Me: Whoa! :O
Tintin: Wh-what? :O
Me: It's finally the end! :D
Tintin: WHAT? REALLY? I'M FREE! :'D
Me: Well I still have another fic to finish, so no. ^J^
Tintin: Damn. DX
Me: Anyway, I do not own The Adventures of Tintin, nor am I making a profit off of this story. Enjoy the end! :D
Tintin: Yes please. :'D
Chapter 10
September 27, 1940
Tintin, Snowy, Eloi, and their newest companion Kaylie had taken refuge at the doctor's office. Tintin told Kaylie about his most recent adventure from the beginning: the first time he was captured by the Nazis, being trapped in the cave, learning von Gottfried's motives, and so on.
"It sounds like you've been through a lot in the past couple weeks," Kaylie said while she examined Tintin's nose. She was able to stitch up the gash and his nose had swelled up a bit. "I'm amazed you're still alive."
"To be honest, I am too," Tintin said.
"So what's your next move?" she asked. Tintin crossed his arms.
"I imagine now that von Gottfried has escaped, he'll be coming after me," Tintin said softly. He looked at Kaylie with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "So I figure I'll set a little trap for him."
"Oh you will now? And what's your brilliant plan?"
"Oui… Tintin, you haven't even told me yet!" Eloi piped up.
"I figure the British army wouldn't be too happy to learn a Nazi fugitive was in their country," Tintin said.
"You're going to use the British army to capture this man?" Kaylie asked, "How do you plan on getting them to believe you?"
"A few years ago, I stopped a dangerous counterfeiter in Britain. You could say they owe me one."
Kaylie looked skeptical, but she said, "Let's hope your plan works, then."
Axel von Gottfried disembarked from the ferry. He was dressed in civilian clothes, but under his coat in a holster was his favourite pistol. If Tintin couldn't bring him glory being alive, then he decided the best way to bring him fame was to end the reporter. He smiled to himself as he showed the border patrol officer his fake papers. He went by the name of Steve L. Styles.
"Welcome to Britain, Mr. Styles," the border patrol officer said, handing von Gottfried his papers.
"Thank you," von Gottfried said in a near perfect English accent. A car was waiting for him at the docks. He got in and told his agent to drive him to his hotel. He sat in the back of the car, grinning maliciously to himself. Just you wait, he thought, Tintin… you will be dead by the end of the evening!
As night fell, Tintin and Snowy were taking a small stroll through the streets of Oxford. He had reported to a soldier that a Nazi spy would be in Britain. Hardly believing him, the soldier had taken Tintin to his commanding officer. Fortunately, the commander had recognised Tintin from the papers and believed his story.
"Lovely night, eh, Snowy?" Tintin asked quietly. Snowy yipped as if to disagree. Tintin couldn't help but feel uneasy. After all, a crazed Nazi out for blood was hot on his trail. A breeze picked up and he shivered. When would von Gottfried show himself? As if on cue, he heard a familiar, spine chilling voice call:
"Guten Abend, Herr Tintin." Tintin turned on his heels and saw a figure standing under a street lamp. He recognised the monocle and scar immediately. Two other men were standing with the Nazi.
"Snowy," he hissed softly, "Get Eloi and the commander!" Snowy barked and darted off.
"Get that dog!" von Gottfried ordered. His two men sprinted after the little white dog. Von Gottfried turned to Tintin and slowly walked towards him. "Have you missed me terribly, Herr Tintin?" he asked mockingly.
"Surprisingly enough, no I have not," Tintin snapped, "How did you manage to escape prison?"
"Oh, Herr Tintin… you think just because I was stripped of my rank that I didn't have men still loyal to me?" Von Gottfried laughed coolly and said, "It was easy enough to escape and track you down. I have men stationed all across the globe, all of them watching for you."
"You're really that obsessed with me? If I didn't know better, I'd say you have a thing for me," Tintin smirked. He grinned when he saw how annoyed von Gottfried looked.
"How childish," von Gottfried growled, drawing his pistol. "Say, Herr Tintin, how much do you like hide and seek?"
"I'd say it's my favourite game. Don't tell me you want to play," Tintin said, eyeing the pistol. He reached towards his own pistol nestled in his back pocket and drew it. "This will be a dangerous game of hide and seek, I see."
