Having so boldly set out to set his scheme into motion, Alden was rather brought up short when he encountered Lucille Baines right outside his door. She was wearing nondescript yet covering clothing, a slightly droopy knitted hat of the type that had recently gotten popular with middle class ladies of a certain age and a scarf wrapped so that it covered most of her face, including the lower half of her ears. But frankly, just seeing her eyes and her bearing was more than enough for Alden to recognize her. Since she was clearly here in disguise, Alden simply subtly motioned her inside, leading her up to his apartment and closing the door behind her. He conscientiously locked the door to ensure nobody could spy on them, and Lucille gratefully unwrapped the surely rather stifling scarf, once again revealing her silver earrings. With a slightly bemused smile, Alden spoke. “I must say, I never expected to see you at my shop, Lucille.” “Well, what was I supposed to do? You told me you’d been poisoned, and then I didn’t hear a word from you for two days!” Alden was a little taken aback by the emotion in her voice. “Lucille, were you worried about me?” “Of course I was worried about you, you idiot! How on Earth could I not be?” Alden found himself slightly at a loss of words. Sure, he had come to see Lucille as something of a friend, but he hadn’t fully realized the feeling might be mutual. Some part of him had still fully believed that Lucille saw him as a useful asset and nothing more. As such, this emotional outburst on Lucille’s part rather warmed his heart. Still, he felt it would be rather awkward to point that out, so he instead decided on simple reassurance. “Tiffany was able to concoct a suitable antidote to the poison, and while I’m not fully recovered, I feel much better than before.” “Your assistant was able to concoct an antidote to the burning drug in just two days?” “No, she was able to formulate, concoct and test an antidote within a matter of hours. If she hadn’t been, I would probably have been ashes by now.” “The research group hasn’t gotten anywhere close to discovering an antidote in all their time working! I’ve clearly underestimated this assistant of yours…” “I told you before, my girls are amazing. I’ll tell Tiffany to prepare a full set of instructions for the preparation of the antidote, along with a proper explanation of its workings. That way your people can set about producing it in large quantities. You’ll want plenty on hand for the storming of the Sunshine Club.” “Ah, yes. About that, we are working on preparing a strike, but I’m afraid it will take a few more…” “You don’t have to apologise, Lucille. Now that my head is clearer, I realize running in half-prepared would only lead to more deaths. I’ll draw up as much of a map of the layout as I am able, along with notes on whatever other information I can remember. I’m trusting you to do this right, Lucille.” “And I will, thank you Alden.” “For today, though, I’m planning a small caper than should net us one or both of the Corker brothers, and perhaps a few other ne’er-do-wells, if we’re lucky.” “Don’t you think you should recover a little more before getting back into the thick of things?” “I thought so as well, but this morning I realized I have a unique opportunity on my hands. But the moment the knowledge spreads that I’ve recovered, the opportunity is lost.” “I see… I’ll trust your judgement on this, Alden. Is there anything I could to do help?” “Yes, actually. If you could gather up some people you trust who can be reasonably expected to succeed in rounding up a group of scofflaws and taking them into custody, that would be most helpful. Position them spread out in suitable disguises to blend into the crowd throughout the area surrounding Ratcatcher Street. Oh, and make sure they’re wearing something recognisable enough that my informants will be able to pick them out of the crowd to deliver information, but not so recognisable as to make them stand out from the crowd to anyone else. I’ll need them in position by mid-afternoon.” “Very well. I’ll see to it. They will be wearing polished copper buttons and at least one item knitted from red yarn.” “Copper and red, Lucille? That almost seems out of character.” “Well, it’s not like I’d dress them up in my colours, now is it? I’ll have some men in place. You worry about this plan of yours.” “Great. Oh, and Lucille, this plan of mine will end up being a little on the expensive side. I’m trusting you to reimburse me fairly.” Lucille smirked and pulled one of her usual coin pouches from a pocket, tossing it to Alden. “Will this do?” “Possibly. I’m not actually certain. But if it doesn’t, I know there’s more where that came from.” Pocketing the pouch, Alden took his leave of Lucille and went downstairs to speak to Tiffany. “Oh, Alden. I thought you’d gone out.” “I did, but the person I was trying to contact was literally standing right outside my door. More importantly, I have some tasks for you.” “Of course. What do you need?” “Firstly, I need you to write a proper explanation and detailed instructions for your antidote. The other group studying the burning drug has need of them.” “That sounds like a great idea! I’ll make sure to have it ready as soon as I can.” “Secondly, I need you to gather everything in the workroom that isn’t easily replaceable. Don’t bother with anything that can simply be bought from a store, but any ongoing projects, personal notes, rare reference books, specialized