Chapter 7:
"Arguing With a Criminal"

July 28, 1915
Unknown Location

In her time aboard the Leviathan, Deryn had grown accustomed to a multitude of strange noises: the gurgles of Huxleys releasing hydrogen, the screeches of strafing hawks as their razor sharp talons tore through zeppelins, and the ferocious growls of Russian fighting bears hauling tonnes of cargo. None of these sounds had prepared her for the dreadful snores of Dr. Chester Sullivan. The man sounded as if he were trying to inhale bricks through his nostrils.

Deryn awoke on the floor in an empty room with her hands knotted tightly behind her back and a headache that instantly made her regret waking up. At least, she'd thought the room was empty. When she heard the wheezing of the boffin, who was lying on the floor next to her, she believed he was dying. After she saw the rise and fall of his chest, though, she stopped worrying about him and started debating whether she should smack him awake.

She knew she was neck-deep in clart. Of all the villains in the world, she had to have been abducted by barking Monkey Luddites. Insane Monkey Luddites. Of course, all those fab-hating anti-Darwinists were bonkers, but she'd never seen any of them kill someone before. Just the thought of it made her feel ill- but maybe that was just her head pounding.

She struggled to her knees. It was nearly impossible to move in her constricting gown, and with the added bonus of bound hands, it took her nearly a minute to gather her bearings. Thankfully she was wearing gloves, or the coarse ropes would surely be chafing away the skin on her wrists. With a sigh, she surveyed the room around her, taking in any possible escape routes.

The room had no windows or furnishings, and there was nothing remarkable about it except for a single metal door, which appeared to have several complicated locking mechanisms. Deryn supposed that trying to open it would be more pointless than trying to teach an elephantine to do the tango.

She glanced at the doctor, still snoozing away as if all was right with the world. Perhaps he would know a wee bit more about what was happening, or where they were, or what she had to do with some crew of heated Monkey Luddites.

"Doctor Sullivan," she whispered. If there were guards posted outside, she didn't want them to know she was awake. The boffin sighed contently and rolled over onto his back, revealing his pudgy belly. He was probably having the best dream of his life.

"Wake up," Deryn hissed a wee bit louder. Drool dripped from the corner of the renowned Dr. Chester Sullivan's mouth and puddled on the floor.

"Blisters," Deryn muttered, and inched closer to the boffin on her knees. She nudged him in the gut with the side of her left knee. He remained motionless. She groaned. This was just pure dead spectacular.

She was busy considering how things could possibly get any worse when the imposing steel door screeched open, revealing the deceitful, arrogant, backstabbing bum-rag Edward, who was wearing an extremely self-satisfied expression. Deryn noticed with pride that his nose was crooked and bruises had formed underneath his eyes. His nose must've broken when she'd smacked him with the back of her head. She hoped it still hurt.

Deryn resisted the urge to unleash a string of some very nasty curses. Remember, she told herself, you're a princess. Act like one. So instead she shot him her most scathing glare.

Edward turned and closed the door behind him with a grating squeal. Deryn heard several locks click into place and cursed herself- she'd been so busy staring daggers at him that she'd missed her opportunity to run.

"If looks could kill, I'd be lying dead on the floor right about now." Edward chided with a grin.

"How unfortunate it is that they do not." Deryn replied stonily. "Now that the trivialities are out of the way, I demand that you tell me where I am and what you could possibly need with me."

Edward looked down at her and stifled a laugh. "You demand? Oh, you poor, idiot princess, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. You've been abducted. You're not the one who makes demands. We are."

"I may be your captive," Deryn answered, "but I will not be insulted, not by a criminal. And what do you mean by 'we'?"

Edward ignored her question and approached her, bending down as if he were speaking to a child. "Criminal me outsmarted you, didn't he? Little old me stole a dance from you, led you down a dark hallway, and seduced you in the time it takes me to tie my laces." His dark eyes gleamed mischievously.

"You did not seduce me!" Deryn snapped, flustered. "I'd be more attracted to… to him than I would ever be to you!" She pointed at the drooling Dr. Sullivan, who had yet to stir despite the shouting match taking place before him. "Ugh! It's no use to argue with a criminal anyhow."

