Archive of Our Own

Jack Hackney rarely had enemies. He made it his duty to try make friends with everyone he met. Or to at least get on their good side. He wasn’t the type to bicker and squabble, and he cared far too much about others than to intentionally hurt their feelings. If Jack was known to have an enemy, it would go down as a legend among his friends. However, Jack was human, just like everyone else. He did have enemies... or at least, people he didn’t like. But he would never announce something like that to the world. The closest anyone knew was a rather pretentious ex-leerie that the whole brigade had issues with. It was hardly news. And most other things were kept private. But Jack did have one enemy to leeries’ knowledge. Well, two. But most counted them as a single unit: the Edison couple.

It had probably been about six months since Jack’s unfortunate run in with them. It was by “chance” that he and Mary ran into the pair while Jack was trying to prove himself to her. The story went that the Edison’s hated everything Jack said in his attempt to appease them, and by the end of the evening, he climbed out the window of the restaurant they were at and ran right the way back home. The story had been told and retold over and over to both newcomers and those who just had to hear it all again. Jack was the guy who spent an evening as a rich gent, and since a favourite conversation among leeries was what it would be like to have money, the story had become wildly popular. They’d been having that very conversation that night, too.

“How about a haircut from a barbers?”

“Ooh, imagine that. Last time I had one of them was my wedding.”

“And new shoes with matching laces!”

“God, new shoes in general would be nice. Mine are practically disintegrating. I think I’ll need to save for the next three months to afford another pair, especially with my landlord putting the bills up.”

“Asshole.”

“Bastard.” Those two replies had been in unison.

“What about a hot bath?”

“Now there’s a dream!”

“Yeah, definitely a dream. It’s never going to happen. You might get lukewarm if you’re lucky.”

“You could always leave a bucket of water out in the sun.”

“And risk the strays using it as their bathroom? No way!” The group erupted in laughter. They were all a few drinks deep. They had all finished their rounds for the day, what with it being winter, the sun had set at 4, so with the leeries free for the rest of the evening, they had taken to relaxing at their favourite pub. The conversation waned on for a while longer before they tired of the topic.

“So, lads, anyone got any plans tonight?” While Joey had asked the group expecting an interesting answer, what he got from Angus was a little different,

“Like a nap?”

“Sure, but I was thinking something more exciting.”

“2 naps?” Nobody in the group could stifle a laugh. Even Joey thought it was funny. And Angus laughed along too even though he didn’t understand what he did. But when they finally caught their breaths, Yatesy was quick to comment,

“I’m pretty sure Jack has plans.” His sing song tone caught everyone’s attention as Jack could already anticipate their reaction.

“Do tell.”

“I’m going out with Jane.” Angus whistled teasingly, and Jack could already feel he was blushing.

“Are you finally gonna kiss her?”

“I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see what happens.”

“But you want to, right?” Jack didn’t answer, but he turned a deeper red and the rest of the group started whooping.

“Calm down, I have to visit the bank first.”

“What, why?”

“Michael‘s got a late meeting and I promised to drop off some of his files and a sandwich.”

“Jumping-Jack, forever the errand boy.”

“It’s called being helpful, you could try it yourself.” A chorus of oooohs waned, as Jack held a sly grin. Angus tried to hold back a laugh, but as his lips morphed into a rather odd shape and threatened to burst open, he gave up and started cackling.

“Well, if that’s the case, shouldn’t you be going? You don’t wanna be late.” Jack looked at his watch and found that Joey was right. The meeting started at 6, so he needed to go get everything to take over if he wanted to be able to meet Jane at a reasonable time afterwards.

“Alright then, I’ll be off. See you tomorrow.” As Jack rose, he was met by a chorus of goodbyes. He hurried out and hopped on his bike, pedalling to Cherry Tree Lane to collect the files. It had really only been luck that he spotted him during his rounds. The late sunrises of winter meant that he often passed Michael when he was halfway to work rather than seeing him at the house. So, he passed just in time to see him flapping about his briefcase which, surprise surprise, he’d left at home. The case was full of extremely important files that he needed for a meeting he had after work hours. Unfortunately, he had other important meetings almost all day, and wouldn’t have a chance to leave and collect it, so Jack had promised to bring it round later in the day before the meeting.

He made it to the house at quarter past 5, collecting the files and food from Ellen, saying a brief hello to the children before running back to the bank to arrive half an hour later. He headed inside and went to the front desk, telling the receptionist that he had some things to drop off. He expected to be told to wait for Michael to come down but was surprised to find Michael had left a message for him to say he was in another meeting and for Jack to head up and drop them off in his office, with a set of directions at the bottom of the note.

The receptionist still seemed reluctant to let him go even despite the note, but he eventually let him go, giving him a warning not to disturb the bankers as it was a very busy day. And then, he was off. Jack knew the office was upstairs without looking at the note, but after that, he had no idea. And unfortunately, as Michael had obviously been in a hurry, his directions hadn’t been too thorough. They were much better suited to someone who worked at the bank already, and knew the way around, as he had said things like “turn left after Austin’s office.” Who was Austin? Would he ever know? Probably not. It took him ten minutes to find the general area where the office was, but as Michael had a shared office, he didn’t have a plaque on the door, and wanting to avoid disturbing anyone, he decided to find somebody in the halls to ask. At least he wouldn’t be disturbing someone right as they were working.

However, this task was easier said than done. The receptionist was right, it was a busy day. The corridors were empty, and he couldn’t find anyone walking about. He was wandering the halls for a while before a pair of rather important looking bankers came around the corner, giving him a strange look as soon as they spotted him. After all, it would look weird seeing a scruffy leerie lost in the ‘employee only’ section of the bank.

“Hi, excuse me, sorry, uh,” The pair looked confused but did stop for him, at least, “I’m looking for Michael Bank’s office. I need to drop off some things for his meeting.” The bankers brightened up and smiled at him,

“Well, we’re just on our way to that meeting, we could take it to him, if you’d like?” Jack was a little apprehensive at this, but if they were already on the way, he may as well. He didn’t want to have to give it to Michael as he was walking in with everyone else, and he doubted there were multiple Michael Banks or any reason they wouldn’t give him his things. So, he agreed and passed the briefcase and sandwich over, which the eldest of the two took.

“Thank you, I’ll be off then.”

“Good day.” Heading off back down the corridor, Jack was met with his biggest problem. He’d been wandering around for so long that he couldn’t remember how to get back. He tried to look at the directions so he could jog his memory and work backwards, but he wasn’t having much luck. It took almost twice as long to get back, and even then, that was just getting himself back to an area he recognised.

As Jack left the bank, he headed for the lift, deciding he didn’t want to get lost in restricted areas anymore. The place was a maze of staircases and he certainly knew he wasn’t capable of retracing his steps the rest of the way back to the start. He stepped in, finding it empty, which made sense what with how late it was. Most people had already left for the day, so he at least didn’t have to wait for the lift very long.

He’d just stepped inside and was about to press the button when two other people stepped inside, and when he realised who they were, Jack’s heart stopped. Stepping inside, arms linked just as always, was the Edisons.

The colour drained from his face, but he tried not to let them notice. Keeping his head down, he gave them an awkward polite smile.

“Going down?”

“Yep.” They didn’t seem to recognise him, but he wasn’t surprised. He looked pretty different than when they last met. His hair had grown out a little, and had been cut several times by himself, leaving it a little more on the scruffy side. He was also missing his fancy suit and glasses, wearing a much looser outfit than the stiff things he had last time that were several sizes too small. As he stood next to them, remembering the standard of his attire from their previous encounter, he started to worry about how he was coming across. His work clothes were due for a wash as they were covered in all sorts of grime from the lamps, and he could have done with shaving. He hoped he didn’t smell too bad, as with all the rain, his jacket was regularly getting soaked, and as he hadn’t had a chance to properly dry it out, it probably stank of stagnant water. He didn’t miss Edith’s odd look at him, as if she was surprised to see someone of his class existing in a public place rather than in some hidden away slums. But even with her closer inspection, she didn’t realise who he was, and she soon followed Thomas’ lead, standing up straight and looking forward. It was as if they were specifically trying to look better than him. When they first met, they had been a lot more casual, but now, the pair were standing like soldiers on a march: back straight, chest puffed out, chin raised much higher than necessary, nevermind practical.

