Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

After a night of high emotions and broken sleep, Eleanor woke the next morning feeling ill. Probably related to her state of mind, the first thing she did when she got up out of bed was run to the bathroom to throw up. She threw up three times, shaking as she did. Elijah heard her and wandered into the bathroom, half dressed for school.



"You okay, mommy?" he asked innocently.



Eleanor caught her breath and flushed the toilet. She smiled through her tears.



"Yeah, mommy's just a little sick, that's all. I'll be okay in a minute."



Elijah shrugged. "Okay!" and ran off again.



Eleanor sat on the edge of the bath for a moment, her head in her hands. Having the night to reflect on things hadn't made any difference. She still felt the same, still felt torn apart and broken.



Elijah started calling her from his room.



"Mommy!" he shouted excitedly, "Look out of the window! The police are outside! Come quick, look outside!"



Eleanor's blood ran cold. She stood up and dashed to her bedroom window to look out. Sure enough, there was a police car parked outside her drive, with two cops in it. One looked like Police Commissioner Gordon.



Eleanor panicked, and ran downstairs. She tried to control her breathing, and grabbed a glass of water just as the doorbell rang. Hesitating for a moment, she answered the door.



Commissioner Gordon and a female detective stood on her doorstep, with their badges in their hands.



"Eleanor Cole?" Gordon asked. Eleanor nodded.



"I'm Police Commissioner Gordon. We're investigating The Joker's break out from prison, and we've had reports of sightings. May we come in?"



Without saying a word, she ushered Gordon and the female detective in. They sat down on the sofa on which Eleanor and The Joker had been making love the night before.



Gordon put his hand out to introduce his colleague. "This is Lieutenant Lacy. She's helping with the investigation. Um...we've had reports from people living in this neighbourhood, that The Joker has been seen around here. Someone called up this morning, saying they had seen The Joker entering this house at approximately 9 pm last night."



Eleanor felt sicker than she had earlier. She was pale and sweating. Gordon could see she looked unwell.



"Miss, you look sick. I'm sorry if we're intruding here. But we really must know if The Joker has been in this house."



Eleanor shook her head. "No. He hasn't been here. Why would he come here?"



Gordon sighed, wringing his hands in his lap. "Well, our records show that The Joker has been calling your cell phone for the last few weeks. Remember, our men had to protect you from him six months ago. You were on the police protection scheme."



Eleanor felt the nausea rising, and she put her hand up to her mouth. "Just gimme two seconds." she said, and ran to the bathroom to throw up again. She could hardly breathe, she felt as though she was choking. She vomitted four or five times before she could calm down. Splashing water on her face, she went back to the living room to face the police again.



"Is everything alright, Miss Cole?" Gordon asked her, seeing how unwell she was.



She nodded. "Look...I used to know The Joker a long time ago. We were friends from school. Nothing more than that. He called me a few times on the phone when he jumped prison. I haven't seen him since the time he was harrassing me and I was on the protection scheme. I have no desire to see him. He hasn't been here."



"So, why would people in this neighbourhood make up such a story?" Lieutenant Lacy asked. "Why would the ordinary people around here say they've seen The Joker coming to your house at night? He's been calling your cell phone."



Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Mistaken identity! I had my boyfriend round here last night. He wears a long coat, and he has long hair. That could be why!"



Lieutenant Lacy smiled. "Does he wear clown make up too?"



Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Of course not."



"You don't have to feel like you must protect The Joker." Gordon said kindly. "We know what this man is like. He rules everyone with fear. You look scared, Miss Cole. If you know where he is, if he has been coming round here threatening you, then you must tell us. He has to be locked up again. And if you can tell us where he is, we'll lock him up and make damn sure he never sees the light of day again. A man as dangerous as he is, could face the death penalty."



Gordon's last few words stabbed Eleanor right through the heart. The Joker could face the death penalty...



"I'm not scared of The Joker." she said confidently, which was actually the truth. "I haven't seen him. It's got to be mistaken identity. There's nothing else I can think of."



