World in Tatters Chapter 12

I take my time walking back to Alexandre’s inn. Skirting the main roads but staying close enough to keep my bearings. If nothing else, it gives me time to think. The last week has been all over the place for me. On the one hand, I’ve been able to reconnect with Alice, who I haven’t gotten to see since my family left Atlanta six years ago. But on the other hand, someone likely high up in the Atlanta government put a pretty hefty bounty on me and my family. We still don’t know why. We still don’t know who. Hell, I don’t even know if we’re doing the right things to find out.

All I do know, is that I don’t know what else to do. I mean, what choices do we have? The only person we knew who could get us access to that information has now been killed by the same people who are coming after my family. The only thing he told us was that his contact was part of the job. I just hope that CP is the person he was talking about. Although, Philip was bleeding out when we spoke. Everything he said could have just been the rantings of a dying man. I hope that’s not the case, but I have no way of knowing until we make contact with CP tomorrow night.

It takes me about an hour to get close to the inn. In the interest of vigilance, I decide to take a look around the perimeter before slipping in through the back door. I detect no immediate signs of danger, no one out of place. No signs of struggle. Small miracles, I guess.

Checking that my knife is clear in its sheath, I move methodically through the hallway and into the stairwell. So far, the only people I’ve seen here are workers I recognize from the last couple days. None of them seem to be acting out of the ordinary.

I figure my first order of business should be finding Alexandre, and giving him the warning. To that order, I proceed to his room, keeping my eyes open and head on a swivel. No detail escapes me: the door propped open on its lock, the faint sound of a couple going at it in one of the rooms, the drunken fop expelling his dinner on the carpet. Alexandre’s room should be just around the corner.

On my right I pass 202 then 204. Alexandre’s is next. I tap out an S.O.S on his door. No response. I wait a moment then knock again. This time calling to the man who is supposed to be inside.

“Hey, Alexandre. You there?” Still no response. “Come on, if you’re there, answer me. It’s important.” Nothing.

I grab the handle. It’s locked, but when I push against the door it gives, granting me access into his home. Whoever was here before me forced this door open, breaking the frame enough to loosen the latch. The room looks pretty much like it did couple days ago. Which is to say, a complete disaster. Other than the forced entry, I couldn’t tell one way or the other if this place has been ransacked.

One thing is sure though, Alexandre isn’t here.

I inspect his things on the desk, making sure there isn’t anything of note there. There isn’t much to go on, but I do find a bit of dried blood and hair stuck to the table leg close to the floor. I would be willing to bet that blood belongs to Alexandre.

Someone took him. It was most likely the same people who wiped out Philip’s cell. Whoever that might be. This is not good. If anyone could identify Alice and me, it’s probably him. I had hoped to warn him before they got to him. Give him time to get out of here. I am obviously too late.

I decide to take some time to really search the room. Not that it matters much. There isn’t anything here that would indicate who did this or where they might have taken him. It looks like they took him by surprise, kicking in the door, shoving Alexandre to the ground beneath his desk. He must have hit his head on the way down. There’s no way to know how badly he was hurt, but they probably wanted him alive for questioning. They must’ve thought this place was too exposed. And they’d be right. Too many witnesses.

At any rate, I can’t do anything about it right now, I just need to get my stuff and get back to Corina’s camp. Back to Alice. I’m sure she knows where I am by now. I’ll actually be surprised if she doesn’t come after me.

I move back into the hallway, checking both directions before proceeding to the stairwell. I draw my knife, tucking the blade behind my forearm. I’m not taking any more chances. I quickly bound up the stairs to the fourth floor, check that the hall is clear, and head to Alice and my room. I test the key in the lock, and enter without incident.

The room is exactly how we left it this morning. Nothing at all out of place. Looks like Alexandre hasn’t had a chance to give us up. Or maybe he has a sturdier constitution than I give him credit for.

There is, of course, another option. Alexandre’s disappearance could have no connection to Philip’s death or the hunters coming after me. Unfortunately, I have never had that kind of luck. Which means that now I may have another death on my conscience. Two people that have tried to help us, plus the rest of Philip’s men. And tomorrow, the plan is to put Alice, Corina, and all of Corina’s cell in danger, just so I can get to CP and maybe figure out who’s after me. This is one hell of a situation I’m in.

