"Freeze!" a guard in black shouted as he entered the room. He was holding a handgun aimed at the Joker's face.
The Joker broke his downward gaze at Adriana and looked forward at the two police officers who entered the room immediately after the guard.
"Hands up!" one of the officers ordered. "Now! On your knees!"
The Joker slowly lifted his hands from the floor and put them both in the air, looking the guard in the eyes.
"Back away from her, now!" one of officers shouted even louder and the Joker took a few strides back on his knees. Once they were content with his distance the two officers lunged at him and the guard began pulling Adriana away from the violence ensuing.
They two officers moved so quickly that they were almost a blur. She saw them slam the Joker down onto the floor and one struck him on his back with a baton, even though he wasn't resisting. The second officer joined in by giving him a kick in the side, a fierce strike to the ribs as the first officer hit him on the back a few more times. As the guard continued pulling her away she caught a glimpse of the Joker's face. Despite the beating he was getting his face was expressionless and austere. He knew he would get away, he was amused. A few moments later they had him cuffed and pulled him to his feet and were shuffling him out of the room. Her eyes met his for a second, his gaze held no distinct expression as they escorted him away.
Three more guards then entered the room and one helped her to her feet.
"Take her to medical immediately," the first guard on the scene ordered, and the other two, who were employed by the institution obeyed.
.
.
.
"We need to take a statement," an officer said as he entered the examining room in the infirmary.
"I'm sorry," the institution's night nurse replied. "She's just arrived here and I need to examine my patient. A statement can wait." She closed the door after the officer stepped out.
"Adriana," Nurse Abigail started with a solemn look on her face. "Are you injured?"
"No, not really," she said as the nurse shined a tiny flashlight into her eyes. "I just fell."
"May I?" she said, indicating Adriana's abdomen. Even though Adriana tried to hide it, the nurse could tell that's where she was hurt.
"Okay," Adriana said and lifted her sweater a bit. "Is it bad?" Adriana asked as the nurse was examining the bruising. It had gone from red to purple.
"Lay on your back," Nurse Abigail said. "Please." She began pressing other areas around the bruising asking if there was pain.
"No," Adriana said. "Just in that spot, where the bone is."
"Were you struck?" the nurse asked.
"No, I-" Adriana started. "I sort of tripped and hit my hip on a desk. Before I fell down."
The nurse nodded. "Looks like that's what could have caused it. It's looking like superficial bruising."
"I'm not lying," Adriana defended herself even though the nurse's tone wasn't accusatory or doubtful. She could hear her thoughts. She thought Adriana was hiding something because of shame.
"Were you assaulted?" the nurse asked.
"No," Adriana said. "Nothing like that happened."
"Are you injured anywhere else?"
"No," Adriana told her.
The nurse nodded.
"This bruising doesn't look like anything serious, though in the next few days it may begin to look a bit worse. Just to be safe I would like to send you to the hospital for an x-ray and some scans just to be sure."
"Is that really necessary?" Adriana sighed.
"I would say so, yes," the nurse offered.
"Okay," Adriana said. "I'll go. My boyfriend should be back here soon..he can take me."
"I think he's already here," the nurse said, seeing Damien behind the door. "Is it alright if I let him in?"
"Sure," Adriana sighed again and stood, since it felt like the waist line of her pants was pressing into the bruise when she sat, causing more pain.
"Adriana," he said as soon as he came in. "What happened?" he said and looked at the nurse.
"I just hit my hip on a desk and fell," she answered. "I'm okay, I just have to get it looked at, at the hospital."
"Are you able to give a statement now?" an officer called from the door. Damien walked over to him and snatched the report pad from him and asked the nurse to leave before shutting the door.
"Tell me exactly what happened," he said and tossed the pad down onto the examination table.
"I just did," she said.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked.
"No," Adriana said. "He didn't."
Damien had walked over and lifted her shirt a few inches and looked at the bruising on her.
"I was trying to run," Adriana said truthfully. "But I ran against the desk in that office and I fell down."
"Okay," he answered and went to the door to tell the officer waiting. "She needs to go to the hospital."
"Wait, you're not going to take me?" Adriana asked.
"Bill's got it covered," he said and patted the other officer on the shoulder.
.
.
.
The Joker sat on chair with his hands cuffed behind his back, in a room full of officers.
"You think you can try to run from us?" one asked, trying to intimidate him. These were all police officers. None of the institution's guards were around.
At that moment another man came into the room, and the Joker recognized him as the officer who was in charge oh his transport from Arkham. Damien Ricard. He did not have a forgettable face. Or demeanor.
"Didn't you hear him ask you a question?" Damien asked.
"I don't think or try," the Joker replied evenly. "I know and I do."
In a flash, Damien's fist flew at the Joker's face, hitting him hard in the left eye. A few of the other officers laughed and one or two cheered. When the Joker was able to focus his vision again after the disorienting jab, he saw the man who had struck him looking around at the other officers with a big smile on his face.
"You sure are racking up the list of criminal offenses aren't you," Damien said in a loud voice while still looking at the other officers. "Trying to collect them all?"
The Joker didn't respond. This wasn't his first attempt to escape-from police custody, jail, asylum, or anything similar. This was nothing new.
"Repeat offence," the Joker said in a bland tone, while feeling his eyelid beginning to sting from the impact of the punch. He tilted his head up toward the ceiling.
"No, no," Damien said. "Not your attempted escape. I'm talking about attempted rape."
The Joker frowned a bit and looked down from the ceiling and straight ahead and then over to Damien.
"Yeah that would be a new one!" on of the officers chimed in loudly. "Even for this freak."
"Bastard's got a long list of crimes," another officer said pensively. "Guess this should be expected."
The officers began to talk among each other, quite loudly. The Joker noticed them looking at him with disgust. A different type of disgust than he was used to. A new type of revulsion. He didn't care much.
"False," the Joker grunted and looked away from the them, his tone calm and authentic.
A few of the officers looked at Damien for explanation, as if they could tell the Joker may have been telling the truth. As the Joker looked back towards them he felt another hit on his left eye. This strike was even faster and more dizzying that the first.
"What makes you think we are going to believe you?" Damien said. "Ready the transport, Farrow and Pence. You're going back to Arkham."
oing back to Arkham."