The Adventures of Tintin: The Crypt of Popol Vuh
Written by: FossilQueen1984
Disclaimer: Hey, did you miss me? Here is chapter 8, and no I have not read the comic version of "Flight 714", but I did watch the cartoon version on Nickelodeon back in the early 1990's as a small child. That said, I only own Helene, Rosamund and the babies. All other characters belong to Gorge Remi, Russel T Davies, Neil Gaiman, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, BBC, BBC America, and 20th Century Fox. On with the story!
For voice acting, Laszlo Carreidas will be voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Enjoy chapter 8!
Suggested Soundtrack: The Reptile Room- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Exploration/Dreams are Dangerous- Coraline, Deal with the Dark Lord- John Williams
Chapter 8: Laszlo Carreidas, the Eccentric
Upon arrival in Liverpool, Snowy caught wind of the fish market and dashed off for what he hoped would be a hot meal. "Snowy, come back here! We just had lunch," Tintin called after him as he and Helene darted after the delinquent canine. Hadoock and Rosamund volunteered to aid the search, but Skut insisted they stay with him. He explained that Carreidas was obsessed with punctuality, and had informed Skut the previous day that he would be picked up at the docks at exactly 1:03 pm.
"Well, that's a deuced odd pick up time. Wouldn't it have been easier just to say the pick up time at five past," Rosamund inquired while Haddock made a Loch Lomond run. Skut replied he had no idea why that particular time was chosen, but that was that. When Laszlo said something, it was best considered set in stone. It was at that moment a heavily flushed Helene, leaning on Tintin, returned to the port terminal. Snowy's muzzle was covered in fish guts, and so was Helene's blouse.
Tintin explained that Snowy had spotted them from atop a barrel of fresh mackerel. Thinking they were playing some sort of game, the delinquent canine led the couple on a wild goose chase throughout the fish market. He was a medium sized terrier, and Helene was five months pregnant. It took them the better part of an hour to locate the dog, and when they did, he was eating fresh fish form the chopping block!
As he was too busy gorging, Tintin and Helene decided to go after their dog from both ends. Just as Tintin had secured the terrier, Helene had slipped on some fish skins and twisted her ankle. The fishmonger was upset at having his wares eaten, and demanded that the dog be muzzled and flogged. Tintin and Helene offered to pay for the now-digesting merchandise. An offer had been reached, and this is where Haddock rejoined the conversation.
"Thundering typhoons, I can't believe the prices here for spirits. I could get a better deal for a six pack of Loch Lomond in Bruges than I can here. Bleeding hypochondriacs, can't you see a good deal when you're offered one," he ranted angrily as his fiancée and daughter tried to get him to calm down. Tintin reminded him they were in a port town, and according to English laws, alcoholic drinks were subject to an alcohol tax that was a hold over from World War II era rationing laws. Haddock calmed down long when a sharp looking limousine blared its horn.
Idling, the driver poked his head out, and addressed the crowd, "Mister Skut, are these the passengers you brought along?" His voiced had a thick, rural Hungarian tinge to it, Tintin thought the driver hailed form the region surrounding Lake Balaton. The driver glanced at the crowd, muttered something and drove off. There really wasn't much to see in the way off sights. Helene explained to Snowy that Liverpool was an industrial city, much like Florence. She told the dog that the middle and upper classes lived in the outer fringes of the city, unlike in some place like London where the elite resided near Parliament and Buckingham Palace.
Snowy winced as the smells form the variety of mills and factories permeated the air in the rear cabin. "Honestly, the fish market smells better than this whole city, even the sewage smells better. It's a good thing Tintin and Helene's human puppies aren't born yet. I'm afraid they would contract asthma or something horrible like that," Snowy commented as he plopped down on Tintin's lap. Normally, he would plop down on either Tintin or Helene, but with Helene's pregnancy progressing, her lap was shrinking.
