Author's note: Dudeskies, I have bad news for all of you. I don't know if you remember, but I store all my stories and progress in an USB, Well guess what? My stupid brother broke it in half. That was last week, I can stress how much Pissed I am. All the progress that I had achieved during the last month for this chapter, gone and just when I was about to upload it, I just needed to wrap up the ending –of both the chapter and the scene of Alice confronting Radcliffe- All my hard work gone, Alongside my notes and source material. Now I have to look for them all over again!
But here's the thing I didn't wanted any more delays for this update, so since the start of this week I began the rewriting of this chapter. Obviously his length is nowhere near as it used to be. It was longer than 11 pages and this one is barely 4 pages long. But I said fuck it, the story is not progressing fast enough for my liking, so let's release whatever is that I have complete at the moment to keep it rolling forward.
I've decided that I'll no longer be writing moderately long chapters that take me 1 or 2 months to have ready. Instead I'll be releasing snippets of whatever progress I manage to achieve to make sure the story keeps going on. Let me tell you why; well for this chapter, I had Alice confrontation with Radcliffe, then Shepard's thoughts of the events in last chapter, then Alice back in wonderland having a chit-chat with Cheshire in how to return back to the Normandy, then back with Shepard in the middle of Grunt recruitment and then Alice hooking up with him and both finishing the rest of the mission. BUT ALL OF THAT IS GONE! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKK KKKKKKKKKKK!
Frustration doesn't begin to describe the feeling.
Anyway, right now I'm just delivering Alice confrontation with Radcliffe, since it was made in a rush, you may feel it a little plain and way too fast-paced. Hell, I don't even know if the dialogues and behaviors are in character. But I don't care, as I said I want to move the story forward. So please bear it with me. I don't want people nagging me about it being too short or if the characters seem OC. Any grammatical errors on the other hand, send me mp's to tell me about them alongside the proper spelling so I can make the corrections. With nothing else for the moment, let's keep this rolling.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing all belongs to EA.
CHAPTER 9
HAND OVER THE GOODIES
It was late in the afternoon when Alice finally arrived at Radcliffe's residence. The dimly rays of the setting sun painted the city of London in a golden orange hue. From her location on a nearby alley, Alice, surreptitiously -as to not draw unwanted attention- peered on both sides of the, almost, desolate street to ensure she would not be spotted by prying eyes.
Fast and light as a ghost, she emerged from her hiding spot and crossed to the other side of the street; quickly she went through the metal gateway and gained access inside Radcliffe's front lawn. The young maiden made a bee-line towards the main porch and tried to open the door as silently as she could, unwilling to make her presence known. Unfortunately for Alice and despite her best efforts; the old mahogany door opened with a loud creak that resonated through the whole interior of the residence, making her nerves cringe as result. So much for taking the stealthy approach, it would seem.
Luckily for her, there was no immediate response to her slip. Seeing the lack of reaction to her -not so quiet- entrance, it would appear that the old lawyer either wasn't at home or he didn't notice the sudden break of silence. Alice opted for the second option and presumed that the fat miser must be locked in his study, going through his notes or working in a case or another, as usual, hence why he didn't get wind of her brief lapse in stealth; fine by her.
She proceed to go up the stairwell, there Alice laid her eyes on the numerous artifactsthat Radcliffe had on display, hanging from the walls and circling the stairwell. Treasures and relics from faraway lands on the east, time and again Alice had to bear the boastings of the fat lawyer on how he managed to acquire such valuable objects, praising his cleverness of employing less than reputable means to satiate his obsession with the east. Although he usually didn't phrase it like that, he preferred to say that he made use of the employ of bold and ambitious entrepreneurs. But he didn't fool anybody; no sane person would depart from such marvelous treasures willingly, only to sell them to the highest bidder.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Alice made her way towards the lawyer's office. She began to hear the faint sound of scribbling when she approached the door. Meaning that Radcliffe was, indeed, locked in his office; she allowed herself a moment of self-satisfaction at her accurate guess before turning the knob.
The Lawyer was surprised at her sudden entrance "Alice? What you're doing here, girl? It's quite late for visits." he said from his seat behind his desk, leaving his work on the various documents that were scattered around him. Oddly enough, Alice old stuffed rabbit was sitting close to the lawyer on one of the desk's corners.
Alice closed the door behind her before replying "I'm sorry to bother you at this hour Mr. Radcliffe. But I found myself in dire need of your help"
"Yes, I know." he said setting down his pen "I have heard the news Alice. The police came by in the morning and informed me of what you did. They said you killed old Mrs. Witless" he said with suspicion.
