"Our apologies Miss Radwinski, we didn't realize that your guest was on her way," one of the men said and Lola pinked up in anger.
"I did try to tell you," she said just as the other man spoke.
"We'll get out of your hair." They both smoothly stood up and tipped their hats at us as they filed out of the room. Lola shut the door fiercely and locked it behind them. I waited until I had heard them go all the way down the stairs before I turned to her.
"What just happened?" I asked.
"They're detectives from America looking for Al. One of the ladies at the church told them to ask me about him," she said, and I realized that it was the second part she was most angry about.
"Are you okay?" I asked, and she gave me a look.
"I'm angry. Just because I'm Jewish and I spend my time with Al doesn't make me any less than them," she said as she thumped around the room.
"I meant physically. Personally, I think you have every right to be angry," I said, and her shoulders drooped slightly.
"Sorry it just hasn't been easy since my folks died." I nodded in sympathy.
"I get it," I said, and she looked up at me, studying me carefully before she must have seen the truth in my words. I wasn't sure how, but anyone who had ever lost parents could identify each other without really needing to say it out loud.
"I don't know what I'm going to do when Al leaves," she said softly as she flumped down on the chaise. I sat next to her. "He's going to have to if the pigs are sniffing around here."
"You could go with him," I suggested, and she shook her head.
"He's got other girls there. I don't want to have to compete," she said and sighed deeply. "I don't want to stay here though."
"You could go somewhere else," I said, and she scoffed slightly.
"Where?" I shrugged.
"Anywhere." She gave me another look. "Really all you need to do is pick a place and go."
"I've got family in Winnipeg," she said slowly, and I smiled.
"That sounds like a perfect jumping off point to anywhere," I said, and she laughed.
"I know that you're a world traveler, but I just want to properly settle in somewhere," she said. I gave her another smile and reached over to squeeze her hand.
"Then that sounds like a great place to settle in." She smiled up at me before she reached up and quickly swiped away a few tears.
"We'd best be getting ready," she said and reached up to move my hair around slightly, like she was considering and discarding different styles in her head. "We wouldn't want to be late."
"No, we definitely wouldn't," I agreed and let her pull me towards a chair in front of a vanity. She hummed a song under her breath as she carefully ran a comb through my curls and started pinning them to one side. I wasn't sure what look she was going for, but I decided to trust her because I was certainly out of my depth.
"There," Lola said a few minutes after I'd let my eyes slip shut. I opened them and saw that she had dragged all my curls to one side of my head so that they all rested in a wild mess just behind my right ear. Somehow it made me look a little mysterious.
"Lola you've outdone yourself," I said, and she smiled sweetly while fluffing a few more curls.
"Your hair did most of it," she said. "I'd kill to have natural curls like this."
"They're deceptively irritating," I said, and she laughed.
"Isn't that how it always is?" I laughed as well. She gave one of my curls another gentle fluff. "My mother had curly hair."
"I got mine from my grandmother, I think. Don't ask me which one though, my parents could never agree," I said with a smile. She gave me a smile before bending over slightly and wrapping her arms around my shoulders in a quick hug.
"Let's head downstairs," she said as she drew away and I got up after her and followed her down the stairs. The old man was gone from the front counter and Lola gave the street a discreet sweep once we stepped out. She was probably looking for the two American agents, so I helpfully scanned the street as well even though I hadn't gotten a very good look at them.
"You Brits don't have Prohibition, do you?" Lola asked, and I shook my head.
"We don't. It would never pass parliament. Too many upper-class snobs," I said, and Lola laughed.
"I can imagine." We approached a door and Lola gave another quick glance over both shoulders before she gave a complicated knock and the door slid open slightly. Lola flashed them a dazzling smile and the door opened all the way. She sashayed through the door and pulled me in along behind her. "Don't worry Sammy she's with me."
"He seems nice," I said as I carefully skirted the frowning, gargantuan man and wondered idly if he was the same Sammy that had alerted Al about our police box.
"He does his job," Lola said, and I raised my eyebrow.
"I hope intimidation is his job because he does a very good job." Lola laughed and waved to Al over the crowd. I followed her as she made her way towards him because I hadn't seen the Doctor yet and took the drink that Lola handed me that she had acquired from somewhere without protest. I took a sip and coughed immediately at the strength of it.
"I knew the liquor would kill you," the Doctor said dryly from next to me as he patted my back gently and pulled the glass out of my hand.
"It certainly put up a good attempt," I said roughly. The Doctor held out another glass to me.
