That was certainly the lamest place Bertrand was ever forced to work in. He missed the penthouse and the mansions, the eventual castle and even that one department store. They had class once. Now times were so desperate that they had to work in an abandoned warehouse, half turned into a prison. It was awful. That place was too hot and had no proper ventilation, something in there was giving him allergies, and there were still dead insects on the corners.
His colleagues said that the good times would be back soon, that they would have the control of all of VFD's fortunes. Bertrand couldn't wait for it to happen. If it continued this way, soon he could be considering something as ridiculous as getting a normal, legal job.
The main goal of all of this operation was to keep a single prisoner, a volunteer who had already caused too much trouble. He had been hard to catch, and Bertrand's boss would have his skin if he let him escape. A couple of henchmen guarded the actual cell, while Bertrand watched the front door. His boss would be there in two days to finish it. Two more days sneezing and sweating. The only thing that made him feel better was knowing that his prisoner was having it much worse. That, and a game of crosswords.
He was struggling with how to properly spell "Fahrenheit" when he heard a strange noise. He knew right away that someone was trying to break in. The only thing of interest there was the prisoner. His boss had thought no one would try a rescue mission, but there would be no need for him to be there if it was impossible.
Bertrand stood up and walked silently to the main entrance, where the noise was coming from. He was armed, but he didn't want to take out his weapon yet. This was the most interesting thing to happen in weeks, he didn't want it to end so soon. He positioned himself so he would be just out of the way of the intruder, but still in their field of vision.
Just as he expected, the intruder saw him as soon as they got the door opened. What he didn't expect was that it would be this particular volunteer. He should have. No one else had the same courage, recklessness and motivation to actually try a rescue mission. No one but Beatrice Baudelaire.
She also seemed to not have expected to see Bertrand there, as she stopped and stared at him.
Their situation was complicated, to say the least. Bertrand did not hate Beatrice like he did other volunteers. He even had an infatuation with her for a while, but he swore to his boss and his peers that he was past that. That could not be completely true, he realized now as he looked at her. It was the first time they met alone since he left the volunteers, if having her fiancee imprisoned just behind a door and down a corridor made at the last minute with old wood counted as meeting alone.
Beatrice, meanwhile, wasn't very happy with his change of sides, and even made it very clear that she considered it a personal betrayal, as they had been the best of friends before it. Bertrand knew even then that he would not be able to make her see his reasons. They had always dealt in very different ways with everything VFD did to them, and Beatrice would certainly never understand the value of what Bertrand's current boss offered him.
Last, but not least, there was the fact that Bertrand's boss had killed one of Beatrice's mentors, tried to kill her and most of her friends a few times, and currently had Bertrand keeping the man Beatrice chose to spend her life with a prisoner. It was awkward.
"It took you a lot of courage and recklessness to come here." Bertrand said, in the fake confident tone he mastered.
"It took you a much bigger lack of morals for you to be here than I thought you actually had." Beatrice retorted.
"That's no way to greet an old friend."
"You are not my friend."
"I can recall many occasions in which you shared with me some secrets one shouldn't tell strangers."
"Things have changed and you know that." Beatrice said, serious.
"I don't see why they have to. We always got along so well."
"You became an arsonist and a murderer. You kidnapped Lemony!"
"Oh please, like this is the worst I have done."
If it was anyone else, Bertrand would have been able to stop them from reaching into their pocket, but he was too distracted by, well, Beatrice to even notice what she was doing until it was so late, and she had her pocket knife pointed to his neck.
"Tell me where he is."
"At least say 'please'."
"I'm not kidding, Bertrand!" She almost shouted. "Tell me where Lemony is! What have you done to him? Tell me or I won't hesitate to kill you!"
Everything in that sounded very unlike the Beatrice he knew. She was very distressed. She was madly in love, more than he imagined. She was not just saying that. Her body language, the position of the knife, her eyes: everything showed that she was not simply saying it. She meant it.
"That's not very noble of you." He said.