tools… Anything that couldn’t simply be replaced on a week’s notice. Put it all away in on the far side of the storeroom.” Tiffany was clearly a bit taken aback by the odd request, but she nevertheless seemed to consider it seriously. “What about things that would be expensive to replace?” “Don’t worry about money. I’ll just send my employer the bill. I do want you to move out the animals, though. It might be a little hypocritical, considering what they’re here for, but I don’t want to put them in harm’s way.” “Alden, what exactly are you planning?” “Oh, just a little something to lure the Corker brothers out of hiding.” “I thought you said…” “Change of plans. Besides, I’m sure we’d all sleep better knowing there was one less group of poisoners out for my blood.” “…Just how many poisoners do you think are after you?” “I’m frankly not sure, and I’m not exactly happy about it. Try to have everything done by this afternoon. But make sure the workroom still looks every bit like the workroom of an active tinctury by the end of it. We need to keep up appearances.” Tiffany hesitated for a moment, clearly rather concerned by all the talk of poisoners, but finally she steeled herself and gave a determined nod. “Of course, Alden. I’ll take care of it.” Alden’s next stop was with the Rascals, and he wasn’t exactly surprised to see that Em was on guard duty once again, looking just as tiny and nondescript as they always did, covered up so completely by their baggy clothing that only their eyes peeked out between the knitted cap and the upturned collar. The other person on guard was a boy who looked about 14 but already had a rather impressive collection of scars. Alden tossed a shilling to Em and two to the boy. “Those two are for you to split with whoever you convince to take Em’s shift, lad. Em, that one’s for escorting me to go see the barker.” The older boy quickly pocketed one of the two coins. “Right you are, Old Boy. I’ll find someone real quick. You just stand guard with Em in the meantime.” As the boy hurried off, Em shot Alden a curious look. “You could just have walked right in, Old Boy. Everyone knows your face here by now. Nobody would have stopped you.” “Oh, I know. But there are also a few things I don’t know. For example, I definitely didn’t find out exactly what happens beneath the Sunshine Club a few days ago.” Em stiffened, and when they replied their voice was clearly strained. “Well, that’s good. That would have been a very dangerous sort of thing to find out.” “I also don’t know that a group of very powerful people are currently planning to shut that place down hard and get as many people out of there as possible.” Em grew very quiet, pushing their face down so that their oversized collar covered even their eyes. They hadn’t so much as moved a muscle by the time the other boy returned with a rather scruffy-looking girl in tow, so Alden reached out and grabbed hold of Em’s hand, leading them into mess of alleyways leading up to The Place and pointedly ignoring the way Em’s hand was trembling in his grasp. By the time they got close to the ancient warehouse, Em finally spoke up, their voice as soft as a whisper. “Thank you.” “Don’t thank me until it’s done, Em. I’ll be sure to come by and tell you when that happens, so you can thank me properly.” Em nodded and shot Alden a grateful look, and Alden gently patted them on the head, politely pretending not to notice the puffiness of their eyes or the tear tracks running down their face. “So, here we are again, Old Boy.” Hakim said with a gleaming grin, leaning back against his ramshackle old desk. “What scheme are you cooking up this time?” “Got a plan to lure at least one Corker out of hiding. Going to need some help.” “Well, I suppose I can’t say no to that. The Corker triplets are a Rascal problem as much as anything, so I’m not going to charge for this one.” “Maybe not for the help, but you are going to charge for the other thing I’m about to ask you.” Hakim raised an eyebrow. It only raised further as Alden pulled out fifty pounds. “That must be one Hel of a thing you’re asking me for.” “One way or the other, I’m going to be dealing with Tom and Bill before all this is through. But I want Ben Corker scrubbed from the Roll, and I want Alice Corker added to the Roll of the right years with no black marks or reprimands.” Hakim frowned thoughtfully. “Alice Corker…? You know, when a Rascal finds the need for a lad to play the role of a lass, we usually call it ‘Playing the Alice’. I never did figure out where that term came from…” “She’s the Alice. And she deserves better than the mess her brothers dragged her into.” “Well… I’m gonna need at least thirty pounds to smooth something like this over with the other Barkers. Give the rest to Li Hua. She’s close with the other records keepers. She should be able to sort this out for you.” “Thank you, Hakim.” “I’m not doing this for you, Old Boy. This is exactly the sort of thing that could put a few bends in Li Hua. Now, what do we need to do to get two of the… to get both Corker brothers their just desserts?” “I need Rascals milling about around Ratcatcher Street and environs this afternoon. Rascals that would recognize the Corkers even if they’re disguised, and who can be trusted not to stand out in a crowd. The more skilled they are at general sneakery, the better. I don’t need bruisers. I have people lined up for the actual nabbing. When they spot a Corker, they should follow him without letting him now, and tell one of