[RL - A Visit at Lisa's Place]

[tntandgasoline]

The Joker had his way with things. It was never hard to do something for him; if he wanted something, he got it. It's just how things were. They'd always been like that.

And right now, he wanted to do two things: intimidate Jackson and check up on that darling Lisa, who just so happened to live in a Miami. How he got there was nobody's business; all that mattered was that it was nightfall, and he was standing in front of the door of (hopefully) Lisa's house, a bottle of decent wine (it's so hard to find a good wine when you're a wanted man) in one hand.

He smirked, smoothed back his hair, leaned against the door way and knocked, three times, against the door. Hello, anybody home?

Comments

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

His response was more than a little shocking to her, but Lisa felt relief wash over her first. Had he just dropped the subject? No questions asked, let it slide? Maybe he really wasn't that bad. Her surprise was evident on her face, but moreso interest. She wasn't going to ask. No, that would only drag the matter out and the last thing she needed to think about was that day.

"...Thank you," Her voice was quiet, passive. "I don't know. Plenty of things; the weather? How's work? Actually, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know considering what your work is."

[tntandgasoline]

He didn't need to ask about it - not now, at least. Let her take the idea of him being a decent human being with her, spread that to a couple choice people - it all worked out.

"Work, unfortunately, is slow," he said, ignoring the last comment in favor for a more... interesting topic. Something level. "Most of it is just, uh, wordsmithing, really." He turned to face her, leaning against the back of the couch. "And what about your work, Lisa? A hotel, right?"

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

"What do you mean by wordsmithing?" Lisa inquired, not waiting for an answer before she went on to give one of her own. "Yeah, I'm the manager of the Lux Atlantic." A recent promotion, really, but one that she'd easily transitioned into. "It's... also, slow. But, you know how the economy is." It felt so strange, to be sitting there speaking casually with the Joker.

[tntandgasoline]

"Writing editorials, notes, little things like that." Orders, like executive ones given out to his main group of Bobo's and Giggles'. Those weren't important, though. "The economy in Gotham has always been shitty - can't say I've really noticed, to be honest. At least you don't have to worry about the mob taking over your economy, right?" He chuckled. "And how is it, working in a hotel? I bet you get some, uh, real unsavory people in there." The Lux may be a nice place, but people rarely fit their surroundings.

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

"There are no customers who are assholes," Lisa recited, "only customers with special needs." She didn't even sound like she meant it - she couldn't even manage that much. This virus had pushed her to the breaking point and it was a damn good thing she didn't do much work at the front desk anymore. "It can be trying, in terms of patience, but you also get the opportunity to meet a lot of people. Guests aside, there are conventions and events held in the ballrooms that need to be coordinated." He wasn't really interested - or at least, she assumed he wasn't. Hell, she wasn't sure she was really interested. It was just... what she did. So, she shut up.

[tntandgasoline]

He took a swig - not how you're supposed to drink wine, but he was never one for the norm, right? - and eyed her. "That kind of rhetoric will eat you alive, sweetheart." Mm, no, that wasn't the right petname, really. He needed something more mature than that. Doll, but that would be too close to Crane, who was too close to Jackson - hm.

"Is that what you wanted to do, Lisa? Run a big, fancy hotel?"

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

A question that he had asked all too recently. And gotten the answer to. She still felt bitter about it. But, as she'd learned, there was no better way to frustrate her stalker than to make the information he thought only he was privy to into public knowledge. So, that was exactly what she did.

"No, not at all. I wanted to be - God, this sounds silly - I wanted to be a politician. You know, senate, president, the whole thing. But, after college, I wasn't at the age minimum for congressional work, and I was never interested in local government so... I took a job at the hotel in the meantime. I just... never wound up leaving." She shrugged it off. "It's fun, I like the people there, I've made some good friends."

[tntandgasoline]

"Never go into politics. It's... messy." And they lied - and he figured Lisa was too honest for that kind of thing.

He looked her over, trying to think of something to say to that, but it was just so out of his depth. He didn't have friends, or a steady 9-to-5, nor did he want to. "Mm, I'm a little - uh, out of my league, here, Lisa. Usually, I'd be more willing to intimidate you, but that's not what I'm really here for, so... I can't ask anything that won't get a rise out of you."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

His honesty stunned her. And so she just simply nodded dumbly, taking a long drink from her wine glass to mull this over. He not only had no intentions of intimidating her, but he was now walking on eggshells to make sure that he didn't? The Joker, clown prince of Gotham, was being... nice? Kind? Considerate? She cleared her throat as she set the wine glass down.

