An Unwilling Voyeur

Harvey entered the dilapidated factory, its empty walls bouncing back the echo of his footfalls. He listened intently, scanning the interior- a solid block of open space topped with a caved in ceiling, a few slivers of sunlight falling through the high barred windows. A multitude of objects littered the floor. Broken bricks, a couple of planks of wood, abandoned shopping carts, lead pipes, plastic bags and old books covered in animal droppings lay amid the trash on the ground. He stepped over the rubbish, voice echoing as he spoke.

“Where the hell are you? Come out, Joker! Show yourself!” Harvey yelled, eyes darting around the abandoned factory, alert and ready.

His hands grasped a crowbar, a weapon he had brought with him. He had a gun in his pocket but would only use it if absolutely necessary. He wanted to kill the man with his bare hands, watch him bleed. Nothing would bring him more satisfaction than watching the life drain out of his body, slowly.

There was the sound of footsteps approaching, and Harvey stopped in his tracks, searching for the location of his adversary.

“Harveeey…” sang the Joker as he stepped from out of the shadows, maniacal grin plastered across his face. “So nice to see you again!”

As soon as he set his sights on the Joker Harvey quickly advanced upon him, blood boiling, hand tightly grasped around the crowbar. He reared back with the crowbar in his right hand, then snapped it out with all his might. The crowbar narrowly missed the Joker´s head as he ducked out of the way with cat-like reflexes, and Harvey grumbled furiously.

“Now, now Harvey. You aren´t still sore over me and Rachel, are you? How is Rachel by the way? I need to pay her a visit! She´s probably ready for another go by now, don´t you think?”

Growling, Harvey swung the crowbar again, connecting with the Joker´s leg. The Joker stumbled, releasing a laugh, then continued walking toward Harvey. Angered by the other man´s laughter, Harvey made another move to hit him in the kneecaps but the Joker sidestepped, avoiding the crowbar.

Grasping a metal pipe in his hands the Joker took a swing toward Harvey´s chest, quickly following up with a blow to the shoulder. It connected with a sickening thud. Harvey growled, baring his teeth as pain shot through his shoulder. Ignoring the intense ache in his shoulder, Harvey charged the other man, fierce growl coming from his lips as he held the crowbar poised high above his head.

He swung fiercely, and it connected with the Joker´s left shoulder. Surprisingly, the Joker´s body hardly moved from the impact, withstanding the blow much to the surprise of his adversary. They stepped apart, eyes locked fiercely into each others.

Sticking the pointed tip of the crowbar out in front of his body like a spear, Harvey made a rush for the other man. The tip of the crowbar hit the Joker´s chest, piercing through his fabric and Harvey slammed him backwards into the wall. He brought the crowbar up against his neck, pinning him to the wall.

He pressed the crowbar into the Joker´s neck, putting all of his strength behind it. The Joker struggled against him, Harvey´s eyes blazing with hatred as he watched the Joker struggling for breath. As he increased the pressure, he heard a sound emit from the Joker´s throat. Harvey tightened his grip on the crowbar, gratified by the way the other man´s eyes were beginning to bug out. The Joker gave him a sneer, then jabbed his knife into Harvey´s thigh. A pained cry came from Harvey´s mouth, and he released his grip on the crowbar, hands grasping for his injured thigh. The Joker picked up the crowbar, hitting him over the back with it.

“Ahh!” Harvey fell forward as pain shot up his spine, and then the Joker was upon him, giving him a sharp kick in the side. The Joker knelt down on top of him, knife poised and ready and Harvey grabbed for the Joker´s neck. The Joker slashed the side of Harvey´s face, leaving behind a deep gash and Harvey gave a pained cry, releasing his neck. His fury overrode his pain, however, and he gritted his teeth. His hands desperately clawed at the ground, searching for a weapon of any kind.

His hand found a brick, and using all his strength he lifted it up, channelling all of his energy behind it. It smashed into the side of the Joker´s head, catching him off guard. He released the knife, blood trickling down from the side of his head. Harvey threw the Joker to the side, then struggled to his feet, kicking the Joker in the ribs. The Joker whooped with laughter, struggling to get back up but Harvey hit him again, an “oof” sound released from the Joker´s mouth as he was hit in the stomach. The breath was forced from him in a gush, and Harvey followed up with a kick under the chin.

The Joker´s head shot backwards from the impact, and he fell back onto the ground. Harvey´s eyes quickly scanned the ground, searching for another weapon, and he saw a lead pipe over to his side. He quickly walked over to it, grasping it tightly in his hands. He turned back to the Joker, who was already on hands and knees, slowly coming to a standing position.

“Oh Harvey! Surely you can do better than that. Come on…hit me!” Joker gasped, feeding off of the other man´s anger.

Exploding with rage Harvey lunged at him, trying for a kick to the face but the Joker´s hands still grasped the crowbar, and he reared it back, hitting him in the ankle with it. Pain exploded through his foot, and Harvey stumbled backward. The Joker rose to his feet as Harvey limped closer, locking his sights on his target, wildly swinging the crowbar as he desperately tried to hit the Joker in a place where it would hurt the most, a place where it would do the most damage. The Joker moved quickly, seemingly unfazed by the pain, fuelled by the other man´s rage. Harvey tried a crotch kick and missed his target, only hitting the Joker in the knee, then followed up with a swing toward his head, which swiped by his head with only a hair´s width to spare.