Chapter 7
Boom
The corridors that weaved throughout the derelict building echoed with deviance and ingenuity, every once in a while, a high-pitched laugh would pierce the dusty air with only the emptiness able to hear. The streets of Gotham paid no attention to this forgotten highrise as the city continued its wild nightlife antics. The building loomed over the harbour, watching over the Narrows and looking out to sea. The Joker and his gang were hiding in plain sight.
On the 12th floor of this disregarded tower block, the Joker's team were gathered in the abandoned apartment. The Joker stood in the middle of the room, in front of the TV, whilst his henchmen encircled him listening intently. Some sat on the sofa in front of him, two sat on the table behind the sofa and others were scattered around the room.
Ana was leaning against the kitchenette, listening to the Boss. A few weeks had passed since the ambush, her face was mostly healed with only a faded vertical scar on her right cheekbone remaining.
"This will be our finest hour, no mistakes," The Joker explained, glaring at the group. "You," he pointed to a henchman sitting on the sofa beside Allie. "Where will you be when we approach the uh… power station?" the Joker asked. The henchman shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he looked around the room for answers.
"I'll be driving to the main power lines in upper Gotham," he mumbled.
"Wrong," The Joker simply said, casually lifting his pistol and shooting the man between the eyes. Allie flinched and then peered at the oozing corpse. She looked back at the Joker and giggled. Ana let out a quiet exhale.
"You," The Joker pointed to Ana, "Where will you be when we uh… approach the power station," he asked. Ana looked toward the Joker and stood up off the kitchenette.
"George and I will be climbing up the power lines, near Gotham Memorial Hospital, ready for your signal," Ana explained as she pointed to another henchman that was standing across the room next to Duncan.
"Good," the Joker nodded, "You," he continued to ask around the room. Ana let out a relieved sigh, she hated it when the Joker does quick-fire questions. She looked around the room at the differing henchmen and crazies, she noted that Rex wasn't there.
"But I want to be with you," Ana heard Allie insist. Ana held her breath knowing that you can't talk to the Joker like that. "Can't I come to the power station, Boss?" Allie asked. Ana watched the Joker let out an exaggerated sigh and cocked his head to the side as he stared at Allie.
"Come here," he commanded to Allie, who eagerly stood up and walked up to him. When Allie was in front of him, the Joker peered at her for a moment and sucked his cheek. Without warning, he smacked her across the face with his gun. Ana gave a sharp inhale in surprise and looked to the ground.
Allie let out a squeak as she fell to the ground. The Joker laughed as she fell and then gave her one hard kick in the stomach.
"You," he continued as if nothing happened, pointing to a crazy. Ana looked over to Duncan who returned her gaze, she raised her eyebrows at him as if to signal that they should help Allie. He shook his head as if he could read her mind.
Ana could hear Allie whimper as she climbed back onto the sofa. Allie looked back at Ana, catching Ana avoiding eye contact. Defeated, Allie slumped back into the sofa.
"Now, do we understand?" The Joker asked the room. Everyone called out different responses but were all in agreement on the plans. "Good, everyone meets back here, same time tomorrow," The Joker finished, dismissing the crowd.
As the henchmen started to disperse, going back to their duties, Ana remained leaning against the kitchenette with her arms crossed. Duncan and George walked over to her.
"You ready?" George apprehensively asked. Ana looked up at the tall brunette guy, he's a decent henchman who has been working for the Joker for just over a year. His skills in engineering have proven useful to the Joker.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Ana shrugged, "It's not every day we go climbing up power lines," she nervously laughed. She glanced over at the Joker who was talking to a few of the henchmen on the other side of the room. Her eyes flickered to Allie, who was still sitting on the sofa alone.
"What are we going to do about her?" Ana asked Duncan elbowing him to look at the girl.
"It's none of our business," Duncan whispered.
"What? Allie? She brought it on herself," George chimed in. "You can't go talking to the Boss like that, imagine if I did that?" he laughed. Ana scoffed.
"I'd be worried if you did," Duncan chuckled.
"Where's Rex and Charles?" Ana interrupted.
"I don't know, probably doing something different for the Joker," Duncan shrugged.
"I'm starving, fancy ordering some food?" George asked.
