The next morning, Arella awoke exceptionally well rested as if she had slept for days. Stretching out her sore limbs, she hesitated, realizing quite suddenly that the bed was empty and that she was once again alone. For a moment, she frowned feeling abandoned, but it wasn't unusual for the Joker to disappear so early in the morning. He usually did, so she wasn't sure why she expected this time to be different. Glancing up, she could see that his makeup still decorated both the pillow next to her and, surprisingly, the one that she was lying upon as well. She narrowed her confused eyes at the mess before running a hand across her lips, seeing just how much makeup had transferred to her own face. Chuckling, she gave her face another wipe for good measure before climbing out of bed and walking towards the bathroom, the pain in her lower body reminding her of the night she'd had. It was a welcome pain that she had no qualms against exasperating. Smiling to herself, she headed to take a shower and get dressed.
Contrary to the emotional shit storm that she had forced herself to wade through for the last few days she found that, after a good night's sleep and a fun night, exploring upper Gotham turned out to be a lot more exciting than she had expected. After stopping by a convenience store to pick up another morning after pill, she headed to the local Planned Parenthood office to get an actual prescription for birth control using her fake id. She was sure there'd be side effects from taking too many plan B pills and she didn't feel like dealing with the uncertainty now that it seemed like she might be around a little longer than she had previously thought. It was hard to make plans when she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be alive, and though it had been initially heartbreaking to be essentially planning for her death, she was also beginning to come to terms with it. It wasn't as if the threat of death wasn't always looming over everyone's head. Just not as blatant as her situation was. And she was starting to realize that the fear of not knowing was slowly warping into a freedom that she'd never had. Freedom to do what she wanted without consequence because even through everything she had been through, she trusted him. It was probably stupid, and misguided, but it was how things had turned out. She knew what to expect from him, good or bad.
Filling herself on a gourmet lunch, she finally decided to head to Gotham central park. Walking to the park in a breezy yellow sundress, she glanced up at the sun with a smile, her glasses shielding both the bright light and her face from the many people in the park. She was in no mood to be bothered right now and was looking forward to simply sitting by the lake and reading for a few hours unimpeded. The light breeze brushed her hair across her bare back as she finally arrived near the water, flopping down on the grass and crossing her legs to the side, taking in the scenery and setting the book next to her. It seemed like all of Gotham had the same idea today. The park was crowded with families, couples, and individuals enjoying the weather and the greenery of the grounds. Idly, she wondered which of the men was the one watching her as she had wondered often over the last few days, but far from being something that scared her, she found it comforting. After taking stock of her surroundings, she finally picked up the book at her side and opened it to the last page she had stopped at the night before blocking out her surroundings as she delved into the book.
For nearly an hour, she sat there taking in the feeling of freedom, as manufactured as it was.
She knew that she'd have to return to the hotel soon to start organizing everything that she had purchased for the trip back to the hospital. The Joker had specified three days and this was the last one so she was nearly positive that he would show up at some point tonight or tomorrow morning to drag her back. She was looking forward to it to be honest. As nice as it was to be outside and alone again, she hated how vulnerable she felt. And if she were completely honest with herself, she missed her own bed. His bed. Flipping the next page, her eyes glazed over the words thinking back to the hotel room and all the things she had to pack.
"Arella Morgan?" Came a call behind her.
She jerked her head up from the book in utter confusion. It had been months since she'd heard her full name and anyone who was calling it now was probably no one that she should be talking to right now.
Turning to look behind her, she saw two police officers walking towards her slowly roughly thirty feet away. Her breath hitched in her throat as she froze, her eyes shifting around to look for anyone to help. Whoever it was that the Joker had sent to watch her, but the cops kept advancing.
"It's okay." One of the police men held his hand out as if he was trying to advance upon a creature in the wild. To be fair, it was what she had turned into. A skittish creature tamed just the way the madman wanted, untrusting and terrified. "We just want to talk."
She let out a nervous gasp as the man took another step, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. On the one hand, she could let herself get taken and hopefully this nightmare would all be over. But she knew that the Joker had planned on the fact that she might get too close to a police station for whatever reason and the consequences would be dire. She couldn't let them catch her. If not for her own sake then for there's. Giving another glance around she finally pushed herself to her feet, abandoning the book and running off in the opposite direction, sliding her hand bag over her head as she ran.
"Hey! Hey stop!" they yelled after her beginning to give chase.
She ignored them, moving as fast as her feet would carry her through the hilly park and resisting the urge to turn around and see how close they were following after her as increasingly heavy breaths echoed in her ears. The only sound she could hear above the pounding of her feet against the dirt. She wasn't sure where it was that she was going, or how she would get away from the men chasing her, but fear propelled her forward through the tree line of the park racing to reach the other side of upper Gotham. As she burst through the trees onto the sidewalk she turned blindly down the street bumping into a couple of people and earning more than a few dirty looks as she tried to disappear into the midday crowds which seemed like it was nearly impossible as they continuously parted to allow her through.
'Typical'. She thought to herself. Any other time she had to shove her way through, but the one day she needed it, she was Moses parting the red sea. Glancing behind her to be sure that the police were far enough away, she took another sharp right, ducking into a large discount clothing store that had been exceptionally crowded the few times she had been in. Slowing to a brisk walk as soon as she walked through the door, she tried to control her breathing, making a beeline for the bathroom and trying to not look out of place among the large number of women. Luckily, the store didn't disappoint and the crowded racks stuffed with merchandise provided excellent cover as she continuously glanced back at the doors, expecting to see the police walk through at any minute.