Haddock was talking to Rosamund about what might Bianca Castafiore might have been thinking giving a concert in such a dingy industrial hub, when the driver rolled down the privacy window and said a little too loudly, "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen but we are arriving." Looking out the tinted windows, they could make out ivy covered brick fences and wrought iron gates. So, this is where Liverpool's industrial elite resided.
A sleepy looking security guard walked up to the car, spoke to the driver and the gate opened. Snowy woofed, how had that gate opened? Haddock chuckled and explained that the gate was probably opened by a remote control. Indeed, Helene craned her neck just in time to see the security guard push a large, red button. He gave Helene a cold gaze before she rolled down the window and flipped the bird in retaliation!
Exiting the car, all eyes were on the large Georgian manor house. Unlike Marlinspike Hall which was built in the French Classical style, this house looked like it belonged in a novel by Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. The bricks were the color of raw flesh, the windows shiny with an unusual patina suggesting oil on water. There were dimly lit lamps in several windows. In the rest of the windows, the paisley print curtains were drawn. Apparently, Mister Carreidas was a man who liked his privacy.
"Just like my father, a taste for business and austerity, or at least the look of it," Tintin remarked dryly to his wife. Helene squeezed his hand, and kissed his cheek softly. She asked softly if his father was still peeved about his son's career choice and the girl he married. Tintin chuckled and returned the kiss.
Helene had become better acquainted with her in-laws, Pierre and Annette Berlioz, in the few weeks prior to the wedding in London following the Tesseract Machine showdown. Pierre Berlioz, a direct descendant of French composer Hector Berlioz, was a businessman and a rather ruthless father to Tintin as well. He had wanted his son to follow into the family business, but Tintin, still pining for Helene, turned him down and said he wanted to go into experimental physics and anthropology. Furious, Pierre kicked the teenager out of their house in Ghent and told his son not to return until he did something more useful with his life.
Annette knew her son's wish to find the girl that had stolen his heart, but she also worried that he would lose himself in his work, as his father had. She suggested he try his hand at journalism. She mentioned that her former nanny had inherited a townhouse in Brussels, and he could rent a flat there. Grateful, Tintin began to write stories for The Petite Voyager. The rest was history. Pierre was distressed at Helene's return; there really had been a Tesseract machine all along. In his mind, such things were in the realm of science-fiction and he thought Helene would have been better served as a schoolteacher. She hadn't been thrilled with her father in law's conservative views, and had said as much. Annette on the other hand, replied that the times had changed and begged her husband not to be such a cold hearted twit at his own son's wedding. Pierre had swallowed his pride and admitted that Tintin's choice in bride was a good one.
Knocking on the door, it lurched open with a heavy groan and Haddock jumped back in fright. There was nobody there, and a cold gust of air from the air conditioning lured them inside. The door slammed shut once they were all standing in the front hall. Snowy barked in surprise and hid behind Helene, who was eyeing the décor. The lamps were Louis Comfort-Tiffany originals and the modern paintings appeared to originals. Here they all were, so where was their host?
Helene frowned, "This is strange, where is Monsieur Carreidas? Hello, is anyone here?" Her voice carried clearly up and down the seemingly empty rooms. Just then, a side door opened from the left side of the front hall, and standing there was a tall, somewhat large man with wild blonde hair. His pince-nez was perched on his sunburned beaklike nose, as his jade green eyes flickered lover the group.
He let out a loud, hearty laugh and shook their hands, "Hello, hello, hello there to all of you! Sorry about not getting up here sooner, I was busy in my aeroplane room around back when my secretary, Spalding, told me that you all were here." His voice had a Spanish tinge to it, and Helene asked about it.
Leading them to his workshop, he explained that his family had fled Budapest following the fall of the Romanov dynasty, and he had spent his childhood in Catalonia. Rosamund remarked that the Spanish highlands were beautiful at this time of year. Happily agreeing, he asked them if they were ready.
"Ready for what, tea time," Skut inquired as they passed a spotless kitchen. Carreideas laughed and clapped the Dutch pilot on the back, "Why, to see the fastest plane ever built of course!"