A/N: I'm so thrilled you guys enjoyed this little experiment! I'm definitely going to continue and already have a handful of chapters lined up. The plan is to post regular Musketeer fics on Wednesdays and Saturdays and post any Luciole verse installments on Mondays.
Summary: An extraction job leads the musketeers to a country estate to rescue a client's kidnapped daughter.
"A Matter of Honor"
It wasn't often Athos and crew were summoned in person to Treville's office. Most jobs were conveyed over the telephonix, as were most reprimands when his crew skirted the line of legality a little too closely. Something they hadn't even done recently, so Athos couldn't guess what this was about.
He knocked on the commodore's door.
"Enter!"
He turned the handle and entered first, Aramis, Porthos, and d'Artagnan filing in behind him. Musketeer headquarters was located in a modest building of simplistic architectural design that housed a variety of company offices. Three of the walls were sage green, the fourth light brown, with a large window that looked out upon the metropolis.
Treville was standing behind his desk, facing a thin man with sun-weathered features on the other side. "Gentlemen, this is Nevin Bertrand," the commodore introduced. "He's come to us for an extraction job."
Ah, that explained the in-person meeting. Extraction jobs were…delicate.
"What is it we'll be extracting?" Athos asked.
Bertrand shifted to face them. "My daughter, Jeanne. She was kidnapped by my neighbor, Darren Renard, in exchange for me signing over the rights to my land. But when I gave him what he wanted, he refused to let her go. Please," he said earnestly. "I can pay you with everything I have left, but please save my daughter."
"Why didn't you call the authorities?" d'Artagnan asked incredulously.
Bertrand shook his head. "Renard has men within the local sheriff's department on his payroll. I've heard of the musketeers though. You're skilled and honorable men." He glanced between them. "Will you help me?"
Treville flicked a questioning look to his men. For jobs that carried a certain kind of danger, he always left it up to his various crews whether they wanted to take it on.
Athos exchanged a silent look with the others, knowing immediately what they would say. "We'll do it," he said to Treville and Bertrand.
Bertrand's relief was evident. "Thank you."
"Do you know where your daughter is being held?" Athos asked.
Bertrand nodded and hurriedly pulled a data stick from his coat. He passed it to Treville, who plugged it into the desk terminal. The wood facade top shimmered as it switched to screen mode. Bertrand tapped an icon and pulled up a map with what looked like an estate in the middle.
"These lands have been in our families for generations, since the planet was first terraformed," Bertrand explained. "But now Renard's son, Edmond, has come of age and wants a holding of his own."
"And they just blackmailed you into giving up yours?" d'Artagnan said.
Bertrand leveled a look at him. "This is my daughter, what else was I supposed to do?"
"Clearly Renard is not a man of his word," Athos interjected.
Bertrand shook his head. "I fear for what they're doing to her."
Athos could imagine. "You believe she is being held in the house?"
"The only other structures are the granary and bunk house for his men."
"How many does he have?" Porthos asked.
"Two dozen. They're field workers/private militia."
Aramis raised his brows. "Sounds fun. We'll need a stealth approach."
"And a quick exit once we get the girl," Porthos added.
"A ground vehicle?" d'Artagnan suggested.
"Horses would be better," Aramis put in.
"I can provide those," Bertrand said.
Athos glanced at his crew one more time and nodded. "Time to gear up then."
o.0.o
Aramis checked his pistol and clipped it to his weapons belt that also held his second revolver, spare ammunition, dagger, and sword. They'd flown Bertrand from the city out to the country and parked the ship in a gorge between Renard's and formerly Bertrand's lands to avoid detection, though Renard didn't seem to have very high tech security. Bertrand had then departed to secure them some horses for this little rescue operation.
Porthos passed Aramis an earpiece, which he deftly fitted into his right ear.
"Testing," Porthos said. "One, two, three."
Aramis threw him a wry look. "I'm standing right next to you."
Porthos rolled his eyes and handed out earpieces to Athos and d'Artagnan before slipping a fourth into his own ear.
A few moments later, a cloud of dust rolled into the bottom of the gorge, and the musketeers stood at the open cargo bay doors as they watched dark shapes take form upon drawing closer. Bertrand sat atop a horse with three others trailing behind. The man drew to a stop just outside the ship and dismounted.
