Bad, I'm better [Bruce Wayne]

Chapter 34.

In the end I reached the conclusion that I should wait for the results Gordon's team brought with them from their observation of the address the Joker had given to me himself.

I put the paper into my bag next to the mattress and waited until someone came to update me on the situation. It took quite a while, but after what felt like ages, someone finally opened the door to get me.

I was informed that Gordon and his team had returned for now and that they wanted to see me. So of course I got up and followed the officer to wherever he was taking me.

I couldn't really focus on the hallways we were walking through this time around. The world just seemed to pass by me, my brain was dealing with too many thoughts to take in any more unneeded information.

Instead of another interrogation room, our journey ended in something like a meeting room with a huge table and a whiteboard and a beamer in the front. Most of the faces of the people present in the room I recognized as members of the MCU, but I only felt some kind of relief when my eyes focused on Gordon.

The officer told me in which chair I could sit and once I had taken a seat, I felt my shoulders relax a little.

Gordon wasted no time in getting straight to the point of why he had assembled us here.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, let's start."

The underlaying mumbling quieted down and everyone turned to focus on him.

"As you know the Joker handed this piece of paper with an address to Ms. Benton. He didn't give her any instructions, but claimed that she would find Harvey Dent there. Now, we went over there to evaluate the situation and I'll be honest with you: I don't think we will find Harvey Dent."

The faces of the people around me visibly darkened and a silent sigh escaped my lips. Of course Harvey wouldn't be there. But there must be a reason why the Joker gave me that paper.

"Batman helped us scan the area and while there were some people that could turn out to be his henchmen, we believe that we shouldn't sent Ms. Benton to the location to see what goal the Joker is trying to achieve. Since Harvey Dent doesn't seem to be present at the scene, we think it's safer if one of our teams goes there." As he declared this his eyes landed on me and I knew which question would be coming next.

"What do you say?"

"If Harvey's not there, then I don't think there would be any risk if it's not me that's going there. You scanned the area, so you must know what's best and I agree if anything happens you can handle the situation much better than I can. As long as Harvey isn't harmed through any of this it's fine with me." I admitted and Gordon seemed relieved that I thought about this the same way that they did, although they probably would've done what they thought was best either way.

"Good. We just wanted to make sure that you didn't insist on going, since...you 'know' the Joker better than us." He said and I could see that he felt bad saying these words to me. But he was right. It was me that had the most contact with the Joker in a situation that had not been the usual one in which someone tried to arrest him.

"So, when are we heading out?" One of the people sitting at the table asked and all eyes were back on Gordon.

"As soon as possible. We're getting all available S.W.A.T. teams and the rest of you go ahead and put on their gear. We'll tell you the details of our course of action through radio on our way there." He declared and everybody got moving.

This time it was Gordon himself that took me back to my room, but our pace was noticeably faster than usual. It was no surprise that he was in a hurry.

Once we were back at my room Gordon assured me that he would let me know the results as soon as he could and that I didn't have to worry about anything.

He and I both knew that I would still worry, but there was nothing I could do about it until I knew the results of the choice the police and I had made.

Not long after I had been left alone in my room I could see a whole array of police cars leaving the vicinity of the GCPD and the sheer numbers left me a little more positive that this whole plan could turn out better than I had initially thought.

After the last car had disappeared in the distance and the sirens were out of hearing reach, all that was left was silence. The only thing I could do is wait.

And I waited.

But with every minute that passed in complete silence, it became clearer to me that even for the GCPD it was unusually quiet. I hadn't been here for long, but in these hours I had heard enough people walking past my door to know that there weren't many people left in the building. And most of these people were probably watching the Joker.

I didn't know where he was held. If he was still being questioned while the other officers were away, but without Gordon here I didn't feel as well protected as before.

After staring out the window and watching the cars pass by in the street in front of the building for quite a while, I got bored and decided to lie back on my made-shift bed. There was no way that I would be able to take a nap right now, but standing by the window wasn't exactly comfortable and I needed to sit down.

As I was about to settle down on the mattress, I could suddenly feel the earth shaking, a pressure pressing me back against the wall and just about a second after the loudest detonation I had ever heard intruded my ears. After that I wasn't able to hear any sounds of people running around the building or from outside. Only the faint ringing in my ear made me realize that it must be because of the damage my ears had taken by the loud bang.

I wasn't sure where it happened, but it didn't take much to know that this had been an explosion. And if I could judge it correctly, the explosion took place at the GCPD headquarters.

All the remnants of the feeling of safety left my body immediately as I shot up from the place I was now lying at, grabbed my purse and walked over to the window. There were no signs of an explosion there, so I knew it had to be on the inside of the building.

There was only one option left. Someone was here to seize the moment and free the one person that had fooled the entire GCPD into leaving the building emptier than it had probably ever been.

The Joker.

_______________________________________

Long time no see!

This is getting repetitive, but I'm sorry I haven't updated for such a long time. I'm only adding an author's note to this because I wanted to say that I know this is a difficult time for all of us and I hope that all of you are healthy and are doing well.

I saw so many people comment and vote on this recently and I'm always thankful, so I hope you enjoy this tiny little update. 

Please take care of yourselves and the people around you!!