Sorry for another epically long wait. Next one shouldn't be so bad. Enjoy!

Mr. Barrett

How does one think like this Phantom? That is how I must find him. That is how I find any of my targets. I allow myself to become them, and in doing so I learn their decisions before they even know them. But how does one think like this Phantom? It is rumored that he is devilishly intelligent. Finding my way into his head will be more than just difficult, but I will find myself there one way or another. It is what I am good at. In fact, one would say I am too good at it. It has gotten me into much trouble in the past. I fought the inclination to wince at the thought, and my hand instinctively went to my pocket watch.

Bad memories must not be allowed while on the job. I had to catch this Phantom. It was the only way things could be made right. I walked out of the shop that Christine Daae had visited. It was a very busy street…a perfect place to get lost in. Regardless of her true motivations for being with the Phantom she would want to keep their location a secret. This shop is likely far from where they are staying but not out of walking distance. She would want to steer clear of coaches. A driver could easily remember a beautiful young girl like that if questioned.

I made my way to another local shop owner that had a fruit stand on the corner. "Excuse me, Monsieur?" I got his attention. He was selling an apple to a customer. It was a younger gentleman, barely out of his teens I would assume. There was an older gentleman…sixty or so sitting behind him in a chair sleeping. The man looked at me…he had a large grin that faded when he saw me. I assumed it was my all black and trim attire. I purposely dressed to intimidate.

"How may I help you?" he responded politely trying to regain his cheerful demeanor.

I brought out the picture of Mademoiselle Daae. "Have you seen this woman?" I inquired.

The boy almost laughed. "Of course I have, Monsieur." He nodded to a wanted poster not ten feet away. "They're all across town. I doubt anyone in Paris hasn't seen her."

I fought the urge to show my displeasure at his response. "No! You crude! I mean have you seen her in person? That shop owner just over there reported having seen her just a few hours ago."

He frowned at my response. "There's no need to be rude," he said. Instinctively, he took a step back from me toward the sleeping old man. "No, I haven't seen her."

"Are you certain?" I persisted, impatiently.

"I don't think I would forget Mademoiselle Daae if she came here," he answered. A large line was starting to form behind me. "Now, if you'll excuse me…we crudes have to make a living." He waved me off and turned his attention to an older woman behind me.

How could I even determine which way she went in this mess? There had to be nearly 500 people in this square right now, and it was not even the busiest hour of the day. I was about to walk off when I felt a tug at me trouser. I looked down to see a little girl, no more than five or six, staring up at me with big amber eyes and two missing front teeth. She was dressed in filthy clothing, and there were dirt smudges on her face.

She pointed to the poster with Christine Daae's face on it. "Preddy," she said. I rolled my eyes at her and tried to walk away, but the girl clasped her tiny hands to my trousers and practically dragged me to the ground. "See was very preddy when I saws her."

"You saw that lady?" I knelt down to stare the girl in the eye.

She nodded and pulled something out of her pocket. It was a glimmering, gold coin. "I said see 'ad preddy 'air, and see gave me dis."

I pulled another coin out of my pocket. The girls brown eyes lit up when she saw it. Taunting her, I played with it in my fingers. "This is yours if you can tell me which way she went."

"Dat way!" She pointed toward the East exit of the square. Her other hand went to grab the coin, but I snatched her wrist before she could do so.

I pulled her close, and whispered menacingly in her ear, "You will pay a far bigger price if I discover you're lying to me. Understand?"

The girl looked terrified, but she nodded in understanding. I released my grip on her, and she ran off, disappearing into the crowd.

Brushing off my coat and trousers, I stood up and began to make my way through the crowd of people down the street she had indicated. A general direction would not find the Phantom for me, but it was a start. At least now I did not have to search the entire city, but the option was still open. My guess that she was staying no more than a mile away and she would not keep straight to the path.

I stopped a moment and closed my eyes. She's hardly older than a child, and she's likely very confused. I opened my eyes, and used the environment to guide me. I came to the first intersection. Which way would she have gone? There was a busy café on one side, and the other side was a relatively empty residential street. She would want to stay away from people so I chose the residential street.

When I came to the next crossroads I saw a pair of officers standing at the corner talking. They regarded me with suspicious eyes. I was not particularly fond of cops these days, but I needed them. "Constables," I greeted most amiably as I approached them. They did not appear pleased at my interruption of their conversation, but I pretended not to notice. "I am in need of your services."

One of the officers looked at the other, and then back to me. He seemed to be trying to recall something and hoped his partner would aid him. "Do I know you?" he asked.

His question sent a shot of rage through me, but I hid my displeasure. "No sir, I do not believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance." I held out my hand trying my best to be civil.

