Chapter 13

Blood

Ana gazed through the gap between the wooden planks boarding up her bedroom window. She observed as Rex and George were unloading a van, assumingly full of their next shipment of artillery. She pulled on her black blazer and folded up her sleeves, preparing herself for the day ahead.

She could feel her hands shudder, sending a tingling sensation up her arms. Her throat felt dry and her chest heavy as she craved some of her old stash of coke. Ana shut her eyes tight and shook out her hands, trying to tame these unwelcome sensations.

She could hear low chatter from downstairs as a few of the henchmen arrived for the work day, as she focused on them, she could feel the heaviness fade away.

Winston sat on her bed, comfortably perched sitting on all paws with his eyes shut. Ana smirked at her carefree feline, almost admiring how easy he has it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. Her eyes flashed to the unexpected visitor, knowing that she rarely gets people at her door here.

"Yes?" she snapped, as she kept her distance from the entryway. The door slowly creaked open. Ana silently waited for the guest to reveal themselves.

Allie sheepishly poked her head around the door.

"Sorry, I know it's early," she whispered, almost as if she was sneaking into Ana's room. Ana instantly relaxed at her non-threatening presence.

"What's up, Allie?" Ana asked as she walked over to a pile of shopping bags in the corner of her room and pulled out a tin of cat food. Allie closed the door and skipped towards her.

"I didn't know who to go to, I just had to tell someone," Allie smiled.

"Oh?" Ana disinterestedly said as she opened the tin and poured the contents onto a plastic plate on the ground. Winston instantly woke up at the familiar noise and pounced towards his breakfast.

"I'm pregnant," Allie beamed. Ana froze briefly as she consumed the news. She abruptly stood up straight and stared at Allie.

"What?" she scowled.

"I know, I was like no way, and then I was like oh my god I can't believe it, and then…" Allie grinned as she started to animatedly ramble.

"Hold on," Ana interrupted as she grabbed Allie's shoulders, trying to get her to focus.

"You're pregnant?" Ana questioned. Allie responded with an enthusiastic nod.

"Who's the father?" Ana tensed as she didn't want her assumption to be correct.

"Who else, silly? The Joker," Allie beamed. Ana gawked at her in silence. "Isn't that great?" Allie made mini jumps on the spot, struggling to contain her excitement.

Ana's thoughts started to race from images of a baby crying down the hall, to the Joker attacking the child with roguish glee, giving it his almost hereditary Glasgow smile. Ana forcefully shook her head.

"Have you told him yet?" Ana insisted through gritted teeth.

"Not, but…" Allie started.

"Have you told anyone else?" Ana interrupted.

"No, just you," Allie smiled.

"Okay, so there's time to fix this," Ana thought out loud.

"Fix what? I'm keeping it," Allie pulled away, suddenly feeling anxious about Ana.

"Allie, you can't keep this baby," Ana instructed.

"Who are you to decide? It is my choice," Allie barked.

"I'm not going to stand here and discuss the politics of your right to choose. Of course, it's up to you, but don't be an idiot," Ana argued as she stepped towards Allie again.

"I'm not an idiot," Allie rested her hand on her stomach. "I'm carrying his child; he'll be so happy!" Allie grinned.

"Think about it, Allie," Ana leaned forward and gestured. "I mean really think about it. Can you actually imagine the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime, Gotham's most wanted criminal, playing house?" Ana cautiously described as she searched Allie's eyes for any sign of realisation or sanity.

"Well…" the girl hesitated.

"Changing diapers, late night feedings, taking it to pre-school?!" Ana's voice got louder as she could feel her panic and anger rise. She took a step back and let out a deep breath to calm herself, suddenly becoming aware that the walls were not that thick.

"Well no, but I could do all that stuff. That way he'll never want to get rid of me, how could he?" Allie tried to convince herself. Ana stared at the girl with pity.

"Allie, you don't even know his real name," Ana pointed out.

"No one does," Allie shrugged.

"Allie," Ana softly squeezed Allie's upper arms and leaned in. "He's using you as his plaything. He will grow tired of you and dispose of you if you keep going after him," Ana carefully explained.

