Disclaimer: Les Mis belongs to Victor Hugo
Late January of 1832, prefecture of Paris
I have been on his trail for years but so far my search has turned up empty. It would appear he has sunk into the very shadows from which he came but I know this is not true. He is not dead; I will find him. He is here, in Paris.
Rumors of an old man giving gifts to the poor are rampant yet so scattered. He is in one place then another. I cannot pinpoint his lair from this erratic movement. Still, I shall not give up; he is mine.
However, I must not let myself get carried away; this world is filled with filth. He may be the worst of the lot but still the others cannot be overlooked. They're vagabonds who prey on the worthy citizens of Paris. They cannot be left alone to fester and to drag this country to their level. As an officer of the law I must uncover the holes in which they hide and expose them to the light of justice that they cower from. They've just been lucky enough to escape being sent to the galleys. That luck will end. They live, if you can call their pathetic existence as living, among dirt and garbage as filthy as their surroundings.
Just now I have apprehended a most despicable criminal; a man by the name of Thenardier. He has no shame, no honor and he dares to blame the respectable ones for his own miseries? Along with his wife and consorts he dared to lay a hand on a fine gentleman, to hold him hostage and blackmail him for money; that's all they care about. He will pay.
Yet, that old man… the one they took prisoner… he looked familiar. I was not able to see his face; he was in the shadows but still I have seen that form before. He disappeared by the time I had set about to write the report, why? The only way out was the window; what kind of person could possibly attempt such a risk? … No! It couldn't possibly be-
Valjean!
Review please!