CHAPTER XVIII
I frantically thought about what I should do to stop the Joker, and about my own failings in realizing Harvey's target potential. While following them, I asked Dick, "Can you see what kind of clients Harvey's helped in his career? Jim sent me the list." "Sure," he replied. A few minutes later while I was swerving through traffic along with the Joker's getaway car, Dick said, "Okay, it looks to me like Dent takes on legit clients, mostly. But there are about five or six clients who're highly suspected of some of the most jacked-up weirdness I've ever seen." "Like what?" I asked. "Well, let's see," said Dick, "We got…a male prostitution ring…robbing banks using hostages who've got snipers on their backs…okay, this one isn't so bad, it's a guy who sells tickets to big rock concerts that have sold out." "But it's still really illegal," I said. "So what do you think?" asked Dick. "Well," I said, "It's likely that in exchange for defense, his clients give him protection." "And the tickets guy?" said Dick. "Harvey probably bought from him a couple times," I said.
Meanwhile in the Joker's car, Harvey was cringing in the backseat, clutching his lower leg in pain. The Joker walked up to him and said, "I just can't believe I have the DA in my car! Such an honor." He stretched out his hand. Harvey glared at him, breathing heavily. The Joker withdrew his hand, saying, "Not the friendly type, are you?" "Your buddy," said Harvey angrily, talking about Smiley, "shot me in the leg!" "That was on accident, in his defense," said the Joker, "and I always say forgive and forget." The Joker paused and said, "Ah, you know what, to heck with forgiveness, I like VIOLENCE!" With that, the Joker kicked Harvey's injured shin and cupped his hand behind his ear while Harvey screamed, saying in a British accent, "Listen! It sounds like the cry of a district attorney! Perhaps there are more ways to illicit this rare sound." The Joker took a vial of a sickly looking substance, holding it in front of Harvey's face and dropping the accent while saying, "This…is acid." Poking Harvey's left cheek, he said, "And this…is your face." Harvey's eyes widened in horror.
The Joker unplugged the vial and began tipping it forward above Harvey's eye. Before a drop could exit, he tipped it back up and said, "I would show you acid on your face, but I think…I'll save it for later." Harvey sighed, shaking and sweating. The Joker stayed in front of Harvey, continuing, "Now, what kind of activities have you been involved in that are…not nice?" The Joker was swirling the vial, now once again corked, and Harvey eyed it, saying, "I'll…I'll tell you." Harvey expounded that he ran weapons across the border into Gotham under orders. For once in all this time, the Joker's mouth twitched. He said, "Naughty boy." He got close to Harvey's face and said, "Orders from WHO?!" Harvey gulped and said, "He…contacted me about a year ago, saying he had plans for Gotham, and that he knew about my defense of criminals. He said he'd expose me if I didn't do exactly as he told me." "I DON'T CARE ABOUT HOW HE FOUND YOU," said the Joker loudly.
Harvey jumped and said, "Th…then what do you want to know?" "His name," said the Joker, "Of course he didn't trust me with it. But an attorney, well, that's different." "He only gave me his first name," said Harvey. "WHAT?" said the Joker. "His name is…Joseph," said Harvey. The Joker raised his eyebrows and grinned wider, saying, "Ooh, he is careful. Without the last name, you have nothing. But Joseph? That's just dull. Why couldn't he have been named something like Damon or Max?" Harvey furrowed his brow at the Joker's change of demeanor. The Joker sighed and said, "Well, thanks anyway. Your cooperation is appreciated." Harvey said, "Are you going to let me go?" "No," said the Joker, "You've still got to pay your dues." Harvey fell silent.
The Joker was right in front of me at one point, so close that I tried to shoot out their car. I was successful, but by this time we were in an abandoned apartment complex. Before the car had even come to a complete stop, the Joker ran out, with Kami, Harley, and Chester with Harvey over his shoulder behind him. I jumped out of the Batmobile as fast as possible and ran in after them. The building we were in had a PA system. And since it had been stripped down to cement, the pounding feet of the Joker's henchmen seemed everywhere. Suddenly, I heard the Joker's creepy voice coming from every corner, "HEY, HEY, HEY! How are you doing tonight? I'm doing good. Now, let's have some fun. I'm going to lay down the rules for our little game. Your objective is to get Dent. My objective is to give him what he deserves. Now, I'm going to give you…you know what, I'm thinking it'll be better if you don't know. It adds more mystery. Now, FIND HIM." The Joker's maniacal laugh echoed through the speakers and cut out.
My mind raced. With such limited info, I wasn't sure what I could do. I tried to think. The Joker's voice came back on, saying, "Oh yeah, I used to live here. Cards." He stopped talking again. Cards, I thought. I was puzzled, racing through any and all knowledge I had of cards. OK, we're in an apartment building, I thought. I said to Dick, "Dick, can you get me the original floor plans for the building I'm in?" I gave him the address. A few minutes later, Dick said, "Okay, what are you looking for?" "Room fifty-two," I said. Dick said, "Umm…Okay, found it. I'll get you there." He directed me to room fifty-two. I walked through the empty doorway, nearly having my head blown off by an SMG. Kami came at me with a sideways kick. I took it in the stomach, grabbing his leg and twisting it, knocking him to the ground. He quickly rolled away and fired his gun again. I quickly stepped aside and punched him in the throat. He staggered backwards, and I ran towards him, jumping and preparing to kick him in the head.
