Chapter 17 – Captured!

(long chapter, or Very Full Division)

Lemony spent the day at the public library. He did manage to take a nap without being disturbed. Because he had his head in his book, he just looked like an ordinary student who was exhausted from studying. In between naps, he poured though books, searching for anything to help him clear his name. The results were mostly fruitless, but Lemony began to gradually feel better due to his naps. When the sky outside began to turn dark, Lemony dozed off again and started dreaming about Beatrice. He saw her in the sunny V.F.D. library, smiling as she adjusted her silver glasses and tucked her long strands of hair behind her ear. He saw her put aside her book and walk towards him. A bright light was coming from the big window behind her, making he look almost angelic. She tapped him on his shoulder. She then tapped again. Lemony woke with a start to a librarian standing next to him with her hand on his shoulder.

"Closing time," she told him softly. "You have to leave, I'm sorry. You can come back tomorrow."

Lemony yawned and left the now empty library. It was dark outside and starting to get cold. Lemony shivered and pulled his jacket over his shoulder. He wondered through the empty streets and alleyways looking for a place to stay. Soon he ended up in an alley near an abandoned fast food district. As the lamplight faded behind him, a small breeze carried a discarded hamburger wrapper across his path, as well as the faint sound of a voice.

"What do you mean, you haven't found him yet?" The voice grew louder and more demanding as Lemony crept towards it.

The voice continued. "How hard could it be to find one guy? I even managed to set it up for you!" The voice was unmistakable. It was Olaf. Cautiously, Lemony made sure that he was behind a wall so that Olaf couldn't see him. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his commonplace book. "I should write down what he's up to. After all, I'm a volunteer. It's my duty to gather information to help the organization and clear my name," he thought as he pulled out a pencil and squinted to be able to write in the dim light.

"It's not like I couldn't find him, Olaf," protested the other voice. "I caught a glimpse of him this morning, but he was in a crowd. I lost him."

"I didn't let you join me just so you could ALMOST get him!" Lemony heard something slam into the ground. "I want him out of the picture and I want the file!"

"I don't have the file with me," Lemony thought.

"I don't think he has the file with him," said the voice. "His bag is too small for something like that."

"Fine," Olaf contemplated. "But even if he doesn't have it, I still want you to capture him. He may not have the file, but he wrote it. He is, essentially, the file. We'll split our efforts and try to get rid of both the file and its authors. Anyway, I bet the file is in that library with that Beatrice girl. They'll both be easy to get rid of! Say, Hooky, what's for dinner tonight?"

"Roast bee-" the other voice began to reply, but was interrupted by a loud banging noise. Lemony had been so startled by Olaf's plot that he moved his hand just enough to knock over one of the trash cans that he was hiding behind. The noise was so loud that it startled both Lemony and the other man.

"What was that?" Lemony heard Olaf ask. He heard the two sets of footsteps coming towards him and ran. A hook appeared from around the corner attached to a long, thin arm as someone appeared from behind the corner. Lemony was just about to turn the corner when the man who Olaf was talking to peered around the corner and saw Lemony run out of sight.

"Boss!" the mysterious voice yelled. "Someone was listening to us!" As Lemony was running away, he heard Olaf and the man chasing after him. He ran faster and stumbled through the dark cobblestone streets until he ducked, exhausted, behind an abandoned fruit cart and waited, barely daring to breathe until Olaf's footsteps died away. He sighed, panic giving way to exhaustion as the past sleepless nights took its toll and he fell asleep right there on the ground.

Jacques arrived in the city that next morning on Kit's submarine. He brought his disguise kit and a change of clothes with him, along with some money for food. He wandered through the city is his gray suit so he wouldn't stand out. At lunch, his search was still fruitless, so he ordered a tomato sandwich, Lemony's favorite, from the Very Fancy Diner, a volunteer-run restaurant that would not be very suspicious towards the people with the tattoos on their ankles. He took his sandwich sadly and sat down at the same fountain that his brother had sat at just the day before. He wondered where his brother was and if he was safe. He scanned the crowd in the banking district for any sign of his brother. For the first time in years, he was not thinking about his volunteer duties.

He bit into his sandwich.

When Lemony woke up that morning, the first thing he noticed was the late morning sun streaming on his face. He then noticed that he was lying on a cold concrete floor instead of the pebble-filled grass that he had fallen asleep on. By the time his mind had wandered out of its morning's grogginess and tried to rub his eyes, he realized a third thing. His hands were tied behind his back.

Realizing this, he quickly woke up and struggled to see where he was. It looked like a cold basement. There were only two small windows near the top of the stone walls and there was only one bare unlit light bulb on the ceiling. Lemony struggled to stand up and quickly realized that his legs were also bound tight with a strong rope, which completely kept him from moving. He jerked his body so he could look around and saw that the room was completely bare and that his small bag with his typewriter and his nail clippers, which would have been useful at that point, were gone. The only thing he still had was his small green commonplace notebook that he had left in his pocket. His mind was ablaze with questions as to where he was, who had brought him there, and how he could get those uncomfortable ropes off his wrists and ankles, when he heard the door at the top of the stairs creak open and a thin shaft of light streamed through the door. Soon a bony ankle with an all too familiar tattoo on it came into view, followed by the skinny leg of Count Olaf.

Olaf meandered down the stairs looking quite pleased with himself. Lemony knew instantly that Olaf was the one responsible for his capture. Remembering all the things Olaf had done to his siblings and friends, Lemony viciously fought against his bonds. He wanted to shout at his captor, but couldn't because he was so blinded by anger. Besides, he had nearly forgotten that someone had tied a cloth around his mouth which made it difficult to breathe, let alone speak. Olaf only grinned and stood over his struggling captive.

"Well," he said grandly. "Look who we have here! It's the famous Lemony Snicket, the dramatic critic! What an honor it is to have such distinguished company." He bent over and unceremoniously ripped the cloth off Lemony's face. "Y'know," he continued. "I was just going to steal a banana from a nearby fruit stand, but when I saw you sleeping behind the cart, I decided to take you instead." He chuckled softly.

"You did it, didn't you?" Lemony spat as soon as he found his breath. "You attacked Kit and set those fires!"

"Nope," Olaf said in a sing-song voice. "It was a mysterious member of a secret organization. Don't you ever read the newspaper?"

"You'll never get away with this," replied Lemony, using a common cliché. "
My friends and the volunteers will always fight you!"

"Don't be so sure about that," Olaf mused. "If you returned to your precious headquarters, your coworkers would arrest you like a common criminal. Only seven people in all of V.F.D. actually believe you. And that number will soon be decreased."

"Beatrice!" Lemony exclaimed, remembering what Olaf had said the previous night. "You can't hurt her! Stay away from her, you villain!"

"Tell me where the file is, Snicket!" demanded Olaf. He took out a long knife and pressed it against Lemony's throat and whispered, "Tell me or you'll die along with the librarian!"

Lemony was breathing hard, but did not say a word. He knew that he could not expect such an evil man to live up to his promise even if Lemony did cooperate. Olaf put the knife away.

"I'll let you think about it, Snicket." Olaf said Lemony's last name like one would talk about a bug. "By the end of the day, I'll have the file, or you won't be alive to see your Beatrice again."

He held the knife so it glimmered in the dim light. Then he stormed back up the stairs, leaving the bound and frightened Lemony with his thoughts.