Chapter Nine


(Meg walks in, finds JWJ at the computer)

Meg: What are you doing?

JWJ: Hacking into the Democrats' files.

Meg: Why?

JWJ: So I can change all of their opinions on certain topics.

Meg: So they can lose the election?

JWJ: Exactly!

Meg: That's illegal.

JWJ: Not if it's helping the Republicans.

Meg: (groans) I think I have a migraine. (Walks out of room)


Charles and a mouse named Guy threw me into a small room in the wine cellar. I immediately ran to the door as the lock clicked into place. I jiggled the doorknob, but it did not budge.

My eyes traveled around the dusty room, falling upon a small barred window near the ceiling. I jumped up to reach it, but without luck. The moon cast its pale light on the floor of the cell.

I slid to the floor and stared glumly at the window, my hands rising to the mask on my face. I would continue to play Basil for as long as possible. Eventually Ratigan would come, and the game would chance completely. He would know that I was not Basil, and Basil was not me. I wondered why Basil had let himself be captured. He had had Landon; he could have easily escaped and warned the Duchess.

I could have cursed myself for twenty different kinds of an idiot for not recognizing that Marcus had posed as Landon. And now, because of that, Basil and I were both captured, the Duchess was going to die, and Basil probably was going to die too.

"Meg, how do you get yourself in trouble like this?" I muttered darkly to myself as I took off the Inverness and deerstalker. "Really, what good are you?"


Basil had been locked in a small servants' room in the manor. "Well, I suppose this makes me the 'damsel in distress' Basil said lightly to himself, looking at his reflection in the mirror. The disguise was still perfectly intact. It was a definite advantage to have them think that they had the real Basil of Baker Street locked up in some vault in the cellar.

His thoughts drifted to Meg. He wondered what had become of her, and if Colhart's men had roughhoused her.

He began to pace the room, going over all he had observed of the manor to determine the best escape plan. He knew the game would be up as soon as Ratigan came. He was sure Ratigan would come. But how much time did they have until then?


A doctor finished plastering a cast on Landon's leg when Marcus Colhart stepped into his brother's bedroom. He dismissed Guy and Rafael, the latter's eye the size of a baseball from the punch he had received from Basil earlier.

"How's the leg?" Marcus asked his brother in English.

"I'll probably walk on it again, no thanks to you," Landon muttered.

"Listen, I'm sorry," Marcus said. "I had to. If you had gotten away you would have ruined my plan."

"You mean the plot to kill our own sister?"

Marcus folded his arms and stared out the open window. The doctor said something in French, but Marcus waved him out of the room. "You know how much she despises me," he finally said when the doctor had left. "And she's married to Frederick. He's filthy rich. What does she need money for?"

"Then why kill her?"

"Because I don't care whether she lives or dies."

"Why are you sparing me?" Landon asked. "Why not kill me too?"

Marcus looked at the floor. "Ever since we were boys you have been by closest companion. You were the only one who didn't turn his back on me."

"What a fool I was! I knew even more than our Father did about your involvement with these crimelords. Perhaps if I had abandoned you like everyone else did you would have seen the error of your ways."

"I saw the error of my ways a long time ago. I saw Father and Celeste and Mother for who they really were. What have they ever done for me? When were they ever there for me?"

Landon sighed. "You're impossible! You think that you're always right!"

"When it concerns this family I am!"

"No you're not! You're being ridiculous!"

Marcus slugged his brother in the face, knocking him to the ground. "Don't even try, Lannie. You're sick and weak."

Landon hobbled up on his one good leg. After he had balanced himself, he threw himself at Marcus and tackled him to the ground.

For a few minutes they bit and tore and hit each other. Eventually Marcus arose the victor.

"You fool," he spat.

The other Colhart glared at his twin. "One of these days..."


I yawned, bored out of my mind. The sun had shifted positions throughout the day, but I guessed it was high overhead, perhaps around noon. It felt as if I had been stuck in this cell for days. I was thirsty and hungry and weary. No one had come into the room since the night before, and I wondered if Colhart and his men had forgotten about me.

