"In order to make your experience here more productive and comfortable," Dr. Andrews said to the Joker, who they had all begun to refer to simply as Mr. J, some jokingly as Mr. John Doe since he had no identification or records of birth that could be found. "We will be having you interact with another patient for approximately one hour each day during your recreation time. Having you remain isolated and only having sessions with me truly isn't the most effective way to work on improving your communication skills and interaction with others-"
"Communication skills," the Joker replied, his voice dancing around in tone as if he was singing slowly.
"Well," the Doctor started. "You have another court hearing next month. If you want your best chance for the least harsh sentencing possible surely you must understand that effective communication is key. You must at least see the value in that?"
The Joker looked at the doctor. Everyone knew by now that when all was said and done, he would be spending the rest of his life at Arkham or a maximum-security prison or worse. Why was this doctor pretending to care?
"You certainly make it sound valuable, doc," the Joker replied suspiciously. "But why?"
"I have just told you why," the doctor said avoiding eye contact, as he and everyone else did.
"Yes," the Joker said back. "Makes much more sense now."
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"You don't have to stay overnight," Dr. Andrews said after coming into Adriana's room at the institution. She had returned for the job.
"I know but," she replied. "It feels more realistic this way."
"Have you been taking the course of medications?" he asked her. He had given her clear instructions on how to take her existing medications and they would be tapering them off to avoid withdrawal.
"Every day, Dr. Andrews," she replied honestly. "I've been sleeping a lot more."
"You look very well," he said. She looked much more well rested and healthier. "You can have your cell phone, of course, since you're not actually a patient."
"I think I should keep this as close to the real thing as possible," she said and placed her phone into the small box the security guard had given her. "Could you turn it in for me?"
"Sure," he answered and took the box. "So just two days."
"Yup," she said. "I leave after tomorrow night. I hope it's enough time."
"Well, rec time is in a couple hours," he said. "What will you do until then?"
"Take a long nap," she said with a smile. She had been adoring sleep lately and slept every chance she got.
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When Adriana entered the rec room, she noticed one guard by the door. Two more were standing at a wall behind the Joker. He was sitting at one of the tables on the far end of the room drawing on a sheet of paper, or possibly scribbling. None of the other patients in the facility had ever seen him and none had any idea he was there. The motion of his hand seemed to be just zig-zagging across the paper in front of him. He looked up when he heard the door shut.
Adriana walked over to the table where he was sitting. For some reason she felt no nervousness or fear at all, likely due to the presence of the guards. The guards that here now were very different from the ones that were previously hired by the institution. These men were much larger, extremely physically conditioned, and didn't have the casual energy of the previous guards. They seemed like they were a part of the military. They wore all black. Adriana could sense that the Joker had noticed the difference, not only in the individual men but in their caliber. She was concentrated on the goal, staying focused and extracting information.
As she approached the table, she was already distracted. This was the first time she had seen the Joker for more than a second or two in bright lighting. He looked at her curiously and was at the same time flipping over the paper he had been scribbling on.
What immediately jumped out in his appearance were the very pronounced scars on both sides of his mouth, extending along his cheeks. They looked even bigger now than when she had last seen him. Everyone knew about these scars, but seeing them in person was quite different from seeing a painted face in the news. Looking at them, all Adriana could think of was immense pain. It looked like the scars had possibly been stitched back together at some point but the lines where the stitches appeared to have been, were slightly crooked and haphazard. She knew the story of the scars from his memories but seeing the memory of being sliced open in the face, the pain and blood, was different from seeing the reality of the scarring years later. She could also see the scar where his bottom lip had been sliced downward and to the side from the middle, separating the bottom lip into two which was now sealed by another thinner scar. She sat at the table across from him.
"So, you're the sacrificial lamb," he said darkly. "Here to help me with my communication skills."
"If you say so," Adriana replied. Dr. Andrews didn't tell her the reason that he gave the Joker for her presence. The reason was good enough.
The Joker had been completely hidden from all other patients so she knew he would have to give an excuse as to why this one patient was now being allowed to see him for the second time. He began to draw on the other side of the paper, occasionally looking up at her.
"Why don't we play a game?" he finally said with a smile. Adriana had been quiet, trying to pry into his thoughts and it frustrated her that he didn't seem to be thinking of very much. Only that he would eventually escape when the time was right. Soon.
"Okay," she said, observing his face again.
He was surprised that she had agreed.