"I'm sure Renard will claim these as belonging to him if they're not removed from the property soon," the man said. "But with Jeanne in trouble, I haven't given any thought to what material things might still be legally mine."
Aramis's heart burned with indignation at Renard's schemes. If only Bertrand had come to them first instead of giving in, but it was difficult to find someone who would care out on the border planets. Aramis couldn't blame the man for thinking of his daughter first.
Athos walked up to take the reins from him. "Stay here. We'll return with your daughter as soon as we can."
"I- I want to know what's happening," Bertrand said.
Athos regarded him for a moment, then nodded to Constance up in the cargo bay. "Constance will be monitoring. You can sit with her and listen only."
Bertrand nodded quickly at the stern tone.
Constance beckoned him to come aboard. "Good luck!" she called out.
Aramis waved and mounted one of the horses. D'Artagnan gave her a sober nod before doing the same. Porthos eyed the last horse warily as it fidgeted under his touch.
"Be nice," he muttered and finally pulled himself up into the saddle.
"We should have procured some sugar cubes," Aramis said, patting his own horse's neck.
"Gentlemen," Athos said and turned his mount around to head out of the gorge.
Aramis tugged the reins to follow suit, as did the others. Once they were out in the open they picked up speed into a canter until they reached the woods, then they were forced to slow down again. It was three miles to Renard's estate and took them a little over half an hour to make the journey.
They stopped at the edge of the tree line along the side of the main house and dismounted, throwing the reins over some bushes to keep the horses tethered until they returned. Crouching behind some shrubbery, they surveyed the house. Raucous noises were emanating from the downstairs in what sounded like a roisterous celebration. A scan of the grounds showed no one standing guard along the perimeter or out in the fields working. They were all apparently invited to the party.
Athos raised a hand and waved two fingers to head around back. One by one they stood and darted quietly across the yard to press against the wall of the house. Porthos pulled out his set of lock picks and had the back door open within twenty seconds. Unfortunately, while they suspected Jeanne was here, they didn't know where exactly.
They moved quietly through the house, but most of the downstairs was parlor rooms and hallways. They needed to check upstairs…hopefully Jeanne wasn't being held in the cellar.
As they passed an office, Athos paused, eyes narrowing. He then gestured to Aramis and Porthos and the staircase up ahead. "Find the girl."
"What will we be doing?" d'Artagnan hissed.
"We're going to see if we can find those land rights."
D'Artagnan blinked while Aramis grinned. With a quick nod, he and Porthos continued upstairs to the second level. They passed a few empty rooms before coming across one whose door was closed. Aramis pressed himself up against it and listened, but didn't hear anything. Wrapping one hand around the knob and his other on the grip of his pistol, he waited for Porthos to nod he was ready, and then he pushed the door open and swept inside.
A young woman was sitting on the bed, wrists bound to the posts with linen. She jerked and opened her mouth to scream, but Aramis put a finger to his lips urgently.
"Your father sent us," he said quietly as he reached for one of her hands to free it.
Porthos went around the other side of the bed to release the other.
"Are you hurt?" Aramis asked, noting the dried tear tracks on her cheeks.
Jeanne shook her head jerkily. "They- they were waiting, for a- a celebration."
Aramis exchanged a taut look with Porthos over the girl's head; they'd arrived just in time then.
"Let's go," Porthos said.
Aramis took Jeanne's hand and helped her up. They retreated back into the hall, only to pull up short as a young man came sauntering up the stairs, his suspenders already hanging off his shoulders. His hands froze where they were fiddling with the buttons of his shirt and his eyes blew wide.
"Father!" he shrieked.
Porthos surged forward and swung a punch so hard and fast that the kid went slamming into the wall before crumpling bonelessly to the floor.
Aramis pulled Jeanne down the hall the other direction. "We've been made," he said into the comm link.
He found another staircase but jerked back as a man appeared below with a gun. A bullet struck the ceiling and Aramis dropped low to swing around the corner and return fire. He hit his mark.
"Dammit," Porthos growled as they backtracked to the bedroom.
"Yes, this is a problem," Aramis agreed, looking around.
"Wait, I 'ave an idea." Porthos ripped the sheets off the bed and started ripping them into strips. Then he tied one end around the bedpost and shoved the window open to toss the rest of the fabric over the sill.
