DISCLAIMER: I do not, have not, and will not ever, never, never, ever own The Adventures of Tintin. The stories and characters are purely owned by Herge :)

Lightning crashed in the sky, illuminating the threatening black clouds hovering above Marlinspike Hall.

"Where is that boy? I knew he shouldn't have gone out in crazy weather like this!" Captain Haddock exclaimed loudly. Now hewas the one pacing the spacious living room, glancing at the clock every few seconds.

If he's not back in the next 10 minutes, no wait 5 minutes, I'll go out and search for him.

But the seconds ticked by slower than the captain would've liked. And after about 2 minutes, for the second time that night, he placed his newspaper back on the coffee table.
"On second thought Snowy, how about we go looking for him now. Although, it's probably nothing and I'm just overreacting. The lad's brave, he can take care of himself. He probably got engrossed in one of those books he glues his eyes to all the time!"

Snowy first growled at the Captain for waking him from his delightful slumber, but the clever terrier knew from the sea-worn man's tone that something was wrong and Tintin still hadn't returned. The little canine scampered to the door waiting for Haddock to find his hat and coat.

*Wow, humans are so slow. Woah!* Snowy barked at Captain Haddock to hurry up.

"Yeah I'm coming, I'm coming! Don't be so impatient!"

The captain opened the door and braced himself for the storm. The strong winds were blowing in every direction and rain pierced the body like hundreds of sharp, tiny pins made of ice. The Captain was no strange to this condition as he spent many years at sea during every weather pattern ever experienced on the Earth.

"Well now to find Tintin, Snowy m'boy" said the captain. "We'll start at his apartment shall we?" And with that Captain Haddock scooped up Snowy and placed the small dog inside his large, navy blue overcoat, and strode off down the street.

"Let go of me! Help!" yelled Tintin as he was pulled out of a black car and pushed forward onto a gravel driveway.

The large man who kidnapped Tintin had placed the young reporter in the back seat of a car and driven to just outside the edge of town, to a mansion a little bit smaller than Marlinspike itself. Up until the assailant had reached the huge house, all had been quiet and going to plan, but then Tintin woke up with a splitting headache and a bad temper.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Tintin continued to struggle against the man who, even though was above the boy's weight, was having trouble detaining him. They were now at the bottom of a long stairway leading to the front door of the old fashioned building.

The rain continued to pour and Tintin shivered in the cold, his beige overcoat still in the back seat of the car. His attacker had placed it under the boys head to substitute a pillow. Tintin's hands had also been tied behind his back and a black blindfold was resting uncomfortably tight across his eyes.

"I said, Let. Me. GO!"

With a final jerk of his body, Tintin managed to shake his attacker's python grip, but it was only a split second before the giant hands were back, holding tightly to his arms. The man continued to half-lift, half-drag Tintin up the stairs despite the boys struggling.

"Alright, I've had enough with you. Now I didn't want it to come to violence or weapons but you really don't give a man the choice now do you?"

The familiar feel of a gun barrel rested between the back of Tintin's shoulder blades and his squirming ceased almost instantly.

"There, that's better. Now I hope you're going to co-operate from now on Monsieur Tintin, because I'm doing this for your own good you know".

For the first time, Tintin realised that his attacker had a slight French accent.

"Ha! My own good? So kidnapping me and putting a gun to my back is for my own good? I hate to imagine what my own badwould be!" responded Tintin, sounding a lot braver than he felt.

"Well put it this way my young journalisté friend, if Mr. Greystone got to you first, you wouldn't have to imagine" warned the dangerous stranger.

Tintin gulped at the idea, thinking back to the previous morning when the four armed, burly men were chasing him for the-

"Wait, the necklace!" Tintin said looking down forgetting about the blindfold for a moment. "Where did you put the necklace? And why do you want it so badly?"

"My God, you really do ask an unbearable amount of questions. I suppose that's why you find yourself in such trouble every now and then, yes?"

Tintin knew it was true. He couldn't help it. He just had an incurable sense of curiosity.

By now the pair were at the top of the stone staircase outside a large double-door entrance. The French man guided Tintin to a wooden bench under the front window, and somewhat roughly pushed him into it, then he took out a set of keys and opened one of the wooden doors.

"Get up, do as I instruct you, and try not to break anything whilst we're inside" the man ordered Tintin.

Beyond the doorway was a long, narrow hallway with several rooms leading off to the left and right. A little way down the hall, Tintin was led into a room to his left and forced into a chair. His already tied hands were tied again to the backing of the chair. He tested the ropes, wriggling his wrists a little, but there was no give to them.

This guy really knows what he's doing, Tintin thought hopelessly to himself. But being Tintin, he was able to find his current situation somewhat useful. Maybe now he'd finally get some answers.
The blindfold was removed and Tintin could see his surroundings for the first time. He blinked at the unexpected bright light coming from the chandelier above his head. He seemed to be in a decently sized study room, almost like a miniature library. Bookcases lined three of the four walls. Tintin's chair was facing the fourth wall which featured a row of shelves holding a collection of random ornaments and photographs. In front of the wall was a nice mahogany desk with a reading lamp and matching chair, in it, sat Tintin's abductor.