"Pick one," he said, nodding towards a tall rack of games.
She could tell without her intuitive gift that he was noticing that she was almost staring at his scars. She changed her gaze and looked into his eyes. Surprisingly, they were the least intimidating this about him. His eyes were slightly hooded, and the color was deep hazel with many hints of brown. She could also tell, by looking into his eyes, that he did not take anything too seriously. He didn't care what happened.
His hair was almost the same color as hers, a very dark shade of blonde, but the texture was more silky and wavy. Hers was wavy and much more voluminous, with less sheen. He had very faint remnants of green dye at the ends of his hair which came down almost to his shoulders. She took a moment to take in the overall shape and structure of his face when her thoughts surprised her. Without the severe and graphic scarring on his face, dark circles under his eyes, and intensely discolored teeth...he was actualy not a bad looking man.
This opinion surprised her enough that she closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them to see if she could still see the same thing. When her eyes opened, she once again saw the uneven bulging of the scars and jagged sealed cut on his bottom lip. The first time she saw him, she could see that without paint he looked haggard and tired but not hideous.
"If you're supposed to be working on your communication," she said finally. "Let's pick one together." This would give her a chance to see how he made decisions even if it was something as simple as a board game.
He looked back at the guards and stood slowly, unsure if they would leap forward and subdue him, but they just watched closely. They had heard their conversation. Adriana stood as well, and they walked over to the shelf. One guard followed behind them closely.
"Chutes and ladders?" she asked pointing.
He didn't answer but displayed no interest.
"Monopoly?"
He turned and gave her an annoyed look. That was the worst game of them all.
Collapse, he thought without speaking. Looks fun.
She found it interesting that he didn't seem to notice the name of the game, but only the image on the box, and had made up his own name for it. Collapse. She leaned forward and pulled the Jenga game from under a Chess set box. The stack of blocks falling looked like a skyscraper falling to the ground.
"How about this one?" she said about the game. He glanced at her and walked back to the table. She followed him making eye contact with all three guards on the way.
She pulled the pieces from the box until they were all on the table. He sat with his arms crossed.
"Okay...I guess I'm stacking them?" she said and began to line up the pieces for the bottom layer. She felt him watching her as she carefully stacked the pieces perfectly. Again, his mind seemed almost blank.
"Do you want to go first?" she asked when she was done stacking.
He didn't answer and instead reached forward and yanked one of the pieces from the bottom.
"Wait!" she said as the entire tower became distorted but didn't fall. He looked impressed. "Look, now you messed it up, it's going to be way harder now."
He smiled. "Much more fun this way. Why be cautious? It's going to fall anyway. Let's get to the fun part."
"That's how you want to play this," she asked. "Seriously?"
He said nothing. She looked back at the stack which had twisted where he had pulled the piece out at the bottom and many of the top pieces had somehow become more separated. She took a deep breath and thought of proceeding with caution but then surprised herself by yanking a piece from close to the bottom of the tower even more quickly than he had. The tower rocked to one side and was now balancing but very close to falling, by the looks of it. It was actually fun.
"See?" he said, noticing her delight.
She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Adriana was surprised that the momentary exchange did not feel strange at all.
"Your turn," she told him.
He immediately pulled a piece from the middle so quickly that it was hard to believe the tower barely moved at all. He looked a bit disappointed.
"Hah," she laughed at him. "I can do better than that."
He nodded. "Go."
She reached and pulled another piece from the bottom on the same level and opposite side from where he had pulled his first piece. She was sure the tower would break apart, but it just twisted and shook. They could both tell the next move would send the entire thing down.
"Impressive," he said. "Go again."
She was quiet for a moment and then smiled again. She pulled another piece from the very bottom layer and somehow the invincible tower still stood though it swayed again. The Joker let out a laugh that surprised her and she could tell it surprised the guards too. When he was done, he leaned forward ready for his turn. She could see in his mind and eyes that he wanted to pull a piece out very quickly and send the entire thing down.
But as he reached and touched the intended piece, he glanced at her and somehow couldn't remove his eyes from hers. He was pulling the piece out slowly in somewhat of a daze that lasted for a few short seconds. Then he seemed to snap out of it and finished pulling the game piece very quickly.
It was again, not an awkward moment but stayed in both of their minds as it passed.
They could tell the tower would still stand. The second he had his piece removed she grabbed another piece rapidly and sent the game pieces flying over the table.