"I can set that for you," Luc said when they reached Mia's building. Mia nodded but said nothing. He had been in nursing school before his first arrest, possession charges. Any hopes of working in the medical field and escaping Maroni's thumb died in Blackgate. "Have you looked at yourself yet?" Mia shook her head, but remained silent. "You're going to have to stay awake for a little bit," Luc continued his makeshift checkup, "I'll hang around to observe you, unless you just want to just go to the ER."

"Hell no," Mia grunted, adjusting herself on the stool. Luc was wetting a rag in the kitchen. "They'll want to file a police report and that'll open a slew of questions I don't want to answer."

"I know," he wiped the blood from around Mia's nose, "brace yourself." She shouted a curse as Luc twisted her nose. He quickly put some ice over it.

"How bad do I look?" Mia questioned.

"I'd call in sick to work for a couple days, you're not gonna be able to cover it up," Luc said grimly.

"You gave me an unloaded weapon," Mia finally accused, slightly muffled from the icepack against her face.

"You don't know how to use it," Luc said, "Figured just the sight of it should scare a contact."

"Asshole," Mia grunted, "could have told me." A lot of that morning's disaster could have been avoided had someone kept her informed. Neither of them was sure what Mia had lost to the Joker, but Maroni wouldn't be happy about it.

Luc hung around until well into the day. Making sure Mia ate and didn't collapse on him. He even went as far as making sure she left the bathroom unlocked. "I'm not going to fall into the toilet you know," Mia had snapped the first time he told her. She had spent an hour examining her reflection, her right eye down her nose already looked like a train wreck and it would only, get worse over night. She had dark circles under her eyes, one of which had broken a blood vessel. Mia had a long dark scab forming across her left cheek. Hopefully it wouldn't scar, Mia swore to kill the Joker if he left her with his trademark grin. To top the mess off her hair had essentially become a rat's nest; it was the right color even, tawny brown. "Joker did this to you," she said to her reflection, it stared sympathetically back. She left the bathroom after attempting to sort out her hair with minimal success. Around 4:30 Luc had received a phone call, presumably for a job, and left Mia with care instructions for her head face and nose. She took the opportunity to pass out on her bed, fully clothed.

When she woke up it was dark outside. Checking her phone she stared at the time, trying process it. Ten in the morning. She looked to her window, seeking some sort of solution and nearly screamed. Joker cards, at least fifty of them were covering her window. Pulling out a new knife from under her pillow, she grabbed one of the cards. Her stomach dropped. Not only was the Joker or someone in her house, he had reached over her to cover her window. Hell, he had covered all of them. Every window in her house, including the sliding glass door to her balcony, was covered with cards so no light could pass through. "Fuck," Mia got out of bed, clutching her knife.

Her apartment was small, just a one room studio with a very open floor plan. From where she stood she could see every corner of the apartment, every corner except inside her closet and bathroom.

Mia crossed to the closet first, flinging the sliding door open with such force that it fell off of its tracks. The resulting crashes made her jump and brandish her knife in its direction. The door lay helpless on the floor beside her. The closet was empty. She crossed the room to the bathroom, slamming it open with equal force. Empty. She slammed her shower curtain back, preparing to stab whoever hid behind it. Just the taps. The Joker had cleared out.

Mia briefly considered calling the cops. The GCPD could pull prints from the cards, but they were essentially useless in this situation. Besides, she had more than a felony's worth of pills stored around her house, no need inviting the cops to search for it.

She spent the rest of the morning clearing out the cards, obsessively checking her phone for some indication of Maroni's punishment. At least Mia knew what to expect from Maroni. A swift death, maybe? Impossible tasks? A suicide mission? He was a predictable boss, that's why she stayed loyal to him. The evil you know. She received a text from a burn phone in the afternoon. "pickup 7:30 behind iceberg lounge". Happy for something to do she threw herself into getting ready and not looking like she had just gotten pummeled on the sidewalk.

The Iceberg Lounge was neon and grimy. It wasn't a place Mia frequented nor did she ever intend to. She had returned Luc's gun, feeling much more comfortable with a pocket knife. At least she knew how to use one. Said weapon was safe and easily reachable in her front pocket.

Mia didn't even bother entering the bar. The dirty cops that frequented the place were still cops nonetheless and she didn't trust them as far as she could throw them. Even behind the bar the cacophony reached her ears. She scanned the alley for a contact … or a clown. Only white noise from the bar. This wasn't the Boss's style. The contact always arrived before her. And she was too close to civilization, even if it was the underbelly of it. Mia pulled out her knife, holding it close to her as she neared the back entrance to the lounge.

She jumped at a noise behind her, swinging her knife at the source. "Jesus, Mia!" the man exclaimed, tripping over himself to back away. Mia vaguely recognized him. His name was John or Tom or Joe or something like that. Maroni liked the generic tall white guy types. "What happened to your face?"

"None of your problem," Mia tucked the knife away, "What do you have for me?"

"Was it the Joker?" John started laughing, "I knew he fucked you over, but damn." John pulled out a briefcase. "Boss wants this cleared out by the end of the week," he said.

"Who does he think I am? Walter White or Jesse Pinkman?" Mia took the briefcase, daunted by its weight.

"Neither," John replied, "Look you're in deep shit with the Boss. Be a good girl and don't fuck this up."

"Whatever you say, John."

"It's Sam."

"Good for you," Mia replied.

"Listen here, princess," he snarled Luc's nickname for her, "As far as I see it you're already dead." He shoved into the wall. "Play nice, because your boss won't bat an eye if you disappear." Mia straightened herself up and pushed past Sam. Apparently Maroni was looking for an excuse to kill her.