Chapter Two
A few days before…
Athos flexed his arm, turning his wrist over and back several times. He glanced at the sword lying across the table. He wondered if he was ready to at least wield the weapon against a cadet. The strain to his shoulder was no longer bothering him but he knew he felt he had lost some strength in his arm.
'If you were to come across those two brutes again,' asked Porthos who appeared to be reading Athos' mind, 'would you want to get some revenge on them for attacking you? 'Cos I'd be happy to lend a hand.'
Athos smiled as he reached out to the sword and wrapped his fingers around the handle. He pulled the weapon closer and stepped away from the table. He swung the sword from side to side, putting more effort into each subsequent swing. His shoulder did not twinge at the movement. He lunged forward at an imaginary foe a couple of times before turning back to Porthos.
'I would not begrudge the offer of assistance,' he said. 'But I would also not like to meet them again for another couple of weeks.'
'They did give you a well-rounded beating,' mused Porthos. 'I'm still impressed you managed to stumble back here.'
Athos shrugged, noting that he felt no ache in his shoulder, 'I think, for once, the excess of wine dulled the pain.'
Porthos chuckled before he went back to cleaning his gun.
Athos slipped his sword into his belt and spent a few seconds checking his guns were in the correct position.
They both looked up when they heard horses trotting into the garrison yard. D'Artagnan and the Captain nodded a greeting as they dismounted. Treville looked around for a few seconds before turning to Athos and Porthos.
'Is Aramis still not back?' he asked.
They both shook their heads. They knew their friend was on a secretive mission and was a few days late returning. The Captain had played down any worry initially saying Aramis would have had to travel for a few days to reach his destination. But now he was over a week late, and it was clear the Captain was starting to worry.
Treville turned towards the gate for a few seconds deep in thought. Athos glanced at Porthos knowing the concern he saw on his friend's face was mirrored by his own expression. D'Artagnan was watching the Captain.
'Should we be concerned?' he asked.
Treville turned back to face them; he nodded before indicating for them to follow him to his office.
As the Captain closed the door to his office and turned to look at the three of them, Athos could see more than concern on the older man's face. He could see worry.
'What I am going to tell you cannot leave this room,' he said.
Each Musketeer nodded as Treville looked at them in turn. He sighed and walked to his desk. He pulled out his chair but did not sit down. He stared at the papers on the desk for a few seconds before looking up at them.
'There is a very real chance that Aramis has been captured by the Spanish, or men working for the Spanish. I sent him to meet a contact who was going to pass him information vital to the war effort. Highly secretive and highly sought-after information.'
'Do you want us to go and search for him?' asked d'Artagnan.
Treville looked at d'Artagnan for a few seconds before he shook his head.
'I cannot spare you,' he said. 'We are short on men at the moment, and I cannot raise suspicion by sending a group of soldiers after him…'
He trailed off and turned to look at Athos.
'You cannot send a group of soldiers,' reiterated Athos.
Treville nodded.
'But you could send one,' concluded Porthos. 'And Athos is only just back on full duties after his encounter with those thugs in the market.'
Treville nodded again, 'much as I would like to send all three of you, I cannot risk it. If Aramis has been taken, and spies are watching the garrison and the three of you are dispatched at once it will look suspicious. What if word got back to whoever is holding him… They might increase their pressure on him to get him to talk or kill him to prevent the information being passed on…'
The Captain looked away for a few seconds, a dark expression clouding his face.
'What?' asked Porthos, his brow furrowed with concern.
'The information he was sent to collect,' said the Captain. 'It was sensitive enough that it would be better than no one had it rather than the enemy get hold of it. I told him that if there was a chance, he was going to be caught he should do all in his power to prevent the information being extracted.'
Athos saw both Porthos and d'Artagnan react with shock as they worked out what the Captain meant.
'There is a chance he has taken his own life?' said Athos, who felt the need to say the words out loud.
Treville nodded solemnly.
Porthos turned away from the rest of them. D'Artagnan stared into the distance as the implications sank in.
'It would be best to know,' said Athos. 'To know either way.'
The Captain nodded before easing himself into his chair. He leaned back with another sigh.
'As your Captain, I have to make some difficult decisions. But telling a man his life is not worth as much as some intelligence will always be the hardest thing to do.'
'Aramis is loyal,' said Porthos as he turned back to them, 'he wouldn't have let you down… if he could help it.'
'And that,' said Treville, 'is the issue. He could have been taken before he had a chance to take his own life.'
'When do you want me to leave?' asked Athos.
'I'll brief you on the route he was to take and where the rendezvous with the contact was. If you are able, you can leave immediately.'