Aramis leaned out to get a look and found not only a straight drop without any buildings or structures to use as stepping stones, but the sheets barely even dangled half the length.
"Porthos, my friend, I think you're overestimating our ability to fly without the ship."
Porthos snorted and shoved them all toward the closet, wedging in behind them so that a shelf was digging into Aramis's kidney and Jeanne's chest was being squashed up against his side. The door closed, dousing them in darkness, and Aramis did his best to keep absolutely still and silent.
Heavy footsteps clomped into the room.
"The girl is gone!" someone shouted.
"She can't have gotten far," another responded, and then it sounded like they were rushing out of the room.
Porthos waited another few moments before pushing the closet door open and letting them out. "I can't believe that worked," he said.
Aramis patted his shoulder. "I shall never doubt you again."
They slipped out of the bedroom, Jeanne safely between them, and hurriedly made their way downstairs. But they'd barely taken two steps into the foyer before men were charging at them.
"Spoke too soon." Aramis drew his sword and parried a blade aimed for his neck. He dispatched the man with another thrust and raised his left hand to shoot another coming at him.
Porthos had merely grabbed the arm of his assailant and twisted it back and up until it dislocated. Then he'd swung the man around to smash face first into the wall, knocking some picture frames down.
The sound of several guns cocking and Jeanne's gasp had Aramis slowly raising his hands. Sure enough, they were now surrounded by half a dozen men armed with semi-automatics.
An older gentleman pushed his way through to the front. Based on his fine coat and manicured nails, Aramis could guess he was the lord of the manor.
Renard flicked his gaze to Jeanne and then over Aramis and Porthos. Amusement flickered in his eyes. "I didn't think Bertrand had it in him to hire mercenaries."
"Musketeers," Aramis corrected darkly.
Renard arched a brow, lips quirking. "Musketeers? Oh my. Well, it was brave of you to attempt a rescue, but foolish." He tutted. "Trespassing, assault, and murder will put you in prison for a very long time."
Aramis gave him a predatory grin. "Yes, let's call the feds and explain the kidnapping charges you'll be faced with. Not to mention extortion."
"Sure there's lots more where that came from too," Porthos added, dark eyes seething.
Renard smirked. "This is my land. I can just deal with you here how I see fit."
"Aramis, give him your earpiece," Athos's voice came over the comm link.
Aramis didn't blink in the face of his surprise. He slowly raised one hand to his ear and removed the bud. "Apparently there's someone who would like a word with you," he said, holding the earpiece out.
Renard narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"
Aramis just gestured for him to take it. "Trust me, he doesn't like to be kept waiting."
o.0.o
As Aramis and Porthos had slipped upstairs in search of Bertrand's daughter, Athos and d'Artagnan had entered what looked like Renard's office and shut the door. Hopefully the man would be too busy with his entertainment to come in here.
Athos started with the desk, rifling through the papers on top in search of the land title Bertrand had handed over to the extortionist. But most of the papers seemed to be inventory of his own holdings.
"Check the cabinet," he told d'Artagnan as he searched the drawers next.
"We've been made," came over the comm link, followed by an echo of a distant gunshot a moment later.
D'Artagnan threw Athos a wide-eyed look. They should abandon the search. Jeanne was the mission here, not the land rights. Athos was just about to call it off when he caught sight of a piece of weathered parchment tucked between some newer, crisper documents. He yanked it out and found the original title. The piece of paper on top of it was Bertrand's signature handing it over to Renard.
"Got it," Athos announced. "Let's go."
"Wait," d'Artagnan said. "I found something else." He turned with a ledger open in his hands and angled it for Athos to take a look.
A quick survey revealed a tally of business dealings, but some of the details were quite specific—and illegal. Athos made a split second decision since they hadn't been discovered in the office yet.
"Scan that," he told d'Artagnan, then put a hand over his ear. "Constance, we're sending you an upload."
D'Artagnan went to the desk terminal and began scanning the pages of the ledger as quickly as he could. Athos tapped a few commands and started an upload stream to the Luciole.
He could hear Aramis talking to someone on his end of the comm link, likely Renard. It didn't sound like it was going well.
"Aramis, give him your earpiece," Athos said.
There was a pause and then crackle of static as the device changed wearers.
"Who is this?" a gruff voice demanded.
