Andre sat in his office, dismally adding up the money that the Opera Populaire had earned the previous night. Since the loss of Mademoiselle Daae, or Madame de Chagny as it were, their profits had been steadily decreasing. On top of losing their biggest star, they had lost all of the mystery and intrigue that surrounded her; Andre wouldn't deny that the stories had helped boost their ticket sales. Now they were barely keeping their heads above water. Perhaps it would have been better for them if they had stayed in the junk, er, scrap metal business. He lifted his head when he heard thunderous knocking on his door. Without a word his partner Firmin burst inside, frantically waving an envelope and sputtering out incoherent sentences.
"Firmin! Get a hold of yourself," Andre yelled, shaking him violently.
"Alright…alright!" he screamed, straightening his jacket. "I don't believe it. I simply don't believe it," he said quietly, pacing the room.
"What happened?"
"I found this in my office today," Firmin answered, dropping the envelope on Andre's desk before dropping himself into a chair. He closed his eyes tightly and rubbed the bridge of his nose while Andre tentatively pulled the letter from the envelope. His eyes widened when they fell upon a familiar seal.
" 'My dear Firmin, while I doubt that you will be anything other than distressed to hear from me again, my letter is of the utmost importance. I can only imagine your surprise at finding my letter in your office, so I will be as brief as possible. Due to recent events, I shall once again be requiring my monthly salary. Please leave 20,000 francs in box five on the first day of every month. And for the sake of all involved, please do not attempt any foolish tricks. As always, your obedient servant, O.G.' Dear God…" Andre trailed off.
"I know, it's a disaster. We haven't the money to pay him every month," Firmin said in a whiny tone.
"No, Firmin. Don't you see? We can use this to our advantage! If…somehow…the papers were to get a hold of this letter, think of all the interest it would stir up. Things would be almost like they were before. People would line up in the hopes catching a glimpse of the famous Phantom of the Opera!" Andre said in an excited whisper.
"Do you really think we should chance it?" Firmin asked, looking suspiciously around the room.
"What other choice do we have? A few more months and like this and we'll lose everything. We'll be out on the street," Andre answered desperately. He let out a deep sigh before collapsing in the chair beside Firmin. For a moment the two men sat in silence, contemplating the opportunity that lay before them.
Finally, Firmin stood up with a determined resolve, "You know something Andre? You're right. This may be just the thing to breathe some new life into this old place. What have we got to lose?"
Andre stood and extended his hand. With a firm hand shake, the partners began their new advertising ploy.
Deep beneath there feet, a different sort of plan was unfolding.
A/N: Short chapter, I know. It's just to tide you over until I get around to the really good stuff. Just so you didn't think that I forgot! I haven't had as much time to work on it as I would like, but I have one month of classes left and that's it!