"Huh," Edward quipped with an amused expression. "I expected someone of royal caliber to have a bit more…class."

"How dare you speak to me of class after what you have done to me?" Deryn fumed. "You lied to me, drugged me, tied me up, and locked me in a room with no explanation at all!" Her cheeks flushed with anger. "You… you made me think that you were kind. You made me think that you wanted to help me, that you wanted nothing in return. I believed you, and you tricked me!"

Edward was silent for a moment. "Touché," he said finally. "I deny none of that. But I won't- no, I can't- apologize for it. What I believe in, what the Animal Liberation Brigade stands for, is more important than your feelings. And mine."

Deryn sighed. "Did you come in here to gloat, is that it? Well, take it in. Here I am, Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of Wales, tied up and at your mercy. I thought you were supposed to be out saving poor helpless beasties from evil Darwinists, but instead you're here, reveling in your successful kidnapping. Congratulations."

She had no intention of acting like some daft damsel in distress just because she had been abducted. Deryn had got herself into this mess, trusting this boy, and she knew she was capable of getting herself out of it. She just needed an opportunity.

"I am not here to gloat," Edward said back, "although now that I have I'm quite glad that I did. You do know that you're downright insufferable, correct? Is all royalty like that, or is it just you?"

"I don't think I'll dignify that offense with a response." Deryn said aloud, but she instantly thought of Alek and had to suppress a smile. When she'd first met him, she'd thought him far worse than insufferable.

"Like I said, I came here for a reason." Edward continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I came here to give you a warning. A man is about to come into this room and explain the situation that you're in. He's a very powerful man, the leader of our brigade, and he is quick to anger. It would be in your best interests to speak to him with respect."

"I shall never respect a man who commits murder on a whim." Deryn vowed, remembering the wails of the woman who had watched her husband die.

"Well then you should pretend to respect him. He isn't particularly fond of Darwinists, especially not royal female ones at that." Edward explained.

"What does my being female have anything to do with this?" She retorted. Edward sighed.

"You'll understand when you meet him. Just remember, don't speak to him the way you speak to me. For your own sake."

"And why, might I ask, do you care about my sake?" She asked pointedly.

"Well," Edward paused, as if racking his brains, "you're not a bad dancer." He smirked and glanced toward Dr. Sullivan, whose snores threatened to deafen the both of them.

"Good God," Edward muttered, "if the man weren't a scoundrel, I'd call for a doctor."

...

July 27, 1915
Dr. Sullivan's Private Villa

Everything felt extraordinarily...wrong to Alek ever since they'd left the villa. He, Dr. Barlow, and the Count had remained there for several hours after the evacuation, and Alek had re-entered to search for Deryn and Dr. Sullivan to no avail. To his surprise, even Volger had assisted him in the search- but it had been fruitless.

Eliot Vost had been right- the building was deserted. Not even the body of the man who had supposedly been shot and killed remained. Alek had expected to feel a sense of satisfaction- after all, the lack of a body had affirmed his suspicions- but all he felt was hollow.

It was Dr. Barlow who had finally convinced Alek that they should return to the Society.

"We can be of no help to Deryn if we stay here. I suspect her disappearance is related to this Animal Liberation Brigade. The best thing to do now would be to research this organization to discern their motives and location." She removed her bowler hat and smoothed her mussed hair with her opposite hand. "Aleksander, this is a disastrous situation. You cannot possibly place the blame on yourself. How could you have forseen this? None of us could have. Yesterday, none of us knew that the Animal Liberation Brigade existed."

Her tone was odd. Her usually robust voice was soft and low. He realized with some bewilderment that she sounded apologetic, as if she were trying to comfort him. Dr. Barlow must have felt a fair amount of guilt herself to be speaking to him so gently.

It was that moment that Alek realized how dire the situation truly was. Without further protest, he agreed to return to the Society.

No sooner than the moment they'd stepped into the grand entryway, Dr. Barlow was off. "I shall inform the royal family of the situation, and let them know that they should contact me should they receive any information or ransom regarding the Princess. Then the Count and I will investigate the intelligence files. I shall send a message lizard the moment we've discovered anything useful," she promised. "Aleksander, you should get some rest. It has been a long night." After a short moment of consideration, she added: "I'm suppose you have no intention of going to sleep. If you feel you must do something, check the historical archives- perhaps they might contain some useful information."

