Chapter Text
16 hours. 16 freaking hours of flying I never thought I'd be able to survive. I was bored out of my mind, and just as I contemplated suicide, we started landing. I felt Lena clench on my arm and almost stop breathing. She was scared shitless of flying, but I thought after 16 hours she'd be okay. Apparently not.
»Hey, Lena, relax. We're almost ther-.«
The plane shook violently and landed more heavily than intended. Lena shrieked in surprise and then blushed. I heard laughter behind me, that mixed with my own at her reaction. I was really happy that I was able to go on this excursion with my three best friends. Otherwise I don't know how I'd be able to handle my professor's constant blabbing.
The plane stopped and after a few minutes, people started leaving, getting some fresh air. Lena ran past me, right out in the sun, almost kissing the ground on which she finally stood.
I, along with my other two best friends, Jana and Nina, got out and joined her.
»You okay?« I mocked Lena and took her hand in mine.
»Yeah, I just... I just needed to get out.«
As I was about to speak, I heard my professor's voice behind me:
»Okay, come here, all of you.«
Only forty students from the whole school decided to go overseas, to see the USA for the first time. We formed a circle around one of our professors, before she continued:
»We're going to our hotel now, but first make sure you get all of your luggage, because we ain't coiming back again.«
After all the formalities were taken care of and all forty students had their bags, we headed to the hotel.
The drive was long, but I just couldn't get enough of the sights. I've never seen Gotham before, not even its pictures and it was beautiful. I have no idea if the hotel, we just arrived at, was in the middle of the city, or at the outskirts, but I couldn't care less. In the end I heard someone say it was pretty much near the city center. Well, fancy that, I thought and got off the bus.
The hotel was gigantic, practically a skyscraper, if you asked me, and my jaw nearly dropped. The country I just came from had no such large and tall buildings meant for a simple hotel. I traveled a lot in my spare time, saw most of the Europe and considered myself to be quite educated, but damn did this feel special. I felt like some kind of a balkan grandma on her first day outside, in the big modern world.
»Ana, you coming or not?« Lena asked me and dragged me with her inside.
The insides were clean and pretty, although nothing special. I knew my school couldn't afford marble floors and king sized beds, but I was still a tiny bit disappointed. The outside promised so much more, than the inside. But hey, I was in Gotham, so what did I care?
All four of us got the same room and raced to the elevator. I held the key safely in my hand and glanced at the number on the key ring. 314.
Ding.
The door opened and we searched for our room. It was a bit classic looking, with four tiny beds, but thankfully it seemed cozy and warm. We threw our bags in every direction possible and fought for beds. I got the one by the window, and looked outside. The city truly was stunning, and the thought of a masked man, that dressed like a bat, running and looking over the city, strangely put me to sleep.
It's been six days since I first came to Gotham, and I still loved the city. There was always something going on, and once you started chatting with the locals, things got pretty interesting. Some guy at a bar told me all about the Batman there is to know and two other guys told me and my friends about a new villain that was in town. They said he robbed a bank, stole mob's money and killed all people that were in the bank with poisonous gas. What's more, the freak apparently wore purple suits and dressed like a clown. Perfect, a clown and a bat. Honestly, I had no idea how people came up with such absurd ideas.
»Okay, everyone, you have two hours. Go shopping, go eat, or whatever. I expect each and every one of you back at the hotel at exactly 6 p.m.. Is that clear?« The professor asked and we nodded.
As soon as she was done, I grabbed Lena by her arm and Nina and Jana followed.
»Where should we go?« Jana asked, but was soon unterrupted by Nina:
»I'm starving, let's go eat.«
I grabbed my backpack and shuffled thorugh the stuff. I grabbed my wallet and looked inside.
»Hey, guys,« I said, putting everything back in place.
»Can we stop at a bank? I need to withdraw some money,« I said and they nodded in understanding.
»Oh, Ana, aren't you afraid of the clown? Don't you remember he robbed a bank a few weeks ago?« They teased and I rolled my eyes.
»Don't be stupid,« I said and turned on my GPS.
»In 50 meters, turn right,« the artificial voice said and I giggled.
»Wouldn't it be funny, if Gordon Ramsay voiced this thing? Or Simon from X factor? Can you even imagine?«
We laughed on our way, mocking my GPS.