"I don't have to listen to this," Allie tried to struggle out of Ana's grasp.

"Yes, you do," Ana scorned, glaring into Allie's eyes. "I'm not saying this to hurt you. You are full of sunshine, you're so bubbly and happy. He will slice that out of you, he'll just swallow you up whole until there's nothing left of you," Ana felt an unexpected weight in her chest. Ana glanced down and let go of Allie, turning away from her.

"I see you as my friend, Allie," Ana stared at the floorboards, hating herself for once again revealing her vulnerability. "I don't have many friends," Ana sighed. "But you… I just don't want you to get hurt," Ana struggled to articulate her sincerity after years of refusing its actual existence.

Allie stared at Ana with confusion, watching her almost take off her mask as the Joker's henchman. Allie felt the urge to hug her but decided against it, knowing it was not Ana's style. Allie slowly walked towards her and placed a hand on Ana's shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere, Ana. This is good news, I'm happy. Be happy for me," Allie tenderly smiled, willing Ana to look at her.

"Allie…" Ana shook her head as she glanced at Allie.

"You're not going to change my mind, I'm fine, we're going to be fine," Allie chuckled as she stroked her stomach. Ana's eyes flickered to Allie's stomach and then back up to the girl. Ana knew there was nothing she could say to change the outcome, but she needed more time to try and save Allie if she wasn't going to save herself.

"Okay Allie," Ana falsely smiled, "But do me one favour?" Ana asked.

"Sure thing," Allie grinned.

"Don't tell anyone else yet, not even the Boss. Wait until you're further along, just in case anything was to happen, and you got the Joker's hopes up," Ana tried to persuade Allie, trying to act like the Joker was a predictable person.

"I suppose," Allie sighed. "But we're going to be okay in the end," she reassured herself.

"Yes, Allie," Ana softly smiled. Allie nodded her head and suddenly beamed with pure excitement.

"I'll let you get back to it then, I've got chores to do," Allie grinned and made her way out of the room.

"Okay," Ana mumbled, watching Allie leave. Ana's smile instantly vanished once Allie had left. She let out a sigh and wandered over to her bed. As she sat down, Winston decided to saunter over and rub himself against her leg.

"What are we going to do, Winston?" Ana muttered as she found herself lost in a stare, her mind racing with various outcomes and endings to this mess.

Ana had no idea how the Joker would react to this kind of news, she didn't know if he'd be thrilled, furious, or even afraid. She wondered how the agent of chaos would react to a new life.

Trying to pull herself out of her thoughts, she let out a loud groan and rubbed her face.

"I could really do with my stash," she whined as she fell back on the bed.

The work day seemed to fly by, the van pulled down the alley, shrouded by the night. After being let in by the guard, Rex parked the van outside the base. Rex and Charles jumped out of the front seats, whilst Duncan, George and Ana exited the back.

"I love my job," George beamed as he climbed out of the van holding three pizza boxes. "First, we terrorize the mob and then we get pizza! I love it!" he chuckled.

"Hopefully, that should warn them off for a while," Charles spoke as they walked towards the base.

"Definitely," Duncan nodded.

"God, I'm hungry," George moaned as he sneakily pulled a slice of pizza out from the box.

"You're always hungry," Ana chuckled, watching him inhale his slice. She glanced over to Rex walking in front of her and couldn't resist this moment to play with him. "Did you recognise any of them, Rex?" Ana smirked and cocked her head to Rex.

"Ana," Duncan scorned.

"Why would I recognise them?" Rex sneered.

"Figured a rat like you would know where the bodies were buried," Ana pushed. Rex spun round and squared up to Ana, halting her in her tracks.

"I could crush you with my bare hands," he growled as he glared down at her.

"Not before I shoved my blade into your neck," she hissed, fiercely matching his scowl.

"Enough," Charles sternly spoke as he placed his hand on Rex's shoulder.

"Knock it off," Duncan insisted as he pulled Ana away. Rex let out a growl as Ana smirked while they were torn away from each other.

"You two are exhausting," George criticised with a mouth full of pizza. Ana glanced at George and calmed down as she noticed his food.

