I almost forgot to put up the last picture I made, to show the two guys next to each other. Again after a major change in their appearance. Have a look if you like. Once again at deviantart Nureinname.

Everyone else … just enjoy the next chapter.

This is my Mission

It was a strange thing to watch these two. So intent on trying not to get into each others way, as if they could burn each other if they came too close. And yet there was something that kept them together as well. Fleuride had seen a lot of partners over the years. Eugene had hired men and women of all kinds, and usually they would work in teams of at least two. So she knew how people worked together when it came to ultimately life threatening situations.

It was missions that demanded absolute trust, nothing you did with someone you only knew loosely. Or maybe someone you wouldn´t work with otherwise, if you had a choice. And this mission was no exception. It was very likely that one or even both of them would not make it out of there – she would not put her money on the old man if anyone would have asked her, but she kept her mouth shut on this. And what this ex inspector had said earlier, was true. If Valjean got hit and he would have to drag him behind, he´d endanger his own life. More than if he´d go alone. Who had ever heard of a liability like this man, to be allowed on an operation like this?

But for some reason Eugene had allowed it, and Fleuride had learned to trust him. If he thought it was a good idea – or at least a bearable idea – she would not object. She´d do what she always did. Help where she could, and prepare what needed to be prepared.

She opened a map on the table, putting the plans of the château right above it. "The documents we want are assumed to be here." she pointed at a room in the second floor. "In Lecomte´s office."

Javert glanced up at her, doubting. "Assumed?"

"He has no reason to expect them to be stolen." she told him. "The building is highly secured and we know that he keeps his plans there." She didn´t intent on telling them how they knew. Time was short and they could be glad they had time for this briefing at all. So she went on, pointing out the most important details on the plans. "There are guards posted at every entrance, and in each story. They walk around here, here and here. And they get exchanged every five hours. However. There are two dark spots that we will use for entrance. And those are here and here. You will enter with the second group, over here. Since you won´t be able to climb up to the balcony." She glanced at Valjean. "Eugene will enter the building through the front door. He´s the diversion. The official reason for his visit will be solicitation."

She rolled her eyes at the mere thought. Everyone who knew Eugene would instantly know that a thing like that would never happen. He´d never been the one to beg for mercy or favors. If he´d gotten them, he´d done something to get it. But Lecomte was the kind of person who would fall for an entrance like this. Sure it would flatter his ego, to have Eugene Vidocq come crawling to his door, begging for his assistance in regaining some more privileges.

"He will ask Lecomte for help, to speak up for him before the prefect, so he´ll put him back in charge like he was before." she explained it to her two men audience, and something in Javert´s gaze told her, that he understood her view on this charade.

"While he´s talking to Lecomte." she quickly went on. "You will have time to search the office. And fetch the two men. They have their quarters up here, in the second story."

"We don´t go there to catch Lecomte." Javert suddenly realized and Fleuride gave him a sharp look.

"No. He´ll be facing the court as soon as we present the evidence to the authorities."

Just like you agreed upon with Eugene, she added in her mind, but restrained herself. Javert got regarded carefully by his partner.

"He won´t get away." Valjean told him, reassuringly, and looked at Fleuride, for confirmation. "Right?"

All Fleuride gave him to help, was a raised brow, in an otherwise blank face.

"That is the idea, Monsieur."

After that she turned back to the plans. Seriously. What a stupid question was that?

...

Vidocq put the rest of the gear on his horse, getting ready to leave soon. He´d go alone, no other man should come with him, when he went to see Lecomte. The Capitaine would see it as weakness from his side, to come alone for a plead like that. In the middle of the night, at his castle far from public sight. Like a stray dog that came whining to the door of its master at last. Everything that would serve Lecomte´s idea of the criminal Vidocq and flatter his ego could only support the success of their mission. Lecomte was suffering from the typical weakness of most well situated men. His own ego and self-aggrandizement. And those two things would bring him down.

The sound of fast approaching horses reached his ear, and he turned around. Three of the fast animals came galloping up the driveway, and even though he couldn´t see their faces yet, Vidocq instantly recognized the man leading them, on his riding style.

"Jacques." he greeted, when they finally reached him. "What do you have for me?"

The man in question dismounted the horse, his face as grave as if he had to deliver the news of the death of one of Vidocq´s relatives.

"Sir." he nodded, all business, and at this Vidocq already knew he wouldn´t like the news he brought. Jacques said: "We have a problem."

...

Valjean suppressed a groan, when his shoulder disabled him again. The task was so simple, merely changing into the black clothes Fleuride had given them. And yet he struggled. It was embarrassing. The mission itself hadn´t even started. It couldn´t be that hard to get into this silly jacket, dammit!

