After Steve had told Nadine what had happened, they’d called a cab for transportation, and they had spent most of the cab ride talking. The current subject was the letter. “So they’re sure the Emperor is missing?” Steve asked angrily.

“That’s what Rachel said,” Nadine confirmed. “I hope she just forgot where she put him, because if he did get stolen, then that’s really bad. Although I know her well enough to know that she doesn’t really misplace things that much. Actually, not at all. So either he got himself out or somebody stole him.”

“Just great!” Steve exclaimed in exasperation. “All that work to get rid of him, and he escapes in just a few months! If he was locked up in a place where nobody but Rachel goes, how did he convince someone to free him?”

“Hold on there,” said Nadine. “We don’t even know if he was behind it. For all we know, it could have absolutely nothing to do with him. The culprit might’ve just seen the jar and stolen it because they liked it or something.”

“What a horrid day,” Steve said, rubbing his forehead. “First I get teased because of that picture, then I find out my grandparents got attacked, there’s a sickness that maybe we caused, and now the Emperor’s escaped. At least you got a free calzone out of today. I half expect Rachel’s prophecy to be true now.”

“Even if it is, it won’t matter. You’re still you,” said Nadine reassuringly. The taxi stopped at the hospital, so Steve paid the fare to the computer and they went inside. They made their way through the hospital to find someone to ask about his grandparents, but to their surprise, they ran into someone they knew. It was Alec Hills, another Industrian that had been trapped by the Emperor. They’d brought him home when they’d come back to Earth after their last trip. He was nearly as smart as Hannah, and was currently following her example to become a detective. They hadn’t really talked to him much since then, since he lived a ways away. His being a senior in high school also contributed to that.

“Oh, hey guys!” Alec exclaimed when he saw them, walking up to them and shaking them both warmly by the hand. “Hannah told me what happened, and she asked me to come help out.”

“Help out?” Steve asked. “What are you going to do?”

“Well, Hannah’s been giving me some training to be a detective, so I thought I might lend my expertise to this case. Hannah’s tied up at the moment, so she asked me to look into it for her. Believe me, she’d be here herself if she could.”

“Don’t you live far away, though?” Nadine asked. “How’d you get here so fast?”

Alec looked surprised at this. “The attack happened at 12:30 and my school gets out at 2:15. It’s 6:07 now. That’s more than enough time.”

Considering Steve had only found about the attack after his school got out at four, that left a big gap between when it happened and when he’d been told that he wasn’t too happy about, especially since Hannah had obviously known well before he had. She’d probably known when she’d talked to him in the hall earlier. This wasn’t the first time someone had deliberately not told him something important, such as the time some fangirls invaded Steve’s house while he was at summer camp, and the fact it still continued was incredibly annoying. That was one of the main reasons he’d bonded with Nadine so much – she’d had something similar happen to her back home. As mad as he was, though, he wasn’t about to turn down help. “All right, let’s go see them,” he told Alec and Nadine.

Alec led the way, walking quickly through the halls until they reached the appropriate room. The nameplate on the wall beside the door read ‘Harmon.’ Steve went first, while the other two remained outside to give him time with his family.

His grandparents were in parallel twin beds within the room, busy watching a show on the provided hospital electronics, which wouldn’t interfere with the medical equipment. They both brightened considerably when they saw Steve. “Hey, how are you doing?” Steve asked, stopping at the foot of the nearest bed.

“We’re hanging in there,” Abdul said, smiling at him gently. “Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with this.” He said ‘this’ sarcastically, which didn’t surprise Steve one bit. “It is the first time they barged into our home, though.”

“So you’ve dealt with this crap before?”

Fatima leaned forward gingerly and took Steve’s hand with one of her own, which was heavily bandaged. “The two of us are Muslims in America, Steve. We’ve had a lot of dealings with idiots over the years.”

It was true they were practicing Muslims, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at them. Neither wore traditional clothing or any religious accessories outside religious services, and could easily be mistaken for Italian or Hispanic at a glance. “So, you two seem to be doing pretty well,” Steve told them.

“As well as we can,” said Abdul. “There were only three attackers, so after they got a couple of hits on us, we barricaded ourselves in a cupboard and called your father.”

“Thank goodness,” Steve said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I’ve got some friends out in the hall that wanted to visit you, too. Do you mind if I let them in?”

The two shared a look. “By all means, let them in!” Fatima smiled at him. Steve went to the door and poked his head out. A few seconds later, the other two were in the room. “Oh, if it isn’t Nadine!” Fatima exclaimed.

“You remembered my name?” Nadine asked excitedly as the two embraced. Apparently they got along really well.

“What kind of question is that?” Fatima smiled. “Are you saying my memory is bad?”

“No, of course not!” Nadine exclaimed, letting go and putting up her hands defensively. Abdul and Fatima both laughed at her silly behavior.

“Cute girlfriend,” Abdul told Steve, winking. That just made Steve’s face flush again, while Alec cracked up near the door, trying and failing to stifle it. In response, Steve waved Alec over to the group, drawing his grandparents’s attention to him.

“And who are you?” Abdul asked Alec.

“Alec Hills,” he replied, shaking hands with the two of them. “I’m a friend of theirs, but I’m also a bit of a detective. Would you mind if I asked you some questions?”

The two shared a look, as if mentally communicating. It looked like they were having a full conversation just by staring at each other. “We’re fine with that,” Abdul told him. Fatima gestured for the three to sit down in the guest chairs.

“All right, then,” Alec said, preparing to take notes. He also took out an audio recorder. “I know you already talked to the police, but this is separate to the investigation they’re doing. You also have my word that if I track down who did this to you either myself or with the aid of my friends, I’ll contact the police immediately rather than try to deal with them alone.”

The two shared another look. “Ask away, young man,” Fatima said, sitting up and leaning into her pillows. Abdul did likewise.

“Very well,” Alec began. “First off, could you give me a description of what happened?”

The questioning went on for half an hour, and Steve tuned out after the initial perp descriptions were done. “So, did you get what you needed?” Steve asked Alec after they said their goodbyes and left.

Alec looked over his notes. “Let’s hope so. I haven’t really done any questioning like that before, so I’ll leave it to Hannah to decide that.”

“Are you Hannah’s assistant or something?” Nadine asked suddenly.

“I prefer the term ‘partner’, but that’ll work,” Alec told her. He clapped Steve on the shoulder suddenly and continued, “Besides, if I’m working with her, then that means you won’t run into any more situations like that one that sent you to Marisia, doesn’t it? Now, I’d better give Hannah an update about the attack, so I’ll see you two later.” He walked over to a chair and sat down to begin emailing his answers.

“I suppose that’s our cue to leave,” Steve told Nadine. “We’ve got to get ready for that guy showing up tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, and I’ve got to send Rachel a response so she’ll know to send the patient,” Nadine replied. “I tell you what: you tell your parents about the guy arriving and I’ll take care of the letter and any other arrangements.”

“Deal.”