บท 133: 131 Interlude: Joker
Columbus, Ohio, July 12th, 20:23.
Entering the city, Catelyn can't help the feeling of heebie-jeebies settling in her gut as she watches the streets pass by.
Jumping slightly, she is startled out of her thoughts by a gentle yet firm hand being placed on her thigh.
Turning to her other side, she looks away from the window to give Flint a smile, silently thanking him for his reassurance, even as he continues to drive towards the source of her anxiety.
Idly, as she turns back to watching the city go by, Catelyn takes note of the graffiti decorating the streets. It looks tasteful and artistic enough that you wouldn't even really think of it as graffiti if you didn't already live here.
Because everyone who lives here knows what that heart shaped symbol means, especially the hearts that have a jester's mask in the middle of them.
Yes, the underworld of Columbus truly belongs to the Red Hearts now, with Cincinnati and Cleveland soon to follow the expanding empire.
Suddenly, a lazy voice rings out from the back of the car, jolting Catelyn out of her thoughts once again.
"Remind me again what we're doing here?"
Turning around with an insufferable sigh, Catelyn faces Paul, who is leaning forward to poke his head between the two front seats, and he speaks again before she can even answer.
"Like, we aren't even going to be operating here, we moved to Cleveland remember? So why are we 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 and not 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?"
"Because," Catelyn stresses the word, "as I have already 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 you, the Red Hearts run Cleveland, and if we want to work there, we need to get their permission so that they don't kill us for working their marks."
Typically, Paul remains unfazed by the thought of being killed and all but pouts back at her, because despite actually being the eldest in the car, he acts the most like a child.
"Yeah yeah, I get 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, but why are we 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? Like, why aren't we just talking with some of their guys in Cleveland? Why do we have to come all the way over here to do this?"
His words make Catelyn want to rip her hair out as her frustration and anxiety only grow the more he speaks.
"𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦," she stresses even more this time, "if we disrespect the Red Hearts, then the Jack of Hearts, otherwise known as the 𝘙𝘦𝘥-𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 will find us and they will 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 us."
Paul goes to say something, but Catelyn speaks over him, her voice rising with her anxiety as she works herself up.
"More importantly, the Red Hearts are lead by the 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 Joker, and you don't disrespect the Joker, because he is the 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘑𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳."
Pausing her rant, Catelyn is left panting for air as she calms herself down, not noticing the worried look Flint sends her way as she drags a palm down her face.
"Look," she says, far calmer this time, "we're here to speak with the Joker directly. We're here to respect him by taking the trip ourselves, and we really, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 need to avoid pissing him off. So when we get there, could you please, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 just shut the fuck up and let us do the talking?"
With a harrumph, Paul sits back in his seat, muttering his complaints.
"What's the big deal anyway? Who even is this 'Red Death' dude, and why should we care? Flint just needs to go to a convention or something and we can just kick their asses."
Unable to stop herself, Catelyn lets out a long groan, mentally complaining about her teammates lack of a brain.
"Did you not read the messages I sent you?" She asks, already knowing the answer.
"Eh, I skimmed them. Didn't seem important. Why?"
Smacking the back of her head against her seat, Catelyn whispers to herself. "My god he's an idiot."
"What?"
"Nothing. Look, Jack, or Red Death, is Joker's head enforcer, and they're a woman by the way, not a dude. Her power is some kind of red energy manipulation that she generally uses to send blades and waves at people, either cutting them to pieces or trapping them, or just making barriers. She's fast and versatile and Flint has a limit for how high he can go, you know this. And no offence Flint, but she could kick your ass easily."
Flint lets out a huff and rolls his eyes good naturedly at the playful smirk she sends his way, while Paul in the back just lets out a faked gag at the display of affection, successfully ruining the moment, as he is wont to do.
"𝘈𝘩𝘦𝘮. Even then, even if we could somehow manage to beat her back, there is still his Queen to consider, because from what I hear, she's a decent Brute who is basically always by Joker's side; and once again, her Brute rating is probably about as high as Flint's limit, maybe even a bit higher. All of that, is without considering the dozen or two other capes that work under Joker. There are only three of us, so play nice, and remember to shut the fuck up, just, all the time. 'Kay?"