"Welcome to Marquisé Manor monsieur Tintin! I am terribly sorry for keeping you in the dark, quite literally, up til now. I suppose you'd be wondering who I am and where I have brought you, yes?" said the man, who was dressed all in black and peering at Tintin from behind the desk. The guy was at least 6 foot 2 and looked to be in his late twenties.

"What, you didn't get that from all the confused questioning before?" Tintin replied, again with more macho than he intended.

The mysterious French man chuckled at Tintin's retaliation before he introduced himself.

"My name is Marc Moreau. I work for the Unioné Anonymé. It is an organisation quite similar to, say, the Mafia group that you stopped in America...But we are better at our job" Moreau explained.

Trying and failing to free himself from his restraints, Tintin could see what Moreau meant by being better at his job. Remembering back, Tintin now thought Smiley to be something close to a joke.

"Well I can't exactly say it's a pleasureto meet you" said Tintin, struggling with the ropes for emphasis. "But I appreciate your honesty. Though, it still doesn't explain why you brought me here in the first place or why you want the necklace so desperately! Where is it anyway?"

"It is not I who desires the antique, more so the people I work for. But not to worry Monsieur Tintin, we do not wish to exchange the gem for money unlike Greystone and his imbéciles. Our motives revolve more around stopping foreigners from disgracing or destroying our national treasures and uh, eliminating possible threats. This particular necklace was once a fine piece of jewellery" Moreau explained to Tintin as he pulled the necklace out from his pocket wiping away some of the mud and rust. "Queen Anne of France wore this exact ornament to many national functions until it was stolen by one of her maids and concealed with a layer of metal. It was a gift from her Majesty's husband-"

"Louis the XIV" Tintin finished for him.

Moreau paused to chuckle quietly, and then continued. "You are a smart young man, Monsieur Tintin. In fact that is the answer regarding your current whereabouts. I did not attack you for simply being in possession of the Lapis Lazuli" said Moreau, patiently waiting for Tintin to process the new information.

"Ok, so you're part of a secret organisation that protects France from foreign criminals….and you kidnapped me…because I'm…smart" Tintin thought out loud. "Now don't laugh or flatter yourself over this…but I still don't understand".

Moreau chuckled, but stopped himself when he saw the look on Tintin's face. "Well that is fair enough sir, for I didn't reveal all the facts. To tell you the truth my mission was to simply retrieve the necklace, and my original plan involved shooting you in the head then walking away with it in my pocket. But when I saw you and Greystone in the city I found you quite intriguing, so I did some research on you and changed my mind. You see Monsieur Tintin I read quite a few of your reports from Le Petit Vingtiéme, and I'm quite impressed with your adventures. I began to recognise your skill, both in wit and physical combat. I brought you here tonight Mon jeune ami to present to you a major career opportunity. I believe that our organisation will benefit greatly from your potential and I would be honoured if you trained at my side".

Moreau chuckled again at the look on Tintin's face, for the young reporter's jaw had dropped and his eyes had widened.
"I will give you the time now to consider my offer. I expect an answer by the time I return". With that Moreau rose from his chair and walked somewhere behind Tintin.

"Wait, what? You want me to…join you?" Tintin asked a little confused. "Mr. Moreau, I've never even heard of your organisation! And where are you going? I still deserve more answers!" Tintin said, still a little dumbstruck at the random job offer.

Moreau returned within Tintin's eyesight holding the blindfold.

"Whoa! There is no way you're just leaving me here with a blindfold over my eyes!" Tintin said as he leaned back as far as his chair allowed.

"Not quite" replied Moreau.

Then he walked back behind the chair and tied the black cloth around Tintin's mouth so tight it prevented the boy from making any considerate amount of noise. Tintin struggled against the gag and tried to call out as loud as it permitted him, but he soon gave up and his body relaxed.

"Now stay right here monsieur Tintin" Moreau said, a little smile playing at his lips. Tintin rolled his eyes and continued to tug at the ropes. "I will be back within 3 hours. I believe that will be enough time for you to make your decision. You can either join us in this merveilleux opportunity, or I will return you to your current lifestyle for Greystone to deal with. And he won't be very satisfied when you're caught empty handed" Moreau finished as he placed the necklace carefully around his neck and tucked it into his jacket.

With that Moreau left Tintin alone in the study, as he swept down the hallway and out the front doors.

Another bad guy, another mess! Well Tintin this is great, just great! You're completely immobilised and have only two choices: to die, or to join a secret criminal organisation. But it's getting close to 11pm now. The captain has to be out looking for me. I hope so, because he's my last chance of escaping this nightmare.

Ok, so it may be a while before i upload again :\ sorry if the wait is long :P but tell me what you would like to hear happen next :)

Caitlyn

p.s:

monsieur - Mr
mon jeune ami - my young friend
unione anonym - Anonymous Union
merveilleux - marvelous/wonderful e.t.c

Just if you were wondering :)