17. The Joker's Asphyxiation
Disclaimer: the lyrics at the beginning here are not mine, they belong to Muse. I felt they fit the Joker/Giada relationship quite well. There is a pretty cool video on youtube with the Joker and Rachel that is to this song if you'd like to check it out! Enjoy!!
I think I'm drowning,
asphyxiated
I wanna break this spell
that you've created
You're something beautiful
A contradiction
I wanna play the game
I want the friction
You will be the death of me
You will be the death of me
Bury it
I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it
Our time is running out
Our time is running out
You can't push it underground
You can't stop it screaming out
I wanted freedom
Bound and restricted
I tried to give you up
But I'm addicted
Now that you know I'm trapped, sense of elation
You'd never dream of
Breaking this fixation
Muse, Time is Running Out
Morning came and I awoke on the Joker's bed alone. I had the waste the day away until the opportune moment. I knew what I had to do, but the real issue was running this operation myself, without the help of the Joker. Well, he didn't plan things, he just anticipated chaos. Maybe I should do the same. If I make a plan and things don't go according to plan, would I know how to fix it? If there is no plan to fall through, then there would be no fixing things. I would improvise. I would paint my face and take the gun, like he had instructed and I would improvise.
This man was going to be the death of me, but there was no quitting him. I was addicted to him, drawn in by his mystery, obsession and disturbances. He fascinated me, and there was just no going back.
I spent the entire day making sure that everything was set—the gun loaded, the face paints full, my clothing secure. That fucking Joker—getting caught and having me figure out how to get him out of County. How the hell was I supposed to get him out of County? No doubt he would be under a watchful eye—or many. What did he expect me to do? Rig County to blow? I didn't really know how to rig anything! I checked and re-checked the gun a hundred times before I finally decided that my time was running out. I had to change into my clothes. I dressed myself and then went to his dresser to paint my face. I squirted out the white paint and rubbed it all over my face. I then took the black and rubbed it over my eyelids, drew on a line under both of my eyes and up and out to my temples. I painted the red onto my lips in Geisha fashion and finished up with red and black dots, to match my costume. I took the gun and placed it into my last minute gun holder—sew onto my corset so to be hidden under the red button down shirt. I tied up the ends of the shirt, put on my stiletto heals and swung out of his apartment window. I climbed down the fire escape and traveled through the allies of Gotham.
As I wandered closer and closer to County, I thought of various ways that I could free the Joker from County. What lengths would I have to go to in order to do this? What would they believe and what wouldn't they believe? Well, I had to think and I had to think fast, as I came up upon County. Suddenly, I spotted a window that was at the perfect level for me to access. I took in a deep breath and released it. I knew what I would do. I took in one last deep breath, clenched my hand into a fist, and punched the glass window as hard as I could. My hand erupted into agonizing pain as shards glass stuck into my hand and blood dripped from my veins. I then quickly took a piece of the glass from the ground and cut the glass into my scars, opening them. Screaming at the top of my lungs from real pain, I ran around the corner and into County.
"Help me! Somebody help me, please!" I screamed in pain.
"Are you okay miss? What happened? Where are you coming from?" the lieutenant asked me.
"I'm a dancer at the Jokers Wild, a new club over on 51st and 2nd street and a man attacked me. A fight broke out…and he threw me into window. I tried to stop it and my fist went through the window…" my voice shook as the pain in my hand and chest throbbed excessively.
"We'll send some people out right away miss. What did this man look like?"
"He was tall, with brown hair—I could have sworn it was Bruce Wayne! But it couldn't have been! Look for someone who looks like Bruce Wayne!" I exclaimed in agony as I fell to the floor, grabbing onto my chest with my busted hand.
"Miss, we'll call the ambulance right away, just come right this way," the lieutenant tried to help me up. I slowly stood to my feet as he led me around the corner. I got a glimpse of the Joker sitting in the jail cell. He was grinning. I fell back down to the ground in pain.
"Miss, please, come this way. We're going to need your help in identifying the man," the lieutenant stated.
"No! I won' go back there! I'm staying right here until the hospital gets me!" I shrieked.
"Miss, please, get off the floor—it's not sanitary down there," the lieutenant knelt down to help me up but I reached my hand into my shirt and pulled the gun from its holder and shot the lieutenant in the stomach. He fell over and I forced myself to jump to my feet.
"She just shot the lieutenant! Grab her!" an officer exclaimed. I aimed the gun at him and shot him in the head. He fell to the floor, followed by two other detectives and officers. Once everyone was out of my way, I grabbed the keys from the Lieutenant's belt and unlocked the Joker's cell.
"Well done, Giada," he said with a smile, "now let's take a look at that…hand," he said as we ran from the County jail and into the back allies of the city.
Once we reached his apartment building, I stopped and fell onto the pavement.
"I can't climb that, I really can't," I said between clenched teeth.
"Yes you can," he stated.
"No, I really can't. It hurts too much…I…can't," I said through heavy breathing as I fought back the tears.
"Well, let's take a look at that hand then," he said as he knelt down next to me and took my hand in his. He then noticed blood seeping through the red shirt and ripped it open. "You really are hard core, Giada," he giggled as he removed the red shirt from me.
"I don't care—just fix it, please," I said, squeezing my eyes in pain. This man was literally sucking the life out of me.
"I'll be right back—I have some things…I hope you don't mind," he said as he jumped to his feet and climbed the fire escape to his window. He was undoubtedly retrieving a first aid kit of some sort.