Bertrand felt the blade slightly touching his neck at the same time his hand wrapped around her arm. Their physical strengths were on same level, so as he struggled to move her arm down and away from him, she struggled to try to hit him somewhere, anywhere. That lasted a while, but he ended up pushing her away when he felt pain on his side.
The cut was small, but it was enough for Beatrice to get free from his hold, and for Bertrand to confirm that she was serious. She was not afraid of getting her hands dirty for Lemony. She kept the knife pointed to him.
It hurt. Bertrand knew that the path he took would take him away from all of his friends, but it hurt to see that someone he cared about so much really hated him now. It hurt to know that all the memories he shared with Beatrice didn't mean anything anymore. It hurt to see how much she loved someone else.
He raised his arms in defeat. Beatrice didn't lower her knife.
"I will take you to him."
"This better not be a trick." She said, cautious. She lowered her arm slowly, not taking her eyes off him.
Bertrand led her to the door, and then to the precarious corridor. The henchmen were chatting but stopped and stiffened when they heard the footsteps approaching. He made a dismissive signal, and they left.
Beatrice kept her head down until they were out of view, but she noted that they didn't even spare a glance to her. Before she could think more about it, something else caught her attention. She was just in front of the cell where Lemony was kept. He was gagged and had his wrists tied behind his back.
"We had to get him to shut up somehow." Bertrand said with a half smile. He soon saw that Beatrice didn't find it funny.
"You have become a horrible person." She mumbled.
"I'm helping you, ain't I?" He replied, annoyed. He reached for the keys in his pocket, and his hands touched his lighter. He didn't even think of what he would say to his boss. She would not be pleased.
Beatrice would also never understand how much he was risking right now for her. He took the keys and opened the cells, then stepped away so she could untie her man and have that disgusting reunion.
Maybe he could say that a big group came. He could fake signs of a fight. The henchmen were too scared of him to say otherwise.
He was trying not to pay attention to the couple, but their "whispers" were too loud for him to fully ignore. He caught bits of their conversation.
"-brought me here. He is helping-"
"He's dangerous. You shouldn't-"
"-please. You're safe. That's all that matters."
"You don't know what he is capable of! I saw-"
"You two realize I could lock you there right now, right?" Bertrand said, making the two raise their heads. It was true. They were both still inside the cell and he was out. He could do it. Then he wouldn't disappoint his boss, nor have to lie to her. And they would have another volunteer in their hands.
The scenario was immediately followed by an image of what could happen to Beatrice if he gave her to his boss, and he knew he could not do it.
"Please." Beatrice pleaded, without specifying what. She stepped in front of Lemony, protectively.
"Just leave already. The backdoor is that way." Bertrand said, looking away from them.
"This is a trap." Lemony said to Beatrice.
"What would I get from it?" Bertrand crossed his arms. "Every volunteer abandoned you, except for your girlfriend. Your reputation is ruined. You are worthless."
It was not exactly true. Bertrand knew several reasons why Lemony Snicket shouldn't be let out, but he tried to ignore every single one of them.
"But if you want to stay, be my guest. My boss looks forward to ending you."
Lemony visibly tried to not show fear, while Beatrice looked horrified at the idea. She silently pulled her boyfriend out of the cell.
"You could come back." She said to Bertrand.
"This is not happening."
"Why do you work for this woman? Why did you let her turn you into this?"
"You couldn't understand." Bertrand said, but Lemony spoke at the same time.
"She's his mother."
Beatrice gave him an inquisitive look, as if asking for confirmation.
"You couldn't understand." He repeated. "You don't have parents, so you can't possibly understand."
It was a terribly mean thing to say. He could see the hurt in her eyes as he said it. But it was the only way he could think of making her stop asking.
It was Lemony's turn to pull Beatrice, as she looked at her former friend in shock and sadness. Bertrand couldn't stand that. He looked away, trying to think again of a possible excuse.
He only allowed himself to break down once the couple was gone.