Basically the same disclaimer as in the previous chapter. Due to the goings-on within this story, the characters will act in ways that they have not previously, having never had to deal with such a situation before. Therefore, please be open to otherwise slightly out-of-character reactions and emotions. I have tried to be as true to the characters as possible.
5
It was after noon when Valjean heard the key turn in the outer door, no doubt Javert returning. He had been locked in all morning trying to think of a way out of his situation. He hadn't been able to come up with much. He hoped his captor would be in better spirits and more open to reason. It was a long shot, knowing Javert, but Valjean had little else to hope for short of a miracle.
The door slammed closed, jostling the entire residence. Jacket and dripping cravat were thrown on the nearest chair without the slightest regard for the uniform. Soaked trousers clung to frozen legs and a damp waistcoat had barely kept the shirtfront and chest beneath it dry. The cold, wet clothing only added to his temper, throwing wood on the proverbial fire. It was finally time to exact justice on the man who had evaded him for so long.
The bedroom door opened. Valjean's pacing stopped immediately as he turned to face the menacing figure standing in his doorway. He could tell immediately that something was not right. Javert, always calm and collected, hiding his emotions from everyone, stood shaking with hatred. Something within him had finally snapped stripping away all thoughts of duty and leaving only rage.
"They're fools," it rumbled as it approached. "They all think you're a good man." An arm rose to attack, light glinting off the head of a cane. "But they don't know you for what you really are!"
The cane collided with Valjean's shoulder, narrowly missing his head. His clavicle broke with a sickening crack. He staggered backwards, crying out in agony as the fractured bone tore through his flesh. Warm blood oozed from the gruesome wound, soaking his shirt and leaving him dizzy. Through the haze of his pain Valjean was unable to prepare for the kick to his stomach. The blow knocked him flat. Javert smiled evilly at the sight of his quarry suffering at his feet. He vented his anger on his captive, a kick or blow from his cane punctuating every sentence.
"You have everyone fooled. They think you a respectable man. Even those fools who dare to call themselves policemen can't see you for what you truly are. They don't see the scheming convict beneath that mask of politeness and amiability. But I do and you will evade me no longer! You are in my grasp now and I will see justice done!"
But as he raised his arm for the final blow, a vision of an alleyway appeared before him. He was thrust up against a wall. Cold metal against his wrists then the snicker-snack of rope being cut. He turned around to see Monsieur Leblanc, no, Jean Valjean standing before him with a knife.
"Go."
"Setting me free won't save you." But Valjean merely shook his head sadly.
"If I survive this battle, you will find me at number 7, Rue de l'Homme-Armé."
The vision faded with the sound of a gunshot. Then its force hit Javert fully. Memories flooded back to him, the barricades, the sewers, the cold water filling his lungs. He did not notice the cane drop from his hands, or the quick fluid motion that guided him towards the object of his frustration. He fell to his knees, grabbing Valjean by the shirtfront and raising him inches away from his own face.
"Why?" the question was soft at first, almost pleading. Then the anger and confusion burst from inside him. "Why? Why do I see two paths before me when all my life I have only known one? The law is absolute and unyielding! It has no pity or remorse. It must be carried out. And I, who have lived by the letter of the law, been strict with others as with myself, and have hunted you for years for crimes which you have committed cannot now justify your arrest. In that alley, when you had the chance to kill me, to save yourself from a man who knew your true identity, you refused to do so. I expected death, revenge for what I had done to you. But you spared my life, even going so far as to tell me the location of your home so that I might yet arrest you. Your discretionary sense of justice, your kindness to those who deserved punishment enraged me! And yet when I had you in my grasp, when you were vulnerable, that boy slung across your shoulders, you begged me to let you save him and I, in a state of bewilderment, granted you not only that request but also to say farewell to that girl you had taken in. I said I would wait for you, but I could not. You are a conundrum, an enigma I could not understand. Despite all I had done, you showed me mercy and said you blamed me for nothing. You lived a good life and helped many people as the Mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. I was even informed that the King himself wished to present you with the Croix d'honneur. If I had stayed in the Rue de l'Homme-Armé you would have come with me willingly and without resistance. How could I condemn a man who by law requires punishment and yet has done such good for others?"
The question lingered in the air suffocating Javert with its weight. He had released Valjean, laying him down softly on the floor, and leaned back against the bed, head in hands. He had never expressed so much emotion in his life and it made him feel tired and weak. Valjean struggled to a sitting position, gritting his teeth against the pain from his mangled shoulder and bruised ribs. The inspector's words had shocked him even more then his outburst of violence. He was a cold, distant man who led a solitary life and the outpouring of emotion that he had just witnessed left Valjean in a state of bewilderment.
"But… why suicide? You were a loyal officer. You could have continued to uphold the law." Javert looked away, disgusted with himself.
"No. I was unfit for duty. I deserved to be dismissed in disgrace. I had let you go free when the law demanded you be arrested immediately… and it had pleased me to do so. I was conflicted, for the first time in my life unsure if the law was really supreme. To arrest you would have been morally wrong but in order to satisfy myself I went against everything that I had fought to uphold. And… with my death there would be no one left who knew your true identity. You would be able to live truly as a free man without the fear of imprisonment or death hanging over you. My duty to arrest you no longer mattered if I was dead. No, Valjean, I could not save us both."
A heavy silence engulfed the two men, crushing them with its weight. Javert studied his hands, the blood that now stained them a sickening reminder of what he had just done.
"So, I have become a Judas after all…"
Gently he pulled Valjean to his feet then carefully removed the cuffs. Grasping the bedpost for support, the older man sat heavily on the bed, his head still spinning from the pain. He realized too late the door closing again.
"Javert!" he rushed to the door in time to hear the key turn in the lock. "Javert wait!" The front door opened and closed and Valjean jiggled the handle, desperate to get out. Javert was harsh on others but even more so on himself and Valjean feared the inspector might do something drastic as penance. He remembered reading the report of Javert's suicide. His body had been fished out of the Seine, hands bound in his own cuffs. He had left them on the floor but that didn't allay Valjean's fears. Throwing his body against the door, he tried to break it down. His body throbbed, the pain worsening with every attempt at freedom. But the only thought in his mind was of Javert's safety.
"I was helpless to save him before but I'll be damned if I stand by and wait for him to kill himself again!" He was tired and beaten. Any other man would have collapsed long ago but his strength came from a well with no bottom. The door splintered under the force of his blows and he rushed out into the hallway.
I must restate that Javert's occ-ness is partially due to that fact that he has had a lot of time to dwell on his past and the events which led to his death and has finally come to terms with his feelings. If you are not aware of the Roommates universe, please use the link in the first chapter. If you liked/disliked, please feel free to review.