Chapter 30
A plan is seen as an intention or decision about what one is going to do. It is also known as a plot, scheme or perhaps an idea. It can be a simple decision such as how you might choose to spend your evening. You could spend your night in the comfiest pyjamas, reading the greatest novels written and allow your mind to wander into the world of adventure and drama. Perhaps this is what you prefer as the danger is only imagined and cannot hurt you. Or you could spend the night at the opera, listening to a beautiful woman dressed in a long flowing gown with wings before offering tea to somebody who would soon become your mortal enemy and frame you for a great many crimes. The rest of that evening might become completely unplanned after the stealing of a sugar bowl and the throwing of a dart. I would recommend the first plan as it is much less dangerous and does not force you to flee from the person you love most or live with terrible regrets for the rest of your days. A plan can also be rather complex and requires multiple steps, decisions and procedures in order to achieve your intentions. It is unfortunate that one must live with the reality if one step of your plan goes wrong, it unravels and quite a number of new problems arise. I have come across many more complicated plans or plots, specifically in the Baudelaire's case and from both sides of the schism. For example, when the siblings attempted to prove that their Uncle Monty's death was murder performed by a disguised Count Olaf, it took all the siblings completing multiple steps at once for it to succeed and the end result was somewhat satisfactory. The villain's plot was exposed, and the children were saved from being taken out of the country by the man, but he still managed to getaway. On the other side, the most recent scheme of Count Olaf's had multiple steps that included him disguising himself as a gym teacher and forcing the Baudelaire siblings to run laps in order to exhaust them and have them flunk out of school was also somewhat successful. However, unlike the Baudelaire plan before, it took the determination of those three siblings to cause it all to unravel, literally and figuratively. Sadly, with the failure of the villain's plot, new problems arose, particularly for the sibling's friends who were now being held prisoner by Count Olaf in a rather dark place.
When it comes to the plan of Holly Snicton, it was not as simple as deciding how she was going to spend her evening, though that was a key component. It was complex and required multiple steps which caused her a great amount of anxiety for if anything went wrong, she'd lose her hope and the intention of this whole thing. While she had spent much time planning, there were still many factors that could interfere with the execution of everything.
After returning to the car with the groceries, the young girl's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas, trying to get them all to fit together into a full plan. She informed Mr. Caliban about what she had said to the store clerk and who he was now considered in the eyes of the small town. The agent accepted it and was pleased with the child's quick and resourceful thinking. Little did the man know that her thinking was going to cause the girl to leave his protection.
Holly had asked to go to another specific spot, a store that specialized in seafood, to pick a few more things, but again it was a cover for her to scope out Mr. Telltone's home. As she shopped, she could see the older man's home from the window. It was a yellow house with white shudders, a white picket fence with a gate, and a beautifully manicured garden, the idyllic home for any elderly couple. When exiting, the girl spotted Mr. Telltone's wife and daughter sitting out on the front porch. She waved at them with a smile but knew that if she spoke to them now, it would be suspicious because seafood never lasts very long away from cold temperatures.
Once they'd returned home and the groceries were put away, Holly retreated into her bedroom to finish the final parts of her plan and to get away from Thursday Caliban's watchful gaze.
The girl mapped out the route that Mr. Telltone's daughter would likely take to get to the city and where she should get out. She also needed to find a place to stay… a safe place. She also needed money.
Holly snuck downstairs to find Mr. Caliban sleeping on the couch, no surprise considering how most VFD agents probably got very little sleep at all due to the need to avoid enemy schemes. She slipped into the music room and goes to the grand piano in the centre of the room. She kneeled down and pulled a box that had been tucked under the various parts of the instrument. On the lid read, Emergency Funds. The young musician had discovered this box many years back when playing hide and seek with her parents. Her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box to discover money inside. When her mother and father found her looking through the bills, they did not scold her or become angry but told her that this was emergency funds for the family if they ever got into trouble. They advised her not to touch the box again as there was no emergency at the time. However, this particular moment was an emergency. While you may assume that Holly taking money from the box is immoral and similar to stealing, you must hear the rest of the story. After the young girl put the money box back, my brother and sister-in-law told my niece that if she ever needed some money for a bus ticket or a last-minute violin lesson, she could access it with permission. Her parents were not there to give her permission, she needed the money in order to go out on her own and find a safe place to stay while in the city.
The young girl took only what she needed and then put the box back.
Next, the musician returned to her room and tried to decide on the safest place to go and when would she find time to disguise herself.
She had her makeup kit with hair dye, coloured contacts and additional accessories, but she needed different clothes to pack. From reading the Incomplete book, she knew that all VFD agents had a disguise kit, but Holly was sure that her father's kit was down in the wardrobe in his office, and she did not want to go rummaging around because it might waken Mr. Caliban and thus ruin her plan. But what of her mother's? Could she still have them even if she retired from the organization?
