Raoul opened another door and blinked as light flooded out of it. "Well, well," came a voice from inside the room.
Raoul turned and saw a man sitting at a table in the middle of the room. Raoul could see that his dark suit was of very expensive make. "Monsieur Vicomte, how nice of you to come." The man said, removing his hat to reveal short precisely cut brown hair.
Erik stepped up behind Raoul. The mans blue eyes flickered momentarily in his direction. "And you've brought your bodyguard, how nice." He said, setting his hat on the table. Erik growled and Raoul attempted to set things right.
"He's, um, not my bodyguard." He said quickly. Erik began to walk forward toward the man.
"Where is she?" He demanded.
"Oh, quite safe, I assure you," the man said. "I am monsieur noir, by the way, and it's a pleasure to meet you both. Now," he pulled a chair out from the table, "shall we discuss business? I gather from not your bodyguard here that you do not wish to simply hand over the money, do you Monsieur de Chagny?" Raoul smiled.
"No, I'm afraid that is not why we came tonight, but I'm sure that we could come to some arrangement?" Noir smiled as well, and Erik frowned. This was not going to end well, he could tell. He fingered his lasso in his pocket. Noir glanced briefly at him before turning back to Raoul.
"Do tell your friend to stop fingering his gun, or whatever weapon he has," he said politely, "it makes me nervous, you see, and business should be conducted in a friendly and safe atmosphere." Raoul nodded and turned to Erik.
"Please," he said, "I'm trying to get us all out of here alive and happy." Erik scoffed, but he folded his arms. Raoul approached the table and sat down, as did Noir. Noir pulled a bottle of wine and glasses seemingly from nowhere and offered a glass to Raoul. Raoul shook his head.
"I'm afraid monsieur, although I'm sure it is an excellent wine, that I must decline." Noir put it on the table and then pulled out a large key from inside his pocket.
"This key," he informed Raoul, "will open every locked door in this house. your fiancee is behind one of those doors. Would you like the key?" Erik started forward when he saw the key. Raoul shot him a desperate look, but Erik paid no attention.
"Give me that." He growled. Noir smiled at him.
"Of course, of course, all in good time. Would you care for a drink?" He made a small motion with his hand and a man stepped out of the shadows. He carried another bottle of wine, but his main purpose was clearly guard, not waiter.
Erik paused and Raoul hastened to try and control things. "So, what did you have in mind, monsieur Noir?" He asked. Noir smiled as he took the bottle from the other man.
"I had in mind 240,000 francs," Raoul placed his hands on the table.
"Would you consider settling for 100,000?" He asked, as if he was genuinely curious. Noir smiled.
"Monsieur, I am sure that you are making a great sacrifice to offer that, however, I really must stick with my original request." Raoul sighed and Noir twirled the key.
Erik had had enough of this forced politeness. he lunged for the key, just as Noir tossed it to his guard. Erik knocked Noir off his chair as he spun and went after the other man. Raoul hastened to the other side of the room with Noir, who had somehow managed to rescue his bottle of wine. Raoul watched Erik fight. He was amazed.
Erik seemed to fly from one place to the other, he was so light on his feet. The other man intended to use size instead of speed. He pulled a club from under his jacket and attempted to hit Erik with it. Erik was to fast. Noir shook his head.
"Ah, well, Etienne is usually the victor, but in this situation..." He trailed off and Raoul realized with a shock that Erik's lasso was in his hands. He felt sick as Erik jumped onto Etienne's back and wrapped the rope around his neck. There was a horrible crunch and Raoul fought the urge to throw up. Erik bent by his fallen foe to unwind his lasso. Just then Raoul saw the glint of metal in Noir's hand. A gun!
Raoul lunged sideways just as Noir pulled the trigger. The shot went wide, and Noir and Raoul fell to the floor amidst shattered glass and wine. Noir struggled to his feet and fled toward the door. Erik and Raoul started after him, but then they heard a scream.
"Help!" It was Christine's voice. "Please, someone, help me! No, stop it! Let me go! Heeeeeeelp!" Erik and Raoul instantly turned from the fleeing Noir to the other door in the room, from behind which Christine's cry had come.
oooooooo
Christine raised her head when she heard the commotion on the other side of the door. suddenly there was a gunshot. She sprang up. "Help!" she cried, "please, someone, help me!" the man who had been ordered to guard her grabbed her and tried to pull her into another room.
"No, stop it! Let me go! Heeeeeeeelp!" Christine screamed, desperate that whoever was fighting with her kidnappers would hear her and win. She sobbed as she was shoved into another room. The man slammed the door shut and she pounded against it. It could be the police! They might have heard of her. It, her heart began to pound, it might even be Raoul, come to rescue her. She shouted for help again.
oooooooooooooo
"Christine!" Raoul cried as he ran to the door. He pounded on it. "Christine, are you in there?" Erik scooped up the key and hurried to the door. Raoul reached for the key. Erik held it out of his reach.
"What are you waiting for," Raoul cried, "Christine is in there!" Erik hesitated, but he refused to give up the key. "Come on, just because you killed him, she's still my fiancee!" Raoul said. Erik smirked.
"If you're dead though..." Raoul's mouth fell open.
"You're not starting that again, are you?" He asked in disbelief. "Besides, we have a truce." Erik attempted to get to the door. Raoul stood in between them.
"Just let me unlock the door!" Erik snarled.
"No, give me the key!"
"Stubborn fool! She could be hurt!" Raoul paused. Finally he stepped aside and let Erik open the door. They rushed into the room and saw another man standing in front of yet another door. Christine was pounding on the other side of it.
"Let me out! Whoever's there, help me!" Raoul tried to run forward.
"Chri - " Erik's hand clamped over his mouth and held him back. Raoul struggled to free himself, but Erik shoved him violently into the wall.
"Stay out of my way!" He hissed. Raoul's head slammed back and he sank to the ground, dazed. Erik immediately sprang at the other man.
They struggled together for a moment, before staggering across the room to the wall. Raoul blinked and tried to focus. What...? Suddenly the other man gave a shrill scream and collapsed. Raoul's eyes started to work again. He saw Erik run to the door and open it. Christine fell out into his arms. Raoul felt a twinge of jealousy.
Then he saw that the man who was lying on the floor was moving, getting up. Raoul caught a glimpse of a dagger in his hand. "Look out!" He cried. Erik whirled and dodged to the side. Christine gasped and Erik swore under his breath. Raoul stumbled to his feet. The man whirled and started toward him.
Raoul ducked under his first strike, but then he saw the second coming straight for his heart. Suddenly there was someone in front of him.
"No!" He heard himself and two others cry at exactly the same time. Christine gave a piercing scream and collapsed back onto Raoul. Raoul managed to catch her and stared in disbelief at the spreading red stain on her dress. She... She couldn't be... He fell back against the wall and sank to the ground, staring at Christine.
He didn't see Erik pick the man up and throw him straight out the window. He didn't hear the shattering glass, or the man's scream. All he saw was Christine. Erik was beside him in an instant. Raoul was shocked to see tears streaming down his cheek. He realized that he was crying as well. He stroked Christine's cheek.
"Christine, come back!" He wailed. Erik bent over her, and for a moment Raoul thought he was going to kiss her. Then he spoke.
"She's alive." Raoul's heart skipped a beat.
"She is?" He asked wildly. Erik nodded and picked her up.
"Hurry," he said, "she must get to a doctor quickly." Raoul wiped his tears away and ran to hold the door open. It didn't matter that Erik was the one carrying her. All that mattered was that she was alive.