The making of the Joker: First chapter

You need to pay real attention to understand because to relate to me, you need to know where I came from; people around me used to say that our future is ours to choose, it's funny to me because where I grew up choosing your future was a privilege for the rich, for me even smiling was a privilege, and at the time laughing was something that I was not looking for. The only thing that I was looking for was to provide for me and my mom. When the closest person in your life choose to abandon you and your mother; when society tries to tell you that you're useless and nothing, you feel empty inside, it's like the day that my mother was sick lying on the hospital bed and my father came to visit, he thought that bringing with him his two daughters and his new wife will prevent him from spending time with me and my mother alone, and I will never forget the first things he said to me, he said ''Joe this my family '', and he took all the time to introduce every one of them but when it comes to me, his time was precious and all he said: ''everyone this is Joe'', not even saying "my son".

I thought maybe this time he will show me that he cared about me and my mother. Unfortunately, that day was the day that I knew that I'm the only one left for her because even the hospital wasn't caring about her. Where I came from, money was respect and without it, people will look down on you. This is me, telling you my story, a lonely 15 years old kid with no education and probably no bright future; for my age, I was not that tall neither that strong. Like every morning, I woke up to wash my face, takes my anxiety pills, put a cream on my neck and chest; doctors say anxiety irritates my skin and in order to get better I need to be happy and less stressed, funny thing when you grew up in a city like Gotham, happiness it's the last thing that you need to think about because in Gotham there was the rich who got the money to afford happiness and there was the poor who got to sacrifice their happiness to make the rich people get richer. Let's take a look out of the window to understand why I choose to become who I am. Every morning from my room, I saw all those kids with their backpacks full of books and their new shoes that they can't wait to show to their friends and let's not forget their nice haircuts, you see those kids followed a rule that said: in order to be loved you need to look lovely. I don't have that problem. Let's be honest is love going to take care of me, Don't think so, the only thing that can take care of me is outside waiting for me to take, those same kids, they need to feel accepted by others, and for me what I can say, let's just say I was not looking for acceptance, I was looking for something that is the same reason why every morning I took the opposite road of those kids, its money, because like I said: I need to provide. So let those kids go to school to prepare for their bright future and let me go prepare for my shitty day. I remember clearly that day because it was the first time that I was left alone in the house, the doctors say that it will be better if my mom stays a week in the hospital to help her to get well, not that they care about her but like I said before it's all about the money. The hospital became the new hotel; they sell you a prescription and will rent you a room for you to stay. For poor people like us, the last day before leaving was the hardest because you don't care about if you are well or not, all you care about is that bill and how can you take care of it.

As I looked at the clock, I knew that I needed to hurry because Steve is waiting for me outside. Steve was like my brother and he was the only person that I knew whose life was more messed up than mine; he lost his mother when he was 12 to drugs overdose and his father was a heavy alcoholic, he used to have an older brother who ran away from home when he was a kid and who lost contact with. We were more than brothers and this is the same reason why we worked together. We worked at a butcher shop since we were 13, the same year that we dropped out from high school and this is the same reason why he's waiting for me outside as we talk, we are late for work.

Like every day at work, even If we are not late, the boss will make sure to give us a speech that starts with hurry your piece of shit and ends with get out of my face. My work consisted of serving people. Steve and I worked like slaves but it was the only option that a kid like us could afford. As our shift ended, I went out to take a walk in the city; Steve told me to wait for him to get his jacket but I didn't pay him attention. I was lost that day, and all I could think of was my mother, Anna, my knees couldn't handle me anymore so I went to sit on a bunch, and as I sat, Steve came from behind and said to me: " I want you to take this, I know it's not that much but it's all I got". He kept telling me to take it, but at that moment, all I was seeing were those rich people walking in front of us, smiling and all happy. They seem to have everything figured out, and just when he was trying to put his 900 dollars that he was trying to save for years, I looked him in the eyes and said: " I'm not taking your money, I will get it but not from you". As I finished my talk, he sat next to me; he put his arms around my shoulders and told me that everything is going to be fine. After finishing work and on our way home, a big sign near the bus station took my attention, it said: "An owned wolf is a sheep. The real wolf is owned by his instinct''. The only thing that I understood was that I was the sheep but the other part about freedom remained unanswered. Like every night, I went to visit my mom at the hospital; I used to call her Anny. That day as she saw me, she tried to put a smile on her face to show me that she's ok but inside me, I knew that things weren't that good. As I sat next to her, she asked me about her friend Janine, a woman who lived in our neighborhood, and who used to work as a waitress with mom before she was sick. Janine used to borrow money from mom all the time; she asked me if I saw her lately because she would like to talk with her about some things, when I asked her if Janine gave her back the money that she borrowed from her, she told me that Janine will pay her back when she gets the money. The next morning, as I was walking on my way to work, I saw Janine near her house and I told Steve to wait for me. As soon as she saw me, she started talking with her husband. I walked close to her and I said hello to her, she replied to me: "Hello Joe, I didn't see you, how are you and how is your mom, I've always wanted to visit her but you know, there's no time with all the work and the kids". I told her that my mom would be happy if she can visit her, she replied that probably tonight she will visit her. After finishing work and like every night, I went to visit mom and when I asked her if Janine was here today, she said no to me. Ok, I thought maybe she was not feeling well or something else. After two days, I saw her again but this time she turned her back to me like she didn't see me, at that instant all I could think of was walking to her and slap the soul out of her. When Janine needed mom's help, she was always around but when my mom needed her help, she turned her back to us.

