The Hatter & The Hare

III. Hearts and Minds

The city was her kingdom. That was an undeniable truth. Whether you asked the richest or the poorest person, the answer would be the same. She was the undisputed queen.

Barbara Hart had been running Rose Red Industries for years, having convinced her husband that it would be better for the company if he turned it over to her. After all, while he was wealthy and inherited Rose Red from his late father, Mrs. Hart had a career of experience in business. When asked if her husband was incompetent, she would always say no but that wasn't the truth. Her husband wasn't a fitting king for a queen like her. He was a weak-willed, scared, spoiled little man who let her walk over him.

And that's just how she liked it.

At thirty-six years old, she had been voted at the top of countless success lists. Been given numerous rewards for charities and benefits. She didn't care about any of that, though. The surface of Rose Red was as boring and shallow as her husband. Her true business lurked beneath the mundane sponsoring and billboards.

Looking out her office window at the countless buildings and streets, it was comforting to know that it was all hers. Every last inch of it.

Well, mostly. There were a few dying flowers in her garden but they'd soon be plucked.

There was a knock from behind her.

A well-dressed man stood in her doorway, a wicked grin stretched across his face.

"Felix. How nice of you to make it."

Felix had a habit of dressing in darkly colored business attire, a purple tie neatly tucked under his vest. His long coat matched his neatly combed jet black hair. There weren't many who knew his exact age, but to Mrs. Hart, he looked to be approaching forty; an attractive forty, at that. Though, as far she knew, Felix had little interest in women, men, or anything that didn't include his business.

Felix was without a doubt the greatest criminal broker anyone had ever heard of. There wasn't a single major deal in the city that Felix didn't facilitate. He could make the most spiteful of enemies co-operate and become the greatest of friends, or at the very least, successful partners. He stuck his toes into just about every aspect of the criminal underworld that ran the city; whether it was drug trafficking, money laundering, or gun running, Felix had a hand in it. Though, he never created businesses of his own. He had no desire to build an empire. He was perfectly content being the middle man to some of the world's most dangerous criminals.

Felix liked to say that he was the little piece that kept all of the other gears moving.

"It's not often I get to pay this palace of yours a visit. As fancy as I remember." Felix said.

His wide smile didn't leave his face as he casually walked forward, peering around the office and running the tips of his left fingers along the couch.

"Let me guess, this is about that fire those two started mere hours ago. What's that, the fourth this month? Oh wait--" Felix stopped and raised a finger in thought, "--fifth."

"Ha. No thanks to you. As I recall it, you were supposed to find them."

Felix let himself fall onto the leather couch, his black coat draping over it as he lazily put his feet up, and visibly got himself very comfortable. A little too comfortable for Mrs. Hart's taste but she let it slide. 

"They're surprisingly evasive. Who would have thought a man who wears rabbit ears on his head would be so hard to find?" Felix snickered to himself.

"Usually when people who work for me fail, I just have my men remove their heads from their shoulders."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I don't work for you, Barb. I like my head exactly where it is. And who's to say if you did chop off my head, that it would even kill me?" Felix's smile seemed to evoke a wink.

Mrs. Hart couldn't help but smile herself, though hers was pitiful in comparison to his.

Felix was the topic of many tall tales that had spread throughout the city, despite none of the tellers knowing a thing about him personally, not even his name. To the general public and especially the criminal underworld, Felix was seen as something of an urban legend, and Mrs. Hart had heard so many variations throughout the years. They would say he was everywhere, the most popular theory being that he was an invisble face in the sky, watching over everything in the city.

They would say the only thing you could see was a large smile, grinning in the air.

"So, now that we can dispense with the pointless threats of decapitation, what can I do for you, my dear?"

"We've lost an employee."

"Oh," Felix's eyes seemed to glint with a newfound curiousity and he sat up on the couch. "You want me to find someone else now. Wonderful. Failing to find The Hare and The Hatter was just starting to get tedious."

"Don't completely stop looking for the arsonists, of course, but this takes priority."

"I'm all ears."

"Allison Carrol has run away."

Felix's face showed no reaction to the news. He just kept on smiling, almost absent-minded.

"She's--" Mrs. Hart began.

"One of the developers for the White Rabbit. Interesting girl."

Mrs. Hart wasn't surprised that Felix knew. There was very little that he didn't.

"She ran off after finding out who we were selling the project to."

"Well that's unfortunate," There was no sympathy in his voice. He actually seemed like he was trying to restrain giggles from leaving his body. "You know what happens if that project isn't completeted. Your buyer made it very specific when I got you that deal. Very specific."

"I know. Which is why we need to get her back immediately to finish it. Those two buffoons down there are helpless without her."

"Noted," Felix leaned back a bit, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "So...say I do bring her back, who is to say that she'll just slap her gloves on and get back to work as usual?"

"She'll do it. By force or otherwise. She wouldn't be the first person who has said no to us. It didn't matter with those people. It won't matter with her."

"Sounds fun," Felix rose to his feet and brushed himself off of imaginary dust. "I'll get her back for you, Barb. After all, you and I both need her to finish the White Rabbit. If she doesn't, we're both dead."

Mrs. Hart nodded, refusing to show her fear at the prospect. Things would go as planned. They always did.

Almost gliding across the room with light footsteps, Felix casually made for the door but turned back when he got there, the same toothy grin pulling his cheeks apart.

"Smile once in awhile, Mrs. Hart. Less wrinkles."

The door closed and Felix vanished, but that almost permanent smirk seemed to linger.