In the Mind of Madness

King walked quickly into the Gotham Police Department, which was going mad by the looks of it. The Joker hadn’t only kidnapped Kenna, he had already hit a bank, taking a great deal of the money from their vaults. Gordon had called him in, and King could only assume that they had information on Kenna.

“Jim!” shouted King over the noises of cops running left and right, phones ringing and voices grumbling.

Gordon looked up from the desk he had been leaning over, his face falling as he laid his eyes on his old friend. King didn’t like his expression, and his stomach tightened. “Hello, Alan.”

“What happened?” asked King, finding himself breathless with worry.

“Come into my office.” Gordon said in a low voice, leading King into the only calm room left in the station.

King sat down in the chair in front of Gordon’s desk quickly, watching anxiously as Gordon turned a small TV on his desk towards King. There was a frozen black and white image, showing what looked like an aerial view of a bank. King raised an eyebrow.

“What is this?”

Gordon sat down in the chair next to King, his eyes on the screen. “The footage from the security camera we found after The Joker robbed Gotham City Bank. I think you should take a look.”

Wondering at Gordon’s grim tone, King leaned forward slightly so he could closely watch the tape as Gordon pressed play. He watched as a door flung open, revealing The Joker pointing a gun at the people inside the bank. King gasped as Kenna emerged after him, walking up to a teller and pointing her own gun in the woman’s face. He felt sick as he watched her stand there, looking like a criminal.

“I don’t understand.” said King, though it was mostly denial that didn’t let him comprehend what she was doing.

Then the two fell silent, watching as Kenna shouted and shoved the gun closer to the frightened teller. A few moments later The Joker came up behind Kenna and put his arm around her waist, walking away with her, off of the screen. King continued to stare transfixed where Kenna had just been, even as Gordon turned off the little television and waited for him to speak.

“It has to be some sort of mistake.”

Gordon sighed miserably. “Even if it is, we both know what that looks like, Alan. I can’t ignore evidence like this.”

“Jim, she hates that monster. She wouldn’t do that of her own will!” protested King, shaking his head in disbelief. His pulse was racing in his ears, almost drowning out the sound of Gordon’s reply.

“Until we can prove that I have to treat her like an accomplice. I’m sorry.”

King stood up, furious. “I assumed that when I asked you for help you would try to get her away from that lunatic, not lump her in with him. She is not a felon, Jim.”

“Alan, there’s nothing I can do for the time being.” Gordon looked just as unhappy about it as him, but King couldn’t think rationally.

“Thank you for your time, Commissioner Gordon.” spit King, then he turned on his heel and stalked out of the station.

Kenna was a sweet girl. Maybe a bit naïve, but caring and brilliant. She wouldn’t do something like that without being forced to. King sat in his car and stared straight ahead, so angry he couldn’t figure out what to do with himself. He wasn’t keeping his promise to Nate very well. Not only had he let her get kidnapped, but now she was being charged as an accessory to a robbery.

Sighing, King drove back to Arkham to try and make it through the rest of the day. He found himself staring at his paperwork, twisting a pen cap in his hand as his mind wandered. Though he tried not to think about it, he kept wondering what The Joker could be doing to Kenna. It made his stomach churn.

There was a knock on his door, and King looked up as a small brunette woman entered his office. He smiled at her, holding up the piece of paper on the corner of his desk. “I got your resignation this morning. I’m sorry you feel the need to leave.”

Becky tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “I just don’t think this is the line of work meant for me…Dr. King?”

“Yes?”

She swallowed roughly, looking pale and nervous. “I need to tell you why I’m quitting. I don’t know if it will help with finding Kenna, but I think you should know.”

“Please, sit.” King replied immediately, eager to hear what she had to say.

Becky looked nervous, and she chewed on her lip as she spoke. “Kenna came to my office after my first session with The Joker, just to see how it was going, and I begged her to take him back. I know it was wrong, and that you told her she was off the case, but I couldn’t help myself. He was absolutely awful to me, but I know that isn’t any excuse. She said that she couldn’t, but I pleaded until she said yes. I’ve been switching the tapes so you wouldn’t know what we were doing.”

King sat back in his chair and stared at her, shocked. “Why did that make you resign?”

“I feel like it’s my fault Kenna was kidnapped. If I had any sense I would have given the case back to you and let it lie, but I was so desperate.” Becky pursed her lips and blinked rapidly, obviously very upset with herself and the whole ordeal.

“I’m glad you told me, Becky. And I don’t want to seem rude, but I’m glad you quit, because I would have had to fire you.”

Becky hung her head. “I know. I’ve put in an application at a children’s services office. Hopefully I’ll be better suited to work there, and I hope this helped. Even a little.”

“Yes, thank you, Becky. Good luck.” King smiled at her stiffly. He didn’t blame her, but he was still appalled.

“Thank you. Goodbye, Dr. King.”

She left King stroking his chin in thought. Why would Kenna go straight to Becky’s office after their talk? He knew the answer, but he didn’t want to believe it.