The first drink may not have been a terrible idea, but the fourth (fifth?) definitely had been. The sun was no more merciful today, and even behind shades, the sun burned her eyes. She could practically feel the way Luka looked at her, although her head was pounding, and she was keeping her eyes closed as much as possible. Luka was, of course, ever the morning person, so it was barely eight. By the time Alice had made it back to the Academy, it was way past midnight, and even through the haze of the hangover, she could feel the lack of sleep.

"I could heal that, if I wasn't infected," was all he said.

"You know any other Healers who'll do it?" Academy Healers did not heal hangovers, and of course Alice had chosen to befriend a Forger and a Summoner, but no Healers.

"Probably," Luka said, "but we don't have time for that."

Alice groaned, but followed him. She figured they would be heading for the nature side of the Academy, to get Field for another day of searching buildings, but he was headed in the opposite direction. She wasn't really focused on where they were going, not until they entered the shimmering kaleidoscope of the glass tower.

"Wait," she said, stopping in her tracks. "Where are we going?"

"I need to talk to Hadley."

When she stopped, she had hoped he might do the same. He hadn't, and was already heading up the stairs. Alice had to jog to catch up, jostling her poor brain. "Stop, Luka. Please."

She was breathing too hard, harder than she should. Luka stopped. He was still on the stairs, paused in between steps. He didn't snap at her, but he looked like he wanted to.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it's over, Alice. We're not going to search 400 buildings hoping to find something. There's no next move. We lost."

"What about the connection to you? What about the clue?"

"There was no clue."

Alice had to take a moment for her sluggish brain to catch up. There had been a clue. He had mentioned it.

"No. You said there was a clue."

Luka shook his head. "I thought the building was a clue. The nature mage. I was wrong. I think we have to accept that they were luring me there to kill me. To get me out of the way."

Another thing occurred to Alice. "Field said he could ask around about the nature mage. Maybe he even knows who it is. If you could describe…"

"I can't describe any of them. They were wearing masks."

Alice really wished her mind had been clearer for this. "Okay, but…" That couldn't be it. There had to be something else they could do, but she had no idea what.

Luka started back up the stairs.

"We can't give up."

"I'm not giving up," he said.

He reached the landing, and seconds later, so did Alice. "He doesn't want to see you," she said.

Luka slowed, but he didn't stop. "He's going to have to."

Alice gave up. Hadley was just going to have to fight this battle on his own. She trailed behind Luka, but kept back, when he knocked on the door. Luka barged in without waiting for a response, as was his style, while Alice moved slowly forward. She paused in the doorway, wanting to see how the conversation progressed before she ventured inside. She was in no condition to mediate today, and she mostly just wanted to go back to her room and sleep, but she couldn't. Luka was her partner, and she had made promises to Hadley, and this was as much about her as it was about them.

She leaned on the frame of the door, and caught Hadley's eyes.

"Alice," he said, with some relief. "Come in. Close the door."

When he addressed Luka, the chill in his voice sent a shiver through the summer heat. "Sit down, Lavrin."

Luka remained standing.

Alice sat, grateful for the plush chair.

"We're done," Luka said.

"Well, I think you made that perfectly clear the last time we spoke."

"With the case, Thomas. We've done what we could. We failed."

Hadley looked to Alice. She didn't really know what to say, so she gave him sort of a half shrug.

"So, what? You're telling me you give up?"

"No," Luka said, "I'm telling you it's your turn."

"To do what?"

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"We're not going to find them, Thomas. We're not going to find the cure, either. The only way to save everyone is to allow them to come to us." He said the words carefully, and Alice turned to look at him, anticipating the explanation. This part he had yet to share with her.

"How?" Hadley asked, when he didn't continue.

"Negotiation."

"No." His tone made it clear it was his final answer, but Luka didn't back down.

"Thomas," Luka protested.

"No. They're terrorists. We're not negotiating with them."

"That's no longer an option, Thomas. I know what they want."

"You know what they want? How?"

"Because I'm not an idiot. This isn't about hurting the students of the Academy. This is about politics. They're Rogues, and I'm pretty sure this is actually a protest against Academy restrictions."

Hadley pulled a hand through his hair. "So, you're saying you sympathize with them, because you want the same thing?"

"No. I understand them. You don't, because you have no idea how all those rules affect us on the streets."

"That might have been a better argument, if you didn't constantly break those rules."

Luka snorted. "If the Agents wanted to, they could arrest us on sight. No one would care. No one would protest. We walk a constant line between breaking the rules enough to let us do our jobs and not so much that the Academy is willing to spend resources to pursue us. None of which might matter, if you cross an Agent with time on their hands."

Hadley scowled at him, the tension between them growing thick enough that Alice considered cutting in. There was only one problem with that. She had nothing to say that might help, and she wasn't sure they would listen even if she did. She could see the point, that luring them out might be the best option. She was surprised it had never been brought up before, but she could tell Luka had anticipated the reaction, the refusal. They needed to be desperate for him to even suggest it, because he needed some leverage to push the decision through.

