Chapter 9

A/N: I am REALLY sorry for the late update! I have had lots of homework and tests. Oh, and a sleepover with my friends, where I spent most of my time (failing at) playing Rhythm Thief. Good times!

So I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Clyde would have floored the accelerator until nightfall, but the petrol tank meter was going into the red, meaning that they had to pull over at services for fuel. They would have preferred not to, knowing that Napoleon was chasing after them as they covered the miles, but they couldn't go on without fuel.

The police car turned into the nearest services and stopped at the nearest petrol pump. Clyde eyed the ever-growing queue of customers needing to pay for the fuel in dismay. This might take some time.

'Come back in ten minutes.' he said as he climbed out of the driver's side. 'Until then, you can go where you want.' He then started to fill up the petrol tank.

Charlie turned around to look at those in the back seat. 'Shall we go?'

'Why not?' answered Marie. 'It's been a while since I went shopping.'

Seeing how Marie stepped out of the car gingerly and how she always looked around, as if expecting something, Charlie said 'Don't worry about Napoleon. If he comes, we'll know about it.' It was such a shame, really. Such a young and brilliant mind scarred forever.

(Scene Break)

As soon as she stepped into the store, Marie gravitated towards a small branch of the popular music store, Paris Musician Store, no doubt to look at the sheet music. Raphael flew in after her, leaving Charlie and Fondue standing outside. 'Looks like it's just you and me.' Charlie said to Fondue, and walked off to find something relatively interesting to engage in.

Back in the shop, Marie was browsing through pages and pages of sheet music, looking for a future project. Raphael was looking over her shoulder, interested at first, but eyes flickering to the book shop every now and then. Eventually, he spoke up.

'I'm going to go and look at books.' he said, leaving her side. Marie looked up to acknowledge him.

'Oh, okay. Which one?'

'The one opposite.' he called out as he left.

Marie blinked before shrugging and turning back to the sheet music.

(Scene Break)

Charlie had finished circling the whole complex with Fondue, her search for something interesting turning up nothing. She turned and looked to the music shop, seeing Marie still there but minus Raphael. She turned around and eyed the book store. Nothing interesting about that. Just as she turned to go, she heard the beating of wings and a flash of blue, meaning that Raphael was in the book store. Seeing as there was nothing better to do, she went inside to find him.

Charlie was never quite a book person, so the immediate sight of all the books switched her brain off right away. However, she still decided to search for the bird.

She found him in the history section. He was fluttering from book to book, drinking in every fact, enjoying every moment. She approached him quietly as to not disturb him. From behind him, she looked at the books he was reading. They ranged from Crime and Punishment to the French Revolution to Napoleon. The last one she was surprised at. Was it just ironic? Or was he researching to outwit him next time round? Whatever it was, she thought he would be fed up of Napoleon by now.

'I didn't know you were a history nerd.' She stated, announcing her presence.

He turned around, looking surprised. 'You couldn't tell before?'

She thought back to his apartment, and realised. 'Oh.'

He turned back to his books. 'You obviously haven't met my friend Émile, then.'

'No, I haven't.'

There was a silence as Raphael read through the books. Finally, Charlie found something to say.

'Why are you reading about Napoleon?' she asked.

He stopped reading and looked up. 'I don't know. I guess it's just interesting. Just to learn not to be afraid.' Charlie nodded in understanding.

He paused. '… And my history project.'

Charlie winced. 'I never thought I'd say this, but, I feel bad for you.'

(Scene Break)

Charlie didn't know how long it had been before she heard the footsteps, the shouting, the screaming. This alerted the group immediately, causing them to rush out of the store to see what was going on. Immediately, they knew something was wrong, and Charlie was prepared to bet her glider it was Napoleon causing it. A closer view of the action confirmed her fears.

The first thing that occurred to Charlie was that Napoleon didn't know when the quit. He still had that confident smirk on his face that had been worn all the times before he had been brutally beaten by their strategies. But then something horrifying came to her. As Napoleon grew more desperate to stop them, his plans would become more risky and chance-taking as he referred to his last resorts. This could be very bad news for them, and make losing a very real option. This was not something to be taken lightly.

'Come on.' she whispered to Raphael next to her. 'Let's get Marie and get out before something happens.'

They backed into the music shop slowly, as to not attract any unwanted attention, and made their way over to Marie, who had been blissfully unaware of events the whole time.

'Oh, hi.' She greeted as she looked up. 'What's going on?'

'Very bad news just arrived.' replied Charlie. 'We've got to get out of here.'

