"When Hawkmoth started their reign of terror over the people of Paris, our organisation was quick to conclude that they must be someone who rarely leaves their residence." Jaques saw the questioning brows of the three in front of him and realised it would be necessary to explain just how all this information was deciphered. "Due to the nature of this terrorist, they would need a secluded and private place to operate from. Unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir, they have others doing the fighting for them. They also have a random pattern of releasing Akumas, which means that if they have a profession, they must carry out their duties very close to this 'lair' of theirs. Leading us to think that they must work from home."
"The time of day also differs, with some Akumas operating at night, which is another reason we believe they have this lair at their residence." Jaques continued as the three sat across from him, mouths agape as they digested the information. "We had a couple of suspects, another factor we took into consideration was that they must not work alone, meaning they either have a loyal friend or assistant, to make sure they are not disturbed during one of the attacks." He leaned back on his chair, shifting his weight and crossing his arms. "We had some Akuma victims come and listen to voice recordings of the suspects, and fourteen of them all said they recognised the same recording as being Hawkmoth, although they were never given the name of the suspect in case we were wrong." He shifted again in his chair, "we have also used images from the rare occasions where they have made an appearance in public, and compared them to that of the suspects. It was a drawn out process, but we have been very thorough in all our investigations."
Adrien, Marinette and Nino all sat there, waiting for Jaques to continue, questions blazing through each of their minds but none of them were able to voice them. Jaques contemplated how to continue in a linear fashion, as at this point in their investigation, their leads had forked down different routes. Deciding to stick to the terrorist, Jaques decided to be blunt and to the point with his words. He was not sure how they were going to be taken but if it went the way he thought it would, they would leave here with four allies in the form of Paris' superhero team.
"We have deducted that Hawkmoth is male..." Jaques continued, surveying the trio before him. "And we now only have one active agent directly in the field within his company..." Jaques was watching the cogs turning in Adrien's head. Although he had spoken to Marinette about this, he had not told her who exactly had given him the note.
"It's him isn't it. My father is..." Adrien said simply, as the other two turned to look at him. Marinette reached for his hand, and he interlocked their fingers, while Nino placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Jaques simply nodded, waiting for the realisation to sink in. He thought Adrien's reaction would be more emotional than it was, could it be that the shock was numbing him? Possibly, but Jaques had not been aware of Adrien's own suspicions.
"I thought he could be, but I..." Adrien trailed off as he looked down at his hand interlocked with Marinette's. She gave his hand a squeeze, and rested her head on his shoulder. Nino placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What else do you know?" Adrien turned very serious and focused. Looking directly at Jaques, he wanted to know if Jaques knew his identity.
"We know the identities of the Parisian superheroes."
"How?" Marinette looked at him, alarmed, she wanted to know how they could possibly have gathered that information.
"Voice and facial recognition." Jaques bluntly replied, as if it was obvious. "Miss Dupain-Cheng, there are many pictures of the heroes online, along with interviews and videos. It is our job to piece together the puzzle." He leaned in particularly close to Marinette, "up until now, there has been no danger of Hawkmoth gaining that information, but..." Jaques leaned back again, "he is getting closer to the truth, which is why we have been required to step in." He gave them a calculating look, "the heroes, it would appear, each have substantial internet footprints, with pictures, videos, and social media accounts. We, as an organisation, have the resources to gather and compare mass data, and select the relevant parts."
Jaques took out a laptop, and placed it upon the table. "I have a drive that could expose all the heroes who have been protecting this city. Until now they have been doing an excellent job at defending Paris against Hawkmoth, but not getting any closer to releasing him of his powers."
His words stung, Jaques was right. Their mission was to defeat Hawkmoth, but instead of focusing on that, they had been using their powers to satisfy their own personal wants in between doing the bare minimum. All of the heroes were guilty, but they were only human, with their own lives to lead.
"We were happy to let this continue, until we intercepted images which were sent to an associate of Hawkmoth. I choose not to use his civilian name at this time, so we can differentiate between villain and...unfortunately...family." Jaques was still keeping a close eye on Adrien, waiting for the explicit emotional response which was bound to come. "I am afraid that until I know that I can talk open and honestly, I am going to struggle to keep their identities a secret."
Marinette knew this was her cue, she was dreading having this conversation with Chat Noir, who also happened to be Adrien, who had also just been given the confirmation that his father was in fact Hawkmoth. If anything would tip him over the edge, this would most likely be it.
The trio sat still, Marinette was plucking up the courage to give her secret identity away, a secret she had thought was only known by Alya. Adrien glanced between Marinette and Nino, noticing they were both acting shifty. He knew why he was under pressure, then it clicked.
