I was no stranger to the dark alleys of Gotham. The buildings towered so high at night you could hardly see where they stopped and the sky started. The air around here was so full of smog and this lingering stench of burning rubber. But that was normal, right? Everything in this life needed a place, a small little corner where all the rotten parts are left to fester. Needless to say, the streets around the infamous crime alley were that corner for Gotham, just as Gotham was for the rest of the country.

So I wasn't surprised when Eva had told me where to contact her "uncle". He was apparently a dealer and very adept in technology. I needed quite a few things for my experiment. Now let's see, down this corner and… it's the old condemned building, how original. I knock on the door; six, five, one, and eighteen times. I guess they thought I'd enjoy that. A slight motion from the other side, I assume he's looking through the peephole. An old man opened, around 60, average height, a bit bulky.

"You must be Evita's friend," he had a gruff voice, but strangely, seemed pleasant.

"Yes," though it was a bit presumptuous to refer to us as friends, "and you are?"

"Antonio Adario, nice to meet you Mr. Crane." Hmm, I really don't get to hear that a lot.

"Likewise, now, Mr. Adario, do you have the items we discussed over the phone?"

"Yeah, they're over here," He walked me past the array of technology he had stored, with bits and pieces of metal scattered around, it was a wonder he knew where my things where. One shelf held an assortment of brightly colored liquids in containers of various sizes. I moved towards them, examining the labels of each. It seems I'm not the only chemist around here.

"Oh, I recommend you don't touch those. I have a pal, Benny, and he likes to play with chemicals, but… there's no telling what he could make."

"You're storing chemicals and you don't even know what they do?" This man is old, but is he senile?

"I don't trust the concoctions, but I trust Benny." Trust? Funny, I thought that died out years ago.

"These are what you wanted right?" He brought out a heavy looking box and set it on a table. Opening it, I found myself grinning, just a bit.

"Yes, these are perfect."

"No," I yelled into the phone.

"I'm sorry Ms. Albright but it's been three months, and we have other cases," the commissioner replied.

"So, you're just going to give up on her!?"

"Rebecca, have you ever thought that maybe-"

"No, I'm telling you she's out there somewhere and unless I see a body, I'm not going to stop looking." Before he could even answer, I hung up and flung my cell phone to the other side of the couch. I know I'll probably regret that once I have to pick it again, but I just so angry, I couldn't even think straight.

Ever since that trial, I've been calling the police station and searching for anything that could hint at where the Mad Hatter could've taken Alice. I even told them to check up on Evangelina Torrez at Arkham, that she had information on where Alice was. I doubt they even did that.

They even had the nerve to say that the girl that helped Torrez break the Mad Hatter was Alice. It couldn't be, not willingly at least. She might have been mind-controlled with one of the Hatter's devices, just like before. She shouldn't have to go through that again... but she is, and it all happened right under my nose.

I just don't want to give up on her. I don't want to think that coming back to Gotham after all these years was a mistake. There is justice and it will help me find Alice and lock up that madman for good.

A knock pulled me out of my thoughts. I opened the front door and saw found my superintendent standing there with the building's handyman.

"Oh, Mr. Mason, is there something wrong?" The only time he ever comes to the tenants is when he has a bone to pick.

"Actually there is," of course, "it's been brought to my attention that the lighting hasn't been working properly, so I've brought in a professional to look over it." I didn't exactly know how an 80 year old man could possibly help with that, even if he was a professional.

"Well, sir, mine has been working just fine, so I don't think I'll need-"

"Oh no, all apartments need to be inspected. I've already sent Mr. Wallace here to inspect the other ones on this floor."

"Alright then," There really was no sense in fighting with this perfectionist. I let Mr. Wallace enter; he was a sweet man, if a bit slow while he's working.

"Oh, and while I'm here, I wanted to discuss the security upgrades you choose to have installed behind my back." I had really hoped he wouldn't notice that. They were simple alarms and a spy camera connected to my computer, but Mr. Manson always needed to make a big deal about everything.

"Mr. Mason I assure you they're…"

"I don't want to hear it; I don't want anyone tinkering with my building."

"It's just that… Can we talk about this in your office?" I was a bit apprehensive leaving Mr. Wallace alone in my apartment, but what could happen in, what, five minutes?

Ms. Albright and Mr. Mason had just left. That was okay, the maintenance man preferred to work in a quiet environment, something he couldn't do with his blowhard of a boss around. He was a bit sorry to have gotten Ms. Albright in trouble; he was the one who had offered to install the devices after all. As he looking through the apartment and checked the wiring on the living room ceiling lights, there was a light knocking on the front door.

"Hello there." There was a man there, someone he hadn't seen in the building before.

"What, who are you?"

"Its okay sir, we just need a moment in the building, that's all." Two other men came from behind him. Each carried a box with them, the main one held a cloth.

"I-you can't be in here." The poor elderly man tried to run away from them, but the intruder had come up to him and placed the cloth right over his mouth and nose. After a bit of struggling, the handyman went limp, and because of his thin frame, he was easy to carry.

"Luke, take him to his office make it look like he was sleeping."

"Does that even work, Tony?

"You'll be surprised," He started to take things out of the boxes, "Shawn, make sure that Ms. Albright's with her super for as long as possible."

"No problem."

"Alright guys, let's get to work."

Thank you for reading.

Update (Jan. 9, 2018) Wanted to add some projection on Becky's part when it came to Alice, it'll flow better later in the story.