Rolling his eyes, Paul lies down, using the backseats as a makeshift bed as he disregards road safety laws and takes out his phone.
"Fine, fine. I'll let you two do the talking."
Hearing his confirmation, Catelyn lets out a sigh of genuine relief.
Just in time too, as Flint taps her thigh with a knuckle to let her know that they've arrived, causing her to hastily mask up, an action followed by the other two. They're already in costume.
Catelyn almost does a double take as she sees where they are pulling in, not having expected the location they were given to be the back of a large nightclub. There is even a line outside the club as people await entry to the 'Hearts and Minds' club.
It's colour scheme has a lot of reds and blacks, and there are heart decorations all over it. Combined with it's name and it has to be the least subtle gang front in the history of fronts.
She would be wondering how they can get away with such a flagrant display, but she knows what the Red Hearts are capable of, or at least, she knows that what she does know is just the tip of the iceberg, and that she shouldn't underestimate them.
Also, after thinking about it for a moment, calling the club 'Hearts and Minds' is either just them having a laugh, or it's actually a really smart move, and she's going to assume the latter.
After all, doing so makes it clear that the gang is trying to raise the public opinion of them, and if you know that someone is trying to win you over, then you'd probably trust them at least a little bit more, knowing that they wouldn't want to do anything overtly horrible for the sake of their image.
Or maybe they just found it funny.
Either way, Catelyn has no more time to consider it as Flint drives around to the back of the club, where their is a large metal door, one of the ones that slide up, like a garage but bigger, as well as a pair of men loitering nearby.
They are dressed in black suits with only the white of their shirt and the red pocket square on their chest having any colour.
They also do a very poor job of concealing the ARs they're carrying, but that might be the point.
One of them gets up to approach while the other takes out a radio and starts talking quietly into it.
The guy approaching reaches the car and knocks the driver's side window twice with the stock of his gun.
Definitely not actually trying to conceal the guns then.
Rolling down his window, Flint, or Clyde now, goes to greet the man, only to be cut off by his own sharp words.
"You the Bosses guests?" He asks, and Clyde ignores how he was interrupted to answer with a smile.
"I do believe so, I'm Clyde, this is Bonnie and that's Smoker in the back."
The man's eyes track with Clyde's finger as he points his comrades out; Catelyn, or Bonnie now, responds with a smile, visible thanks to her mask only concealing the upper half of her face.
Paul, or Smoker, is the exact opposite, with his mask covering his mouth and nose. He simply responds to the man's gaze with a hesitant two fingered wave.
Hesitant because he's used to greeting people with a middle finger, but managed to hold himself back from doing so.
"Hm. You're early. Good. The Boss doesn't like being made to wait."
As if his words were a signal, the door in front of them opens up, revealing a large elevator with poor lighting, clearly designed to allow for lorries to entre and exit.
The fact that they are being allowed into what is clearly an important location only makes Bonnie more nervous, knowing that it means they are simply confident that they could remover her and her team before they could even become a problem.
The elevator ride is slow and silent, only serving to make Bonnie even more nervous.
The phrase, 'into the lion's den' has never felt more fitting as every second feels like an hour until the elevator finally jars to a stop.
The doors open, and the three of them are greeted with what can only be described as an underground base.
Just a quick glance around shows the space available to be at least half a football stadium, and that's not even considering what lies beyond the various corridors.
In front of them is what seems to be a loading bay of sorts, with unmarked and marked vans and lorries of all types parked about, some of which are being loaded with various crates by people in uniform.
Bonnie even spots one pair of unmarked black vans surrounded by a group of heavily armed men, who are clearly getting ready to do something.
From the arms they're wielding, Bonnie wouldn't be surprised to hear that they plan on fighting a small army.
But their attention is quickly taken by a woman walking up to them.
She is dressed differently from everyone else around, wearing tight black body suit with dark red swirls artfully decorating it and a scarlet red leather jacket with a fluffy collar over the top.
Most importantly however, is the mask she is wearing. It's a typical domino, mostly just covering her eyes, and it is chequered with black and red diamonds, each diamond having a heart of the opposite colour in it's centre.
Catelyn's heart nearly stops beating for a moment as the Jack of Hearts stops in front of them, before she breathes out a sigh of relief as the woman only nods her head and turns around, gesturing for us to follow, which we do.