These people are like vampires, they will make you think that they are your friend and when you start to open your heart to them, they will suck your blood until you can't walk. After that incident, I didn't want her near my mother again. So when the night comes, I went to her house to ask for the money that she borrowed from us. As I knocked on the door, her husband, a fat teacher opened the door and told me that Janine went to visit her sister, but I knew for sure that she was there because before knocking on the door I saw her with her kids through the windows, he said to me: "So Joe, what do you want". I told him that I needed to get back the money that Janine borrowed from us, because my mom needs It, especially now. He said that they don't have it right now, but they wish if they could. What a fat liar, they don't have the money to pay me back, but they have enough money to buy a new car. As I opened my mouth to speak, he said to me: "Look Joe, Don't come here again next time, when I get your money, I will bring it to you" and he closed the door on my face. As soon as he closed the door, I had only one thing on my mind, put a gun on his fat head and make him pay me back. I couldn't think straight so I went running to Jimmy because he was the only kid in the neighborhood who knew how to handle a gun. I found him behind the auto repair shop where he worked and without saying anything to him, he knew that something was wrong. In the neighborhood, Jimmy needs no introduction, even when he was a little kid, he always showed no fear, whenever there were troubles with other kids, he always handles it. You see, people were not afraid of his brothers who were well known by the police or by his strength because he was not that strong, what people were afraid of is that he never forgets and he always gets his revenge. Like the day when two big outsiders kids came to the neighborhood and tried to take Steve's bike. As Jimmy told them not to take it, one of them took a knife and put it at the neck of Jimmy and told him to get lost. As they walked away, Steve started crying and at the same time Jimmy didn't move and started laughing, he said to Steve "stop crying like a girl, I will get your bike back". The next day when the night came, Jimmy drove by me and Steve and he said "Get in the car, I found your bike". He was driving his big brother's car, the same car that he used to drive since 13. As we got closer to where those kids hangout, Jimmy took a handgun out and he made sure to put only one bullet inside, then he stepped out of the car and start walking towards them. They were sitting and when they saw Jimmy, they stood up and asked him if he was lost. Without replying, Jimmy pulled his gun and told them that the next to move will catch a bullet. They thought he was kidding, I mean even me and Steve thought the same until he shoots one up in the air and said to them to lay on the ground. As they were lying, he told the same guy that pulled on him a knife to look him in the eyes, he walked close to him, put the gun between his eyes and told him: "Are you ready "and suddenly he pulled the trigger and shoots. All we heard was the click without the bullet sound because the only bullet that was inside the gun, he used it. They were shaking, they thought they're going to die, then Jimmy started laughing for no reason and told them to get up, he said: "tomorrow, the two of you will bring back the bike where you took it", I told Jimmy that the bike it's right in front of us on the ground, I can see it but he told me no need because those two clowns will bring it back tomorrow. You see, this is what you can call a real friend because he's always there for you.