Taking in a huge breath of air and gripping her side to lessen the sharp pain that was growing, her brows furrowed together in desperation as the full weight of what was happening began to hit her. She was on the run from the cops like a common criminal. And getting caught would mean death for her or others. It was his fault. And though she was angry, she needed him now more than ever.
Snatching a nearby black leather jacket from the racks and pair of jeans, she disappeared into the bathroom, checking to make sure it was empty before locking herself into the last stall, letting out a trepidatiously relieved sigh as she leaned against the door. Trying hard to think through the panicked state she was in. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the cell phone with shaky hands, pulling up the recent calls and staring at the only number there for a long moment. She wasn't sure if calling the number would even work, but she had to try. Pressing call, she let out a nervous sigh and sat down on the toilet as her leg bounced anxiously, pressing the phone to her ear.
There were four, agonizingly long rings before it was answered.
"This better be good." He said in a nasally lyrical tone, a low growl underscoring the musical notes.
A feel of relief flowed through her at the sound of his voice. "I didn't call them." She said in a hushed voice, listening intently for the sounds of the door opening. Raising her shoulder to press the phone against her cheek, she pulled off the dress, stuffing it into the small trashcan near the toilet and began to pull on the stolen jeans with difficulty.
"I don't like riddles, sweetcheeks." He said angrily.
"The cops." She corrected, struggling to button the pants there were unfortunately a size too small. "They're chasing me."
"Then maybe you should run-ah instead of calling me." He said in a slow tone as if she were stupid.
"I am running." She spat angrily, sliding her arms into the jacket as she briefly wondered what it was that she had interrupted, he seemed to be highly irritable right now and it was doing little more than piss her off. "I mean I'm trying. What am I supposed to do?"
"You don't try. You do." He replied with a suck of the cheeks. "Lose 'em and get back to the hotel."
She gave an annoyed growl, angry at the lack of help but trying to keep her emotions in check before she did something stupid. "Fine." She said through clinched teeth.
"Oh, and Ella." He started, his voice returning to the nasally tones that she was used to. "If you let yourself get caught, Gotham's gonna be soorrry." He sang, the grin evident in his voice. "Don't forget about how well the Gotham police protected Harvey."
She frowned, snapping the phone shut as she leaned over and forehead on the stall as a loud sob leaked from her throat. The hotel was over three miles away and she couldn't think of a single way that she got there without being caught. Maybe this was it. Perhaps the Joker was finally done with her and this was how he wanted to see her go. It wouldn't surprise her that he would set up an unwinnable scenario that would make it seem as if it were her fault. She wanted to scream. Wanted to call him back and let out everything she had been holding in for the last few months. Right now she wanted nothing more than to break down. The urge was strong and she could feel herself unraveling in the silent bathroom as her head rested against the cold metal of the stall in a position she'd never imagined she could be in over five months ago. But she was done with simply giving in. The Joker made her do enough of it and she had long been over it. She was angry. At the situation, but mostly at him. It was stupid of her to expect it, but he protected her. It was the sole reason she could stand to be near him. And now, she was here on her own.
Setting her mouth into a determined frown, she stood up straight with a sniffle, wiping her eyes. It wasn't as if she hadn't spent her entire life on her own. And she could handle this now. She would make it back to her room, and if no one was there to help her, she'd take the tens of thousands of dollars left hidden and find some way out of Gotham. Punishment be damned.
Sniffling, she stood up straight and wiped her eyes, her mouth setting into a determined from. Throwing her long hair up into a tight bun, she finally excited the stall, taking in her appearance in the large wall mirror before letting out a heavy sigh and heading to the door. Cracking it open, she could see three police wandering the aisles, trying to both look around the facility and not alarm the shoppers. It looked like they had just stepped into the store and she couldn't be sure if they were absolutely positive that she was in there, but she knew that she couldn't stay in the bathroom, it'd be the first place they checked once they reached the back of the store.
Pursing her lips in annoyance, she glanced to the right to see a fire alarm hanging innocuously on the wall near a fire extinguisher. Hesitating, she considered it for a moment, wondering if causing a ruckus was the best idea. It would probably let the police know exactly where she was, but with a cop standing guard near the door, she wasn't sure whether or not it would be possible to get by unseen and quietly.
Groaning, she inched out of the bathroom, hiding behind the racks to pull the extinguisher off of the wall and darting back into the bathroom. Setting the extinguisher on the floor near the door, she pulled the pin and pulled the hair tie from her wrist, trying to position herself relatively close to the door so that she could make a run for it as soon as she set the trigger. Pulling the trigger, she quickly wrapped the hair tie around it as the white liquid spewed out of the bathroom door. Leaving it standing there, emptying its contents, she ran to the fire alarm, pulling it and sending an almost ear splitting shriek through the store, ducking against one of the racks and waiting. The people in the store looked around confused as the cops began running towards the bathroom.
"Oh my god!" A woman shrieked, looking towards the door. "Fire." She screamed, pointing towards the bathroom before running towards the door.
That seemed to do it. Almost immediately, the hordes of people began running towards the door, screaming and overwhelming the few cops in the store as they struggled to get back to the bathroom.
