****Ooomg, long time no see! Sorry for the long delay but the last few months have been nuts in the best ways. I moved cross country including a two week long road trip, spent a week in London, and then had my hard drive fritz out deleting all my data. Including the sequel! Luckily I was able to recover most of it after a month or so. Now I'm in the process of working out some plot kinks that are giving me the worst writer's blocks before I start getting some chapters out to you all around February or so. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you'll love the sequel. Here's the smallest of small previews!****
The man sat lazily in a straight backed chair, his feet propped up on the round table in front of him. His right arm casually raised and lowered the 25 pound weight as his left arm brought the cigarette to his mouth. The television in the background blared a comedy special as he chuckled to himself occasionally.
The sound of a ringing phone caused him to exhale a puff of surprised smoke, looking over to the smaller table beside him where the electronic lit up with a strange sequence of numbers. For a moment, he considered not answering it, but it wouldn't be the first time an unknown number turned out to be legitimate, even at these hours. Begrudgingly putting the cigarette out in the nearby ashtray, he put the television on mute before finally picking up the phone after the fifth ring.
"Yea?" He answered gruffly, not bothering to stop the weight lifting.
"Well if it isn't my favorite news caster." Came the nasally voice with a little too much pep to be believable.
The man's weight suddenly dropped with a heavy thud on the carpeted floor as he sat up straight in the chair. Letting out a nervous cough, he continued. "J-Joker. Hey. What are you…?"His voice trailed away as he tried to think of something to say. He'd had a couple of dealings with the clown, and if he was completely honest, a couple was far too much. Though it was better to be on his good side than bad, he'd much prefer anonymity.
He pulled the phone away from his ear as a giggle erupted on the other end of the line.
"D'ya miss me?" The joker continued as his laughter died down.
"What…um." He coughed, desperately thinking of someway to change the subject so he wouldn't have to answer that question. "Where ya been?"
Luckily the Joker seemed not to care much about what he had to say in the first place. "Oh here and there. So tell me. How are things in Gotham without the party? Hmm?"
"They're uh…it's quiet." He said finally. "The cops are spending all their time looking for you. Makes it easy for the rest of us."
"Well you know I aim to please." He said dryly.
The man continued, knowing that the Joker would want all of his information. "Santini's taken over most of the business for now. Ever since you killed his partner. But it's pretty disjointed right now. People are doing what they want. And there's a new girl about the neighborhood."
That seemed to interest him.
"A girl?" He interrupted.
"Y-yea." The man said hesitantly, he much preferred when the Joker found little interest in what he said. "Been here 'bout a week. No one knows what the deal is but she's offing people left and right. Santini's tryin' to figure out what to do about it."
There was a long pause on the other end as he thought, wondering if the girl that he was talking about was the same one that irritated him beyond belief every time she dared to cross his mind. But of course it was. Of course she wouldn't be content with being alive. No, she had to force herself back in one way or another and surely her crime spree was just her latest way of accomplishing that.
"A week you say? Is She cute?" He said in a joking tone.
"Yea. I think. They're still trying to figure out which girl it is."
"Are they? And what about you? Have you got this-ah…all figured out."
The man was silent for moment too long. He wouldn't be able to get away with a lie at this point. "Working on it."
He laughed at this. "Well why don't you do Joker a favor and keep working on it? Hmm? Keep an eye on our newcomer for a while. I want to ah…personally welcome her to the neighborhood."
Silently, the man punched the air in front of him, wanting nothing more to stay out of the whole situation, especially now that it involved the Joker and possibly one of the biggest mob bosses in the area. He had never physically met the Joker so maybe there was a chance the man would never find him. But he knew just as well as anyone else that it was wishful thinking. He mouthed a few choice words before finally letting out slow breath and putting the phone back to his ear.
"Okay." He said shortly, knowing that there was no other acceptable answer to a statement that hadn't been a question.
"Good." He said with a slow grin. "Gotta go."
Hanging up the phone before the man could reply, the Joker stare at the phone accusingly as he sucked his cheeks. The loud noise around him that had been so much fun only moments before now starting to grate his nerves as he thought. Mentally, he scowled at the idea of having to deal with her again once they returned to Gotham. She was supposed to disappear. Probably leave Gotham with the money he'd forgotten and set up elsewhere. Or kill herself for all he cared. But from the sounds of it, he'd created a monster…one of his favorite pastimes. And as much as he pretended to be annoyed, he couldn't wait to see this particular monster in action.