With an air of caution, he held out his hand and returned the pleasantry. "What can I help you with, sir?" he asked.

"I was curious to know if you two were in this area about two hours ago?" I inquired.

The officer's partner raised an eyebrow. "And why would you want to know that?"

I did not dare tell them the true cause of my inquiry. "I was walking around here this morning after breakfast, and I believe a pit pocket took my coin pouch from right under my nose. I was curious if you two saw any mischievous characters about in your patrol this morning?"

They both looked at me curiously. "We have been patrolling here and the next few blocks all morning. We have not seen anything suspicious. If you want we can file a proper report down at the station," he answered.

"No, no…not much was lost. More of a minor inconvenience really. Thank you fine officers for you aid." I tilted my hat to him and was off before they had another second to inquire.

Knowing the route of the officers would help me form the path that Christine Daae likely took. For the next hour I walked the surrounding area, and let my instinct guide me on the route it believed Christine would take. It led me to another square quite close to the Populaire. There were several shops and restaurants on one side, some offices on the other, and an old hotel on another. There were not very many residences to take shelter in the area, and since this was the richer part of Paris there were no abandoned buildings either. The cops had longed ruled the area out as a place for the Phantom to hide. They figured he would be near the edge of the city or in the surrounding forests. Never would they guess that he could be practically right next to the building he had made his home.

I eyed the hotel. It would be very bold to hide in such as a spot, but it could also be very rewarding. I went into the hotel. It was an old but quite extravagant building. The façade was covered with intricately carved marble angels that were falling apart from the building's age. It did not decrease its beauty though. The degrading statues and cracked façade gave it an antique look that added to the appeal.

I walked through the old oak door. There were several aristocratic looking people in the lobby. A couple of women sat drinking tea and chatting in a lounge sat off to the side. At the front desk a finely dressed gentlemen was arguing with a nervous looking concierge. The interior of the building was just as lovely as the outside. All of the floors were polished marble in a black and white checkered pattern. To each side of the entrance were several sitting areas with the finest furniture money could buy. Above me was a glimmering chandelier that was at least ten feet long. All of its crystals shined a beautiful pattern over the marble floor.

Upon making my way inside I went straight to the main desk. A beautiful young woman dressed in a deep red dress met me with a large smile. "How may I be of service?" she greeted.

As with the officers before, I knew I could not tell the truth. The case was too high profile. If Christine and the Phantom were at this hotel then I could be the only one that knew of it. If anyone else knew of their whereabouts then all of Paris would be at the doors within fifteen minutes.

I faked concern for my con, and began to muster up all the feigned grief I could manage, "Yes mademoiselle. I am afraid my wretched daughter has eloped with a no good man! I have been searching for several weeks for the two inconsiderate lovers, and I believe I have finally discovered their location to be this very hotel. Please…do you think you can help me confirm if they do indeed reside here?"

The woman looked very concerned for my situation. Her big brown eyes widened with distress. "I want to help you sir…but for the safety of our guests we are not allowed to disclose any information. My father owns the hotel, and I shall never hear the end of it if I compromise a guest," she explained.

I frowned. "Please my dear. She's not even eighteen! Some forty something year old pathetic man has bewitched her, and I am afraid he will rob her of her virtue if he has not done so already. Her mother is a wreck…my entire family will be shamed forever. You have to help me!"

She seemed very tense, but I could tell she was debating what to do. She looked to the man who was still arguing rather violently with the gentlemen. "Ok," she acquiesced rather reluctantly. Carefully, she walked down the counter and grabbed the guest registry book.

"They know I am tirelessly looking for them…they would not have used their real names," I explained to her.

"Then how am I to help you?"

"Are there any peculiar guests that are remaining very secretive? Or any guests at all that stick out as odd?"

Her eyes went low, and I could see her mind working. "The guests in 113 have not been seen at all, and they have declined to have their room cleaned. Plus none of our workers remember signing them in…," she told me.

"That's perfect! Thank you mademoiselle!" I tilted my hat to her and darted out of the lobby. My instincts told me this was where the two were hiding. Now I just had to catch them.

Christine

We did not leave the hotel until it was late into the night. Erik had received quick word from Nadir that confirmed he would help us escape the city. He apparently already had a plan sat, and we would be out of Paris and in the country by this time the next day. It was a comfort to know that we would be out of the city so soon. Without all this paranoia and fear of being caught perhaps Erik and I could finally get onto living our lives together.

I peeked through the window. There was no one within sight. Erik was dressed in a long black cloak that covered his white mask. He still looked creepy and menacing, but at least if someone saw us they would not immediately think it was him. He snuck easily through the window, and then he turned to help me do the same.

