Chapter Seventeen
Meg: Okay, plan number two: We kidnap Emmy Rossum.
Leigh: WHY?
Meg: Because maybe Gerard's Erik side will kick in, and he'll be forced to save her!
Luke: Erik side?
Meg: That's the Phantom of the Opera's name.
Luke: This is really stupid.
RAEB: Yeah. Why would Gerard save Emmy? She's not his responsibility.
Meg: Shut up! This is going to work!
Emma: How?
Meg: Because Ratigan already kidnapped her.
Everyone else: WHAT?
Meg: Yeah…
JWJ: You made a deal with that rat?
Meg: Not really… he kidnapped her for some reason… but I sent Gerard a note saying that the only way he can save her is if he goes to prom with me. I should be getting a response any moment now.
Luke: I hate this.
Rose ran as fast as she could through the streets of London. A strong November wind blew, trying to drive her back. She continued to press forward, pushing by pedestrians who were taking their time on the sidewalk.
The girl dodged stalls, horses and carts as she headed back to The Rat Trap. She was in much better physical condition than she had been previously; Ratigan made her run every day, to be better prepared in case she ever needed to escape from the police. He made her do a lot of physical exercise, at least ever since she had decided to become a permanent henchman of Ratigan's almost two months ago.
She burst into the pub, shoved past Giovanni, who swore at her, went down the trapdoor, through the pipes, and all the way to the barrel. She burst into the throne room.
"He's sent word!" she said breathlessly, thrusting the envelope at Jack Doonegan, one of Ratigan's higher-commanding henchmen. Doonegan was one of Ratigan's contacts from Dublin, who sometimes worked the East Indies trade for the rat.
Doonegan ripped open the telegram. He frowned.
"What's it say?" Rose asked, still gasped for breath.
He handed it to her. It read:
Train to arrive at 10:30. Will meet you there. Explain to others. Don't start without me.
Rochester
Rose looked up at Doonegan. "Ten thirty? That's much later than we expected."
"He's cutting it really close," Doonegan grumbled.
"You think we can get everything explained to the rest of them?" Rose asked.
"Well, they already heard some of the plan from Ratigan. They tend to listen to him much better than they do to you or me."
Rose gave a short laugh. "Who wouldn't?"
Doonegan began to pace. "Well, I guess it's you and me in charge. Damn that bloody detective."
Ratigan had pulled off a brilliant job in Essex; he had managed to kidnap a millionaire's family, and gotten a magnificent ransom for it. But the millionaire had hired Basil of Baker Street to track down the kidnappers afterwards, and that detective had somehow managed to get hot on Ratigan's trail. The professor had been forced to go back to Essex to cover up the loose ends, and had been stuck there for several days now.
Before the fiasco in Essex had sprung up, Ratigan had already outlined his most recent plan to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London to Rose and Doonegan. The plan had been scheduled for that very night because of a known flaw in the guard at the Tower. As soon as Basil had popped into the picture, however, Ratigan left the completion of the plan up in the air, uncertain to the length of time necessary to get rid of the detective.
And there was the answer, in the telegram Rose was holding. Rochester was Ratigan's personal alias to Rose. He sent everything to her signed 'Rochester', while she sent everything to him signed 'Eyre'.
"You think we can do it?" she asked.
Doonegan scoffed. "Well, if the detective's still in Felsted, we should be all right. The Yardies aren't that hard to hold off should anything go wrong. Where's that crazy bat?"
"Fidget's with the professor. You know that."
"Oh. Yeah."
Rose sighed. "Let's get everyone together then. We've got a job to do."
The plan was simple. Five thugs were going to get into a 'drunken' brawl in front of one of the entrances to the Tower of London. When the guards came down to investigate, a bunch of the thugs were to attack them and quiet them down. Meanwhile Ratigan, Fidget, Doonegan, Gerald, Bill, and Kilburn would enter the Tower through another entrance, break into the building, go to the room where the Crown Jewels were, let Fidget into that room through a hole too small for most everyone else, have him unlock the door and let everyone in, and have them take as much of the booty as they could carry. They would carry the Jewels out through the main entrance (the only entrance big enough for mice to carry them through) and take the Jewels to the Tower Bridge, where a boat was waiting for them. They would load the boat with the loot and then set off for the dock where The Rat Trap was located, leaving no trail for Basil to follow.
