A/N: This is an A/U, but only slightly so. You must keep in mind that it's been 3 years since I've read the (abridged) Les Miserabes and I'm about 1/3 through the unabridged version. This story takes place as if Javert must act quicker than he did in the book, therefore running into Valjean right after he picks up Cosette. Please feel free to correct me in any errors :)
Prologue
He'd heard of the girl's disappearance and it was all too much to be a mere coincidence. It irritated him. Jean Valjean was supposed to be dead. He'd drowned, hadn't he? But here was the evidence leading the ever-persistent Inspector Javert on his trail again.
"I must be mad," the good inspector mumbled to himself as he crouched down in the grime of the streets. He felt perfectly horrible, dressed as a beggar, but as it was he thought he could get a glimpse of the man's face.
The beggar who gives alms was coming and Javert felt himself stiffen. His grey-blue eyes watched carefully as the aging man dropped the money into his hand. Their eyes met very briefly and the man he believed to be Jean Valjean froze in his place. The moment ended and he moved away, leaving the disguised policeman alone.
Whether or not the "beggar who gives alms" was Valjean or not was questionable. Javert knew that he had been wrong before and that Valjean had been reported dead. His next move would be to rent a room in the same establishment that his prey was in. He looked up at the small home and knocked sharply at the door.
An old woman opened the door, an apron around her old dress and her grey hair mussed. She only had two teeth and she spoke as one who could not hear well. "Can I 'elp you, monsieur?"
"I'm looking for lodgings," Javert said slowly, looking past her and into the house. "And… information. I assure you, Madame, that I can pay in full and in advance if need be."
The old woman clicked her two teeth together, looking interested. "There's a room available, good sir. And, the information?"
"A tenant of yours, Madame. He is here with a child?"
"Ah yes!" the woman answered as she led him inside. "Strange fellow, he is. He's here with his granddaughter, only goes out at night. Strange old fellow." She stopped at the room. "Here it is, monsieur. Your name?"
"Daumont."
It was the first night that he was to spend in his new lodgings and Javert moved slowly up the stairs. He noted that his shoes made a horrible sound in the darkness, but he paid them little heed. He moved toward the strange man's quarters and kept his hand around the candle's light as best he could.
"It's too quiet," he thought as he moved to the darkened room and stopped. No sound came from it and he sighed, moving away. He was down the hall, nearing his own room when the sound of the door creaked open. Javert pressed himself up against the nearest wall and held his breath. He watched the shape of a large man move from the room, a little girl with her hand in his. This was his break. At long last, this was it.
A/N: This is just the prologue. I highly hope to see some of my PotO phans here as well! Let me know how you like it thus far.
TS