"Well actually perfect timing, I'm heading out now to pick up pizza for everyone," Duncan looked at his watch.
"Nice one," he nodded. George fist-bumped the air in celebration.
"Ana, come with me to help carry everything," Duncan insisted.
"Sure thing. One minute," Ana walked past Duncan towards the sofa. She briefly locked eyes with the Joker as she made her way to Allie. He ignored her and went back to his conversation.
"Are you okay?" Ana whispered to Allie, as she knelt beside her.
"Why do you care?" Allie growled as she stroked her freshly bruised cheekbone.
"This isn't the first time he's attacked you," Ana stated.
"He does it to everyone," Allie muttered. Ana nodded in agreeance.
"You're not wrong," Ana bit her lip, glancing at the Joker and then back to Allie. "If you need help, just tell me," Ana whispered.
"Leave me alone," Allie snapped, pushing Ana away.
"Ana!" called Duncan, "We got to go," he insisted. Ana raised her hand and signalled 'one minute'.
"I'm serious Allie, I know we've been avoiding each other these last few weeks, but I'm here if you need anything. Just don't let the Boss know," she whispered. Allie looked up at Ana with a confused look.
"My sweet Allie," The Joker called as he strolled over to the two women. Allie's eyes suddenly sparkled with glee at the sound of the Joker's voice. Ana stood up as the Joker sat down on the sofa. "You should know better than to show me up," he raised Allie's chin with his finger and stroked her face. Ana watched as Allie melted into his grasp.
"Sorry Boss," Allie smiled. The Joker giggled and then looked back at Ana.
"Weren't you getting the pizza?" he dismissed her.
"Ana, we're going to be late," shouted Duncan, Ana snapped her head to Duncan and then glanced back at the Joker, unsure what to say.
"Yes, Boss," she mumbled and walked towards Duncan, "I'm coming," making her way around the sofa, "Why are you in a rush?" Ana asked Duncan as they left the room.
"I'm just really hungry," he said. "He's not going to like you talking to her," Duncan added as they walked down the corridor.
"He is using her like some weird plaything. Has the Joker actually ever been romantic with anyone before? I've never noticed anything," Ana asked as they reached the stairway.
"I'm not sure, I don't think he has since I've worked for him. Even when we've had other girls join the team…" Duncan pondered.
"You mean crazies," Ana scoffed as they started walking down the flight of stairs.
"But even with other women in the team, he'd never really engage with them as much as Allie," Duncan explained.
"That's because she's throwing herself at him," Ana exclaimed.
"I mean he probably likes the attention, it's nice to be wanted," Duncan looked back at Ana as they headed down the stairs, hoping she'd pick up his hint. Ana looked back at him and chuckled.
"Maybe Charles would know more, he's known the Joker the longest," Ana changed the subject, continuing down the stairs. Duncan sighed and followed her down.
"Probably, but let's be honest, none of us actually know what he's really like behind closed doors. From the moment he leaves that room, he is covered in that warpaint." Duncan went on. They continued down the stairs, their conversation echoing throughout the stairwell.
"I could count on one hand how many times I've seen him without makeup. If the Joker does feel normal emotions, then he hides them incredibly well," Duncan shrugged.
"He's going to kill her one day," Ana sighed.
"You could say the same for us," Duncan muttered. Ana thought for a moment about the Joker's motives for Allie, thinking that perhaps he was just bored, or maybe he did care about her in his own bizarre way.
All of a sudden, a loud rumble could be heard on the ground floor of the building, causing the metal bannisters to vibrate. Duncan and Ana stopped on the stairs and peered down the centre to try and see the ground floor.
"What was that?" Ana anxiously asked.
The Joker was sitting on the sofa, flicking his pocketknife. He was busy calculating the timings of his next plot, ignoring Allie and the other henchmen who were talking about something insignificant. Suddenly a low rumble could be heard below them, causing the floor to shake. The Joker was instantly pulled out of his thoughts as he closed his knife and stood up.
He let out a giggle as he looked up at the ceiling.
"What's happening, Duncan?" Ana asked again. A louder bang was heard above them, coming from the roof. Ana and Duncan looked up to see dark clouds of smoke and a fiery explosion occur at the top of the 16th floor. Before Ana could say anything else, three more explosions consecutively blasted through the 1st to 3rd floors below them. Ana and Duncan yelled out as they crouched on the stairs.