Marie understood the hint and left quickly with the group through the crowd, making sure to keep low and out of sight. However, as they turned the corner, Marie couldn't help but turn for a look at the whereabouts of the attacker. There he was, still causing trouble and still desperately scanning the crowd for their presence. Marie breathed a sigh of relief; maybe they could get away without any trouble this time.

It couldn't have been for more than a second. Marie closed the last inch between her and a solid, opaque wall which no one could definitely see through. During that time, she took her last look at her attacker and his location, and completely by chance, their eyes locked. It was only for less than a fraction of a second, but Marie knew that Napoleon had seen them, and that they were all in danger. As she ducked behind the wall, she heard raised voices and screams, followed by the heart-stopping sound of a gunshot. Napoleon was taking no chances.

That gunshot signalled the mutual fear in the whole group, throwing Plan B into action; run. They took off at speeds they previously thought unachievable, as following shots ensued. Fuelled by adrenaline, the petrol station was in front of them before they could register what happened. They scanned the area for any sign of Clyde, hearts sinking when they spotted him still in the queue to pay for petrol. How long did it take? With the sound of boots and gunshots getting closer by the second, they needed a plan, and quick.

Marie was the first to come up with something reasonable. She tried the door handle of the police car and found it unlocked, which surprised her. Clyde must have expected them to come back early, and counted on the fact that no one would dare steal a police car, expecting it to be locked. She would have to thank him later, she thought to herself as she opened the door and dived for the glove box, which she knew contained a gun. She turned around and pointed the barrel in the direction of the gunshots, and waited. Marie knew that once Napoleon turned the final corner, it would be up to speed to decide the first shot, and the first casualty. He was seconds away now, and Marie was ready.

But was this for safety, or revenge?

The barrel of the opposing gun appeared from around the corner, pointed their way. Charlie, Raphael and Fondue had long since taken shelter behind the police car, and were now watching her nervously.

Marie closed her eyes, and shot.

When she opened her eyes again, Marie could see she had been close. There was a hole in a nearby wall where the bullet must have hit. Everyone was looking at her in shock and surprise, and to be honest, she felt the same way about herself as well. Napoleon was laughing, as usual, but there was no masking the newfound fear in his eyes, fear that she would not be as helpless as before.

And she silently made a promise to herself that she wouldn't.

'Trés bien, girl.' Said Napoleon, laughing. 'A good shot for a first timer, I must say. Nearly had me worried.' Marie took note of the word 'nearly'. But to her horror, Napoleon raised his pistol - which had ended the life of her friend – to her.

'It's such a shame to end such a young life,' continued Napoleon, relishing in Marie's panic-stricken face. 'However, I must. Au revoir, Marie.'

Up until then, Marie had been frozen in shock, unable to move. But now, her brain was working overtime. She couldn't be shot, or Paris would be doomed, and Raphael… she didn't want to think about that.

So seconds before Napoleon could attempt to end her life, she ducked for the open door of the police car. The bullet whizzed over her head, leaving Napoleon standing confused over what had just happened. This was the cue for Charlie, Raphael and Fondue to emerge from behind the car and jump into the back seats. And right on cue, Clyde came out of the store, and seeing what had happened, ran for the driver's side and drove the car away at police-only speeds.

(Scene Break)

Charlie was shouting at Clyde from the back seat.

'What were you doing?!' she screamed at the police officer, who was trying to stay calm behind the wheel. 'We were getting shot at back there, and you were doing nothing!'

'I couldn't hear it.' replied Clyde quietly.

'You couldn't hear it?! It was a freaking gun fight!' continued Charlie, showing no signs of slowing down. 'What are you good for, huh? Aren't the police meant to stop things like this?!' Charlie carried on ranting past the point where people bothered to listen, eventually running out of things to say. Even then, she sat fuming in the back seat.

Eventually, Marie turned to Charlie. 'What did I tell you about the police?'

Charlie was silent for an awfully long time. At last, she said, 'Fine, you've made your point. Now can we move faster, now we've got fuel?'

The police car sped off at an alarming rate, but Marie was sure she heard Clyde muttering something about Charlie driving next time.

A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I dragged myself away from Pokémon White 2 to type this up!

Funny, I was re-reading some of my old stories not so long ago, and I'm sure at the time I thought they were great. But now, I think 'What the heck did I write?' …is that just me?

Don't worry, there will only be a few more of these in between chapters left before I get on to the real action! Thank you to those who make my day by reviewing, and thank you for reading this story! Until next chapter!