"Give me one," Ana sniggered as she took a slice of pizza out of the box. Charles ushered Rex away. With the heated argument defused, the team continued to walk towards the base.

As they entered, George went to place the pizza boxes on the wooden table in the lounge. He noticed that there were two crazies sitting on the sofa, muttering to themselves. When they detected that the team had entered, they both stared at George.

"These aren't for you," he harshly instructed as if talking to a pair of dogs.

"They can have one if they want, they probably haven't eaten today," Ana opposed. George snorted in response, before grabbing another cheesy slice.

"You're such a foody," Duncan chuckled towards George.

"Just because I like killing a few mobsters, doesn't mean I can't enjoy a thick, delicious, pizza with four sizzling kinds of cheese and spicy sausage and pepperoni pieces," George drooled. Ana and Duncan let out a laugh as they helped themselves to the pizza.

Allie's scream suddenly pierced through the building from the upper floors. Ana froze and looked over at Duncan. A booming gunshot rang out, causing them all to flinch.

"Where's the Joker?" she snapped at Duncan.

"He's been in all day…" Duncan started. Ana immediately dropped her food and sprinted to the stairs.

"Ana!" Duncan called after her. Rex and Charles watched her as she bolted passed them and started making her way up the stairs.

"Ana, leave it!" Duncan yelled again, refusing to follow her and get involved. Ana ignored his calls and ran down the corridor on the second floor, and up the stairs to the third.

Her mind was panicking, was that Allie screaming? Did she tell the Joker? What's he done? Has he shot her? Is she dead? What about the baby? As Ana made it to the third-floor corridor, she knew the Joker's room was at the end of the long hall. She figured this is where the scream came from.

After letting out a sharp exhale, Ana ran down the corridor, psyching herself up to interrupt whatever was happening behind that door. Her adrenaline was bubbling.

Her plan was halted when the Joker yanked open the door and stormed out. Ana stopped in her tracks and reduced her strides to a quick walk toward the Joker.

"Boss, what happened?" Ana recklessly asked. She noticed how dishevelled he looked in just his untucked purple shirt and trousers. His rolled-up sleeves revealed blood running up his arms, and his warpaint was smeared with a claw mark across his cheekbone.

"Boss?" she continued her strides towards him as he marched towards her. The Joker appeared to be glaring through her, not aware that she was there.

"Boss!" Ana barked, instantly regretting it. The Joker's eyes focused directly on her as he drew closer. He let out an animalistic snarl as he violently shoved Ana to the side. She let out a yelp as she collided with the wall and fell to the ground. Her shoulder slammed into the wood panelling, sending shooting pains down her arm. She tightly clung onto her arm and looked back at the Joker as he stomped away.

"Clean it up," he brazenly growled without looking at her before disappearing down the stairs. Ana let out heavy pants as she gawked down the corridor, expecting the Joker to reappear. Once it was clear he wasn't coming back, she slowly turned to face his open door.

It was silent, there was no indication of movement within the room. Ana swallowed a lump in her throat as she carefully walked towards the door.

Her gut was telling her that she knew what was on the other side, that she had seen this happen probably one hundred times before with other henchmen. Her stomach churned as if it was trying to get her to turn around and run in the other direction. Ana creaked open the door.

She peered in, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dark.

"Allie?" she squeaked as her eyes flickered around the room. First at the Joker's bed, then to his desk that was buried with paperwork, then to a tall wardrobe at the back of the room. She moved in further and found a light switch.

"Allie!" the light flashed on, revealing Allie's body lying on the ground in a pool of thick blood.

"No no no no," Ana frantically repeated as she ran up to the corpse. Allie's face was swollen, bloody and bruised, while her clothes appeared torn and soaked in blood. A bullet wound oozed a deeper red from her shoulder, slightly higher than where her heart would be.

"No, Allie," Ana cried, tears started to stream down her face as she kneeled beside the beaten form. Ana grabbed the girl's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Allie," she sobbed, pressing her face into Allie's hand, allowing her tears to drip onto the blood.