"Okay," Hadley said, his hands steepled in front of him. "Do you want to know what those rules are good for? Fine. Our job, above all else, is to ensure the safety of mages. That becomes a lot harder when Rogues are running around unsupervised."

Luka moved to speak, but Hadley silenced him with a gesture. "I know. You don't believe you should be supervised. But that's exactly how something like this is allowed to happen." He glared at Luka, daring him to protest. "The other thing is that without rules, going rogue might suddenly seem a lot more attractive to those people, who only choose the Academy because it's the easier choice. We're already struggling, Lavrin. Our forces are spread thin. We can't afford more people going rogue."

"I don't give a fuck about how the Council justifies it. You think I don't know that one of their greatest qualities is justifying their fucked up actions? That's not the issue here. People deserve to be free, Thomas. Regardless of how badly the Council needs Agents."

"So, what do you suggest, Lavrin? If you have it all figured out." Hadley asked, lowering his hands.

"Independents," Luka answered. He had thought about this for a long time, that much was clear.

"Really? How is that different from working for us as an Agent?"

"There is no badge."

"We both know the badge isn't the issue."

"Maybe not," Luka admitted, "but what the badge represents certainly is. It's a leash around your throats. The Council tells you where to go, what to do. There is no refusing."

Hadley cocked his head. "This is about your parents."

"No. This is about the things I've seen these past ten years as a Rogue. The destruction the Agents leave behind."

"Your parents were heroes, Lavrin." Luka started protesting again, but Hadley didn't let himself get cut off. "They did the right thing."

Something in Luka cracked. Alice could see that he didn't want to engage in this conversation, but his tone shifted. She had never known Luka to shout, but there was a difference between his argumentative anger and his dangerous anger. His voice dropped lower, taking on a threatening growl. "The right thing? Since when is the right thing to let your children grow up alone?" He cut Hadley off before he could answer. "Don't. We're not having this conversation."

Hadley fell silent. Alice felt stunned. She knew his parents were dead, but she had no idea his issues with the Council were connected to it.

In the end, Hadley shook his head. "If I went with you on this, and pushed for a negotiation, how would we even contact them?" He emphasized the 'if', making it clear that he was definitely not going along with this, but was willing to humor Luka all the same.

Luka shrugged. "If this is really political, they're going to be watching you. All you have to do is release a statement, and they will come to you."

"A statement? No," Hadley said. "No. I won't do it. Neither will the Council."

"Fine," Luka said, spreading out his hands. "Maybe you should start figuring out how many people you're willing to sacrifice before you start sacrificing your power instead." He leaned forward on Hadley's desk. "Or maybe you should earn that badge of yours and go out and do the work yourself."

Hadley shot up from his chair. "That's enough. Get out."

"Sore spot?" Luka asked, straightening up slowly. "So the office job isn't a perk. It's a consolation prize."

Hadley moved around his desk, and Luka caught him when he got within reach, slamming him into the wall.

"You want to take a swing at me?" Luka muttered, but the room was silent enough that Alice caught it. "Go ahead and try, but you know I'm right."

"You bastard," Hadley hissed.

Alice was half-way out her chair, and when she saw the way Luka was smiling, she jumped up and put herself between them.

She pushed Luka back, but he wasn't moving. "Luka," she snapped. At one point, Alice had worried that she was a pawn in their game, but her mistake had been in assuming they were playing chess at all. It was a game of chicken, and Alice wasn't even in a car. No, she was uselessly screaming at them from the sidelines. She poured magic into her arms, and pushed harder. Luka grunted under the pressure, but backed up.

"You need to get out," she told him. Her head was still pounding and using her magic made her nauseated. She couldn't handle it, if they charged at each other again. Luka backed out, but he didn't take his eyes off of Hadley. When the door clicked closed behind him, she turned her attention to Hadley. He didn't look like he was focusing on anything.

"Hadley?"

He shook his head, coming back to the here and now.

"I'm really going to need you two to work through these issues," she said, retreating to the chair.

"I told you—"

"I know. You told me to keep him away from you, but if you think Luka is that easy to stop, you're welcome to try."

"Right," Hadley said, slumping into his own chair.

They sat there, lost in their own thoughts and misery. Alice knew she should take off, but she wasn't exactly eager to follow Luka, and what could she even do? He had given up.

Maybe she should try convincing Hadley negotiating was the right move, but she wasn't convinced it was.

Besides, she wasn’t going to move until the nausea settled.

"What about a trap?" She asked, startling Hadley out of his thoughts. "Make plans to negotiate, but make it an ambush."

"They'll be expecting it," Hadley said. "We would have to say too much to even make the announcement. I'm not sure it would be worth it."

Alice nodded. Her fingers were still tingling from the spent magic, and she suddenly became very aware of it. Aware of the fact that she had used magic. In front of Luka.

"Oh, god," she said, looking at her hands, as if she would be able to see the infection spreading. "What did I do?"