One hundred and twenty-two: Walking the pavement

At the door, Alistair looked back, as if asking if I was sure I could do this.

"We don't know until we know," I shrugged at him.

He nodded back.

Neither of us wanted anyone else to know. There were still some people in the agency who would like to get their hands on me, out from under Alistair's watchful eye, so that they could pump me dry and then get at Dr Eisor's goods inside of me. Then there were the Boskies. I knew they were still around. I'd seen some of them dressed as janitors or working as nurses. Then there were Alistair's people, also hidden among the medical workers. There were so many people keeping an eye on me. Tonight, I'd find out how good all of them really were at their jobs.

Actually, I was surprised at how much Alistair was trusting me. He was trusting me with both his life and his job. He was also trusting that I knew what I was doing and would be able to get to the address without being seen. If I wasn't wrong, he still had a few trusted people who would be keeping an eye on me throughout my route, just in case. He was that sort of a careful person. He may not have mentioned anything, but I'm sure that he knew that I would have guessed it.

At the end of the afternoon, the day nurses left and the evening nurses had their brief handover meeting. It was during this time, while there was still a bit of chaos through the ward with people moving everywhere, that I left wearing my new clothes, carrying the rest of them on my back in my new backpack and wearing enough makeup to make me seem like a visitor. If anyone looked at me carefully, they might notice me. As it was, nobody noticed this gum smacking lady that looked like someone's overly skinny younger sister walk out with a bouncy step. I followed some other hospital staff down a flight of stairs, whereupon I made as if to return to the main corridors, whereas they continued down the stairs.

From a distance, I followed them into the bowels of the hospital - to the service areas in the basement. There I followed the signs to a restroom. When I came back out, I was wearing different clothes again, with a different style of makeup. Just in case. Now I looked like a tired nurse, leaving work with a footsore gait. I joined the other workers who were leaving the hospital, following them out the exit and giving them the same tired smile and nod that they gave each other at the gates when they went their separate ways.

Using the cash Eleanor had given me, I took a train to a random location where I got off when I saw a fast food restaurant. I bought myself a small meal, ate what I could and then used the restroom again. Once more, I had changed clothes, hairdo and makeup. I wasn't sure if changing disguises so many times was needed, but it felt right. Especially if I was trying to keep eyes off me. Now I was a jogger who had come out for a run or who had just been to the gym. Nobody glanced at me twice.

From there, I took a random bus, getting off at a pre-agreed shopping centre where I mixed with the shopping crowd. By the time I came out of the shopping centre, I had changed clothes again and only had one more disguise left in mind that I could change into. It was almost time to head to my actual destination. The train and bus that I had taken had brought me in the general direction I wanted to go. Taking three more buses that went in various directions, it was quite late in the evening when I knocked at the door to my destination, feeling sore, out of breath and exhausted. All I wanted was to sleep.

Alistair opened the door and looked around, before he spotted me emerging from a shadow by the door. He raised an eyebrow at me dressed all in black, letting me in. Eleanor had bought me an awesome wardrobe of clothes and I would never be able to tell her how many disguises her shopping trip had given me. Pity.

Once the door was shut, Alistair drew me into a quick hug of relief and then helped me take my bag, pulling me to the table, where he sat me down to eat.

"My people are no amateurs, but you lost them the moment you stepped into the stairwell," he told me, shaking his head. "I can't believe the professionals lost to a self-taught amateur. Boy am I glad you don't belong to any agency and you only taught yourself this stuff for fun. God knows what sort of a legend you would have become if you had proper training. Nobody at any of the set locations noticed you at all. Do you mind if I call them all in?"

"Sure," I massaged the back of my neck that had been tense all day and took another bite of the still steaming, oozing chocolate pudding his wife had made. It was good. Even better with the glass of milk he had poured for me on the side.