Chapter Sixteen
Alice left a message for Hatter with Stork, just in case he came back to the club, and then she and Toby immediately made for the Palace. Toby was clearly ill at ease being out in the open, and kept a tight grip on her with one hand while he held his sword at the ready with the other. Alice kept her eyes open for Hatter as they made their way along the ledges, but there was no sign of him. Fear, anger and guilt swirled nauseatingly in her belly.
Charlie was waiting for them at the Palace gates, looking every bit as concerned as Alice felt.
"Just Alice, I'm glad you're here!" Under the watchful eyes of the guards Charlie opened the gate to admit Alice and Toby. "Harbinger wouldn't listen to reason!"
"Hatter was here?" That was unexpected. Why would he come to the Palace? "Charlie, I need to see Jack. Now."
"Certainly, my Lady." Charlie led them through the grand halls and stopped at the door to Jack's private office. He rapped on the door and waited.
"How long ago was Hatter here?" Alice asked.
"A half hour or more," Charlie replied. "He's gone off his head, I'm afraid."
The door opened and Sandro ushered Alice and the knights into the office. Charlie and Toby stood respectfully against the far wall, but Alice walked right up to Jack's desk and leaned across it. Jack just stared at her impassively, looking completely unperturbed.
"What was Hatter doing here?" she wanted to know.
"I'm relieved to see you looking well," Jack said. His own bruises had started to fade so that he looked a bit less like a raccoon. "Why don't you have a seat?"
"Jack."
"Your fiancé has been making use of several of my contacts in the City." Jack steepled his fingers and looked at her disapprovingly over them. "Did you honestly think he wouldn't figure out that Dodo was behind all this?"
Alice's stomach lurched. It was true. Hatter had figured it out without any help from her. She sank into the nearest chair, suddenly unable to stand. Sandro shot her a sympathetic look from his position beside and a bit behind Jack.
"Hatter has acquaintances who are in…let us say acquisitions. He was able to trace the sale of your ring back to the New Resistance."
"New Resistance?" Alice asked, barely hearing what Jack had said. Her mind was whirling. The ring. Of course Hatter would be able to find out about it, he probably knew every fence in Wonderland. She'd been so stupid. She'd forgotten they were back in his world.
"We have received intelligence in the last month that a new resistance has formed," Sandro explained. "We suspected that Dodo was involved, but we had no proof."
"Not everyone is happy to have a Heart still on the throne," Jack said wryly. Alice could hear Dodo in her head, saying that very same thing.
"You helped Hatter find Dodo? Why would you do that?"
"As he pointed out several times, I owed him."
"I was going to tell you," Alice said desperately. "I was going to tell you about Dodo and the Doctors so you could get them."
That had Jack leaning forward across the desk, his eyes narrowed. "Doctors?"
"Dum and Dee. They're working for Dodo. They're the ones who drugged me." Alice ran a shaking hand through her hair. "They'll kill Hatter this time, Jack."
"I always thought my mother was foolish to keep those madmen around." Jack frowned. "Dodo has crossed a line, if he's working with those two."
"Where's Dodo, Jack? We have to get to him before Hatter does."
Jack and Sandro exchanged a look.
"We don't know," Sandro said apologetically. "We were able to help Hatter find out who had kidnapped you, but not where he is. I think he was going to talk to some of his contacts and see what he could find out."
"You should have told him, or me, right away," Jack said. "You injured his ego and now he's determined to take on Dodo on his own to prove a point. I offered to lend him several Suits but he declined."
"I know!" Alice snapped. "Don't you think I know I screwed up? God. I was just trying to keep him safe."
Charlie loudly cleared his throat from the back of the room. Jack looked over at him, a smile teasing the corners of his mouth.
"Sir Charles? You have something to add?"
"Your Highness." Charlie bowed. "I would like to humbly offer my services in finding this nug face, Dodo. Lest you forget, I am well trained in the…Black Arts."
"I have not forgotten," Jack said. He was clearly amused. "Well, step forward Sir Knight and see what information you can glean that will assist us."
Charlie snapped to attention with a clang of armor. "I shall attune to the otherworldly vibrations that surround us."
