Chapter XI
Tintin Fugitive, part IV
-But ma'am.- Thompson said.- As I said before, it's impossible!-
-To be precise...- Thomson continued.- ... Vlamynck died earlier that day... in a prison fight!.-
-And his death was confirmed the next day!- Thompson added- According to the officer's report, Joshua didn't move a muscle when he was in the hospital!-
-Detectives, my memory never lies.- Daniella said.- Despite the newspaper or the reports saying otherwise, that man is still alive.-
-But how?- They asked
-Now that's something I'm not sure of.- the old lady said.- I suggest you to check the papers from the beginning. I believe a "continuity error" will appear.-
-How do you know that, grandma?- Diane asked
-Because this is an inconsistency.- Daniella replied.- How could a "dead" man kill the same day he was hospitalized with at least one officer taking an eye to him? It makes no sense. And, as I believe, there's at least one person in the law body who's a double-crosser.-
-And how do we find out who he is?- Thomson asked
-That's up to you, detectives.- the kind old lady replied.
-xxx-
It's around 5:40 p.m.
Allan and Tom, now with a hound at their side and three more men, have been searching on places they already had a look at. So far, they've found nothing.
-I can't believe it!- Allan cursed- We've been searching for hours and there's not sign of him!-
-Easy, Allan.- Tom said as he was trying to calm him down.- I don't think getting angry will suddenly make that boy appear in front of us.-
-It's not your head Gérémi's going to chop off from your body, pal!- Allan continued.- So don't tell me not to get angry. If I fail, I'm dead!-
Suddenly, the hound growls.
-What happens, buddy?- Tom said to his dog. He pets him and then turns his sight to the airport. He was then confused, because a lot of people were entering and leaving the place.
-Hey, wasn't the airport closed because of the red alert?- He asked to Allan
-Yeah, it's supposed to be closed.- Allan replied with a suspicious voice. -let's take a look to the place. He might be there.-
-Come on!- Tom said to his hound.
The men then approach the building. They decide to stay there and watch the people going and leaving the place. Then, Tintin, still dressed as "Jean-Pierre Talbot", appears to leave the airport. The hound then growls, pointing to the blond-haired lad.
-What is it, Butch?- Tom asks to his dog
-Tell your dog to get a better nose, Tom.- Allan replies.- That blond kid is obviously a Mennonite.-
-How do you know?- Tom asks
-Look at his clothes, man. Denim and rural-themed.-
The hound was still growling.
-I think that "Mennonite" is the reporter, Allan.-
-I don't believe a word, Tom.-
-Then at least let me prove I'm right.-
-Fine, go ahead.-
Tom then called the lad by what Allan thought he was.
Tintin turns his head and sees the men.
Not again. The lad said in his mind and ran.
The men and dog followed, and the chase started.
-xxx-
Meanwhile, Thompson and Thomson were being told off by Lt. Bertotti in her office.
-I can't believe you disobeyed my orders!- she said
-Miss, to be precise...- Thomson said, but then he was interrupted by the Lieutenant.
-Shut up!- she continued with her raging voice.- Remember I said a false clue always appears in cases like this? Well, that's why I told you to consult me if something like that appeared!-
-But...- One of them said
-Let me tell you something.- She continued with a sternly, quiet-like voice.- At what point did it seem like a good idea to you to accept that "clue" and then to remove the Red Alert? What made you think all the papers and reports my officers have done are all lies because of continuity errors? - Says as she becomes much angrier.- Do you realize Tintin might have now escaped to God-knows-where? You have the idea of what you have done? Of how much money will cost of repairing this critically serious damage of yours? Seriously men, what's wrong with you?-
-We have nothing wrong.- Thompson said
The Lieutenant then glares to the dim-witted detectives as she was sitting down and holds up a piece of paper. She then signs it and hands the document to the males.
-Gentlemen, take the next airplane and go back to Interpol.- she said and then she sat on her chair and gave the back to the men.- You're out of the investigation.- and then, she points to the door, menacingly.- And now get out of my sight! Harold Doppler is going to take your place.-
-Harold Doppler?- Thompson asked very surprised.
-You can't replace us like that!- Thomson defended
-Of course I can!- She replied.- I'm the Lieutenant and you are under my control. What you did is unforgivable.-
-But he only solved a few cases!- Thompson said.- He's not qualified for this!-
-To be precise...- Thomson added.- ... he's not a professional like us!-
-But he, unlike you, has resolved those cases without that murderer friend of yours!- She replied menacingly.- Now get lost before I call the guards!-
The men then left.
-Expelled! This is unfair!- Thomson said as he and his partner were leaving the building
-To be precise, what an injustice!- Thompson added
-She can't do this to us! She's a woman!-
-Don't be such a sexist, Thomson!- the detective scolded
-Seriously, who gave her the power of being such a mean person?-
-Well, let's see... the council, the court, the people, the...-
-Okay, enough!-
As they were walking by, they saw Snowy walking across the street.
