The doctor on duty calmly dealt with the patient, who had inexplicably started laughing again. He took away the admission form and motioned for the officers to escort him to the isolation ward in the east building.
Alberto Falcone turned around, his handcuffs resting against the seams of his trousers. He walked along cooperatively. As he passed Harvey, he made a point of glancing at the hand Harvey had in his pocket.
The iron door to the east building opened, and a smell of disinfectant mixed with old heating systems rushed into the corridor.
The lights in the wards beyond the door were already out, but the sounds had not stopped. Someone was counting behind a wall, someone was tapping a water pipe with their knuckles, and someone else was singing a birthday song that never reached its end.
Alberto listened for a while.
"Livelier than home."
Gordon gave him a shove.
"Keep moving."
After the third door to the high-risk ward closed, someone suddenly pushed open the food hatch on the right side of the corridor from within.
A face painted white appeared behind it.
Joker saw Batman first, then Spider-Man. He drew his face back a little, his fingers brushing his left cheek. The swelling from that last punch had long since faded, but the memory remained.
"Are we throwing punches again today?"
Chen Mo looked at the size of the food hatch.
"Depends on how you behave. This opening's pretty narrow. It'd cramp my style in a fight... Also, why are you here? Shouldn't you be quietly facing the wall and reflecting on your mistakes in that basement eighteen floors down?"
"Oh, here's the thing, Spider-Man. I've been behaving pretty well lately, so they gave me a little special privilege. I love you, really. But I think