Adrien had been dealing with the information well so far, but the realisation that the woman he had been having casual groping sessions with, after finally moving on from her, was in fact the person he wanted to be with now. With this thought process however, he was trying to be as rational as possible. Something he would later give herself a pat on the back for! He had unwittingly gotten too close to the civilian half of Marinette while wearing the mask, he could not deny that it was likely never her intentions on getting close to him while out of the mask. Did Nino know? Was that why he was acting shifty also? Thoughts jumbled in his mind, Adrien was seriously in need of a pat in the back.
Adrien felt Plagg move around in his pocket, was this for comfort or to warn him? Yes they had seen this 'Jaques' badge, but they had not seen anyone else's who was still in the room with them.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Marinette spoke up. Her hand tightening on Adrien's, as if she was following the same thought process.
"You don't." Jaques replied. "I can ask everyone here to leave, I can disconnect my surveillance equipment." He motioned for the other agents to come forward. "Or I can ask you to trust me in what I am saying," he took a little black wallet from each of the other occupants and splayed them out on the table. "I am legitimately concerned for the safety of the heroes," Jaques looked them each dead in the eye, one after the other. "Until those heroes can trust us, then I am afraid we will be forced to take matters into our own hands."
"I can pass on your details to the heroes." Nino finally spoke up. Jaques turned his attention to him. "My girlfriend runs the Ladyblog, and can get it to them during the next Akuma or patrol." Nino looked down to his now cold cup of coffee. "She has a knack for stumbling upon them, they can contact you then." His tone was sombre, and his shoulders were slumped over.
"Ok, I think that is fair." Jaques agreed, understanding that all the information put to them had most likely unnerved the trio sat with him. "Miss Dupain-Cheng, I am aware, and I need to say this, your relationship with Chat Noir could put you all in jeopardy." He gave her a knowing look, which she reciprocated, "I would be very mindful now of someone always watching you, to get to him."
Realising the heroes before him were not willing going to confirm what he knew, Jaques decided it would be best to allow them time to come to him. Not willing to let this go on for much longer he sent them with a message. They were to tell the heroes that they forty-eight hours to contact him, before the GIGN would step in.
Adrien, Marinette and Nino, all left through the service entrance of the Café. They had been given a card with the contact details on for Jaques, which they were to get to the heroes. They walked in silence, Marinette was once again disguised and Adrien was regretting not bringing a jacket.
"I think we should all head to Alya's." Nino stated as they turned a corner into an empty street.
"I don't particularly want to go home if I'm honest." Adrien added dejectedly.
Marinette simply hummed in agreement, as the three walked towards Alya's apartment block. The rest if their journey was in a stunned silence.
"Have you seen the images?" Nathalie asked Gabriel as he sat at his computer desk. She stood in front of his desk, holding the paperwork she needed to go over that evening.
"Yes," he sternly replied, looking at the frame containing both Marinette on her balcony, with Ladybug in the forefront. "Either way, we know Marinette Dupain-Cheng has some sort of soft spot in Chat Noir's heart." He sat back lacing his fingers together, "otherwise he would not have spent the night there twice."
Nathalie pondered her thoughts for a moment, "do you think it would be wise to keep eye in them for a while longer, to see if he shows up again?"
"No Nathalie," Gabriel clenched his jaw, "something tells me that she is seeing a lot more of him without the mask now."
Nathalie looked uncertain at Gabriel's words. She knew that Adrien had been absent the same nights that Chat Noir had been with the bluenette. She had not wanted to say anything on the matter however, especially after seeing the similarities herself between the black cladded hero, and the man that was like a son to her.
"Where is Adrien now?" Gabriel's cold voice echoed in the large void of his office.
"I believe he is in his room Gabriel." Nathalie replied in her usual monotone manner.
Gabriel looked up to her, his eyes piercing into hers. "Go and check for me please, and let him know I will be joining him for breakfast in the morning."
"Of course," Nathalie nodded her head slightly at his request and turned towards the door. "Will you still be wanting to meet with them tomorrow at eleven?" She added as she placed her hand on the door nob.
"I will assess the situation in the morning and let you know." He buried his head into his computer screen as Nathalie departed, looking at the image of both Marinette and YLadybug. Calculating all possibilities, before making his next move.
Walking towards Adrien's room, Nathalie knew he was not in there. Nathalie was certain her hunch was correct and was uneasy about the lengths Gabriel was willing to go to get what he wanted. After the way their relationship had started to develop in recent years, Nathalie had held on to the hope that Gabriel had let go of the intense need to gain their Miraculous'. She hoped he was content with just sending out mediocre Akuma after mediocre Akuma, but she never actually believed he would stop so low as to put someone's life on the line that would not be brought back by Ladybug.
For now, all Nathalie could do was text Adrien to let him know his father would be joining him in the morning. She just prayed that he would be back in time.
So...I'm not quite sure how I feel about the details in this chapter, I hope you can forgive me!
I may come back and change a few details, but I really wanted to get this out there so I can continue with the rest of the story. Either way, olease let me know what you think!
Thank you for sticking with this so far!
Thanks for reading and stay safe X