The Killing Joke

Chapter two: Meetings of new and old friends

She walked the halls of the Gotham General hospital as she made her rounds. She took her time and chatted with each patient that she knew and comforted those that were newly arrived. She was walking toward the elevators when she first noted the TV news flash. She pursed her lips at the information held upon the screen. It had been a few months since a new criminal had been introducing himself to Gotham. The press barely gave him the time of day. The double homicide with his calling card left behind, a joker playing card. The stolen shipment of explosive chemicals and now a recent robbery of a mob bank, all of these were related to him.

She let the information of his most recent crime slip from her mind. It was no concern of hers let the man do anything he liked. She had an empty stomach to fill and a job to do. She had no time to pay attention to the same old news. She made up her mind to inquire as to the inner workings of the criminal world in Gotham. She needed to see Corky again anyway and besides that she was thirsting for some good down south white liquor.

She reached the cafeteria and nodded hello to the familiar faces that she saw there and chose her normal spot near the back wall. Facing the doors she ate and tried to calm her ever racing mind. Call it a gift or curse, but she noticed too many things at once in such a crowded atmosphere. She knew the doctor to her left along the wall was having an affair with the nurse beside him and he was married. She knew that and so much more about the people around her simply form watching them and how they interact with one another.

She never needed to listen to the possibly inaccurate gossip. She knew all she ever needed to know and so much more from simply watching. It was perhaps a skill or an inherited gift to sum up people in a few nonintrusive glances. Maybe it was because she was really a wolf in sheep’s dress. It didn’t really matter at the moment other than the fact she had an awful head ache. Any criminal had the same problem with this they just simply didn’t try to shut it off. She felt as if this inner insight into the lives around her would ultimately become too tempting to her. She feared it would make her want to poke and prod them to see what made them tick. This was the same instincts as any other predator had.

            She ate quietly and decided to get back to her floor. There she went through the motions and helped heal the sick and strengthen the weak. She found much more satisfaction in this than she ever did when she killed. Even when it was necessary she disliked it. She made no qualms over killing those coming at her it was just simply distasteful to her. She chatted with fellow staff members and found herself glad when she could leave.

            She loved her job, but, recently it had felt stifling to her to remain inside for so long. The same stifling feeling she got when she walked the city streets. There was no green here. No open spaces that was free of towering buildings. And no stars shined through the sky to guide her with their gentle light. Many times she found herself longing for the earth and the green of the forest; even the glimmer of a star. She had exiled herself to this gloomy city.

            As the other nurses rushed to shower and change to go home she lagged behind and took a walk in the small surrounded courtyard. No patients were out and the next shift was busy getting a handle on the situations. She waited for a good hour until the nurses bathroom was abandoned only then did she strip and enter the showers. She didn’t need people to see the scars on her body she had too many to count and it rose too many questions.

            The questions would threaten everything she had worked for the past 6 years. She couldn’t bear to see it end now she had gotten so far and had accomplished so much here. She didn’t want to have to see her peer’s nervous glances at her as they imagined the scars and how she got them that littered her body. The warm water made her muscles relax and ease as the days filth washed from her. She quickly washed her body and hair and changed into her street clothes.