-Hey, isn't that Snowy?- Thomson asked
-Indeed he is!- Thompson replied.
-Let's go with him! He might be searching Tintin!-
Then, both detectives were about to walk through the street, when suddenly, a lot of cars appeared.
After a few minutes, the cars finally stopped, and they went towards the dog.
-Uh-oh!- Snowy said in his mind.- I've been spotted!-
And then, the dog ran.
-Wait, Snowy!- Thompson said as he was running to catch the dog.
-We're no longer searching your owner to send him to execution!- Thomson said.- Come back here!-
-We can help you to find him!-
After hearing this, the white dog started to doubt about what the detectives said. He finally decided to stop and went to them.
-I just hope you're telling me the truth.- Snowy barked.- If you're lying, I'd be sure I'll be biting you until death!-
-I know you're upset about Tintin's disappearance, Snowy.- Thomson said as he was calming the dog down.
-You know his smell, and we can help you to bring him back safe and secure.- Thompson added.
-We've been fired.-
-And the Lieutenant can't do anything against us if we solve this case by our own.-
-Oh, that's an excellent idea, Thompson!-
-I came with that up when she told us we were fired.-
-Heard that, buddy? What do you think now?-
-Do you want to find Tintin with our help?-
Snowy barked in agreement.
And the search for Tintin started.
-xxx-
Meanwhile, Tintin was still running, and the men and the hound were after him. He continued running until he went another way, making them lose him out of their sight. He puts his case down briefly as she looks around, trying to recover his breathing. The barking of the hound is suddenly heard. The lad then picks up his case and continues running until he arrives to the abandoned area of Palermo.
He stops to look around for a bit, trying to search with his sight a vehicle or a phone, even a gun. Whatever worked to save himself was worth it.
The sounds of the hound continued and were getting stronger each second. Suddenly, it disappeared, and another sound followed. He preferred not to imagine what happened to the animal. He then opened his case to search his gun, but then closes it after he remembered he didn't bring his gun to the trip.
Because his surroundings were now deadly quiet, Tintin turns back, and sees the men have arrived to the place.
- After him, boys!- Allan ordered.- Let's get him!-
The men chased Tintin. The reporter entered to one of the rotten buildings and saw it had a lot of doors. He looked back and saw the men were approaching, and, like in his past adventures, he changed the banners of each door and left three open. He went through another one and closed it, to evade whatever the men were going to do to him after he's caught.
Allan and his crew arrived moments later, and, with the exception of the first one, looked very confused with the opened doors.
Suddenly, Allan recognized this was one of his little tricks.
-Slip up and search every door.- said Allan.- I'll go in this one. Don't lose him if you happen to find him!- he said as he went through the one which appeared to be the one Tintin took earlier to escape from their sight.
After he left, the men stared at each other.
-I think we should call Gérémi.- One of them proposed
-Good idea, Scott.- another one said.- Tell him we lost the boy.- replied sarcastically
-He'll kill us if we say that.- Scott replied
-Guys, just give him a call.- Tom replied as he was going through one of the doors.- Tell him we have cornered that nosy kid.-
Tintin meanwhile was running past some piles of rubble inside the building he was in, trying to search a safer exit while being chased like a fox. He hears a noise and hides behind one of the piles. The reporter tries to recover his breath and, with caution, he peeks his head out and takes a quick look to his surroundings, extremely tired. Suddenly, he hears that the faint-like sound was steadily increasing and then turns back.
Someone was around.
Tintin then tried not to make a single sound and decided to wait until whoever was there left the place, or at least the room.
After a few minutes, that sound finally vanished. Thinking it is safe now, the Belgian reporter slowly gets up to leave to the door at the end of the hall of the room. Unfortunately, that someone, who turned out to be Allan, spotted him from behind a column and shot the lad's arm immediately.
-AH!- Tintin screamed as he held his arm in pain.
- You think you've outwitted me, but believe me, I'm a patient man, and you and your tricky little games have already got under my skin.- Allan said with a calm voice as he was watching Tintin trying to stop his bleeding.- You resulted to be a bigger pain in the neck than any other living being would have ever thought possible, you knew that?-
Tintin didn't reply as he felt it was better not to respond to his insults. He was trying to stand up properly, not mattering how painful it was, or making him losing his balance.
-Odd... standing like a toddler.- Allan continued, laughing calmly.- What are you going to do now, boy? Recover your balance until you die? We'll see that.- He points with his gun, but then, Tintin manages to kick his enemy in his abdomen, resulting in the man shooting to the roof and a little amount of rubble fell into him, leaving the older male on the floor.
-I see you're busy resting, Allan...- Tintin replied as he was recovering his balance.- ...so I'll leave you here.- said as he left the room.