Of course, it would take many trips to get the Jewels from the Tower to the boat, but Ratigan had allowed enough time for that. Ratigan had allowed enough time for everything.
Everything, that is, except for his own arrival.
Rose shivered as she and the thugs stood around a dark alley near the Tower Bridge. She glanced at pulled out an old pocket watch Ratigan had given her. It was too masculine to complement her dresses, but she liked it anyway. She peered at the hands, trying to read the time.
Doonegan leaned against the wall of one of the buildings, smoking a cigarette.
"Jack, it's quarter past eleven," Rose hissed. "We were supposed to start fifteen minutes ago."
Doonegan shrugged. "He said don't start without him."
Rose looked at the thugs. They were getting restless, starting to grumble and shove each other around.
"Perhaps something's held him up. We've got to do something about it."
"Like what, Rose? Go against his orders and start the job without him?"
"Well… maybe?"
Doonegan tossed the cigarette away. "You're daft."
"But it's going to be too late if we wait any longer!"
Doonegan shook his head. "No."
"It's foolish to wait."
"It's foolish to start when we were told not to."
"Jack!"
The henchman sighed. "Give him ten minutes. If he's not here in ten minutes, then we'll talk about whether to go on or not."
Rose paced the alley. Kilburn looked at her. "Miss Rose, what're we waiting for?"
"Just be patient, Kilburn," she said firmly, but growing nervous inside. "We have everything under control."
Ten minutes later there was still no Ratigan. After a good deal of arguing that lasted another ten minutes, Jack finally gave in to Rose's demand that they start the job anyway, because 'the professor probably won't have another opportunity like this ever again.'
They proceeded to the Tower. Doonegan set everyone into position, all the time swearing at Rose for the risk taken of going ahead without Ratigan. Rose ignored him. If Ratigan got angry, she would allow the blame to fall upon herself alone.
The five thugs who were supposed to start the fight stumbled towards the bridge that crossed the moated walls of the Tower. Doonegan and the others who were working with him headed off to the other entrance, a small hole they had been working for a few months. Rose stayed behind, making sure that the others were in position to quiet down the guard.
The fight started off well. They were rolling around on the ground, kicking and screaming at each other, trying to sound drunk. Rose would not have been surprised if a few of them were actually intoxicated. Two guards dressed in Tudor-styled clothing peered over the wall at the fight. They shouted something about keeping the peace to the thugs, but they were ignored.
Finally one of them came down to break up the fight, but only succeeded in getting knocked out. The other guard raced down to his aid after calling out for some more help. Rose motioned to Tom and Dresner, whispering, "One of you stop him, the other slip in with me as he comes out."
The two thugs ran right into the guard as he came out of the side door. Tom restrained the guard before he could shout out, while Dresner and Rose slipped in the grounds.
Rose looked around. They moved along the wall for a bit, until they saw some Tudor-styled houses within the walls. This was where the guards lived with their families.
"Can you pick the lock of one of those houses?" Rose asked.
"Sure."
"Good. Once inside, grab someone, a child, a wife, anyone as a hostage."
Dresner grinned. He picked the lock and went inside one of the houses, only to return carrying a sleeping girl of about four years. Rose felt so low, but she knew that Ratigan probably would have done the same thing. Rose led the way up one of the parapets, where she could see the fight being broken up by some of the guards.
"Hold up the kid," she said to Dresner. Then, "Hey!" she called out to the guards. "None of you make a move!"
They all looked up, and saw them there. A couple of them shouted.
"Drop your weapons and listen to everything we say, or else this girl and the rest of your families die!"