A faint groaning noise reached Ana's ears, she snapped her head up and gawked at the supposed corpse. Allie slowly moved her head and let out a cough.

"Oh my god," Ana breathed as she dropped Allie's hand and pressed on her gun wound. Allie let out a pained wince at the pressure.

"I'm sorry," Allie weakly breathed.

"You have nothing to apologise about, you're going to be just fine. I'm going to get you out of here," Ana reassured as she looked back at the door. The Joker told her to clean up the mess, meaning that he must think Allie died. Ana knew this was a chance to get Allie out of here safely, without the Joker knowing.

"Ana, the baby," Allie winced. Ana looked back at Allie and assessed her other injuries.

"Just hang in there, we're going to get you to a hospital," Ana said.

"Ana?" Duncan's voice reached out behind her. Ana snapped her head around, whilst still applying pressure to Allie's gun wound.

"Duncan! Close the door!" she instructed, getting Duncan to shut out any unwanted guests.

"What's happened? The Joker is in a frenzy, he just shot one of the crazies," Duncan exclaimed as he stormed towards the girls. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed Allie. "Oh my god," he gasped.

"We've got to get her out of here. The Joker thinks he killed her. If we move her as if we're dumping her body somewhere, we can get her to a hospital," Ana explained.

"I don't know," Duncan hesitated, stepping back with hesitation.

"She's pregnant, Duncan," Ana snapped. Duncan stared in disbelief. Allie let out a shaky exhale as she closed her eyes.

"Allie, stay with me," Ana shook the girl, "Duncan!" she barked. Duncan glanced at Ana, then at the dying girl, and then back at Ana. He struggled with his thoughts momentarily on whether to help or to flee.

"Oh fine!" he begrudgingly exclaimed, as he strode toward Allie. He roughly wrapped his arms around her and lifted her in a bridal style.

"We need to be fast," he instructed. Ana leaned in closely to Allie's face.

"Listen to me, Allie. We're going to get you to a hospital right now, but to get passed the others you need to play dead," she explained. "Can you do that?" she asked. Allie weakly nodded and let out a pained humming sound.

"Okay, here we go," Ana lowered her voice and anxiously stared up at Duncan.

"If she moves, we're all dead," he coldly spoke. Ana bit her lip and then swiftly spun around and opened the Joker's bedroom door to the corridor.

As they made it to the ground floor, and down the final stairs, Ana tried to mask her fear as she desperately searched for the Joker. Rex and Charles appeared to be hiding in the kitchen. Ana clocked the Boss in the lounge, hysterically cackling as he gave one of the crazies a Glasgow smile.

Ana swallowed a lump in her throat as she and Duncan quietly sneaked passed the lounge. Ana looked back and saw Charles watching them from the kitchen. He shook his head and lowered it, paying respect to the false dead.

Ana and Duncan made it to the front door, just as Ana reached for the handle, Allie let out a feeble groan.

"What do we have here?" the Joker's voice rang out from behind them. They both promptly spun around. The Joker's eyes landed on Allie in Duncan's arms. The Joker giggled and sauntered up to her. He looked over the girl and admired his work, appearing to still think she had died.

"We're getting rid of the body, Boss," Duncan spoke flatly. The Joker nodded and sucked his scars.

"Make sure she's never found," he growled and then walked away back into the lounge. Ana and Duncan anxiously waited for the Joker to be out of sight before hastily heading out of the door.

Ana sprinted towards the van, ahead of Duncan. She opened the back doors and hopped inside.

"Shouldn't she ride in front?" Duncan asked as he placed the bleeding girl onto the floor of the van.

"A body would be thrown in the back," Ana whispered as she dragged Allie to the back of the van and rested her on her lap. "Go! Drive!" Ana snapped at Duncan.

Duncan nodded and slammed the back doors shut and made his way to the driver's seat. Ana sat behind him with only a small window between them. As he started the engine and drove off, Ana looked down at Allie as she began to shiver.

"I'm cold," Allie quivered.

"You're going to be alright, Allie," Ana smiled down at her as she rubbed Allie's arm to help warm her up, while her other hand continued to press on her wound.

