Chapter 20: An Uncomfortable Coincidence
Raoul's POV
I was standing inside my office at the firm, putting on my coat when Phillipe entered, looking suspicious.
"Raoul, why are you leaving early today?" he asked, trying to make it look like he wasn't dying of curiosity.
"I told you Phillipe, I have some business affairs to manage with Andre and Firmin today," I said. There was no way that I could tell him that I was gong out to search for the gypsy's lair; he would never allow it.
"Ah," he responded, still not sounding convinced. "Rehearsals for Faust are going well I trust?"
"Yes, they are going superbly," I answered as I moved towards the door.
He followed as I walked into the main lobby and towards the exit. "Well I hope that all goes well. Be careful out there Raoul, and don't do anything foolish." he said seriously.
This was the only trouble with having a brother whom I was so close too, and who was a father figure; he knew me far too well.
"Don't worry Phillipe, I'll be careful," I said as I gave him a reassuring smile.
"Just promise me you won't go looking for the gypsies," he said, his eyes pleading.
It was a good thing I had my back turned, because the expression on my face would have given me away instantly. "I would never try to face them alone Phillipe," I responded, telling the truth. I wasn't going to fight the gypsies, I was going to spy on them. "Anyway, I must be going or I'll be late. I'll see you soon."
He waved at me as I walked down the brick steps and out into the sunlit streets. The trouble was however, that I didn't know where to begin. Paris was an enormous city, and the gypsies could be anywhere inside it. I decided to start out near the opera house; Madame Giry had said that that was where their original location had been all of those years ago. The streets were busy today, and I tried to avoid the stares of passerby, which had only increased since my name had been all over the papers after the New Year's Eve incident. I glanced at my pocket watch; it was only two hours before I had to be back at the opera to meet Christine. Needless to say, I didn't have a lot of time. I felt my stomach churn at the thought of these gypsies and their cruelty; they had to be stopped. I could see the opera in the distance, but as I turned the corner, I ran into someone rather solid.
"Blast!" I shouted, rubbing my bruised forehead and looking up to see who it was.
A head of shaggy auburn hair and a pair of laughing green eyes met mine; it was Lucien.
"Sorry Raoul, I wasn't watching where I was going." he said. "Where are you off too?"
I hesitated slightly, but kept my cool. "Just running a few errands before I have to meet Christine after rehearsal." I answered.
He surveyed me for a moment before saying very matter of factly, "You're going to look for that gypsy hideout, aren't you?"
I gaped at him for a moment before admitting the truth. "How did you know?"
He grinned. "Raoul my friend, I've known you since we were toddlers. And besides, I'm very perceptive."
I couldn't help but laugh at this. "I should have known that I couldn't fool you. But I didn't want to worry Christine, so I didn't tell her what I was up too just yet. Promise me that you won't let it slip until I feel that she's ready to hear it." I said seriously.
He nodded, though he looked uncertain. "I'm coming with you Raoul," he said firmly.
I opened my mouth to argue but decided against it; he looked quite determined.
"All right," I said. "But we must be careful, this could be dangerous. Now the question is, where do we begin?"
Lucien frowned. "I don't have any kind of idea," he said truthfully.
I looked down the alleyway next to the opera, praying for a sign to help me find anything that might help. Lucien and I walked down the alley silently, looking. It was then that something caught my eye; there etched on the brick was the symbol of the snake wrapped around a lilly. It was very tiny and only struck me because I had seen it before. Lucien too, noticed it. I couldn't believe we had had such quick luck; I silently thanked God for this good fortune.
"Look Raoul, they keep going on every few bricks. It must be near here somewhere."
I nodded. "Indeed. It's quite clever of them. No one would notice this unless they knew what the symbol related to."
I looked down the allwyway; it grew darker and dimmer with every step, but Lucien and I would press on, this could be the first step to getting rid of these blasted gypsies and saving not only our loved ones but all of Paris from their terror. All of a sudden though, I heard a small noise behind me and a soft "Dammit!" I whipped around to find none other than the Phantom of the Opera standing behind Lucien and me. He looked rather disgruntled, as though he was quite dissapointed that he hadn't been able to sneak up on me undetected.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent. Two parts of me conflicted when I saw this man now; one that was very grateful for his help the night of the masquerade, and one whose nightmares were still haunted with the terrible memories left behind after the night of Don Juan.
His disdain for me was clear on his face, but I noticed that it wasn't as strong as it had once been. But this was probably only due to the fact of our unity against this common enemy. "Well I suppose I'm here for the same reason that you and your friend are de Chagny, to look for the lair." he said curtly.
Somehow I didn't think that this was a coincidence. "You followed us didn't you? You were spying on me!" I said indignantly.
He smirked. "I saw you walking by the opera from my posistion on the roof and it was evident that you were looking for something, so I followed."
I felt anger burn inside, my temper short due to the stress of late. "What did you think, that I couldn't find the lair on my own? I'm quite capable you know!" I said, knowing that I was being irrational, but not caring because I was fully now fully incensed.
My comment however, only seemed to egg him on. "Well you've been looking pale and rather frazzled lately Vicomte, perhaps you aren't up to it?" he said snidely. "You look most under the weather, so perhaps you should leave this to me!" he suggested, goading me even further.
"I don't think so," I said, my voice rising. "I have as much right to be here as you do. You certainly deserve a right to revenge, but I do as well."
Lucien, showing some of his rare common sense, shouted at us to stop bickering. "If you two don't stop, the fiends might hear you!" he said seriously. "I know you two can't stand each other, but you must be civil, at least until we can rid ourselves of this common enemy."
This statement subdued us both, and we walked down the dingy alley. We walked for what seemed like hours, until we heard muffled voices behind the brick wall. We stopped abruptly, listening to a raspy voice speaking.
"Chagny has caused us a load of trouble and if he isn't silenced then it will be the end of our clan!"
Another voice spoke up. "Clearly something must be done. But attacking the opera is too risky. I think attacking the wife again will tempt the Vicomte to come looking for us..."
I supressed a bitter chuckle. Little did they know that I had already found them.
"Yes," said the raspy voice. "He is very sensitive about his wife. That's it then, we will do it. But when?"
"Two days from now, at night. But we have to be sly about it, they'll be suspecting something..." he suddenly stopped speaking, as though he had heard something. "I don't think we're alone anymore." he said.
Erik, Lucien, and I locked eyes for a moment; there was nothing for it, if we didn't want to be discovered by the gypsies and have them know we knew what they were up to, we had to go. We ran down the alleyway and out of sight just before we were discovered. We stopped right next to the opera, panting, our hearts racing and our minds spinning.
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A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone, school has been hectic, as I'm sure every senior who's about to graduate can relate. I hope you like this, and I will try to have the next chapter up sooner. I'm sure that will be possile since I'm now through with my English research paper! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I love you guys, and I wouldn't be able to write without you. Keep up those reviews, and I will answer them as soon as possible!