Insane Like Me | A Gotham Valeska Twins Story

jerome: chapter 7

TW:  russian roulette scene 
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Irene's POV
"Ooh, shiny!" Jerome said as he pulled out a sword from one of Galavan's chests. We all had moved to the living room. I was sat down next to Dobkins on the floor while he, Aaron, and I looked through another chest. Theo had a lot of cool gadgets. I guess that's one of the perks of being rich. Greenwood went over to Jerome and snatched the sword out of his hands. He started swinging it around like he was in some sort of action movie.
"Give that back." Jerome demanded, clearly annoyed by the cannibal.
"I saw it first." Greenwood claimed. Jerome dropped the scabbard for the sword.
"No, you didn't. I said give it back." He demanded again, his smile evidently showing he was pissed.
"Make me, you little brat." Greenwood taunted, pointing the sword at Jerome.
"Oooooh!" Dobkins uttered. I turned my head to the schizophrenic who had a knight's head armor on and was pointing a gun at himself.
"Don't encourage them." I lectured. Dobkins stuck his tongue out at me.
"Your samurai skills are excellent, Greenwood-san, but they are nothing compared to me." Jerome announced as he picked up a chainsaw and turned it on, pointing it at Greenwood.
"Prepare to die!" Jerome exclaimed. Greenwood imitated the whirring of the chainsaw as Jerome swung it high in the air.
"BOYS! JEROME!" I screamed, standing up. They were gonna kill each other if someone didn't intervene. Jerome slammed his chainsaw onto Greenwood's sword.
"That's enough!" Theo shouted as he walked into the room. The boys stopped at this.
"I tried to stop them." Dobkins stated. I gave him a dirty look, bullshit he tried.
"Boys, we're a team. We don't fight amongst ourselves." Theo told the men as the stopped aiming their weapons at each other.
"Yeah, we're a team, boys." Dobkins teased. I glared at him again, my eyes telling him to shut up for his own good. He was really starting to piss me off.
"And I'm the captain." Greenwood expressed. Jerome dropped the chainsaw at his comment. Uh oh.
"Captain of my foot." He retorted.
"I've murdered a dozen women, terrorized the city. What have you done? Chop up your mommy?" Greenwood jeered.
"Everybody has to start somewhere. See, I have vision, and ambition, and brains. You're just a nutty old cannibal. How many people can you eat before that shtick gets old?" Jerome whispered, gradually getting louder. Theo put his hand on his shoulder to make sure he didn't try anything.
"I could eat one more." Greenwood said, his eyes landing on me. Oh my god. I backed up a bit, trying to get as much distance between that nut job and me as possible. He smirked at my reaction.

Jerome's POV
The moment I saw his eyes look at her, my blood began to boil. I was so overcome with rage that I couldn't see anything, but red.
"That's it." I growled before raising my arm up and storming closer to Greenwood. Theo caught my arm and held me back. It took a moment, but I calmed down enough for Theo to let me go.
"I can see we're going to have to resolve this one once and for all." Theo said as he pulled out a handgun. He emptied the chamber.
"You all know this game, right?" He asked, holding up a single bullet.
"Oh, love it." I whispered, smiling at Theo, then returning my glare to Greenwood. The chamber whirred and clicked. Theo then held the gun out.
"Who wants to be the boss?" I look at the gun, then nodded towards Greenwood, saying, "Ladies first." He gave me an annoyed smile and grabbed the gun. He held it up to his temple and pulled the trigger. No bullet, no blood, no brain splatter. He was still alive, sadly. He chuckled and handed the gun to me. I played with it in my hand, then looked at it.
"Hey, Greenwood, what's the secret to good comedy?" I asked as I pressed the gun to my temple and pulled the trigger without hesitation. No bullet.
"Timing." I smiled, then cocked the gun again.
"And what's courage?" I asked with a bit of a growl. I placed the gun at my cheek and pulled the trigger again. No bullet.
"Grace under pressure." I answered.
"And...who's the boss?" I asked intimidatingly. The gun was now aimed under my jaw. I pulled the trigger once more, Greenwood whimpering as I did. No bullet.
"I'm the boss." I stated, letting out a slow and creepy laugh. I then handed Greenwood the gun, but Theo pulled it away from us.
"I believe you are, Jerome. I believe you are." He chimed in.
"Arigato, sensei." I said, bowing to him. I turned to an embarrassed Greenwood and snatched the sword out of his hands.
"Whoo! Hee!"

Irene's POV
He walked over to me with the sword resting on his shoulder, smiling victoriously. I smiled back, but watched warily as Greenwood left the room.
Stay away from him, Irene. I don't think he's bluffing.
My eye twitched and I looked down, closing my eyes. As luxurious as this place was, it wasn't worth being terrified for your life every day. Jerome's smile dropped and he placed a hand on my chin, guiding my face up to look at his.
"You look tired, doll. Let's go take a nap." He suggested, giving me a soft smile. I nodded. A nap sounded nice right about now. We walked to our room and he closed the door. He turned to me and picked me up, spinning me around. I giggled, causing him to laugh. He then walked over to the bed and plopped me on it. I landed with a thump, then I flew up again when he plopped himself on the bed. He sighed and put his arm around me, leading me to cuddle up next to him. A peaceful silence surrounded us, until I decided to speak up.
"I'm scared." I admitted, whispering.
"Don't worry about Greenwood. I'll kill him soon." Jerome reassured and kissed my head.
"Not just Greenwood, everything." I clarified. Jerome looked down at me, waiting for an explanation.
"I mean, we have no freedom here. If we don't do what Mr. Galavan says, we'll end up like Sionis. I don't wanna be his little servant. If I'm going to commit crimes, I want to do it for my own reasons, not just because I'm scared I'll die if I don't." I explain, whispering just in case someone was listening nearby. Jerome was silent for a moment, then let out a quick giggle.
"Not for long. Soon, we'll get out of here...and we'll rule Gotham, my queen." Jerome claimed. I looked up at him with suspicion.
"What are you planning?" I questioned.
"You'll see." He replied, kissing my cheek.
"Ok, my king."