Jack briefly caught a disdaining glance from Thomas, that he tried to give sneakily without even turning his head. Was he checking to see if he was intimidated or something? Jack just gave him an unimpressed look which seemed to be enough of a sign to get him to back off without having to speak a word. He hardly wanted to speak to them in his normal voice when he had spoken in such a strange manner last time.

The lift remained silent for the duration of the ride. All three kept their eyes on the floor indicator as they headed down to the ground floor. However, when the arrow reached G, it kept going, and the group realised it was sending them to the basement levels.

“Did you press the right button?” Edith asked the men, already on edge.

“Of course,” came Thomas’ irritated reply. He pointed to the button panel and sure enough, G was the only one lit up, “It’s just this automatic lift. These things can never seem to work without a proper attendant. I suppose we’ll just have to head back up when it stops.”

Only, it didn’t stop. At least, not yet. There were six basement levels in the bank, and most of the space was for storage and electrics. But the lowest levels were pretty much deserted. So, when the lift came a shuddering halt halfway between two of the lower floors, they knew they were going to have a problem.

“Oh no it’s stuck!” Edith cried, clinging to Thomas’ arm. Jack barely had a chance to look up before Thomas was at the door attempting to pull it open.

“For god sakes man, help me get this open!” Jack silently joined Thomas, knowing it was better not to argue with someone you were going to be trapped with. And he knew they’d be trapped. No amount of pulling on that door would open it. There wasn’t even anything to grab hold of. It was hopeless. And when Edith pressed the emergency button to call for help, a suspicious sparking noise came from behind and suddenly, they were plunged into darkness.

“Really? The light, too? Stupid box!” Jack heard Thomas shuffle over to where Edith had stood, and then he heard the same sparking and crackling coming from the button.

“Hello? Is anyone out there? We’re trapped!” Edith started to bang on the door but being that deep in the building at that time of day, Jack knew it wouldn’t help. But oddly, he didn’t panic. The Edisons seemed to be doing enough panicking for all three of them.

The buzzing from the faulty button got louder, and suddenly, the lift shook again.

“Blasted thing! Work!” As soon as Thomas’ hand made contact with the wall, a creak and groan came from the lift shaft. Their hearts stopped and their bodies went cold as all three realised what was about to happen. And after several long seconds, something snapped.

And they were falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And falling.

And BANG!

The lift hit the floor with an almighty crash, as the occupants were thrown down, winding them. For a moment, Jack had felt weightless, but as he lay on the floor, each bone in his body seemed to weigh a ton. For the first time since the lift stopped, it was silent. It had only been a few moments ago and yet it felt like an age. Neither of the Edison’s made a noise, on account of their age making it much harder for them to recover from such a shock. But after several long seconds passed, he heard a gasp, and suddenly Edith started shrieking.

“Oh God! Are we dead? Did we die? What’s going on? What’s happening? We have to get out of here!”

“Now Edith, calm down, we’re alive and that’s all that matters.” Then he paused, “Sir, are you alright?” Jack realised he hadn’t actually spoken during the whole thing, and his racing heart was nearly enough to keep it that way. But Jack knew they couldn’t see him in this light, so he had to say something.

“Yeah, I’m ok.” Of course, his whole body was sore, and there was probably a few cracked ribs, but nothing more serious than that. Jack just thanked his lucky stars that they had only fallen a few floors. The crash was enough to tell him that they had probably reached the bottom of the shaft, but that did little to calm anyone’s nerves. The lights were still off for a start. And while Jack could still just about see the Edisons (thanks to years of working in the dark, he could just about see a faint outline), the Edisons couldn’t see anything. This was no surprise since they were in a sealed windowless box in a most likely dark basement of an empty bank in the evening.

“Someone will probably realise what happened. We pressed the button. And someone will realise when they try to use the lift.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” The Edisons were quiet at Jack’s response. He wasn’t one to be a pessimist. Quite the opposite actually. But he felt if they would be spending the night there, he should probably prepare them for that. He didn’t want them to panic if they were expecting to be rescued quickly.

“Why do you say that?”

“It’s already 6 o’clock. There’s probably only a handful of people in the building by now. They might not even try to use the lift and if they do, they’ll be in a hurry to go home and probably won’t report anything. And let’s face it, the maintenance people have probably all gone by now. So, they wouldn’t be able to see, even if the button worked, which I doubt. Last time I checked, a working button doesn’t spit sparks.”

“What do you mean? We need to go home!”

“I’m saying, we need to prepare for the fact we’ll probably be here all night.” The elderly couple sat in stunned silence, processing that information with great difficulty.

“Well, what time will we get out, then?” Jack thought for a moment,

“Well, the bank opens at 9, but it might take a little longer for anyone notice. And it’ll probably be even longer before they can get us out. We could be here till around midday tomorrow.” The Edisons fell silent once more.

“Well, I hope none of us need to use the bathroom.”

Across town, Jane Banks sat in her flat. It was quarter past 6, and Jack was late. He was never late. They had planned to go out for dinner and a walk, but that was nearly 15 minutes ago. And with someone like Jack, being late by 5 minutes would have been strange. She settled down in her armchair and waited. The sun had long since gone down, being winter, so he shouldn’t have still been lighting lamps. And it couldn’t have been the weather that was holding him up, it was dry and surprisingly warm for the time of year, which is why they were going on the walk in the first place. Of course she called his flat, but she hadn’t expected him to be home. So, after that, she didn’t really have any way to ask where he was.

The minutes ticked by, and Jane called twice more before she decided she wouldn’t get an answer. Jack had always been punctual, and with nothing obvious that could have held him up, she was starting to worry. She knew he wouldn’t ditch her, but that meant that the only other option was that something had happened. Of course the severity was still not clear, but it was the only option at that point. Jane waited for another hour before she gave up. Settling on reading her book, going to bed, and heading to Michael’s in the morning to catch him while he did the lamps. She hoped whatever it was just meant that Jack wasn’t able to come rather than having been hurt.

And Jack really wished he could have been with her.

“I can’t believe this! How hard can it be to make something like this work properly? And if they’re so awful, why can’t we just carry on with the manual lifts? This is ridiculous! This should never have been allowed to happen! When we get out, I’m going right to the head of this bank and then there’ll be hell to pay!” Thomas had been complaining for... actually Jack had no idea. They were still sitting in the dark so he couldn’t see his watch. The most annoying thing is that he couldn’t even see where the Edisons were. If he squinted, he could just about make out their figures, but it was hard to tell how far away they were from him. But Jack was hardly going to move closer, and instead, remained pressed into the corner he’d claimed, diagonally opposite from the broken button panel.

He’d stayed silent the whole time, hoping that he’d be able to sleep through it and wake up when someone came to help. However, with Thomas’ rant and Edith’s encouragement of said rant, it was far too noisy for him to get any peace and quiet.

“Barbara will be furious when she hears about this!” Edith started, “We’re already meant to be at her house for dinner, we shouldn’t have to deal with this sort of hold up!” Jack rolled his eyes. How was it that he also had a date, and yet he wasn’t complaining about this?

Of course, Jack wished he wasn’t stuck. But he knew that complaining would make no difference, either. Instead, Jack spent his time daydreaming about what he could have been doing if he was free. He’d been looking forward to the evening, as they planned it last week. And while he had told the leeries that he might kiss her. He knew he would. They’d made it to that point a little while ago, but Jack didn’t want to make a fuss about it. Lord knows they got judged enough for the relationship. So it was easier to pretend that they were going really slow, when in reality, they were going at a reasonably normal pace. Still, it was easier to avoid arguments over class by pretending to really take their time.

They’d had plenty of conversations about how it would all work. They weren’t morons. Jane had been told 100 times that she was terrible for using him as a novelty for SPRUCE, and everyone told Jack he was terrible for using her for money and sex. But that wasn’t it at all. They did love each other. And she was certainly no Edison. Which was all he really needed to be happy with her. And as the couple kept ranting, that fact was only further solidified.

“I told you we should have taken the stairs!”

“And if we did, you would have complained that you were tired and that we should’ve taken the lift!”

“Well at least we would have been safe!”

“This was your idea!” The two went back and forth and Jack was gradually losing his patience. Drumming his fingers against the floor, he tried to fight back the urge to yell at them. But in the end, he had a different idea.

“Let’s play a game!” He blurted out suddenly, his voice strained as he tried to hold back. The Edisons seemed surprised to hear him, as they had forgotten he was there thanks to their argument.

“A game?” Thomas asked. “We’re not children.”

