Chapter 21

Louis was unfamiliar with the grand Chateau, and did not know where to go. He was worried about being seen because his clothing had become very ragged. He had been mistaken for a street urchin, even though at one time, his clothing had been very fine. His father was a wealthy man and liked to clothe his son in the same fine clothing that he himself wore; but his father's murderer gave him nothing new to wear but the same filthy clothing that he had been wearing when he kidnapped him months ago. He was itchy from the infestation of lice and other vermin in his hair and remains of his clothing. He noticed that many people went the other way rather than come close to such a dirty child, but it could not be helped.

He had to find the tall man known as Erik and quickly. He knew that he was running out of time. He had followed the bad man as far as he dared but he could see him slip into an area beneath the foundation. He did not trust anyone else to believe him, but he trusted Erik. He could see the compassion and understanding in the man's eyes. He had stopped the bad man from whipping him that one time, and the man lay off of him for as long as he was left on the project out of fear of Erik. He did not know why the man was so frightened of Erik when he was so clearly more frightened and murderous but he felt that if it were so that Erik might be the only one to stop him before it was too late.

He made it almost to the end of the servant's wing, when he was spotted by a woman, who looked like a housekeeper.

"Hey boy, what are you doing here? I have never seen you here before." She looked him over and grabbed him by the arm tightly squeezing him "Why you look like a little thief; what are you doing here?"

He eyed her desperately "Please Madame you must let me go, I have to find a man. It is very important, a matter of life and death."

She looked at him suspiciously, clearly not believing him "What business would you have with anyone here? Particularly as a matter of life and death?"

"Please Madame, you must believe me, do I sound like an urchin? I am a gentleman's son, but I have been abducted. I am looking for Monsieur Erik, the Comte's friend."

The servant loosened her grip and looked at him squarely. "Who did you say that you were looking for?

"Monsieur Erik, the tall gentleman with the scars on his face. He is the man in charge of the renovations, please Madame. I must tell him something, it is a matter of life and death please take me to him," The boy pleaded.

The servant looked at him and told him "I believe you. I know this man that you speak of, he was very kind to me and my late husband Michel. I will take you to my employer the Comtesse de Brecy. She will take you to the man that you seek."

He looked at the woman gratefully "Thank you Madame. Please hurry."

"Follow me." Sabine told him "You are lucky that you ran into me and not one of the other servants. They would never believe you; but if you speak of Monsieur Muhlheim in this way then you must know him."

In the meantime, Erik came over to the phone and spoke to Nadir. The Persian told him everything about both his findings, and his suspicion that Bertrand Buquet was going to attack soon.

Erik told him "There is something about that man that rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. I do not know what his reason is to infiltrate my project, but I agree he is up to something more spectacular than simply killing me. If he had wanted to do that, he would have done so months ago. If I were in his position I would simply stage an accident and be done with me. A worksite is a dangerous place and no one would have questioned it if some sort unfortunate accident were to befall me."

Nadir replied "No doostam it is clear that he had more in mind. He wants to humiliate you and maybe more. That is why I am calling you. I think that he is going to strike soon, maybe tonight. It would be the perfect opportunity to do so."

Erik replied "I have seen no evidence of his presence here; of course he has a confederate, perhaps he is hiding here. Do you have any idea of who that might be?"

Nadir replied "Yes, I do. You told me that Carlotta heard two men. The other man had a score to settle with you as well. I think that our other adversary may be Yousef Qajar. Perhaps he joined forces with Buquet. He is responsible for my nephew Ali's death. The Shah's men captured one of his murderers who claimed to be a retainer for the sag."

Erik snapped to attention at Nadir's implication "I found an article belonging to his mother in my Paris residence, also he contacted me and offered me a swift death if I turned myself over to him. He used my own words against me and promised me 'a disaster beyond my imagination' if I did not do so. My God, you don't think that he will try something tonight? If he is bent on following my path it would be the logical thing to do but how did he link up with Buquet? I do not see the connection at all."

Nadir paused "Don't you? Your past history is not exactly a secret doostam. Everyone knows what you did at the Opera House. If the boy Yousef is anything like his father Mirza Farzad, we have a very cunning enemy to deal with. Farzad struck fear in the heart of both the Shah and the Khanum. He was the only man who the Shah truly believed could take his throne from him. He was both a fine leader and very popular among the common people and the other nobles. Yousef would align himself with the devil himself to exact his revenge upon you; he has already struck at me."

Erik told his friend mournfully "If it is true Daroga, I am sorry that this has happened to you. I have been nothing but trouble for you ever since you met me.'

Nadir replied "You are too hard on yourself doostam. I was the one who brought you to Persia in the first place and gave you over to the Shah. You were an innocent boy at the time that never harmed anyone with your magic tricks. I knew the sort of people that he and his mother were and yet I handed you over like a lamb for sacrifice. If he did not send you to kill Farzad he would have sent me. I would have killed all three of them because I could not have let the son live to have his revenge. You were an outsider. You did not know our ways. Even with your orders, you could not bring yourself to kill an innocent child. Such scruples do you credit, you were never as monstrous as you thought yourself to be. I saw that and knew that I had to help you, and set you free from the trap that I had set for you."