As I rolled up the Inverness to use as a pillow I felt a few objects within it. I reached into one of its pockets and pulled out his field lenses. Then I decided to go through the pockets of Basil's Inverness to occupy me. I had wanted to do this earlier, but respect for Basil and a fear of him noticing that I had gone through his things had prevented me. At this point I was too bored to care. Besides, there could be something useful for me within the pockets.

Colhart's men had gone through the pockets before, but they had only removed anything that looked like a weapon. As I went through them I discovered his pocketbook, his high-powered lenses, a map of Casablanca, a ball of string, a woman's hairpin, a pair of glasses (which surprised me; Basil doesn't wear glasses, and they were even too small for me,) a container of shoe polish and a letter.

I looked at the letter in surprise. It said "M. Basil" in sloppy writing on the front. I paused; considering opening it. I finally decided to leave it alone.

Instead, I took the woman's hairpin and attempted to pick the lock of the cell door. Within a minute I gave up; the lock was too big.

Then I took the high powered-lenses and the pocketbook and amused myself in enlarging the golden writing on the leather-covered pocketbook that read "S. Basil." I had done this a few times before when I worked as a maid for Basil when I was seventeen. Two years later, it seemed extremely juvenile. But I felt that I had to occupy myself with some task to keep my mind off of the present situation.

I was still fooling around with the lenses when I heard the sound of the key in the lock. I jumped to my feet in a panic as Colhart entered the room.

He stared curiously at the objects spread around my feet. "Busy, aren't we, Mr. Basil?" Colhart said with an amused smile.

I racked my brain for the perfect response. What would Basil say in this situation?

I smiled. It was a fake smile, but I was hoping that Colhart would not notice that. "Well, Mr. Colhart." I felt my face grow hot. It was a lucky thing I had my mask on. You idiot, that's not the perfect response! I thought angrily to myself.

"That was a brilliant trick back there, Basil. Mixing me up for Landon."

"Pure luck."

Colhart laughed. "Ratigan's going to love this."

"What do you get out of this deal with Ratigan?" I asked.

Colhart grinned. "I have already been rewarded. I have you and Miss Sarentis."

"Havers," I said without thinking.

"Ratigan doesn't refer to her by that name," he shot back.

Good for Ratigan, I thought angrily. To Colhart I said, "So that is all you got out of this deal? Me and Bas- erm, Mrs. Havers?"

"That's all I need. You are the only two against me who know of the plan."

"Are we, now?" I said mischievously.

I saw panic flash through Colhart's face. I had a feeling that he had been afraid of that all along. I folded my arms, my fake smile slowly changing into a real one. This was very funny, but I was not going to blow my cover by laughing.

"Who would you have told?" Colhart said, trying to sound confident.

"True. Who would I have told?" I said, pretending to ponder that thought.

Colhart grabbed me by the throat and shoved me up against the wall. I choked, then drew up my legs and kicked him away from me. Seeing this as my only opportunity to escape, I jumped him.

We wrestled on the ground, and I managed to knock Colhart out, only to be grabbed by two of his henchmen and beaten into submission myself.

They carried Colhart out of the room and bolted the door behind them.

I groaned. Poor Basil...Does he always have to go through this whenever he's captured?


(RAEB comes in reading newspaper)

RAEB: Hey, someone stole a valuable jewel from the Museum of Artifacts in New Delhi.

Meg: Ratigan!

RAEB: I thought he was in Hawaii.

(Lizz comes in with a postcard with a picture of the Taj Mahal on it)

Lizz: Looks like our good friend Ratigan sent another postcard to JWJ. I think he's giving JWJ hacking tips.

Meg: Oh brother.

RAEB: Is that postcard from... India?

Lizz: Yeah, it is.

RAEB: Lizz! Look! (Shoves newspaper in her face)

Lizz: New Delhi?

RAEB: It's in India!

Lizz: Oh. Wait, you're not suggesting that Ratigan did this?

RAEB: Umm, YEAH!

Meg: Could we get arrested for being associated with him?

(Silence)

RAEB: (smacks Meg) Why'd you have to bring that up?