As Alice Corker was escorted home by one of the prince’s guards, the prince, Alden and Lucille shared an evening meal in a small back room behind the interrogation chamber. Since the meal was comprised entirely of food that was available in this secret sub-basement, Alden was hardly impressed by the offerings. Hardtack, cured meat and dried fruit may have their place, but it wasn’t as an evening repast. Quite frankly, Alden was shocked by the prince’s eagerness in devouring such crude fare. If anything, he seemed the least bothered by the simplicity of the meal out of the three of them. Alden was not quite as unbothered, but he was hungry and the tea was serviceable enough, so he unenthusiastically worked his way thought the tough, chewy morsels. Lucille, despite probably being just as hungry, grudgingly picked at some of the fruit while fully ignoring the hardtack and meat. “You and your young assistant will be working with the team Lucille set to studying the burning drug starting tomorrow, Alden.” Alden turned to the prince with a bit of a start. Prince Wallace hadn’t said a word since they started eating, so the sudden statement rather took him by surprise. “I suppose we could, but why?” “Lucille and I are putting together a force to deal with the so-called ‘Sunshine Club’. When we do, we’re going to want to treat whoever can be saved as quickly and efficiently as possible. We need to make sure we have the best possible antidote on hand. You have four days, Alden. Make sure you’re ready.” Alden hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose that makes sense. Besides, it’s not like we can do any work in the tinctury for the immediate future. I did rather set it on fire, after all. No matter how much money I throw at the problem, it will take a few days to repair and renovate it.” The prince shrugged. “Simply send an expenses report to Lucille and she’ll cover the cost.” Alden nodded, quietly deciding to add all the elaborate and expensive equipment he hadn’t been able to get when he first furnished the tinctury to his plans for the renovation. If the cost was entirely coming out of Lucille’s seemingly endless funding, he didn’t have to settle for making the workroom as good as new. Not when it could be made far better. “Very well. Where should Tiffany and I head to meet with the research team?” “They’re working out of the Slime Mould Research Building at the University of Oxford.” Lucille replied. “Practically nobody gives a damn about slime moulds, so nobody ever bothers to look into what actually happens in there. Well, with a very small number of exceptions. But the four people at the university who actually wish to study slime moulds are more than happy to overlook the fact that the building supposedly dedicated to their field is actually a secret laboratory. Especially since it means their own research is fully funded without quibbles.” “Yes, I imagine receiving funding for the study of slime moulds through traditional channels might be difficult… I’ll bring Tiffany with me and head over there tomorrow, just as soon as I’ve put in the necessary work and purchase orders for the renovation of my workroom.” The prince nodded. “Very good. I trust you’ll have results before the raid.” Alden’s face darkened as he remembered the people chained up beneath the Sunshine Club. “Don’t you worry, Prince Wallace. I’ll do everything in my power to get those people out safe.” The next morning ended up being rather hectic for Alden, who had to contact and make agreements with almost a dozen different builders, suppliers and tincturers to get the renovation of his workroom started. In the end, the cost of the project felt a little staggering even to Alden’s recently much more lax financial sensibilities. However, in five days time Stowe’s Tinctures would boast one of the finest tinctury workrooms in the country. Besides, it’s not like Alden was ultimately the one footing the bill in the first place, so he wasn’t too worried about the expense. By the time Alden finally made his way to university grounds with Tiffany in tow, noon was already approaching. Alden felt a little worn out from his busy morning, and Tiffany was acting a little fidgety. Then again, Alden doubted she had ever been introduced to a group of scholars as an expert in her field before, so some nervousness was rather understandable. The Slime Mould Research Building turned out to be a fine old building at the back of the old university grounds, and Alden rather suspected it had served as many different things before finally ending up with its current designation. He also suspected the reason such a wonderful building had been given over, at least officially, to such a mundane purpose was because the three buildings that surrounded it all had extensions added to them over the years, and now the only way to actually get to the building was by squeezing through one of three cramped little alleyways. The front door of the building opened to reveal a reception area furnished in an extremely outdated style, and which managed to give off the feeling of long disuse despite the fact that it was perfectly clean. The only other person in the room was a rather stodgy-looking old man seated at a small desk. He was reading a large book about symbiotic fungus, and very blatantly took his time finding an appropriate point to pause his reading before he looked up to see who had entered. “Ah, you must be with that lot. Door to the right, then down to the end of the corridor. Off with you.” Without so much as waiting for a reply, the man returned to his reading. Alden shared a glance and a shrug with Tiffany, and the two of them followed the man’s instruction. Heading through the indicated door, they found themselves in a far more vibrant part of the building. Modern gas lighting had been installed, and the sound of activity could be heard behind every door that branched off from the long corridor. Making their way down to the door at the end, they soon found themselves within a massive laboratory space, overseen by none other than Wilhelm Proud himself. The man seemed just as vivacious as ever, although Alden noted he that a fresh burn covered