the people in polished copper buttons wearing items knitted from red yarn. If we can get the location of the Corkers’ hideout into the hands of the copper-buttons, it’s all over for Tom and Bill.” “And you’re sure there’s gonna be a Corker around Ratcatcher Street this afternoon?” “Let’s just say I’m quite confident.” Hakim barked out a laugh. “This is what I like about you, Old Boy. You’ve got that Rascal spark in you. I’ll make sure there’s enough people out watching for Corkers this afternoon.” “Thank you, Hakim. Now, do you know if Mei Jing is here? I’ve got a job for her lot as well.” “She’s out working on whatever scheme you put her and the runaways up to, but she should be back in an hour or two. I’ll make sure she comes to find you when she gets back.” “Good. I suppose I’ll go and see Li Hua in the meantime. Take care, Hakim.” “And you, Old Boy. I don’t know what exactly it is you’re up to these days, but you’re clearly in it pretty deep. Don’t go getting yourself killed.” Alden nodded and left, deciding not to mention just how close that had come to actually happening. Li Hua was working on the bookkeeping when Alden entered, but quickly pushed it aside when she saw him. “Good day to you, Mr. Stowe. I was hoping I would see you.” “And to you, Li Hua. I’m not here for a social visit, however. I have a job for you.” “A job?” “I need you to make sure some changes are made to the Roll. All copies of it. I already cleared it with Hakim, and handed him enough bribe money to smooth it over with the other Barkers. But you and the other records keepers will need to do the actual alterations.” “…What exactly is the nature of these alterations?” “I need all mentions of a Rascal by the name of Benjamin Corker completely scrubbed from the Roll. In their place, I want records added for a Rascal by the name of Alice Corker added in to the appropriate years. No black marks or reprimands, simply good service in the general ranks until she came of age.” Li Hua looked rather conflicted. “That is a very serious alteration. Even with Hakim’s approval, I’m not sure I can…” She grew silent as Alden set thirty pounds down on the table. “Twenty for whatever bribes you need to smooth things over, and ten just for you. Of course, it’s all completely off the books, so if you get anything left over of the twenty you can just pocket it.” Li Hua seemed to struggle for a moment, but in the end she scooped up the coins. “Sometimes errors in the Roll are discovered, even years after the fact. And as long as the evidence of erroneous record keeping is compelling enough, corrections must be made.” “Thank you, Li Hua. Now, you said you wanted to see me? I have an hour or two to spare.” “Oh, yes. Since your last lesson, I have been keeping two separate versions of the books. One correct and one crooked. I was hoping you could look them over and tell me if you think the second set is well made enough to be used.” “You’re keeping two separate sets of books? That sounds like a lot of work.” “It is, but I didn’t want to enter the crooked books into the archive unless they were good enough. This way, if you find my work insufficiently compelling, I can simply enter the correct books and return the money I have pocketed to the stash.” “You might just be the most conscientious fraudster to ever live, Li Hua. Very well, let me have a look.” Alden sat down and started going through the books with Li Hua, occasionally pointing out places where discrepancies were too obvious or teaching her better methods to obfuscate her snaffling. But as he worked, he couldn’t help but grow rather curious. “Say, Li Hua, medicine seems like an… unusual career choice for a young runaway girl. Why does your sister wish to become a doctor?” Li Hua hesitated for a moment before replying. “The two of us are the youngest of four sisters. My older sisters… did not escape home.” “I see.” “There is a surgeon here, Su Li. She is a junior surgeon at the Royal Hospital, but she is famous among the runaway girls. She is working on surgeries and techniques for healing broken feet. The techniques are crude and imperfect yet, but already they are good enough that patients can often run and jump without pain after just a year or two of treatments and recovery. When my sister heard about her…” Alden grew silent for a moment, then reached into his pocket. Shortly thereafter, there was a clink of something metallic hitting the floor. Li Hua startled slightly at the noise. “My apologies.” Alden said, not looking up from his work. “I must have dropped something. Could you dispose of it for me?” Looking rather confused, Li Hua crouched down beneath the desk. Alden could easily tell when she spotted the golden coins littering the floor, because he heard her sharp intake of breath. When she got back up into her seat, she looked almost a little shaky. “Mr. Stowe, I can’t…” “Thank you for picking up after me, Li Hua. Now, about this section of page fifteen. I would recommend adding the charge from page ten here again. It’s a small charge, and nobody’s going to remember it for five pages. Especially if you reword it slightly.” Li Hua’s face seemed stuck somewhere between shock, gratitude and frustration. But after a while she sighed deeply, forcing herself to relax as she looked over at the page Alden had pointed out. “I understand. How would you recommend rewording the line to make sure nobody realizes it’s a duplicate charge?” Once Mei Jing returned, Alden took his leave of Li Hua and led the girl