Back on the ground, I writhed in pain and kept my eyes shut. Focusing on something else helped me take my mind away from the pain.
"Finally alone, are we?" a voice came from behind me. I forced my eyes open to find a gun pointed at me and Harvey Dent—or what appeared to be half of Harvey Dent. Half of his face was burnt to high hell, exposing flesh, tendons and parts of his skull.
"Harvey! What happened to you?" I asked, near tears.
"It's Harvey Two-Face, or just Two-Face, if you'd like," he responded, walking closer to me.
"Harvey, please don't shoot me—it's Giada DiMarco, remember me? From Bruce Wayne's party that night? The one from Boston!" I pleaded.
"Where's the Joker? He mustn't too far from his toy," Two-Face responded.
"His toy? I'm not the Joker's toy," I replied, breathing heavily in pain, "he'd kill me if could,"
"Well, I'll give him that chance when he comes by," Two-Face stated as he showed me his coin. All of a sudden, there was the sound of clanking metal. Both Two-Face and I glanced up and saw the Joker coming out of the top window.
"I'll just be hiding over here then," Two-Face said with an evil grin as he hid back into the darkness.
"Joker! No! Don't come back down here!" I shouted up to him as he climbed down the fire escape.
"Do you want my medical attention or don't you?" he asked as he finally jumped onto the ground with a bag of things. He knelt down next to me and took out some sterile tweezers.
"Really, you've got to leave," I said.
"See, Giada, you helped me get out of County—this is the least I can do for you!" the Joker laughed as he plucked the glass from my hand.
"What a harlequin pair you make," Two-Face said as he emerged from the darkness. The Joker averted his gaze from my hand and up to the voice.
"Harvey, Harvey, Harvey Dent!" the Joker laughed in elation at the sight of Two-Face pointing a gun at him.
"From the looks of things, Giada, I'd say that the Joker here isn't about to kill you any time soon. I don't know what you're talking about," Two-Face stated as he approached us closer.
"Me? Kill Giada? Who put that spontaneous thought into your head, Harvey?" the Joker asked, incredulous at the thought of killing me.
"Well, Joker, you gave me the fair option of kill you back in the hospital, so I thought I'd play the same chances with your girlfriend here," Two-Face stated. I shut my eyes tightly as I breathed in and out in pain.
"Harvey, you don't want to kill Giada—" the Joker said, putting down his tweezers.
"Well, she has the same chances as Rachel—you should know that—you were the one who put us in that situation," Two-Face explained.
"But Harvey…it was nothing personal, remember? I thought you believed me that it was…nothing personal," the Joker responded with a grin.
"Well, the same goes for this, then—heads she lives, tails she dies. I hope you know it's nothing personal," Two-Face stated, showing off his half burnt coin.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
See, if this were any other situation, even the situation when Harvey had given me the same scenario for myself, I took the gun to my head and had responded with a grin, "now we're talking". I half expected to feel the same. But my lips were curled into anything but a smirk. I hadn't felt this desperate in years—not since the war. As I gazed down at Giada, lying half in my arms, half on the pavement, I felt something I hadn't felt in years—I didn't want her to die. I knew in that moment if Harvey flipped and that coin landed on tails and she died, I'd be devastated. Wait, what? I'd be devastated? Why was it fair for me to blow up Rachel but it wasn't fair for him to shoot Giada? It was fair—he could kill her if he wanted—if the odds failed her, she'd die. That's fair. That's chaos. I wasn't going to let that happen. I was not going to let Harvey, Harvey, Harvey Dent kill my Giada. She was finally on my side, and nothing was going to take her away from me—not this time. Fucking Harvey Dent! You can't rely on anyone—just Giada. She does what I ask of her and more. But not Harvey—you turn Gotham's White Knight off the deep end, thinking he'll take to chaos, but then he brings his chaos and turns it on me. Go figure. If only he were predictable like the Batman.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I opened my eyes and saw Harvey holding the coin. I knew I was screwed. The Joker couldn't do shit to save me.
"Well, Joker? There's no way for you to ever feel what I felt in my last moments with Rachel—hearing her voice, telling her it was going to be okay, even when I didn't know what would happen. Do it. Humor me, Joker. Pretend like you care about Giada. Pretend you care about what happens to her—tell her everything is going to be alright—Lie. Lie like I did," Two-Face said as he held the gun out at me.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Lie? Who said I'd be lying?" I asked.
"What is this? Joker, are you saying that you're actually capable of feeling emotional compassion for another being?" Two-Faced asked with a snicker, "because, really, Giada, I pity you—being in love with a madman like this who has no capability to love you back,"
Giada just remained silent. I didn't know what she was thinking. I always know what she's thinking. She was just as clueless as I was. Or was I clueless. Compassion? Maybe that was the feeling I was getting as I saw Harvey pointing that gun at my Giada.
I closed my eyes and swallowed. When I re-opened my eyes, I saw Giada gazing back up at me. Damn those eyes of hers! Those eyes…something about them made me feel things inside. Ever since I met her, I've never been able to quite explain it. I hadn't felt those things from someone else's eyes in years…Harvey! I licked my lips and bit my bottom lip. What was this feeling? Was I drowning? Yes, that's it. I was drowning, asphyxiating in emotion I didn't know I was capable of feeling anymore. Asphyxiating on emotions I hadn't felt since the war. He flipped the coin. Damn you Harvey!