Tintin then runs onto the nearby exit of the construction, which happened to be in front of him, at a three-meter distance. As he runs, Allan, with a few cuts and dust on his face, suddenly corners him. Tintin then reverses direction and heads towards a window and jumps from it to the roof of a building a little smaller than the one they were. Allan repeats the same and follows the reporter before he disappears from his sight.
Meanwhile, below, outside the building, Gérémi finally arrives and approaches the men, who happened to be waiting for him, quickly.
-Where is that nosy boy?- the old man asked angrily.- Why is Allan not with you? Answer me!- He demanded
The men didn't know where both males were. They tried to invent a believable excuse as Tom started to feel drops of water falling on him. He looked at the sky. It was starting to rain. Then, he turned his sight towards the building in front of him, and saw the chase, dark clouds being formed, and a few lightings in the background.
-There they are!- Tom pointed at them.- Allan Thompson's got him on the run.-
Back with the two males, the rain started to get a little stronger as the chase was getting more suspenseful. The place was about to crack as Tintin finally jumped to the next building. Allan followed him, and smirked as he managed to reach the floor of the construction at the same time the previous one collapsed.
-You know?- Allan commented as his sight was focusing on Tintin.- It's an honour to be one of your enemies. I must confess, you're a fair game.-
Tintin didn't reply back, as he knew his speed would lower. Instead, he continued running, being careful at the same time because of the presence of water puddles. The rain is not an ally when life-risking situations are present.
The intrepid reporter then saw a window and jumped through it, landing in the fourth floor of the most fragile building from the abandoned area. Allan follows him, but when he arrives, he sees nothing but water puddles and more rubble. After looking left, right, up, and down, he cursed and punched one of the building's walls at the same time it started to crack.
Part of the wall got destroyed, and, with one more punch, the remaining of it fell to the ground, and then, Allan saw Tintin was in another building.
Thompson smiled, and hurried up before the lad could escape from his sight again.
Tintin, meanwhile, was trying to think on a plan to escape and give the police a call. However, since he was in Italy's "Ghost Area", the probability to the officers to arrive was very low. They believed ghosts and some kind of diabolical spirits surrounded the place. He had to think on another option. The lad stopped for a moment to recover his breath and energy. He was starting to sweat; his body wanted to feel heavy, and, ironically, his temporary rest was not helping on recovering energy.
Suddenly, Allan arrived, spotted him and chased the lad, who was now running again. The chase was getting intense. Tintin started to throw the stuff he had near him, like a few chairs, tables, light furniture, and more things an abandoned office could have. Allan slows down a bit when he jumps or evades those obstacles and follows Tintin into the building's balcony.
When he gets outside, he sees the rain getting a little weak, his men and Gérémi watching from down on the ground. Tintin was nowhere to be seen.
-Up there!- one of the men said.- Climb the stairs! He's there!-
Allan then looks out where one of the men said and finds Tintin finishing climbing the stairs to get to the balcony above him. The 40-something-year old European then follows and continues chasing the 23-year-old up to the high point of the tall building. The lad runs up to the edge and sees the only way to escape was jumping to the roof of the next abandoned place: an old, burned house. Allan leaps up to catch him at the edge. Tintin was now tired enough, with a giving up expression as he recognized he was cornered and at Allan's mercy.
-It's over, wonder boy.- Allan said with an evil grin.- Everything ends here.-
Tintin glanced at the burned house once again, wondering if he would be able to end in one piece if he manages to jump to that roof. His breathing was getting stronger, his heart was beating fast, and his body felt heavier and heavier. The reporter was now thinking this was surely the end of him. The rain's rage started to grow, the wind was getting stronger, the clouds were turning to a darker shade of gray, and Allan was finally getting closer to him.
-There's nowhere to escape.- Thompson continued as he gave a little, serious laugh. –And there's nobody to save you this time.-
Then, lightning strikes between the men, igniting a fire and breaking the building apart into two halves.
Having no choice, Tintin then jumps to the roof while Allan was still paralyzed because of the thunder almost striking him.
-Jump, Allan, jump! Follow him!- said one of the men who were standing in the ground in a safer distance.
Allan follows the instructions as he recovered, but, as he reached the second half, another lightning hit the building. Because of the magnitude, the man slipped and fell off the building, hitting the ground.
Tom then rushes down to help Allan, who was not moving, and probably not breathing, but he is then swatted aside by Gérémi, who was horrified upon thinking the worse.
-Boss...?- Tom asked to Bonilla
-What are you waiting for?- Gérémi said to Tom.- Chase that pest! Do whatever it takes to bring it to me! I don't care if you kill it now!- said with a demanding, yet sad-worried voice.
And then, Tom went off to chase Tintin.
-Allan? Allan!- he continued with that tone
The gangster nudged Allan, but he didn't respond. He then rubbed up against the unconscious man's cheek, and the head rolled back in place after the action. Bonilla then checked Thompson's pulse.
