Chapter 7

The Second Encounter with the British Government

Mycroft stared at the girl in front of him, face carefully neutral.

"Nice to see you again." She smiled and signaled to the waiter to fill her wine glass with whatever Mycroft was drinking.

"I still don't condone underage drinking." Mycroft said scathingly. He recognized her voice. Her accent was still intact even after living in London for more than two years. Mycroft dismissed the waiter after she received her glass.

She had made an effort to try and look older, her makeup and height fooled most people, but not him.

"I don't condone people breaking their diets." She looked pointedly at his plate. "But I don't suppose you'll exchange that foie gras for something less fatty, so both of us will have to look the other way."

Alice locked eyes with him before raising her glass and taking a small sip, daring him to object, but he just watched her. She'd grown taller, dyed her hair blonde and was wearing colored contacts. Her nose and cheekbones looked different but he could see no sign of surgery, which meant make up and prosthetics.

He narrowed his eyes. "You've changed."

Alice tightened her grip on her glass. "I had to." She raised it against the light and watched the liquid swirl around. "But you haven't."

"I don't need to evade facial recognition technology or surveillance networks." He only looked down to cut through his perfectly cooked steak.

"Of course you don't. You control it all." She lowered her glass to take another sip, smiling over the rim. "Or so you think."

"You've been busy." Mycroft said after a beat of silence.

"More than you know." Alice smirked. "In fact, I'm here because a little bird told me you were interested in reclaiming this." Alice placed a black key card on the table.

Mycroft acted uninterested, but he had been looking for that key card. It was reported missing according to protocol when the person responsible for it didn't arrive to work that day. That was 12 hours ago, too much time for it to end up in the wrong hands. He needed it back so urgently that he was even considering going to Sherlock for help.

"How's Sherlock?" Alice suddenly changed the subject.

"Who wants to know? You or Moriarty?"

"I might pass your answer on to Jim, he does enjoy a bit of gossip. Especially if Sherlock is involved." Alice took another sip from her glass, but after a brief look at the remaining amount, pushed it away.

"I don't think Sherlock has changed drastically since you saw him last– three days ago. He is busy with your game," Mycroft said.

"As he should be," she said sharply.

"That's why you bothered to retrieve the key. To have my little brother all to yourself."

"As much as I would have liked to watch your precious operation crash, we all have to make sacrifices." She placed her hand over the card, preventing him from reaching over and take it. "No distractions, Mr. Mycroft, that's the price."

"May I offer a counterproposal?" Mycroft put down the knife and fork, prepared to bargain with her. He knew she wanted something more out of Sherlock, even though she already had the detective running around London doing whatever she wanted.

"No, my offer is too good as it is," Alice leaned back in her chair, drumming her fingers over the card. "I'm not asking for much, all I want is for you to step back and don't ask Sherlock to solve any cases for you."

Mycroft leaned back in his chair as well, keeping his eyes on hers.

The silence lasted until Alice broke it with a laugh. "I can always rely on you to choose a bunch of strangers over your own brother." She stood with a smile. "It's been delightful doing business with you, Mycroft. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Mycroft clenched his jaw. She knew he was going to accept before he said anything. The first time he met her, he'd thought her harmless– just a talented oddity working on the wrong side. His hand on the table clenched into a fist. He should have snatched her out of Moriarty's grip when he had the chance.

Now he was too late. Mycroft could see the consulting criminal in the girl's stance and stare. He wondered if the fidgety and insecure girl he met months ago still existed under this new cold and calculating personality. Mycroft watched as Alice made her way to the exit. She held her phone in one hand and her unfinished wine glass in the other.

"I see Moriarty is not as accepting as you thought. Are you finding his standards harder to meet?" He saw her stop, shoulders tense. "Those pills are only a temporary solution, Alice. What do you think will happen when he discovers your little secret?"

Alice turned slowly and squared her shoulders, tensed like a coiled spring. "Is that a threat?" she said.

Mycroft raised an eyebrow. "Does it need to be?"

Her face twisted into a furious scowl. "Have a pleasant evening, Mr. Holmes," she snapped.

Mycroft smiled as he watched her retreat. If she could still be thrown by such a simple deduction, then the old Alice could still be reached. That brought some relief, even more than the precious key card safe in his chest pocket.

His mistake was not irreversible.