Arella let out a sigh of relief, moving to blend in with the crowds as they exited the store. Not a single cop seemed to notice her terrified expression as she moved closer to a woman who looked legitimately frightened and grabbed her arm so that they could run out together. The woman barely cast her another glance, but grasped Arella's arm as well.
Once outside, shook her arm free from the woman's grip, ducking down a nearby alley to cross over to the next block. Behind her, she could see more cops running into the building, but none seemed to notice her as she disappeared. As soon as she stepped out onto the next block, she flagged down a cab, stopping one easily and slinking into the back seat with a relieved sigh.
"Where to?" The driver questioned as she slammed the door behind her.
"The Imperial Hotel." She said, letting out a slow breath to try and control the rapid pounding in her chest.
"That's a nice hotel." He said with a friendly smile as he drove off, "Are you visiting from out of town?"
It was all she could do to control the roll of her eyes, not nearly in the mood for idle chatting. "Yes." She said somewhat coldly.
"Well you picked a hell of a time to visit." He continued talking, ignoring her frown as he sped through the streets in typical city fashion. Normally the sharp turns and traffic weaving would be nauseating, but she was grateful for the speed right now. "Joker's got out of Arkham a few months ago and hasn't been found since. Cops can't figure out what he's gonna do next, you know? It's a real shame. Can't find a man hiding in plain sight in one of the biggest cities in the world."
"What do you mean hiding in plain sight?" She raised a brow slightly, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
"I just mean that he's not shy about his crimes. That's all. Loves the attention. Next time they catch they should just give him the chair, can't fix a psycho like that."
'If only you knew the half of it.' She thought, rolling her eyes slightly. "You ever considered a job with the tourism board?" She said sarcastically, her eyes shifting towards the window and looking around quickly before settling back in the seat.
The driver shrugged. "Just giving you a heads up. Can't be too careful. You're in a nice enough area, but don't wander out too far."
"Yea. Thanks." She pursed her lips, done with the conversation. If only the man knew how close he was to the Joker right now, even if it was by proxy. Her life was already ruined by the madman, and maybe if they'd simply killed him to begin with, she wouldn't be here right now.
The entire ride back to the hotel, her eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for any sign that they were being followed. But there was none. Upper Gotham looked as calm as always the further they got from the store she had just escaped from putting her slightly at ease. Luckily, the driver didn't bother to try and continue conversation either, taking his cue from the sharply narrowed brows that she was in no mood to be bothered more than she already had.
Finally, the pulled up to the hotel and she let out a relieved sigh, giving the street another scan to check for anything out of the ordinary. But it looked normal.
"That'll be-"
"Thanks." She didn't wait for him to give her a total, reaching into her purse and grabbing a handful of bills, she tossed it into the seat beside him, pushing open the door quickly to rush out of the cab. Judging by the sheer number of bills, she was almost positive that she'd thrown him a few hundred dollars at least, but it didn't matter. She just wanted him to leave.
As she climbed out of the cab, the driver barely waited for her to close the door before speeding away, not wanting her to change her mind about the massive amount of money she'd thrown at him.
Arella glanced behind her as the cab drove away before adjusting the bag on her shoulder and heading towards the hotel doors where she would be safe. She wasn't quite sure what kind of illegal business the hotel was involved in, but if it was the kind of place that men like the joker went to in order to stay under the radar, she was sure she'd be safe once she walked through those doors. For a moment she considered calling him again to let him know that she had made it back, but she quickly decided against it with a frown. She had made it back alone, without his help, and she would make it the rest of the way. The rest of the way out of Gotham.
"Freeze!"
Immediately her heart dropped when the voice from her left shouted those words. The words that told her she wasn't out of the woods yet. For a second, her steps faltered, but she didn't bother to turn around, instead she lifted her feet to run towards the door. But a uniformed police officer seemed to jump out of nowhere to block the door, brandishing a gun.
She let out a terrified squeak before spinning on her heels, starting to run in the other direction. An option that was quickly squelched by another cop who in her panicky mind seemed to be a perfect copy of the first one that she'd seen. They were everywhere. At least they seemed to be. They were screaming at her, that she could be sure. But her clouded mind couldn't make out anything as she spun around to see two more cops brandishing weapons at her. Her brows furrowed in panicked worry as tears began bubbling in her eyes.
But their guns meant nothing to her. Their shouting didn't scare her. What scared her was what would happen when he found out that she'd been caught. He'd kill her. Would probably kill them all. She had spent the last few days planning and now she'd never go back. He had to have known that this would happen. And she couldn't figure out why he'd left her all alone. It was stupid. None of that mattered now though. She was dead.
As her legs finally stilled, realizing that she was trapped, the sounds of their shouting and the reality of what was happening began to overtake the sounds of the blood pumping through her body again.
"Please leave me alone." She finally held her hands up slightly, begging with tears in her eyes. "I didn't do anything. I swear. Please just let me go." She rambled, trying to think of anything that could get her out of this predicament. It was pointless. She knew that none of it would work, but she couldn't completely give up. Not yet.
"Get down on the ground!" She managed to make out behind her. She wanted to listen, but her legs wouldn't listen. Truly, she was frozen to her spot. Not looking behind her, she continued to beg, her tear stained eyes looking around past the heads of the cops for anyone. Looking for him. He had to be here watching it all. Surely he wouldn't leave her on her own. But there was no one. And as one of the cops finally gave up shouting at her and tackled her to the ground, forcing a terrified scream from her mouth and her cheek to the ground in a position so strongly reminiscent of the first time she'd come face to face with him, she finally understood the truth. She was alone.
