-3-
"J."
J. sits up with a start to find Andersen towering over him, looking particularly unhappy.
"What's... up... doc?"
Andersen's not in the mood for humor. "Where's ALiCE?"
J. lazily leans back in his chair and looks at the panel behind him. "She's not eating breakfast?"
"Would I be here if she was eating breakfast? It's 4 in the morning, J. And she's not here."
"Come on, Andersen. It's not like she just got up and walked out."
"You have the security tapes?"
J. reaches down for the tape and finds an empty VCR. "Crap," he mutters under his breath.
"What?" Andersen snaps.
"No tape. There's never no tape. Somebody checks every night. Someboy had to have taken it... intentionally."
Andersen looks ready to explode. "You have to be kidding me."
"Sorry, doc. No tape. No ALiCE. I don't know what to tell you."
"Where's K.?"
Their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a third person. Tall and white-haired, he towers over the two of them. With his dark hair and young-looking face, Andersen practically looks like a teenager next to the stranger. And J., red-haired and shorter, looks practically hobbit-like next to the two doctors.
"Dr. Andersen," the stranger announces with a flourish. "You called for me?"
"Yes, Dr. Mabuz, I..."
"...can't find your daughter?"
J. and Andersen stare at Mabuz.
"How did you know?" Andersen asks.
"I heard from a nurse doing checks. But then there's also this..."
Mabuz holds up the missing tape in a gloved hand, with the day's date clearly written in bold black markered letters on the tape's label. "Look what I found."
"Is she on it?" J. asks.
"Nope. Completely blank. I want it dusted for fingerprints, but I have a good idea already who might be behind this. I have another piece of news that'll likely tie this whole mess together a little more nicely for us."
"What that?" Andsersen asks.
"K. is missing. Didn't do his patient checks. Now I may be going out on a limb here, but I think it's safe to say, doc, that your daughter's run off with the tech support."