walking.

Holy. Hell. Emeralda Thompson. Do you know that you just lied your ass off to two officers just to get out of that place?
Why yes I do.
And you did this why?
Because I was not about to sit in a police station while they penalized me for trespassing.
Stupid, stupid, stupid… your stupid!
I'm mentally arguing with myself. Good Emma, bad Emma.

So you just called yourself stupid.
…..
That's what I thought.
You could face worse than a sit down with a few cops. Can you say jail time?
I couldn't stick around long enough for them to recognize me. I'd be in a Looney bin in 5 seconds flat. Then how charming would that be?
Touché.

I walked amongst other Gotham city citizens. Fitting in quite well because a lot of people were wearing sweat pants and shirts. The breeze was cold and crisp, but I liked it. Wow. I felt free. Clear and focused. The old Emma had returned, well partially. Lets not forget I'm now a crime-committing-nutcase. Who has fallen for a mass-murdering-psycho-clown. But other than that, I felt like me. My hair felt right. And the way I was walking felt all Emma. I smiled at the occasional friendly face and they smiled back. I wonder if anyone knew I was missing. Had Gotham released photos of me? Or had they pronounced me dead? That wouldn't work for me. I couldn't let me family think I was dead. I'll have to write them a letter. Eventually.
But for now, I'll just try to keep some peace in mind.

~MEANWHILE~

"HE TOOK ALL THE MONEY!" a man shouted. He was wearing a blue hat and a white suit. His black sunglasses hid all emotion of his eyes. He looked disgusted and furious over to the young woman standing in his doorway. Two tarts laid, with hardly any clothes, on his bed. Moaning and groaning for him to return. His bed was gold-rimmed and the walls were white. Everything else in the room was black. This was Frost. He had mistakenly assumed that Kara, his secretary and home-bound mistress, had wondered to is room for some 'fun.' She was pretty. Very pretty. With red hair and piercing blue eyes. He was always teasing her, trying to pry her clothes off when they were all alone. He had a thing for her. A 'real thing' for her. He liked her almost too much. And he would wait for her. Meanwhile, he always had Cherry and Precious.

Kara flinched. She had the same feelings for him, but equally feared him. She tried to keep her eyes from wondering over to the two tramps upon his bed. Yes, she was jealous. Very much. But she could wait.
"Sorry…" he mumbled. Kara nodded her head. "Com'n baby," Cherry begged from behind him. "SHUT UP!" he yelled, not bothering to look back at her now frightened and hurt face. Frost shook his head. He was quite good looking overall. Black hair, blue eyes, pale complexion, abs like a God's, and young. Maybe 22. But he had power. And lots of it. He cracked his fingers and walked over to Kara.

He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. "Tell me his name darling, I'll make sure things get fixed," he said, coolly. Kara smiled and searched her brain for his answer, for she was very distracted. Meanwhile, Frost wiped something from his jacket as he waited. "The Joker, as he goes by," she said. "And what did I pay him for?" he asked, coolly. Kara searched again, fully distracted as his hand traced down to the small of her back. She stepped back and huffed at him, "Don't touch me." Her words weren't threatening, not even close actually more wary then anything. "He was suppose to rob King High for you. Take his money, bring it back to you. And keep 10%. In return, you would also give him…" She concentrated again. It was too hard to push him away. Frost now placed both of his hand on her hips and had pulled her closer to him.

"..give him… Cherry and Precious?" she questioned. "Mmmhmmm," Frost mumbled. He pressed his body against Kara's. "And he just kept it all to himself. That's my money, too," he said. His eyes shot open. "Damn it all! He'll pay for this." He let go of Kara and turned around. Both Cherry and Precious were absolutely shocked. Oh well. They were in too far. They were 'things' now. "No!" Kara said. Frost tensed but didn't turn around. "What did you say?" he asked her. "No," she said again, "Don't. Don't do a thing, you have enough money."

"Does he have someone?" he asked. Kara's eyes widened, "I don't know. But you couldn't!" she screamed. He turned around and glared at her sharply, "And why the hell not?" "B-because," she said, "He'd kill you."
Frost laughed at this. She was so naive sometimes. "Darling, no one would ever be able to put a scratch on me," he said. "I'm too powerful." Kara shook her head, "But if you killed someone he loved. If he even has someone. What would you do?"

