"We should investigate the crime scene immediately," Alice said as soon as they exited the airport. "The more time passes, the bigger the chances of evidence being altered."

"You're awfully eager to get this done," commented Artie suspiciously.

Alice looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You should know how much of an irritation it is to have someone dredge up the past. I wanted to keep this buried."

"All graves end up dug up."

"Mine was never even filled."

"Did you tell Claudia the truth?"

"…yes." Alice looked at her shoes as they walked down the sidewalk. "She's scared of me. I suppose now you're happy, huh, Artie? I can't hurt her if she doesn't even like me."

Artie was silent. Though he'd never admit it, inside he had become very conflicted. Alice had proven a point earlier: she really had no reason to try to harm the warehouse again. After many years bronzed or in hiding, she seemed tired. He understood the feeling.

But that didn't change what she'd done. What she still had the mentality to do. And he had to protect Claudia.

"If you don't ruin this mission," Artie began slowly, "maybe, just maybe, I'll give you a chance."

After all, he'd been given a second chance as well. And in the end, Alice wasn't HG.

Alice let a sad smile come across her face as the gruff man hailed a taxi.


Contrary to what Alice would believe, Claudia was worried sick. Well, worried, and pretending to be sick. Locked away in peace in her room, the little redhead sat before the glowing screen of her laptop and did some digging.

Shockingly, even using the Warehouse's sources, she could find little about the woman. Everything had mostly already been grouped into a folder just for her.

Early records were vague. She was introduced to the Warehouse in 1768, only a few months before her nineteenth birthday. However, that was not the first recording of her on the warehouse database; she had appeared several times before, always interfering in artifact hunts, much to the irritation of agents. Finally, she was hired, simply to get her under control. She was then a faithful agent, right up until the records stopped.

A few years later, a record very briefly described the incident that caused the gap in the records.

Report by Gerald Guthrie on May 12, 1772

Events in chronological order, after the destruction of Warehouse 11.

August 21, 1771: Wanted order issued for A.A

Wanted: ALIVE

Artifact use: authorized

November 3, 1771: A.A. detained by Daniel Masters

November 4, 1771: A.A. escapes. Means unknown.

March 16, 1772: Levi Alexander assigned to capture A.A.

April 23, 1772: A.A. captured by L.A.

Status: Alive- severely wounded

Artifact used: Yes

-Charietto's Dagger

April 29, 1772: A.A. bronzed, without trial.

Claudia leaned back after reading Gerald Guthrie's report, exhaling slowly. She had managed to evade the warehouse for almost a year, and after scanning Levi Alexander's file, she realized that they had hired an outside source specifically for capturing Alice.

And they hadn't given her a trial.

However, Claudia didn't find that surprising.

After several minutes taken to process the new information, Claudia resumed scrolling through the file, determined to unravel the mysteries webbed around the secretive British woman.


"Son of a-"

"Language, Arthur."

Artie tossed Alice a horrid glare. The reason for his rage was mostly due to the lack of evidence at the scene; it had been wiped clean. Whatever the police didn't get was washed away by heavy showers the previous day.

"Why can't we just speak to the police?" Alice asked with honest confusion.

"Too dangerous," Artie answered coldly. "We can't risk having outsiders wrapped up in this."

"True enough."

The two hurried away from the crime scene, careful to not be noticed.

"But," Alice began, "we have no leads, whatsoever. This case is next to impossible."

"We have to find the artifact before it falls into worse hands."

"Like mine?" Though her tone was sarcastic, Artie still took it seriously.

"Yes, exactly like yours," he snapped harshly. "While we're on the subject, you are not to touch the artifact, do you understand? Not under any circumstances."

Alice took a deep breath and nodded. Like she wanted to do anything with the wretched thing, anyways.


She was debronzed in 1895; only two years after HG Wells had joined the Warehouse, for assistance on an assignment. Claudia recalled Alice referencing the two doing some less-than-appropriate things while on missions, though she'd never inquired further. Alice's ventures were something she wasn't particularly anxious to hear about.

It was shortly after that she was reported as missing, along with a few artifacts. Claudia noticed one as Count St. Germain's pennant, an artifact that reduces aging considerably. Records once again stopped there, picking up ten years later, when she was recaptured and once again bronzed.

That makes twice, Claudia thought, but how did she get out again?


No leads, she said.

Impossible, she said.

But now she and Artie were pinned against the wall, looking into the eyes of a crazed man.

"Hello, Anderson…"