Same Story, Something New

29 - Administration

Allison's POV

Alice walked back out to the lobby shortly after that to calm Helen down. Susan followed since she was worried about her sister. Boris also followed since he had become rather fond of Helen. None of us expected Helen to ask that heartbreaking question. It caught everyone off guard.

Wally sighed. "Since Alice is working on calming Helen down, shall we work on draining that hallway?"

I nodded. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. What do we need to do Tom?"

"See those pipes?" Tom asked, pointing to a group of pipes near the door. I nodded. "Notice how there's a few sections missing? That's why the hallway is flooded. Fortunately, there's an Ink Maker nearby just in case any sections of these pipes broke. All we need to do is collect some extra-thick ink, and use the ink maker to create replacements for the missing sections."

"Okay, where can we get some?" I asked.

"I can answer that." Wally said with a grin. "All we need to do is enter Administration. Next to Joey's office is a small area with an exposed pipe above a small vat. Ink is constantly being poured into the vat, but is also being drained at the same time so it doesn't overflow. It's common to find some extra-thick ink in that thing."

My husband frowned. "Oh yeah. Wasn't that your idea?"

Wally nodded. "Yep."

"Anyways, let's talk to Alice before we go collect some extra thick ink."

They nodded, and followed me as I walked out to the lobby. Alice was feeding Helen, while Boris was trying to get his favorite bone back from Susan.

"Mother Angel," I called as I walked up to her.

"Yes sweetie?"

"I just wanted to let you know we are planning on heading into Administration to collect some extra-thick ink. That way we can use the ink maker to fix the pipes in the Gent Home Office, and drain the hallway."

She sighed. "Can't you wait a bit? It's not safe. I can hear Fisher, Piper, and Striker in there."

Tom groaned. "It feels like those twisted Butcher Gang clones are everywhere."

"I know what you mean," I replied, then turned to Alice. "We'll be fine, I promise."

"Can you please wait?" She begged. "I'm almost done feeding Helen, then I'll need to change her. After that we could all go in together."

"Mother Angel, we've got this, I promise."

She sighed. "Very well. Be careful. Also, I better not find any cuts or bruises when you return. Am I clear?"

I nodded. "Crystal." I turned to Tom and Wally. "Let's go."

---

Things were going well at first. We were being stealthy, and made sure the Butcher Gang didn't know we were there. We even managed to get to Joey's office without being seen by them. At least, that's what we were led to believe. It's after we grabbed the extra-thick ink when we discovered the truth.

As it turns out these particular clones had brains. Apparently, they were responsible for the missing pipe sections. Plus, they knew Administration had the easiest source of the extra-thick ink needed so replacements could be made. Even worse, they knew we were there almost immediately. So basically we walked right into their trap.

"Any chance Alice won't find out?" Wally quietly asked me as Fisher, Piper, and Striker pounded against the door of Joey's office, as he and Tom pressed their wait against it.