A short drive later, where Clyde keeps the car a solid ten feet away from the woman at all times, and we are lead to a spot to park.
We each get out, with even Smoker seeming solemn as we realise just how big of an operation the Joker is running.
Talk about humbling a humbling experience.
"Come on then. No using your powers, or I'll take your hands. Don't speak to around the Boss without permission and don't stare."
With those stern words, Jack walks away, the three young Villains hurriedly following behind, like lost ducklings.
They walk for a while, crossing the original open area and into the corridors, which seem to go on forever, until they eventually reach a fancy looking door, where Jack knocks twice.
The door is opened by another woman in a mask. This one covers everything but the mouth, and is white with the exception of a red and gold crown design, as well as a cursive 'Q' drawn on the left cheek of the mask.
The rest of the woman doesn't match with the quality of Jack however, as she has a lazy frown on her face and is dressed in what could only be described as casual clothes, with a loose red tee and a pair of black shorts.
It only takes a moment for her to notice the three behind Jack, and recognition flashes in her eyes as she opens the door fully with a smile.
The four of them walk into what at first looks like a simple, if opulent, office. But that only lasts until they look off to the right and notice that the room seems to actually be two rooms combined into one, with the other half being a dedicated lab.
Equipment of various purposes decorate the walls, with counters full of beakers and mysterious liquids, while in the centre of it all, there is a single metal operating table, flaked with dried blood.
Bonnie studiously does her best to ignore what that means, and focuses instead on the man, a boy, really, bent over one of those counters, holding a pipette over a beaker with focus.
The two women ignore this, with Queen simply moving to the operating table and leaning back on it without a care for the dry blood, crossing her arms and staring at the guests, whom Jack gestures to take a seat in the office half of the room.
They do so without a word, sinking into the red velvet couches as they wait for the Joker to be done.
But even after minutes, nothing happens.
The silence soon becomes oppressive to Bonnie, who feels like she is closer to having a panic attack every second. The way Jack keeps glaring at her certainly doesn't help, but Clyde's reassuring hand on her shoulder does, and she manages to take a breath and calm herself.
𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘱! 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘱! 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘱!
Startling at the sudden sound, they all turn to the lab just in time to see Joker tap an alarm, putting down his equipment and holding a hand out behind him without a word.
Queen soon follows his silent gesture and hands him a wet towel, which he uses to wipe his hands clean before throwing the towel onto the operating table and finally turning around, making his way to his desk with calm, measured steps.
As he does, the guests finally get to properly take in his appearance.
He is young, is the first thing to come to mind. Maybe thirteen, fourteen. Early teens at best.
But that doesn't detract from his image, as he has little to no baby fat, and he is wearing a very clearly tailored black pinstripe suit, with the stripes being a deep red, matching with his pocket square and crimson undershirt.
His hair is a mix between dark red and black, and is slicked back, with the ends spiking up slightly at the back of his neck.
Other than his height, everything about him radiates control, and power. Fitting of his position.
The only other thing marking him as anything different to a typical mob boss, is the pale face paint he is wearing, with a large red cheshire grin painted on and a pair of deep purple triangles above and below his eyes, pointing away from them.
Taking his seat, he finally looks at them, his eyes, bloodshot and shifting, changing between colours as if they can't decide on what to settle on, bore into the three of them.
"So," he finally says, ending the oppressive silence, his voice both childish and mature, "who are you, exactly? Never mind, I don't care. Why are you here?"
The 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 Smoker gives Bonnie makes her want to kick him in the nuts, as she can practically hear the silent 'I told you so.'
Instead, she takes a deep breath and answers, thanking Scion that she doesn't stutter.
"We are here to pay respects to the Joker, and to ask permission to operate within the city of Cleveland."
Joker's lip twitches at her words, and as he starts to smile, he raises one of his hands to cover his mouth, allowing them all to see the tattoo of a laughing mouth on the back of his hand, in place of his actual smile.
"Oh?~ And what kind of operations would that be?~" He asks, his voice sending shivers down Bonnie's spine as a feeling of danger clouds her mind.
"We're just small time thieves. We call ourselves Night Raid, and we just rob businesses and banks, anything corporate really."