"Ana, I don't know what happened. He just… turned," Allie breathed, her bottom lip shivering. Ana knew exactly what Allie had seen. The Joker can flip suddenly, with no warning. Usually, Ana can sense the shift coming these days and make sure to stay out of the line of fire, but this time she wasn't there.

"You warned me about him," Allie mumbled, her eyes appeared heavy as she struggled to keep them open.

"Shhh don't talk, Allie," Ana stroked the girl's hair as she watched her.

"You said that he was the Devil. That the moment you start thinking that he's human… you're dead," Allie recalled one of their first conversations. Ana let out a frustrated exhale and shook her head. She had wished that Allie had realised sooner.

"Allie, it doesn't matter now. I've got you, just hang in there," Ana reassured, "How long Duncan?!" she yelled to the driver.

"2 minutes out!" he called back.

"I didn't even get to tell him about the baby," Allie drifted off, her eyes flickering shut.

"Allie, stay with me! Allie!" Ana shouted as she tried to shake her friend. Ana let out a sob as she panicked. "Allie!" she cried.

The van screeched to a halt as it diagonally parked in front of the A&E section of the hospital. Duncan ran to the back of the van and jerked open the doors, climbing in to grab the girl.

"Hurry!" Ana cried, lifting Allie into his grasp, and following him out.

"We need help!" Duncan called to a couple of the staff that were hanging around outside. They all jumped into gear and immediately swarmed Duncan and Allie. A gurney was hauled outside to place Allie down.

"What happened?" A doctor asked.

"I don't know, we found her like this. I think she was mugged," Duncan easily lied. Ana watched as the swarm raced inside, leaving her and Duncan outside. Ana wandered up to Duncan and let out a final sob. Duncan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in.

"We've done everything we can. It's up to the doctors now," Duncan watched as the automatic doors to A&E shut. "We should get out of here," he lowered his voice.

"No, I'm not leaving her," Ana pushed herself off Duncan and started to walk towards the doors.

"Ana!" Duncan reached out and grabbed her arm, "What if someone sees you? The police will want to talk to you," he explained. Ana yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"I don't care, I can do more to help her," Ana snapped as she ran into the hospital. Duncan watched her leave and let out an irritated sigh. He glanced back at the van, knowing that he couldn't go into the hospital nor go back to base without Ana, as both would risk raising suspicion. He let out an annoyed growl as he climbed back into the van and drove away.

Ana sat on an uncomfortable plastic row of chairs that were aligned down a busy corridor. Doctors and nurses would constantly be rushing passed her, not taking any notice of one of the Joker's henchmen. She had one foot on the chair, using her knee to rest her head as she felt the adrenaline wear off. The other foot tapped aimlessly as she stared down the corridor, where the operating theatres were. An hour had dragged by, and she hadn't heard anything. Ana looked across the room to the nurse's station. She leapt off her chair and stormed toward the counter.

"Excuse me, the girl that came in who was mugged. I haven't heard anything about her, is she alright?" Ana frantically asked.

"Are you family?" the nurse asked without looking up as she remained fixed on her paperwork.

"No, but I found her," Ana explained.

"We can't release any information to anyone outside of the family," the nurse continued to ignore Ana's presence. Ana let out an exhale as she glared at the nurse.

"Please," Ana reached over the counter and place her hand on the table in front of the nurse. The nurse sat back gawking at Ana's bloody handprint. Ana looked down at her clothes and saw that she was covered in blood. She wondered why she hadn't noticed, thinking perhaps she was used to it by now.

"I'm sorry," Ana stepped back as the nurse looked up at her. "But please, I just need to know if she's okay," Ana insisted, staring into the nurse's eyes. The nurse paused for a moment.

"Let me check," she said as she started to type in her computer. Ana glanced around at the hectic corridor. "She's out of surgery and she has been moved to the ICU. You may be allowed to see her in a bit," the nurse relayed. Ana nodded and sighed in relief.

"Thank you," Ana smiled as she wandered back to her chair and took out her phone to make a phone call.

The time raced past as Ana leaned forward on her chair and waited. She continued to watch Gotham's finest help those in need. As she glanced around, her eyes landed on a policeman.