Count Volger gave Alek a stern look. "We both know Deryn Sharp. She's not the type to give in, as irritating as she may be. Wherever she is, whether she's an airman or a princess, I trust that she is quite capable of taking care of herself. You should do the same. Worrying about her will accomplish nothing."

Without giving time for Alek to respond, the Count turned on his heel and followed Dr. Barlow upstairs.

Of course everything the Count said was true. After all, Deryn was stronger than Alek- she'd won enough arm wrestling contests to prove that. She could outrun him, outgun him, and she was clever. She wasn't some "ninny in a skirt," as he was sure she'd put it. Deryn would surely call him a dumkopf and give him a well-deserved punch if she knew how terrified he was for her.

Alek took a deep breath and began heading for the archives.

He spent half an hour poring over a seven hundred page text about animal rights regulations before the the letters began to swim on the page and his head grew too heavy to hold up. He slept for a blissful five minutes until a message lizard scurried up the leg of his chair, startling him awake. Alek resisted the urge to leap out of the chair and run across the room. The small green lizards were harmless, but something about them still unsettled him.

"We've found something," chirped the lizard in Dr. Barlow's voice. Her voice was all business- back to normal, Alek supposed. He was glad. He'd have no idea how to speak to a worried, kindly Dr. Barlow. It would be far stranger than speaking to a message lizard. "Meet me in my office at once."

Alek took the stairs two at a time, and was sweating with exertion by the time he'd reached the doctor's quarters. He knocked once upon the imposing oak door, and without waiting for a reply, he let himself in.

Nora Barlow was sitting on her desk, rummaging through several files. Bovril was wearing her bowler hat, but the doctor didn't seem to mind. The Count stood nearby, intently staring at a black and white photograph. Neither of them had noticed Alek enter.

"Ah...Doctor Barlow? You said you found something?"

"Indeed," she confirmed. "The Animal Liberation Brigade was a branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Just as their spokesperson said. However, they were expelled from the society's ranks six years ago as a result of their extremist views regarding fabrication."

"Extremists? What, were their views that were so terrible they were expelled?" Alek wondered, taking a seat in one of the chairs before the doctor's desk. He tried not to look at the empty one, where Deryn had sat just yesterday.

"They staged a protest when a new breed of Tigeresques was discovered and unveiled at private Darwinist event. Their 'nonviolent protest,' as they put it, involved killing and skinning the four month-old fabrication."

"What?" Alek asked, perplexed and shocked. "I thought they were against animal cruelty!"

The Count held up from the photo he had been examining. "This man- the leader of the Brigade- does not believe that fabrications are animals. He believes they are abominations. Sins against humanity. He has a flair for the dramatically grotesque."

"Who is he?" Alek wondered, gazing at the picture. The man captured within the frame appeared to be giving a speech. He held his arms out dramatically, revealing strong shoulders and muscular arms for a man of his age- about fifty, Alek guessed. His brow was furrowed and the corners of his mouth were pulled down in a permanent frown. A thin white scar stretched from his nose to his left ear- Alek realized with shock that the top half of his ear was missing completely. His dark eyes stared accusingly at Alek as if he blamed him for the injury. He looked as if he wanted to condemn his crowd.

"Unfortunately, none of our information states his name. We simply know him to be the leader of this brigade." Dr. Barlow explained.

"Did he lose his ear when he killed that tigeresque?" Alek asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea," answered Dr. Barlow, just as Volger said, "No."

The doctor turned to the Count for an explanation. He obliged. "This photograph was taken five years ago, but the scar tissue is old. Too old to have come from an incident that occurred a year before the photo was taken."

"I see," Dr. Barlow mused. "Perhaps something happened during his childhood that led him to despise fabrications."

"Whatever happened to him," Alek responded gravely, "it wasn't good. The man looks as if he's got a grudge. A grudge against the world."

"Well, he's certainly got a grudge against Dr. Sullivan. That was made clear at the gala. Perhaps we should start there." Suggested Dr. Barlow.

"Then I know what we need to do next," Alek agreed. "We need to get in touch with Red Star Chemicals. We need to speak with Eliot Vost."