»Now turn right.«
»More like, turn fuckin' right you fuckin' piece of shit!« Nina said, immitating Ramsay.
We almost dropped dead from laughter, but we managed to find the bank anyway.
»Okay, hey, we gotta be serious now,« I said and turned the app off. Just as I was staring at my phone, with Jana holding onto my other arm, a blunt force hit me hard on the side.
I stumbled backwards, dragging Jana with me. I looked up from my phone, only to see a handsome man with hair just a little darker blonde than mine. Immediately, his hands reached out to keep me from falling and he smiled. He had perfect pearl teeth, and I immediately thought he looked like a poster boy. I had a feeling like I'd seen him somewhere before.
»Oh my god, I'm so sorry!« He said, finally letting go of me.
»No, it's fine,« I said, smiling awkwardly.
»I wasn't looking were I was going, I'm so sorry,« he kept apologizing and I blushed.
»No, it's fine, really, I'm okay.«
»I'm Harvey. Harvey Dent,« he said, offering me his hand.
I took it and made sure my grip was as strong as his. Nothing worse than a weak handshake, in my opinion.
»It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Ana Novak.«
I squinted my eyes then, trying hard to remember where I had heard that name before.
»You seem really familiar,« I said, fighting off that damn redness in my cheeks.
I heard all three girls giggling behind me, but I tried to ignore them.
»Ana, his posters are all over the town,« Lena said and I blushed even more.
Now I remembered. He was the new attorney. Gotham's white knight as they called him.
»Oh, that's right! I can't believe I didn't remember! I'm so sorry,« I said, but he burshed it off immediately:
»I see you're from out of town, right?«
»Yeah, it's our first time in Gotham.«
»In that case, would you like to get a tour? See the city, get a cup of coffee?«
I couldn't believe my ears and I suddenly became too embarrassed to breathe. Me, have coffee with Gotham's knight? No way.
»Ah, I wouldn't wanna bother you,« I began, but then Lena shut my mouth with her hand.
»No, we'd love to,« she said and kept covering my angry mumbles.
»I'm Lena, and this is Jana and Nina,« she said and Harvey shook hands with all of them.
»Okay, then, let's go,« he offered and we followed him to a cafe.
About an hour later, I looked at my phone and felt my heart clench a little.
It was getting late and if we kept sitting here, we'll miss the bus home and I won't be able to get to the bank.
»Um, Harvey,« I said, blushing.
It felt so weird to call him by his first name after just meeting the man, but he absolutely insisted I did that.
»Yes?«
»I had a really good time today, I think we all did, but we must go now. The bank closes soon, if I remember correctly, and we really gotta go there.«
»Oh, I completely understand.«
After about five minutes of arguing who'll get the check, Dent paid for all of us.
»Hey, I know you just came here, but do you have any pretty clothes with you?«
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Jana responded:
»Not really, we just have jeans and T-shirts...«
»Well, I wanted to invite you to my party,« he said, scraching his head in embarrassment.
»A party?« Nina asked and immediately became alert. She always has been a complete party animal.
»Yeah, they're throwing a fundraiser for me, and I'd love for you to be there.«
»Well, thank you for the invitation, but we honestly don't have anything suitable with us...« I said, to Nina's sorrow.
»I understand. But hey, if you change your mind, here's the time and place,« he said, scribbling something down on a piece of paper.
He handed it to me and I read it.
»Thank you again, for all you've done for us, Mr. Den-, I mean, Harvey.«
»It was my pleasure,« he said, waved and then he was gone.
Just as he was gone, and we exited the cafe ourselves, Lena moaned:
»Oh my god, he's so hot!«
»Lena!« I said, shocked.
»He's like... 35 or something!« I continued, but Lena wasn't having any of that.
»No fucking way, he's like 25.«
»Yeah, sure. 'Cause you finish law school and still manage to become the attorney of the whole damn city by the age of 25,« I said, scowling.
»Don't ruin my dreams for me,« she whined and I had to smile in the end.
We really were a bunch of crazy people.
»Can you even imagine what others will say when we tell them we met Harvey fucking Dent?!« Nina screamed and jumped up and down.
»I'd love to rub it in professor's face,« Jana said and closed her eyes, enjoying her day dream.
»Too bad we can't go to the party, though,« Nina said, almost crying.
»I'm pretty sure it's not that kind of a party,« I tried to reasure her, to make her feel at least a bit better.
