Melted Gold

Gordon

The prison became dark as Joker roamed deeper into Arkham. All he could hear was his heartbeat and he was sure his breathing was loud enough for Harish to hear. He held his gun low and watched the shadows. Beads of sweat rolled down his back as he pressed himself close to the walls, peeking around corners and slipping down the halls. He knew this prison like the back of his hand, he could slip in and out of this place like well worn shoes, but now it felt strange, a stray pebble that had made its way in through the holes in the soul. His thoughts raced as he peered around another corner.

"I know you're here Harish! I'll chase you around all night!" Joker called out, frustrated that the man wasn't showing himself.

Silence.

Joker pressed his back against a wall, staring across the hall at the prison map smeared with something red. Maybe Harish wasn't here, maybe Riddler had just been babbling bullshit in his insanity, brought TwoFace here for some kind of sick revenge. Revenge against who, he was no longer sure, why put Joker in danger when he had been the one to help lick his wounds. He thought of all those little hints and riddles he had been given, most were utter nonsense but they always put him in the right place.

"So why here?" He asked and stepped closer to the map and looked deeper into it, passed the red and deep into the rotting body of the prison. "How is a Raven like a Writing Desk?"

A simple riddle without an answer, one that kept people up at night, scratching for one, but the truth? There wasn't, some would say the answer was simple while others would go deeper, but either way, it was up for debate, but the fact of the matter was:

Joker touched the map and a smile twisted itself onto his face as he pressed his finger against the Visitation room. "It's not."

Harish always had a thing for rules, unlike Joker who would rather break them. He moved swiftly back towards the front of the prison checking the clip in his gun while moving through the maze of halls and cell blocks. He passed the games room and back out into the dark corridors, stepping into a section that he knew nothing about. The visitation area had been long since shut down after one too many accidents, he wondered if it had ever been fully functional. His gun snapped up when he heard the thick, wheezing laughter of the man he had been after.

"How nice to see you Jack," Harish coughed, his face pulled back into a sickening grin, drool leaking from his lips and dribbling down his chin and onto the table he was seated at. "Please, sit."

"No thanks," Joker snarled, gun cocked.

"I taught you better manners than that, Jack," Harish growled and kicked the chair out from the table, "Sit,"

"No," Jack hissed, "You have no power here,"

"Oh, Jack," Harish clicked the sounds harshly, spraying saliva as he spoke, "I have all the power here."

Harish stood abruptly, sending the chair he was in flying and the table toppling over. Joker pulled the trigger and the shot echoed as he twisted and headed out the door. Harish roared and chased after him, Joker needed an advantage but Harish would know this hospital as well, if not better, than he did. The only thing he had over Harish was stamina, and his speed, he flew up to the second floor and rushed to find a hiding spot before Harish caught up to him.