R Ramirez
[Gordon is on the roof standing by the lit Batsignal, looking at it painted on the clouds, as Det. Ramirez brings him coffee]
You expecting him to show?
R Ramirez
Why wouldn't he show?
Hopefully... [sips his coffee] ...because he's busy.
R Ramirez
Then why do you light it?
I just like to remind people he's out there.
The Chechen [We see a montage of people looking up at the signal from around the city; two criminals beside a car planning a crime see the signal and one gets nervous and runs off; then we see the Chechen with his crew at a parking garage looking at the signal]
That is why we bring dogs!
The Chechen [The Chechen is meeting with the Scarecrow in a parking garage to discuss a drug deal] [shows him an addict, who is hallucinating under the effects of fear toxin]
Look what your drugs did to my customers.
S The Scarecrow
[sitting in the shadow of the back of his van, which is surrounded by his men]
Buyer beware. [gets up and moves forward into the light giving us our first sight of him] I told you my compound would take you places. I never said they'd be places that you wanted to go.
The Chechen My business is repeat customers!
S The Scarecrow
You don't like what I have to offer, then you can buy from someone else...assuming Batman left anyone to buy from.
The Chechen [The Chechen's dogs start barking and everyone looks around]
My dogs are hungry!
The Chechen [A figure that looks like Batman appears in the shadows]
Pity there's only one of you.
S The Scarecrow
[But then more appear, with guns; the Chechen sets his dogs on one of them and a gun fight ensues]
That's not him. [sprays one of the fake "batmen" with his fear toxin, incapacitating him]
S The Scarecrow
[The Tumbler crashes through the wall of the garage]
That's more like it.
[The Joker interrupts the meeting of mob bosses] [fake laughter done in a deadpan voice]
Ha ha ha ha, hahaha, ha, ha, ha, oh, a-hee-hee, ha ha, oh, hee hee, hee ha, ahaha. [returns to normal voice] I thought my jokes were bad.
G Gambol
Give me one reason why I shouldn't have my boy here pull your head off.
How 'bout a magic trick? [he slams a pencil into the table, point first] I'm gonna make this pencil disappear.
[Gambol's henchman tries to attack him; in one swift motion the Joker then slams the man's head into the pencil, forcing the entire pencil through his eye socket; the man falls over dead]
Ta-daa! [looks at where the pencil was with mock surprise] It's...it's gone! Oh, and by the way, the suit? It wasn't cheap. You ought to know, you bought it.
G Gambol
That's it. [rises from his chair]
The Chechen I want to hear, proposition.
Let's wind the clock back a year. These cops and lawyers wouldn't dare cross any of you. I mean, what happened? Did-did your balls drop off, hm? You see, a guy like me...
[The men in the room laugh]
...A guy like me...look, listen, I know why you choose to have your little [clears throat] "group therapy sessions" in broad daylight, I know why you're afraid to go out at night: The Batman. See, Batman has shown Gotham your true colors. Unfortunately, Dent...he's just the beginning, and as–as for th-the television's so-called "plan", Batman has no jurisdiction. He'll find him and make him squeal. I know squealers when I see them, and...[points at the televised Lau]
The Chechen What do you propose?
It's simple. We, uh...kill the Batman.
[Men in the room laugh again]
If it's so simple, why haven't you done it already?
If you're good at something, never do it for free.
The Chechen So, how much you want?
G Gambol
[Once again, the men in the room laugh] [whispers]
You're crazy.
[quickly glancing up, defensively]
I'm not. No, I'm not. If we don't deal with this now, soon, uh, little–Gambol?–here won't be able to get a nickel for his grandma.
G Gambol
[slams the table, and angrily rises from his seat]
Enough from the clown!
Ah-ah. [rises from his seat as well, revealing grenades and explosives under his suit jacket with a string attached to his thumb] Let's not blow this out of proportion.
G Gambol
You think you can steal from us and just walk away?!
G Gambol
I'm putting the word out: five hundred grand for this clown dead, and a million alive–so I can teach him some manners first.
Ah, uh...all right. So listen, why don't you give me a call when you want to start taking things a little more seriously? Here is...my...card. [pulls out a Joker playing card and shows it to everyone] Mm-hm.
