Here it is, the next installment. Sorry about the delay. Vacay is over and being at work doesn't allow me as much time with Hatter. Will try to get the next chapter up quickly. Thanks all who reviewed, please keep the reviews coming. Enjoy!
It wasn't good news.
"They figure there's enough power left to keep the glass working til tomorrow morning," the eight of spades reported. "We need to capture the prince, and as many oysters as we can, and get back through tonight."
Agent White twitched, and pursed his lips. "That doesn't give us much time. We can't afford to lose sight of Jack today. I want a three man tail on him at all times."
"We can capture him tonight. We know where he'll be. He's going to that oyster, Alice's house to meet her mother." The six of spades leaned back in the overly plush hotel chair. "We've had the dojo bugged for a couple of weeks now. And he never breaks a date with her."
"We could pull it off without extra attention, grab him from the apartment. And the two oysters, well, they can be brought along too," the three of spades chimed in.
Agent White mulled this all over. That might just work out perfectly. As long as the Resistance didn't interfere. "Alright," he said finally. "Get what oysters you can today, and we'll get Jack tonight."
...
Hatter had noticed the lone White Rabbit tailing Jack. He had been watching from a coffee shop across the street from the dojo, then sitting at a bus stop bench outside of Jack's newest hotel, then pretending to operate a parking meter while Jack bought roses.
Jack had obviously noticed as well, and kept glancing around. A couple of times, even Hatter had to dart out of site to avoid being seen. And Jack seemed to be noticing that as well.
Regardless, Jack was now through the front door of Alice's building, heading up to her apartment armed with a bouquet of white roses. And Hatter knew his job was coming to an end.
Tonight was the night. The night Jack met Alice's mother. The night he gave Alice the ring. And the night that they both ended up in Wonderland.
It would also be the night, Hatter thought with a smile, that he would be reunited with his Alice... finally.
But a second later, that familiar cold hand of panic grabbed his stomach. What if she wasn't as happy to see him as he was to see her? What if it ended up being as awkward as the goodbye back in Wonderland? Would she really want him?
Would the last six weeks be worth it?
But even as the last question crossed his mind, he knew the answer. The past six weeks was worth it, because the end result of him being here was that Alice did come to Wonderland, and she had changed it, and him, forever. And no matter what happened now, that had already happened, and if that was all that happened, that would be enough to make it worthwhile.
But he longed, begged and pleaded with love and fate and any other higher power that might hear him, that more would happen. That this Hatter would have a chance at happiness with his Alice.
He settled himself down. Only a few more hours.
...
The vultures were starting to circle. Hatter saw the now-familiar white van drive slowly by Alice's building, and turn down a side street and into an alleyway. He melted back further into his hiding spot behind a dumpster. Then he saw him. Agent White himself, flanked by two other suits. He was looking up at the building, and Hatter could see by his jerky motions that he was instructing his men. Then they disappeared around the back of the building.
Hatter felt himself tense. The White Rabbit that he had been following looked at his watch. They seemed to be waiting for something.
Another suit walked out from the alleyway where they had parked the white van, and joined the waiting suit. They conferred quietly, then slipped around the other side of the building.
Jack and Alice were surrounded.
Hatter pulled out his cell phone, and quickly typed one word: RUN.
And he waited. He had expected to see Jack run out of the building within the minute. Instead, two minutes passed, then three, then four.
Where the bloody hell was Jack?
Then Hatter finally saw the man emerge through the door, and look around cautiously.
And then start jogging off in the direction that Hatter knew the van was parked.
Not that way, he texted furiously, but then stopped before he hit send. Yes, that way. He suddenly remembered that first day in the tea shop.
"His name is Jack Chase. He was taken by a man with a white rabbit on his lapel."
He watched as Agent White and his henchmen started down the side road and disappeared from where he could see them.
Then he saw something that made his blood turn to ice.
The door opened again, and Alice ran out. She looked both ways down the street, then tore off up the side street as well.
Hatter bit his hand to keep from crying out, and used every ounce of his will to stay behind the dumpster and not run after her. Everything in him wanted to protect her.
"This is how it happened," he whispered to himself. "She escaped from the scarab, which means they caught her. Which means that you can't stop them from catching her!" Still, he had to grip the edge of the bin with all the strength in his right hand to keep from running after them.
He could hear a scuffle going on, and some muffled yelling. He heard tires squeal, and some more muffled yelling. He clenched his eyes shut. "Don't move, Hatter. Don't move."
The alleyway had fallen quiet once again. Hatter relaxed his grip, and examined the crumpled edge of the industrial steel dumpster. He knew he needed to learn how to control his emotions here in this world. Somehow, they were so much stronger than any he had felt in Wonderland (and he was emotional, even by their standards, though he had learned to hide it). He couldn't just go destroying things whenever his emotions swelled. It would draw far too much attention.
"Alice went back through the looking glass to almost the same time she left. She'll only be gone for an hour. Wait the hour, then meet her at the glass."
Hatter paced back and forth, nervously talking out loud to himself again. "Keep it together. This is it. You can do this. This is what you came here to do."
A few passers-by shot him strange looks, and he silenced himself, only to start pep-talking himself out loud again seconds later. It had to be the longest hour of his life.