"God, it´s just impossible to watch something like that." Javert growled and held the sleeve for him, so he could finally slip in. "You really are a millstone around my neck." he repeated what obviously was their catchphrase by now. "Are you sure you don´t want to stay behind? You could bath your leg while we´re out there."

Valjean raised his brows, and laughed despite his never ending worry for Cosette. Javert just looked at him, sighing, as if he knew more than well that there was no way to get around having him on his heels forever. And in this moment, Valjean was totally convinced that the inspector had indeed intended to make him laugh. And to forget his worry, just for a minute.

When Fleuride came back, she gave them both a professional once over. "All right." she found. "Very good. You will meet the others of our team in a minute. I just heard them arrive. You will also wear these." She handed them both another piece of cloth. Skull caps. Masks. "None of us is to be recognized." she explained their purpose. "When you´re in there, never address each other with their real names. You´ll get a false name for the time of the mission." She turned to Valjean first. "You´ll be Pierre." she practically ordered him and turned to Javert, all business: "What´s your real first name?"

The question made Valjean frown, realizing something he hadn´t even noticed so far. Javert only stared at the woman, as if she had insulted him with her question, and Fleuride finally lost her patience.

"Oh, for cry out loud." she rolled her eyes. "Is it Jules?"

"No." Javert´s gaze was still made of stone.

"Good." Fleuride snapped. "Then yours will be Jules. We stick to one syllable names for such missions." Her tone was angry, exasperated with the stubborn behavior she had to deal with. She turned back to Valjean. "Don´t forget his name." she ordered. "And don´t mix it up."

The ex convict raised his brows at the notion, but nodded obediently. "I´d never forget his name." he assured her.

After that Fleuride turned back to Javert, regarding him for a moment, as if she wasn´t sure if it was better to keep arguing, or to rather tell him how to behave when she was around. But then she dismissed him altogether, preferring not to deal with it. She left the room with a shaking head.

The door remained open. They could hear the sounds of other people in the house. The team that had just arrived. But for now, the only thing on Valjean´s mind was Javert.

"What?" the former inspector demanded, and Valjean shook his head.

"What is your first name?" he asked.

Javert remained strangely defensive. "What difference does that make?" he asked back and Valjean had no answer to that.

"Don´t know." he shrugged. "It´s just … I don´t know it."

There was a mean smirk on Javert´s lips, as he laughed about the remark, and at last Valjean gave it up.

"In God´s name it was just an innocent question." he cried, turning away from this stubborn man and in his need to do something, anything at all, he began to inspect the mask in his hands. He found the holes, for the eyes and rolled the skull cap back, to pull it over his head. Only once, for rehearsal so to say. God, if Javert insisted on being an idiot …

"Antoine." Javert suddenly said, unexpectedly, and Valjean halted. For a moment he didn´t even know what this word was supposed to mean. Until it finally hit him.

"Really?"

Javert made a face. "Yes." he affirmed. "Any problems with that?"

Valjean could not help. He smiled widely, even as he shrugged, trying to make it look casual. "No."

His smile just wouldn´t go away.

"Hello, Antoine." he greeted. "I´m Jean." And here he realized something else, also unexpected, though insanely obvious. It was one of those truths a man can be aware of his whole life, but never truly realize what it means until someone or something points it out for him. Exactly such a truth just came home to Valjean.

He said: "Although I haven´t been called by that name in a very long time."

At the other side of the room, Javert frowned, startled. "Same here." he found, as if he´d just had the same epiphany, reflecting the one of his old foe.

Valjean regarded his gaze, a gaze he barely saw as confused and helpless as he saw it now. And somehow it was a nice thing to see it. To know that this man was only human too. If he wouldn´t remember the last time he´d said it, he would have told Javert now that they indeed had a lot in common.

But he did remember last time. So he stayed silent.

Footsteps approached, and entered the room. Vidocq, followed by a new face.

"Messieurs." Vidocq nodded at them. "You look … ready." He turned briefly to his man. "This is Jacques." he introduced him.

"Real or fake name?" Valjean asked, chuckling and unbelievable, Javert was smirking too. Unnoticeable, but he did.

Only neither Vidocq nor Jacques seemed in the mood for jokes. "He just came from the château." Vidocq told them, totally serious. "I uhm … I´m afraid our mission will be a lot more complicated than I initially thought."

"Why´s that?"

"My men just learned of three hostages that Lecomte is holding at his mansion." Jacques informed them. "One is the baron Gillenormand."

"The baron!" Valjean instinctively searched Javert´s gaze.

"He´s still alive." the former inspector was as stunned as he was.

"We believe they kept him because they couldn´t just kill him like any other." Vidocq agreed. And yet there was still something that seemed to make him uncomfortable. "They probably tortured him to buy his cooperation." he said and Valjean understood.

"Who are the other hostages?" he wanted to know, but here Vidocq seemed even more reluctant than before.

