Obsessed with Harley

Chapter 13: Power and Authority

"That's your plan?" Harley asked as they turned a corner and pulled into the lot of Joker's headquarters and parked the van.

"I've been preparing since the attack on the Iceberg Lounge. Do you think it will work?" Scott questioned in return.

"It might work on some of them, but not all," Harley cautioned.

"The good people in the organization won't question it," Scott explained. "If any of the bad ones say something, I'll shoot them, and it'll keep the rest in line."

"I think you're right," Harley said. "It is crazy."

"There's no denying that," Scott admitted. "It's the only plan I've been able to come up with."

"Have you given any thought as to how we're going to deal with the Justice League?" Harley questioned. "Once they finish up with Joker's distractions, they will crack down on us here. I'm actually surprised it's taken them this long."

"I don't think I'll have to come up with a plan on that front," Scott replied. "Joker seems confident in his abilities to deal with them when the time comes, so I expect he already has a plan. I just need him to fill me in on the details."

Harley and Scott exited the van and started walking toward the front door. They only got half way across the lot before one of the Joker's goons intercepted them.

"Where have you been?" demanded the clown. He didn't wait for an answer. "Joker wants to see you both, now!"

Scott tried to keep calm as he entered the building and moved toward Joker's office. Harley followed silently at his heels. This was the moment he'd been dreading. If his plans had been discovered, Scott wouldn't leave the office alive.

The moment Scott opened the door, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Holding the weapon with unwavering aim was Joker.

"Something wrong, Boss?" Scott asked with as much calm as he could force into his voice.

"You set fires all over Gotham," Joker growled. He moved the gun from simply pointing at Scott to resting against Scott's forehead. His voice changed to a shrill scream. "I wanted a heap of blood bodies not a pile of charcoal! Give me one reason I shouldn't fire you and toss you onto the BBQ?"

"You wanted the city in a panic," Scott quickly explained. "Just shooting people wouldn't be enough because it happens all the time in Gotham. Most people are glad it didn't happen to them and move on. The numbers of dead might cause shock, but it wouldn't drive them to panic."

"And your fires will?" Joker sneered.

"Yes," Scott confirmed. "Shootings are common but limited in their scope. Fires are not an everyday occurrence in Gotham, and they spread in all directions, threatening everyone in the city. If something were to happen to the firetrucks, perhaps a little sabotage, how would the citizens react knowing the next fire won't be put out?"

Joker clicked the hammer of the gun back into place before lowering the weapon to point at the floor.

"Why not kill the firefighters?" Joker asked. "Why go after their trucks?"

"It would be a simple thing to parachute in replacement firefighters from other cities if the government called for them," Scott pointed out. "It would be much harder to rapidly deploy new trucks. By the time they drove here, half the city would've burned to the ground."

Scott desperately hoped Joker would accept his reasoning and decide against killing anyone else, but the maniac was capable of anything.

"With the fire stations out of action, every time someone lights a match, the whole city will be in a panic," Joker realized out loud before collapsing in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.