FREAKS || Jerome Valeska¹

14 || Breakout

The man stood, his back facing me.

He had probably woken up, groaning, wiping the tiredness off his sleepy eyes. Perhaps dreading to get to work. One more day on the same old filthy job, listening to his boss complain and tell him what to do. The thought of calling in sick and staying home (maybe with his partner), catching up on sleep, and watching television was a fever dream to him. A gut instinct.

But he didn't do it. Overwhelmed with the cost of living and a minimum wage, he couldn't afford to dream a little.

And here I was — the bad news. The sign that he should've listened to his gut and stayed home today.

Because my orders were to take anyone, and that included him, his life was unable to be bargained. I stood behind his clueless body, stretching out my hand and pointing the barrel of the gun to his head. The safety pin clicked off. He knew something was wrong, his body visibly tensed. I couldn't help but frown; even if I enjoyed being the 'bad guy' and wanted to leave my mark on this corrupt city, his life didn't feel necessary to end. But given the circumstances, I had to do it. Theo had left it pretty clear that he didn't care whether we lived or died, and if he had to, he would kill us. I wondered what the bigger plan was; why did he need us if he didn't bother pulling the trigger on us?

Something was wrong here.

"Good morning, sir."

His figure began shaking, "Who are you?"

A little smirk crawled on my face, enticed by his fear, and I pressed the barrel closer to his head. His breath hitched and got stuck in his throat. "Your worst nightmare." My voice growled, making him shake uncontrollably.

Jerome's evil laughter sliced through the silence. "Good job, doll." I grinned widely, watching him approach the man's side, fearless of exposing his appearance to the man. He wore his charming smile. "Hello, sir... I hope you don't mind, but we're kidnapping you." He stated calmly, patting his shoulder almost in a comforting manner. We both giggled. "Boys!"

Quickly, Aaron and Greenwood walked by us and grabbed the man, making him scream in fear.

"Take our friend to the van with the rest," Jerome ordered, and what he said went. They practically dragged the worker, who was on the verge of having a panic attack, to a van. There, they gagged and placed a straightjacket on him, finishing off with a blindfold.

"Dude, don't worry, it'll be fun. Think of it as a true bonding experience." I explained, making the ginger maniacally cackle, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. The man was shoved into the van, where six more sobbing workers awaited. I let out a snort. "Have a nice ride!" I yelled just as the doors were slammed closed.

- • -

The inmates arrived at the rooftop of the Gotham Gazette. It was a cloudy morning, the sun would probably begin to seep in later. At higher altitudes, crisp air numbed their faces and hands, prompting Reese to blow warm air into her hands.

A groan escaped her, scratching her arms annoyed. "Y'know, as much as I love Theo's plan, I can't wait to get rid of these -" She tugged at the fabric of the Arkham uniforms, which Theo had made them wear again, to create more surprise. "They are so itchy and thin."

"Agreed." Jerome glanced at his clothes, scrunching his nose in distaste before shrugging. "We'll get rid of these soon enough. Let's just have fun."