Ellie saw two blurred faces leaning over her. "Get away from me!" she mumbled, as she slowly began to wake up.

"Ellie, it's Mike! I'm here with Barquith. We've been here in hospital for a few days now, waiting for you to wake up."

"Well, you seem to have got yourself involved in another adventure," said Barquith. "Mike and I found the note you'd made about the coded message in Alice's office." "I bet Alice and Kenneth were responsible for the gas attack!" said Mike. "They must want Eliza out of the way! I wonder who they are working for?"

As the three friends continued talking about the mystery, a doctor walked in. "Finally awake I see!" he said to Ellie, tapping his clipboard. "It was a rather potent anaesthetic you inhaled. It knocked you out for days, but we don't expect it to have caused any lasting damage. In fact, we can probably discharge you later today. You'll just have to take it easy for the next week - no rushing around and definitely no adventures!" Mike and Ellie glanced at each other and smiled, thinking that the doctor clearly didn't know them.

"What happened to Eliza?" asked Ellie to the doctor. "She was standing even closer to Geshtu than I was."

"Indeed," agreed the doctor. "She got a much higher dose than you did and she's not quite awake yet. She's in the room next door, if you want to pay her a visit."

---

Eliza was lying in bed, obviously not fully awake yet and mumbling slightly incoherently. "Must get back to work... Sponsors won't like the delay... Must secure more funding... Superscalar RISC architecture risky," she muttered. "Must consult notes... Notebook, notebook, must keep it safe."

As Eliza continued to mutter, Mike reached down to her bedside cabinet. "Ellie," he whispered. "Eliza's purse is in here! I'm going to take a look!" He rummaged through her purse but couldn't find a notebook. "The only thing in here is this flight itinerary," he said.

"Let me have a look," said Ellie as Mike gave her the piece of paper. "Eliza has been busy, visiting all these places. I think EKA-labs are short of money. Maybe she's been visiting potential sponsors in person?"

Barquith looked over Ellie's shoulder, glancing through the list. "I'm not sure. That's a rather eclectic mix of destinations. I think it might mean something else..."

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