The Mind of a Joker

Forty Eight Hours

Jonathan and Timothy rushed down the 12 flights of stairs to get to the scene of the crime. They both knew that there was no way they would find the guy who let the chicken go. Jonathan had a gut feeling that it wasn’t an imposter. This was the Joker himself, teasing him. They burst out the front doors, and saw ambulances already on the scene. Jonathan was amazed at how fast the ambulances responded to the call. Timothy walked up to an officer to get a report.

“No casualties, no serious injuries. One man is in shock, a lady went into labour. It was mostly smoke and a loud boom. Nothing major.” Timothy looked at him and scowled.

“Nothing major? This could have easily been something bigger. You realize you could be dead right now?” He looked away and shook his head. “Go do some paperwork or something.” Timothy walked underneath the caution tape, and Jonathan was quick to follow. Something was bothering him.

“Sir, do you find anything odd about all of this?” He was met with a sardonic glare.

“Jonathan, the colonel’s finest just exploded in the middle of Main Avenue. Do you find something that ISN’T odd about this?” Jonathan pressed the issue.

“Sir, we saw the chicken explode, and in the forty-five seconds it took us to get from your office to the bottom floor, ambulances were already on the scene, tending to victims. Even with no traffic, the average time for Valeur hospital to dispatch ambulances to this area is three minutes.” Jonathan had a hunch. “Sir, what if the Joker called these ambulances in?”

“Jonathan…that is without doubt the stupidest thing I’ve heard all week. And I watch Teletubbies with my little guy every goddamned morning. Why the hell would the Joker call in ambulances for his own attack?” Jonathan had an answer for this.

“Sir, I told you. This guy is twisted. This is all a game to him. What if he wants us to find him? We could easily track the 911 call and get a location.” Timothy turned around.

“Okay, maybe you aren’t as big of a knob as I thought you were being. I’m giving you one shot. And in 48 hours, I want hard proof. Proof that this freak is playing games, proof that this is a legitimate threat to the city.” Jonathan nodded and briskly walked back into the department, knowing Timothy could handle this. He was ready to get down to business.