"Water I swear." I took a grateful sip. "You look breathtaking by the way."
"You're just saying that because I managed to stay out of trouble," I said, and he laughed.
"Only partly," he said as he leaned to sweep a kiss over my temple. I sent him a sideways look while I took another sip of water.
"You're getting pretty loose with those brilliance kisses," I noted. He smiled at me.
"Maybe I am," he said with an eyebrow raise. I smiled as well and decided that I wouldn't put up a fuss about it since they were lovely to receive. "Al looks serious."
"Mhm. Two American's were asking Lola about him when I got to her room," I said, and the Doctor frowned down at me.
"I thought that you said you stayed out of trouble," he said. I shrugged.
"They left the instant I got there, so I don't think it counts as being in trouble," I said.
"Who's playing fast and loose with the rules now?" He asked, and I beamed at him.
"Me," I said and pointed a finger at my chest. He laughed just as Lola came back.
"Emma would you mind dancing with me for a moment?" Lola asked, and I shook my head as I handed the Doctor his glass back.
"I'd love to." She led me out to the middle of the dance floor and we danced the jitterbug together. I was very rusty as it had been a long time since Dad and I had danced together in the living room.
I wasn't sure how long we had been dancing for when I looked up and realized that Al had disappeared, and I was about to ask Lola where he had gone when there was a tremendous crash from above us and everyone froze.
"RAID!" Someone shouted just as there was another tremendous crash and a few dozen policemen spilled into the room, guns drawn. Everyone scattered like ants and Lola shoved me hard towards a wall.
"Go!" She cried, and we took off as I threw a glance over my shoulder to see if the Doctor was okay. I caught sight of him whipping his head around desperately.
"Emma!" He called as his eyes landed on me just as Lola had opened a secret door and ushered me through.
"TARDIS!" I called back as the door closed between us and I jumped as a gun went off. "Shit he is going to panic so much."
"It'll be worse if we get arrested," Lola said as we started jogging through the tunnel as fast as we could manage in our shoes. I could still hear shouts and loud thuds echoing behind us.
"Do you think they'll break down the walls?" I asked, even though I was sure I didn't want to know the answer. Lola went pale and grabbed my hand.
"I don't know," she said, and I couldn't tell which one of us had shuddered at her words. We kept going until I finally saw a light ahead of us that got brighter just as we reached it as Al swung the door open and held out a hand to Lola.
"Thank God Al," Lola said as he lifted her out of the tunnel. I scrambled out after her without waiting for one of Al's men to offer me a hand.
"You alright Lola?" He asked, and she nodded as she threw her arms around him.
"Just shaken." Al looked up at me and I nodded as well. One of the men cleared his throat.
"We need to go." Lola pulled away from him.
"You running for the border?" She asked, and he nodded. "I'm not coming."
"Lola-"
"No Al. I'm going to Winnipeg. I'll be happy there," she said. Al studied her for a moment before he nodded.
"Let me take you as far as Regina." Lola nodded in agreement to Al's request before she turned slightly to look at me.
"Don't worry about me. Just go," I said, and Lola hesitated. "I'm serious. I've got my own way out and I can't leave without the Doctor. You guys go."
"Let's go," Al said after he had given me a nod and they all took off down the street. I wrapped my hand around my TARDIS key and studied the street to see if I could figure out which way I needed to go. The last thing I needed right now was to bump into a police officer coming out of a speakeasy that they had just raided, considering I was covered with dust from the tunnel.
"I should have gotten the Doctor to put a reverse homing beacon in for me," I muttered to myself as I set off in the direction that I was hoping was correct. I'd only made it about a block and a half before I slammed into the Doctor.
"Emma!" He cried in relief as he steadied me, so I didn't hit the ground. "You're bleeding." I looked down at my knee and realized that there was in fact blood trickling down my leg.
"I must have cut it getting out of the tunnel. I was too impatient to wait for help," I said, and he groaned as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. I held up a hand to stop him. "Is there any kind of historical significance to that handkerchief?"
"None whatsoever," he confirmed. I dropped my hand.
"Carry on then." He knelt down in front of me and carefully wrapped the handkerchief over my cut so that I wouldn't keep bleeding down my leg before he fished out another one to wipe up the rest of the blood.
"I'll give it a proper patch job once we get back to the TARDIS," he said after he finished and stood up.
"So, I was going the right way?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes.
"Emma your sense of direction is the worst," he said, and I laughed.
"Finally, something that you think is worse than my sense of self preservation," I teased.
"Well I wouldn't go that far," he said.
"Hey!"