Twenty minutes later, all the guards and their families were tied up and gagged within the grounds of the Tower. Rose was satisfied. None of them had raised an alarm. She was wondering how Doonegan and the others were fairing when she finally caught sight of all of them staggering under the weight of St. Edward's crown.
Rose laughed at Doonegan. "A little too heavy for you?"
"You can talk all you want if you'll help us with this bloody piece of junk," he snapped back.
She smiled. "All right, I want a dozen of you to stay here and watch the guards. The rest of you help with the rest of the loot."
They had managed to get all the loot they wanted down into the boat, and were preparing to set off from the Tower Bridge. Tom and Gerald were supposed to blow up the entrance to the Tower, just to spite the police.
Rose heard gunshots coming from the bridge. She caught Doonegan's eye as they ducked for cover. "Has someone spotted us?"
Doonegan paused for a moment and listened as another shot went off. "No, it's too far away." He got to his feet and jumped off the boat.
"Jack!" Rose cried angrily.
"Give me a minute."
Rose sighed. She picked up her skirts and followed him up the stairs to the road. A few other thugs followed her.
They found Tom on the road bleeding from bullet wounds. Gerald was standing over him. "What the hell happened here?" Doonegan demanded.
"He tried to kill me!" Gerald shouted, pointing to Tom. "He tried to shoot me, so I shot the yellow-livered bastard back!"
Rose tugged at Doonegan's sleeve and pointed. He looked up and saw a constable running in their direction.
"Set them off! Damn it, did you two set the kegs off?"
"No!" Gerald exclaimed.
"Get that louse on the boat," he said, motioning to Tom, "I'll be back."
"Jack!" Rose yelled. "Leave it alone!"
"It'll only take a minute."
Two thugs grabbed Tom and headed for the stairs that led to the boat. The constable was still a good distance away, but Rose and Gerald ran back to the boat.
Everyone was scrambling to get the boat ready. In little time the constable reached the stairs and shrilled on his whistle for help. A few of the thugs responded by firing a few shots at him, causing him to duck for cover. He began to shoot back at them.
"Where's Jack?" Rose shouted to Gerald.
They heard something that sounded like a cannon. "Think that's him," Gerald said, shrugging.
"We've got to go, now!"
"Then let's go."
Rose heard more whistles and shouts from the banks.
"Not without Jack!"
"Doonegan can take care of himself."
Rose bit her lower lip. She waited for another few seconds, thinking rapidly. She looked at Gerald. "Fine, let's go!"
"Send her off!" Gerald shouted.
They untied the boat and pushed off just as Doonegan was running down the steps. He made a flying leap for the boat, landed on his leg, and crumbled to the ground.
"AHOW-OW!" he yelped.
Kilburn and Dresner ran to help him. "You okay mate?"
"No, damn it! Think I broke my leg!"
Shots rang out, causing everyone to duck for cover.
"Well little lady," Doonegan said through gritted teeth to Rose, "are you happy now that we completely made a mess of this getaway?"
Rose did not say anything. She was embarrassed for the getaway, but it really had not been her fault. She wondered how it would have gone had Ratigan been there.
And she wondered how Ratigan would react…
She found out two days later, when Ratigan slammed the door open to the kitchen, causing Rose to shriek and nearly drop a bowl of pudding that she was stirring.
"Oh… she said, seeing who it was. "You scared me, sir. And look, you're back!" she said, smiling.
He did not look happy. The smile on her face wavered.
"Rose, come with me," he said in a strained voice.
She set the bowl down and followed him into the throne room. The Crown Jewels were sitting in the middle of the room, glittering in the light. But their splendor was lost to Rose as Ratigan seated himself on the throne, glaring at her and Jack Doonegan, who was leaning on a crutch nearby.
"I gave you one simple order: 'Do not start without me.' Imagine my surprise when I met a paperboy in the train station this morning, saying that I have somehow managed to be in two places at once."
He threw the paper at their feet. Rose did not even dare to look at it.
"WHICH ONE OF YOU WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT ESCAPADE?" Ratigan barked.
Doonegan pointed to Rose at the same moment that she replied, "It was my fault, sir."