Alice sighed, faking weariness. She already knew that this encounter with Radcliffe will only have one conclusion, but for now she would play along. She had all the time in the world. "It wasn't my intention. She tried to hurt me and I was scared. All I could think of was that I wanted to get her off me. So I kicked her… I never expected that she would fall off the roof" she said pretending to be distressed, babbling a little to make her act more believable.
"Well then, I guess it's a good thing that you came to me for help." Said Radcliffe, removing his glasses to clear them a little with his handkerchief "If what you say is true; then I think we could pledge self-defense to keep you out of the Gaol. But sadly, this doesn't look well for your probation"*
"They are going to send me back to Rutledge, don't they?" said Alice, visibly stiffening, her voice getting a hard edge.
"Now, now, I'm sure it would not be that bad. Just a small time under observation, to ensure you are not traumatized after such harrowing experience" Replied Radcliffe in an attempt to calm her down.
Alice kept rejecting that idea however. "No, I fear if I go back to the Asylum I would never be able to come out again. Running seems like a more appealing option"
The old man released a tired sigh "C'mon Alice, think for a moment in what you're doing. Running from your problems would not help you to solve anything. On the contrary it would only make them grow even more. It would be best if you surrender yourself to the police" he advised in an almost condescending tone.
But Alice was stubborn in her decision "I'm sorry Mr. Radcliffe, but I'm afraid I'll have to insist" she said moving her head sideways "So if you won't mind? I would really appreciate that you give me back my parent's wills alongside my rabbit. I'm in a hurry so I need to be on my way"
Radcliffe's hand, absentmindedly settled on top of the stuffed animal in a possessive way. The old man was not willing to agree with Alice's request "What are you talking about?" for a moment he was stupefied by the young woman request, but then he regain his coolness and grew displeased "How dare you?" He replied back to her with annoyance "With what nerve you dare to come here and demand that I surrender…" but his tantrum was abruptly stopped when Alice drew out her knife from her clothes in a swift motion and slide it down the Lawyer's throat. It was so fast, so sudden that his brain had difficulty to keep up with the changing situation and required a few seconds for the whole gravity to sink in. And when it did, it came in the form of a cold shiver on his spine and a horrible feeling of dread setting in the pit of his stomach.
"A… Alice? What?-What is this?—what are you doing girl?" he gasped in desperation with barely contained fear.
"Sorry, Wilton… But you're assuming that you have any say in this matter when you're not" the girl said all too sweetly. Her features then became abruptly harsh "Let us be honest for a moment Radcliffe. You never really cared a dime about me; you only pretended to care because of my family money. I could tell, even a blockhead would had taken notice" She stated, the image of her family and Nan appearing in his mind, and oddly enough that of Shepard, which leaved her a little surprised "You were never really much gentle in your attempts to goad me into making big expenses, as I recall" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Alice… please that's not true… It's always been my job to safeguard you and watch over your interests" the old man whispered, eying the knife under his chin nervously.
"Oh! Spare me the excuses" Alice snapped back, not convinced in the least. "If you really cared about my wellbeing, you would not be so adamant to send me back to the Asylum. For all your pretensions at ignorance, I know you're not so blind to the things that happen inside those walls" She pressed the knife even harder into Radcliffe's skin, almost drawing blood, eliciting a whimper of pain from the lawyer's throat. "Now I would advise you to be so kind as to comply. That way I can be off sooner and we may both be able to leave this nasty little affair behind us"
Despite his serious predicament, the fat lawyer was still not willing to give into Alice's demands and tried once more to persuade her "Please Alice! I beg you to reconsider! Cease this madness and…" but once more his ramblings were cut short. This time in a more brutal fashion because Alice, in one swift motion, used her knife to nail his left hand on the desk surface. Waves of pain exploded from the old man's hand, but he was frozen by shock and unable to scream. Only pitiful shrieks were all that was able to escape from his throat at first, and then after his vocal cords began to respond once more, the lawyer erupted in a fit of desperate screams.
Alice allowed him a few seconds of panic to indulge him, but she quickly grow bored of his bellowings. So she mercilessly leaned her weight over the knife's handle to force the fat lawyer to shut up "Now, I hope this little demonstration was enough to prove the conviction of my words" she whispered in his ear "I expect you are willing to follow my commands now? It would be much easier for you if you did. Otherwise I may have to get creative" she threatened, playing with the knife's grip by making twisting motions that caused the blade to vibrate.
"Alice!… Please!" cried Radcliffe through clenched teeth; sweating profusely, bead after bead fell from his forehead and trailed all the way down his neck.
Alice response was to completely give a twist to the knife in her grip. This elicited a new wave of screams from the Lawyer. "I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT!" He managed to cry through his hysterics.
Alice perked up immediately at that response "Okey-Dokey" she said with a happy face and proceed to remove the knife from Radcliffe's hand. The fat lawyer whimpered again at feeling the sting and immediately jerked his injured hand back to him; he used his other healthy hand to press his handkerchief on the wound.