Very weak.
He sighed, anxiously, and tried not to cry.
-Don't think on vanishing now.- Gérémi continued.- Not when we're so close to exterminate that nosy reporter!-
Suddenly, a gunshot is heard.
-xxx-
A/N: I hope you liked this. And I also hope Daniella the muggle and Commander Pinkie Pie have enjoyed their cameos once again. Maybe in the remaining chapters you might make another appearance, I'm not sure, to be precise xD
Also, for those who complain about me not using the quotations: I wanted to have a different "writing" style, but, if it still bugs you, I might make my next fanfics with the quotations instead, with the exception of the remaining chapters of this fanfic and "The Beginnings of a Young Reporter". Those are already started and they'll be finished with the dashes, you like it or not.
I'm still on medical treatment (but not as critical as the last time), and the chapters might take longer to submit, so sorry about that. I have a real life, remember? I also need to finish my final projects for my classes, and I have tests to pass (if I get a 9.9 (10 being the perfect score), I'm going into a murderous rampage and the teachers and stuff will be the first! ... okay, not really... or not sure yet... if you know what I mean.
I'm also thinking in updating the "Circle of Paris" trivia (the first part of this trilogy, aka my first Tintin fanfic, for those who don't know), as I found the document with (part of) my original ideas, so, here they are:
*Originally, in "Seeing Red", Tintin was actually going to be shot, but not killed, and Remy was going to be taken to the police department (as he was the only witness). While in there, the man was going to be investigated by the detectives (since they somehow didn't believe him), thus, resulting in finding out Mr. Van Kuifje is Tintin's father. In the final version, Remy dies and Thomson and Thompson just find out the man used a fake name, and somehow, they never notice the resemblance between Tintin and the Germaine that appears in the photography of the files.
*Gérémi's fake name in the old folks' house is Tien Betancourt.
*In "There's something about Remy", Tintin figured out many of Remy's sketches were in fact "chapters of his life as a family man". Between those, there was an aging concept of Tintin as a baby. The lad sees it and thinks Remy was trying to "study" his face, as the last sketch in that paper depicted a 40-year-old Tintin and the first was a newborn one. This part was removed for obvious reasons.
*Also, that chapter's original name was "About the events of last night..."
*In the chapter "Father knows best", Remy and Germaine were going to be sitting in front of Tintin instead of appearing out of nowhere in the "White Nothingness" scene.
*Dan Rawlins and Lloyd Williams were intended to appear in a chapter that never made it to the final fanfic: "Right Turn Ahead". This was about Captain Haddock following Remy to a coffee shop in front of the police station. Mr. Van Kuifje then meets with his lawyer and assistant to fix his will, and refuses to tell Mr. Rawlins the reason of the "sudden change" of it and why was he leaving all his stuff to a (famous) certain person (in the end of the fanfiction revealed to be Tintin). In the meanwhile, Tintin and Snowy were studying the gangsters and defeating the real Nameless. This took place between "The Arrival of Paris" and "Undercover Tintin, part I". However, parts of the scrapped chapter appear in the both mentioned and the defeat of the "One and Only" was briefly mentioned in the Epilogue.
*The female whom Tintin imagined to settle down with was Martine Vandezande (Rodier's version). This was just added as a joke, since many fans believe she was going to be a potential candidate to be the reporter's girlfriend.
*Remy being a police informant was inspired by the cover of the comic "The Adventures of Hergé". Mr. Van Kuifje was originally going to be a gangster, with his Boss and the rest of the members still being unaware of his real name and life as a married man. Instead of Yang Wu finding out he was an informant in "Truth be Told", Remy (using the fake name of Nathan Meister) was getting rid of a member of a rival group and then saw a female child watching him how he was killing his father. "Meister" then fled the scene, forced Germaine to go back to Brussels with their son, and faked his suicide the next day. Unlike the published version, his wife never learnt what Remy was really doing at nights and had the belief Mr. Van Kuifje didn't really loved her.
*As confirmed by the author, Remy was still working as an informant, even when the papers implied otherwise, explaining his trips to Paris. Also, the man appeared to have the same dream as Tintin's, knowing this trip was going to be his last one.
*According to the author, if Tintin never found out he was related to Remy, and the man remained alive, the reporter would have thought he had a "new kind of fan" and Mr. Van Kuifje would have returned to London, to continue his life.
*In a scrapped part of the Epilogue, Tintin gave to Captain Haddock a few English Pounds and the keys to the Antique Shop. This is mentioned in the Chapter I of "Tintin in Mexico".
*After "The Circle of Paris" ended, a few fanfictions claiming Tintin's real name is Augustin started to appear in the site. However, it could be a coincidence.
BTW, if I have grammatical mistakes please tell me (and where are they xD)!
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