I, Steve and Jimmy were like brothers and it's the same reason why he knew that night that something was wrong when I went to see him, the first thing that I told him is that I needed a gun and I need it now. The only thing that I was thinking of is heading back to that fat teacher house and shoot him in both his legs, but as he kept talking to me, he made sure to calm me down, he said to me: "Joe, shooting him will not get you your money back, you said that he bought a new car so we are going to steal that fathead his car and trust me, stealing a teacher car it's like shooting him in the heart". Jimmy was right but the thing is that if we stole his car, he will always have some hope that the police or someone will find his car for him, I'm looking to kill his hope, and I'm looking to burn his car in front of his eyes so that he feels and his wife hopeless. The next day when the night came, I meet up with Jimmy and also Steve in front of his house, Jimmy brought with him gasoline and Steve was staying on the other side of the neighborhood to check if the road is clear. We waited until everyone went to sleep, and then we made our move. It was Jimmy and me, Jimmy started by pouring the gasoline all around the car and I used a thick fabric against the window to block the noise so I can break the window. After that, I made sure to pour all the rest of the gasoline inside the car. "Hurry up", Jimmy kept telling me while I was making sure to not forget the back seats and when it comes to the real show, I told Jimmy to back off and just before throwing the lighter inside the car, I looked one last time where he lived and whispered: "Enjoy the show your fat piece of shit" and then boom the fire started. From the end of the street, as I was watching the fire going up, I started laughing for no reason, it seems that all the anxiety and the bad thoughts were gone, I felt like I'm on a stage and I'm the performer. For the first time in my life, I felt in control of what's going around me, because during all my existence, life was the stage and people around me were the performers and all the time I was the audience, so I felt what others want me to feel mostly sadness and hate but for a moment there, I made them feel what I want them to feel. I used to be a sheep but at that moment, I felt like a wolf. It was right there that I understood the old sign that I saw the other day, "An owned wolf is a sheep, the real wolf is owned by his instinct", I was a sheep to those people and was owned by the feeling that I'm worthless just like they want me to feel, in order to be free, I need to feel what I want to feel. The next morning, as I walked by the teacher's house and I saw his burned car, I felt like I was the artist and his face expression was my painting, his confusion was priceless. As the weeks pass by, my mom's health got worse, my father used to pay a part of the treatment but for the most, it was a bank loan that covered all the rest, and when the bank felt that their investment is not going to profit them, they send us a letter that said they can't no more cover the medical expense. Their goal was to wait until my mom gets better and then right after that raise the interest, but when they knew that she's getting worse, they decided to stop their investment. They want you to think that they are helping you during hard times but what they really do is that they use those hard times to lend you money and when you can't pay them back, they own you for the rest of your life. My mom's situation was not a long-term investment as they wanted; she was a short-term investment. The doctors suggested to my mom to pursue a part of the treatment from home, but the most important treatment she can't get; only the money can get it for her.

The hospital sent a nurse to check on my mom every morning but as time pass by; she started getting worse than the day before. It was a Friday morning, and what I could say it was the saddest day of my life. At the time, I was at work when the boss received a phone call from home, it was from the nurse and as soon as he passes me the phone, she told me that she's very sorry but unfortunately she's gone. My mom's immune system gave up on her just like the bank did and everyone else in this dark society. I've never felt like this weak before, my head started feeling heavy and I couldn't breathe. I fell to the ground and started crying, I couldn't even walk, it was only Steve who helped me to get up and took me home. As I get home, I saw lots of people, now that she's gone, they came but when she needed them they never showed up, on my mind I was thinking about one thing only, kicking every one of them out, but my mom would never let me do that. The day of the funeral was the most painful day of my life because I knew that the only person who made me smile left me alone, but I guess for other people, now it's the time they can be relieved, like my father, who will save his ass a lot of money that he used to pay for my mom treatment. At the end of the funeral, I kept thinking about one thing only, how the bank decided that my mom was not that important for them, so they stopped covering her treatment. Like taking my mom was not enough for them, the Bank took the only thing that remembered me of my mom, our home to cover the loan. They said that I can't take care of myself, so they put me in a foster home. Sure, my father told me that I can live with him, the same guy that never visited me and called me to wish me a happy birthday. I told him" the only thing that we had in common, now is gone". I knew that he was relieved, but he tried to fool me with I'll be always there for you. At the foster home, they said that I should get back to school and for what; kids go to school to learn the rules of society and to know the right from the wrong. The school teaches you about criminals and why they are bad, but the streets teach you the real reason why people do crimes and that is something teachers will never understand. As the days go by, I became another person, angrier, more violent and lost. For weeks, on my way to work, every day I passed by the bank that used to cover my mom until one day I decided to take a look inside the place. I told them that I wanted to open an account; the secretary told me that the assistant manager will help me to get through the details. As I sit there I kept looking around the place until I found what I was looking for. I was looking for the man who gave people orders there, the same that gave the order to cut my mom from her treatment. Not surprised, he was a chubby short guy wearing a black tuxedo walking around telling people what to do. "Hello, what I can do for you?" The assistant manager asked me, I told him that I was looking for a job and with no surprise, he told me that they are not hiring at the moment, so I left. Like I said, during this period, I was reckless, drugs made me do things without thinking and that's what cost me my first arrest. It was stupid, but back then it was necessary. I wanted that chubby bald head to apologize to me and I wanted him to experience a fraction of what he caused me. So two days after, I went back to the bank not with a resume to get hired but with a gun with one bullet in my pocket and a rubber bullet under my pants. It was just like magic, the first shot to the roof and just like that, all the people dropped to the ground. Without losing any time, I ran to the manager's office, I told him to get on his knees, and then took my rubber bullet gun and I put it to his head.