»Oh, yeah? How so?«
»Well, there will be no music, or perhaps just classical music. And there will be no dancing, no alchohol, exept for champagne and wine. And everybody will be old and rich as hell.«
»Oh my god, can you imagine meeting someone there? You'd be set for life.«
»Yeah...« I said, with saddness in my voice.
I never was a gold digger, but I wouldn't fight off a younger version of Harvey Dent if I met one.
»Hey, I just got an idea,« Jana said and made us stop dead in our tracks.
»Jana, I have to get to the bank, come on,« I whined.
»No, no, wait. Just hear me out. What if, bear with me, what if...«
I squinted my eyes at her, suspicious.
»What if we bought some dresses and went there.«
With that, a whole chaos errupted between the four of us.
»Hell yeah!« Lena screamed.
»I don't....« Nina began.
»No, no way!« I yelled, and shook my head.
»Have you got any idea how much a dress like that costs? Not to mention any kind of decent jewellry, or shoes or even make up! For god's sake, it's impossible!«
»Oh, come on Ana, don't be such a party breaker!«
»No! No way!«
To my surprise, even Lena and Nina agreed with her and not me.
»You have got to be kidding me,« I said, feeling betrayed.
»Never in your wildest dreams, will you have enough money for a dress suitable for the fundraiser.«
»We can try,« Jana whined.
»Yeah, it will be fun, come on! We're only here for a couple of days and then we have to go home. We'll remember this forever!« They screamed in excitment, but I still wasn't persuaded.
»This is such a bad idea...«
»Yay!« Jana screamed and hugged me.
»Hey! Hey! I didn't agree to anything!« I defended myself, but they just laughed at me.
»You will, honey. You will.«
»When you see how much your »fun« will cost, you'll stop that stupid giggling,« I said, slightly angry.
There was no way in hell I was giving all of my money away for a stupid dress.
I started walking again, having to hear all of their ridiculous plans made me even angrier. In the end I just smirked and laughed at them, but at the time we reached the bank, all was forgotten and there were no grudges to be held against each other.
»Next!« The woman behind the glass said and the line moved forth.
I waited patiently for my turn, but it seemed like my other three friends could barely stand. They yawned and mocked, tired of waiting.
»Just suck it up,« I hissed as Jana yawned particularly loudly, to let the employee know how slow she was.
Strangely, I was more ashamed of their actions as they should be. To me, rudeness was one of the worst things imaginable.
But that wasn't the case with them, as they kept their shits and giggles up for another five minutes, before I finally exploded:
»Can you, for the love of god, just-!«
The sound of gun fire covered my voice until we heard one, much meaner:
»Everybody get on the ground! This is a robbery!«
A woman screamed and I turned around to see three men, wearing clown masks, running in our direction. They pointed their guns at all of us and in a matter of seconds, had all of us under complete control.
»All right, everybody, hands up, heads down!« A grumpy looking clown said and I immediately obeyed.
I saw Lena shake next to me, trying to hide behind me for protection.
»I said hands up, heads down!« the man yelled again and a woman yelped in fear.
»Let's go pal,« he said, literally pulling the man behind the counter, lifting him in the air and throwing him on his side.
»I'm making a withdrawal here,« he finished saying, kicking him in the leg, while the man sat down, lifting his hands up.
He moved to the next employee, the lady that Jana yawned so loudly to.
»No! Please!« She begged, but to no use, as the man swung her in the air just as easily as if she was just a rag doll.
I then looked in the other direction, toward the two remaining clowns. I saw one with spiky blue hair leave the room with empty black bags, while the other one paced the room. He immediately caught my attention, since he seemed taller and stronger than the other two combined. He had a sad clown mask and as far as I could see, extremely dirty hair. He had a big gun in his hand, ready to use.
»All right, tootsie, you're taking a ride with me,« Grumpy said and lifted the screaming lady in the air again.
She called for help, but there was no one brave, or rather, stupid enough to come to her aid.
»Shut the fuck up already, bitch!«
She kicked and screamed and shouted, until the man violently threw her at the stone floor, and then she didn't move again. I saw her body go numb and her voice turn silent.
I felt chills all over my spine and goosebumps on my arms and legs. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, and if I wasn't so damn scared, I would have ran for my life. Thankfully, I wasn't that stupid.