For a second, Frost was taken aback. He looked away from Kara and imagined her being kidnapped into the hands of someone powerful and killed. He laughed, "That's not going to happen to me." Kara looked at him, "But what if it did?" Frost looked up and met eyes with Kara. He stomped over to her and grabbed her shoulders roughly, "I'd torture the unlucky bastard! Now shut up!" Kara was trembling in his grasp. The two tramps on the bed were stunned, remaining quiet and unmoving. "S-sorry, F-Frost, I was just w-worried about you," she said, shakily. Frost shook his head and laughed, "Don't be." And then did something that absolutely shocked Kara herself. He hugged her. For a moment, Kara was in bliss. But then he pulled away and lightly pushed her out the door. "Now if you'll excuse me." And then the door shut in Kara's face.

Why did he always have to hurt her like this?

~ELSEWHERE~

It's been what, a couple of months? And the Joker already has a new 'squeeze.' A feisty blonde with mental problems. Why else would she be here? Or maybe it's because of the huge pile of money stacked in front of her, in the huge garage. Trista was never the one to dig the whole 'buy me flowers and chocolates' thing. But buy her diamonds and she'll do anything. She gazed happily upon the monstrous pile of money. 'There must be millions!' she thought to herself. That would be over-exaggerating. "Buy me something?" she said, ogling the tower of money. The Joker smiled, wrapping an arm around Trista's waist. He nodded and then walked over to the money. "Now, this is my favorite part!" he said, dumping a gallon of gas on top of the money. Trista's smile faded slowly when realization kicked in. She smelled the bitter scent of gas and horrified, she screamed. Quite ear-numbing, too. "SHUT UP! YOU ANNOYING THING!" the Joker responded.

Trista frowned and walked over to the Joker, flicking her blonde locks behind her. "What the hell are you doing?" The Joker ignored her and continued dumping the rest of the gas. "I said… WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" she screamed. It was high-pitched and horrible. The Joker flinched and whipped the gas bucket away. He stomped over to Trista and grabbed her neck, making her gasp for breath. "Are you too damn blonde to know that I HATE the sound of your voice?" He let go of Trista and she fell to the floor. She pouted and crossed her legs. "What'd you do that for? I'm sure the seller won't want money covered in gas!" she said, slightly raising her voice. The Joker froze and slowly turned around to face her. His shoulders hunched over and he kneeled down in front of her. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and Trista squirmed. "Shut up and listen!" he yelled, the venom in his voice for once freezing Trista in place. "I have money. Okay? Plenty. Now listen. You say another word before I ask you too and I will kill you." Trista laughed at his comment. He only tugged her hair harder, "I'm serious."

His voice was enough to scare the living hell out of Trista. She sat silently while the Joker left the garage for the moment. "Damn fool. Who does he think he is? I'm not some thing he can just boss around." Trista silently sat, pissed off and grieving over her now gas-covered money. 'Moron,' she thought to herself. She pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. Sighing, she began to think of all the marvelous things she could get with this much money. A door slammed shut and impatient footsteps stopped beside her. She looked up at the Joker, pouting. He simply smiled and walked over to the pile of money. "Now watch, slutcakes." Trista grumbled but paid close attention anyways. As if the man in purple was performing a magic trick. He pulled out a pack of matches and took one out. "Don't get so close to the money, darling, " she said, her voice only bitter.

He lit the match.
And dropped it on top of the money.
It caught fire immediately. All of it did.

Trista couldn't believe what she had just seen. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed. "YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL!" She screamed some more. And whined some more. The Joker yanked her up by her arm, nearly pulling it out of place. She flinched and froze when a sharp blade was at the base of her neck. "I thought I told you to be quiet?" the Joker stated. He should slit her neck right now. He wanted to, but something stopped him. He let go of her and instead pushed her away, "Ha! You wuss. I knew you wouldn't kill me, you can't," but then again the Joker was getting fed up with her annoying voice. He stomped back over to her. A grin spread wide across Trista's face. He grabbed her again and forced her to look at him. "You shouldn't be so sure of yourself," he hissed. But she only laughed in his face. "You won't kill me, you need me! Without me, you have nothing." The Joker looked at her. Stunned she was being so stupid. What in her right mind would lead her to think that he needed her?

Enough is enough. One last piercing scream from Trista echoed through the room. The sound was so annoying, but that was the end of that. No more screaming, Trista, you pathetic excuse for a woman. She fell to the ground, lifeless. Henry, his newest henchmen rushed into the garage. "Clean that up!" the Joker shouted. The young man stared in disbelief at the young and now dead girl. And then in disbelief at the pile of money burning behind her. "What happened boss? I thought she was a keeper," he said, pressing a button that opened the exhaust fans on the ceiling.