I was just about to tell him to apologize to me for all the pain he caused, but standing right there I got something even better; I got his fear as he was shaking begging me not to shoot. As the police came to the building, I told the manager to give me his wallet, his watch and as I left his office on my way out, the police surrounded me. The next day, they sent me a lawyer, and I told him the reason why I did what I did. In Gotham City, the lawyers are always there to lie for you. As I was sitting in front of the judge, my lawyer started a very good performance, his speech went like this: " your honors, this kid loved his mother like nothing else, she was everything to him but after she passed away, he lost everything and the only thing that his mother left him, was the house where they lived, the reason why he wanted to steal money was to get back his home for his mom, he didn't plan to hurt nobody, he used a gun with one bullet only to scare the people, and then rubber bullet gun to take the money from them...". This long scripted speech made the judge to go from 7 years prison to 12 months prison and 6 months community services. At the time I was 17, so they sent me to a juvenile center. Society is full of corruption; it's all about laughter and tears. You show them one tear and they will think you're the victim. This is how rich people get away with anything these days. They buy other tears and they sell poor people the fear. The juvenile period went fast; they thought that trying to get us back to school or learn a job will make us good citizens. Society made me more isolated than ever, it made me feel like I'm a parasite. I became anxious more than ever and even my medication couldn't help me. I was there left alone, by the time I was 19, I found a job at a liquor store and found the only apartment that I could afford in a shitty project neighborhood. Where I lived, crime was the main attraction. At every corner, there's always a show. At the time, Jimmy moved out with his big brother to Washington to open their auto repair shop, and Steve got his driver's license to become a bus driver and also got engaged. It seems that everyone found a life purpose but not me. Why life wouldn't allow me to smile, I mean everyone around me seems to be happy. That day I made myself a promise; I'm going to leave this dark life with a smile on my face that no one could take from me. On my way home that night, I brought two bottles of liquors and a bottle of sleeping pills "that was my way out of this miserable life." As I stood in front of my bathroom mirror and like every day of my life all I saw was a sad face, so I took a razor on my hand, took my potion to get out of this place, and as I started to feel my exit door open to me, I put the razor against my face and I told myself: "let's finally put a smile on this face." As I sit there with the blood covering all my face waiting for my moment to come, the landlord with no invitation came in to harass me about the rent, and as I heard him walking towards me, I passed out.

Finally, all the pain will stop. As my eyes started to open, everything around me was white, I tried to sit but a hand put me back to bed, I was waiting to hear welcome to the other side but instead I heard an old man voice, the voice kept telling me that I should rest, as I realized where I was, the same voice told me:" hello my name is doctor Robert and you were unconscious for the past three days, so try not to move and let me check your blood pressure." As I felt his cold hands pressing my arm, I woke up to find myself at the hospital. The place that I hated more than anything, the doctors decided that my suicidal thoughts put others in danger, so they transferred me to the mental health unite where I should be examined for the next 3 weeks.

