A Trip To Tuanaki

Chapter 3

Alice leans back against the cold stone of the wall with her eyes closed, breathing deeply until she catches her breath. It takes longer than she'd care to admit, but when she hears the unmistakable sound of someone running all the way down the alley, far away from Alice's hiding spot, a broad grins spreads over her face. It's a moment later that she finally opens her eyes.

Only to find a middle-aged man staring intently at her. He hasn't said anything yet, so she doubts he'll call for the guards, so she takes the time to brush off her palms before addressing him.

"Professor Hedgewick?" she asks.

The man stares at her. Alice rummages in her pocket for the well-worn picture, the only scrap of information that she's had to lead her to her father over four long years of traveling, and inspects it. There are five men in students' robes, and one more beside them in a professor's robe. The students look close to Alice's age now, but the pictured professor looks even older than the man now in front of her.

"Yes?" the man asks.

She sighs and tucks the photograph back in her pocket. So her information was bad — but not so bad the person she's found doesn't know who she's really looking for. This could either be good, or very, very bad.

"I'm not sure that you can help me with this, but I was wondering if I could ask a favor."

"You want a favor from me? How about not calling the guards for long enough that you get to explain yourself? Or do you want a favor in addition to that one?"

Alice ignores it. Whoever this is, they're not overtly working for the Company, because otherwise there'd be guards in place to arrest her the moment she entered the yard. Which means they're working just for Piers. Or perhaps worse, they're looking for her father, too — 'cause then they'd be looking, and ahead of her.

"The favor I'd like to ask is for you to help me find my father," she says.

"And what makes you think I could do that?" the imitation professor asks.

"You taught him. And my mother. It was a while ago... just over twenty years, as a matter of fact."

Suddenly, the man's posture radically changes. He glances furtively around them, as if it's now he who's afraid they're being watched, and not Alice who's afraid of merely being followed by the people she stole from. When he speaks, his tone has changed entirely — he's no longer attempting to act wise beyond his apparent years. "Come with me," he says urgently. "Inside, now."

Alice's hand goes to her pistol but she does as she's bid. She figures, what's the harm in going into a large, open, empty room that's full of big windows that everyone can see into—

There's a metallic clicking sound behind her and she turns slowly. The imitation professor has a gun in the folds of his robes and it's pointed at Alice's stomach.

"Who are you and what do you want with my uncle?" he demands.

"Can we maybe — not, with the gun?"

The man steps forward. "Who are you—"

"—and what do I want with your uncle, yes I know, I heard you the first time. What I'm saying is, you've made your point, I would really appreciate it if you could put the gun away now."

He doesn't. Instead, he just stares at her. When he finally opens his mouth, he's barely gotten a word out before she interrupts. "Who—"

"Yes, yes, I've got it, who are you, what is your plan and all that. On the one hand — what makes you think I'd tell you, even if you do have a gun on me? I mean, kill me and I'm dead, sure, but what about the people who sent me? I have one of them backing me up right now, as a matter of fact."