In the Mind of Madness

When Kenna went into the windowless room that day she didn’t have a clipboard with her. The Joker smiled widely at her as she came in, and she forced herself to return one.

“No notes today?” asked The Joker, and though he kept his voice light, Kenna could tell that her writing things down about him pushed a button. She would remember that one.

“Nope. Today is about negotiating.”

The Joker raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Obviously interested. “Negotiations?”

“Yes. Regarding you telling me what goes on in that sick little brain of yours.”

The Joker chuckled at her. “Alright. That’s fairly easy, doll. Depending how much leverage you‘re packing.”

“Then why haven’t you told me for the last four days? I offered anything.” Kenna snapped, letting some of her annoyance slip through her calm exterior.

“Can’t make things too easy on you. Doesn’t go along with my sociopathic stereotyping.”

Kenna shut her eyes, trying not to get a migraine just yet. “Fine. What are your conditions?”

“I have one condition.” The Joker told her, holding up his pointer finger. His fingers were strange, bony with large knuckles and chewed down fingernails. They were clean after time in the asylum, but Kenna could easily imagine them filthy with dirt, blood, and oil.

Her eyebrows rose. She’d expected something complicated and tedious. One thing couldn’t be too bad, could it?

“Which is?”

“I get to know you first.” The Joker had lowered his voice, giving her one of his scrutinizing looks that seemed to see through her charades.

Kenna frowned deeply, a crease appearing between her eyes. Of course it couldn‘t be as simple as she hoped. “Anything but that.”

She remembered what Sheila had told her the first day she was going to be alone with The Joker: ‘Don’t tell him anything about yourself‘. It made perfect sense. If he knew about Kenna, he could get inside her head, and then there was no telling what would happen. Kenna begrudgingly admitted to herself that The Joker was probably better at reverse psychology than she would ever be.

“I don’t want anything but that.” The Joker replied promptly, sneering at her.

“I’ll say maybe. It depends what you want to know.” Kenna hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Almost prayed, but she wanted him to say more.

The Joker leaned across the table, his face and smile intense. “Now, Dr. Archer, you’re asking me to bare my soul here. How can I reveal my deepest darkest secrets to somebody I barely know? I want to know…everything.”

The last word was barely audible, a deep purr, causing Kenna to clench the muscles in her legs hard so she wouldn’t visibly shudder.

“So you can use my deepest darkest secrets against me? I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Joker.” Kenna said in a near whisper, putting her face within an inch of The Joker’s.

She didn’t know how they always got so close to one another when their conversation got passionate, but it was intimidating. She kept eye contact the entire time, but slowly relaxed back into her seat.

The Joker mirrored her actions, watching her face intently. “I don’t think you’re stupid, doc. Maybe a little clueless, but not stupid. You’ve heard my terms. Let me know when you accept.”

Kenna sighed and stood up, slowly exiting the room. Halfway out she froze, spinning around. “Hey! How am I clueless?”

The Joker cackled at her, but shook his head. “Have a riveting evening, Dr. Archer.”

The way he said her name sent a shiver down Kenna’s spine, and she shut the door. Kenna hadn’t thought of being afraid of The Joker since the second time she met with him. Now he just annoyed her. But on the walk back to her office she thought about it. Yes, she was scared of him, but not in there. He had no weapons, and there were always four or five guards watching the feed from the surveillance camera. She was safe as could be, even in a room with an insane killer like The Joker.

She thought over his proposition. Would Kenna give away one of the only things she had over The Joker just to get his story? Privacy had always been something very important to her, and not many people besides her family and Dr. King knew about her past. Plus, she couldn’t be sure what he would ask. Kenna could just imagine him inquiring about her favorite sex position, and it made her blush furiously.

Feeling confused and filled with indecision, Kenna sat at her desk until six o’clock, her head in her hands as she tried to decide what the hell was the right thing to do.