“And anyway, what would we be able to play. You’re not going to suggest eye spy, are you?” Jack sighed. What were they so intent on arguing?

“I was going to suggest ‘never have I ever’, actually. It’s a good way to start a conversation that isn’t an argument.” Thomas grumbled at the comment, knowing it was for them, but Edith didn’t seem to mind as much.

“Well how do we do that? We can’t see each other put a finger down.”

“Click your fingers,” came Jack’s solutions, “get to ten and you’re out.” Thomas wanted to complain, being rather tired of their situation in general, but he supposed it would be best to distract themselves.

“Alright then. Never have I ever broken a bone.”

Unknown to them, Big Ben chimed for 7 o’clock, and Jane had decided she’d waited long enough. Michael was sure to be home, and Jane needed to know if he’d seen him. After lying in bed and reading for almost an hour, Jane could no longer bear to wait. Remembering that Michael usually saw him on his way to and from work at this time of year, she hoped he would have at least seen him in the evening.

“I saw him this morning, but I stayed too late to see him tonight.”

“It just seems strange not to hear anything, and he’s not answering the phone.”

“Well, he did drop off some things for me for the meeting. But he gave them to someone else to give to me. So, I haven’t actually seen him.”

“I just hope nothing bad happened. He’s never missed a date before.”

“I’d say wait till the morning, but you could always call the lighting office and ask if any of the leeries have seen him.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to cause a fuss and have it turn out to be nothing.”

“Well, you said it yourself, he never misses a date. I doubt he’s mixed up the days, and if he’s been pulled away for something, it’s probably best to find out what. Better to be safe than sorry.” Jane sighed. He was probably right. She didn’t like the idea that something could have happened, but it was probably best to err on the side of caution, considering his career.

Reluctantly, she said goodbye to Michael, and dialled the lighting office. Only having to wait several seconds before they picked up, even despite the late hour. Even as she was talking to him, she felt like she was overreacting, but the man on the other end didn’t seem to mind.

“Nobody here has seen him since the pub, I’m afraid. And that was apparently before he went to the bank. But I wouldn’t worry, that’s not unusual. I haven’t had any reports of problems, and all the routes are lit up. So, if you’re really worried, by best advice is to wait for him to do his rounds in the morning. We can look into it further if he doesn’t show up.”

“Alright. Thank you. Sorry for bothering you.”

“Don’t worry about it. We appreciate these reports. It’s the only way to keep the lads safe.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to your evening, goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Miss.” She put the phone down, though still keeping hold of the handset, wondering whether or not it would be worth calling him again. Half 7. He could’ve gotten home. She tried again. But yet again, there was nothing.

“Calm down, Jane.” She told herself, “I can meet him at Michael’s house.”
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“Never have I ever had food poisoning.” Two clicks resounded in the lift.

“Never have I ever had a run in with the police.” One click.

They’d been at it for ages. Jack had tried his best to delve further into the stories to have something better to talk about, but every time, they would only want to acknowledge something happened, rather than dwell on it. And if he asked, they shut him down. So, for the last few games, the three had been sitting in silence, aside from when one of them had asked who’d done what or to say when they were out. They’d gotten pretty quick at it, though the game felt more efficient than fun. It was more like they were required to play and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

Strangely, Thomas had started asking some harsh questions. Each round, he would try to dig up dirt by asking about the police, debt, crimes, infidelity, and god knows what else. Normally, he wouldn’t mind this, it makes a game more interesting. But it was being aimed at him, and Thomas always made a “hm” noise whenever he clicked his fingers. If Jack even tried to ask something like that, both the Edisons would complain at how personal the questions were. And if he wanted to avoid hearing a lecture, then he had to apologise and move on to something more bland as quickly as possible.

“I think we’ve played this long enough.” Edith decided. “I don’t know how on Earth it’s meant to be fun.”

“Well, usually you just use it as a conversation starter.”

“Well, I’d rather not be talking in detail about my personal life with a stranger.” Jack slumped back against the wall, defeated, and chose to continue sitting in silence. They at least weren’t arguing with each other, so he’d be able to fall asleep.

Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last.

“You know, I realise we never actually introduced ourselves.”

“No, we didn’t.” Jack answered on autopilot, already trying to sleep and get this whole thing over with.

“Well, my name is Lord Thomas Charles Scribnerson Montgomery Edison III,” he said, reciting the whole thing perfectly, as he had done previously, “and this is my wife Edith Arabella Lockridge-Edison IV.”

“I’m Jack Hackney,” he replied, tired and not thinking about what he said. By the time he realised that he shouldn’t have given his full name, it was too late.

“Jack Hackney? As in, Jackson? From the Dolloway, with Mary?” He cringed. Jack was one of the most common names you could have. But he just had to give them his surname as well.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Unseen in the dark, Thomas frowned.

“No, I’m sure it’s you. I never forget a face.”

“Well, well, well,” Edith drawled, “I knew there was something wrong about you!”

Unknown to the trapped trio, the night dragged on and morning came. But it didn’t pass unnoticed to Jane Banks. Despite being a Saturday, Jane was up at the crack of dawn to visit her brother. Michael had already told Ellen to expect her and let her in even if everyone else was still in bed. So, Jane found herself sitting quietly in the parlour while the rest of the house slept, and Ellen got to work.

She positioned herself in an armchair to have the perfect view out the window to spot Jack, and sat in near silence, looking to the clock every few minutes to check the time. But as time passed on, Jack was nowhere to be seen. It was well past nine o’clock when she finally heard someone coming, which was certainly strange. Even with the time of year, the sun had already risen some time ago. He was late.

But that didn’t stop Jane from rushing outside. She didn’t even see who was coming before she was out the door. All it took was for her the hear what she thought was the wheels of a bike clacking against the cobbles for her to be convinced. There was none of the usual whistling that accompanied Jack on his rounds, and as she ran out, she realised why.

Cycling down the road came a different man. A leerie by the name of Angus. She could see his brows were drawn together and his lips were a taut line. Eyes darted around the street as if he was looking for something, distracting him from Jane as she approached.

“Hi, Angus.” Her call just about managed to shock him out of his stupor enough for him to look at her while he set up the ladder.

“Have you seen Jack anywhere?” She asked.

“I was just about to ask you the same question.” Jane’s heart sank. This definitely wasn’t a good sign. Jane’s look of confusion seemed to only worry Angus further.

“We were meant to meet up last night, but he didn’t show up.”

“And when he didn’t do his rounds, we went to his flat, but he wasn’t there.”

“Michael said he dropped some things off at the bank last night.”

“So, where’d he go?” Each word was spoken more frantically than the last, as the reality of the situation dawned on them both. Neither wanted to admit it, and they even refused to use the word initially. But as they hung around in the hopes he would come over, and called around the city until almost mid-day, they finally realised he was missing.

“We should call the police.”

Back in the lift, Jack was rather hoping the police would get involved so he could be found as soon as possible. The Edisons’ revelation about his identity had not gone down well at all, and he was really getting sick of their company, more so than their last meeting.

“I can’t believe you lied to us! You’re a filthy commoner! Does Mary even know?! Let me guess, you just wanted her for money and sex! You’re a disgusting fiend and you know it.”

“For god’s sake...” he muttered to himself, “we’re friends. I only see her once every few years. We’re not on that kind of level and we never will be. I already have someone.”

“I don’t believe this! How dare you talk back to me with that attitude.”

“Then maybe you should show some respect too instead of ranting like a lunatic!” He snapped back. After his talk with Mary, he didn’t care about the Edisons. They knew his secret so now there was nothing left to hide, and he was free to say whatever he wanted. “I would have thought someone raised with such a high standard of manners would have had the decency to use them, instead of being so disgustingly rude about where I’m from to the point that I had to lie!”

“Well, I’m not the one who tricked Mary into thinking I was rich!”

“And I didn’t either! She knows already! I was wearing a borrowed suit and taking her out because I knew the people that worked there! We’re friends and I wanted to spend time with her since we haven’t talked in years!”

The argument waned on for much longer than Jack would have normally been able to manage. However, he’d been harbouring a lot of feelings against these people for a long time. He didn’t make enemies very often. But when he did, it was due to something more than enough to warrant a shouting match.

“So, what are you really?!”

“A lamplighter.”

“Oh god, Thomas, he’s a dosser!”

“And a convict, too, I imagine.”

“No! I’m just a normal person who works every day to feed myself.”

“And a drug addiction?!”

“No!

