FEVER

Chapter 4

One Week Later:

"Sources are confirming to us that the situation in the East End has reached a boiling point; the Mayor has promised to step up police presence in the area and in surrounding neighborhoods to deescalate the tension between residents."

Elena shut the TV off with a rueful shake of her head. She didn't even know why she bothered watching the news anymore; they reported the same kinds of stories every day, with a quote from the mayor condemning the events, yet nothing changed. It made her feel sick. And then the horrible realization came to her: she was helping this happen by working for the Joker, no matter how small a part she played in it. She stood from her couch, pacing around the living room.

I had him here.

Like it was nothing, like he was just an old friend coming for a visit.

But what was she supposed to do? Elena had to admit, it didn't really bother her... Much at first. She never once thought about calling the police and giving them the location she'd been at with Eric. And even if she had, she was a sitting duck. The Joker knew where she lived, could probably get in with no problem, and he would easily overpower her, kill her, cut up her body in little pieces and mail them to her family one by one.

Stop, she thought to herself. You're in this mess now, stupid, just play your cards correctly and maybe someday he'll let you go.

Elena's train of thought was interrupted by her phone buzzing on her table. She saw Eric's number on the caller ID and immediately picked up.

"Hey, what's up?" Elena answered, walking back to the couch to lay down.

"Nothing much you know, just a routine checkup, making sure you haven't left the country and all that," Eric chuckled. Elena could hear the tapping of his keyboard which made her smile. Always working.

"And leave you and this beautiful place behind? No way. Are we meeting up today?"

"Yup," Eric responded. "Amusement Mile, I'll meet you at the entrance and we'll walk together to meet the others, maybe around 5 today?"

Elena snorted, "Amusement Mile? What, is he treating us to a field day for doing good work? What's next, a potluck?"

Eric laughed over the line. "Oh, Elena, if only you knew..."

She waited for him to finish, but he didn't. "So... Should I be worried or something?"

"Nah, just stay by me, you know, don't say anything that anyone will take the wrong way - you're quite good at that, by the way - and you should be fine. We'll be there an hour, tops."

"Geez, thanks for that," Elena rolled her eyes, but she knew her friend had a point. 

When they both said their goodbyes, Elena settled on getting ready early since she'd be taking the bus to Otisburg, where the amusement park was located. After a shower, she decided to wear a white button down with black slacks, thinking it was a safe look for meeting up with a gang of wanted criminals. Oh, and Eric.

Elena grabbed her purse and left her apartment with an hour to spare; the bus ride to the other side of town would take up most of that hour, so she pulled out her phone, typing in The Joker on Google. Before she could hit enter, she shook her head and closed the web browser. She opened the books app instead, and settled in for the ride.

:::

The Amusement Mile park was built during the industrial boom of the city in the late 1910's, and after all of these years, it was starting to show. Nevertheless, people still flocked there every weekend, and now that the weather was nice it almost looked like everyone in Gotham was jam packed into the place. The sun was setting slowly, and the rides were all light up, giving the place an almost surreal look.