"Quite perceptive. I'll give you to the count of fifty to hide. If I find you, you will be in the obituaries by tomorrow morning," von Gottfried said, grinning. The street lamp's light glinted off his monocle as he started counting.
Tintin darted off down the street. He really means business! he thought, Where is the commander and his troops? I could really use them right about now!
At that time, Snowy had made it back to Kaylie's office, barking his head off. Eloi was the first to notice that two goons were chasing him. The tall Frenchman charged at the two men and stuck out his arms, close lining the two thugs who were unable to stop in time. Eloi picked them both up by the collars of their shirts and growled, "Why were you chasing this dog?"
"I-it was Herr von Gottfried's orders!" one of them cried.
"And where is he now?"
"J-just follow the road," the other stammered, "He's down the street with that reporter boy." Eloi dropped the two and said to Kaylie:
"Ring up the commander. We have to save Tintin!"
Tintin was hiding in an alley, panting. He looked around and found a fire escape. He put his gun away and leapt up to the ladder, pulling himself up. As he was darting up the stairs, von Gottfried shouted, "Found you!" He fired two shots. One clanged off the metal of the stairs and the second grazed Tintin's arm, but the reporter kept climbing. Soon he was on the roof, sprinting across to the next one. Von Gottfried had climbed up the fire escape by the time Tintin had taken aim on the third roof.
The reporter fired a shot. The bullet blew the monocle clear off of von Gottfried's face. "Not another step!" Tintin yelled, "I'm quite the dead eye!" He saw von Gottfried grin and continue walking towards him. Tintin fired another shot, this time at the Nazi's feet. The shot didn't seem to phase von Gottfried even as his foot bled. He kept walking.
"I'll kill you… I'll kill you…!" von Gottfried chanted, firing off more rounds. None of them hit Tintin except one. The bullet drove itself into the reporter's shoulder and he fell back. Soon von Gottfried was looming over Tintin, gun pointed at the reporter's head. "So this is it…" he murmured, "Soon you'll be dead and I'll be famous!" He cackled and pulled the trigger. It clicked. The gun was empty.
Tintin saw this was his opportunity. He knocked the gun out of von Gottfried's hands before he could reload and tackled the Nazi to the ground. The fight was a flurry of fists, feet, and elbows, whatever they could use to hit each other with. Soon, Tintin heard someone shout:
"Halt! Axel von Gottfried, you are under arrest!" Von Gottfried shoved the reporter off of him and saw twenty or thirty British soldiers with rifles pointed up at him. Out of fear he put his hands in the air. "Come down quietly!" The Nazi did as he was told, climbing down the fire escape and leaving Tintin a panting, bloody mess. Once von Gottfried was apprehended, paramedics retrieved Tintin from the top of the roof and he was immediately escorted back to Kaylie's office. On the way back, he blacked out.
September 28, 1940
Tintin awoke in a nice bed with Snowy curled up at his feet. His wounds were treated and his arm was in a sling. Eloi was sleeping in a chair next to him. The Frenchman woke up slowly, stretching and yawning. His face lit up when he saw the reporter. "Mon ami! You're awake! Good morning!"
"Good morning, Eloi," Tintin said, grinning.
"How do you feel?" Eloi asked.
"Like I've gone to hell and back," the reporter admitted, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. He stood up and stretched. Eloi stood as well and asked:
"Now what?"
"I suppose I'd best write my article for once!" Tintin joked, "But in all seriousness, I think I'll return to Marlinspike. I need a nice long break."
"Understandable," Eloi said, nodding. He patted Tintin on the uninjured shoulder and said, "I'll escort you back. I need to get back to my home in France, anyhow."
"It'll be good to travel with a friend," Tintin said. After thanking and parting with Kaylie, Tintin, Snowy, and Eloi were on a train back to France. At the De Marcation line, Tintin and Eloi parted.
"Be sure to write, oui?" Eloi asked.
"Of course!" Tintin said, clapping Eloi on the shoulder. "You be sure to visit Marlinspike when all this nonsense has passed!"
"I will! Adieu, mon ami!" Eloi waved his hat as Tintin's train pulled out of the station.
This has certainly been an adventure, Tintin thought, but von Gottfried is safely behind bars and I've got an article to finish! After that, I'm taking a long vacation till Le Petit Vingtieme needs my expertise again!