Gordon got up from his seat, and Lacy rose up after him. "Thank you for your help, Miss Cole. That'll be all for now. We'll be in touch if we hear anything else in relation to The Joker. If you see him or hear from him, you must tell us. This man needs to be caught. He's extremely dangerous."



Eleanor nodded. "I will." and saw the police out again.



She peered out of the curtain to see when they had gone, then sat down on the sofa and held her head in her hands. Emotions swam everywhere in her head. And now the police were on the scent. There was no way now she could carry out The Joker's plan for The Batman tonight. She had to let him know that the police knew she was involved with him. They thought she was lying because she was frightened to death of him. Little did they know, she was lying because she was in love with him.



But without his mobile phone number, she had no way to get in touch with him. She knew what she had to do, she had to go to the warehouse herself and tell him. She felt she had no choice but to take the day off work, well she was sick anyway, so that was the truth. But she was going to drive up to The Joker's hideaway and warn him. She had to. Maybe he could get away and move on to another city? She didn't know, but she just had to warm him off the police radar. She couldn't risk him facing the death penalty. If he faced execution, her own life would be over too.





After dropping Elijah off at school, Eleanor drove straight to The Joker's warehouse hideaway. Her head was buzzing, she couldn't think right, and she was still feeling sick. She had put some make up on and fixed her hair, but she knew still looked like shit.



Driving up the wasteground where the warehouse was situated, she saw The Chechen outside, with his dogs, smoking a large cigar. The dogs started to bark and run for the car, and The Chechen marched after them. Eleanor stopped the car in a random spot on the wasteground, but couldn't get out yet for the dogs jumping all over the sides of the car. The Chechen shouted something foreign to the dogs, and they darted off in the opposite direction. Eleanor stepped out of the car, and The Chechen grinned at her.



"The prrretty lady returrrns!" he said, cigar still in his mouth.



"I need to see The Joker." she said firmly. "I need to see him now. It's important."



"The boss isn't herrrre rrrright now." The Chechen told her.



"Well, where is he?" Eleanor was getting agitated.



"I'm not at liberrrty to say!" The Chechen said, taking his cigar out of his mouth.



"Oh is that so? You'll tell me where he is, pal. Incase you didn't know, it was me he was with most of last night, and he's my man. He and I are in this together. So, you're gonna tell me where he is."



The Chechen chuckled to himself. "The boss says you'rrre an amazing fuck!"



Eleanor wanted to slug The Chechen for that, but she was more concerned about finding out where The Joker was.



"Just tell me where he is!" she demanded.



The Chechen put his cigar back in his mouth.



"If you wait arrround, he should be back in about -" he looked at his watch "- an hourrr."



"Fine!" Eleanor said. "I can wait an hour! Just...take me inside before I throw up again."



The Chechen called his dogs over, and escorted her into the warehouse.



There were three other guys in there, The Joker's other henchmen. Two young black guys and an older Italian man, playing poker at on old table in what appeared to be the kitchen area. They all stopped and looked round as The Chechen brought Eleanor in. There was a round of wolf whistles and cat calls, and the Italian guy stood up.



"What have we got here?" he said with a smirk.



The Chechen shook his head. "You won't get verrry farrr. She's the boss's lady."



The Italian guy sat down again. "That's a shame. A looker like you, could do a whole lot better than some two bit wack-job in a cheap purple suit and make up."



The other men laughed. So much for their loyalty to their boss, talking like that behind his back.



Eleanor stared at the Italian, then at the other men.



"Do you see me laughing? You want me to tell him you said that, huh? I'm sure he'd take a knife to you all and carve a smile on your faces, before letting you all BLEED to death." She realised she was starting to talk like The Joker now.



"Hmm, a feisty one we've got here!" the Italian guy mused, before all the men turned back to their game of poker again.



The Chechen took Eleanor to another room instead, to keep her out of the way of his fellow henchmen. He had a soft spot for her, and didn't think it was right to leave her in the kitchen where she would be ogled at and maybe ridiculed some more.



"This is wherrre the boss sleeps." he said. "I'll let him know you'rrre herrre when he comes back."



