Father Brown and the Baxter Twins

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: So here we are! The next chapter! Thanks to everyone who's told me what they think so far! Please tell me if you like this chapter as well. the parts here are a lot smaller but all in all this chapter is a lot longer than the others, so hopefully that makes up for it. Please Enjoy!

Chapter 6: The Man who was Angry

Seraphina jimmied the lock on the camper with an efficiency that would have shocked poor Sidney to the core. She let herself in, already knowing that he wasn't in there as he hadn't answered her knocks. To be honest she had been a little afraid that Anthony St. Clair had killed him and left his body in here for her to find. She rifled under Sidney's bed for what she had left there the first time she had been conscious and then looked around at what was left. She chose what she was going to be borrowing with care, but couldn't resist taking his second pair of just-thoroughly-shined knee high hessian boots.

Father Brown, carefully crept along the track to where the supply carts were hooked and peaked into the only one with the door still open. He had seen a man smoking a cigarette leave the area and he had a feeling that he knew why someone was guarding this cart. He poked his head in and found what he was looking for, tied up and trying to wiggle the ropes off of his hands.

Father Brown hoisted himself up into the cart and Sidney sighed with relief. "Thank God!" he whispered. "We better get me out of here before the others get back. One's looking for Seraphina, we have to get to him before he gets to her."

Father Brown felt that now wasn't the time to mention that they would probably wouldn't find Seraphina and instead scrambled over to him, he knelt down in front of Sid to help him get the rope off of his hands when he heard a soft chuckle and the click of a gun.

"When I grabbed this lanky cube I expected Finley would show up again or his sister would come to the rescue," a shadowy voice said. "I wasn't expecting a priest."

Father Brown turned and found a man behind him. He was short and stocky, built for lifting heavy things with a thick chest and hands large for good beatings. His fedora was tipped low, but Father Brown could tell that the suit was cheap and the man hadn't shaved in a while. He smelt of grease and dirty waters. He was very kindly not aiming his gun a them.

"Seraphina's not a part of this!" Sidney spat out.

"Oh she very much is, cube-boy, she's the easiest way to get a hold of that slippery little prick and the easiest way to get him to cave. He does everything she tells him to," the man taunted. "Now sit down and don't give me any trouble. I don't want to harm a man of God, but I will if I have to."

Father Brown sat himself down beside Sidney and let the man tie him up without a fuss. "It must really bother you that your main competition is being controlled by a young woman, Mr. St. Clair" he said to him.

The man finished tying up the ropes and chuckled at him. "How do you know who I am?" he asked. "She still talking about that one night we had?"

Sidney had to fight the urge to kick the man square in the chest for that comment. He didn't want to think that Seraphina had anything to do with St. Clair, even as a youthful indiscretion. Father Brown kept his cool much easier. "You have a London look about you, you smell of the dock and she mentioned that you had gone away for vacation in the country. We assumed that you would make your way here at some point."

Anthony St. Clair straightened with a laugh. "Holy and Smart, quite the package priest."

"He's a Father!" Sidney snapped which only caused the large man towering over them laugh more.

"You two better hope that girl or her brother show up because at four, when the train leaves, I'm going to be taking you back to London with me and you'll be staying with me and my company until one of them comes to trade you off," he warned. "And we're not good company, are we boys?"

From the door the two men Sidney had beat that first night were standing there, bruised and battle worn just like Seraphina was. They were laughing and smoking too and Sidney was a little worried they'd want to get some revenge on him too.

"Did you find the girl?" St. Clair asked.

"Naw, she's skipped off. Wouldn't be surprised if she left town," one of them told him.

St. Clair laughed at his two hostages. "That's the Baxter's for you, they only look out for themselves."

Sidney ground his teeth in frustration. He knew Seraphina wouldn't leave him like this. She was coming, or her brother was, point was, she wasn't going to let these men taken their frustrations out on him.

The train whistle blew, the train pulled out of the station. Inspector Mallory had found Lady Felicia's Rolls-Royce parked in the back of the train station. There was no sign of Sidney anywhere, or anyone who could have abducted him like the shop owner had said. Goodfellow was canvasing the people in the station for the any sign of the men in the descriptions or of Sidney. Instead Mallory found Father Brown's bike.