“Then there’s gotta be something. Men like you are the bane of this city. You’ve done something to be where you are. Probably a rapist!”

“How dare you talk to me like that! The only crime I ever committed was to be born into a poor family. I have put my blood, sweat and tears into everything I’ve done to keep my head above the water in an economy that your lot ruined by hoarding money. You lot seem to think you’re so great because you have money, but you can’t even talk to someone like they’re human! For god sake were you raised in a barn?! Or by savages in the woods?! Because I know dogs who are more respectful than you!” The two gasped in horror but didn’t get a chance to interject.

“If you don’t have manners, than what are even good for? All you do is sit around on your arse all day while the people you stomp all over make your money! You may as well be slave owners! Can you even cook? Or are you so bloody incompetent that you have to hire someone else to do that for you? Do they have to dress you like a baby and tie your laces, too?! Is that just too difficult for your tiny minds?! You people never work a day in your life and know absolutely nothing but love to act as if you run the world. If people like me didn’t exist, the world would grind to a bloody halt ‘cos there’d be nobody there to wipe your arse!”

“I did not fight the war to be treated with such disrespect!” Thomas roared.

“Yeah, well neither did I!” The room fell silent.

For several long seconds, the Edisons and Jack stared, unseeing, at each other in the darkness. The Edisons weren’t sure how to respond. Jack was seething and almost scared himself by how badly he’d lost it. He didn’t even realise how much he hated them until he opened his mouth. But as he expected them to start shouting back at him once they collected their thoughts, they didn’t. The pair remained in silence, not sure at all how to respond. They had started shouting the moment they realised who he was, and they did have staff for painfully basic things. They didn’t cook, their money came from a collection of factories they owned (but didn’t run) and held shares in. They hadn’t had to lift a finger since they inherited the business in this state from Thomas’ father. And the fact that he was right only infuriated them more. They didn’t like thinking they were worse than the working class. But they couldn’t think of a single way to dispute it, as Jack didn’t have anything that could discredit his character that they knew of.

The pair muttered to each other, unknowingly heard by Jack, who didn’t appreciate their conspiring. Jack knew he wasn’t perfect. He was poor and had to cut a lot of corners to make money. But he did have standards. And he wouldn’t let them try to tear him down just because he didn’t have a golden palace.

“You people disgust me.”

At 10:45, the police arrived at Cherry Tree Lane.

“Last seen leaving the Blue Jockey pub at half past five in the evening, wearing a flat cap, grey jacket and red waistcoat.” The police officer mumbled the description out loud as he wrote it down.

By now, the whole house was up, wondering what all the fuss was about. Two police officers were sitting in the parlour with Jane and Angus. The children were upstairs at Michael’s request, as the man of the house made his own phone calls.

“It isn’t like him to just not show up to things. He’s normally very punctual to work and meeting friends.”

“Well, don’t you worry. We’ll get onto it. Though I must warn you, the force is spread a little thin. There’s been another disappearance of a rather high-class couple on the other end of town.”

“Do you think the cases are related?”

“I can’t imagine so. They come from vastly different social standings. I’d be surprised if they were connected.” The two officers went back to organising the search, the second being rather out of breath from having to run over from the other case to help here. They clearly were a little thin on the ground, and with the icy weather outside, they were spread even further with other accidents all over the city. It wasn’t really a good day for three people to go missing.

It was another tense few minutes before Michael said goodbye to the person on the phone, before walking back into the parlour.

“Austin said that he was at the bank to drop off my things at five to six. He and James spoke to him.” The policeman made a note of this but was not as intrigued as his partner.

“Fidelity Fiduciary Bank?”

“Yes, why?” The officer taking notes looked to his partner in confusion.

“That’s where the Edisons were last seen. They had a mortgage appointment and left at five to six.” The officers mused.

“Well, looks like they are connected after all.”

The officers had made some calls, and it was only ten minutes after the connection was made that another ten officers came swarming by, ready to receive the new details and get on with the search. They checked the addresses of Jack and the Edisons and mapped out areas of London that they could have both been in on the way home. Angus had been rather shocked when they told them that the Edisons were the missing couple, and upon the realisation that they did know each other, the connection between them was strengthened.

“They have a mutual friend: Mary Poppins.”

“Then it could be possible that whoever did this was trying to upset her. Would it be possible to contact Ms Poppins?”

“Not really.”

“So do you know if she has any enemies?” Nobody was sure how best to answer that. Of course, Wilkins didn’t really have anything against Mary in particular, and the creatures in the bowl were also unlikely suspects, considering the fact they had no way to get out to the real world. But even without the knowledge of an enemy, the police quickly latched on to the idea that they had been taken hostage. This wasn’t too comforting, but Jane was just glad they weren’t accusing Jack of doing anything to the Edisons, as one of the officers had suggested.

The search began at eleven o’clock, and the Banks refused to sit around at home all day, so Michael and Jane joined the officers (Officer Brown and Fischer) who were visiting the bank. Angus had wanted to go too but wound up spreading the word to the leeries and cycling around London to help the police search, instead. Jane was just glad something was happening. They’d spent half an hour waiting to hear more news from the Edison case to see if there was any more important information to come through. Her heart had been in her throat all day, and she was just glad to be busying herself to burn off all this anxious energy.

It hadn’t been a long trip to the bank, all thanks to the police car. And when policemen walk into a bank while on duty, everyone does as they say. Within 2 minutes of entering, the receptionist had called up to Mr Dawes and given contact details for the receptionist that had been working the previous day. The four of them were invited up to Dawes’ office, as, quite luckily, he wasn’t very busy, and was eager to help even if it just meant giving him something to keep occupied. So, he was quite keen to answer any questions they had.

“Sorry to disturb you Mr Dawes, but we need to ask some questions. Last night, Mr Jack Hackney, Lord Thomas Edison, and Lady Edith Edison all went missing. Their last known location was leaving this bank at five to six last night.” Dawes looked over to where Michael and Jane stood, as he pondered over the name.

“Jack... Was he that fellow with you when you came with the shares certificate.”

“That’s him.” Jane said, glad that he actually remembered him.

“Yes, I saw him when he first came in. Only out of the corner of my eye, I’m afraid. It was a little busy yesterday, so I didn’t have time to stop. But he looked as busy as I was. So, I left him to it.”

“What was he doing?” Brown asked.

“He was looking for something. He had a briefcase, with him, and something wrapped in tinfoil.”

“He was bringing them for my meeting,” Michael added, “some of my files and a sandwich.” Dawes nodded thoughtfully.

“Well, I didn’t see him again after that I’m afraid.” Fischer looked through his notes, finding the next witnesses names.

“Then do you know where we could find Austin Myers and James Dean? They were the last people who saw him that we know of.”

“Of course, of course. Dean and Myers share an office downstairs. They don’t usually go out on their lunch break so they’re probably still in there. Come on, I’ll lead you.”

Dawes took the four of them through the maze of corridors, doing his best to cheer up Jane and Michael as they went.

“This place is a little confusing to most. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just got lost.” They had smiled at the comment but couldn’t find the energy to laugh properly. The conversation quickly turned back to the case, as Fischer asked about the Edisons, but Dawes hadn’t personally come across them. It turned out that another officer had already come by asking about them and was speaking to the banker that took their appointment. But again, nothing about their visit had been too unusual. And after a minute or so, they came to a staircase towards the back of the building, where Dawes stopped.

“They’re just down there. First door on the right. I’d go down with you, but I’m a little too old to be traipsing up and down the stairs like this.”

“What about the lift?” Michael asked.

“Out of order I’m afraid. And we haven’t been able to get a hold of the mechanic yet; he only works weekdays, you see. But I’m sure you can manage without me. And if you have any more questions, I’ll be in my office.”

“Thank you, Mr Dawes.” And with that, the group departed, making their way down to the floor below and to the first door on the right, just as instructed. Upon knocking, they were granted entrance to the rather lavish office. And sure enough, just as Dawes had said, Dean and Myers sat at their desks, each with a sandwich in hand as they took a break from their work.

“Mr Dean. Mr Myers. My name is officer Brown,” he gestured to his partner and the Banks in turn, “this is officer Fischer and Michael and Jane Banks. We need to ask you some questions.” The pair looked between each other with wide eyes, swallowing before they opened their mouth to speak.

“Of course, what’s going on?”

“I believe Mr Banks called earlier this morning about Mr Jack Hackney. We just want to ask some questions about what happened.” The pair relaxed, finally realising that they themselves were not in any trouble and sat up as they recalled the evening prior. “So can you please tell me how you came across him?”