Athos nodded. He would not leave their brother to his fate alone. Even if it was too late.
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Now…
As Athos finished telling Aramis how he had been chosen to be the man to search for him, they reached the stables. Aramis had managed to walk there unaided. The brief rest had helped, but Athos knew it was more to do with Aramis taking the drugged liquid. And Aramis knew that as well. He was enjoying a brief few hours of respite from the symptoms of withdrawal.
The stables housed several horses, some had been looked after well, Athos suspected they were stolen. The gang had not confined themselves to the chateau; they had made use of the stables and outbuildings during their stay. All of which led Athos to conclude that the men he had encountered on his way to release Aramis were not necessarily the entire gang. And if, as he suspected, they were mercenaries it might only be a matter of time before the men with the money arrived to claim their prize. Despite indulging Aramis up to that point the need to get him and the information he still had away from the area was becoming pressing.
Aramis walked up to his mare, who acknowledged him with a nod of her head. He stroked the horse's cheek for a few seconds, talking quietly. The Musketeer horse did not appear to have suffered whilst her master was incarcerated. The gang might have intended to sell her.
Athos found his friends saddle and tack, he busied himself getting the horse ready for her master. His own mount was waiting patiently a few yards away.
'How much have you got?'
Athos turned to look at his friend who was still stroking his mare's muzzle.
'How much of the drug. How many vials?'
Athos could not help a look of guilt cross his face. Aramis had worked out his plan.
'If we're to get away from here you need me at least well enough to travel. I need to keep taking the drug.'
Aramis had said the plan out loud. He had made it real.
Athos felt his pocket, felt the precious vials of the drug that had yet to be used on his friend.
'There is enough to get us back to Paris,' Athos told his friend. 'Then we can deal with what happens next.'
Aramis looked away for a few seconds. He bowed his head and sighed.
'I don't want to have to deal with it there,' he said. 'I don't want people to see how pathetic I was. How I failed-'
'You did not fail, Aramis,' said Athos as he swung the saddle onto the mare's back. 'None of us could have withstood that.'
Aramis conceded the point with a small nod. They looked at each other for a few seconds. Aramis wanted to say something but was hesitating.
'Aramis, I am your friend, whatever you want to say, say it.'
'The intelligence,' began Aramis. 'It's no longer valuable, is it?'
Athos shook his head, 'not as valuable. It cannot be used in the same way. It is no longer time-sensitive.'
Aramis nodded, more to himself than to Athos.
'Can you leave me somewhere? Can you leave me to… to get through this on my own? I know you say it wasn't my fault, that I'm not to blame… but… but I don't want to be seen like this. I'm not a Musketeer when I'm like this.'
Athos squeezed his friend's shoulder and nodded, 'I will help you to find somewhere to stay whilst you recover. But I am not leaving you to recover alone. I will help you. You will need the help.'
Aramis looked away. They had both seen the effects of addictive drugs. They had seen people try, and fail, to recover. They both knew it would be a difficult time for Aramis. Athos was not going to abandon his friend to tackle the uphill battle alone.
'Thank you,' said Aramis quietly.
Athos did not like the sight of his friend in his current state. He was pale, injured, and tired. And he was going to get worse before he got better. The thought of leaving Aramis to fend for himself was not one he wanted to entertain. He knew Treville would not begrudge the time that would be needed to at least get Aramis on the road to recovery.
'We will need to put a few miles between us and here,' said Athos. 'We do not want to risk being followed. You may need to take some more of this before you can stop.'
Aramis looked at the vial Athos was holding up. Athos could see a longing cross his friend's eyes. Athos knew as long as they had some of the drug Aramis would crave it. Once they found somewhere that they could use for Aramis' recovery, he would have to dispose of any of the leftover drugs.
As he finished straightening the tack, Athos ran multiple scenarios through his head. Most of them were unpleasant. It was unfortunate they were being forced to delay the inevitable struggle Aramis would have to go through.
After helping Aramis to mount up, they trotted from the stable. Aramis spent a few seconds looking at the chateau, his gaze lingering on a narrow window close to the ground. Athos wondered if it was the same window Aramis had spent all those weeks on the other side of.
'I will inform the villagers that the men have been dealt with,' said Athos. 'They can decide if they want to inform their Comte or not.'
Aramis chuckled grimly, 'he will be in for a shock when he returns to find several bodies lying around his chateau.'
'Unfortunately, we have neither the time nor, I will admit, the inclination, to deal with them.'
As the shadows lengthened, they spurred the horses into a canter and put the chateau behind them. Athos may have dealt with one issue - freeing Aramis - but he still had another, more intense, issue that needed to be dealt with.
Freeing Aramis was only half the battle.
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