"Well. ...Thank you. I. You really aren't here to scare me, are you?" It was as if she had just accepted this fact now. "I'm a little surprised, but... I'm glad? I didn't really... think you had it in you."

[tntandgasoline]

"No, no tricks, no double-dealings, no lies. I may be a lot of things but one thing I'm not is a liar. At least, not when it comes to things like this." His past, his scars, his motives were all up in the air, but when he said he wasn't going to kill someone, he meant it. "I'm only here because Jackson was bluffing and I'm here to up the ante. All there is. I mean, if I thought it would help to hurt you, to, uh, get into your personal space and harass you, I would - but I think just being here alone will be enough to rile him up."

He grinned. "And isn't that the fun part? When they get so flustered, so confused - why was I wrong, I thought I knew them, knew myself - I know his type, I've seen him all over the place. He's nothing special and I don't think he realizes it. Too bad, too bad, but we're teaching him a lesson right now, as we speak."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

Did he want her to agree? Share his hope that Jackson could be taught a lesson? Did she want that? No, it seemed too pedantic of a goal. She just wanted things back to normal and helping Joker frustrate Jackson didn't seem to be doing that. She'd already seen Rippner acting strangely since the virus, the idea of it worsening was... off-putting. She pursed her lips.

"I don't want to teach him a lesson, I just want him to leave me alone. I don't think... provoking him will do anything to help that." Her explanation was quiet, and she punctuated it with a drink. "And, I certainly don't think any of this is fun." I'm not like you. How many times had she been saying that lately? Like a broken record. It was absurd, really. "But, I guess I have no room to complain when you're really... not hurting anyone." And, I'd rather you be here drinking wine and talking than burning down buildings or torturing people on a webcam.

[tntandgasoline]

"Ah, but here's the rub - no offense, Lisa, but I'm doing this for me, not you." He gestured to himself with his glass, resisting the urge to spill his wine everywhere. "You understand, don't you? You're stuck in the middle and I'm sorry for that, I really am," he nodded empathically, "But there's just nothing I can do about it! He irritated me, and I'm here to irritate him back."

Nobody tells the Joker he can't do something, or that something he'd do wouldn't matter. It all mattered.

"But at least you're being such a good sport about this. Playing along, letting me ask my little questions and always coming back to Jackson, did you notice that by the by? That I'm still asking about him, but you're more relaxed about it now because you know I'm only curious, I'm not really trying to get into your noggin." He laughed, "And I know if Jackie is anything like my dear doctor, he just loves getting into your space, making you have to answer the really tough questions. But no no no, I won't do that to you. Don't worry."

He could wait until a more opportune moment.

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

No, she hadn't noticed. Suddenly, Lisa was aware again of how out of her league she was. In a pool of anarchists, hitmen and superheroes, she was just Lisa Reisert. Ordinary, unimpressive Lis'. All she would ever be was a pawn in this game - one to be sacrificed when the time was right. And it was that threat that really got under her skin.

"Relaxed isn't exactly a word I'd use," it was the only verbal response she could muster, really. What did one say to that? Worse, she had essentially told him that a great way to bother Jackson would be to kill her - what if that inadvertently incited it? "But, nothing I say is going to stop you or make you change your mind, so... what's the point?"

[tntandgasoline]

"Now that's no attitude a gal like you should have!" The Joker pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, shaking his head. "You've gotten under a guy like Jackson's skin and here you are, playing the damsel in distress? No no no, that won't do."

He downed his wine in a few quick gulps and slouched over to the counter, setting the glass down firmly. "You, Lisa," he said, pointing at her, "Need to stop pretending to be so weak. C'mon, level with me - what did you do to get Jackson so keen on you? It had to have been good."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

Should have seen that one coming - who didn't want that story? Maggie, Clint, and now Joker. She wondered vaguely if it would get any easier to tell. It wasn't something she was proud of, exactly, especially with the way things had gone at her father's house. A man was dead and it was her fault, and everyone kept asking about it. Really, couldn't bygones be bygones?

"...I stabbed him with," She looked thoughtful, "a pen. The heel of my shoe. I think I hit him with the fire extinguisher... a vase, my field hockey stick..." Wow. She'd never really thought to list the objects out, but now it sounded pretty ridiculous. Still, it was a little comforting to know she was able to find that many possible weapons handy. "And, I shot him. And, then my dad shot him again." He must be seven kinds of indestructible to still survive that, but then, hospital time did wonders these days. Another drink, this time more prolonged. "And, I ruined his job. I guess it was a first."