At the top level of the hotel, the Joker stood on the balcony of the penthouse suite, standing perfectly still as he stare at the scene transpiring on the street below, a deep frown on his makeup less face as the cellphone dangled limply in his hand, the numbers 9-1-1 present on the screen as a highly annoying reminder of the last number he had called. He was honestly surprised that she had made it this far on her own. Would have made it farther if he hadn't called in an 'anonymous' tip to the GPD as a failsafe immediately after she had dialed him in a panic. It had always been the plan to let her mellow out with the police for a day or two until she truly realized that there was nothing for her on the outside, and he wasn't one for deviating from it. But as he watched the scene unraveling below him now, he couldn't stop the anger building up inside. He was angry at the cops for being so unnecessarily rough, angry at her for not getting away from the trap he'd set up and making it upstairs, but mostly angry at himself. He had initially thought it'd be fun to test her resolve. But that had been over a month ago when he'd started planning. And now he hated that he'd continued. This was all pointless, and now the cops were likely to break his favorite toy.
When he saw her searching the buildings nearby, he took a small step back with a scowl. Not caring to be seen on the balcony. None of Gotham would know who the figure clad in simple pants and a button down shirt was, but she would. And that would defeat the purpose.
"Is it done?" came a voice behind him.
He didn't bother to turn around as the footsteps came out onto the balcony as well behind him, leaning over to look at the scene below.
"Would you look at that?" Dougie said with a smirk, flopping down onto one of the chairs, looking down in glee and completely ignoring the Joker's foul expression. His previously trimmed beard already growing out to the shaggy appearance he preferred.
The Joker sucked on the inside of his cheeks loudly, watching as the police dragged her flailing body into the closest police car. It took nearly five of them to get her into the backseat, and shut the door, the car shaking as she kicked. If he wasn't already in such a bad mood, he could smile. It was nice to see that she could give Gotham's finest a run for their money. But not nice enough to remove the bitter taste in his mouth.
Dougie let out a satisfied sigh as he finally stood, already bored with the scene below. "So what now? We move on with our lives? I've got some fun ideas to pass the time."
"Later." He grumbled finally turning on his heels, walking back into the room as the police car drove away. His mouth in a tight frown as his boots landed heavily on the carpeted room.
"Put all this junk in the van." He gestured lazily to the stacks upon stacks of bags that Arella had strewn about the room creating as big a mess as she usually did back at the hospital. It annoyed him to no end, but he had bigger things to deal with.
Dougie watched him walk off for a moment, rolling his eyes slowly before pursing his lips. "Where are you going?"
He didn't bother to respond, only sneered as he headed to the bathroom to reapply his makeup; his shoulder's hunched up close to his ears. He was going to kill her if she didn't keep herself in one piece.
By the time Arella was finally sitting in one of the station interrogation rooms, she was exhausted. The entire car ride over had been spent begging with the police to let her go, trying desperately to tell them that they were all in danger. But her kicking and screaming fell on deaf ears. To them she was just another crazy psychopath. No one cared about what she'd been through. What he'd put her through. None of it mattered, and no one wanted to hear about it. She was being treated like a criminal. Like the common scum of Gotham. All they cared about was how she could help lead them to the Joker. She had spent her life as a law abiding citizen before it was turned upside down. Trusting the justice system to protect its citizens from the filth of the city. But sitting here now, her head hanging so that loose strands of hair hung lifelessly like a curtain over face, she finally realized that he had been right after that first night out in the narrows. None of it was real. It was all an illusion meant to keep the masses in line. But what no one knew was how quickly the Gotham Police Department was willing to offer up its citizens on that altar of law and order. They hadn't been looking for her to save her. A nobody in a sea of nobodies. They just wanted her for what she could possibly do for them. To them, she was only a tool. A worm on a hook for a bigger fish. But what none of them realized was that he wasn't coming. Not to save her at least. She was disposable, always had been. And she would die along with everyone else around whenever he caught up with her. It didn't matter, at least they would pay eventually.
So now she sat; tapping her fingertips against the table top idly as she waited as still as a statue, her wrists bound by handcuffs attached to a loop in the center of the table. Waiting. They'd be back to question her further. She knew that. Because they wouldn't be able to stay away from what was probably their most exciting capture of the day. And they didn't disappoint.
After leaving her in the room for over an hour, the door finally opened letting two officers into the room.
"Arella Morgan." One of the officers read off of a file in hand, speaking her name as if he had caught a large sport fish. She could tell that he was in good humor. "We've been looking for you for a long time."
'Sure you have'. She thought to herself. But she didn't look up, didn't bother to move or make any indication that she'd heard him. Just kept slowly tapping on the table.
"And it looks like you've been keeping yourself busy…shacking up with your friend the Joker." He continued, tossing a few crime scene photos onto the table in front of her. The shiny papers splaying out like a fan to reveal the gruesome images of bodies lying in the narrows.
She didn't have to look at the pictures to know what they were, so she kept her head down still. She had watched enough crime shows to know that clearly they didn't have enough information to arrest her or they would have booked her already. They were fishing. She could laugh. But she didn't, just continued tapping.
