No Place in My Heart for a Criminal Like You

This time in the van I wasn’t thrown into the back with the mindless zombie henchmen. Instead I was sat in shot gun besides The Joker with the men in the back glaring at me jealously. The downside was that I was blind folded, so I couldn’t see or tell anyone where the hideout was. It made me feel disorientated slightly, but it was better than being in the back with the goons.

I still had no idea where we were heading, but The Joker seemed to know. We were circling the heart of Gotham, where all the skyscrapers and business blocks were, feeling as if we had passed the same building at least three times now. I had lived in Gotham my whole life and even I wouldn’t know my way around completely. Everything looked the same so it was easy to get lost, especially as it was now turning dark and it was harder to notice things.

Eventually we stopped at a block of fancy apartments. To me, they looked the same as any other block, but they stood out more to The Joker obviously. “Here we are,” he sang as he unbuckled my seatbelt.

“Where are we exactly? And why are we here?” I questioned quickly scanning my surroundings.

“We are outside a block of apartments and here you will be doing me a little favour,” he answered as he jumped into the back of the van along with the other men.

“Why are these apartments so special? What have I got to do?”

“On floor 7 of this complex, famous Bruce Wayne is holding a fundraiser in his penthouse, especially for you. Now it would be a shame if I didn’t let little Cinderella here attend her ball, wouldn’t it puddin’? So, me being the nice person I am, I’ve decided to let Cinderella have her night.”

I stared at him suspiciously. He obviously had something planned for me, but I didn’t know what. “What’s the catch?” I asked.

“The catch, my dear, is simple,” he searched around the van for a moment and picked up one of his guns from off of the floor. “I want you to go in, attract the attention of everyone, make up some story on how you got free, tell them how much of nice person I was to you, speak to Commissioner Gordon alone, take this gun,” he explained but paused to place the gun in my hand. “Then kill him,” he finished. The way The Joker had explained it made it sound as if it was the sanest thing in the world. I stared at him in shock. He was pushing the limits. No way could I shoot him. I couldn’t even risk shooting one of his henchmen. “This will tell him not to threaten me again. And he won’t be able to continue his search for you when he’s dead. You got that, puddin’?”

“No. I’m not doing it. I can’t do it. This isn’t fair,” I protested helplessly as he shoves a black handbag into my hand, for me to put the gun in.

“When are you gonna learn, hmm? I don’t take no as an answer. You’re going to do it or everyone in that building dies when the building miraculously explodes,” he threatened as he pulled out a detonator from his pocket. I glared at him angrily and upset, growling as I hesitantly opened the door. “Oh and you’ve got 15 minutes. If you’re not out by then, the party goes off with a big bang and Cinderella won’t ever see her Prince Charming again. As in Prince Charming, I mean me,” he said with a raspy chuckle.

“’Cause you’re just so charming,” I mumbled sarcastically as I left the van, earning another chuckle from him. “Seriously, I wonder how your mind works.”

As I was walking towards the building block I glanced back at the van and saw The Joker staring right back at me, watching my every move, ruining all attempts of running away. I sighed in defeat as I walked through the automatic doors of the complex and then through the lobby, managing to avoid eye contact with the receptionist or anyone else for that matter. I didn’t want to attract any attention just yet, so I kept my head low. I was thankful for when I reached the elevator that was empty. It seemed like an eternity before the elevator finally made it to the seventh 7th floor, but when I heard the ping of the doors opening, a sickening began to grow in my stomach. I didn’t know what I was going to say to the whole room and I wasn’t sure on how they’d react.

I heard the sounds of classical music playing from the room and the faint mumbles of people talking to one another. But it all stopped when I entered the room and killed the atmosphere. People jumped back gasping, thinking that The Joker would be somewhere near me. They eased up slightly when they realised he wasn’t insight. No-one in the room said a word for a long period of time, completely at a loss of right words.

“Hi,” I mumbled and waved shyly, trying to break the silence. Still no-one said anything. I looked to my left and noticed that Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon were walking towards me, looking quite shocked and worried.

“Harleen, what’s going on? Are you alright? Where’s The Joker?” Gordon questioned frantically.

Trying to fool myself, I decided to play it cool. “Jim, calm down. I’m fine,” I reassured him and then turned to face all of the guests. “Listen, as you all know I’ve been held captive by The Joker, but just recently I managed to escape and run free. No doubt, he’ll be after me again soon though,” I attempted to explain. A poor excuse, but it had to suffice for now.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Harleen,” Gordon informed me. And I laughed inwardly at how wrong he was and how much danger everyone else’s life was in rather than just mine. “How did you escape? Was he after you? Is there something going on?” He questioned again, just as frantically.

“Jim, there’s no time. I need to talk to you privately, please,” I explained to him sadly.

“First, may I introduce to Master Bruce Wayne,” he offered, neglecting to see my expression of desperation. “Master Wayne this is Dr Harleen Quinzel. Wayne here offered to hold this fundraiser here, just for you.”

I looked up at Bruce for the first time. I had heard so many stories about Bruce Wayne, but I’ve never actually laid eyes upon him before. He was rather handsome, with dark brown hair and eyes to match. But there was no time for chit-chat at that moment, otherwise everyone would die.

“Hey,” I smiled as I shook his hand quickly and then turned my focus back to Gordon. “Seriously, Jim, can we talk somewhere else please? Alone.” I didn’t want to hurt Bruce’s feelings but, this was an urgent situation and I didn’t have any time to lose.

Finally seeing how scared and sincere I was, he nodded and his expression turned to match mine. Without another word said, we hurried off towards one of the bedrooms where it was a bit more private away from Bruce. When we walked off, I noticed how many people were still continuing to stare at me worried. Some looked terrified. They were all suspicious that something horrible was going on, but they were all unaware of what it was.
Gordon closed the door behind him and immediately asked, “What is it?” Straight after I burst into tears, with Gordon consoling me sympathetically.

“It’s The Joker! He’s doing something terrible,” I explained through tears.

“What? What do you mean? You’re away from him now.”

“No, I’m not. I can’t escape him that easily. This is just another one of his games.”

“So, what are you going to do?” As soon as he had asked the question, I pulled the gun out of my bag and aimed it at his head. His eyes widened, while mine continued to pour with tears. “Now, calm down, Harleen. You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. Otherwise everyone in this building dies. Joker’s planted bombs everywhere and he has the detonator ready. If I haven’t killed you and I’m not out in 15 minutes then he’ll press the button and everyone will die. I’m so sorry. Sorry,” I apologised repeatedly.

Gordon clenched his eyes shut as I placed my finger on the trigger ready to pull it, but watching him cower, brought me down to my knees. I collapsed to the floor in tears. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Watching me cry, Gordon came over and crouched next to me and placed a hand on my back soothingly.

“You don’t have to do this. Tell The Joker, you shot me okay? I’ll lay low for awhile and stay out of his way.”

“Don’t threaten him ever again! Don’t even try to find him or me! If he finds out you’re still alive, he’ll kill me.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stay out of his way,” he agreed.

I looked at my watch and saw that I had only five minutes left. “I’ve got to go,” I told Gordon.

“You can’t go back to him,” Gordon protested as he gripped my shoulder.

“I have to! He’s going to kill everyone otherwise. Trust me, Jim, I’ll be fine. Now, please let me go.” He did so, understanding the situation. I placed the gun back into my bag and wiped my eyes before I started to make my way towards the door.

“I promise you, Harley, I’ll find you. Don’t worry,” he reassured me as I opened the door.