Kami surprised me and grabbed my leg, throwing me aside. He took out his katana, saying, "It's time you died, Batman." He struck downwards with the sword. I rolled out of the way, coming up behind Kami and kicking him hard in the back. He fell hard, and I grabbed him by his shirt and pinned him to the wall with a batarang. The Joker's voice continued, "Well, that was fun. As you've already realized, Harvey's not there. But I'll keep going with this. Hasta la vista, baby!" He stopped talking once again. Something clicked, and I asked Dick, "When was the Terminator released?" Dick hurriedly said, "Uh, '84!" I ran to room 84, which was fortunately on the same floor as 52. I walked in, surprised that Chester wasn't right in front of me. Then I heard, "You really thought I was going to give myself up that easily?" I looked up, seeing Chester hanging from knives in the ceiling. He dropped down, kicking me in the face, sending me reeling. I looked down at his feet, seeing knives in his shoes.
Chester laughed and said, "You like them? I had them custom made for just such an occasion as this." Chester came at me with his knives, preparing to slice my stomach open. I tried to get out of the way, but he managed to stab me in the arm. I groaned in pain and went into rage-mode for a couple of seconds, kicking him in the chest, elbowing him in the face, and finishing with a knee to his tenders. Chester said, "What the &$*, man! OW!" I punched him in the face, knocking him out. At least that wasn't as long as the last one, I thought. I decided it would be more progressive to find the Joker. I asked Dick, "Where's the room with the PA microphone?" Dick directed me towards my enemy, and I burst through the door, the Joker already facing towards me. Harvey wasn't with him. He put the microphone down and said, "You've still got to find him. And I have to say, you don't have much time. In fact…you've got no time at all. He's in apartment 105, and he and Harley are having such fun."
Horror dwelling in my mind, I ran to the apartment, hearing pained screams from behind the wall. I walked through, seeing Harley pouring acid on one side of Harvey's face. She turned, not finishing the job. I knocked it out of her hand with a batarang before she could respond. She clutched at her hand, backing away, while saying, "You're not going to hurt me, are you? After all, I'm a woman." "True," I said, punching her in the face, "but I have a job to do." She fell unconscious. I picked up the acid and poured in on the ground. Harvey was breathing heavily, and blood was dripping to the floor from the left side of his face. I turned that side over to survey the damage. I was too late. His eyelids had been completely burned off, revealing a bloodshot eyeball. His skin was red and bloody and shrunken, giving him the appearance of a half-zombie. His hair on the left side, or what was left of it, was bleached white. The final detail of his situation was his trusty coin. The acid had damaged one side, making it seem deformed.
He spoke weakly, saying, "Bat…man? I…my face…what…?" "Shh," I said, "Conserve your strength. Don't speak. I'll get bandages." "No need," I heard behind me. The Joker was leaning against the doorway, holding a roll of gauze. He tossed it to me. I said, "What? Why are you doing this?" The Joker sighed, saying, "You stopped Harley. You got rid of the acid. You saved Harvey. He was the last on my list. And now, his survival means my time as a menace is practically over. Now put on the bandages." I did so, wrapping it around his face, Harvey wavering in and out of consciousness. "Don't worry," said the Joker, "He won't die. Just let him sleep." I let Harvey drop off, noticing his pulse and breathing were lowered, but not enough that he'd die. The Joker sat down in the middle of the room and said, "I…am out of tricks. The jig is up for me." I stared at him.
The Joker laughed and said, "Take a look around the room." I looked, seeing blood stains that had been soaked into the wall. "Whose…" I began. I looked back at the Joker, who was smiling, yet in his eyes…in his eyes he had the look of a man of tragedy. He said, "The blood belonged to a woman named Janice. She…was the love of my life." I had never thought of it before, but at that moment I realized that the Joker used to be a happy person, and not fabricated happy, but really, truly joyful. I didn't say a word. Chester lumbered into the room, groaning. He looked at the Joker, then at me, and pulled out his gun. "Don't shoot him," said the Joker, "He doesn't deserve it." The Joker looked at Harvey and continued, "Take him to the hospital. I've called an ambulance, and…the police. They should be outside right about now." Just then, police officers burst in, with Smiley and Kami already cuffed.
They aimed their guns at the Joker and Chester, and both men held up their hands. Paramedics came in and took away Harvey and Harley. Jim Gordon proceeded to the front of the police officers, saying to me, "Good job, Batman. You got him." "No, I didn't," I said solemnly, "He gave himself up." "Why?" asked Jim. "Like I've told Batman," said the Joker, "My run as the city's menace is up. The evidence against Dent is in his jacket. Go ahead and cuff me and Chester. I'm ready." He got up and let Jim cuff him, walking out. Chester, however, resisted and was beaten to the ground and dragged away. Jim looked at me and said, "I suppose you'll be following us?" "No," I said, "I think I'll stay here for a little bit." Jim nodded, leaving me alone inside the room. I looked around once more, the blood of a woman before me in stone. I thought of what the Joker was before. I cried. I cried for him.