The train was gone now, it had officially left and if Father Brown had been near by and hadn't been found yet, he was most likely on that train. And if he was, in fact, on the train that meant that either Sidney or the men who took him were on that train.

He was going to call out to Goodfellow to tell him that they needed to stop that train when someone came up behind him and tapped his shoulder. Mallory turned to tell this person off, to tell them to get lost but when he turned a fist connected with his jaw and sent him sprawling.

He was on the ground for five seconds before he felt someone going through the pockets of his long coat. "Sorry, guv," a rough voice said. "Just gots to borrow your car."

Before he could get up, whoever the voice belonged to, was in the Rolls-Royce and starting the car up. He got up just in time to watch the car speed off. By the time that Mallory was back off his feet, Goodfellow had managed to run to him, and helped him dust off. Embarrassed by what had just transpired he snapped a little too aggressively at him to get someone to stop that goddamn train and for someone else to go after that stupid car.

When he caught up with that little punk that jumped him he was going to put him in jail until the end of time.

He stopped the car at the bridge and got out. He checked a golden pocket watch he nicked off the copper he had slugged to get the car. He had driven that fancy Rolls like a bat out of hell, he should have gotten past the train. The wail of the siren was off in the distance, someone sent to get him for taking the car, no doubt.

He put the watch back in his pocket as the steam from the train came into view. He hadn't done something this reckless in years, and though he didn't want to admit it, he was getting older. There was a good chance that he wouldn't stick the landing, or he'd land on the wrong cart and not the one he had spotted the idiots returning to, but he knew that he didn't have any other option. If he missed this train there would be dire consequences. It wouldn't be that bad if he missed the specific cart, but he wanted to be timely with his rescue.

The train whizzed past underneath him, disappearing into the tunnel, well, the small tunnel anyway and he climbed up onto the wall. He pulled his borrowed cap down snuggly on his head to make sure it didn't fall off and just as the cop car pulled up, he jumped.

With the train moving, Father Brown and Sidney were certain that both Seraphina and Finley had abandoned them. Sidney had hunkered down while Father Brown's keen eyes took in everything around him certain that God wouldn't abandon them in their time of need and that all he needed to do was stay calm and he'd think of a way out of this situation. Sidney couldn't believe that the girl who had stolen a little piece of his heart had done this to him, this was worse than what the Brewer's Daughter had done to him. At least she hadn't left him in the hands of a very dangerous criminal who had more than ill intentions towards him.

St. Clair came over to them, he stood in front of Sidney and smirked down at him in a dangerous sort of way. He dug into his pocket and came back with a flashing piece of silver. He pressed a little button and the knife flew out gleaming dangerously in the shadows.

"You better be about to cut us loose!" Sidney snarled sarcastically and was rewarded with a quick kick that jarred his legs, but Sidney refused to yelp in pain.

"No, I'm going to start leaving pieces of you for that bitch to find," he snarled. He squatted down in front of Sidney and pulled his bound hands towards him.

"Is this the path you really want to choose? Will taking Sidney apart fill that void, or make up for what the Baxter twins have done to you? It's not too late to repent," Father Brown said quickly which earned him a dry glare from St. Clair.

Sidney kicked out at him knocking the man down. "You bloody-well stay away from me, mate!" he warned.

St. Clair glared at him and snapped his fingers. In a fast flurry the two men were on Sidney, one quick jab to the stomach had him gasping and wheezing and then they were holding him down and forcing his hands out to St. Clair who was ready with the knife.

"You do not need to do this, I'm certain there are better ways to get the Baxter Twins' attention," Father Brown cried, but St. Clair was undeterred. He forced the index finger out on Sidney's right hand and brought the knife to it.

And then they heard the distinct sound of something heavy landing on the roof of the car.

The darkness of the tunnel enveloped them and the five men in the cart were suddenly very silent as they listened. The two bigger men let Sidney go and stood, St. Clair stood too. They were all staring at the ceiling and waiting, as if God himself was going to come down and smite them.