"Any of these look familiar to you?" The cop took a couple of steps forward, looking down at her expectantly…waiting for her to say something.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"STOP…with the tapping!" The officer slammed his fist on the table with a shout, many of the photos scattering with the gust of air onto the floor.
Her fingers stopped finally, but she remained still, not even flinching. They were going to have to better than that.
The cop let out a sigh, straightening up slightly, trying to adjust his approach, lowering his voice, he pulled out the chair across the table from her. "Look." He started, turning the chair around and lowering himself into it with his arms resting on the back, trying hard to look relaxed though she could easily tell that he was anything but. "I know you're not a bad person. We all know that. You just got mixed up in a bad situation, that's all. Now, you're looking at a lot of charges right now…and we can help you. But you've got to help us a little." He paused, staring at her for a moment.
"Where is the Joker?" He asked finally, trying hard to make eye contact with her to no avail.
She couldn't answer the question if she wanted to. She had no idea how to make it back to the hospital, and she doubted that he would be there right now anyway.
For months, while trapped in the hospital walls, she had dreamed about what it would be like to finally be rescued. For the cops to finally find her and take her away from the Joker's constant abuse and special brand of crazy. But this wasn't even close to any of her fantasies. She never expected this treatment. And now that her initial shock had quickly dribbled off to apathetic numbness, she found that she had no desire to help them, no matter how much she wanted to see the Joker pay for everything he'd put her through. Right now, her hatred for them surpassed her need for revenge.
"We'll protect you…if that's what you're worried about." The man continued, slightly unnerved by her lack of response but standing to maintain his authority, leaning over to rest his hands on the table. "If you're afraid of him. Just tell me where he is, and we'll go pick him up right now."
'He'll be here soon enough'. She thought to herself, annoyed at the officer's presumption. Clearly he thought she was stupid. That she hadn't watched the news for the past few years…that she didn't know better than most his reach in the city. For a moment, she wondered if the man was new in his position, trying desperately to catch his first big fish so that he could make a good impression on the spanking new DA. It would make sense. Would explain why he was looking at her right now as a meal ticket and avoiding the truth. That no matter what she'd done since that day at the museum, she was a victim in all this. Everything that she'd done she'd only done to protect herself and her sanity. And no rational person could fault her for that. She wished he would just leave.
Giving an annoyed purse of the lips, she lifted her head ever so slightly, looking up at the officer for the first time since he'd walked in, her eyes still slightly red from the hysterical tears she'd shed on the ride over. He was young, probably no more than thirty…thirty five at the most. And it was clear that he had been at the job for a few years by the self-important stance he maintained over the table, hovering over her as he tried to sway her. But his attempts were almost laughable.
His eyes seemed to brighten slightly, excitedly jumping onto the small movement as if it had truly meant something. Sitting back down in the chair he kept his eyes on hers for a moment. "Wouldn't you like that?" He continued. "If we could lock him up and let you get back to your life? I mean, we can make all of this go away." He brushed one of the crime scene photos aside. A quick side glance told her it was one of the alleyway junkie. She didn't remember that much blood. "If you were just doing what he made you. All you have to do is tell me what happened and where you've been for the past six months."
She gave him another quick once over, deciding that she was bored with the over eager man who was reaching in any direction he thought might get a reaction out of her. As if he'd forgotten who she'd been conditioned by for the last few months. If she'd learned anything during her time with the Joker, it was how to keep her face blank.
The room was silent for a long moment as he waited for her to respond, for her to do anything. But he'd be sorely disappointed.
Glaring at him for another moment, she finally lowered her head again, resuming the tapping that broke the thick quiet that had settled over the room and had served as a distraction for her in the time she'd been left in here alone.
The officer pursed his lips angrily, annoyed that they had seemingly taken a step back. A step that he had imagined as far as she cared to think. He took a moment to reconsider his approach, realizing that he was getting nowhere.
"You know what…" He stood, rubbing his chin that she was almost positive had been decorated by a stubble at some moment, flexing his jaw. "Maybe I've got this all wrong." He paced the room as if thinking to himself. "Maybe you liked being the Joker's "prisoner" this whole time." His fingers curled in the air to dismiss the word. "I mean, I guess even the Joker's gotta take a day off, and it doesn't hurt having you there." He stopped pacing, staring at her, trying to gauge her reaction.
Mentally, Arella could feel her blood boiling at the insinuations. At the idea that anyone could want to be kidnapped, beaten, and mentally tortured for the past six months. Sure, it hadn't all been awful. But like he said, even the Joker had to take a break.
She wanted to kill the man in front of her. Slowly, until he took back everything that he'd just said. To get back at them all. But her cuffed hands wouldn't allow it, and she knew that showing any level of emotion right now would make him latch on like a hungry dog. So she didn't move. Didn't bother to look at him. Just kept tapping on the table, imagining that each tap was a bullet, driving deep into the body of the man in front of her.
"So what happened? Life get a little too boring working at a museum? Thought you'd add a little spice when you found out he escaped."
And they thought the Joker was crazy. This man was taking the cake. She pursed her lips ever so slightly, her finger tapping on the table again, a slower one this time as she imagined him screaming in agony. It was insanely satisfying. If this was how the next few hours were gonna go than she could stay here all day.
"I understand." He said with an air of disbelief that showed he did anything but. "Life gets monotonous sometimes; I wouldn't mind taking a break myself. But at some point you've got to come back and grow up. And right now would be a damn good time. You are facing a lot of serious charges right now and I can't help you if you don't talk to me." He turned to face the mirror in the room, still rubbing his chin as his pacing started up again, figuring there was little point in actually looking at her right now as he spoke.