They said that I had bipolar disorder and that in order to let me go, I should start the treatment. They made me take 12 pills every day; some of those pills, made me forget my own name. I was very weak and I couldn't sleep, it was only after the second week that they took all the bandages from my face. The doctors told me no need to be afraid; the scars will be gone with a laser treatment. As they put the mirror in front of my face, they told me: "you see it's not that bad" while they were looking at me like I was a monster. To finish my treatment, they told me that I need to pass by the hospital every week for a weekly evaluation. On my way out, a nurse came to me and gave me a little box of makeup, she told me to try to put it on the scars to cover them. "No way I'm hiding my scars, hiding my scars it's like losing my smile," I told myself. Funny things, for years I've been invisible to those people but suddenly they started to see me with those eyes, the same eyes that enjoyed others misery. For the next few days, wherever I went to look for work, they made sure to make me believe that I was unacceptable; they looked at me like I was a freak. This is what happens to all the criminals, when society closes all the doors to you, crime is the only thing left to hire you. The difference between a white collar and a criminal is that you can't trust both but at least the criminal won't judge you. In the neighborhood where I lived, it was easier to get crime tools than books. You see, I didn't apply to the crime department; I applied for criminal psychology. What I was interested in was not only people's possession but their soul. If you control the fear of your enemy, you will own him. I'm a performer, and people will start paying me for my show but instead of money, they will give me their soul. At the time to survive, I bought umbrellas from an old Chinese guy in china town and went to sell them downtown. At that place, you can sell anything. If a rich guy on his way to eat forgot his umbrella in his office, he rather buys a new umbrella than going all the way back to his office to get his back. Those people got more of what they need. Like this guy who used to walk every day in front of me wearing a white shirt and each day a different tie. They try to make people believe that they are superiors with their clothes, but all I saw was a man with a rope around his neck waiting for his master to walk him. A man like him enjoyed yelling at the shoe polisher kids, he either insults them or leaves without paying, his monkey face inspired me for my first performance, and it's called: sheep hunting scene. The scene started at night when I went to a roof in a busy street. I took a paintball gun and like a kid, I started shooting at every man wearing a tie= rope around his neck, I didn't even try to hide. As people get shot, they didn't even bother looking around, they just start running. From up there, people were running like sheep even if they didn't get shot, the fear of others made them run without even knowing the cause. As days go by, I knew that to make those sheep run all day, I needed help, and I needed some shepherd. In a city full of criminals, it's easy to find them but needs time and work to recruit them. To catch the fish, first, you put the trap. So I found myself a small group of wannabe gangsters, all I needed to know is first who's the leader and second the spot where they hang out the most. It was raining that day; I saw my target standing by the basketball court. I walked in front of them to get their attention, in my right hand I had a whiskey bottle and in my left hand got my wallet and a fake gold watch, at first they were hesitating but when they saw that I was drunk, like a shark sensing blood they attacked,

one of them walked me behind the trees while the three others pushed me to the ground and pulled a knife. They took my watch, my wallet and disappeared. The name of the next scene is: post- performance review. It started the day when I went to an old factory where they hang out the most; I walked behind them, pulled my gun, and waited for silence to make my move. Showtime, the scene started by me telling them: "Everyone to the ground", as I was walking in a circle around them, I was clapping and said, "Do you know who I 'am?" They kept looking at my face but they got no idea, "of course you don't know; I'm the guy who you jumped two days ago at the basketball court", I pointed my gun to their leader's head and asked him: "you know why you don't recognize me? The same reason why you ran away with an empty wallet and a fake watch, you didn't even look me in the eyes, you need to control what goes around you. You lost your biggest reward because you weren't prepared, you were afraid that someone caught you, so all of you kept looking around at the same time, the same reason why I got home with my money in my pockets, no one checked me because you thought that the money was on the wallet, a good robber should never search his victim, you see nowadays, women they've become more creative, they started to hide their money inside their bras, and it worked because a robber always goes for the pockets. That's the biggest mistake, all you need to do is to take your gun and say "give me all your money because if I search you and found out that you hide something I'm going to shoot you" After that, you let their fear do all the work for you, they start to believe that you already know where they are hiding the money" and to finish my speech, I said: "I'm not mad at you. Society wants you to turn into a criminal so that she makes an example out of you. People around, when they look at you they see disappointment but all I can see right now is potential. Right now all of you are sheep and the rich people with all their money thinks they are the wolves. That's what they want you to believe, when it comes to me, I'm not looking for their money, I'm looking for their fear, own a man fear then you will own everything he got. I know where the real money is, but to get it, I need someone like you, someone like me. So tomorrow meet me here if you are sick of serving other people. Tomorrow is a new beginning". Those guys were like me; they wanted to get some action and that's the same reason why I found them already waiting for me the next day. They were all sitting but as I entered, they all stood up."I see that all of you noticed my scars" I said, "you see society never gave me a reason to smile, but I found myself a way to keep a smile on my face all day, the rules are made by other people to rule you, but rules are only followed when there's peace. Our weapon against those rules is fear. The rules say that you can't steal but if you make people believe they are going to starve, they will start stealing because of the fear. My secret to never get caught is others fear, you need to control yours to control theirs and our first assignment is to understand controlling the surrounding environment in order to control the result". The name of the next scene is your fear it's our way out. Our first robbery was very simple; we are not going to rob the bank but the people who walked out of it. The bank as you can see, they protect their client inside, but as soon as they step out the bank, they become an easy target. This time every member of us will have a job to do. First, we wait outside the bank for the next victim, as he walked out with his bag full of money: it's Showtime.