The Joker laughed but kept his back on the scene. De-ja-vu. He did this, exactly this, with Emma before. He then headed out the door and into the night. Damn her. He tried not to think of her. He even bought more whores just to distract him. But he couldn't. She'd always be right there, in his mind. Her beautiful face reflecting in his mind. He'd have to kill himself to erase her from his life completely.

His other henchmen were waiting outside. Perfectly blending in with the newly black van they had stolen. "C'mon boys, we're leaving. Get everything," he said. At first they just stared at him. Was he serious? And then, "NOW!" And they scrambled back inside the building. It was time to leave.

~Emma~

Ah, Bella's Café. Welcoming me like I belonged there. It was getting late. I bet by now that Charity and Toby have realized I'm gone. That I'm not coming back. Well, that's a good thing. They should just move on with their lives. Forget about me. I'm happy right here. Well… okay… .so I'm just trying to cheer myself up. What's wrong with that?
You're in denial.
You again!
Of course…. ya miss me?
Not at all. And no, I'm not in denial. I know I have nowhere to go. See? I'm not denying a thing.
Yes you are, you just said it yourself.
What?
You have nowhere to go, but you do. You know where you will be going.
To hell if I don't change my evil ways?
…..
Yeah okay. I do. I thought you were the 'good' me. You shouldn't be trying to take me back to insanity.
….
You're too annoying to be quiet! Answer me damn it!
No. Comment.

Okay so maybe mentally arguing is not that healthiest thing in the book. But I had to vent. And so I thought this was best. I had to discuss the inevitable, as much as it killed me too. And I lied. I had a $5 bill in my pocket. But that's all. Enough for three small waters and two chocolate chip cookies. And that's good enough for me. Aw, peaceful bliss. Emma, you're doing a fine job cooperating.
Do not lie to me like that. Emma, you have gone nuts.
That's no help at all! I like to think I'm doing good.
You're arguing with me? How is that 'doing good?'
Um.. Uh…
That's right.

So I sat in a window booth, sipping water and munching cookies. Everything was going to plan. Well, sort of. Oh Bella how I'm glad you have chocolate chip cookies. I lifted the small glass up to my lips and chugged the last of my water. "EMMA!" Such a familiar voice. I about choked on my water. "Emma, there you are." It was Charity. Damn. She rushed over and sat across from me. "Don't ever leave me again! I thought you left, for good." Toby joined Charity in the booth across from me. My hopes shattered. I'd have to do this the hard way. I opened my mouth to speak but Toby beat me to it, "What are you doing?" he asked coldly. He glared at me like I was planning something. "Nothing," I said. "Just getting something to eat." He knew I was lying, but the look in his eyes said that he thought I was up to no good. "That's all, I swear!"

"Go! To the car! We're leaving," he said. Charity got up and headed outside as did I. I had already paid but I let Toby throw nine dollars on the table anyway. That bastard deserves to lose a little money. How dare he talk to me like that? We strolled over behind Bella's Café where he parked in the corner, hidden between the café and some other building. I could see inside that Mikey was asleep. A balloon tied around his wrist. I would really miss that kid. Charity opened the back door to check on Mikey. And it happened so fast. I heard a loud, thumping noise and then saw Charity, knocked out and silent on the ground. Toby next to her holding a metal rod. "What the he-" But I was cut off by Toby. He pulled a gun from his pocket and had it aimed right for me.

"What are you doing?" I said. It hardly phased me. I had guns aimed at my head before. "You should leave," he said. How ironic. That's exactly what I was trying to do. "I mean it!" he shouted. "Okay," I said. And he seemed somewhat taken back from this response. "I can't let you hurt Charity!" he said. "What?" I said back. I looked at him in disbelief, "I would never harm Charity. Or Mikey for that matter." "I should just kill you off. I know who you are." I shook my head. What was he talking about? "I do!" he shouted. He seemed a little on edge. "I know you're the Joker's girl." ….Now he's gone too far. "Listen, bud," I said. "You know nothing! I would never harm a single person, you can believe me on this one. The fact that I was kidnapped by a serial killer means nothing of the sort that I had anything to do with any one dying! And, if you didn't notice, I left Chateau Place on person, to deliberately be leaving you and Charity!" Speaking of which, her body was still laying on the ground.

My anger subsided, "I'm going okay. Just take care of her." Finally he lowered his gun. And nodded. He lifted her body into the car in the back with Mikey and shut the back door. I turned around and began walking.

"Wait, Emma!" he said. I turned around. "Here." He held out a wad of cash. I shook my head, "No. I don't need it." "Just take it, okay?" I shook my head again, "Trust me on this. I don't need your money." He dropped his hand and I turned back around and began walking. It was so cold outside and it had gotten dark. Really dark.

Phew, that was a close one.