To say I was scared would be understatement. If we were caught Erik would lose his life, and then I would lose mine as well. Erik was my life. I would not survive without him. We stayed close as we scurried through the streets to Nadir's house. It was two miles away. Erik and I had are hands wrapped around each other as we walked. It was quite cold and he kept me close to keep me warm.

We had scarcely made it half a mile when Erik stopped. It was so sudden a halt that I nearly fell from the surprise of it. "Something's wrong," he whispered. He turned around. His keen eyes were practically glowing in the moonlight. A man soon came into view across the street from us. He was standing by a lamp pole and appeared to be casually smoking a pipe, but even I had the sense to know he was watching us.

Erik started walking suddenly again. His strides were so long that I struggled to keep up. He was practically pulling me. We stayed far away from the man that was smoking the pipe, and he did not move but appeared only to observe us. Once we passed him, I turned around and noticed two more men come into sight. I could see the glint of metal from rifles on their shoulders in the slight light of the moon. I began running, and then Erik started to have trouble keeping up with me.

We turned a corner and were stopped in our tracks. Three men were spread across the street…blocking it. Two of these men had lamps in their hands. Now I could easily see that they were armed. They also had rope. A twinge of anger shot through me. They meant to capture and harm Erik. Monsters!

Erik turned around to walk the other direction, but the men from before were close behind. We went the only direction that was open to us, but two more men came out from another street with rifles pointed at us. We were cut off. There were eight men in total, and all of them were aiming guns at us.

One of the men came out of the lineup. "Come Christine," he said as he held out his hand to me. "You're free now." I did not like the man's voice, his look, or anything about him. I wanted to grab his rifle and shoot him with it.

I held Erik's hand tighter. My lack of response enticed the man to speak further. "Do you not want to be free of this monster? We're here to rescue you."

"I do not need to be rescued. I am with him of my own accord!" I spat. Erik was surprisingly still and silent to the whole ordeal.

The man smiled. "I thought as much. The Viscount does not understand your refusal of him. He thinks you're under some kind of spell. I was not so easily convinced." His eyes then turned to Erik.

"It appears the woman actually loves you. It is a wondrous feeling to love and be loved in return, is it not?"

Erik did not respond.

"Either way. A job is a job. I don't want any blood to be spilt here tonight. Give yourself up and none shall be spilt."

"Erik," I said to him. "Do something! You can take these men. I have seen you in action."

Erik looked down at me. "You have to go to them, Christine."

I was in a state of shock. "I will do no such thing!"

"I will not have you die for me," he said.

"It's you they want to kill, Erik…not me."

"Their weapons are pointed you, my love," he said. I stopped my ranting to look at the rifles of the men around us. Every one of the rifles was indeed pointed at me, not at Erik.

"You would sooner die than give yourself up to us. But I knew you would not let Christine die," the man explained. "That's the thing about love. It makes us week. We are slaves to its protection."

"You horrible man!" I cried to the monster before Erik and me.

"I want him alive more than I want you Mademoiselle Daae. It will be easy to explain to Paris how the sinister Phantom…without second thought…allowed you to be killed to save his own skin," he told me. "If he gives himself up none of that will happen. He will be given a fair trial, and you will return to the Viscount or the Populaire and live out your life."

"A fair trial?" I laughed. "Those that do not wish him dead can be counted on one hand. It would surprise me if they do not hang him immediately!"

"That is none of my concern," the man acknowledged.

I was about to walk over to the man and strangle him myself. Let them shoot me! Erik seemed to have read my mind though. "Christine." He pulled me close to him. "Go to him," he whispered lovingly to me. There was a tear in his eye.

"I will stroll to the gates of hell before I give myself up so easily," I snapped.

Erik smiled at me, and removed a disheveled chocolate curl from my face. "You are a little hellion, aren't you?"

"How can you smile…" he cut my words off with a kiss though. There was so much sweet longing in his kiss that I could not help but return it, and when our lips parted there were tears in my eyes too. I knew it was over, but I could not accept it.

"I will not let you die for me," he spoke softly in my ear. Then, before I knew it, he had taken a rope from under his cloak and tied my hands in it. He then threw me over his shoulder and brought me to the man.

"No, Erik!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I fought and fought as hard as I could. I kicked…I screamed…I punched, but it was to no avail. One of the men picked me up and brought me to a carriage.

"I love you, Christine!" Erik called to me. I was too angry to return his proclamation.

The last thing I saw before the carriage door closed was one of the men binding Erik's arms. Then the door slammed shut, and I was left in darkness.