/

The way back to the car at the restaurant's rear entrance was a blur to Alice. She remembered walking fast through the kitchen, the cooking staff rushing to avoid collisions, placing herself her half empty wine glass in the steam washing machine and turning it on, but after that it was a complete blank until she found herself seated in the back of the car.

Alice kept repeating the scene in her mind as she gazed out the tinted window. Mycroft's words shouldn't have affected her, but she was still struggling to stop her hands from shaking. She hadn't ever been good at identifying her own emotions, and right now it felt like trying to separate a big tangle of cables. She felt scared and ashamed his words effected on her, then anger that he could see through her, even for a brief second.

Jim always told her Mycroft would try to steal her. He warned her Mycroft would try to use her against him. She had thought herself immune, but a couple of sentences proved her wrong. Maybe Jim's decision to minimize her interaction with Mycroft was correct. The idea of failing Jim sent a cold shiver down her spine.

Alice's breathing quickened and she squeezed her eyes shut. She had worked so hard to leave that weak girl behind. She had gotten help to make sure the transition was irreversible. She creamed in frustration and unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches against the soft leather back of the front seat. Her energy depleted, Alice fell back against the bench, hair wild and breathing hard. If Irene could see her now, she would be very disappointed. Alice rubbed her neck in an futile attempt to dislodge the knot forming there. She wanted to blame her stinging eyes on exhaustion, but knew that would be unfair to her late mentor.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Queen's 'Don't stop me now,' Jim's ringtone. Alice quickly checked her reflection in her compact to make herself presentable again, combing her fingers through her hair and retouching her makeup. Holding her phone in front of her and cracking her most convincing smile, she answered it.

"Hello, Puppy!" Jim said. By the background, he was in a car as well. "How was your meeting with the Iceman?"

"He agreed to the terms. No need to modify the plan." Jim hated it when the reports were too long.

"Good." For a moment, he looked pleased, but his expression soon changed to one of irritation.

Alice was used to Jim's unpredictable mood swings. She also knew he hadn't just called to hear about her meeting.

"The Stiglieri Brothers are falling behind. I need you to oversee their work, you always manage to get them back on track."

Alice contained a groan but her fake smile faltered a bit. "I'll pay them a visit. They will meet their deadline."

"See to it." Jim hung up without a farewell, as usual.

With a tired sigh, she notified the driver of their new destination and dropped the phone on the seat next to her. Alessandro and Leonardo Stiglieri were a handful, but the best in their field. She was starting to believe they delayed work on purpose so Jim would send her to scold them. The first time she met them she had learned that their mouths worked fast but their hands were faster, and sometimes her glares were not enough to make them drop their useless efforts to flirt with her. Alice pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing again, she needed to be fully alert.

Checking her watch, Alice realized she had been awake for 42 hours straight. It wasn't even close to her personal record, but she would need the extra burst to stay sharp. She took out her silver pill case and picked a big white capsule, swallowing it with water from the mini-fridge. That should be enough for another 4 to 6 hours. She returned to staring out the window. It was a matter of minutes before she felt its effects. Aside from the initial rush that made her body temperature and blood pressure rise, she enjoyed the feeling of being fully alert and working at full capacity, even if the effects only lasted for a few hours.

Mycroft's words echoed in her mind, "Those pills are only a temporary solution, Alice."

They became louder and louder and she didn't notice her hands squeezing and twisting the empty water bottle on her lap. How did he know about the pills? No one except Sebastian knew about them. She was so careful to keep them hidden, especially from Jim. If Mycroft could tell, did that mean that Jim could, too?

Her gloves suddenly felt constricting, Alice yanked them off and threw them to the side. She rubbed her hands together before running her fingertips over the skull ring, seeking reassurance. It was a symbol Jim made sure his whole network knew. It meant she was Jim's planner, second only to his right-hand man, he gave it to her himself. And she would never stop proving to Jim she was worthy of it.

"You missed your chance, Mycroft."

joycelyn. : I loooved your review, I read it a bunch of times! You are right, this Sherlock is not very warm, /yet/ (I hope this doesn't count as an spoiler hehe). This chapter took almost forever to get right (my beta sure knows this), Alice is tough but has her insecurities that will continue to come up. It is going to be a long and agitated ride, isn't it fun?

Black Star 145885: Thank you for your review! I read it a bunch of times as well. I live for the little details, I spend a bunch of time trying to piece every little piece together. I'm glad someone notices it. If you thing this chapter has a lot of Mycroft wait until chapter 10 and 11. I changed those A LOT.