to the nearest empty room. “I need your help, Mei Jing. You and the girls.” “What do you need?” “I need some girls you trust not to stand out in a crowd to keep watch on the area near Ratcatcher Street this afternoon. I’m expecting one or more of the Han loyalists you’ve been keeping track of to end up in the area, so everyone needs to be extra cautious. If they do appear, I want the girls to point them out to anyone nearby who’s wearing polished copper buttons and at least one item knitted from red yarn.” “It seems like you are planning something very active, Alden Stowe. Did something happen?” Alden smiled wryly as he contemplated how to answer. He should have known Mei Jing would realize the unusual nature of his request. In the end, he decided that if anyone could handle an honest answer, it was probably Mei Jing. She was a strong girl, after all. “I was poisoned recently. Almost to death. I’m trying to weed out the people who have been looking into my affairs.” Mei Jing let out a short string of words that Alden didn’t understand, but given the tone he could only assume they were some very impolite words in the language of Han. “We will help you with this, Alden Stowe. You have been very good to me and the other runaway girls. We will not let them get away with this.” “Thank you, Mei Jing. Now…” Alden started to reach for his pocket, but Mei Jing grabbed hold of his hand. “No payment needed this time, Alden Stowe. We don’t need paying to protect you. You have helped us much already.” “I can’t let you or the others put yourselves at even a little bit of risk for nothing.” “It is not for nothing. It is to protect you.” Alden considered arguing further, but then relented. “Fine. But the next time you bring me good information I’ll be paying you even more.” Mei Jing laughed. “I think that is acceptable. But we will be sure to bring you very good information to make up for it.” “Very well. I’m looking forward to it. Just remember to be careful out there. I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of you.” Mei Jing shot Alden a downright incredulous look, and it took Alden a moment to figure out why. When finally realized it, he cleared his throat a little awkwardly. “Ah, yes. Sorry. I’ll be careful as well.” “You better be, Alden Stowe. I will be very angry at you if you are not.” Feeling rather chastised, Alden bid Mei Jing a hasty farewell and quickly fled from her accusatory glare. After a few stops at various shops, Alden finally returned home. Heading into the workroom, he found Tiffany putting away the last of the important items. “Good work, Tiffany. Don’t mind me.” He reached into the bags of things he had purchased. Old, dry scrap cloth bought from a ragman. Most of it was unwashed scraps of old clothing, which was perfect for Alden’s needs. Mixed in with the dry old cloth, he drizzled odourless lamp oil, sprinkled in a bunch of dried pork and even bits of human hair he had stolen from the floor of a barber shop. In the end, he had a rather large but well contained pile built up in the middle of the floor. “I’m sorry, Alden, but… What are you doing, exactly?” “I’m building a fire. I don’t know how closely our poisoner is going to investigate this matter, but this should even smell like burnt flesh and hair.” “You’re setting a fire in the middle of the shop? You’ll set the whole house ablaze!” “Don’t worry, Tiffany. When I bought this place I made sure to renovate this room to ensure that flames can’t easily spread from it into other parts of the house. After all, tinctury work uses plenty of fire and no shortage of distilled alcohol. It’s a precaution any sensible tincturer should take.” “So then your plan…” “Is to make it seem as though the poison claimed me, yes. I know men like Thomas Corker. Clever to a fault, overflowing with confidence and ever so pleased with themselves. He tried to defraud the Royal Bank, for gods’ sake! The moment he catches wind of a fire on Ratcatcher Street, he’s going to want to investigate the matter. And he’s not the sort of person who’d send a hired hand to witness his moment of triumph.” Tiffany took a deep breath to steady herself, then nodded. “I understand. What do I need to do?” “I’m going to go hide myself in my apartment. I need you to light the fire and go work in the shop for a few minutes. Once the pile has had time to mostly turn to ash, I want you to ring the fire bell. If anyone asks, you were working in the shop when a fire broke out in the workroom, you don’t know where I am and you’re very worried. Do you think you can do that?” “I’ll manage, Alden. Let’s… Let’s get this over with. I want the poisoner off the streets as soon as possible.” “Thank you, Tiffany. I’ll leave it to you.” Alden had concealed himself in a small, hidden-away corner of his apartment, pulling his wardrobe over to conceal his hiding place further. Nobody was going to find him there unless they actually started moving furniture around, which seemed rather unlikely. He’d have preferred not to have to go to such extremes, since pulling the wardrobe over had been rather more strenuous than he had anticipated. But it was necessary. After all, the fire fighters might decide to come looking for him, and it wouldn’t do to be discovered before Thomas Corker came to investigate matters. As the fire bell started ringing out from downstairs, Alden couldn’t help but smile a little vindictively. The trap was set and baited, and now he just had to wait for his quarry to come sniffing around.