"You don't owe the Joker anything." He continued. "You know that, right?" He gave an unseen sideways glance at her hands, grimacing as she tapped again, the sound starting to grate at him. "The Joker's nothing but a psychopath who doesn't care about anything but himself. You're not even the first girl he's taken and I'm sure you won't be the last."
Arella could feel her mouth aching to twitch into a frown, but she kept her face blank. It wasn't as if she hadn't always suspected that she hadn't been the first, but it didn't make it any better having to actually hear it. At least it was a topic that he never bothered to bring up or rub in her face. It was stupid, and for the most part, she'd just been glad that he tolerated her enough not to kill her. But the fact that there had been others reminded her of the ending that he'd always promised her. That one day, probably sometime soon, she would end up just like them. Dead and forgotten. She had never heard about any of the others in the news. Then again, she never did watch the news much. She'd probably missed a lot.
"You're just the first one that we caught." He paused for dramatic effect, pretending to be more interested in a few chin hairs in the mirror, his back to her. "Guess he finally got tired of you. You've got to wonder though, if he actually left you get caught, do you really think he's going to come for you?"
'No'. She thought to herself, letting her finger drop in another tap. She didn't think he would. She'd realized that the minute she'd called him earlier for help to no avail. But she didn't car. She never did enjoy the idea of being the damsel in distress and she definitely wasn't going to start now. She'd get herself out of this one way or another. And when she did, she'd make him pay, or she'd die trying. One thing was for certain though, listening to the officer talk was starting to get old.
Luckily, she wouldn't have to much longer. Before the officer could make another wild accusation, and before she could drop her finger in another attempt to send another imaginary bullet his way, a knock on the door caused both of their heads to turn. A knock followed swiftly by the door being pushed open to reveal another uniformed officer, a portly man probably a little younger than the one already in the room.
He leaned into the room, his weight resting on the doorknob as he looked at the man with almost a bored gaze. "Hey, we're here to move her." He said lazily, not even bothering to glance at her.
"Excuse me?" the first officer's blond eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"Gordon wants her down at MCU."
"Gordon." The first officer repeated the name with a groan, clearly annoyed. "Who told the old man we'd found her?"
"Look, I don't know, man." The chubby officer shrugged, shaking his head with a tired sigh, his free hand coming up to brush a bead of sweat from his forehead. "I just had to chase a perp up three flights of stairs before coming back to the station and this is my last assignment of the day before I can go home, though, so the sooner I can get it done the better."
"Well it's not like you can't use it." The man said with pursed lips. "Where's my captain? I haven't heard anything about this."
The chubby man rolled his eyes, turning to look out of the door. "Hey cap'n." He shouted. "Can you come tell this guy that we're okay to move her?"
There was a moment before an older, suit clad balding man leaned into the room in the small space left between the chubby officer and the doorframe. He scanned the room, his eyes passing over her and landing on his officer as if he was rushed. "Officer Dennis, this is directly from the District Attorney, she's being taken to MCU. The sooner she's out of here the better."
The man looked at the cap'n in surprise. "But sir, this is our-"
"Hey, same team." The man cut him off. "We are nowhere near equipped to handle the Joker if he finds out she's here." He glanced over at Arella who had since turned her attention back to the shiny metal of the table top, ignoring the men who in turned treated her like she was little more than a piece of furniture. Turning back to the chubby officer, he pursed his lips.
"Get it done. Now." He said finally before ducking out of the room.
She cast a side glance towards the door that the chief just exited through. She could tell that he was anxious to get away from her just like most of the police officers she had passed on her way to the interrogation room. It was like the hospital all over again. Even here, the Joker's campaign of terror spread through the precinct like a wet blanket, casting a somber attitude throughout the building. They were afraid of her. Like the goons at the hospital, they knew of what happened to people who got even remotely near to the Joker. People that tried to get in his way. It was no wonder the cops seemed to have such a hard time catching the man. Even in a city of thugs, mobsters, and other criminals, he was where the line was drawn. Few cops figured that catching the Joker was worth their lives. It was a hesitation that gave him almost unrivaled freedom in the city. And without the batman to reign him in, his antics remained unchallenged.
The cops would never be able to help her. Even if they wanted to which they were intent on reminding her wasn't the case. She was on her own. But it was what she was used to. And as soon as she found some way out of this, she would go back to taking care of herself. Just like she was supposed to.
The blond cop in front of her gave an annoyed purse of the lips. But he relented, knowing that there was little other option. He followed the rules. Like all the other upstanding citizens of Gotham, and right now the rules meant that he had to give up. For the first time in the last few hours, she cracked a small smirk, enjoying his frustration as he pushed the metal chair back from the table ignoring its squeal of protest. Walking around to the other side of the table next to her, he jerked one her wrists up from the table roughly to get a better angle on the handcuff lock.
It had hurt, feeling the metal dig onto her flesh, but aside from a small wince, she didn't show any sign of pain as he turned the key until he heard the telltale click, releasing her from the shackles that bound her to the only piece of furniture in the room.
"I don't know why you're smiling. Compared to MCU, this was a walk in the park." He said angrily, clearly annoyed by her smirk. He was clearly lying, trying to pick up what was left of his ego now that his star prisoner was being taken away from him. He was like a child, albeit a much better behaved one than the toddler she'd been held prisoner by for the last few months.