"We have to get out of here!" Duncan shouted over the blasts. Thick smoke began to rise from the ground floor, up the stairways. The pair had stopped on the 8th floor, they looked down the stairs at the growing intense inferno.
"How!?" Ana called. Duncan grabbed Ana by the arm and yanked her forward to start running down the stairs. As they got to the 7th floor, the smoke felt dense and overpowering.
"What about the others?!" Ana coughed.
"We can't…" Duncan began to reply, but another explosion roared through the stairway on the 8th and 9th floors. Ana screamed as rubble started to fall, followed by a large spout of ember, Duncan tackled her to the wall to avoid the falling debris.
"We're trapped," Ana called. Duncan started to choke as he frantically looked around them. Ana noticed the door leading to the 7th floor apartments.
"There!" Ana pointed through the smog. Duncan and Ana looked at each other before bolting to the door. Duncan barged through the door first, with Ana quickly slamming it behind her.
"What the hell is going on!?" Duncan shouted as they looked around the room. The large space was already filling with smoke, abandoned apartments with unfinished walls could be seen down the corridor with scorching rubble that had already fallen through the ceiling.
"I don't know, we have to get out of here," Ana coughed. They strode through the corridor to get to the other side of the room.
"We can't get to the ground floor if it's on fire," Ana asserted. A thunderous crack boomed next to them with old flooring and pipes crashing down, followed by immense flames. Duncan lifted his arms to shield himself from the growing fire. Ana could feel the raw heat encircling them from above and below. Duncan had a sudden epiphany.
"The 6th floor! We need to get to the 6th floor!" he insisted as they made their way to another staircase that lead to the floor below.
Another loud explosion could be heard above them, a couple of stories up. They felt the building shudder and felt a strange sensation that the high rise was swaying.
"This building is going to come down!" Ana yelled as they scurried down the stairs to the 6th floor.
The 6th floor was another unfinished open space with metal panelling around the room to pre-construct the apartments, the main outer walls were unfinished, revealing large gaps that exposed the outer world.
"Here! We've got to jump!" Duncan frantically spoke as he ran to one of the gaps in the wall, looking out to the sea.
"Are you mad?! It's too high! We need to get to a lower flo…" Ana was interrupted by the floor in the centre of the room giving way, falling to the 5th level. Roaring flames and sparks arose, filling the area with hot ash and smoke.
"Nevermind," she ran over to the ledge. They both stared at the sea below them, the moonlight bounced off the calm waves. The height from the 6th floor made their stomachs turn, as their bodies willed them not to jump.
"Are you sure about this?" Ana asked, searching for encouragement.
"No," Duncan looked at Ana with fear in his eyes. They both were breathing heavily as they stared at each other. The floor behind them started to collapse wider, and the ceiling began to creak. Ana grabbed Duncan by the hand and nodded.
"See you on the other side," Ana breathed.
Time felt like it slowed down as Ana and Duncan forced themselves to jump off the ledge and into the sea below. Ana felt as if her stomach lifted into her chest and her heart into her throat. The cold night air rushed past her face. Her grip on Duncan's hand ripped away from the sudden gust of wind between them.
In moments they collided with the water, and Ana felt the cold sting pierce all over her body as she went under. The water crashed past her head, giving her an instant headache. She swam frantically under the surface, trying to reach out to Duncan but he wasn't there. She tried to open her eyes to look around but the murky water proved too thick to see.
Ana painfully swam to the surface to try and catch her breath. When she broke free she let out a deep inhale.
"Duncan!" she called as she turned around to try and find him.
"Duncan! Dunc.." As she turned she faced the towering building that was ablaze. Her eyes widened at the sight of the hideout engulfed in flames and falling apart in defeat. She looked to the 12th floor to see it completely alight. Ana let out an inadvertent scream as she noticed other henchmen jumping from higher floors. She swam to where they entered the water.
One henchman came to the surface in a panic, he let out a yell as he struggled to stay afloat.
"It's okay, I've got you," Ana yelled as she grabbed him by the collar. He grabbed her arm, willing himself to calm down.