He made his way toward the warehouse, even before the hour had past. He ruefully remembered his rough entry into Alice's world, and he thought maybe if he arrived a bit early, he could catch her as she flew out of the glass.
But as he neared, he started to curse. He could see flashing lights, and there were two parked police cars at the entrance to the alleyway, along with an abandoned white van, which they seemed to be busy inspecting. However, none of the police were paying much attention to the warehouse. If he came from the other side, they wouldn't even see him.
It ate up a few minutes, but once he was in the warehouse, he took off running for the corridor he knew housed the looking glass.
And then he skidded to a stop, barely daring to breathe. He was too late to catch her. And now he really wished he had been on time.
Dark hair, blue dress, red stockings, crumpled together on the floor. And there was a bit of dark red on her forehead, coming from her hairline.
"No! Alice!" He rushed forward and cradled her into his arms, and was relieved to feel her breathing against him. She was alive, but unconscious, and he knew he had to get her some help.
He thought about trying to carry her out, or at least away from the looking glass (after all, how do you explain a "mirror" like that in a rundown warehouse). But he was afraid to move her, unsure about how hurt she might be. No, he definitely needed to get her some help.
He ran down the stairs, and out the side door, into the alley.
"OI!" He yelled. All four policemen instantly wheeled around, guns drawn, aimed at the figure coming up the alley toward them.
Hatter immediately put his hands above his head. "There's a girl, in the warehouse. I saw her run in. She's hurt."
Two policemen broke away, coming closer, guns still trained on Hatter. He felt increasingly nervous as they approached, but he kept on, breathlessly. "You have to help her. She's hurt."
"Who are you?" the younger of the cops finally demanded.
"I'm a construction worker." He jerked his head in the general direction of one of the bigger construction sites in the area. Even without his hard hat, he was sure he looked enough the part.
"You have a name?"
"David Hatter." He bit back against his frustration. He just wanted to get Alice help.
"What are you doing out here at this time of night, Mr Hatter?" the older cop demanded. "Little late to be working."
"I forgot … I forgot my hat at the site. I was heading back to get it. And I heard a scuffle. And I saw a girl running away into the building. I've been in there. Dangerous. It's falling apart. So I went in after her." He gulped. "She's hurt. You have to help her."
Finally, it seemed to actually register with the two men in front of him that there was actually someone needing their help. The older cop headed back toward the patrol car to call for an ambulance. And the younger cop put away his gun and pulled out his flashlight instead, motioning for Hatter to lead the way, and they rushed together into the warehouse.
Hatter took him up the stairs to the second level, then hesitated, trying to think of how to explain the looking glass. The cop read Hatter's hesitation as him not remembering quite where she was, and he went past Hatter and turned a corner.
"She's over here!" he yelled, and Hatter immediately reappeared at his side.
If the cop noticed the looking glass, he never said anything. Instead he pushed the hair out of Alice's face, and let out a small gasp. "Oh no, Alice."
Hatter was startled. "You know her?"
The cop nodded. "We're both black belts at the same dojo. Shit." And with that, he started checking her over for injuries.
Hatter could hear another siren wailing outside, and in a few moments, footsteps coming up the metal stairs. "Over here!" he yelled.
Once the paramedics were tending to Alice, the young cop ushered Hatter back down and out into the alley. "I'm going to need a statement from you."
"A what?" Hatter blinked, a bit dazed. His mind was still upstairs with Alice. The cop followed the path of his eyes.
"Hey," he said, drawing Hatter's attention again. "She'll be okay. Probably a concussion." Then he continued, "You said you heard a scuffle?"
Hatter nodded, still only half paying attention. He didn't know what a concussion was, but it didn't sound good. But he forced himself to focus, to come up with a convincing story. "I didn't see anyone, just heard them. And a woman yelling. When I came around the corner, I saw her running away, into the building."
They were bringing her out now, on a stretcher. Hatter watched with great concern as they transferred her onto a bed with wheels, and pushed it into the waiting ambulance.
Then he turned back toward the cop, concern written all over his face. "Can I go with her?"
The cop looked at him strangely. "Do you know Alice?" he asked.
"Well, no... not exactly..." Hatter stammered. "I just want to make sure she's okay."
He softened. "Look, David. They won't let you in to see her unless you're family. But I'll take your phone number and give it to Carol and ask her to call you and let you know how she is."
"Carol?"
"Her mom."
Hatter fumbled with his cell phone, and flipped it open. His phone number displayed at the bottom of the screen, and he read it to the cop, who wrote it down in his flip pad.
The ambulance was pulling away. Hatter watched it go almost mournfully.
"We still need to ask you a few questions, David," the cop said, taking Hatter by the arm and pulling him gently in the direction of the patrol cars. Hatter allowed himself to be led along, feeling shaken and lost.
He had been reunited with Alice. He had held her in his arms. But she was hurt, and seemed so small and helpless, so unlike the Alice he had seen in Wonderland or in this world. And now she was being pulled away from him again.
He hoped the cop would give Carol the phone number. And he hoped Carol would call him. He felt so afraid that it wouldn't work that way. And if it didn't, he would have to figure out another way to get to Alice.