Ratigan looked a little taken aback. "You?"
"Yes, sir."
"Is this true?" Ratigan asked Doonegan.
He nodded. "'Twas all her idea, Professor. We had a row about it; got some of the guys involved. They all voted to go ahead."
Ratigan massaged his temples. "So you listened to a seventeen-year-old girl?" he said in an annoyed tone.
Doonegan shuffled his feet. "Well, ah, yes."
"Is she smarter than you, that you have to listen to her advice?"
"Ah, no."
"THEN WHY DID YOU?" Ratigan shrieked.
"Because the others were getting restless… they wanted some action… most of them were all for it-"
"This isn't a democracy, Doonegan! You follow my orders first, and then their 'wants!' And you!" Ratigan snapped, turning to Rose. "What did you think you were doing, taking charge?"
"I… I thought that perhaps there was something wrong… you didn't arrive, sir, and that plan was only going to work that evening… and I thought it'd be nice, that you could get the Jewels…" she trailed off.
Ratigan stared at her in disbelief. He then got up and began to inspect the Jewels.
"There is a reason why I deal with these bigger heists," Ratigan said to no one in particular. "My men see me there, and associate my presence with success. If someone else starts giving them their successes, they will begin to depend less and less on my guidance."
Rose tried to catch Doonegan's eye, but he refused to look at her. She sighed.
"Sir, we were only trying to please you."
Ratigan turned around and glared at her. Doonegan tensed up. The professor started towards her.
"Do you fancy yourself a leader, Rose?"
"N-no, sir…"
"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU LEAD THAT JOB?"
Those terrible eyes looked like they wanted to kill her. She wanted to cry.
"I'm sorry," Rose said, trying to hold back tears. "I… I didn't know it would make you so angry…"
Ratigan grabbed her arm. "Don't you dare cry," he hissed at her. "I'll kill you if you shed even one tear."
She tried to pull herself together. "I-I'm sorry…"
Ratigan threw his face close to hers. She looked away.
Finally he let go of her arm. "Why do I even deal with you two? I've got a mere child on one hand and a goddamn coward on the other!"
He went back to inspecting the Jewels. They stood there uneasy, waiting for him to say something.
After some time he said, "Doonegan, I'll speak with you later!"
The thug nodded and hobbled out of the room as quickly as he could. Rose gulped as Ratigan returned to his throne.
"Rose." She stared at her feet. "I got a detailed account of what happened last night from Gerald and Kilburn. They said that you did an excellent job."
She looked up at Ratigan. He seemed a little pleased with her.
"You, of all people, disobeyed my orders to not start without me, something I never expected to happen."
"I didn't mean to, sir-"
"You also managed to pull the job off nicely, and at the right time," Ratigan added.
She gave him a confused look.
"The reason I didn't get back in time was because Basil had found the trail again. He almost had me… until he received word that I had pulled off the greatest heist in history in London, when he had thought all the time that I had been in Felsted. He gave it up and came back to London!" Ratigan said, laughing wickedly. "Oh, it was perfect!"
Rose breathed a sigh of relief.
After he had finished laughing, he said, "You're off the hook, this time. Get too ambitious and I will have to take matters into my own hands. Understand?"
Rose nodded. She never wanted to disappoint him. "Yes sir. I won't let you down again." She turned to leave.
"One more thing, Rose. The guards at the Tower and a constable heard a woman's voice among my thugs, and the guards and their families actually saw you. They don't have a good description of you, but sources tell me that Basil's trying to go off of that clue. Watch yourself; it would be a shame to lose you to the Yard again."
"Thank you for the warning, sir."
"Stop thanking me and watch your back!" Ratigan said shortly to her.
Rose nodded and hurried back to the kitchen, missing Ratigan's amused grin.
RAEB: Gerard responded to the note. He says that he's not your type, he already has a girlfriend.
Meg: WHAT? (grabs note) This is crap! What about Emmy?
RAEB: Apparently she was never kidnapped in the first place.
Meg: WHERE IS THAT RAT?