And he shut the door, leaving her on her own in the dingy seven feet by ten feet room. There was one small window, letting in little light, and the room was hardly big enough for anyone to sleep in, although The Joker obviously did. There were blankets and a pillow on the floor, and an old worn out armchair in the corner. She noticed a bottle of Scotch and a half empty glass on the windowsill. A broken mirror and a tin of well used facepaints sat next to the Scotch bottle.



A pair of purple leather gloves were left on the floor underneath the chair, and something glinted in the light next to them. Eleanor bent over to have a look at what it was that was catching the light. Then she realised. It was the photo in the frame which The Joker had swiped from her bedroom a few days ago. She reached down and picked it up, and stood it on the window sill next the bottle of Scotch. The photo of her and Elijah was still intact inside the frame. She laughed softly to herself.



She made herself as comfortable as she could in that small room, and sat in the old armchair. She waited and waited, that hour seemed to go on forever. She felt herself drifting off, feeling off colour and bored waiting in that small quiet room.



The next thing she was aware of, was someone shaking her shoulder to wake her up. She opened her eyes and blinked, seeing The Joker standing over her.



"Bunny!" he said excitedly, "The Chechen told me you were here, this is a nice surprise!"



Eleanor felt that wave of nausea again. "Oh Jack...bathroom...where...is..."



The Joker saw that she looked green, and took her to the bathroom next to his room. As soon as she saw the toilet, she bent over it and threw up. The Joker grabbed a handful of her hair and held it back as she coughed and spluttered, then vomitted again.



"What's wrong today, bunny? Did you eat something naaasty?"



Eleanor flushed the toilet and shook her head. "No...I think it's the stress of all this shit." She washed her hands and splashed her face with cold water.



"Oh that's a shame." The Joker said, leading her out of the bathroom and back to his little room. "Let's just hope it's nothing more...serious...than that."



Eleanor brushed her hands through her hair and rolled her eyes. "I don't get it."



"Well bunny, I thought you would know about the biiirds and the beeees." The Joker said, in a sing songy kind of voice.



Eleanor raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath in. She shook her head. "No! No, it won't be that. Right? No! No way."



"Are you sure? I've never been a birth control kinda maaan, as you know. I thought you were taking care of that side of things!" The Joker said, theatrically throwing his hands in the air.



Eleanor shook her head. "Well...no."



"Hmm. This could be another...pre-dicament for us then. Hmm?"



As if things couldn't actually get any worse for Eleanor, it was possible that they already had. Another pregnancy aswell as everything else, would be a bad bad idea.



"Oh Jack." she sighed, pulling him towards her and wrapping her fiingers around his hands. "Baby, we've got problems. Big ones. You need to get out of here. Or something. I don't know."



"Aaaah, what's my bunny talking about now, hmm? Why so...serious?"



"It's the cops, Jack. They're onto me. They came round this morning. They know you've been calling my cell phone. And some nosey assed fuck in my neighbourhood reported that you'd been round to see me last night. What the hell do we do?"



The Joker looked a little perplexed. He pulled Eleanor's head to his chest, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She buried her face into his trenchcoat, inhaling his masculine smell, and slid her arms around his waist.



"What did you tell them?" he asked, gently rocking her in his arms.



She felt as though she could've stayed in his arms all day. It was bliss, the way he was holding her.



"I told them that you hadn't been round. That there was a man round my house last night, but it wasn't you. They KNOW I'm lying, Jack. They think I'm too scared to speak out against you. They think you've been threatening me. What am I gonna do? What are WE gonna do?"



The Joker gently shushed her. "Sssh ssh...bunny, bunny, bunny."



He ran his leather gloved hands through the length of her long silky hair and gave a little sigh. "Looks like it's time for me to move on sooner than I thought. I really couldn't forsee this, Ells. That the cops would be coming to you over me."



She lifted her head from his chest and whispered, "Commissioner Gordon said if they caught you and locked you up again, you would never see the light of day. He said you could face the death penalty!"



"Oh, the Commish! I might've known. The power has gone to his brain since they gave him that title." The Joker smiled, still running his hands through her hair. "And the death penalty? Yeah, I've heard all that before. I've never been sentenced to one yet. They just prefer to cage people up like animals for 30 years instead."



