Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
And all the king's horses and all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty back together again.
Alice fiddled with her gun, pondering over empty thoughts. Not that she could hear herself think anyway, the sound of the water leaking from the walls and constant rack-rack from the shutters banging on the windows irked her. Slipping the gun back inside her pocket, she took a sip of her stale coffee.
Again, not that she could actually do anything about it, right now thunder bellowed outside and rain fell harder than usual this morning.
"Good for the tourists my ass," she muttered, the flyer was next to her cup of coffee. Wait? She didn't even drink coffee these days.
Alice got up, and walked to the window, looking outside, she inwardly screamed when nobody stood there by the lamppost. Where the hell was her client? Hands drumming softy on the window's glass, Alice counted softly from one to ten, biting her lip out of habit.
A small brown envelope was in her trench pocket, next to the gun and messily covered; with aluminum foil, crackers. The letter had insisted that she check into the nearest apartment and wait for the person no matter what happens.
So where in God's name was he?
A knock on the door, Alice turned to see the mail-boy of the agency come toppling in. Brown ears twitching and green eyes wide in alarm. "Mis-Miss Alice, lett-letter," he stuttered, fishing his hand into his pocket, right near the sheath of his gold knife, he took a smudged crumpled piece of paper out and held it for her. Smoothing it out, he looked back quickly.
Paranoid, she thought.
"Looks like I have more damn letters to see," Alice grunted out.
Pierce Villiers mumbled something small before handing it to her. About to turn and walk, he wasn't surprised to hear her say- "Stop right there Pierce." - So he did what he found necessary to keep alive; he ran. Faster than he would normally do and slammed the door loudly on the way out.
Alice sighed, shoulders slumping when the footsteps finally cleared. No point in chasing the scared boy anyway. She read the letter twice. Not surprised on what to do but surprised by who had hired her.
Alice Liddell, a screwed eighteen year old with a petite nose that could name- without trying; well, without trying too hard anyway -a handful of people who would love to punch it, over and over. A detective by day, and an alcoholic by night. Born in an average family and raised by an average family.
Crumpling the paper back to it's original form, she wasn't surprised when the door burst open.
Alice looked up, eye-to-eye to see a woman walk in. Vivacious curves and a slim body (Alice could note and could get jealous from time to time) with blond hair that remained curled even when it was dripping wet; like right now. The woman was an estimated 23 years of age, or so Alice guessed.
"Alice Liddell's office?" she spoke, small mouth spewing a voice that would make anyone love-struck and forget their vows. Alice forgot hers to not take a job involving a pretty- darn hot one at that -lady at this town.
Alice snorted, "Not my office lady? It's an apartment room." Pointing her index finger at the woman, Alice smiled a smile that clashed with her now personality.
The woman sniffed before speaking low and fast. Greeaat, all she needed now was another paranoid person right? "My name is Sierra 'Cleo' Dumpty."
Alice raised her eyebrow, "You the Egg's sister?"
"I'm his wife. Three years have passed since my marriage."
"Well who would've known the Egg had a spouse? With him, women and drinking nobody would've guessed." Alice didn't want to hurt anybodies feelings, but words just spilled out and she never regretted what came out time-to-time.
At this point, Alice had seated herself comfortably cross-legged on the queen-sized bed. Hand inside her pocket, fingering the gun and watched carefully.
The blond woman sat down on a nearby chair, sodding the cushion wet. Her orange dress seemed heavy and clung to her body while the many laces seemed to be drowning in water. "It might seem hart to believe," she twisted her facial expression to one of disgust, "but Humpty and I loved each other dearly, even with his... bad ways," She strained the last word out.
Alice arched her eyebrow.
"... and because I loved him dearly, I sent him here to get a job my cousin had failed to achieve; as a doctor. But he hasn't come back yet..." she looked at Alice head-on, green eyes blazing and aura increasing.
This was why she hated breaking the news. Tears. And lots of them coming from her view.
She sighed before speaking, "Look Sierra whoever-you-are, your husband's..." she trailed off, unable to really speak when a situation like this would arise. Instead, Alice focused on the booming thunder and the sound of rain outside.
"... Humpty's dead, correct?"
Alice looked back at her to find Sierra glaring at her, face only millimeters apart. A fan held her chin up.
"I'm not an idiot Miss Liddell, I know what has happened to my Dumpty and I know who did it. I repeat, it was not an accident."
Sierra turned while Alice only dumbfounded stared. Slamming the door, Alice grinned slightly in excitement when she felt a photo on her palm. Crunching it up in her fisted hand, she sharkily laughed. The boom of thunder making her jump of the bed and fall face-first on the ground.
"Damn! That was so anti-climatic," she said, rubbing her face with her free hand.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The sun shined on her face, not that that wasn't a surprise. Quite the contrary, she was used to the sun whenever she was broke and slept in a tree or a bench.
Memories of yesterday afternoon seared into her mind flashed and Alice quickly slipped her hand into her trench pocket, relieved and smiling slightly when the unfamiliar feel of the wrinkled paper and lament came into contact with her skin.
Taking her hand out, she rubbed her now-eighteen-year-old blue eyes and yawned briskly. Pumping her hands up in the air, she stretched. The various resonating rhythmical cracks felt like utter bliss after a hard sleep on a bench.
