In the Mind of Madness

The sound of his phone ringing woke King up, making him sit up in fear. He sighed and stretched as he moved to the other side of his bed to pick up the cordless and hold it to his ear.

“King.” he yawned.

“Alan, would you mind explaining to me why my daughter is kissing a lunatic on the evening news?”

King’s eyebrows furrowed together. He was suddenly very awake. “H-hello, Trina.”

“I want some answers right now.” growled the wife of his late best friend, a woman that he’d come to know almost as well as Nate.

“I swear that I was going to call you.”

Trina scoffed into his ear. “My daughter has apparently been missing for two weeks, and you haven’t called me yet. That makes me think you weren’t going to tell me, and that is really pissing me off. What is going on, Alan?”

“Did Kenna tell you that she was working on The Joker’s case?”

Trina thought for a few seconds, sounding upset. “No. We haven’t talked for a while. I told her I had a boyfriend and I think it upset her. What about this Joker guy?”

King paused for a moment, taking in the news that she had moved on. Not that it was really his business in the first place. “Long story short, I put her in with him on an experimental basis, and he got attached. He seems to be possessive of her, and has kidnapped her. That‘s what I thought at first at least, now the evidence is starting to prove that it may not have been kidnapping at all…”

“You are telling me…” Trina‘s voice was deadly, then she was silent for a moment. “that you gave Kenna, who is an intern, a case with the mad genius that has been reeking havoc in Gotham, and now that he has kidnapped her you believe my daughter went with him willingly…”

King winced. That sounded really bad. “Trina, I’m really sorry I didn’t call, but -”

“NO! How dare you even suggest that she would do something like that?! You’ve known her all her life, Alan! Kenna is a sweet, beautiful, honest…”

King sighed as her yelling dissolved into sobs. “You’re right. I know that Kenna wouldn’t really do anything like this, but it’s just how the media is portraying her. And there’s evidence that Jim Gordon has told me they can’t ignore. Until they know more they have to treat her like an accomplice.”

“I’m coming to Gotham, Alan. I have to be there when she’s found.” Trina hiccupped, trying to collect herself.

King frowned. “Gotham isn’t exactly the safest place to be in the world at the moment. As soon as I know anything I’ll be sure to -”

“No. I had to find out about all this on the news, and I’m not going to be left out of the loop any longer. Jake and I are coming out on the next flight.”

There was no arguing with her. Kenna didn’t get her firm resolve only from her father. “Alright, Trina. I’d be glad to have you at my apartment, there’s plenty of room.”

“Thank you, Alan. I appreciate it.”

A long, awkward silence followed Trina’s thanks. King cleared his throat and dared to ask the question that had been plaguing him with nightmares since he saw Kenna and The Joker entwined on the news just about eight hours earlier.

“Trina…why would she kiss him if she didn’t go without a fight?”

“He could have forced her to.” suggested Trina, though her voice was filled with doubt.

King swallowed a growl. “What I saw on the news did not look anything like force.”

Then he couldn’t get the image out of his head. Kenna’s body pressed against that criminal, her hands on his chest and her eyes shut as their mouths met. The Joker’s hand resting on Kenna’s leg. King felt his blood boil, knowing that he was being over-protective of Kenna. That was the only feeling he could possibly have about it. The only one he could understand.

“There is a small possibility that we don’t know Kenna as well as we thought, but to me she’s innocent until proven guilty.”

King nodded to himself. “Well, it’s the other way around here. The only person who doesn’t want to convict her is Bruce Wayne. He’s been donating boat loads to the police department to help with the search for Kenna.”

“Bruce Wayne? I wonder why…” Trina mused and trailed off.

King knew the answer, but he wasn’t going to say anything. Kenna was a stunning woman, and it wasn’t a surprise that even Wayne was smitten with her. Once he was off the phone with Trina, King went to work on the paperwork he had been neglecting. Whether or not he wanted to, King couldn’t let Kenna’s disappearance rule his life.