[Waves his thumb as he retreats from the room]
The Chechen [Sal Maroni, the Chechen, and various other mobsters are eating at a restaurant while watching Harvey Dent announcing the detainment of Lau on the news]
So, with word out, we hire the clown? He was right. We need to fix real problem.
[Gordon walks into the restaurant, with a satisfied look on his face] [referring to Dent]
Our boy does look good on the tube.
You sure you wanna embarrass me in front of my friends, Lieutenant?
Oh, don't worry. They're coming too.
[At this moment, dozens of police enter the restaurant and arrest all of the mobsters and their accomplices]
[The Chechen is called by the Joker to an old tanker ship at the docks, inside he sees the Joker acting psychotic and antagonizing a tied-up Lau on top of the Joker's massive stacks of his half of the mob's cash] [to the gagged and tied Lau; imititating a plane]
Having fun?! [throws wads of cash at him] I told you I'm a man of my word.
The Chechen [as the Joker climbs down]
What are you planning to do with all your money?
You see, I'm a guy of simple taste. [pulls out his gun] I enjoy dynamite, and gunpowder, and gasoline! [Joker's men douse the money with gasoline and others hold the Chechen back as he tries to stop them] And do you know what they all have in common? [takes the Chechen's cigar] They're cheap.
The Chechen What are you doing?!
[throws the cigar onto the money, which bursts into flames]
Like I said, I'm a man of my word: I'm only burning my half. All you care about is money. This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to 'em. Tell your men they work for me now. This is my city.
The Chechen They won't work for a freak.
[exaggerating the mob boss's accent]
Frrreeaakk. [pulling out a small knife] Why don't we cut you up into little pieces and feed you to your pooches, hmm?[Joker's thugs pull away the mob boss] And then we'll see how loyal a hungry dog really is! [Reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a cell phone, and begins dialing numbers] It's not about money, it's about sending a message. Everything burns!
[Interrupting the news cast in which Coleman Reese is trying to announce Batman's identity]
I had a vision of a world without Batman. The mob ground out their little profit, and the police tried to shut them down one block at a time. And it was so...boring. I've had a change of heart. I don't want Mr. Reese spoiling everything, but why should I have all the fun? Let's give someone else a chance. If Coleman Reese isn't dead in sixty minutes, then I blow up a hospital. [hangs up the phone]
The Chechen [the Joker meets the Chechen in a warehouse; Lau is tied up on the top of a pile of cash]
No so crazy as you look.
I told you, I'm a man of my word. [slides down the pile] Where's the Italian?
[Commissioner Gordon musters the police, preparing to apprehend the Joker]
All tactical units will converge on the location in twenty minutes. I want auxiliary units to cover all possible getaway routes.
The Chechen [Joker throws some cash, hitting Lau]
Wait, Joker man. What you do with all your money?
You see, I'm a guy of simple taste. I enjoy, uh, dynamite, and gunpowder, and gasoline! [Joker's men douse the pile with gasoline]
The Chechen What the—
[brandishes pistol]
Ah-ta-ta-ta. And you know the thing that they have in common? They're cheap.
R Reese
[On TV, Coleman Reese is being interviewed by Mike Engel]
I want to know how much they're paying you to say who Batman really is.
[to police]
This is our chance. I want Lau alive. The Joker, either way.
DS Det. Stephens
Hey, Jim, get a load of this!
E Engel
Let's take the next caller.
C Caller
Harvey Dent didn't want to give in to this maniac. Do you think you know better than him?
R Reese
I think that if we could talk to Dent today, he may feel differently, um -
E Engel
And we wish him a speedy recovery, because God knows we need him now.
The Chechen [to Joker]
You said you were a man of your word.
Oh, I am. [takes Chechen's cigar, blows on the end] I'm only burning my half. [throws cigar onto the pile, setting it ablaze] All you care about is money. This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to 'em. Tell your men they work for me now. This is my city.
The Chechen They won't work for a freak!
[mocking the Chechen’s accent]
"Freak"… [throws a knife to his men; they drag the Chechen away] Why don't we cut you up into little pieces and feed you to your pooches? Hm? And then we'll see how loyal a hungry dog really is! It's not about money. It's about sending a message. Everything burns!