“Well, we saw him in the hallway, and he looked lost. He had a briefcase and a sandwich in tinfoil. He said he needed to give them to Michael but couldn’t find his office. We were just heading to the meeting, so we offered to take them. He passed them over, said goodbye, and the last we saw he was walking back the way he came, down the corridor.”

The information was hardly ground-breaking. Dean and Myers even showed them the exact corridor where they had seen him. But it didn’t make any difference. There wasn’t any exciting news. He hadn’t done anything unusual. He had just come in, delivered the briefcase, and left. There really wasn’t anything to say. Fischer asked about the Edisons but was met with blank faces, so they finally decided to leave them to their work and turn their attention elsewhere.

Fischer suggested asking security if they’d seen anything before, they left, but after speaking to various security guards, they were out of luck. It seemed nobody had seen Jack, and the man stationed by the door had been briefly pulled away due to another incident, so had missed any chance of spotting him or the Edisons. So, they couldn’t really say where he went after speaking to Dean and Myers. He just... well, vanished. They waited for the other officer speaking to the Edisons’ banker, who turned out to have also had no luck. The couple had just been organising to increase the loan repayments for one of their properties, as they wanted to pass on the ownership to their children without it having any outstanding debt left. The only thing of note was that the office where this meeting was held was on the same floor as the corridor where Jack had been seen. But as the police said, that just meant they would have probably walked out at the same time, which they already knew.

So, with the bank checked, it became clear to the police that whatever had happened probably took place in the streets. There were two theories: an enemy of Mary did something to them all to get at her, or Jack had attacked an old rich couple to take their money. And unfortunately for the Banks, the police seemed to be favouring the latter.

Time continued to tick, and as the search continued over London, Jack and the Edisons were left in the only place they weren’t looking. As six o’clock came and went, it was marked as officially 24 hours since they went missing.

Sitting in the pitch-black darkness of the lift, it was hard to tell if you even had your eyes open or not. You could have fallen asleep and not even realise as there was no way to tell that anything was different if you even noticed that you woke up. This was very much the case for Jack, who had fallen asleep after the outburst. He wasn’t used to arguing like that, and on top of the fact that he hadn’t had a crumb of food or a drop to drink, he was feeling rather lethargic. The shouting match had taken the last of his energy, and he had fallen asleep sitting against the walls of his corner of the lift, trying desperately to ignore the raging headache he was getting. He hadn’t actually realised he had slept, and only noticed because suddenly, someone was at his side trying to wake him.

“Jack? Are you awake?” He couldn’t see who it was, but the voice was enough to tell him that it was Edith.

“I am now.” Came his groggy response, as the headache was still bothering him quite badly.

“Sorry to wake you, but I need to talk with you while we have the chance. Thomas fell asleep, you see.”

“Alright, then.” He was still rather confused why she would want to talk to him, especially after how disgusted she had been by his mere existence only moments ago. But as she spoke, he couldn’t pick out any hint of irritation in her tone of voice.

“I wanted to apologise about what I said.” Silence befell them as Jack stared in dumbstruck awe.

“Oh… ok.”

“You were right. We were being very rude to you for no reason and assumed we knew better than Mary about choosing you as her friend. If she’s aware of your real life, and that’s the version of you that she likes, then its none of my business. She does have a habit of making friends with unusual people, but even when she was friends with the chimney sweep, he was still polite and trustworthy, even if his work meant he was a little dirty. So, I trust that that is the same case with you. Mary’s very particular about who she spends her time with.” Jack laughed,

“Don’t I know it.” Jack remembered when he was young and first met Mary. While out at the park, he had witnessed a pretty incredible sight as several upper-class men took an interest in her and each made an attempt to court her. She had politely declined at first, but gradually lost her patience as she realised the gang were all going to have a go. The last guy had been particularly persistent, and Jack had the pleasure of witnessing her shut him down in a rather impressive manner, saying that his brain wasn’t the only thing about him that was too small for her liking. Of course, he hadn’t understood at the time, he was far to young, but the memory made him chuckle now. It was safe to say that she had no use for money, so a man’s bank account did nothing to impress her. She was much more found of people that were interesting enough to talk to for hours without losing her attention. And she seemed to find that most people like that came from much more humble backgrounds.

“You know,” She started, “My apology probably won’t make much difference to your opinion of me, so maybe we could start over again. We could play that game again, but this time, I promise I’ll actually speak.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” The two smiled, both keen to have an actual civil conversation with one another for the first time since they’d been trapped.

“Ok, never have I ever kissed a stranger.”

The pair quickly delved into a revealing game, laughing the whole time. However, across London, the police were assuming a much less pleasant relationship between Jack and the Edisons.

“He did NOT hurt them!”

“You have no proof of that.”

“I know him well enough to know he wouldn’t attack an elderly couple.”

“Mr Ways said he didn’t get along with them. He may have had no intention to harm them, but it is entirely possible that an argument got out of hand.”

“And what? He killed them and fled the country?! That’s insane! You’re wrong!” This argument had been going on for a while. After searching all day, the Banks had come home that evening and had been subject to Officer Brown’s latest theory. And while Michael had been in shock and unable to even respond to such lunacy, Jane was fired up and ready to fight to the death.

“Madam, we do not make accusations like this lightly. The Poppins theory can’t be true, they’re not close enough to her for an attacker to use them as leverage. This is the only thing that fits.”

“It doesn’t fit! And if you knew the slightest thing about him, you’d agree with me!”

“Look, I know you work with SPRUCE and want to support workers, but you must understand that people like him are in their situation for a reason. The fact that you didn’t even know his address tells me more than enough. You don’t know him as well as you think you do. You need to stop putting him on a pedestal and face reality before it’s too late to stop him.”

“I don’t believe you! So what, do you think Angus is evil, too?! Because he’s poor. And so is half of this city! So, are you going to do your job and lock them all up, or are you just accusing Jack to fit your narrative?!”

“Madam, I won’t argue with you any longer. This case needs to be solved, and I won’t waste my time on fantasies. I’m afraid that not everyone is a good person. And speaking from experience, it’s usually the ones who try to act it that are the worst.”

“That’s because you’re a cop. You deal with the worst people, it’s your job.”

“And what does that say about this case, then?” Jane fell silent.

“As I thought. Goodnight, Ms Banks. We’ll call when we have more news.”

Jane and Michael stood in dumbstruck awe as Brown let himself out. Michael could plainly see that his sister was actually shaking with rage, but he had no idea what to do about it. She had almost slapped Brown the moment he had insinuated that Jack was at fault. And Michael had hurried the children upstairs to avoid witnessing a fight. He was angry, too, but it seemed that Jane had enough fury for the both of them.

“I don’t believe this! He has no idea what he’s talking about!” She paced furiously, not noticing how Ellen poked her head out of the kitchen to see what the commotion was about. She’d been listening through the door, but as she was in as much shock as everyone else, she had to see for herself to make sure she hadn’t actually imagined it. But sure enough, it happened, and Jane paced furiously more than enough to prove it.

“What are we going to do? If they think he’s at fault, they’re gonna look for the Edisons and not him!”

“We won’t let that happen, Jane. We’ll find him.”

“They don’t even care about him! What if they never find him?! He could be hurt! He could be-” She was on the verge of tears by now, unable to even finish the thought. It was far too unbearable to think of, so she sat down in defeat as Ellen walked over with a box of tissues.

“Don’t worry, pet. That lad is tough. He’ll be fine. And we can find him ourselves if the pigs won’t help.”

“It’s no use Ellen.” Jane flopped on the couch in defeat, drying her eyes. “We’ve been all over London today and found nothing. Hell, we don’t even know if he left the bank!”

Michael froze as he was hit with a sudden realisation. His hand delving into his pocket for a piece of paper he’d forgotten to give to the police. It was the contact details for the receptionist that saw Jack. But when Jane looked at him, he was only met with confusion.

“How does that help? The receptionist won’t know where he went after the bank.”

“But what if he didn’t go anywhere?”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t know for certain if he even made it out of the building. We know he meant to, but the security guards didn’t see him go. Maybe the receptionist would know what happened.”

“What’s the number?”

.

.

.

.

.

They weren’t sure how long they were playing, but as Edith and Jack’s game waned on, the questions became much more personal than their initial game with Thomas. They had probably only gotten through less than ten questions, but as they got talking, it was hard to remember the point of the game as they told each other their most absurd stories.