The train came out from the tunnel and the silence became less heavy. Until they heard the footsteps above them.

St. Clair tossed one guy his knife. "Go, deal with it," he ordered. The one who caught the knife glared at him, his stare clearly saying something along the lines of: "Are you out of your mind?" but he begrudgingly went to the side, forced the door to slide open anyway.

He climbed out the side, using the ladder to get up to the top. After an agonizing minute of waiting, there was a yelp of pain, followed by a scream and then they saw the man fall to the tracks below. The train kept on going and that was the end of that henchman. Father Brown and Sidney exchanged glances before crossing themselves, Father Brown began muttering a prayer for the soul of the possibly deceased.

St. Clair turned to his last remaining guy. "It's Finley," he snapped and then both of them had guns out. There was a creaking of hinges and light flooded in from above. It was the ceiling hatch, used for ventilation when transporting animals. St. Clair jerked his head in the direction of the light and the second henchman rushed forward using the supply crates to climb up. He got to the opening, got halfway through it and then lid slammed down, everyone below heard the crunch and everyone winced when the second henchman, now unconscious, collapsed to the floor, crushing a box on the way down.

The door slammed shut and footsteps were heard once more. St. Clair cocked his gun and aimed it behind him in the general direction of Sidney and Father Brown. "Show yourself Finley or I'll blow a hole in one of your friends," he shouted over the sound of the train or the tracks.

For a brief moment a light flooded in from the door that the conductors used to get through but it wasn't open long. Once it shut again the shadows descended and they could hear St. Clair suck in his breath in anticipation.

There was a metallic flick and then a light was seen again. This time orange. From a lighter, one of the fancy metals ones. Someone was walking towards them, flicking that lighter open and shut as they did so.

"I saw your handiwork on my sister's face," a rough voice called out, it was soft but threatening, like a growl from a cornered dog. "You couldn't resist backhanding her with your signet ring, could you?"

Finley was in plain view now. He was smaller than Sidney expected him to be. He had a newsboy cap pulled snuggly down, shadowing his face even farther. He was wearing knee high black books and a loose pair of pants. His dress shirt look freshly laundered but with grease stains on the rolled up sleeves and he was wearing a thick knitted vest with a geometric pattern. It was all in fresh green and smudging brown colors. Sidney couldn't help but notice that the boots looked very familiar, in fact the whole outfit looked quite familiar.

"You should have kept your nose out of my business," St. Clair snapped.

"You should have kept your business off of my turf," Finley growled back.

St. Clair raised his gun, "It's my turf now," he growled with a sick looking smirk on his face. The gun was level with Finley's chest when it discharged, and Finely dropped to his knees. For a brief second Sidney thought that Finley had been shot and St. Clair must have thought that too for he lowered his gun.

In that moment Finley shot forward, one hand knocking the gun from his grip the other swinging deftly up towards his jaw. The first hit sent St. Clair sprawling and then Finley tackled him down to the floor. It was all a blur but it ended with Finley straddling St. Clair's chest, one hand gripping the cuff of his shirt and the other pummelling him over and over until St. Clair's face was all bloody and he was barely conscious.

Finley got up off of St. Clair and dragged him up to his feet. He pulled him over to the still open service hatch where they could see the scenery whizzing past. Father Brown caught on really quick to what Finley was planning.

"You don't have to do this," he called out. "Killing him won't right the wrongs he's done to you or your sister. For the sake of your mortal soul you must turn the other cheek."

Finley shot a look over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed but Sidney could tell that they were the same light green as Seraphina's just sharper. "Sorry, Father, but I'm not a religious man."

And then he shoved St. Clair out of the door.

Not long after St. Clair was forcibly ejected from the train cart did the wail of sirens reach their ears and the train began to break. Finley rushed over to Sidney and knelt down in front of him.

"I don't got long," he said quickly. "It's my understanding that my sister doesn't want to come back to London and while she hasn't flat out said it's because of you I think we both know that she has never really wanted to settle down before meeting you."