Two of us start running towards him, tackle him, and make it look like an accident, the victim will lose his bag and as he gets up, one of the two guys who tackled him will try to fight him because the victim was on his way, and the second guy will try to separate them by pushing the victim away from his bag, at the same time, a third guy will take the bag and keep walking. If we stop now, the victim will figure out that he was played, and this is where my turn comes. My job was to use fear to stop the victim from thinking. I was five meters behind and all I needed to do is to shoot my gun two times up in the air and here's our way out of getting caught. Everyone walking on the street panicked, and they all started running in all the directions, same for the victim who forgot about his bag and start running. Funny things to believe that those same people who were running for their lives out there, were the same people who run this country. After our first hit, I knew that I got my team's attention, and they started to show me their loyalty. We were five at the time, and it was time for us to expand. Every member has to recruit his own soldiers; the rule is that everyone who wanted to join us needs to prove himself. It was called: the terror squad tries out. As we keep growing, our reputation grew also. Around me, no one knew my name. I was obsessed with always saying life is a joke, so they started writing on the wall, the name of the life joker until they settled with the joker. The new recruits that's how they knew me, they knew me by my name the joker not my face. The only time that they saw me was before an operation. The last thing that I added to my look was the bloody smile; it was something to remember me of what this society did to me. All I asked for was a smile but instead, she gave me a smile full of pain and blood. It was the time for me to be a new person but first I needed to erase my past. The next scene is called: when the shrink becomes the patient. It was midnight, and I took with me my most loyal soldiers and we rode to our destination. Our destination was a place where people like me were treated like mouse labs. People like me are the reason why shrinks and drug companies get rich. As you can see, those people want you to get addicted and depended on pills so they can sell you more, our misfortune is their fortune and this is why things need to change. As soon as I got to the hospital, I was thinking about burning all the building, but I backed off because the real enemy was those doctors, not the patients. The first order as we walked in was to grabs all the doctors and lines them in the hallway. First thing first, I walked to the office where they kept all my medical history, and I started to pour gasoline on all the room, but just before I start the fire, I went to the hallway, looked at all the doctors as they were on their knees and said to them: "what have we got here? Did those patients take their pills? I guess not yet". I walked to the next room where they kept the pills, grabbed some bottles, and went back to the hallway. I took my gun out and said: "It's medication time". I made every one of them swallow those pills until one of the doctors thought that he doesn't need them, I looked at him and said: "what is your name", he said Jerry. I told him "Jerry, I want you to take them because I want you to feel better", but he refused. I looked around me and I said: "we've got ourselves a patient who refuses to be a better person, I think he needs a bad patient treatment", so I took a teaser and gave him a good electroshock treatment until he passed out. You may think that it was uncalled for but that was reality, when those same doctors abused us, no one said a word, but when they've got what they deserved, people start calling us criminal.