"It's the switcheroo-magoo!"
Alice's eye twitched when she heard the familiar nickname.
"You know, "switcheroo-magoo," as in a cup of wine and she's all drunk. Never could handle her alcohol~"
The rumor had started at a local bar, Reel-and-Win, when a band of thugs had let one of their minions replace the bartender and he'd slip sleeping powder in her drink. Might she add very strong powder each day until she caught them; might she add again, in a very drunk way.
That of which shall not be uttered again.
Alice stood up and walked away from the now quarreling kids.
Looking back at yesterday, Alice couldn't help but want to bang her head on the wall remembering what she had to do. Admittedly, it would be tiring, but there was no escape a grand ball of cash waiting to be spent.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
She was tired, yes, but the sun was in it's peak and Alice wasn't getting any younger right now. Looking up, a red bird fluttered lazily in the open sky. Once, Alice had dreamed of flying - but now it seemed that flying in the open was too... open? Revealing? Whatever it was, right now she wouldn't ever want to be in the open sky with predators just waiting to spring.
But after all, she was the predator.
Walking more hurriedly, Alice spotted a group by the side-walk. An abandoned shop behind the small band.
"How's the day Cat?" Alice shouted over the yelling group.
The band of people stopped, took a good look of her and ran. Mumbling "officials here," just by Alice's hearing distance.
What seemed to be the main attraction stopped and huffed. "My name's Boris, Alice, B-O-R-I-S Airay! When can you get that through your thick head?" he questioned annoyingly.
To Alice, the long-time nickname suited him, she would always say. Holding her hands up to her chest, she shook them while smiling. "This thick head stopped a pair of thieves," she smirked in an annoying way - to Boris that is, "-... when they stole all your money, remember Cat?"
He grinned playfully, annoyance forgotten.
"Well what do you want Alice? A gun? Money? You know you're still in debt to me~" he picked a small bracelet from his collection on the ground. Shiny objects always captured his interests.
Alice looked him up and down. A tuxedo striped pant and black "Got Milk?" (This made Alice chuckle mentally) T-shirt on. Ignoring what Boris had just said, she bent down to his height and plucked the photo from her pocket and handed it to him. She watched the corner of her eyes carefully.
"Hnn?"
"Guess the Big Bad Wolf really has an interest like a cat?"
He sighed, not unfolding the photo just yet. "Alice, I've told you a billion times, I'm not the Wolf anymore. I'm Boris, Boris Airay. And Little Red died remember, and I wasn't the one who killed her. But you know who did."
Alice shrugged, before coolly exhaling.
"We both know that I know the murderer and we both know that it's best to stay quiet, even now Humpty has... apprentices. Most probably cannibals at that," here, she grinned in a strained manner, "- and it's Humpty I want to talk to you about, you ever hear he got a wife?"
Boris stared at the folded picture than back at Alice. Realization struck him and he threw it, Alice only catching it in time. "Heard the Big Guy ain't got no family, let alone a wife. And now you need info right? Well though luck Alice, after the egg gunned down Red, I ain't having nothin' to do with him anymore," he tersely said.
Alice unfolded the photo and held it high up for him, drops of dirty water from the gutter above her splashing her shoulder.
His eyes widened.
"What you're playing is a dangerous game Alice."
"The green stuff is high Boris, and I need the cash. And it's for a pretty lady too, not that I'm gay or anything."
He slumped down.
"..."
"... or I can just ask Archer for help~..."
Boris leaped up, bangs covering his left eye hazily. Amber eyes burned with intense rage, hook, line and stinker, and he yelled. "If you dare ask that Archer I swear I'll never help you again Alice!"
Alice smiled. Was it just her, or did she use her mouth more regularly?
"Well alright Cat, but I do need Villiers and Archer's help for this case."
"Do they have to come?"
"You're coming with me? What about your vows of 'I ain't having nothin' to do with the Egg?'"
Boris gripped is hair and looked as though he wanted to rip them off his scalp. Alice always did annoy him at the lengths of time- but hey! -that's what he loved about her. This was just like with Red's incident. The love of his life dying and there Alice was, mending and repairing him.
Looking up at the sky, refusing to meet eye-to-eye, paws still clutching his hair he muttered low enough for Alice to hear. "Alright then, but that doesn't mean I'll like it."
He could hear Alice grinning.
"Well hurry up Cheshire Cat, let's go, my shoulders already soggy~!"
He tipped his head to the side in wonder. Did he just hear her say Cheshire Cat? Ah well, there were better things to do anyway. Picking up the various shiny goods on the floor, he packed them into his duffel bag and stopped for a moment.
This was supposed to be a grand sale, and yet, he didn't sell anything.
"DAMN YOU ALICE!"
Yup, this was why he loved her.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Yay! Next chapter will introduce "Archer"~! And I want to thank the reviewers who have helped me write this fic!
RosaRena
octicy
oreocookiesrock (sorry if I misspelled D:)
past face
Somewhere Nowhere
Thanks a lot guys! I hope you still read from here because it's just getting good. The characters are a bit OOCish because of the plot, but in the first chapter November had said that each memory of the Wonderlander's had been plucked correct? Well since the 'Book' is more dangerous, wouldn't it be reasonable to adapt to it?
Well, sorry if this chapter sucked, but I'm really psched on writing chapter 3!