Sitting alone in his office, Treville rubbed his face, looked wearily at the list of names: children, mothers, fathers, merchants, palace guards, and many more. Many had been injured, and a few killed on impact. Others would pass in the days to come. The red guards had been more severely hit. Seventeen men would never again see the sun peer over the horizon. More would spend days and weeks in recovery. It would take years for the city to recoup its losses, to rebuild, and for business owners to reestablish themselves. Families were devastated, their livelihoods gone, family members lost, and like the king's guards, it would take some weeks and months to recover.

The names of five musketeers stared back at him. Soldiers who had spent their lives devoting themselves to the king. Treville would reach out to their families. For those close enough to Paris, he would visit, and the others would simply receive a letter explaining the death of their son, husband, or father.

When Treville heard the knock at his office door, he said, "Enter," and then tossed the list of names onto his desk. He took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, and nodded toward Athos, who looked tired after the long hours of the day and into the night of organizing fire brigades, moving the wounded for treatment, finding shelters for displaced families, and searching for those still buried beneath the rubble.

Soot dusted Athos' doublet, along his right cheekbone, and his gloved hands. He cleared his throat and said, "The culprits struck the Red Guards' garrison — additional names are forthcoming — The Wren, Madame Paule's Brothel, and they tried to destroy Pont Neuf bridge but destroyed two ships in the attempt. The men found three additional stockpiles of gunpowder — one beneath the Bastille, another beneath the Rue de Verneuil, and the musketeer's garrison." Athos paused, shifted his feet, and then rested his right hand on his belt. "We have not discovered any of the perpetrators as yet — it appears they may have fled Paris."

Treville looked at Athos sternly and then glanced away. "They attacked the king by attacking his guards," he said. He looked at Athos and rested his elbow on the desk and rubbed his brow. "King Louis is insisting on traveling to the Chateau de Fontainebleau. The Cardinal has agreed to put aside our differences for the time and the Red Guards — at least temporarily — will work alongside the Musketeers. We need a substantial company of men traveling with the king while leaving a smaller company to guard the palace and monitor the city gates." He lowered his hand and exhaled slowly.

"There are only a few Musketeers fit enough for duty — mostly those who were at the garrison at the time of the explosions —" Athos paused when he watched Treville nod.

"Musketeers will ride alongside the carriage. I know our numbers are low." Wtih this elbow on his desk he looked at the list of men and worried his brow, and then looked back at Athos. "Most of the red guards will remain in Paris. One company will join us on the journey. I have sent an advanced detachment ahead that will clear the paths since we'll be traveling off the main roads —"

"Is that wise?" Athos asked with a frown. "Traveling off the main roads will delay our arrival and potentially put us at risk. There are areas that will leave us exposed to an ambush."

"I've discussed this at length with the cardinal and King Louis," Treville said with a frustrated exhale. "They both agreed that the delay would be worth the risk of avoiding travelers and the potential threat. Both are convinced that a small caravan will not be detected as quickly."

Athos cocked an eyebrow. "An entourage of this size will…" he clenched his jaw and rubbed the back of his neck, "will leave us exposed."

Treville pursed his lips and pushed himself away from his desk. "Even the main road will leave us exposed," he said as he stood. "I'll be joining the regiment on the journey. You and I will ride along each side of the carriage with two bands of five men. Aramis and d'Artagnan will ride ahead, and Porthos will ride behind with an additional band." He looked at the list once more and said, "The red guards — those who are fit enough to travel — will ride in a c-formation around us—"

"Assuming they have plenty of men able to assist," Athos said with raised eyebrows. "Is the cardinal aware of how severely they were attacked?"

Treville rubbed his face in frustration with both hands and then exhaled slowly. "The king has agreed to stop only when needed — if we depart early enough, we should arrive in three days."

"When are we departing?"

"Tomorrow morning," Treville said. He walked across the room and tossed another log onto the fire, and watched the flames flicker and sparks fly. "Prepare the men and organize the bands. I'll return to the palace and discuss the information you provided. Richelieu may already have a list of Red Guard casualties."

"Who will remain to guard the palace and the city gates?"

Treville kicked a runaway coal back into the fireplace. "Richelieu has already agreed that the palace guards will remain in place and a rotation of 10 red guards will remain behind to monitor the gates."

"That will leave little protection within the city," Athos said. He shifted and grasped the hilt of his weapon. "The people of Paris are already weary with fear."

Treville nodded and rested his elbow on the mantle of the fireplace. "Perhaps that fear will come to good use and they will protect themselves and each other. We," he looked Athos in the eyes, "need to protect the king and the queen."