PROBLEM - Anthony Lockwood

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

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xvi

your taste in men is so bad, i think i'm going to be sick

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"OH MY GODS," Alice squealed, grabbing Lucy's arm as they walked out of the Archives. "What was that?"

"I don't know what you mean," Lucy looked forward, but her face was slightly red.

Alice squealed, shooting Lucy a knowing look.

Lucy groaned, "Shut up."

"That's like three points to me," Alice noted, grinning.

Lucy swore, "Don't get ahead of yourself."

Alice mouthed the word 'sweetheart' and Lucy shoved her away from her playfully, crossing her arms.

"I'm not talking to you anymore," the auburn haired girl decided.

Alice simply gave a hum of agreement, knowing that she was right and turned to a confused Lockwood, "He doesn't like you very much, does he?"

He clenched his jaw, "He's an irrelavent prick. Ignore him." He lightened up, "We need to track down Hugo Blake. I need to go do something but you guys grab dinner, my treat," he declared pulling out his wallet and handing a five pound note to Alice. His fingers brushed against hers for a moment and the breath stopped in her lungs, before he turned and walked away.

Alice blinked.

"You like... Italian?" George suggested.

"He means pizza," Lucy translated.

George nodded, "I know a good place."

They made their way to a slightly derelict area and sat on some benches outside a shop.

"Mhmm, this is the best Italian restaurant I've ever been to," Lucy mused sarcastically.

Alice ate the pizza gratefully. There weren't many restaurants at all back at Pendle Hill.

Lucy leaned against the bench and the wall, whilst Alice sat cross-legged on it. George stood in front of them. Alice considered him, "Have you always lived here?" she inquired.

"Zone 6, much nicer and safer," George revealed.

"Why'd you leave?" Alice queried.

"My mum and dad are lovely, but I couldn't stay," George answered, making his way to sit next to the pizza box on the bench. "They had four kids; engineer, engineer, engineer, weirdo."

Alice chuckled, "You are so Asian."

"Tell me about it."

"Have you always been a bit..." Lucy inquired, struggling to fight the least rude word.

"Obsessed," George finished, "Yeah. The Problem's all I've ever known. All any of us have ever known. That's why I wanna find out..."

Alice looked down.

Your people caused this, the voice in her head jeered. All those deaths.

"What?"

"Everything!" George replied, "That's why I got fired from Fittes."

"What?!"

"Hain?!"

"Lockwood didn't tell you?" George inquired. "For asking too many questions, visiting floors against my pay grade."

"George Karim, I am shocked!" Lucy gasped with mock disapproval.

Alice kept forgetting that Lucy had only been there for a few weeks before her.

"Don't worry, I kept the skull as compensation," George assured.

Alice turned to him, tilting her head, "So, do you think we're being lied to - about everything?"

George's face lit up at this subject, "Of course we're being lied to. But by who? Why? And what can we do about it?"

"You know, I had this friend who was convinced that none of it made sense," Lucy explained, "How it started, how it spread, how it only seems to get worse not better no matter what we do." She paused for a moment, sighing, "Well, he's dead now. Maybe he's got all the answers - on the other side."

Alice pursed her lips, looking down.

It mustn't have been hard for DEPRAC to cover the real truth of it all. Half the population didn't believe in witches, and the other half just wanted them dead, too blinded by hate to open their eyes.

"Is he who you dreamed of coming to London with?" George guessed.

Lucy shook her head, "No. That was someone else. But we were all on the same job. It went wrong. Horribly. My boss blamed me. Everyone did. Including my mum," she revealed, staring off into the distance sadly. "So I had to get away, somewhere I might actually matter."

Alice hated herself.

She squeezed Lucy's knee reassuringly, "I'm sorry, love."

Lucy shrugged, turning to her, "So, we've had George-Lore and Lucy-Lore. What's Alice-Lore?"

She pursed her lips and turned away, looking down and away from them. The memories came rushing back at a terrible pace. Twisting through her mind and setting her on fire. Her throat began to close up. "I don't like to talk about it."

"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Lucy reassured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a side hug.

Alice leaned into the hug, sighing.

They were safe.

It was okay.

She would never be found again.

"I was...." she searched for the right word, trying not to divuldge too much, "...kidnapped. They held me for a year before I escaped and ran as far as I could."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Alice."

...

She stood, watching Lockwood's interview on the TV. "...Just because it happened decades ago doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Luckily, at Lockwood and Co. we have our own superstars: Lucy Carlyle and Alice Deane, who both neutralised a viscious type two and used their extraordinary talents to make contact and channel Annabel Ward's ghost-"

"What the fuck?!" Lucy hissed.

Alice grabbed the remote from Lockwood's hand, shutting off the TV. "We told you to leave us out of it."

"I told you I'd handle it," Lockwood mused, still seated, "What are you worried about? It's all true."

"We haven't even solved the case yet," Lucy hissed, "What if Hugo Blake sees that and comes after us?"

The walls were beginning to close in on Alice now, everything was becoming cramped and terrifying. The thought of a hunter watching that and recognising her name was more than she could bear.

"Are you crazy?" Alice cried, "Do you have any idea what could happen?"

"Alice, don't worry, we'll look after you. You're our biggest asset," Lockwood reassured, standing up.

Alice couldn't breathe. She felt a wave of nausea slam into her like terror.

"Asset?" She scoffed, shaking her head and feeling her eyes fill with tears. She threw the remote at him. "Fuck you!"

And then she turned and marched out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Lucy made to follow her, but George grabbed her arm, "Wait a minute, Luce. That was a dick move."

Lockwood rolled his eyes, "What's your problem? You wanted me to fire her last night." He sighed, "Maybe you were right. My judgement has been off lately?"

Lucy scoffed, "'Off' are you okay in the head?"

"I'm sorry," Lockwood sighed, "But Barnes knows you guys are illegal. That you don't have your fourth grade and that Alice isn't even registered on DEPRAC. I had to do something."

Lucy swore loudly.

"You could've warned us!"