I don’t know what I would do if Alice got hurt because of me. This is my mission. This is my family. The more I think about it, the more I am certain I don’t even want Alice involved in this. Let alone, Corina and her crew. Not that I really see an alternative. Even if I tried to break off and do this alone now, Alice would have me for breakfast. Now that she knows what kind of danger Rachel and I are in, there’s no way she would let us deal with it by ourselves.

Not only that, but I don’t have a way to get to CP on my own. We also promised Corina that we’d help her get those supplies for her people. I am nothing if not a man of my word.

I rummage through the supplies we left behind and pull out my mother’s journal. Sitting down on the bed, I start tracing my fingers along the inlaid design. It’s something I used to do when I needed to think. Even though I’ve had it since my mom’s disappearance, I’ve never been able to bring myself to read it. I guess I saw it as a breach of her privacy. But the smooth leather feels comforting in my hands.

She used to tell me how she made the journal herself. I never met my grandfather, but my mom told me he was a leathersmith. A pretty successful one at that. He taught her his trade as she was growing up. She learned to hunt, trap, tan, treat and work but his success also afforded her an excellent education. Once she started her studies, she found an affinity for books. That’s how she met my father.

She told me that one day, on a whim, she decided to bind her own book as a present for her new love interest. While she was working on it, she decided that she was going to keep the first one for herself and wrote in it every so often. The last time I saw her write in it was the day before that supply run.

The loud moans and creaking springs from the room next door yanked me out my memory. Some people are shameless. I can’t really blame them, though, whoever they are. If I had someone… and weren’t running for my life… I might be doing the same thing. I really can’t help but laugh a little.

I slip my pack off my back and start loading up our gear. As for my mother’s journal, I wrap it back up in my cleanest shirt and tuck it in with the rest.

I figure it’s time for me to leave now. I’ve already been here for an hour, it’s going to take another hour to get back to camp. If I take much longer than that, Alice will probably save the bounty hunters the trouble of murdering me. Although, I am getting quite hungry. I don’t see a reason not to grab some food from the mess to eat on my way back.

I do one last sweep of the room to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind then head back downstairs. When I get down to the first floor I hear some commotion coming from the dining area. I can’t quite make out what they’re saying, so I quietly toward the voices, knife in hand.

Once I’m close enough, I can start to make out individuals.

“I’m going to ask you one more time.” Odd. That’s Richard’s voice. Though, he sounds more concerned than angry. “Are you sure you don’t know what happened to Alexandre? He was supposed to have some information for us, but when we went to his room, he was gone.”

“I don’t know.” This time it’s a woman’s voice. “I haven’t seen him today. He just owns the place. We don’t go to him unless we have to.”

“Have you seen anyone out of the ordinary?” Came a different woman’s voice. Kiera I expect. I hadn’t heard her voice before now, but it’s not like I expected. It’s almost gentle. I don’t know why, but I had expected something a little harsher. “Anyone you didn’t recognize as guests?”

“There were some men that came in earlier. They didn’t look like our normal clients, but random people stay here all the time.”

“Do you remember how many of them there were? What they looked like?”

“Four or five. I didn’t pay much attention to them, so I can’t tell you much. I just know that they were carrying guns, which isn’t allowed inside the walls without special permits. Only militia employees get those, but they weren’t in uniform.”

“What about sanctioned bounty hunters? Can they get permits?”

“Only if they have serious connections.”

Well, that unfortunately confirms my suspicions about Alexandre’s disappearance.

“Alright. Thank you. You’ve been a great help.” With that, I hear Richard and Kiera getting up to leave. I should really get out of sight. As quietly as I can, I slip around the nearest corner until I hear Kiera and Richard enter the stairwell.

Once they’re gone, I head back to the dining hall. The way I figure it, I still need to eat. Even if some shady characters were here earlier. The lady at the counter is visibly rattled from her conversation with Richard and Kiera. I decide it’s best not to press the matter right this minute.

Tonight’s special: chicken and gruel. I scarf down the meal as quickly as I can, because, let’s face it, I wouldn’t be able to eat it on the go. As for the chicken, I pull a piece of leather from my pack, wrap the chicken, and tuck it into my pocket. Now that I have my food, it’s probably best I get gone.