"Ana!" Duncan called from across the waves. Ana turned to see Duncan holding onto George as he swam to her.
"Are you okay?" she called, struggling to remain afloat holding onto the other henchman.
"He's burnt pretty bad, we need to get to the harbour," Duncan lead the group to the shore.
As they climbed onto the concrete harbour docks, an assortment of sirens could be heard in the distance. The smell of smoke filled the night air.
Ana crawled onto the concrete, her blazer and jeans feeling incredibly heavy from the water.
"Are you okay?" she asked the henchman that she held onto.
"I think so," he breathed heavily as he pushed himself up to kneel on the floor.
"Did you see the Boss and Allie up there, did they make it out?" she asked as she sat on the ground and looked up at the burning building.
"I didn't see them," the henchman shook his head.
"Me neither. I lost the Boss after the ceiling collapsed," George interjected. The group were silent for a moment, Ana swallowed a lump in her throat. George looked worse for wear, as his shirt was seared and his face and arms had burn wounds.
"What do we do?" Ana asked as the sirens got louder.
"I'll take George back to his place, and see to these burns," Duncan helped George stand up.
"We should split up, and head home," He continued. Ana and the other henchman stood up as well.
"If the Joker is alive, we need to wait for further instructions," Duncan finished as he looked up at the building. Ana nodded as she could hear the sirens getting closer.
"Let's move," she said, signalling them to run off in different directions from the burning site and into the streets of Gotham.
Ana weakly made it through her front door, using a spare key that she hides in the corridor light. As she dragged herself in, Winston immediately ran to welcome her.
"Hello Winston," Ana smiled softly, turned on her light, and locked the front door.
The smell of burnt toast and wet dog surrounded her, radiating off her charred and damp clothes. The adrenaline had started to fade away, revealing pain and burns that Ana hadn't noticed before. She pulled off her soaked boots and hauled herself to the bathroom on the right side of the lounge kitchen. She turned on the light and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her face and hair looked dirty and smothered with grime, she hissed at a burn that had charred through the sleeve on her left forearm and noticed her blazer torn on the shoulder.
"It's okay," she let out a long exhale as she tried to rally herself.
"It's okay, it's okay, you're okay," she whispered, trying to push down a bubbling sensation in her chest. Her eyes started to well up and her breath quickened.
"You're okay," she cried as she looked at herself in the mirror.
"You'll be okay," she reassured as a tear fell down her cheek.
After having a needed shower, Ana hauled herself to bed. She could still smell the charred scent in her hair but ignored it for tomorrow's turn. She huddled into her comforter and allowed her sudden tiredness to take her away.
The clock ticked away into the night, and the streets of Gotham were calming down into silence as the world went to sleep. Winston jumped onto the bed and curled up into the spine of a sleeping Ana. The only sounds that could be heard were the low murmurs of the building's pipes, and the clock ticking to 1:57 am.
A shattering noise broke the silence and woke Ana up from her dreams. She groggily awoke and looked across her bedroom to the door for the lounge. The unknown glass cracked again; Ana suspected it was the window near the kitchen. Her heart started to race as she identified an intruder in her flat.
Her head snapped to her bedside table, where she quickly opened the drawer and pulled out a concealed pistol. She quietly slid out of her bed and crouched onto the floor. She let out a shaky breath as she tried to see who it was through the doorway, but it was at the wrong angle.
Winston looked to the door, leapt off the bed and ran into the lounge kitchen.
"Winston!" Ana angrily whispered but it was no use, the cat had already bolted out. Ana knew she had to move and attack first. She slowly moved from behind her bed to the side of her wardrobe at the end of the room, and then quietly tiptoed to her open bedroom door.
She could almost hear her heart pounding, as she stood at the frame, knowing the intruder would be standing around the corner by the kitchen window.
She counted in her mind, to psych herself up. 1, 2 … 3!
"Don't move!" she roared as she jumped out of the doorframe and pointed her gun at the mysterious figure. It was too dark to see them, but the silhouette showed that they were taller, with a slightly hunched back, and they were wearing a long coat with shoulder pads. The figure looked familiar to Ana, she let out a sharp exhale.
"Hello there," the Joker said.