It was hard for her not to laugh at the man as he relocked the cuffs around her wrists-a little too tightly for her tastes- before connecting them by a long chain to another set attached to her ankles. Letting out a heavy sigh, he grabbed her arm, pushing her towards the other two cops.
"There you go." He said with another purse of the lips. "Now if you lose her it's all on you."
The chubby cop rolled his eyes. "I started my day taking down a wrestler on PCP. I think we can handle it." He grabbed Arella's other arm, pulling her roughly out of the room. "Let's go." He muttered. "I'm ready to get home."
Arella stumbled after the two cops, allowing herself to glance back at the man interrogating her for a second before rolling her eyes and walking out of the room, the jingling of her leg chains driving her crazy. But she kept moving, following the officers as they led her through the precinct. She could feel all of their eyes on her, the people sitting at the desks, trying to get a glimpse of the woman that had been hiding out with the Joker. The one that had slept next to the madman. It was clear by the narrowed gazes they threw her way that they thought she was as bad as he was. But unlike him, they stare at her unabashedly, not bothering with nervous aversions or scurrying away. And as far as they knew or cared, there would be little repercussion for treating her as carelessly as they wanted. After all, it was him that they were afraid of.
She pursed her lips, allowing the cops to drag her from the room. Trying to figure out how she would someday get out of this bind. Or if it was even worth it. There were few prisons that could be much worse than the one she'd been living in for the last half a year.
The walk to the car remained uneventful as the two cops conversed about evening plans and the like. What they would do when they were finally done with her, just another task in their workdays, and moved on with their lives. Their freedom. It annoyed her at first as a spark of jealousy began to rear its ugly head inside of her. It had been so long since she was able to make plans on her own, without worrying about what it would mean to someone else. And it was about to get worse. She knew that they didn't have anything to go on right now. Not much anyway, not enough to lock her up or else she would have been booked long ago. But she also knew that they weren't going to let her go. Not that easily. Laws meant nothing when they were that close. Something would stick, and if it didn't, she was sure that they would make it.
So she sat in the backseat quietly as they drove through the streets of Gotham, not wanting to give them any more ammo than they had already. Hating herself for how rejected she felt. It had always been his plan, he had never made any secret about that, but it didn't mean that it didn't sting now. She idly wondered if he had planned this before last night. Before he had come into her room and taken her one last time. But it didn't matter, not of it mattered. She didn't matter. Sitting back against the hard leather seat, she tried to make herself comfortable, wishing that she wasn't still wearing the pants that were still one size too small and wishing, most of all, that he just would have killed her back at the museum. Though she'd felt as if all her tears had been dried up while sitting in the station being interrogated, now that she was alone, ignored, she could feel the tears creeping up again trying hard to push through their barriers.
The three of them hadn't been driving for more than a couple of minutes, weaving through the streets at a moderate speed before a loud sound jolted her out of her musings. A sound similar to a car crash nearby, a horrible one by the sheer force of it as it shook the car.
"What the fuck was that?" The cop driving slammed on the brakes, sending her sliding from the seat and almost face first into the metal grate separating the two if she hadn't instinctually ducked. Whipping his head around, he looked at her accusingly for a second as if she could have possibly caused the ear splitting sound before jerking around again to scan outside the car for the source of the sound.
Glancing out of the back window, she could see that everyone else was just as confused as they were. Other cars had stopped in the middle of the street to the chagrin of those who were in a rush to get around them and away from the whole situation. Screams could be heard in the distance and impatient honking nearby
"Sounded like a bomb, Eric." The cop in the passenger seat said shakily, placing a nervous hand on the gun at his hip.
The cop, names Eric apparently, pushing open his door, climbing out with some difficulty and turning behind the car to figure out what had happened.
There was a silence hushed over the car as the dark hard cop glanced back at her with shaky breaths, before turning back around. It was clear that they thought whatever was going on was happening because of her.
After a moment, Eric climbed back into the vehicle hurriedly, slamming the door behind him and not bothering to clasp his seat belt again before putting the car in drive.
"Let's get the fuck out of here." He muttered, not bothering to give either one of the other two a second glace before peeling off from the street.
"What was it?" His partner questioned eagerly, annoyed that he hadn't offered an answer right away.
"Son of a bitch blew up the 73rd." He muttered, glancing back at her with narrowed eyes. "Ya hear that?" He shouted at her, a little louder than necessary, his previously pale skin turning an angry shade of pink. "Your little boyfriend is back to blowing up cops. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll go ahead and give you the fucking chair." He spat, jerking his head back around to pay attention to the road.
She only looked at him under furrowed brow, a million thoughts going through her mind as she turned to stare out of the rearview mirror, seeing the cloud of telltale black smoke billowing past the tops of buildings. Her mouth dropping slightly as she tried to grasp the fact that she'd only been in there five minutes before. He had tried to kill her. If she wasn't sure why she was here before, then she definitely knew now. He wanted her gone, but he'd wanted to humiliate her before finally doing her in. And the cops, in all their despair would blame her. She would be punished for it. Not him. Not ever him. And because she wasn't near as terrifying as he was, because she was more tangible, her punishment would be much, much more severe.