Athos watched d'Artagnan finish the upload. "I'm the man who just sent a copy of your illegal business dealings to my associate, and if you don't want them forwarded to the feds, who I imagine won't be turning a blind eye like the local sheriff, you had better let my men and the girl go."
"You're bluffing."
Athos flipped one of the pages of the ledger. "Insurance fraud in the amount of three thousand, extortion of the local mine, and selling contaminated grain to the poor," he read off as proof. He then waved at d'Artagnan for them to move, pausing at the door to peek out. The hall was clear. They slipped out of the office and around to a back door.
"How about I kill your men," Renard threatened.
"You can certainly try," Athos replied mildly as he and d'Artagnan crossed the yard into the woodland. "But you'll lose a lot of men in the process, perhaps even your own life. And if any harm does come to them, you will die by my hand. That, I can promise you."
Tucked under the cover of shrubbery, Athos and d'Artagnan waited tensely for several long beats.
"How do I know you'll keep your word?" Renard finally spat.
Athos's voice dropped an octave. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."
There were a few more moments of bated silence, then a crackle.
"We're coming out," Aramis said through the comms.
Athos's hand came to rest on his pistol as he watched. A couple of beats later, Aramis, Porthos, and a young woman rounded the corner from the back of the house and hurried toward the tree line.
"Nice negotiating," Aramis complimented when they arrived.
"Let's go before Renard decides letting us live isn't worth his secrets," Athos replied, mounting his horse.
The others did the same, Aramis pulling Jeanne up behind him. Then they turned and set a quick pace away from the manor.
o.0.o
Once they cleared the woods, they rode hard to get back to the ship. Aramis periodically glanced over his shoulder to check for signs of pursuit, but it seemed Renard had taken Athos's threat seriously and was letting them go.
As they rode up to the Luciole, Bertrand came sprinting out of the open cargo hold. Aramis had barely brought his horse to a stop before Jeanne was flinging herself from the saddle and running to meet him. They embraced fervently, tears of relief and joy streaming from the old man's eyes. Aramis smiled as he watched; jobs like these fulfilled a sense of purpose.
Bertrand broke away from hugging his daughter and looked up at the musketeers. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
Athos dismounted his horse, the barest smile touching the corners of his mouth. "We're glad it worked out."
Bertrand gave Jeanne another squeeze, then cleared his throat as his expression turned abashed. "If it's not too much trouble, could you perhaps give us a ride back to the capital? I can offer the horses as payment, since I'm sure I won't be able to access any of my other assets before Renard comes after us."
"He won't be coming after you," Athos replied, looking over as Constance exited the ship and handed him a data stick. Athos passed it to Bertrand. "There's enough evidence here to have the Alliance put Renard away for a long time. You can do with it as you wish, but as long as you hold onto it, Renard won't attempt any retaliation against you. We've secured a copy, just in case. If he gives you any trouble, just contact Treville."
Bertrand stared at the data stick in his hand in stupefaction.
"And there's this," Athos added, pulling some sheets of paper from the inside of his coat and handing them over as well.
Bertrand and Jeanne looked even more flabbergasted as he unrolled the parchment that was the land title, and the signed contract changing its ownership.
"You should incinerate that," d'Artagnan said with a knowing nod to the page.
"I…don't know what to say. This is more than I could have ever dreamed…I'll have to transfer more funds from my account to pay you."
"No need," Athos said. "We were only righting a wrong."
"It was our pleasure," Aramis added as he finally swung down from his horse, Porthos and d'Artagnan doing likewise. Porthos's horse swung its head his direction and he backpedaled sharply. Aramis laughed. "Now, Porthos, aren't you going to miss your new friend?"
"Think he just missed takin' a bite out o' me," the big man grumbled.
Bertrand's mouth twitched. "Are you sure you won't take the horses as payment?"
"Take horses on a spaceship, 'ave you lost yer mind?" Porthos exclaimed, marching past to head back into the ship.
Aramis and d'Artagnan shared a snicker.
Athos rolled his eyes and held out his hand for Bertrand to shake. "Farewell, monsieur. And good luck."
The musketeer crew boarded their ship as Bertrand and his daughter mounted their horses and rode away. Aramis stood at the edge of the cargo bay, looking out at the beautiful countryside out beyond the gorge. When the engines rumbled to life, he hit the button to close the doors and strode back inside, looking forward to their next job.