[tntandgasoline]

"Wow." He raised his brow at her, blinking in childlike fascination. "I guess it really was a good idea to leave assaulting you out of the picture."

He spread his hands out against the counter-top, nails tapping against the counter as he mulled over what to say next. Try to rile her up, calm her down, console her? That last one was out of the question. "No wonder he's so obsessed. But why, oh why, did you need to beat him so badly in the first place? See, I thought he was your, uh, abusive boyfriend, remember? But you said he wasn't. So..."

He looked at her expectantly, leaning against the counter.

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

"A very good idea," the compliment sat well with her, even if it was strange. The sense of empowerment the attack had initially gave her was back, if only for a moment. She could hold her own quite well, thank you very much, and had done a decent job of showing it when Eric had come after her and Jackson. The more recent memory made her proud smile fall into a tight-lipped frown.

"He threatened my family and tried to make me help him assassinate a good friend." The explanation was out before she even debated giving it. Was it a good idea? Probably not. But, she could deal with the repercussions from Jackson. She liked the praise she was receiving from Joker for the situation and even moreso the idea of putting a stop to all of this abusive boyfriend business. Vaguely wondering if that was what the flight attendants or anyone who'd seen them in public together, she gathered her thoughts into another statement. "Boyfriend was never part of the equation, but he had me fooled into thinking he was just a nice guy until the plane took off and he started making ransom demands."

[tntandgasoline]

"No fun."

The Joker leaned in as far as he could across the counter, putting his head in his hands to stare upwards at her. "Now, answer me honestly, here, Lisa - would you like me to kill him for you?"

Let's see how she takes that.

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

Shock stained her expression, and the wine glass nearly fell out of her hand. Kill him? No, that's not what she wanted, that made her as bad as he was. He didn't deserve to die and if he did a court would decide that - not the convoluted judgment of another wanted man.

"No. Why would I - No. You can't just kill someone because you don't like them, it doesn't work that way." What is it with you people and treating death like no big deal? It's a big fucking deal.

[tntandgasoline]

He watched her expression change, watched her stumble over her words - how cute, she really was a normal girl through and through.

He shrugged his shoulders, expression unchanging as he regarded her. "It does work that way, and besides, I was asking hypothetically. I don't believe in killing pretty things, not unless I need to." Like Rachel. Ah, well. "If it was allowed, if you had to stand in court and give your own decision - if the judge said, 'do you, lisa, think we should kill this man', what would you say? Could you say yes, yes, we should?"

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

"No." Absolutely no hesitation. For a born and raised republican, she sure had a hard time when she was actually faced with the idea of the death penalty. Should it be served to men like Jackson, like her rapist? Was it fair to end their lives? Lisa couldn't even consider the idea of even more blood on her hands. "He doesn't deserve to die." Maybe a week ago, she would have said yes. Maybe a week ago, he hadn't saved her life - even if he was the one to put it in jeopardy in the first place.

[tntandgasoline]

She was firm in her convictions and she was going to stay like that. He wasn't here to change her - not today, not this visit - and so he just smiled at her. "All right."

He wondered if she got confused by him dropping subjects, but it was just how he worked - once they were done, they were done. "How old are you, Lisa?"

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

Up until now, dropping subjects had at least seemed to be out of politeness. To suddenly drop this one earned a briefly confused look, but she nodded and was more than happy to accept it. She didn't need to think about Jackson anymore. Why did Joker, then, keep dropping the subject of him and then dragging it back up, more painfully, later? She sighed inadvertently aloud.

"I'm twenty-seven." Twenty-eight in July. She briefly wondered if she should be making birthday plans. It had been a while since she'd had a large get together with friends - or enough friends to do so with.

[tntandgasoline]

He smiled and tilted his head. "So young. Everyone I know seems to be under thirty - except Harvey, but his age is a matter of the public record." Well, it was, before he "died." Heh.

"So, let's see - I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but all the interesting topics do just that. Can't talk about your friends, since you don't have any that I don't know... What is there to talk about?"

He let his tone drop a bit, a sort of "talk is cheap" tone. Maybe he'd just stop talking altogether - how would you like that, Lisa?

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

Her gaze narrowed into a half-serious glare, not sure whether he was intending to be insulting by suggesting that she didn't have friends he didn't know. It wasn't entirely true - close, but not entirely.

"I have other friends. Annie and Cynthia. Steve." She tried to keep the frustration from her voice. "But, you're the one who came here - I figured you had something in mind when you did." Trying to think of somewhere they might be able to go without attracting attention was difficult and with only knowledge of the less shady parts of Miami, she wasn't getting very far in that endeavor.