Dropping her head onto the seat, the tears finally started to flow again silently as she turned away from the front seat, not wanting them to see her cry. Not anymore at least. It had been one thing to know that he'd allowed her to be captured. But now to see the evidence that he wanted her dead was too much to take. He had help back momentously in killing her for all those months not because he wanted her around. Nor because he had some sort of soft spot for the woman sleeping next to him. He held back because he wanted what he wanted, and he'd wanted to kill her on his own terms. She had thought before that she'd been completely shattered, but now she realized that there was so much more left to break. As long as she was still breathing, he'd continue to outdo himself. It was her own fault for deluding herself into thinking she had ever been in anyway significant. She shouldn't have expected anything less from him.
Back at the 73rd precinct, bodies littered the floor, some stilled, some trying to cough away the swirling smoke and dust from their lungs, and some more still lying shocked on the floor, not completely sure of what had happened. Sheets of papers still flittered around in the air, trying to land on the dirty ground but flying listlessly throughout the room. The electrical system sparked, protesting the surge of power that had just ripped through the lines. And in the middle of it all, a dark shadow strolled through the mess, heavy feet trampling on anything in his way as pitch black eyes searched the room for what he'd lost. But when he came up empty, his apathetic scowl deepened, realizing that she wasn't where she was supposed to be. Where they were supposed to have taken her. The place where the bombs wouldn't have touched for the most part. An unsettling confusion came over him as he turned to look over his hunched shoulder at the bodies lying on the floor, wondering if she had gotten mixed up in the explosion as well as he sucked on the inside of his cheeks. But that would have been impossible. He planned for everything. He'd planned for this and she was supposed to be in the interrogation room. Needless to say, his eyes continued their discerning gaze around the room, looking for any sign of her.
Nothing.
Something was very, very wrong.
He could feel it in the way his body began to fill with anger, shaking uncontrollably. Letting out an angry, almost animalistic growl, he balled his hands onto fists spinning on his heels and storming over to the shell shocked man closest to him.
Kneeling down, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around the man's shirt, yanking him to an upright position even as the man shouted in surprise, immediately trying to pull away
"Please don't kill me. I didn't do anything. I have two kids at home, please-"
"Hey." He said shortly in a nasally voice, slapping his cheek a couple of times as the man still begged. "Hey. Need ya to focus, here." He sang with a few more light slaps, his tone light even though his hum was boiling with an impatience that belayed the anger beneath.
Finally the man stopped, looking at the made up face in front of him with wide eyes, breathing hard as he tried to figure out how much danger he was in. But a quick glance at the room around him answered that for him.
"Okay. Okay. Whatever you need." He said quickly, holding his hands up in defeat.
"Where. Is she?" He finally asked slowly, his face close to the terrified man's. He wanted to know if he was lying. Someone was keeping something from him, and he hated that feeling more than anything. The feeling of not being in control of everything.
The man didn't even need to question who he meant. Everyone in the station was aware of their recent capture. "She's gone." He said shakily. "Gordon wanted her down at MCU, they just moved her a few minutes ago."
His mouth turned into a deep frown, peering at the man's face to try and determine if he believed him or not. Her whole capture had been kept relatively hushed within the precinct. He'd specifically chosen this one because of the lead detective who was like a dog with a bone. And there was no way Gordon should have known, not yet at least. But the man's terrified face was telling the truth, much to his chagrin. She had been moved. By someone who at least looked like a cop.
For a moment, he only sat there, giving another glance around the room, trying hard to control his anger before he bothered to do anything else, his grip tightening on the man's shirt as his body shook. Finally he let out another angry growl, grabbing a much too large knife out of his back pocket and jamming it nearly completely through the man's neck before he could get a scream out. But the movement did nothing to satiate him. Yanking the knife out, he brought the weapon down in three more large, bloody arcs before pushing the body onto the floor and standing, storming out of the room, muttering to himself angrily. He'd already been angry that he'd followed through with the plan to begin with, but now he was furious. Too furious to even bother killing the others writhing about on the floor. It wouldn't solve anything. So for a moment, he simply paced back and forth, trying to sort through the clouded haze of anger in his mind and decide what he wanted to do as a next step. He could go down to MCU just to see if she was there. But he knew that she wouldn't be. He had been tracking the police scanner all day and knew that there had never been any order to move her. Right now there was nothing that could be done until he figured out where to start, and that was more frustrating for anything. He'd head back to the hospital for now to figure out where to start, and until then, Gotham would be set ablaze, for his amusement and the city's punishment. It would burn until he got back what was his.
OMG getting soooo close to the end! After only a year or so. Yea...that's all. I wish I could just throw these last few chapters out for you guys cause I'm excited but there's still work to be done. Always. :)
I like doing scenes when the two are apart. I think it can seem like the Joker's going soft sometimes which is definitely not the case and scenes outside the hospital help show that. The hard part when writing the two of them together is that I never intended for Arella to always be a victim. The last few months have been one big mind...ahem, but she's strong and that'll be coming out in later chapters even though it's been showing in spurts up until now. So I'm in this fun situation of maintaining Joker's psychotic tendencies, building our lovely protagonist back up into what she'll be in later chapters/sequels (hint!), and defining what that's going to mean for the two of them. How will psychopath and a headstrong captive heroine coexist without murdering each other? It's always fun to try and figure out.
And I say fun because I'm truly excited about working it out for you guys!
Thanks sooo much for reading/reviewing and see you next month!