At her words, Joker leans back into his chair and taps his chin with his right forefinger, clearly thinking.
Until he suddenly snaps his fingers and looks back at them with a smile.
"Well, Night Raid. I mostly deal in other things anyway, drugs, protection, organ trade and the like.~"
Bonnie tries to hide her wince at the mention of organ trade, but from his grin widening, she doesn't think she succeeds.
"So you doing your thing won't really cut into my profits too much, especially if your targets are all corporate.~ In that case, sure, you'll have no problems from my Hearts.~"
Smoker lets out a breath at his answer, clearly expecting that to be all. Bonnie and Clyde are not so naïve.
"However, there will naturally be conditions.~"
And there it is.
Smoker tightens his grip on his chair, but relents when thin whisps of red energy start dancing around Jack's body.
Having expected this, Bonnie is quick with her response, doing her best to act deferential. "Of course, may we hear these conditions?"
His smile changes again, and the anxiety Bonnie has been keeping locked down spikes up again, as a bad premonition settles in her mind.
"Of course, of course. First of all, you'll be given a list of properties that are paying me for protection. You are not to hit any of them. Secondly, since you would be operating in my territory, I think a tax on what you earn should be reasonable. Let's say, 50%? Yes, that seems fair.~"
Before she can get over her shock at the unreasonable number to say anything in their defence, Smoker beats her to the punch, making that horrible feeling get all the worse as she witnesses her premonition coming true.
"50%!?! You wouldn't even be doing anything! How is 50% fair!?"
Only silence follows Smoker's emotional outburst, as his teammates stare at him with slacked jaws, feeling both shock and an undercurrent of fear, while Queen just seems amused and Joker only has a small frown on his face.
Jack however, is glaring at them as if she's trying to develop a Blaster power on the spot to burn a hole through their bodies.
It takes only a moment for Smoker to realise what he's done, but by then it's too late, as Joker's voice echoes in the room like the executioner's sentence.
"Jack, a finger should do. Actually, no, take both of his middle fingers, just in case he tries to disrespect me again."
Bonnie's eyes blow wide as the angry woman storms over to Smoker, pulsing with red energy, and she knows before it even happens that he is going to use his power to avoid her.
But Bonnie remembers the woman's earlier words and doesn't want to call the bluff, so she does the only thing she can think off to save her teammate's life, and possibly even her own by extension.
She drops to her knees and she begs.
"Wait! Please! He's just stupid and slow, he didn't mean what he said, please forgive him!"
With her forehead touching the floor, she can not see any faces, but she still notices Clyde joining her, bowing for forgiveness.
Meanwhile, Joker turns from the two on the floor and stares at Smoker instead, who soon gets the message and joins them, shaking lightly.
Silence ensues once more, and Bonnie's fear grows every second that she awaits his sentence.
"Hmm, you're a Tinker, right?" Joker's voice eventually rings out, the non sequitur sending her through a loop for a moment before she hastily answers, cursing Scion as she fails to hide her stutter.
"Y-y-yes." She doesn't ask how he knows, seeing as he apparently didn't even recognise them, instead she just answers honestly and hopes that it will save them.
"In that case, you will give up 30% of any profits you make in Cleveland, and you will make up to ten devices of our choice every month for me. Materials and specifications will be sent to you on the first of every month. Do we have a deal, whatever your name was?"
Ten a month is going to seriously cut into her Tinkering time, meaning that her team will have less to work with for their jobs, and she will have less free time, but she doesn't hesitate to agree.
And like that, the Red Heart's influence spreads just a little bit further.
=================
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
Lol, I've been thinking about this chap for like 3 days, so I got carried away and wrote 3.5k words, and you should be happy about that, because if I wrote 4k then it would have been a double chapter and I would have split it in half, but it ended just in time to stay as one chap.
Also, yeah, little james is not so little anymore. He's been through something of a trial by fire and is now an actual big name in the underworld, with all the reputation and presence that comes with it. he's changed a lot. He's also used some drugs to make himself look older, cuz he's like, 10
(5+)Advanced chapters with the links below!
pat/reon.com/user?u=41732867 (get rid of the first slash or check the description)
Also, join the discord with this invite code! Pj3Dttwses
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