Erik acknowledged his friend's words and told him "I should have refused to kill anyone but I can't change the past. It is time for you to come here and help me to see if there is indeed danger here. If there is I will need you by my side quickly. Please hurry here to me so we can assess the situation. I need you doostam."

"I am leaving now, Erik. Your brother has offered me his horse to use to speed up my journey." Nadir told him.

"In the meantime, I will tell the Comte of our findings and then look around to see if I find any dangers lurking out there. If I find them, we must evacuate the Chateau immediately, but I cannot tell anyone to leave based only upon a hunch. I hope to God that you are wrong." Erik told him.

"Me too, my friend, but please wait for me, I do not want you to face anyone without help." Nadir told him.

Erik replied softly "I cannot promise that I will wait, if our fears are correct he could decide to make his disaster take place any time now. I may not have the luxury of waiting for you to get here."

Nadir replied "Then take the Comte with you. Do not go alone, you do not know what you might find. Do not try to be a hero Erik, I am warning you."

Erik laughed "I am far from a hero doostam. But as I have told you many times, I do not fear death. I never have. For a long time I wanted nothing more than for it to embrace me. Although now I have much to live for, I am still not afraid of it."

Nadir pleaded, "Please take care of yourself and do not do anything foolish. You have a family now, and many friends who care about you. If you care nothing for yourself then at least think about their feelings."

Erik replied "That is why I may not be able to wait for you Daroga. I have too many people to worry about; I am the least of my worries. If I had been more moderate and less filled with hate as a younger man, I would not be facing either Buquet or Yousef as enemies right now. I will not make any of them pay, for the sins that are mine. I will gladly risk my own life if I must, but I won't risk anyone else's, not even yours."

"I hear you and I disagree, if they want to help you then you should give them the choice. But we are wasting time with this discussion. I am leaving now. I will see you soon doostam, wait for me."

"Bedrood doostam." Erik told him.

Erik hung up the phone and turned to find Raoul, he felt that he needed to apprise him just in case. He walked outside to the garden where the reception was taking place to find him. At that moment he saw Honore scan the area in an agitated state. There was a boy beside him, Louis Lemieux and also her servant, Sabine. A multitude of questions filled Erik's mind. Who was this child really? Was he a Buquet? What was he doing here? He caught Honore's eye and could see that she was motioning to him to come to them. Erik moved towards them, and when he reached both of them, Honore told him to come inside with her.

Honore turned to Sabine and told her "Go and fetch my son, and my husband too if you see him. I think that this might be a matter of all of our concern judging by the boy's countenance."

Sabine replied "Yes Madame."

Honore looked at Erik and the boy "If you don't mind I would like to stay and see what the boy has to tell you. He is quite agitated."

Erik looked over to the boy and gave him an encouraging smile "I am in a bit of a hurry, but I sense that you might be able to enlighten me about some matters. Who are you really and why are you here?"

The boy looked at him "I am who I told you that I was Louis Lemieux. The man that you think is my father, he is not who he said that he is. He in fact is my father's murderer. I am very afraid of him Monsieur which is why I have not come forward before. The man is a very bad person."

Honore put her arms around the child "It is alright Louis, you are a brave boy. We will keep you safe. What do you have to tell us?"

Erik spoke very gently and with understanding "I can understand your fear child. I too was made to feel fear as a child. It is what has drawn me to you. I will help you in any way that I can, but I sense that you have something more to tell us."

The boy nodded "Oui Monsieur, I heard the man speaking to another bad man the other day. It was in another town on the other side of Rouen. They were talking about you and how badly they wanted to hurt you. The one man asked my captor, Bertrand, whether the preparations were in place. He told them that they were, and they were arguing over the timing of the bad event. The one man, who I did not know, who Bertrand called the Persian, wanted whatever it was to happen early before many people could get hurt. Bertrand wanted to do it later so that more people would get hurt. He said that if a lot of people got hurt, they would blame you and maybe you would go to jail for something that they called criminal negligence. The other man mentioned that he had bribed some witnesses to say that you ordered inferior steel and cement to save money. He mentioned that the cement was not mixed properly and that he had placed some dynamite in it. I know about cement Monsieur my father taught me a lot about construction. Because my mother died when I was a baby, he had to take me with him to many of his projects."

Erik smiled at the boy "I know that you are a bright child boy. Do you have any family that can take care of you when this is over?"

The boy replied "I have an uncle in Bayeux, he and Aunt Yvette are always very nice to me when I visit with them. They will take care of me."

Erik told him "Good, if you had not had anyone I would have welcomed you into my home as an adopted son, you have done the right thing coming directly to me with this information. Do you know where to find Lemieux, I mean Bertrand?"

"Oui Monsieur, I followed him to a spot under the foundation of the renovated part of the building. He went into the woods nearby it and is waiting to set off the dynamite. He is alone."