»Get down and stay there!«
»No, please, don't hurt me!«
Soon I began thinking about how odd this seemed. One man – Grumpy - doing the dirty work, dealing with the screamers, while the other one – the guy with the sad mask - calmly paced the room, preparing some bags. It just didn't seem right.
In the complete chaos that ruled in the room, I failed to see a man hiding in his office, calmly gathering his nerves. He slowly reached underneath his table and grabbed a shotgun.
In a moment of complete inner peace, he decided and shot the glass wall of his office down.
I saw both clowns duck down and look back at the shooter.
Another shot was heard, and the sad clown slid further away on the shiny floor.
The next shot almost hit Grumpy, missing him only by an inch. Then the man hit a desk and a lamp, before finally yelling:
»Yeah...!«
Grumpy hid behind a desk, where I and my friends sat and the sad clown soon followed. Lena, Nina and Jana moved away in fear, but I was too slow. I looked the sad clown directly in the eye, as he sat mere inches in front of me. Our eyes met and I understood immediately; in a split of a second I shoved myself away, just as his hand came forth to grab me. In sheer panic, that overpowered me, I kicked at the floor, succeeding at making the distance between us even greater. I knew he was about to use me as a human shield, but I managed to escape his grasp. Now, meters away, I sat back slowly, still staring at him. I was determined not to show any fear. Fear, that so wildly controlled me.
He slowly cocked his head to the side, as if he was thinking about something, wondering even, and kept his gaze on me.
»You have any idea who you're stealing from?! You and your friends are dead!« The man yelled, coming closer and closer.
»He's out, right?« Grumpy asked and the sad clown finally looked away from me.
He looked like he was counting, staring at nothing, before nodding at his fellow partner in crime.
Grumpy immediately stood up, ready to shoot, but the other man was faster. He pressed the trigger, but missed. In mere seconds he was on the ground, shot down by the sad clown.
»Where did you learn to count?!« Grumpy angrily yelled, but proceeded with the plan without any more conflict. He ran out of the room, where I saw the third clown go, and now there was an entire room of hostages and only the sad clown. Slowly coming my way, staring and staring, like a madman.
Be strong, I thought.
He stopped then, but kept his gaze. I felt chills again and a lump in my throat. Lena held onto my hand so tightly, she stopped my blood flow.
I stared right back, some kind of twisted determination prevented me from looking away. I had my pride and dignity and I sure as hell wasn't about to lose them because of some perverted sad clown!
»That's a lotta money,« Grumpy said when he came back and the sad clown helped him pile the bags in the middle of the room.
»If this Joker guy was so smart, he'd have us bring a bigger car.«
Just as the sad clown turned away, there was a sound of gun cocking. Ever so slowly, he turned toward Grumpy and faced the gun pointed at his chest.
»I'm betting the Joker told you to kill me as soon as we loaded the cash,« Grumpy said.
I felt my blood freeze at the mention of Joker's name, but I tried to control myself.
»Ugh, no, no, no, no. I kill the bus driver,« he answered and I shivered.
His voice was the strangest thing I've ever heard. It was going up and down, like he was singing, and yet he seemed to do it on purpose.
»Bus driver?«
They moved around in a circle, until Grumpy had enough:
»What bus driver?«
The wall collapsed as a yellow school bus drove right into the room, hitting Grumpy and killing him instantly. The bus then stopped and the back door opened. Another man with a clown mask jumped out of the bus and said:
»School's out. Time to go. That guy's not getting up, is he?« He kept asking while throwing the bags filled with money inside the bus.
»That's a lot of money,« he grunted greedily.
The sad clown looked carefully around himself, if there were any bags left.
»What happened to the rest of the guys?«
Without any kind of remorse or even thought to what he was doing, the sad clown shot him dead.
The manager then seemed to come back from the dead, just as the clown started entering the bus.
»You think you're smart, huh?«
He stopped and looked at the man lying on the ground.
»The guy that hired youse... he'll just do the same to you.«
The clown slowly approached him, putting his gun away.
»Oh, criminals in this town used to believe in things... Honor... Respect! Look at you. What do you believe in, huh? What do you believe in?!« he managed to yell, before the clown stuck a small metal thing inside his mouth, making him shut up.
»I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you...«
He pulled the mask off his face and what I saw froze me in place. The man I heard so much about. The Joker himself.