Sorry this chapter is so short. I've been busy editing the previous chapters and trying to get my non-writing work done.

Thanks to L'Ael-Inire and PhantomInspector for their reviews!

Half an hour later, all the reports had been sorted- both alphabetically and by level of importance to the town. They sat in several neat piles in the bottom drawer of Lebete's desk with some minimal notations added in Javert's neat, even handwriting. Javert himself was sitting in a wooden chair with his back to the unlit furnace, idly paging through a case summary. Two fingers of his right hand curved up along the side of his jaw and his chin rested on the remainder of his hand, giving him a peacefully intent, almost muse-like appearance.

It was in this position that Lebête found him.

After glancing at the vanished pile of papers, and checking the bottom drawer to make sure he hadn't burned them (though the absence of smoke might have led him to that same conclusion), he turned to the inspector with a slight scowl. "You've done this before?"

"You could assume that," Javert replied, not lifting his eyes from the summary. "Have you checked the sewer system?"

"What?"

Javert removed his fingers from his jaw and tapped at the paper he held in his left hand. "The sewers, it is often the case that crucial evidence can be gained from searching them. A… waterway holds similar possibilities."

Lebête's face turned a brilliant red. "How the… no, we have not checked the sewers, or the river for that matter! Why should…!"

"I suggest that you do so." He set the paper down on Lebête's desk. "It may be of the utmost importance to the case."

With this final statement, he gazed expectantly at the man before him as if to say "now what was it you wished to see me about?"

Luckily for both the officer and his charge, they were interrupted by the sound of the main door being nearly ripped off its hinges. "Monsieur Lebête!" a breathless voice called out, causing both their heads to whip towards the noise. "You'd better come quick. A rebel has escaped."

"You," he said, pointing to one of the two other officers present. "Lock him up. Make sure… make sure he doesn't give you any trouble while I'm gone." With that, he glanced at the inspector, swiped his hat from the coat-rack and hurried out the door.

Moments later, the loud bang of a pistol rent the air—once then once again. The two younger men glanced at each other before hurrying towards the door, leaving Javert where he was sitting.

Now those of you with any sense of self-preservation may be wondering why at this point our inspector didn't just walk out the back door. He was no longer bound, no one was watching him, and he wasn't particularly fond of the policeman or his lackeys. It seems as though such a situation would have been a favorable one for getting on a boat and heading to Rouen. However, this was not Javert's way. Not only would such action mean defying the law, he also found that he was beginning to feel like his old self again, namely like a solid enforcer of justice. Thus it was with a cool, calculating air that he got up from his seat by the furnace, folded his hands behind his back, and walked over to the window, from which he could see the road below.

The stone-cobbled street was in a state of confusion. The two officers were fighting with a young man, who was brandishing a pistol over his head- presumably his father's from the war. The boy kept pulling the trigger, though nothing came out since its only bullet had been fired several moments ago. Monsieur Lebete was leaning a few feet away from them against the small iron-wrought fence that bordered the station. From where Javert stood, he could just barely see a trace of blood coming from between the officer's fingers as he clutched his shoulder. However, our Inspector soon realized that Lebete was not the only one injured. A man whom Javert barely recognized as one of the gendarme from earlier lay in the street—or at least what remained of him. From the strained expression and the blood seeping from the man's skull, one could presume that his body was all the remained of him and that his soul had already disappeared.

Reviews are appreciated as always!