Two

Deryn ran swiftly past the zoo's clock tower and through the east tunnel, heading toward the building which housed the boffin's offices and laboratories.

Almost no one was there as she hurried up the stone steps to the society's main entrance.

She hoped Alek wouldn't do anything stupid while she was gone. It seemed he was always getting into some sort of trouble and it was usually she who had to rescue him. It was getting barking tiring.

Deryn pushed through the doors and hurried down the hall to Dr. Barlow's office. The building was quite fancy with fabricated wood paneled walls and glowworm lamps. In some ways it reminded her of the Leviathan.

Her days aboard the airship were over though. And as much as she missed that time spent scurrying about topside, Deryn found she enjoyed her new life quite a bit, too.

At least she didn't have to worry every minute about someone uncovering her secret.

Deryn finally reached Dr. Barlow's office and rapped politely on the door. Last time she'd forgotten to, barging in on some important conversation she'd been having with another boffin. Dr. Barlow had not been pleased.

"Who is it?" the boffin's voice came from the other side of the door.

"It's me, Dylan, Ma'am. I need to ask you something."

"Mr. Sharp? Come in then."

As Deryn stepped into the room, Dr. Barlow looked up from her work and smiled.

Tall windows behind her desk let the last rays of sunlight slip into the office. On either side of the room were bookcases crammed with all sorts of scientific-looking books, a variety of glass containers, and metal instruments. Even to Deryn some of the substances in the jars looked a bit disgusting. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw one of them move. . .

The boffin cleared her throat. Deryn immediately snapped her attention back to Dr. Barlow. She couldn't let herself get distracted.

"Hello, Mr. Sharp. What was it you wanted?"

"Um, well, remember that new fab you've been working on?"

She nodded.

"Well we-Alek and I- were wondering of you wanted us to feed it."

"What do you mean? The rabbit is still in my laboratory and as you know I don't permit anyone but myself to handle it."

The boffin looked at her curiously.

"But, Ma'am! I saw it in one of the cages by the llamas. The rabbit can't be in your lab!"

It didn't make sense. The creature that she and Alek had clearly seen with the other animals was, according to Dr. Barlow, still in her lab. Deryn hoped it was just a prank one of the zoo's employees was playing. She could think of several people who were likely to do something of the sort.

" I'm afraid that's not possible, Mr. Sharp. You and Alek must be mistaken. Someone would have had to move the rabbit to the zoo, and for an intruder to gain access to it, he would have to get past not only a locked door, but also my two birds. Who, I might add, are quite loud. I'm certain I would have heard them."

Deryn gripped the edge of the desk, her knuckles pale.

"Ma'am, that rabbit was not there yesterday. Someone has to have moved it since you were last in your lab. There's no other way it could have gotten in that cage."

Dr. Barlow sighed as she rose to her feet, gathering her skirts in her hand.

"Perhaps we'd better take a look," she said and snapped her fingers at her loris. It and Bovril had been quietly listening from the windowsill. Both quickly moved from their perch, Bovril climbing on to Deryn's shoulder and the other loris onto Dr. Barlow's.

The boffin lifted her hat from her desk and adjusted it on her head.

"I certainly hope this is just a misunderstanding, Mr. Sharp," she said, "because even if it were only a joke, someone could be seriously harmed. That rabbit is quite poisonous."

Deryn froze halfway between the desk and the door. She felt a lump begin to rise in her throat.

"It is, Ma'am?" she asked softly.

"Yes, and if one didn't know it was poisonous, it could easily be mistaken for a harmless rabbit."

Deryn groaned. " Oh no. I left Alek alone with it! He's bound to get into trouble."

She could imagine him getting bored waiting for her to return and perhaps reaching out a hand toward it. . . Of course not knowing it was lethal. Alek had become much more comfortable around the fabrications; there was a good chance he wouldn't be afraid of it. He had seemed a bit wary around it though. Maybe he'd leave it alone.

Then again he might not.

Deryn made her decision. "I've got to warn him," she said, rushing toward the door.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Sharp," Dr. Barlow said, resting a hand on her arm. "I'm sure Alek will be just fine; he's not an idiot. Now, why don't we go and see if the rabbit really is missing from my lab. Will that be alright?"

The boffin looked into her face.

"Aye, it will." Deryn let out an exasperated sigh. She knew the boffin was right not to worry, but she couldn't help it. The rabbit was in that cage after all. If Dr. Barlow would just hurry. . .

Bovril seemed to sense Deryn's annoyance, flattening its ears and hunching its shoulders as they walked quickly down the hallway.

The lab rooms were in the basement of the building. They walked past countless office doors, and turned several corners to reach the elevator which would take them below ground.

It was a typical pneumatic elevator, worked by an elevator operator, and one of the few Clanker machines that the Darwinists actually used. Deryn had to admit it was a lot faster than running up or down the stairs.

"The basement, if you please," Dr. Barlow said as they entered the contraption.

The doors closed as the man pushed some buttons and the elevator began to move. They smoothly descended, finally coming to a stop at the bottom.

At least twenty feet below ground, it would make it a squick difficult for anyone to be snooping about the labs.

But someone obviously had been, Deryn thought to herself.

It seemed to take ages, but at last they reached Dr. Barlow's laboratory. The boffin quickly checked the door handle; it was shut fast.

She turned to Deryn. "It appears, Mr. Sharp," she said, "that the door is still locked. If someone really did, as you claim, break into my lab and remove the hare, then he must have been in possession of a key. And, as I have the only copy, I don't see how anyone could have."

Deryn was becoming a bit annoyed. "Ma'am," she said, letting out a sigh and gesturing at the door, "will you please just open it?'

The boffin raised an eyebrow. "Very well, Mr. Sharp," she replied, finally pulling out a key and inserting it into the lock.

It opened with a soft click and they entered the room to the raucous cries of Dr. Barlow's parrots.