"One is the … the grandson of the baron." he said. "A young man named Marius." Valjean´s heart stopped for a moment, cold waves rushing through his body, even before Vidocq spoke his last information. "And the other a young woman … that fits the description of your daughter."

"Cosette." Valjean had lost all the feeling in his body. "They have her?"

"They probably took them to extort the old man." Jacques explained, grimly. "That doesn´t necessarily mean that they hurt them too. But I´m not going to lie to you. It could be."

Valjean barely heard his words. His mind was numb, struck to the bone, in total turmoil. Cosette. Cosette. Oh God, please don´t. Please.

He stumbled back, more and more, until his legs bumped into something and he just dropped, luckily into a chair.

"This is all my fault." he mumbled through numb lips. "I should have never left her there. In his care. I should have taken her and left for England."

He felt hands grabbing him, shaking him, and a familiar voice that said his name. But he couldn´t react. Something just kept him from going back to the normal world.

"Can we free them?" he heard the same voice ask and a sigh, probably from Vidocq.

"Our mission is to fetch the papers. And we already plan on capturing two men from Lecomte´s household."

"Forget about those men." the voice beside him roared. "There are three civilians to be saved. Innocents. You remember that word, right Vidocq?"

"I´ll be totally honest. Fetching these two men was a risk we were willing to take, because if anything went wrong, we could have left them in favor of the other evidence. In case of these three hostages that wouldn´t be an option though. The risk would be much higher. And I don´t have enough men."

"If we steal the evidence and leave them behind …" Valjean recognized the voice of a woman – Fleuride – and the softness in her tone was so unexpected that he finally woke up. "… Lecomte will kill them." she said. "Disregarding the baron´s title. He just couldn´t afford to leave possible witnesses alive."

"No." Valjean jumped up at last, and immediately Javert´s hands were back, holding him in place. "This is my daughter we´re talking about." he cried past him, at Vidocq and his man.

"She´s right." Javert spoke, much calmer, reasonable. "They are witnesses. Their testimony can break Lecomte´s neck as much as the confession of his accomplices."

"Especially with one of them being a baron." Fleuride agreed, and it was her gaze that made Vidocq falter. He wanted to agree, Valjean could see that.

"I don´t have enough men." he said though. "For such an operation." He shook his head. "These men would have been in their rooms, most likely sleeping. The hostages will be locked away, even guarded. We won´t get around a fight if we try to free them."

"I don´t care." Valjean fought against the hands holding him. "She´s my daughter. Let me go." he demanded but Javert didn´t listen.

"I´m sorry." Vidocq sounded honest. "I don´t have enough men."

"You do." Javert threw his head around. "If you call upon the police."

This suggestion at last, made Valjean stop and halt. Did he just hear right?

"This operation is illegal as it is." Vidocq told him, as if he rather wanted to ask him: Are you crazy? "I can´t go to the police. They´d arrest us, not them."

"No, they won´t." Javert insisted. "Not if you present them with the evidence. Not when the baron tells them what they did to him and his grandson."

"They would never enter the château and arrest Lecomte. He´s one of their officers."

"They will come. And they will enter. When you tell them that their most wanted ex inspector is inside. Trying to kill Lecomte." Javert at last released Valjean from his iron grip. "I´m wanted for murder and treason." he recalled, in case Vidocq should have forgotten that. "Believe me. They will come."

"Javert." Valjean was struck, but still not enough to forget the absurdity in this suggestion. "I´m supposed to trust the life of my daughter to the police?"

But Javert shook his head. "To me." he corrected and somehow that alone made the big difference. "If you believe it or not, the police can do something." He talked to Vidocq as well. "With them being there, Lecomte can not just kill us. He wouldn´t dare."

"He could still tell them at the gate that everything is all right." Vidocq argued, mildly. "So he can take care of us all on his own, behind closed doors."

For a moment Valjean was discouraged by Javert´s silence. Had Vidocq convinced him after all, that this mission was useless? He couldn´t. Please, he just couldn´t. It was about Cosette!

"I´ll just have to make sure they see me." Javert spoke at last. "Give them no choice but to enter the perimeter." His gaze that lay on Vidocq was pure purpose, stony and unyielding as always, reflecting a confidence he had earned in years and years of experience. Something not even Vidocq could miss. "Trust me." Javert said. "I know how to do this."

Valjean took his arm, making him look at him again, and Javert seemed startled. As if he had forgotten about him for a moment.

"I cannot lose her." he whispered, begged, and Javert understood.

"You won´t." he promised. A statement, nothing more, as if he could truly promise that and it would be true, just because he ordered it. Always and forevermore, the grand and powerful inspector Javert.

And for some reason Valjean believed him.

You can leave a comment.

And thanks for reading.