The real criminal was those doctors, who tortured us every time that we refused to take our pills. Those patients had no rights at the hospital just like we didn't have any rights out there. When it was time to go, I returned to finish what I started, by burning the room, and then took out. As I was riding away my bike, I felt free, I liked the sensation of the wind on my face and the feeling that I got rid of a heavy load that I carried all this time on my back. For the next weeks, the city was hit by a big wave of crime like no one have ever seen, the purpose of all the operation was to stress the immune system of the city. We started by burning every police car that we found in front of us. You will think that we did it because we hated the police, but as you will understand, it was only a message. We didn't care about the police. The purpose was to make the police think that we are a major threat to their citizens and no one can stop us even them. The moment that the chief of the police made a statement about us saying that he will stop us with whatever it takes, I knew that I made him in my pocket. So let me explain to you why all every this was an illusion, imagine if you're about to invade a new land and imagine that the same land is divided into several small territories. The king that ruled this land will wait until you attacks, so when you decide to attack the north, he will move all his army to the north to fight you back, but the thing that he forgot is that we are not interested in the north, what we want is the south. It was all an illusion, same for the police, for the next days they are going to wait for us to strike to get us, but the thing is that our first attack is an illusion to waste their time with, while we go for the big prize. I waited for some days so that they think that they are prepared. Let's start with the illusion because everything depends on it, there are three ingredients that we should have in order to succeed. First, the location should be very far from the bank that we choose to rob. Second, the location of the illusion should be in a wealthy neighborhood because if we were talking about the projects, the police will come only after the case it's solved by itself. Finally, the illusion should include a member of the police just to make things funnier. The location is a big bus with black windows so you can't see inside at a street full of business owners, and we made sure that the bus should be parked below a manhole because that's the exit, the wheels should be very low to the ground so you can't see under the bus. When it comes to the hostage, it was really easy because where we lived, the real criminals were the police, and they were everywhere. So let the show begin, the police receive a call about an officer getting kidnapped in the afternoon by a man working with a group called the terror squad. The police respond by getting all the units there. Now, that the police got distracted by our little play, May the real show begins. From the start, the bank was our main target. Our goal was to finish the robbery while the police were still out there trying to free the hostage. The name of the next scene is getting robbed by your close friend. For this scene, the main character is a person who makes you feel safe and people trust him, it's a police officer, you remember the hostage that the police are trying to free, well we got his clothes and his car because those two things are our way in and out from the bank. The plan is three guys wearing black start a conversation with the bank security just before going inside the bank. As they go in, I parked my car in front of the bank and walked slowly as a police officer towards the security, and I showed him a photo of one of the guys who were talking with him and of course, he informed me that his inside.

I told him that I wanted him to help me get them out until the other police units arrive and kept telling him that they are not armed, so don't use the gun. As we go in, I took one of my guys " suspect number one" and I dropped him to the ground, I told the security to control him, I shouted:" police, everybody to the ground, the building is surrounded, drop your gun and surrender", as I said that, one of my guys went to take the money from the registers and my second guy, took the manager to make him open the safe, I've always kept yelling that the police are everywhere outside and there's nowhere to go. Hearing me say that, the people working there thought that I'm there to save them. why put the alarm on if the police are already controlling the situation. As they finished collecting the money, I told the security to give me the guy under his knees" suspect number one". As he was up, he knock-down the security and we pretended that he hit me and took my gun. Now, I'm the hostage of my own crew. My two guys with the money came after and told me: "give us your car keys, you're going with us, if we die, you die". And just like that, they believed that I was the hostage and we were gone. In the meantime, while the real police were at the other part of town trying to free a hostage left alone on the bus while the suspect got away by the manhole, we were gone.

My thing is that after each robbery, I invested the money on my next performance, for me the money was only a tool to make the city more confused. I'm not anti-social, I'm the result of a society malfunction, and the same system that described me as a criminal is also the one who created this monster. Gotham wants people to believe that everything was perfect.

All the things that I loved are gone and all the things that I hated made me feel wrong. I had nothing to lose. On the other side, Gotham had everything to lose. That's the real power; I've always had a step ahead.

Rich people showed off their money to appear fearless. I've already got their fear, and they've only made it easy for me to get the other thing that they got and I don't; their money.

You should always evaluate your plan from every angle because there's always a guy like me who will find a way to turn your plan against you.

A lot of kings died because they thought they had a good plan, but what they ignored was that their opponent spent all his time and resources to make their plans fail.

The difference between a powerful king and a king who appeared to be powerful is that the first one is someone who fought in all his battles while the second was always hiding behind his soldiers.

Gotham felt safe behind the police but when the soldiers start feeling tired and injured, they leave always their king without protection.

The more people kept thinking about me, the more powerful I became because I was not in their dreams, I was their nightmare.

After weeks of terror and chaos, people started to believe that the sky sent them finally a savior.

It was at that moment that I started hearing that my men were getting beat up and locked up by a man wearing everything black, they said he's very strong, well if he got an armor, I got something even better, I've got the element of surprise.

I don't care if he is untouchable. All I knew is that a man going out with a mask on his face, he definitely got something to hide.

So let's see what he's hiding. Find your enemy fears, you find out who really they are.

BY ISMAIL BENDAOUD

EMAIL: ISMAILBENDAOUD94@GMAIL.COM