*J* (the continuation)

Part Thirty: Chapter 225: Privaledged

Frost's POV

The sound of a ringing phone woke me. I raise my head and reach for my phone on the night stand. I wearily pick it up. My finger instinctively goes to the talk button, my eyes close again. I bring the phone to my ear. "Yeah?" I say, my voice raspy. But instead of a voice, I hear ringing. I pull my phone from my ear and look at it, through blurry eyes. It wasn't the phone in my hand ringing. What? I sit up at the side of the bed. With the change in posture my bearings start to come to me. It was the private phone that I kept hidden in the false bottom of the drawer on my night stand. The phone wasn't part of the Joker's cloned system. I guess you could say it was an emergency phone. There was only one person who knew the number. The Joker.

Shit! I quickly rip the drawer from my night stand and dump the contents inside it onto the bed. I raise the false bottom and grab the phone from its battery operated charger. I quickly answer it. "Boss?" Something was up. He would only call if he needed me.

"Well it's about time you answered," I can hear him sigh. I could tell the level of his impatience from that exasperated sigh.

"Sorry boss, It's still early. I was asleep," I tell him sheepishly. I knew how the boss didn't like sleeping on the job. And when you work for the Joker, you're always on the clock. If he were here he'd punch me. But he wasn't here. Why was I worrying? It's not like he can punch me through the phone. What can I say? After so many years, I've learned to stay on point. I was slipping. I knew it, and so did Mr. J. So I'm instinctively wondering how mad I've made him. It's just hard to break old habits.

"Well, do try to pay attention Johnny," he says flatly. I can tell he's pissed by the condescension of that tone. "Is there a chance that you could get out of there for a few hours?" He asks me.

My eyes go to the clock. 7:15 am. "Uh, yeah. Yes boss. The kids been sleeping like a baby since he kidnapped Wayne's butler. He's been gettin up around noon," I say.

"Good. I need you to bring Oswald to me." I pay attention to the way he said 'Oswald'. He didn't say it through gritting or clenched teeth. That meant that he wasn't mad at the Penguin. It meant that the boss needed Cobblepot for something.

"I'm on it boss," I say as I stand. Nothing else is said between us. It didn't need to be.

When you've spent fifteen years at his side, you learn how to read the man they call unpredictable. Especially when you're directly involved in almost everything they do. I've fought along side of him. His cause my cause. I have protected him with my life. I've done his bidding, no matter what, without question. I've obeyed every command he's ever given me. Because that's my job.

But it becomes more than a job. Because you're privy to seeing things most don't. You can't help but learn everything about them. You learn their ticks, all of their mannerisms, attitudes, personality, and habits. I know what makes him happy. I know what doesn't, and can gage the level of his anger. I know when he's going to kill someone, a second before he does it. I know what he's going to say to me before he does. Only Harley knows the Joker better than me.

I get dressed and go to Ace's room. I tap lightly on his door. I know him like I know Mr. J. He's learned to be a light sleeper, because he's worked for the Joker just as long as I have. His door is promptly answered and he peers around it with half asleep eyes. I can hear him uncocking the gun that he has in his hand behind the door. Because you never know. He opens the door and let's me in. He closes it and turns to me. He says nothing, but he's waiting for me to give him orders.

"Boss needs me for a few hours. I should be back before the kid gets up. But if I'm not, I need you to cover for me," I tell him.

He draws in a breath and nods. He tosses his gun on the bed. "Yeah, I gotcha," he nods.