Alice watched as he went through his ritual – "Galadoon…tapoosh!" – and crossed her fingers. Surely if anyone could help her it was Charlie, he'd always come through in the past. But as the minutes stretched on and Charlie's expression grew more and more confused, she felt that little bit of hope slip away.
Finally, Charlie blew out a frustrated puff of air and seemed to sag. Toby was at his side in an instant, offering him a shoulder to lean on .
"Are you alright, Sir Charles?" he asked anxiously.
"Fine, fine, Toby." Charlie opened his eyes. "I'm sorry, Just Alice. I'm not getting anything on this Dodo. The Harbinger's location is likewise unknown by the ethereal forces."
Alice slumped back in the chair. She was starting to get a stress headache and hoped that was all she would get; slipping into a madness flashback in front of Jack was not something she wanted to do.
"I have failed you," Charlie said sadly.
"Don't say that, Charlie," Alice protested. "You tried. Thank you."
"Perhaps because you've not met this Dodo, Sir," Toby suggested. Charlie grabbed on to that explanation gratefully.
"Of course, that must be it. Never fear, Lady Alice. Your Highness. I will not give up."
"Neither will we," Jack said. "Sandro, send messengers out to all of our contacts in the City. I want to know where Dodo is holed up, and I want to know as soon as possible."
"Yes, your majesty," Sandro said. He headed for the door but Alice stopped him.
"Sandro. See if they can find Owl. She knows where he is."
The Ten of Clubs nodded his head and went out the door in a swirl of black robes.
"In the meantime," Jack said. "I suggest we get you something to eat. Perhaps a cup of coffee would not go unappreciated?"
Alice looked at him with longing. "Coffee? You have coffee?"
"The hazelnut kind you always liked."
"Thank God for that at least." Alice got shakily to her feet. She knew she needed to eat something, but wasn't sure she'd be able to keep anything down. She hated having to wait, hated not being able to just march right out there and stop Hatter from finding Dodo. Mostly she hated herself for letting this happen in the first place.
Jack came around the desk and took hold of her elbow. "We'll find him," he said with assurance.
"We have to," Alice whispered back. "If anything happens to him…"
She couldn't finish that sentence, and Jack knew better than to placate her with empty words. Instead he led her out of the office and off to get a cup of nice, strong coffee. For the moment, it had to be enough.
*o*o*o*
One hour turned to two, and Alice couldn't sit still. She'd had way more coffee than was probably good for her, but any residual exhaustion she'd had was now gone. There was no word from any of Jack's messengers and it was getting on to dusk. Alice refused to let her hopes fade with the light.
"I can't take much more of this," she complained. They'd moved to the big conference room, which gave Alice a larger area for pacing. Jack sat on the carpeted stairs that led up to the dais. Duchess sat at the long glass table with Charlie and Toby.
"I'm sure we'll hear something soon," Duchess said softly. She wore a long, shimmery golden robe that caught the light in the room and twinkled every time she moved.
Alice felt completely useless. The irony of that wasn't lost on her. This was probably how Hatter had felt, waiting for Alice to tell him who had kidnapped and tortured her. She was angry, too, that Hatter had felt the need to go off on his own to settle his score with Dodo. It was foolhardy, even without knowing about the Doctors. He'd said he'd take care of her, stay with her, but he'd lied too.
"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet," Jack said mildly.
"Bill me."
"Alice, you can't go on like this. Sit down before you fall down."
Alice had a snide remark ready, but Sandro burst through the doors looking like he had news.
"We've found her, your highness!"
Several Suits came marching in, dragging a sobbing Owl with them. Alice felt a jolt of sympathy for the woman before she remembered her part in having Alice kidnapped. Then she was just angry.
"Where is Dodo?" Alice asked, getting right in Owl's tear-streaked face.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Owl cried. "I didn't know what he was going to do. He threatened Duck. I had to do what he said!"
"Can you tell us where Dodo is?" Jack asked. He shot Alice a look warning her to calm down.
"He has a place. Near the old Tea Shop. So he can watch Hatter, watch everyone coming and going."
"Can you take me there?" Alice asked, trying not to sound so harsh this time.
"No! I can't! He'll kill me!" Owl was trembling, the tears running down her face.
