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The man who had shadowed her earlier on ran to the palace. He stopped next to a guard, panting.

'State your business,' the guard said.

'I need to speak with the Cardinal. It's urgent,' the man panted.

'What's it about?' the guard asked.

'I can't tell you. It's state business.'

'I'll see if he's available,' the guard sighed. 'What should I tell him when he asks what it's about?'

'N A,' the man said.

'N A?'

'He'll know.'

The guard sighed again and quickly went to Cardinal Richelieu's study. He knocked on the door.

'Yes?' the Cardinal asked.

The guard opened the door.

'Excuse me, Your Eminence,' he said. 'There's a man who wants to speak to you. He said it's urgent.'

'Did he say why?' Cardinal Richelieu asked, seated behind his desk.

'Yes, Your Eminence. He said it was about state business.'

'Did he specify on anything?'

'He said N A,' the guard said, slightly trembling.

'N A?' Cardinal Richelieu exclaimed. 'Send that man in here right away!'

The guard bowed nervously and turned around immediately. He ran back to the man at the gate.

'He wants to see you right away,' he said, panting again.

The man nodded and ran up the stairs to Cardinal Richelieu's study.

He bowed slightly and took a few moments to catch his breath.

'Tell me exactly what you saw,' Cardinal Richelieu said, while he stood up from his desk.

'Yes, Monsignor, I saw someone fitting the exact description of the Nameless Assassin,' the man said. 'He walked past Notre Dame and then stopped to talk to an old man in front of a tavern.'

'Do you know that old man?' Cardinal Richelieu asked.

'Yes, his name is Jean-Luc Pequar.'

The Cardinal exhaled slowly.

'Thank you…' he said.

'Of course, Your Eminence.'

Cardinal Richelieu grabbed his purse and handed the man fifty sous. 'For your effort.'

The man bowed again. 'Thank you, Your Eminence,' he said and left again.

When the man had left, the Cardinal took a piece of paper, quickly wrote a letter and sealed it.

Then he walked down to the stables.

He grabbed one of the stable-boys, just a kid from about ten years old, in his collar.

'Boy, can you run through Paris without being seen?' he asked.

The boy nodded. 'Yes, Monsignor.'

'Good,' the Cardinal said and handed the note to the kid. 'I want you to get this note to Captain Treville of the King's Musketeers as soon as possible. You'll get ten sous for it. Can you do that?'

'Yes, Monsignor,' the boy said and ran off with the letter.

He ran through the city to the Musketeers' headquarters, where most of the King's Guards were training and polishing their skills.

Captain Treville looked down into the small courtyard.

Several Musketeers were training there, including Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan.

A young boy came running in.

He looked around until he saw the Captain. Then he ran up the stairs.

Captain Treville recognised him. He worked in the palace stables.

'Monsieur Captain,' the boy panted. 'I have a note for you, from His Eminence the Cardinal.'

He held out a sealed piece of paper. The Captain looked at him and took the piece of paper. It indeed carried the Cardinal's seal.

'Go get a drink downstairs, boy,' Treville said and handed him a ten sous-piece.

The boy nodded gratefully and ran down the stairs again.

Treville broke the seal of the note and began to read.

'Captain Treville, I would like to borrow the four of your best Musketeers, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan. I need them to find someone for me. This person is currently in Paris, which is a very rare opportunity. Please send them to me, as quick as possible.

Sincerely, Cardinal A. Richelieu.'

Treville sighed and put the note in his pocket. Then he walked down the stairs.

The four Musketeers looked up and paused their training.

'Captain Treville,' Aramis said.

'Gentlemen,' the Captain said. 'I just received a note from the Cardinal. He wishes to borrow your services. Please report to the palace as quick as possible.'

'Just the four of us?' D'Artagnan asked.

'Yes, just the four of you,' Treville said. 'He wants you to find someone for him. I don't know any further details.'

'Then let's go and find out,' Porthos said.

The others nodded and they immediately left for the palace.


When they arrived at the palace, they walked down the hallway, up the stairs to the Cardinal's study.

Athos knocked on the door.

'Come in,' Cardinal Richelieu said.

Athos opened the door and the four of them entered. The Cardinal was seated behind his desk.

'You wanted to see us, Your Eminence,' Athos said.

'Yes,' Cardinal Richelieu said. 'I'm glad you could make it so fast.'

'No problem, Your Eminence,' Aramis said calmly.

'As you may know,' the Cardinal continued. 'Queen Anne has requested that I find her a good bodyguard. Of course, Her Majesty only gets the best of the best. Now I have set my eye on someone quite some while ago. However, this person is very, very difficult to track down. Today, I learned from one of my many eyes and ears in the city that by chance this particular person is in fact in Paris at the moment, which is most fortunate and quite a rare opportunity. I want you four to find this person and bring him or her to me, alive and, if possible, unharmed.'

'Him or her?' D'Artagnan asked surprised.

'Yes. No one knows for sure,' the Cardinal sighed. 'No one has ever been able to get a good look at this person's face. All we know is his or her alias.'

'Which is?'

'The Nameless Assassin,' Cardinal Richelieu said calmly.

'You want the Nameless Assassin to guard Her Majesty?' Aramis exclaimed. 'That is insane!'

'Would you mind keeping it down?' Cardinal Richelieu said irritated.

'Why would you even consider someone like that as a bodyguard?' Athos asked surprised.

'The Nameless Assassin is loyal to whoever pays him,' Porthos said. 'Or at least, that's what I heard about him.'

Cardinal Richelieu nodded. 'Exactly.'

'And when that guy is loyal to you, he'll protect you with his life,' Porthos added. 'That would indeed make one hell of a bodyguard.'

'My point precisely,' the Cardinal said.

'So where's this guy?' Athos asked.

'According to my source, there's an old man who sits in front of a tavern near Notre Dame. His name is Jean-Luc Pequar. He knows.'

'Anything else we ought to know?' Aramis asked.

'Make sure you're well-armed. The Nameless Assassin is the deadliest in all of Europe,' Cardinal Richelieu said.

The Musketeers nodded and left the palace.

'So who is this Nameless Assassin anyway?' D'Artagnan asked.

'The Nameless Assassin is the deadliest assassin in all of Europe,' Athos said. 'No one knows anything about him, besides the fact that you have to be very wealthy if you want him to work for you.'

'No one who's ever had a close look at him lived to tell the tale,' Aramis added.

'Really?' the aspiring Musketeer asked surprised.

'Yes,' Athos said. 'All we know for sure is a vague description: he is dressed all in black with a cloak and a hat and he has short snow-white hair.'

'Is he really old or something?'

'We don't know.'

'Right.' D'Artagnan kept quiet for a moment. 'This is not going to be an easy one, is it?'

'Is it ever?' Aramis said with a smile. The Musketeers laughed.