a significant portion of the man’s left cheek. Still, if the burn was giving him any discomfort, he sure didn’t show it as he turned to Alden with a welcoming smile on his face. “Alden! Good to see you again, man!” “And you, Master Proud. I didn’t realize you were in charge of this effort.” “Oh, I find myself in charge of a lot of interesting things, given my position and circumstances. I am, as ever, comfortably ensconced within the pocket of our dear Lucille.” “I suppose if you have to be in anyone’s pocket, Lucille Baines’ pocket is a good choice. She has some very deep pockets, after all.” Wilhelm burst out laughing. “Indeed! Now, do introduce me to this lovely young lady. I suppose she’s the much-rumoured genius who created the antidote?” “Indeed she is. Tiffany, this is Wilhelm Proud, Master of Laboratories here at the university. Master Proud, this is Tiffany Dawkins.” Wilhelm grabbed Tiffany’s hand in a handshake that was clearly a bit too firm for Tiffany’s comfort. “Charmed! Any relation to the Norfolk Dawkinses, by any chance?” Tiffany hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “None close enough to matter, Master Proud.” “Hah! Now on that point we’re very much alike! My grandmother on my mother’s side was born a Dawkins, but my mother has never so much as been invited to the estate for her whole life. The old Baron Dawkins was a joyless, uncharitable sort, and the current one doesn’t seem any better to me.” Tiffany smiled a little weakly. “No argument from me, Master Proud. I can’t say I have any love for the man.” “Then you are an excellent judge of character, and I’m sure we shall get along swimmingly. Now, you simply must tell me how you managed to concoct an antidote to the burning drug so quickly! We’ve been working on that same problem around the clock ever since we figured out we could get proper results using monkeys as test subjects, but we didn’t make one jot of progress!” “Now that’s not true, Master Proud. Some of the observations I found within your work were very helpful to me.” “Bah! The best we managed was figuring out what wouldn’t work. We even tried bloodletting, which is a crude last resort for dealing with an inflamed sanguine humour even at the best of times. But that simply led to severe arrhythmia, and while some of the monkeys did die from their hearts stopping before they could catch fire, that’s hardly helpful. So imagine our surprise when some young thing unknown to academic circles cracked the problem in mere hours!” “It’s really not that impressive, Master Proud. I simply happened to have some particularly relevant specialist knowledge to call upon. The burning drug is composed entirely of compounds used as aphrodisiacs and androgenic enhancements, and androgenic inhibitors just happens to be my main field of study.” “My goodness, is it really? What a peculiar field to specialize in! What could you possibly be studying that for?” Tiffany hesitated for a moment, but then steeled herself and leaned in to whisper in Wilhelm’s ear. The man’s eyes gradually grew wider as he listened to her explanation. “My word! What a fascinating tale! I’m sure Professor Whimsloe at the psychology department would love to have a chat with you! She’s conducting an extensive study of aberrant…” Seeing that Tiffany was starting to look a little uncomfortable, Alden decided it was high time for him to step in. “Perhaps we should go and get properly acquainted with the work you’re doing here? After all, we need results as soon as possible, or else Lucille is going to be rather displeased with us.” As expected, bringing up Lucille’s name was enough to instantly shake Wilhelm out of his current musings. “Well, gods forbid we do anything to make our dear Lucille upset with us. Come along Alden. And you too of course, my dear! I shall introduce you to our merry band of tireless researchers!” As it turned out, the band of researchers was neither particularly merry nor very tireless. It became immediately obvious to Alden that the gathered academics, who seemed to have nothing in common save for the fact that Lucille Baines clearly has some sort of hook in each and every one of them, were all deeply exhausted by this project. In every one of their faces, Alden saw the look of a person who had slept too little and heard far too many monkeys screeching as they caught on fire. Sure, Wilhelm Proud was a constant source of loud, boisterous and thoroughly inexhaustible cheer, but the rest of the team seemed on the brink of outright revolt. As such, it was rather shocking just how quickly the downtrodden air of the research team was turned on its head by introducing Tiffany into the mix. Part of it was the fact that she knew the answers to quite a number of the questions the team had been bashing their heads against for days and even some they hadn’t yet realized they ought to be asking. But Alden suspected that the main reason Tiffany brightened the mood so much was the fact that she was unfailingly polite, sweetly cheerful and perfectly willing to help with any task, including the more messy or gruesome ones. Seeing Tiffany finding her place in the team so quickly, Alden found himself considering what exactly he could bring to the table. Besides his experience as a working tincturer, of course. In the end, he realized that while Wilhelm Proud was excellent at motivating people to work, he was terrible at understanding other people’s needs. As such, Alden took it upon himself to make damn sure that everyone actually ate and slept properly, even if it meant having to dragoon people into taking over ongoing tasks from the more sleep-deprived members of the team. In all honesty, despite the time pressure they were all working under, Alden found he rather enjoyed the days they spent working with Lucille’s research team. The laboratory was easily the most well stocked and equipped space Alden had ever worked in, and the sheer breadth of reference materials available was staggering. Besides, he found he had something of a knack for making sure people took proper care of themselves, and it was strangely satisfying to see the energy and vigour returning to the research team despite