Without a second thought, she goes down to her parent's bedroom and enters. Now, normally it is very impolite to enter a room without knocking but considering one of the occupants of the room was deceased at the time and the other already in the city soon to be recruiting another agent, it would not be a problem, especially if the materials were needed for an important plan.
Holly went to her mother's closet and began to search inside. The daughter found it more difficult than she thought because most of Celisa Acton's things were still inside, perfectly preserved. It was as if her father had never gotten around to donating or throwing the garments away or perhaps he had no plan to do so due to the grief and pain that it caused him. Her scent still lingered on the sundresses she used to wear when the weather was warm and the sweaters that kept the woman warm on cold walks along the shore. All the clothes seemed rather normal and not something that would be appropriate for disguising oneself. However, as Holly reached the back of the closet, she saw that a sweater was caught on something in the wall. It appeared to be some kind of gap and removing the sleeve allowed her to see that it was a panel. Tapping on it, she realized it was hollow.
So many secrets, she thought to herself as she pushed the panel inwards.
It was very dark within the space before Holly pulled a string to switch on a single hanging light bulb. Inside was basically another closet, smaller but still lined with Various Fakery Disguises including articles of clothing that could make someone look like a bride, a detective, a sea captain, a fortune teller, a salmon, a waiter, a gym teacher, or even an arsonist. However, also within the closet were fancy ballroom gowns and elaborate costumes, like the kind one might have in a theatre or an orchestra.
Holly paused for a moment when she sees the fuchsia gown with gold accents that her mother mentioned in her letter and the girl realizes that her mother also stored her performance dresses in this place. She let her hand hover over the garment before taking it down. A small mirror was tucked into the corner of the tiny room and the daughter held up her mother's dress. While she would not fit into it at the age of fifteen, perhaps in another couple of years she would. A lump formed in her throat as she pictured her mother smiling and beaming as her daughter wore this dress for her first concert performance. It was a thought that seemed so far away and almost impossible now.
Similar to the secret space beneath the floor, Holly realized that this hidden closet was to keep everything separate. Her life before her daughter's birth and after were meant to be two separate worlds. Unlike her father who was still an agent, her mother had done this to forget about her past and her involvement with VFD. She'd wanted everything to be quiet and normal, but if Celisa were to learn what her daughter was doing and planning, she would have realized that the world cannot remain as such forever.
Selecting what she thinks that she would need for disguises, Holly returned to her room and began to pack. She found a small suitcase that was perfect for her clothing/disguises and would not weigh her down if she had to make a quick getaway. Her makeup kit was too big and bulky to carry so she selected what she wanted and tucked the rest under her bed. She also packed the non-perishable food inside as well in case she was ever caught in a situation with no food. In her shoulder bag, she packed the maps, the taxi schedules, a notebook, pencils, the spyglass, her mother's letter, a family photograph, and a camera, which she did not know belonged to a long-lost uncle who wished to contact her one day. She wanted to bring the book about secret organizations, but it would not fit in the suitcase or bag and decided to leave it behind. The other thing to leave behind was her violin… a precious object which she had not parted with for quite some time, but for now, it would remain in her home, waiting for her to return... perhaps a greatly changed person.
Taking a step back, the young woman wondered if she should do this. It was a sneaky plan and going against the adults' intentions, but sometimes even their intentions are misguided or seen as overprotective. VFD clearly cared about her safety, most likely due to her father's influence, and Mr. Caliban did too not wanting anything to ruin his plan of keeping her out of harm's way. However, to Holly, he was still a stranger who was living in her home and either chose or did not know the answers to any of her questions. Most importantly, her friends needed her. If she could somehow help save Duncan and Isadora from Count Olaf and then help the Baudelaires end up in a safe place, she would do it, it is what friends were for... She hadn't been there for them before, she would be there for them now. This was her intention and she was going to stand by it.
For a brief moment during her reflection, the teenager wondered something. Could she even trust this organization that her mother warned her about in her letter? Perhaps the dangers were too much for her to handle on her own. Clearly, something about VFD had made her mother retire and sadly she could not escape its apparent treachery towards all former agents. This schism had divided everyone, and nothing was as noble as it seemed… but rescuing her friends seemed noble enough and to keep them safe was worth it.
Holly Snicton was ready, but there were still several steps to do that would have to wait until morning. For now, she would carry on business as usual, a phrase which here means that she went downstairs to cook a seafood-rich meal for her and the stranger in her home.
A/N: We're getting to her plan, sorry it's taking so long, but think of it as the building of suspense. We're getting closer to Holly's plan coming to fruition. Please follow and review, it will help me to continue building on this story.