The wind was twisting in the trees, threatening to pull them apart. It battered the windowpanes and gave the entire city an ominous feel to it. Javert looked out at the approaching storm. He wasn't eager to leaver the warmth of his office. The bitter wind and the dark winter sky would make it twice as hard to patrol the streets efficiently. Grudgingly his shrugged into his heavy greatcoat and headed for the door. The inspector cast a wistful glance over his pristine office. It was tidy enough that it appeared barren until a further inspection showed that it was quite full, though each item from the papers to his desk had its designated place. With a last glance at the warmth he was leaving, Javert strode toward the door. "Goin' out?" a voice piped up behind him.

"Pardon?" Javert turned to face his addressor, Niko Lafayette, one of his colleagues. Though the man had worked with the police longer than Javert, his demeanor made him appear a rookie.

"I asked if you were really goin' out there. Paris has never been this cold before."

"Oh, I highly doubt that." Javert answered curtly

"Then you aren't superstitious?" the portly man asked.

"What!?" Javert snapped, his pale eyes glinting.

Lafayette shrugged. "I just though that.. Well, with you being a gyp."

"You assumed that because I am Romany, I would panic at the first sign of frost. Well Niko, I am no stereotypical fool. Good Evening, Inspector" With that he turned his back to the baffled Lafayette and stepped out into the cold.

'Superstitious? Unbelievable! How could a Senior Official be so ignorant?!' Javert shook his head as he descended the stone steps out onto the street. Thee wind pierced his woolen coat, bit his face, and whipped tears into his eyes. Cursing, he pulled his coast closer about him and headed on. 'When had Paris been this bitter?' Javert thought to himself as he walked. His experience didn't supply any great amount of information; this was his second year in Paris. Previously he had worked in Montreuil sur Mer, an inland town where the factories' smoke at least kept the inner part of the town from becoming too intense. He has also spent time stationed in control of the galley guard at Toulon, a seaside town where the water kept the area cool, though it never became this frigid. "Evening 'Spector!" a small voice cut through the wind, startling Javert.

'Damn, I'm letting Lafayette get to me. It was all nonsense, rubbish.'

"M'sieur?" the child spoke again.

Javert turned to the little boy. "I'm not hearing voices; here's my proof", he muttered. Straightening, he eyed the young child suspiciously. "Can I help you?"

The boy looked back trembling. "No m'sieur. I was just s'prised to see anyone out tonight. What with the wind actin' like it is, most people are inside with their doors and windows closed real tight" he scrunched his face up to emphasize his words.

"You aren't" the inspector answered coolly.

"Where am I to go? I don't got a home." Javert nodded and turned to leave. "Where are you goin'?" the boy called after him. "Can I come?"

Sighing, the inspector turned once more to the child. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Phillippe"

Phillippe? How long had it been since he had heard that name? His name? Not since his mother..ENOUGH! "Well, Phillippe, I'm going nowhere important"

"Can I come?" Phillippe asked again.

"No, but I'll take you somewhere for the night, alright?"

"Really?" the young boy's eyes lit up.

'Why am I doing this? For a child, none of the less. Certainly there are better things to do than escort children? This one's different, though. He reminds me of someone, he reminds me of. myself'

"Come on", he growled softly.