“So, his cat was stuck on the roof, and Mr Hughes likes to think of lamplighters as backup policemen, so he was adamant that I had to go up and get it for him.”

“Did you?”

“I had no choice. He threatened to call the brigade manager. And while I would’ve gotten off the hook for it eventually, he knows how to make someone’s life difficult. There’s no way I could have gotten out of that unscathed.”

“So, you actually climbed up there?”

“Yeah. The ladder went halfway, then I had to climb the guttering to get up the rest of the way. But as soon as I got up there, the cat made its own way down and I fell.” Edith gasped.

“But he had a flagpole in the front garden and my jacket pocket caught on it. So, I was stuck hanging from the top of the pole and ended up being there for about an hour before one of my mates came by to help. They still haven’t let me live that one down.” Edith was howling. It seemed that in their time together, Jack had managed to figure out her exact sense of humour, and it turned out that the pair were quite similar in that regard. Once they’d stopped thinking about class, the two got on like a house on fire, and neither of them were bothered about telling each other any mildly embarrassing stories.

“Go on then, what about you?” It took a few moments to collect herself before Edith could even process the question, another few to think of a good story, and then even longer before she could stop laughing to actually tell it.

“Right,” She began, still stifling a giggle, “So, years and years ago, I met this guy. We got together just for the night. He couldn’t commit to anything more than that, he was married you see. And he was a lawyer, so he didn’t want to risk his reputation. Anyway, we were, you know,” She said, suggestively, “And he was being a little rough. And he managed to push me off the bed.” She started to laugh, “And you know what? I managed to dislocate my shoulder!”

“No!” He gasped.

“Yes. Anyway, I of course couldn’t get my dress back on, and if we called for help like that, it would have been obvious what was going on. So, he insisted I fake a fall at my own house.” She giggled, “But he didn’t have a car and I couldn’t get my dress on, so he put me in his dressing gown, and we ran through the snow to my house. I had to put on my nightie and pretend to fall while going to the bathroom. Poor Thomas thought the house was coming down when I screamed. I think I was probably overacting a bit, even for a dislocated shoulder!”

“Thomas was there?!”

“Yes, we were married. Me and the lawyer both were. That’s why we had to be so secretive about it.”

“EXCUSE ME?!” Edith and Jack fell silent. It seemed that in all their fun, they had forgotten Thomas was still there, and their raucous laughter had woken him. So, it looked like Edith had some explaining to do.

“We were married, and you were seeing somebody else?! And why on earth are you telling a stranger that?!”

“Oh pish, you didn’t care about me. You never have. You only married me because you were expected to. You were out every night with your friends without a care in the world for your wife. I don’t know why you’re surprised. I didn’t even have to be particularly careful about it. That’s how little you were paying attention to me!”

“And what about our children? Did you just abandon them?”

“I never let the children down! I only ever did it when the nanny was looking after them. And anyway, that story is from long after they moved out. It was only a few years ago!” Jack’s eyebrows shot to his hairline as he listened to their back and forth, growing louder with each word. He was hardly going to intervene this time. It wasn’t exactly a tit-for-tat argument like before.

“Have you no shame, woman?!”

“What? For admitting that I don’t love you! So what if I was with other men? I was happier for doing so. You’re a miserable old sod and I would have rather died than stay loyal to you!”

“If you hate me so much then why didn’t you say?”

“You know you would have blown up about it. You were so desperate for our families to come together. You didn’t care about me at all. I only didn’t divorce you to avoid a scandal.”

“Well, there’ll be no avoiding one now.”

“Fine! Divorce me! See if I care! I’m too old to be effected by any sort of scandal. And I have more than enough money to keep me going to the day I die!”

“Well good for you! When we get out of here, you can pack your things and go to your sister’s. I never want to see you again!”

“Fine! Its over!” And just like that, it was. The two fell silent, refusing to speak to one another, as Edith stayed sitting with Jack, away from Thomas. But while the two were clearly still fuming and ranting about each other in their minds, all Jack could think about, was when would he finally be able to get rid of this damn headache.

Too far away to hear such a commotion, Jane phoned the receptionist’s number but was met with no answer. She tried twice more before deciding they should wait until the morning, but at Michael’s suggestion, they changed tactics. Michael made another call, this time, he rang up Dawes, who thankfully was still in his office, despite it almost being half seven. A quick question revealed that as Dawes had found a lot of work to be busy with, he had stayed late, along with the bank’s receptionist, who was waiting on a late delivery that needed to be signed for. Dawes thankfully kept to his promise of helping however he could and invited the two of them to come in and ask whatever questions they needed. So, without hesitation, they wrapped themselves up in their coats, and drove right down to the bank.

Thanks to the clear roads of the evening, it wasn’t long before they got there. And much to their surprise, they were met by Dawes at the door.

“Good evening. Mr Rook is right this way. Let’s hope he can be of some use to you.”

“Fingers crossed.”

Dawes led them over to the front desk to a slightly frazzled looking man with a suit that was obsessively neat and bushy grey hair. He smiled as they approached and greeted them politely. It was Dawes who explained the situation to Rook, who pondered over every word he said,

“Yes, I remember him. The one you left the directions for, right?”

“That’s right!” Jane responded, almost a little too eagerly, “We don’t know if he actually left here. Did you see him on the way out?” Rook looked away in thought, brow creased until his eyes widened slightly.

“You know, I don’t think I did. I just thought I must have missed him somehow.” Jane and Michael looked at each other with wide eyes as the realisation dawned on them.

“Mr Dawes, is there anywhere in this bank where they could be trapped?”

“They could have been locked in one of the offices somewhere, potentially. There’s quite a few that we haven’t touched in a while with people taking time off.” He answered dubiously, clearly unsure how three people could actually get stuck in the bank.

Right! Let’s go looking, then!” Jane was quick to run over to the lift, wanting to get around as quickly as possible. But Dawes didn’t follow.

“Miss Banks, I’m afraid we still haven’t got the mechanic out. It’s out of order.” She almost ignored it. She almost just accepted the fact and followed Dawes up the stairs. But when the realisation hit her, she almost slapped herself for not thinking of it sooner.

“When did the lift stop working?”

“Some time last night, why?”

“About 6 o’clock?” Dawes didn’t even answer. But Jane saw the moment where the penny dropped. He and Michael both froze as they realised what she meant, and that was all she needed to know.

“I think it’s time to call the mechanic.”

The darkness of their box was getting overwhelming. Jack had been sitting in total silence and was ready to go insane. He thought that since the Edisons had stopped fighting, his headache might finally have a chance to go away. However, the silence had become deafening. Every thought he had seemed so much louder than before, as his brain tried to find something to focus on and stimulate itself with, whether that be the sound of his pulse, the blood rushing around his ears, how hard the floor felt, or the strange tingling in his hands and legs that were itching to get up and move. He could swear his mind was starting to invent sensations so that his body could process something. But he wasn’t sure anymore, and with how hungry he was, he didn’t care. The loud thoughts in his mind that were making his head hurt more each second was an unstoppable list of any food he could think of, and how desperately he’d like to have some right then. And yet, strangely, at the same time, the thought of eating knocked him sick. Though he could probably blame that on the concussion. And he was quite sure that it was a concussion. He’d hit his head before and knew what a small knock felt like. This wasn’t that. The wet patch on his head that was probably blood was enough to tell him that.

But the thing that was frustrating him the most, was the cold. While Jack had no idea that it was getting late again, he could feel the effects. The lift shaft had already been cold, and as it wasn’t moving around or visiting the heated upper floors, the cold had seeped in quite quickly. And as the night was beginning to settle in for the second time, he could feel the cold make its way to his bones.

He was fairly sure Thomas and Edith had fallen asleep again. Their age meant they didn’t have the energy to keep awake for very long to argue on an empty stomach. And boy, were their stomachs empty. All three of them were growling, even while sleeping, and each time, it was getting more and more painful. Jack found himself doubled over as his body threatened to digest itself. He was completely exhausted: emotionally and psychologically. He couldn’t say whether or not he was physically tired, as he hadn’t had a chance to move in the cramped box. A crippling sense of claustrophobia had gradually claimed him, and he felt like, if he moved, the whole room would come closing in around him, and he’d be crushed. At least if he stayed where he was, he could pretend that the lift was roomier than it really was.

