Night Gaze Redemption of Joker

Chapter 5 Demon of Gotham

Jack Napier found it hard to believe that he could shed his name so easily. He no longer had a connection to the father he never loved. He was a Wayne now.
"Jack Wayne." he whispered to himself.
Hearing it filled him with pride. It was hard to believe that this was real. He pinched himself, he had to be dreaming.
"Ow!"
His arm was sore. The pain was real. It wasn't a dream.
"Are you okay dear?"
"Yes ma'am."
Jack looked over at Thomas and noticed he spoke with kindness in his voice. He knew that this wasn't someone he had to fear. Jack could tell that Thomas seemed to be genuine. This was the first man other than Gordon that he could respect. They finished talking and Thomas signed the last paper. Then he put his hand on Jack's shoulder and smiled.
"It's official."
Jack smiled as well. Miss. Alice scooted her chair back. It scraped against the floor. She stood and walked over to Jack. Thomas nudged him to stand and Alice gave him a big hug. Her eyes were filled with joy. Tears started to stream down her face and she smiled.
"I'm just so happy for you." She said in a sobbing voice.
"These people are good people, don't give them any trouble." She whispered.
She gave him a stare that he quickly recognized. Jack knew this was a good thing. A once in a lifetime opportunity. She grabs his face and pulls his forehead down. Alice gave him a kiss. Her red lipstick was imprinted on his forehead. She took a tissue and wiped it off.
"Whoops." She chuckled.
Thomas asked Jack to get his stuff ready. He told him that he would be back later. Thomas smiled and then walked into the hall. He pulled the door closed. Thomas stood there and then he looked around. His mind flashed back to when he was a child here. It was just like it was yesterday. Him and Frank were talking about why he was leaving. His mind projected the memory in front of him.
"Why do you have to go?"
"Because my grandmother needs me."
"But I don't want you to go."
"I know but I have to."
"Why?"
"It's not that I want to leave you but she is the only living relative I have left."
"You said that we're brothers. You said nothing would ever change that."
Frank was crying and wiping his eyes. Thomas squatted and he put his hand on Frank's head.
"Yes, we are brothers and nothing will change that. I promise I'll come back for you. Just wait."
The memory faded and Thomas felt a tear run down his cheek. He wipes it off and Pamela could see the pain in Thomas' eyes. They made her feel sad.
"Hey Mista. Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yes, I'm okay. Thank you for asking."
Thomas smiled and Pamela smiled back. He walked over to the door. His fingers clasped around the handle. He looked back once more. Everything about this place was a memory. Thomas wished he could have spoken to Frank one last time. He would have said "Sorry I'm late Franky."
The handle clicked as he squeezed it. The door opened and Alfred was waiting at the bottom of the steps. Thomas approached the car and Alfred opened the car door. Thomas got in. Alfred walked around to the other side and sat in the driver's seat. He grabbed his shofer's hat off the dash. He squared it up with the back of his head. Alfred then put on his gloves.
"I see that you got a paper."
"Yes Sir."
Thomas grabbed the Gotham Tribune from the seat next to him.
"Check out page three, Sir. There's something that you might want to read."
Alfred gave him some time. Thomas flipped to the third page. The title read The Demon of Gotham. It was written by Lisa Trane. He could see that Ricky was her main focus. The article seemed to expose him as some criminal mastermind. Thomas wasn't surprised that someone finally called Ricky out. He smiled and put the newspaper down. Alfred turned the key and the engine started up.
"So, how did it go, Sir?"
"It went well Alfred."
"That's good to hear."
Alfred pulls away from the curb and goes down the street.
"So when do we pick up Master Jack?"
"Well, I was thinking around noon. That should give him enough time to pack his stuff."
"Oh, I see."
Alfred could see Thomas' smile in the rearview mirror.
"So, where do you want to go now?"
"Let's go home."

*

Jack comes out of the office and he sees Harley leaning against the wall. She blew a bubble and it popped. Harley pushed off the wall and stood up. Her eyebrows raised and her eyes got big.
"So, What did the richest man in Gotham want from you?"
"He wanted to adopt me."
His response threw her off a bit. He could see the shock on her face. She shut her eyes and shook it off. Harley couldn't accept it or believe it. He had to be joking.
"Yeah right J, you're such a Joker. What did he really want?"
"I'm not kidding. They brought me to the office and sat me down. Mr. Wayne said he wanted to offer me a normal life."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying we talked and at first I was a little resistant to the idea. But then I thought about what Officer Gordon said to me."
"What did he say?"
"He said that chances are right in front of me and that they were just waiting for me to take them. I realized that he was right. If I didn't take this chance now. What other chance would I get?"
"So you told him yes?"
He nods his head. Harley's heart sank. She felt somewhat abandoned. Harley knew this was a good opportunity for Jack but deep inside she wanted to be involved in this life changing decision. She wanted to know what this meant for their relationship and she wondered why Jack didn't ask her before making this decision. How could he go off the whims of a cop? She thought Jack was selfish. How could he do this to her? How could he do this to them? So, she bottled up her feelings for now and she put on her best smile.
"That sounds really good J."
She fought every urge to cry. Jack was so clueless. He couldn't see that this was tearing her up inside.
"Do you really think so?"
"Yeah."
Her voice cracked. Harley's eyes darted away from his view. Then she had to ask the question she didn't want to ask.
"So, when do you leave?" She said slowly.
"In an hour or two. I'm not that sure. He didn't say."
She thought that she had at least a day but a couple of hours is not enough time. Her face turned red. Harley's emotions were overlapping each other. Jack started to notice a change.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said sternly.
She turned and ran down the hall.
"Where are you going?"
"I have something to do."
"What?"
She didn't turn back around. Her tears were now visible.
"Harley!" He screamed.
Harley opened the door to the stairwell and the door slammed. She went upstairs to the girls floor. She slouched against the wall and slid down to the floor. She felt so embarrassed, she didn't want Jack to see her like this. The tears just kept on falling. The door at the bottom of the stairwell opened and then it slammed back.
"Harley!" Jack screamed again.
"Stop! Don't come any closer!"
"Why!"
She could no longer disguise her feelings in her voice.
"Please Jack."
"Okay, okay. What do you want me to do?"
"Just give me some time."
Jack left and Harley tucked her head between her knees.