"That won't be necessary," Charlie said. He walked over to Owl and put a hand on her arm. "Galadoon…tapoosh…"
Everyone held their breath as Charlie blanked out for a minute or two. It hadn't worked before, but maybe now they'd catch a break. Charlie took a deep breath, snapping back to himself with a grin.
"I have it! Let's go!"
"Hold on a moment," Jack said. He turned to address the Suits. "Take her to one of the empty guest rooms and make sure she stays in there."
Owl was still sobbing when they marched her back out of the room. Sandro went with them, after sharing a hushed conversation with Jack. Alice was itching to get going. Time was running out for Hatter, she just knew it.
"I can't come with you," Jack said.
"I know," Alice replied. She knew she couldn't expect the King of Hearts to go traipsing off whenever she needed him to. He'd already helped her more than she thought he would. She'd have to do the rest herself this time.
"I am coming, naturally," Charlie said.
"And I, Lady Alice!" Toby offered enthusiastically.
Alice gave them both a grateful smile. "With Knights on my side, how can I fail?"
"I would come also, at the King's approval." Sandro reappeared, having changed out of his robes and into a suit. He carried a large white box with him.
"Of course," Jack said. "I will send some Aces with you as well."
"We shall be a formidable force, shall we not?" Charlie asked, puffing up his chest. Alice didn't know about formidable, but she was so incredibly thankful to all them for offering to help her.
"What's the plan?" Sandro asked. Everyone looked at Alice, and she felt the weight of leadership settle on her shoulders. If this was going to work, she had to push aside weak, mad Alice and become the Alice of Legend once again. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"We find out where Dodo is, and we capture him. He'll likely have the Doctors with him, and some members of the New Resistance. So we're going to have to be cautious and smart. The ultimate goal, though, is getting Hatter out of there if they've captured him."
"I want Dodo brought here," Jack said. "He needs to stand for his crimes against the new government, particularly his treatment of a Hero of Wonderland."
Alice nodded her agreement. "We can't let Dodo get away. He'll just rally more people to his side."
"Dodo is trigger happy, so I have body armor for all of you," Jack said. "Put it on under your clothes, and try not to get shot."
Sandro set the box down on the table and handed out the armor. Alice remembered when Dodo had shot Hatter in the Great Library. She tried not to think about how he didn't have any armor to protect himself with this time. Hopefully, if Dodo had captured Hatter he'd take his time before killing him. It maybe wasn't good news for Hatter, but Alice was going to need all the time she could get.
"What about the Doctors?" Toby asked.
"Capture them if you can," Jack said. "But make certain they do not escape. They are far too dangerous to be out there working on their own."
"If I can push them off a ledge, I'll do it. Happily," Alice remarked. "Don't get too close to them. They have Tea and syringes, and electro-sticks. They won't hesitate to use them."
Three Aces were summoned, the plan was gone over again, and everyone was outfitted with the body armor. Everyone save Charlie and Toby, who insisted that their regular armor would suffice. There was a last-minute weapons check, as well. The knights had their swords, the Aces and Sandro had guns. Alice, not comfortable carrying a weapon at all, was going to rely on her martial arts training.
"Be careful. All of you," Jack said. He gave Sandro a communicator that would allow him to summon a Scarab full of Suits should the need arise, or should they need to make a hasty retreat to the Palace.
"Thank you, Jack," Alice said. She was sincerely grateful for his help.
"Good luck, Alice."
Alice took a long look at her motley band of troops and couldn't help smiling. She was glad to have Charlie and Toby with her, and wished she knew the names of the Aces that were accompanying them. She didn't doubt they'd do what she needed them to do, at their King's insistence, but it was hard trusting complete strangers when there was so much on the line. She prayed that Charlie's otherwordly connections had come through more quickly than Hatter's mere mortal ones. Please let him be safe.
"Come on," Alice said finally. "Let's go catch us a Dodo."
AN: Alice, Alice, Alice. She sure messed things up, didn't she? Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, she drove Hatter to do exactly what she'd been trying to avoid. Let's hope this turns out to be a good learning experience for her. LOL! Hopefully she and her little army can take care of Dodo and the Doctors. Has Hatter been captured? Has he already taken out Dodo? I guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter! ::insert evil grin here::