"Listen to me, Javert! There is something I must do!" Valjean was shouting, seeming unable to control the volume of his voice. In the bed next to where he sat, a pretty young woman lay all dressed in white, staring up at the ceiling without seeing. It was the woman from the square, I noted, the one whom had attacked that unsuspecting gentleman. "I only need three days." Valjean held his hand towards me in appeared to be a calming gesture. "Then I'll return, I pledge my word to you Javert. Then I'll return-"

This was beginning to turn pathetic, this pledge for freedom. I found myself 'hmph-ing', feeling insulted that Valjean thought he could fool me so easily. "You must think me mad! Across the years, I've hunted you. I know you're type, I know what you're capable of. I hear you even stole silver from a Bishop. You're nothing but a lowly thief, and it is my duty to enforce the repercussions of your actions."

"I'm not the same, desperate man you knew when I was in the chain gang. I am a man of God now."

I sneered. "Men like you can never change."

Valjean stood, the strength and fluidity in his movements uncommon in other men his age. He angled his body as though to hide the sight of Fantine from my eyes, fingers twitching slightly, clearly ready to fight for their freedom over taking to a pickaxe again. I hoped I looked half as formidable as I thought, planted in the doorway. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see nurses staring and whispering behind their hands, wondering what a policechief was wanting from a prostitute and the mayor. "Believe of me what you will Javert, but I know my duty and you will not stop me carrying it out. You think you know me, what kind of man I am, but you can't. You have been told I am a thief, that I damaged someone else's property. But all I ever did was try to save my starving family. All I did was take some bread that, frankly, was stale, and I would have fixed the window if I hadn't have been caught."

I squared myself in the doorway, preparing for Valjean to rush me. "But you were caught, and you were exposed as what you truly are. You speak of duty as though you know what the word means, but all you have is a delusion that you are here to do good and that you have never done anything wrong. But the law is black and white: you shall not take what is not yours. It does not matter what you think of yourself: in the eyes of law you are a criminal, and you shall be treated as such. It's time to come with me 24601."

At the mention of that identity that was cast upon him, Valjean growls and grabs the chair he had vacated, slamming it upon the floor. It cracks and splinters and Valjean grabs one of the broken legs, pointing the deadly-looking point towards me. "You know nothing of me or of the world Javert. You know nothing of pain and starvation and desperation. I have said I will return to you once I complete this task. But I'm warning you," He hoists the chair leg threateningly, "If you will not willingly let me see this justice done, there is nothing I will not dare do to ensure it's success. I assure you, I will do whatever it takes. I will kill you."

I step into the room, step towards the criminal and his splintered chair leg, with a hand resting on my holster and confidence in my stride. Valjean's eyes flicker to the pistol, adjusts the grip on his own weapon.

I take one more step forwards. "You dare to speak to me of your crimes, to justify your wrongs? Every man is born in sin, every man must pave his own way. You chose this, every step you put in front of yourself led you to this point." Valjean starts to step forwards and the pistol is out of my holster in a flash. I grin, "Right to the end of the barrel of my gun."

Valjean arm lowers slightly, trying to hold my gaze but unable to look away from the gun for more than a second. "A child, Javert. You would let an innocent child suffer in all of this because you won't see reason?"

"This life you fashioned for yourself is over now, Jean Valjean. You were never anything more than Prisoner 24601: nothing more than a yellow slip of paper."

Valjean moves, bringing that chair leg, trying to whack me over the head. Surprised, I find myself moving my finger away from the trigger, ducking to the ground. I lose my grip on the gun and it skitters away across the floor, a fair price for my cowardice. As I stand to meet Valjean, he casts the chair leg aside and barrels into me, shoving me up against the wall. The man is unbelievably strong and manages to hold me still as he pushes my jacket aside to find the set of manacles I was sure I was going to use to capture him. I try a punch to his face but he somehow manages to grab my arm, snap the manacle in place before spinning me and securing both arms behind my back. He then turns me to face him again and, as I growl, removes the keys to the manacles from my waistband and pockets them. He chuckles, "It's a shame I'm not the thief you think I am Javert, since I seem to have a knack for pickpocketing."

I'm unable to do anything other than growl, face hot, as he shoves me to the ground and scoops up my pistol and points it at me. "Now, be a good little bloodhound and stay. By the time you get out of those manacles I will be long gone. Perhaps we'll see eachother again in another decade?"

He has the nerve to turn his back on me and walk to Fantine's side once more, taking her hand in his. "I promise you, your child will live safely and happily within my care. I will raise her to the light, and she will know of her courageous mother who was willing to give everything she had for her child."

"Such promises, they mean nothing to you," I scoffed. "You never truly meant to keep your promise to return to me if I had let you go, did you? You would have taken the child and disappeared into the world, fashioned a new life for yourselves and 'sought the light.'"

"That was an empty promise," Valjean said without even looking at me, pistol down by his side, "An empty promise for a man without mercy."

"There is nowhere you can hide from me," I spit, trying to stand. "Wherever you think you can hide away, I will find you. You think you can give this child a happy life? You couldn't even do that for yourself." Finally I get my feet under me and stand, using the wall as a support. "You promise you will look after this woman's child? Well, I swear to you, no matter where you go, who you pretend to be, I will find you. I will be there: I will always be there."

Valjean has no retort, acts as though he doesn't even hear me. "You're going to fail this child," I add, stalling in the thought that some law-abiding vigilante will swoop in and help me bring own the man I have dedicated ten years of my life to tracking down. "You will fail them as you failed your sister and your niece. This child would be safer dead than with you."

Valjean has a sharp intake of breath and as I ready myself for another speech about how all he ever did was try his best, the man whirls around and hurls his fist at me. He connects with my cheek with enough power my head snaps back and smacks into the wall and I fall to the ground, my vision growing dim and fuzzy.

The room grows dark: a great yawning shadow fills my vision and I close my eyes, the last sounds I hear whispered from Valjean's lips to Fantine's dead ears.

"I will be there."