"Shit," she breathed as she quickly leapt off her chair and walked away in the opposite direction. She turned the corner and headed towards some double doors leading to another corridor linking to the main entrance. Once she passed through the doors, she observed her new surroundings.

"Ana?" a familiar voice spoke beside her. Ana jumped and glanced over seeing the Joker's savvy merchant, Gabe, staring at her.

"Gabe," Ana gasped as she cautiously looked around the area, "Did you bring it?" she asked.

"Do you have the money?" he lowered his voice as he glanced over his shoulder.

"It should be transferred to you now," Ana explained. Gabe nodded as he handed over an envelope. Ana opened it and peeked inside, seeing a fresh passport and other important documents.

"Who is this for again?" Gabe asked.

"No one, just a friend who got into some trouble," Ana shrugged, not wanting to tell the truth to the salesman just in case he told the Joker.

"Must be some friend for you to bail her out like this," Gabe scoffed.

"Listen, keep this between us, got it?" Ana leaned into the scruffy man and glared at him.

"Don't worry, client confidentiality. Otherwise, no one would ever want to do business with me," Gabe chuckled and then observed the busy hallway, "I've got to dash, not a big fan of hospitals," he said as he moved his fingers through his hair.

"Okay, thanks," Ana nodded as she watched him leave. Once he was out of sight, she made her way to the ICU.

After being escorted to Allie's room, Ana anxiously walked in afraid of what she'd see. Her eyes fell on the girl who was covered in bandages and wires. A beeping sound that monitored Allie's heart churned in the background. Ana gazed at Allie's bruised and beaten face. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she stood over Allie and touched her hand.

"Hi," Allie groggily spoke. Ana let a smile escape as relief washed over her seeing her friend had survived.

"Hi," Ana's smile grew, "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I've been better," Allie slowly spoke.

"The doctor said that you should make a full recovery in a few months," Ana pulled across a chair and sat down beside the bed.

"That's good," Allie breathed.

"They didn't say anything about the baby," Ana hesitated to bring up the subject.

"They said it was too early to tell," Allie looked down at her bruised hands which now had one cannula in each. The girls sat in silence for a moment, as Ana wasn't sure how to respond.

"I have this for you," Ana finally spoke, placing the envelope on Allie's lap.

"What is it?" Allie feebly grabbed the envelope.

"It's a fresh start," Ana watched as Allie's face turned from confusion to realisation to sadness. Her eyes started to well up.

"No, I can't leave," Allie pleaded, her heart monitor starting to beep faster.

"Allie, this is your chance to escape. You almost died tonight, the Joker thinks you're dead, you're done," Ana insisted.

"No, but…" Allie started.

"There is a new identity in there, a new passport, a new security number, the works. You can start again," Ana explained.

"But I like who I am now," Allie protested.

"Allison Jackson died tonight," Ana sternly spoke, disabling Allie. "Now, there is some money in there too, to get you started. It's everything I have," Ana sighed.

"I can't take this, you were saving for a new apartment," Allie objected.

"Some things are more important," Ana smiled at Allie. Defeated, Allie rested her head back on her pillow and let out a cry, allowing her tears to fall down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Allie," Ana stood up, "This is the last time we'll see each other," Allie's eyes widened as she tried to sit up but failed as pain radiated from her shoulder.

"Ana, no!" she cried.

"You will not come back to the hideout. No one must know that you are alive. Or he will kill you, and he won't miss this time," Ana continued.

"No, please," Allie begged.

"Good luck, Allie," Ana flatly said before abruptly turning around and exiting the room.

"Wait! Ana! Please! Ana!?" Allie frantically called after her.

Ana continued down the corridor, hearing Allie's cries echo out towards her. She felt a tear fall down her face as she walked away. Ana lowered her head and wiped it away. She let out a shaky drawn-out breath as she gathered her composure.

Raising her head, she revealed an expressionless façade, with Allie's blood smeared on her cheek. She turned around the corner and walked through the double doors. Once she was outside, she clocked the parked van in the car park opposite the building. Without looking back, she headed towards Duncan, leaving the hospital behind her.