But despite this trick of the mind, it didn’t stop Jack’s emotions from finally overwhelming him. He was well and truly fed up. He wanted to see his friends and spend time outdoors. He wanted to move and have fun. He wanted to get something to eat and drink to make his body feel normal again. He was so dehydrated, he couldn’t even bring himself to cry properly, and could manage no more than a pitiful whimper as he let his head fall into his hands. The force of his head falling, and the failed attempt at tears only made the banging in his head worse to a point that it was completely unbearable. The stuffy air the lift wasn’t helping the nausea either. He just wanted to go home. But all he could do, was curl up where he was and try to sleep again.

“Thank you for coming out like this. I know you have other appointments, but this really is an emergency.”

“No problem, Dawes. My clients will understand.” It was past 8 o’clock by the time they managed to get a hold of the mechanic, Ricky (as the Banks learnt), and almost another hour before he was able to come out. In that time, Jane and Michael had tried calling into the lift to try get a response, but they couldn’t hear anything. It was only when Ricky looked at the control room and found that the this was probably due to the fact that the lift was down in the basement levels for some reason.

“If the lift is stuck, it might have short circuited and taken them down further before stopping. That’s why we haven’t heard anyone calling for help.” He had said, “The control panel says they’re on basement level 3, so we can head down and have a look.” This had led to the Banks siblings, Dawes, Ricky, and the receptionist all heading down to the basement together, through long corridors and winding stairways. They were all a little out of breath, but it was hard to tell if that was due to all the walking or the anticipation.

Upon making it to the 3rd floor in the basement, they found the entrance to the lift, where they knocked on the door.

“Hello? Is anyone in there?” They waited, but there was no answer. Jane tried next,

“Jack? Are you in there? We’re going to get you out of there.” Again, there was no response. Jane looked to Ricky in concern, but the mechanic appeared unbothered.

“They could be asleep. They’ve been in there over a day.” Jane’s nerves didn’t settle much, and the butterflies in her stomach only became more erratic when Ricky started to wrench the smooth lift doors open with a crowbar. Everyone watched in silence, hearts in their throats as he pushed on the bar.

Again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

With each push, the door slid open that bit more, and light shone through. But it was still too dark to see inside. It was only when the door opened fully that they realised why.

The lift wasn’t there.

Ricky made a strange sort of ‘hmph’ noise as he stepped forward to inspect the shaft. The cold air rushed out from the dark tunnel, but Ricky’s blood had already run cold. The cable was slack. The cable to hold the lift was slack. And when he reached out and grabbed it, he realised it wasn’t attached to the lift either. It had snapped.

“Call 999.”

The lift had long since fallen quiet, as nobody had the energy to speak anymore. They were all hungry and well and truly sick of this. There was no room to move, and Jack was getting unbearably restless, constantly swinging his feet side to side as he sat with them stretched out in front. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to fall asleep, and had spent his curled up tightly in the corner with his jacket pulled tight around him as he tried to focus on the feeling in his feet. He had to thank the lord that they were trapped at the time they were. Being right before they would have had dinner, they hadn’t eaten or drank anything in a while (Jack just thanked God he didn’t get anything at the pub), so they hadn’t had to worry about the bathroom situation yet. But it did mean they were very hungry. The Edisons had had nothing since lunch the previous day. And as Jack hadn’t had breakfast or lunch, his last meal had been dinner the night before last. Jack supposed it was probably the main reason for the outburst, but it didn’t help the situation and only made him think more about how hungry he was. But they had a bigger problem.

When one spends long enough in the dark with nothing to stimulate the mind, the mind has a habit of making its own entertainment. All three of them had hallucinated at least once by now. Jack in particular had had quite a few, thanks to his rather vivid imagination. In fact, he’d been watching a snake slithering around for the past ten minutes, that seemed to stand out startlingly against the pitch-black room. He wasn’t sure if he should be worried or not but decided not to think too much about it if he was going to be there for a while longer. He didn’t even know how long he’d been there so far. Without being able to check the time, and having slept for some time during their entrapment, he was completely disoriented, and figured he had probably only been in there for six or seven hours. He figured it must have just felt like longer due to the boredom.

“How long has it been?” Edith asked into the darkness. Her teeth were chattering as she lay on the floor. Jack was half tempted to do the same in the hopes it might ease his headache and let him stretch out more. But the floor was cold, and had there been any light in the room, Jack would have already been able to see his breath.

“No idea.” Came Thomas’ breathy response. Jack didn’t bother answering, having decided he didn’t really want to talk at all. But nobody tried to ask him anything, as everyone’s voice was unbearably hoarse from the lack of water. Every word hurt their throats even more. And there was more of him that hurt too. Jack had given up on moving anything above the waist, as his definitely cracked ribs sent mind-numbing shooting pain all throughout his body with every twist. The shock of the fall had long since worn off, and the adrenaline could no longer disguise the pain. He hadn’t noticed it for a while, but as he tried to curl up more to combat the cold, the twisting had reminded him of the injury. He couldn’t ignore it anymore. Not his ribs, nor his head. Whenever he laid his head back against the wall, it was like pressing on a bruise, so he had to keep his head turned to the side, putting a rather uncomfortable crick in his neck. But he knew there was blood. It had certainly dried, but it still felt odd the way it had congealed in his hair.

It was safe to say they were all tired of it. The lift was cold, and they were all growing irritated by the sound of each other’s stomach growling. Jack tried to go back to sleep, but found that despite the quiet and the dark, he just couldn’t do it. He’d already slept enough, and his body would allow no more. He only wished that if he could sleep to the end of the ordeal, it would at least end quickly. But there’s more than one way to find oneself unconscious.

He didn’t even notice the nausea at first. It had been niggling at the back of his mind for a while, but at this point, it came on very suddenly, and with a vengeance. He wanted to throw up, but there was nothing in his stomach to come up, leaving him dry heaving, though he was quickly distracted by an unbearable bout of dizziness. A strange feeling when you can’t see. His body swayed, sending his heart into a panicked frenzy. It was only when he noticed the wet feeling on his ear that he realised what was wrong.

He must have hit his head harder than he thought.

It was barely a minute longer before the unseen darkening of his vision eventually claimed him, his whole body tipping to the right as he finally fell unconscious.

“Jack? Are you alright?”

The fire department were the first to arrive. A second fire engine followed shortly after the first. And once all the fuss had been caused, the police assigned to the case came by in a hurry. As soon as Jane saw officer Brown, she gave him a glare that was a mixture between fear, rage, and ‘I told you so’. The emergency services ushered Michael, Jane, and Dawes back, while the receptionist headed back up to the front desk, and Ricky assisted the fire department.

Seeing that the lift had fallen, the first job had been to figure out how far it had gone. They had hoped it got stuck again after only going down a floor or two, but they soon realised it had gone right the way to the bottom. A fireman had been quick to assure Jane that if the lift had stopped and fallen from the basement levels (which appeared to have been the been the case according to the control panel), then the fall was perfectly survivable. So, everyone traipsed down to the lowest floor- basement level 6- and began to wrench the door open.

If they were hoping to see inside the lift, they were sorely disappointed, as the lift had space to go further down from the lowest floor into the elevator pit. So once the door was open, they were met only with a view of the top of the lift.

“We’re gonna need a circular saw, here.” Answering the fireman’s request, a saw seemed to be produced from nowhere by Ricky, who handed it to the fireman, who immediately started cutting open the roof. Jane wondered whether Dawes would be upset by this, as it was going to cost a lot of money to fix the lift if the cable had snapped and the roof of the lift was cut open. However, he didn’t seem at all bothered by this and appeared just as eager as everyone else to see if Jack and the Edisons were inside.

The firemen crowded around, blocking everyone else from seeing in. The saw fell silent after several minutes of deafening grinding, before being placed aside, followed by a large metal square shortly after. They peered inside before there was a triumphant ‘ahah!’ And then, one of the firemen disappeared down through the hole.

The box was dark. Even with the light coming through the new opening. It cast a square of light, but the basement light was still too dim to illuminate the bodies completely. The sudden thump of his landing in the confined box barely got a reaction, but as he turned to the Edisons, their eyes slowly opened, and their jaws dropped. The fireman quickly turned to see Jack on the floor behind him, though he was unresponsive.

“Yep, all three are in here.” He called up to the surface, much to the relief of everyone standing by. But their nerves remained unbearable as neither Jack nor the Edisons spoke a word.

“Bring down the ladder.” The fireman ordered. Three men carried the ladder from their selection of tools over to the hole, passing Jane and Michael who were ecstatic to know Jack was going to be alright.

