A/N: Here we go!!! Sorry to leave people hanging, but the author of Forget Me Not just updated and holy Pishsalver, they are good!! If you get the chance, read that story.
Hatter kneeled down at the cell, staring at the figure. She was on her knees.
"T-Tarrant?" she whispered.
"Alice," he said, relived and anxious at the same time. "Alice." The girl came closer, and Hatter almost didn't recognize her. Her face was cut up, her dress ruined, her arms were beaten and she was dirty. Her hair was a mess, but it was certainly Alice. She came right up to the bars, allowing Hatter to get a good look at her. His eyes widened at her appearance.
"You're absolutely Alice, I'd know you anywhere. What's going on?" he asked.
"Th-that man, Jim or whatever. H-he tricked me," she was shivering as she spoke. "H-his men a-a-are cruel. He pays them to whip us and hit us. Everyone is the same way. He was s-s-so nice. He took me out one night...but that was all a lie." She began weeping uncontrollably. Hatter touched her hand that was through the bars. She looked at him again. "Here, I am...Tarrant, please get me out of here." She sounded like she was begging for her life. Tarrant's heart ripped in half at the desperation in her voice. He looked up at the lock on the cell door. Seeing the lock, he looked deep inside the keyhole.
"Pick it," she handed him her hair pin. She was still on her knees, watching Hatter in every move he made. She cried still, hoping Hatter could save her. What she'd gotten into that day, she realized she wasn't paying close attention. Her friends probably knew all about the place. She reasoned none of them could have been here before. It was too horrid. Hatter tried to pick the, having no luck at first.
"Lower," Alice whispered. He did as she told him, and viola! He heard the lock undo itself, and he pulled back the bars. He knelt down by Alice, analyzing her back. It was covered in blood. Some was dry, but the majority was fresh. He had no words, but he let a tear escape his eye.
"Tarrant," she whispered again. "Hold me."
"I'll hurt you," he said. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You'll hurt me, but not as much I would hurt myself walking," she said. Hatter looked at her leg. It was swollen, and turning purple all along it.
"Your leg..." Hatter said. She only nodded. He pulled her gently into an embrace. He grasped her waist, for it was the place where she was less beaten up. She leaned on him, all her weight on his chest. She was so tired and very weak.
"I'm going to pick you up on three," he said.
"Make sure the leg is on the inside," she said. He nodded.
"One, two, three," he hoisted her up, holding her back and legs. She drew in a quick breath, and Hatter looked at her, concerned.
"Keep going. It would hurt either way," she said.
Nivens crept through the halls. He went up the stairs and searched through many rooms. He found it at last, but the boss was there. He hid behind a large plant with the computer. He had to think of a way to get Jim out. He didn't have to. A group of men ran into the room.
"Boss, there's an intruder," one said in a rushed voice.
"What?" Jim shouted. "Don't be here, then. Get the intruder!"
"We don't know where he is," another said. "And...we can't catch the idiot outside." Jim sighed in annoyance.
"You people are a poor excuse for staff," Jim said, scolding them. "Get the guy outside. I'll deal with the intruder."
"Yes boss," they all said, exiting the room.
"Have to do everything myself," Jim sighed. He walked out of the room and Nivens crept straight in. He connected the laptop to the computer by a cord. He took out the flash drive he had in his pocket and other technical things in his bag. He knew it was late by now. It'd taken time to get through the halls. The lights were back on in all but two places. He noticed the cameras and where they were placed. He accessed the camera wiring and shut it down. He took the lights out again and shut off the alarms he found out were placed at the back door.
"Shocked they only have one set of alarms," he told himself as he went through the files. He found videos, which he deleted. He didn't want to view them.
"Now to get the final attachments," he said. He put one video on his drive and other files including threats, emails and personal documents. It was proof he needed for the cops when he emailed the Black Rabbit. He took out the lap top, unsure about the virus he had on his other drive. he plugged it into the computer and clicked the device to download onto Jim's computer. The system was shutting down, and Nivens smiled. But, what had become of Hatter. Surely, he was the intruder the men were talking about. Had he found Alice? He heard a gun preparing a bullet and stopped everything. An employee was at the door.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"The Geek Squad," Nivens lied. "Heard you have a computer problem."
"Really?" the man said, putting the gun down. "What's wrong?" He entered the room.
"I was just about to find out. Can't do anything when the computer is off," Nivens said, sitting in the boss's chair. This sucks, he thought. Now, I have to remove my own virus.
"Oh," the man said. He was so gullible, it was funny. Well, to Nivens. "Am I distracting?" That was an awkward question. He hated to say yes, but he had to.
"Well, you will be once I get to the technical stuff," Nivens said. That part was true. He hated it when Hatter or March interrupted him while he installed a program for his computer. It was a long, putzy process for him. The man left the room, and Nivens found it proper to wait in the room until he had gone. He came out of the room and someone spotted him.
"Hey you!" he shouted and Nivens made a dash for it. He ran down the stairs, equipment in hand, and looked for a safe hiding place. He couldn't delay any longer.
He ran into a small room and heard the guy run right past him. He heard a gun load and he opened the laptop quickly. He accessed Alice's email. He typed in the Black Rabbit's email from the sheet of paper she ripped off of a memo book.
Black Rabbit,
Call now! I'm not sure I'll make it. I don't know what's become of Hatter. NOW!! ~The White Rabbit.
He pressed send. He closed the lid and knew he wouldn't get far. There was lots of commotion and he saw Hatter com up the stairs. He was holding...Alice? He couldn't think about it any longer and he ran, meeting Hatter.
"Get March," Hatter said.
"That won't be necessary," a voice said and they heard the gun pull back. Nivens turned around. There was the boss.
"You," Tarrant spat with disgust.
"Calm," Nivens said as he saw Hatter's eyes turn a faded shade of orange. Hatter held Alice closer to him. Her arms were around his neck and Nivens saw her for the first time. She didn't look healthy at all. He looked at a clock. It was one in the morning. His adrenaline was pumping through his system, and he grew anxious. Black Rabbit would have to hurry. Nivens stepped in front of Hatter.
"Now, let's get this straightened out," Nivens said. "She looks like she needs medical attention." Jim gave Hatter an evil eye.
"She doesn't. It's an act," Jim said.
"Doesn't feel like one," Hatter said angrily. Nivens noticed Hatter's hands were covered in Alice's blood!
"You take one more step and you loose your head," he said as a man came up behind Hatter and held a knife to his throat.
"Already lost it," he replied. March came inside just then, laughing like mad. Another gun was pointed at him, but he wasn't reacting like they were. He laughed even more.
"I love this game!" he shouted. "Twinkle, twinkle little bat, how I wonder what you're at!" He got weird looks as he laughed more. A few men came inside.
"We got him," they said, but no one commented.
"Look, all we came here for was Alice. That's it," Nivens said.
"Well, you can't have her. We had a deal. I took out and she had to do anything my men say," Jim said as he smiled. Hatter wasn't convinced. One of the guards went down, a needle in the back of his head. This caught everyone's attention. Two swords were drawn out and everyone looked around. Nivens found the source on the balcony in the main room. Two black ponytails hung down from a masked figure. The Black Rabbit.
Awesome. Plz review on this one. It will make a difference in the final chapter. Do you like the way it's going now, or should I go with more fluff? This matters!!!