Erik questioned him "The other man, the Persian, did not come with him?"

Louis replied "No, he was upset with the Persian. He was mad that the Persian did none of what he called the 'dirty work'. He was upset that the man would be back in Paris in safety while he did the work."

"Can you describe where you saw Bertrand go? I do not want you to come with me. I want you to stay here in safety. The Comtesse will take care of you."

Honore nodded "Of course I will."

Raoul entered the room and looked at the three of them quizzically.

"Sabine told me that I must come here immediately what is going on here?"

Erik told him "I do not have time to explain everything, but Lemieux is an imposter, he has sabotaged the repairs to the Chateau. You must evacuate the structure immediately, it is not safe."

Raoul looked at him with concern "What do you mean?"

"This boy has brought me some disturbing information and I believe him. I am going now to stop the man if I can before he can do any harm. I am sorry but I cannot stay I have to go now. I am just waiting for the boy to tell me where Bertrand is."

Raoul looked at him "Who is Bertrand?"

Erik replied "It is Joseph Buquet's brother, you know him as Lemieux. My instincts were right, he was not who he seemed to be." Erik turned to the boy "Tell me where you saw him."

The boy looked at him "I must show you Monsieur it is the fastest way."

Erik growled "Absolutely not boy. I will find him if you tell me where he is."

"It might take you too long. I will help you." The boy insisted.

Erik looked at Raoul "Do you have any armed retainers here tonight. If you do have them come and bring the boy to me but I will not bring him with me until he is well protected. I will not have his blood on my hands."

"I will assemble them, but why don't you wait Erik and help me evacuate the Chateau then we can go together." Raoul suggested.

"I will not take chances with your life, or anyone else's. I am the Phantom; I will find this man and take care of him. You can go and take care of everyone else. Keep them safe particularly the children, Severine and Christine."

Raoul replied "I do not like this idea; I think that you should wait for help. He may see you before you get close enough and dispose of you and still blow up the Chateau."

Erik replied "I will not argue with you boy. It will be better if I am alone. I know how to keep myself hidden. You forget that I spent years perfecting that art. We are wasting time. Evacuate the Chateau and then if you must you may come to my aid."

Erik turned to Louis "Where did you see Bertrand go?"

"He went to the woods nearest to the part of the foundation that he worked on. He was on the side by the cliff overlooking the river."

Raoul grabbed Erik's arm and told him "Listen to me Erik, you are not handling this in a rational manner, you need to come with me and help me get everyone clear of the building and then we will neutralize Lemieux after we have gained control of the situation. How many times do I have to remind you that you are not alone? I need you to help me clear everyone away. That is the first priority."

Erik looked at him wildly for a moment. Raoul worried for a moment that he would not be able to reach him. The Phantom was not clearly in control of his emotions which always made it difficult for anyone to reach Erik's more rational side. Slowly he watched the darkness fade from Erik's eyes and it was replaced by someone more rational. Raoul knew that his friend had regained control of his emotions and he gently put his hand on his shoulder.

He turned to his mother "I will need you to go into the servant's quarters and spread the word there to evacuate." He turned to Sabine "I need you to go into the kitchen and inform them to leave, and then send someone upstairs as well. Both of you must tell them to spread the word." He turned to Erik and Louis "Erik you need to keep Louis close to you. I need you to go outside to the reception area so that you can keep people from coming inside, we must pull everyone as far from the inside as necessary. I will go to the ballroom, and clear that out and anyone else who is in the renovated wing. When we have finished and cleared everyone out to safety, you, Nadir and I and some of my servants will hunt for this man and capture him. We can telephone the gendarmes to come as well."

Erik turned to him "I will admit boy, you have gained in maturity. I will change only one part of your plan I will go to the ballroom, if it collapses then it will be my life at stake not yours."

Raoul looked at him "No Erik, this is my Chateau and you must stay with the boy. He trusts you. I will be fine. If I am not, you will find me and save me right?"

Erik reluctantly agreed, but only because there was no time left to argue. They all split up and executed Raoul's plan. Within a few minutes they had all gone to their assigned areas and started spreading the word to flee as far from the Chateau as they could. Seeing the stricken look on Erik's face Christine approached him.

Within a few minutes the guests had been evacuated to the far edge of the garden, and the servants were streaming out of the house. Bertrand heard the commotion and knew that someone had discovered their plan. He decided to set the fuse and get out of there as quickly as he could to spread confusion so that he could escape. He realized that the plan had likely failed, that obviously it would be clearly construed as sabotage. He could only hope that he would be able to slip away unnoticed and that he and the Persian would have to make a new plan. He was ready to do so, when he was seized with another thought. Perhaps he should just kill Muhlheim right away, and at least he would have his revenge and not have to wait years to try again. This plan had been years in the making and had been foiled. Perhaps he could use the confusion to draw Muhlheim out where he could shoot him. The Persian would be upset but he would have to live with it. Their ultimate goal was to get rid of the Phantom for good. He went into the spot where he had placed the dynamite and lit the fuse. Moments later there were explosions, the new wing collapsed.