It was only when the firemen brought them out that they realised the severity of the situation. Edith had gone first, being the one who was best off. She was bruised, weak and pale, but just about managed to climb the ladder with little help. Next came Thomas, who suffered even more bruising, and had been left limping due to an awkward landing when the lift fell. The two were ushered over to a bench on the other side of the room, where Dawes offered them some water, and did his best to care for them as they waited for the ambulance.

In the lift, a second fireman joined the first in helping Jack. He clearly had a concussion and was quite confused once they managed to wake him up. Barely able to even keep his eyes open, the two helped him stand and brought him to the ladder. Thankfully, after all his time as a leerie, even despite his current state, as soon as he was brought to the ladder, he was aware of what it was and understood that he needed to climb it. But doing that was easier said than done. He could barely walk, so it was no surprise when he slipped on the ladder, scaring everyone who reached in to grab him. Both firemen beneath had a hold of his legs and a hand at the bottom of his back, urging him upwards, while the firemen on top held onto his arms to hoist him up and out of the hole. And once the light fell on him, the true extent of the damage was revealed.

Jack hissed in pain as his ribs were jostled as the firemen hoisted him up to stand. He nearly fell over as soon as they had him up, and two men supported him, one on either side, as they guided him over to the bench. He stumbled as he walked, his skin a deathly pale as the bright light clearly bothered him. Blood from his head and ear had dripped down and soaked into his collar and the shoulders of his jacket, while one fireman was quick to point out that there was a rather nasty bruise behind the still bleeding ear. He was struggling to stay conscious even as he walked and needed the firemen to support most of his weight to avoid a catastrophic fall.

Once seated, Jane and Michael immediately rushed to his side, their hearts racing as they checked him over.

“Jack, you’re freezing!” The loud exclamation clearly bothered his head, but Jane didn’t notice as she whipped off her coat and swaddled his shivering body in it, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm him up a bit more. It took several long moments for him to even register what she had done, but when he did, Jack’s hands reached for the edges of the coat and pulled it tight around him.

“Here, lad, drink this.” Dawes came over, standing in a way to try block the bright light with his body, as he offered a water to Jack, who took it in shaky hands and drank slowly, savouring the cool wet taste. Even with the water, his throat still felt dry, and even trying to talk was painful.

“My head kills.” Was all he could get out, barely able to mumble the words, his voice a mere breathy whisper.

“I bet.” Jane said, giving him a curious look. She suddenly reached out, holding Jack’s head steady so she could get a better look at his eyes. They were naturally a dark brown, making it much harder to differentiate between the pupil and the iris, but she was not mistaken when she said,

“Look, his pupils are different sizes.” She gave a worrisome glance to the firemen, as one came over from inspecting the Edisons to take a look at Jack. And sure enough, his left eye was dilated completely, while his right was a mere pinprick.

“Yeah, they are. I think he needs to go to hospital.” He announced. “They all do.” Of course, an ambulance had already been called, though it hadn’t arrived just yet.

“I’ll head upstairs to meet the paramedics.” It was at this point that Jack spoke again, even quieter than before.

“Jane…?”

“Yes, Jack?” She almost couldn’t tell what he had said. She could clearly see he was swaying slightly where he sat, but as he tried to speak again, his mumbling was so quiet that Jane hadn’t a clue what he was trying to say. She looked worriedly to Michael and the fireman and back. But as she did, Jack’s eyes fluttered closed as his body fell limp, tipping forward into her arms. She almost didn’t catch him, and as she laid him out on the floor in the recovery position, nothing could stop the tears from streaming down her face as she cried,

“Jack!”

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How long had it been? Jane had gone with Jack in the ambulance, sat in the waiting room while the doctors tended to him, and then had sat for god knows how long once she had been allowed. She was tired, but she wouldn’t leave him. He could wake up any moment, and she didn’t want him to be alone for it. She had certainly been worried when she was brought to his room and found he still hadn’t woken up, but the doctor had assured her that he had briefly roused while he was tending to him and had since fallen asleep. He did his best to assure her that it was nothing to worry about, but her nerves wouldn’t settle until she saw those deep brown eyes open again. His chest had needed to be wrapped to keep his ribs in place while they healed, and his head had needed stitches. He had all sorts of tubes in his arms, trying to rehydrate him and manage to pain, but despite everything, his pale face was still making her feel sick to her stomach.

She tried to busy her mind with other things. She asked about the Edisons and had been surprised to find that once they had perked up a bit, they were in a foul mood with each other and wanted a divorce, which seemed like an odd priority given their states. They certainly weren’t ass bad as Jack, but they were still dangerously dehydrated, and half starved.

Officer Brown had been keen to take statements about what happened, though there wasn’t much more to say. They had already figured out the lift went to the wrong floor, got stuck, and fell. But Brown seemed keen to make sure he didn’t miss a single detail. Though he hadn’t been successful in gathering such details from Jack. So, when Brown came in to find Jack still asleep, he instead took the opportunity to apologise to Jane about what he had said earlier. And while Jane had accepted this apology, she could help but wonder how much of the case had been effected by his prejudices. Maybe without them, they could have found Jack sooner.

She spent most of her time, in the end, simply sitting with Jack, holding his hand, and running fingers through his hair. She would have preferred not to have had to stay on her own, but Michael couldn’t stay all night. He’d gone home once he had spent some time at the bedside. It hadn’t been long, but it was so late by then, and he had his own children to worry about. There was no doubt that they’d be worrying a lot and would sleep much sounder upon hearing Jack had been found and was finally being taken care of.

News spread quickly around London. They had called Angus while they were waiting at the hospital and were surprised to find that in less than an hour, just about every single leerie in the brigade had been told what happened. They had all promised to come visit at some point when they were done with work and made sure to cover his route again. But Jane had been even more surprised to hear the story had made it to the mainstream newspapers. A lift falling in one of London’s most iconic banks, containing one of the country’s wealthiest couples had been considered a very important story, especially considering how important the Edison’s disappearance had been in the first place. As Jane had been spending much of her time on the men’s ward, she had seen a few reporters come and go through the course of the night, eager to speak to Thomas in his room next door. And form the sounds of things, Thomas seemed equally keen to tell them. But despite also being involved, the reporters hadn’t really taken an interest in Jack. A pair had stopped in the doorway, with the first pointing out Jack to his partner, who quickly ushered him away. She wasn’t really surprised at this. Jack wasn’t exactly a celebrity. And she certainly wasn’t going to complain about the fact that he would actually get to have some piece and quiet while he recovered. She couldn’t help but pity the poor doctors having to push past reporters to see their patients. Though it did help take her mind off things for a little while, as she tried to stay awake by Jack’s side.

In the end, however, she couldn’t manage it. She had laid her head down on the bed at Jack’s side, one arm curled to act as a pillow, the other still reaching to hold his hand. Jane hadn’t intended to fall asleep, she just wanted to rest her eyes, but it was only when she woke up again that she realised what happened. But at that point, she wasn’t really thinking about that, all because of what woke her.

It was about 5 in the morning when she felt a slight nudge. Jack’s finger twitched, and as he curled his hand around hers, those beautiful brown eyes slowly fluttered open.

“Jane?” She shot up at hearing his voice, her heart soaring as she was overwhelmed with relief.

“Jack!” Standing up, she came closer, a hand carefully moving the hair out of his face so she could press a gentle kiss to his forehead. “I was so worried about you. Are you ok? How do you feel?” She kept a hand at the side of his face, thumb slowly stoking along his cheek. He seemed to relax, nuzzling into the touch, and allowing his eyes to close for a brief moment.

“Much better now you’re here.” He looked up to her, a smile on his lips, as Jane couldn’t help but giggle.

“You’re such a sap.” His playful grin only widened at the comment as he continued.

“You know, I really missed you. We need to reschedule that date. I was looking forward to it.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, we’ll be going out again as soon as you’re better. You can count on it.”

And while “as soon as you’re better” did turn out to be a little longer than they would have liked (as it turned out, they both couldn’t avoid the sense of restlessness from so many days of rest), he did heal, and life soon went back to normal. The Edison’s divorce made front page news, the bank’s lifts were all inspected and repaired, and Jack’s head injury did leave a small scar, but it all faded into the background. To them, life was normal again, and they couldn’t be told otherwise. And once he had finally healed, they did go on that date, and this time, there were no Edisons to get in their way.