"Well don't you just stand there, Chop-Chop! Carry on with it!" Alice ordered quite pushily.
The old man didn't replied and instead he just focused on following her orders. He rose from his seat with difficulty and moved towards the framed picture on the end wall of his study with an air of defeat; Alice following behind him to ensure he dared not to try any trick. He set the paint aside to reveal a safe on the wall, Very cliché.
Radcliffe made the usual turns on the dial to unlock the safe and soon enough it was left wide open. He promptly collected the requested documents and hand them over to Alice. "There you have it" he said with disdain "Hope you're happy now. Now get out here and leave me be" he demanded, tending back to his wound.
"No need to tell me twice" she replied giving a quick scan over the documents to check their authenticity "I've worn out my welcoming anyway. Don't worry I'll show myself to the door" She spun around back to the exit, her business here done.
Yet there were still a couple of things to take care off first. She went back to Radcliffe's desk and cut off the telephone line with her knife, that way she ensured that the old man did not call the police after she was gone. She was sure that Radcliffe would eventually tip her off to the cops, but the longer he delayed, the better it was for her. She then proceed to collect her rabbit, but stopped and turned to address Radcliffe one last time, just when she was about to grab the fluffy creature leaving her hand hovering over the rabbit's head.
She released a sigh before speaking "You know Wilton, despite the way our relationship has come to an end. I do not want us to part ways in such awful circumstances. I never wished any harm to befall over you, yes hard to believe after I've just stabbed you. I had no choice really; you tried to take the hard gained earnings of my family away from me. You became greedy so I had to step in. But there was once a time when I cared about you, as a friend, as someone to look up to, as an exemplar and I believe you too truly cared for me at some point. But somehow we became apart and turned distant, and then this… I blame my inheritance for what has happened; it has brought me nothing but trouble since day one."
Alice completely turned and looked at the older lawyer straight to his eyes "But is useless to lament over the past. I just want you to know that I store no harsh feelings for you, only pity. And I hope you see the errors of your ways and return to the path of rectitude. Goodbye Mr. Radcliffe, I wish you a long and happy life, we will never see each other again. Have a nice evening." And with that she grabbed her bunny and exit through the door, leaving the old injured man alone with his thoughts.
She ran without knowing for how long, the only thought in her mind was to get away as far as she could from Radcliffe's home. She only stopped when she realized that somehow she had reached one of the strolling cruises that ran along the Thames River. Seeing that it was a little late, she decided to look for a place where to spend the night. She opted to try one of the aqueducts that ended pouring their streams on the river, seeing as they were the closest that she could think of as a safe spot.
She quickly made her way down on one of the moats and entered inside one of the big tunnels that conformed London's main sewer system. What a pleasant smell did she discovered in there. Whatever cravings she had to grab something to bite for having spent a whole day without eating anything, were gone the moment her nostrils became assaulted by such disagreeable smell.
For a moment she considered the idea of turning back and search for another place, but she was tired of an entire day of walking and running, and had not the strength to carry on further. This sewer gave her the so much needed protection from the police, which was essential if she wanted to doze off. So without further ado, she plopped over a reasonable dry corner, but just when she was about to be taken by the sweet embrace of dream. The rabbit in her arms suddenly decided to became quite animated.
"You're always taking me to the nicest of places" he said with heavy sarcasm "First the Asylum and now a foul and stinky little sewer. Oh! Joy of joys" the little puppet said pointing at his surroundings with a pudgy arm "And you're late- as always, sure you like to take your sweet time. I was getting so tired of putting up with that fat grubber attitude. Has anybody told you that punctuality is a virtue?"
That was the last thing Alice became aware of, before she was enveloped in darkness. Finally gaining some rest and leaving behind the waking world...
only to return back to wonderland.
*I really don't know if people that have been released from an Asylum have probation time. I guess they must, or if not I'm sure there must be a survey and observation time over the patient to help him in his acclimatization at returning to society.
OK, there you have it. I hope it was reasonable entertaining, I had many troubles in this part because I suffered from writer's block and couldn't think well in how to unfurl this section. The fact that I lost all my progress and had to write it in a rush didn't do wonders either. But I hope it was of your liking, sorry if it wasn't. As I said gotta keep the show going on.
Hope to read your reviews and be on the lookout for the next snippets I'll release next week. That's right next week. I work much better when I just focus over the little pieces. Writing a 10k words chapter long, makes me nervous and giddy and gives me so much stress that I get mind-blocked with such frequency. But worrying only in something little makes me feel relaxed and allows me to pay attention to details, because I don't have to worry in anything else. So have a nice weekend and I'll read you lot next week.