Sidney felt his heart blossom in his chest, beating rapidly and wildly out of control he watched this dangerous man in front of him while trying very hard not to grin like an idiot. He wanted to say that he wanted to settle down with Finley's sister very much, that he may not be rich or a proper gentleman and yeah he tended to walk that dangerous line between legal and criminal, but he would always treat her like a bloody queen. But it didn't seem appropriate to say that to the man that had either grievously wounded three men or flat out killed them.

"So, obviously, if you break my sister's heart I'll come back here and break your bloody legs," Finley finished, slapping his hands against Sidney's knees in a playful yet painful manner. He laughed a bit before sobering up. "I trust you will take care of her though?"

Father Brown leant over and said very confidently: "Oh yes, it won't just be Sid you know. All of us will look after her as if she were our own. Lady Felicia, Mrs. McCarthy and I, we will all be sure to keep your sister safe and well taken care of during her stay with us in Kembleford."

Finely stared at him for a brief second before cracking a familiar smirk and nodding to him. "Thanks mate," he said cheerfully before standing up again. He pointed a single finger at Sidney, "Don't you dare make me come back here," he warned.

The train had come to a complete stop and Finley went to the door. He didn't say good-bye, he merely looked both ways and then hopped off the train. Sidney and Father Brown watched as he ran off into the woods at a surprising speed, the whistles of the cops ringing through the air as a few gave chase.

Sidney and Father Brown were stuck there. Finley hadn't cut their ropes.

As Sidney jogged towards his camper he couldn't help but groan. It took forever to get this far.

First it was Mallory and Goodfellow chiding Sidney and Father Brown for their involvement in this as they cut the bonds from their wrists. Then it was Mallory certain that Sidney had been involved in all of this somehow, due to his dubious reputation. That led to Mallory hauling him in and asking a ridiculous amount of stupid questions as if Sidney wasn't the victim or as if he knew where Finley had gone since evading capture. It took Lady F bursting into the interrogating room, whacking Mallory over the head with her handbag and then flat out telling him that Sidney was going home as he had been the victim of all of this after all. Nor was she pressing any chargers as her car had been found and Sidney couldn't have very well stolen it from the trunk of the car after all.

He found that Father Brown and Mrs. McCarthy were waiting in the foyer for Sidney's release but no Seraphina. That was when he found out that Seraphina was still missing.

It made sense, she would have had to get word to Finely to get up there in time to save him. They had no doubt met up and had some words about a plan, especially since she had managed to tell her brother that she didn't plan to return to London with him. For a brief moment he was worried that the two henchmen had gotten her after all, but that most likely wasn't the case. Seraphina was probably holed up somewhere safe waiting for the word to come out of hiding.

So the four split up, each to search in different areas of the town for her. Sidney knew where he was going and it wasn't to the square as Father Brown had suggested. He went straight to his camper, his heart racing to see a light flickering inside.

He opened the door and there she was. Standing at the sink, across from the door waiting for him. She blinked at him, her eyes wide with fear, as if she expected him to be cross with her.

"You know, I had flowers to give you but they got lost in the scuffle," he said. He took one step up into the camper and Seraphina launched herself at him, her lips on his before he could say a single thing more.

He crushed her to him, kissing her back with a ferocity he didn't know was in him, honestly he had just thought he was tired. His arms snaked around her waist and out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that the boots he had just shined that morning were scuffed up and muddy as if they had been worn in the forest. But Sidney only wore those for work so they wouldn't have seen a forest recently. And he noticed one of his dress shirts, the one he got grease stains on the sleeve of was sitting out not where he left it, folded neatly which was not the norm for him.

He wanted to ask Seraphina about it but her insistent kisses were most distracting and by the time the thought had popped back into his head, Mrs. McCarthy had found them both, boxed both their ears and then dragged Seraphina off of him.

Seraphina was officially rooming with Mrs. McCarthy, even though she had protested vehemently that she wanted to stay with Sidney, it was clear that the camper wouldn't fit the two of them. Sidney felt that he might officially be in love. And for some reason he was certain that Seraphina had leant her brother his boots and his shirt, though why she had done that, or how she had gotten them back from him were beyond his thinking. Maybe he'd bring it up to Father Brown in the morning.