the slightly frantic pace of the work. But the most satisfying thing was watching Tiffany acting so completely in her element. Her specialist knowledge and sunny demeanour had instantly secured her place at the heart of the research team, and it was obvious that she loved every moment of it. Watching the triumph on her face when repeated testing had finally confirmed that they’d managed to create a safe, reliable, fast-acting antidote that could be injected to save subjects even on the brink of combustion filled Alden with such satisfaction that he frankly couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so fulfilled. He couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle as he shook his head. “No matter how you look at it, my girl really is amazing.” “You got that right, Alden! Stellar work from the both of you! The difference you’ve made to the team really is like night and day!” Alden just about jumped out of his skin. A man as large and as loud as Wilhelm Proud had no business sneaking up on people. Before he could calm his suddenly hammering heart, Wilhelm kept on talking. “I don’t suppose I could convince the two of you to keep working here on future endeavours? I really feel you’d make quite the difference, even on projects less immediately relevant to your specialties.” Alden huffed. Despite seeing how well she’d taken to working here, Alden found he quite despised the idea of Tiffany being stolen away from her work at his tinctury long term. “I suppose you might be able to convince Tiffany to assist you in her spare time. Although you may well have to fight her lady friend over it. But I will thank you to remember that she has already has steady employment at Stowe’s Tinctures. As for myself, as much as I have enjoyed my work here, I go where Lucille’s money leads.” Wilhelm laughed merrily. “Now there’s a sentiment I understand completely. Very well, I shall bow to Lucille’s wishes as always. And I promise I won’t try to steal dear Tiffany away from you. Now, let’s get back to work. We’ll need to prepare as much of the antidote as we can, not to mention work out appropriate dosages.” Alden arrived at the Baines residence late in the afternoon, and the cab driver helped him move a number of large cases into the house. From there, he took several trips to actually bring them all up to Lucille’s office, while Lucille herself looked on in mild bemusement. “What is all this, Alden?” “More than two hundred properly secured and stored syringes filled with different dosages of the new antidote, along with several hundred standard doses worth of the antidote prepared for long-term storage, just in case. There’s also detailed instructions on how to properly inject the antidote and how to quickly assess what dosage to use.” Lucille smiled. “I see that our faith in you and young Tiffany was not misplaced, Alden. Good work.” “Are you going to toss money at me again?” Lucille huffed playfully. “That’s an awfully cheeky thing to ask after sticking me with a bill of over six hundred pounds for the renovation and restocking of your workroom.” “I can be as cheeky as anything when it comes to money.” Lucille snorted and pulled another little purse out of her desk drawer, throwing it at Alden. “Here. Take it, you absolute pirate of a man.” “I have to ask, is that drawer just stuffed full of coin pouches?” “No, but I make sure there’s always two or three so I can keep up the illusion.” “Doesn’t it rather ruin the effect if you tell me that?” “I think we’re close enough by now to dispense with some of the theatrics, Alden. But enough pleasantries. The raid will be taking place tomorrow. We’re going to block off the entire area while we work, with the help of the portion of the constabulary that answers to my royal patron.” “Why go to the trouble of clearing the whole area? Won’t that attract a lot of attention?” “Certainly, but it also means we can keep people away from the site itself. From what Thomas Corker told us about his reports to the mysterious ‘bastard’ and the orders he’d been receiving, I doubt the bastard in question has any reason to suspect we’ve developed an antidote. To him, it should with any luck seem much more likely that you simply discovered the poisoning attempt before the dosage became lethal. If at all possible, we want him to keep believing that, and that means nobody outside our control can see the antidote being administered to the freed captives.” “That seems rather ambitious, but I can certainly see the value of keeping any knowledge of the antidote away from our adversary.” “For that purpose, I’d like you to station your girls outside the perimeter of the blockade so they can report any Han loyalists that come to snoop or cause trouble to our people.” “I’ll see what I can do.” “And I’ll want you to be standing by outside the building when we raid it, in case your experience with the poison and the antidote becomes necessary to save the life of a captive. I’ll send a carriage to come fetch you first thing in the morning.” Alden considered the matter for a moment. “Is it all right if I bring one more person with me? They will simply be staying out of sight in the carriage, so they shouldn’t get in the way of anything.” “As long as it's someone you trust I suppose that’s not a problem. Just make sure they’re on time tomorrow. I won’t accept any delays.” The sun was already setting by the time Alden had located Mei Jing and asked her and the girls to keep an eye out in the area around Whalebone Street the following day. If anything, Mei Jing had been almost worryingly eager to accept the request, and Alden found himself repeating his usual warnings to be careful more than once. But he couldn’t quite go home to rest and prepare just yet. He still had one more thing to take care of. It took him a fair bit of time to locate Em, finally finding the child getting ready to sleep in a back corner of one of the more run-down rooms of The Place. Em was clearly surprised to see Alden at such a late hour, but Alden simply placed a hand on their shoulder. “I need you to make your way over to my tinctury at first light tomorrow, Em. There’s something I think you should see.”