Clowning Around

Part 1

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Taza asked Bishop as they stood outside the bar Harley was known to frequent most nights. "I've heard she isn't the most stable woman to have around."

"The way I see it, we don't have a fucking choice." Bishop said stomping on his cigarette butt and pushing the bar doors open.

"What the fu..." Tranq started to say as he saw the carnage strewn across the bar.

"Hey sugar, what can I get you?" Harley grinned as she sat on top of the bar with her baseball bat laying across her lap, broken bottles and bodies everywhere.

"Uh, you actually." Bishop said. "We need a mercenary for a quick job."

"Harleen Quinzel at your service." She said jumping down and grabbing Bishops hand, shaking it wildly. "I also do fish walking and hyenas too."

"You gotta be joking." Angel said aside to his brother.

"What was that?" Harley said spinning to face Angel. "He said the J word? No, not that J word the other J word."

The men watched her warily as she seemed to talk to herself aloud.

"What's the J word?" Angel asked Ez in a whisper.

"I think she means Joker." His brother answered just as quietly.

"How do you even walk a fish?" Gilly asked.

"Like this silly." She giggled and walked to the fish tank behind the bar.

She shoved her hand in the open top and quickly swirled the water until it became a whirl pool and the small fish were spinning wildly.

"See." She said pulling her hand out and pressing her face to the glass. "Go! Go! Go!" She cheered the spinning fish on.

The doors banged open again and Harley spun around to see who it was before pouting. It wasn't who she was waiting for.

"Primo, what's got you here?" Bishop asked Marcus as he stepped in the bar with Nestor.

"Thought you could use the back up." He answered clapping his cousin on the back. "That's why I brought Nestor, I'm too old for this shit."

"I tawt I taw a puddy tat a-creeping up on me. I did, I did, I did. And that was the end of me." Harley sung to the fish as the water settled and a few floated to the surface belly up.

"Was that tweety bird?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, sort of." His brother answered before the doors opened once more.

"Jesus Christ is anyone else going to show up." Bishop growled as everyone turned to the new comers.

They looked like meth heads and came in wielding bats, pots and even hockey sticks. Nestor, not wasting anytime, pulled his gun out and pointed it to the group.

Harley popped up in front of the barrel of his gun grinning. He frowned as she licked the top of it and hummed.

"I love the taste of gun powder in the morning." She said before turning around.

He turned to Marcus who shrugged his shoulders and looked at the windows that were dark from the night. She really was nuts.

"Where's my Brucey?" She asked as she got to the group swinging her bat in warm up. "Momma misses him."

"$50,000.00 and you can have him. We know you stole the diamond." The leader ordered with his black and broken teeth showing through his grin.

"I have a better idea." She replied before bringing her bat to the front of her. "Let's play a game...batter up!"

She spun around, letting the bat slide to its full length and brought the end down on the man's knee with a manic laugh. The other meth heads finally started to move like zombies and raised their own pots, pans and bats.

"Are we supposed to help her?" Creeper asked as he started to lower his weapon that he had drawn.

"Well she's no good to us if she's dead." Bishop answered and nodded his head to his guys.

"Fuck this." Nestor said shoving his gun pack in the holster and picked up a bar stool.

He smashed the stool down over the head of someone going for Harley's back then picked up a shard of the broken leg. With his own makeshift bat he stood at her back and defended her as they were surrounded by the druggies. Finally the Mayans joined in the brawl and all that was left was Marcus as he climbed on the lone unbroken bar stool to watch. He reached over the bar top and grabbed a beer that was still unopened before popping the cap and taking a drag.

"Watch your six primo." He called out to Bishop who spun around and ducked as a cast iron pan was swung at him.

Bishop tackled the man around the waist and pinned him on the ground before punching the man until he was unconscious. Arms picked him up and tossed him into the back of Tranq who was holding another man off the ground by his shirt. Tranq looked at Bishop then at the man he held and turned around. Bishop grabbed his legs and Tranq grabbed his arms before they swung the poor bastard through the air to crash into the man who had thrown Bishop. Both guys fell to the floor groaning and made no attempt to get up as Tranq and Bish grinned at each other.

When the fight had died down and most of the meth heads were groaning messes on the floor Nestor looked around for Harley. At some point she had disappeared and he looked among the bodies but none of them were her. Finally he found her blonde, blue and red hair on the other side of the bar in front of the fish tank. She looked like she was holding a live fish by the tail and as he got closer he saw the man she had pinned beneath her on the bar.

"Where is my Brucey!" She hissed at the man as she pushed his mouth open and held the wriggling fish above it.

"He's outside." The man whimpered. "In the beat up GMC."

"Thanks sugar." She said patting his cheek before dropping the fish in his mouth and jamming his jaw shut.

The man's eyes widened as his tried to get Harley off him but she kneed him in the groin and his gasp had him inhale the fish.

"There's only one way for him to go now." She said before laughing maniacally.

She jumped over the bar and threw her bat to Nestor who caught it easily and they all watched as she skipped outside before returning with a huge spotted hyena.

"Oh nah, fuck that." Angel said as he scooted back from the animal.

Ez and Coco followed him in backing away but Bishop walked closer with a look at the boys that said he clearly thought they were being pussies.

"So..." Bishop said stepping in front of Harley. "Do we have a deal?"