"I'm not risking you being sentenced to execution, Jack!" Eleanor whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes.



"In that case, I move on. It's not that hard. Not to another city though...no. I'd be caught again too easily. Another state might be better." The Joker pondered.



"Another state? How...well...how would I see you? How could we have any chance of being together?" Eleanor's tears trickled down her cheeks. The Joker used his finger to tenderly wipe them away.



"There are two ways to deal with that." he said. "The first one is that you and the kid come with me. Aaand, I don't believe you think that's an option. Am I right, bunny?"



"Maybe." she said, still crying. "I don't know. What's the other option?"



"The other option...is...well. I move on myself." The Joker admitted.



Eleanor shook her head. "You mean we break up and have nothing more to do with each other?"



He licked the inner corner of his lip and sucked in his cheeks. "Yeah."



"No. No way." Eleanor was adamant. "Not again. I can't go through all this again. You're fucking with my heart, Jack! And my mind!"



"So come WITH me, bunny!" The Joker said cheerily. "I've already got me a fake passport, for special ocassions! No-one knows me as Jack Napier anyways, they only know me as The Joker. To them, I'm a mystery. I have no other alias, they don't know my name, they know nothing about me before I became The Joker!"



"But how am I just supposed to up and go like that? I have a house, a job! And there's Elijah! His school, his friends. And not just that, but he doesn't know you. You would scare the shit out of him!" Eleanor despaired, making it very clear to him that she didn't know what to do any more.



"D'ya think, Ells...would he be any less scared if I dressed down and didn't put the facepaint on?" The Joker was trying here.



Eleanor put her hands up, confused. "I don't know, Jack. The scars...they might scare him. He's only five, Jack. And it's more than just the scars. He knows The Joker is a bad man in all the newspapers and on TV. He's not that stupid. He's pretty clued up for a little kid. He just doesn't know you're his dad."



The Joker shrugged his shoulders and licked his bottom lip again. "Then I honestly don't know, Ells. You've got me on that one, bunny. Buuut....we need to think, and fast. Sounds like we don't have a lot of time here. Definitely less time than I thought."



"Yeah...but just promise me one thing, Jack." Eleanor whispered.



"Oh Ellie, you know I don't DO promises." The Joker laughed softly.



"I know, but...just one thing. One thing." she begged.



"Well, what, Ells?" he sighed.



"Just...don't ever leave me." she squeezed his waist harder.



The Joker rolled his eyes and gave one of those smug grins of his.



"Okay, bunny. Okay!"



Eleanor kept pushing it. "You promise me?"



"Yes, Ells."



"Jack?"



"What is it now, bunny?"



"Do you love me?"



The Joker rolled his eyes upwards and shook his head.



"This um, this is getting reeeaallly annoying now, sweetheart."



"Can't you just answer the question?" she was getting pissed too, with his way of avoiding answering questions to do with emotion.



"Isn't the answer to the question obvious to you, bunny?" he carried on being mysterious, further pissing Eleanor off.



"Just a yes or a no will do!" she shouted, pulling away from him.



He grabbed her arm and pulled her back, holding her against his chest again as before.



"Yes." he said, "The Joker loves his little bunny. And his mini bunny too."



Eleanor frowned. "Mini bunny? Elijah! Heh heh...I like that. It's cute."



"Nothing I say is CUTE, Ells. The Joker and cute, a biiiiig no no. They don't mix."



"Sometimes they do." she snuggled into his chest again. "Just...hold me. Please? Please just hold me. Don't ever let me go. I'm yours. Forever."



"Oh, you're one big sucker for punishment, my dear Ellie." The Joker sighed, rocking her gently in his arms again. "You could get away right now you know."



"I don't want to." she was adamant. "I'm in too deep. I can't let go of you now."



"Aaand as cuh-ra-zy as it sounds, I know ex-actly how you feel."



They stood in that little room, holding each other, for what seemed like an eternity. Eleanor knew she was unwise, but just couldn't help it. She was now another part of him, in every sense of the word. He was under her skin, and she was at one with him. The Joker and Ellie, together again after so long apart.