Mad as Rabbits

"That could have gone better," O'Hare said sourly as he swept up the bits of broken glass.

"It could have gone worse as well," Hatter countered just to get a rise out of the old man. O'Hare shot him an evil look that promised payback at a later date, but did not respond. So, Hatter continued, " The Queen will not stay angry for long. She needs me too much. She knows that travelers are a rare breed and who else will collect her baubles so willingly? "

"Perhaps Felix Cheshire or one of the Twins?" O'Hare suggested.

Hatter flicked his hand dismissively in the air and replied,"The twins haven't got half a brain between the two of them and Felix? You can't be serious. He is precisely the reason that I will never trust a Sphinx. I'm almost positive he swiped my wallet of me the last time I saw him. No, the Red Queen and I do business well together and it's certainly a case of better the monster you know."

O'Hare's nose twitched as his already beady eyes narrowed. "Need I remind you what happened to her last husband?" he whispered as if the walls had ears.

"Edward? Jesus, I would have chopped that idiots head off. He certainly wasn't using it for anything," Hatter remarked as he went to put the kettle on.

"More tea, sir?" O'Hare inquired.

"It helps me concentrate," Hatter said and that was actually the truth - in a way.

Hatter was a traveler, but he needed to know where he was going. There was a special blend of tea in the cupboard that should do the trick quite nicely. It was his peculiar version of a crystal ball.

If he concentrated very hard on something or someone he could see a small glimpse of their life. It wasn't the entire story, but he would get snapshots of them. It wasn't an exact science, but if he was lucky it would lead him to her.

He had no way of knowing how to find the girl in the crowd. She could be a Boston local or maybe she traveled from a few states away to see the show. Hatter poured a cup of steaming water and added some loose leaves to steep. There were a few other ingredients in the blend, but those had to be kept top secret or he might not be so indispensable to the Red Queen.

After several minutes of letting the tea steep, Hatter looked into the amber colored liquid and let his eyes go out of focus.

The smell of coffee. A line of people and a familiar sign. It was a Starbuck's.

Then a bathroom. It looked like a public one. The girl was there, but she was bent over the toilet throwing up.

Then smoke... lots of smoke and someone was screaming. Hatter tried to focus more, but the image slipped away. Who was screaming so loudly?

Hatter saw a park next with lots of bare trees. Their bare fingers reached up to the heavens, but their roots kept them firmly on the ground. It was winter and the air was freezing cold. There was a street sign though and that was all he needed.

It was Boston and the girl was sitting on a bench with her head in her hands. She wasn't crying, but the expression on her face stilled his heart. This girl was in agony.