Chapter Three

Violet was fascinated.

The man that Arlo had called Dewey - Dewey Denouement, he had explained to Violet - was leading the three children through the corridors of the V.F.D. Headquarters towards what he called the main hall. Violet looked around as she passed a variety of rooms, from classrooms to kitchens, and from dormitories to observatories. From these rooms, she saw an assortment of people, from young children to adults older than her parents. All of them seemed to be friendly, and gave big smiles as she walked past with Dewey, Klaus and Arlo. Whether that was because of who they were or who Dewey was, she didn't know.

Before long, Dewey Denouement had led the three children into a larger hall at the centre of the building. There was a long table that ran down the centre of the room, and there were at least a dozen doors that all led off to different parts of the Headquarters. A few people were sitting down at the table, but Violet found none of them to be recognisable.

"V.F.D. is a communist society," Dewey explained to Violet and Klaus as they arrived. "There is no actual leader. Long-serving members of the organisation form the council who make our decisions. Currently, the council is of forty-eight members, but not all of them are always here. Often, many of our number are away on important missions. This hall serves as our council room." He paused for a moment, making sure that the two Baudelaire children had understood him. "Today, we're holding a council meeting to decide what should be done with you three now that you're here, and how we should go about finding Jacques Snicket, who was carrying an important file that I have need of."

"When will we be meeting our father again?" Klaus asked curiously, not entirely sure where his parent was within the Headquarters.

"He'll be attending the council meeting," Dewey replied. "Few of us have served this organisation longer than Bertrand."

"Is he well?" Violet asked, remembering once again Count Olaf's associate firing a harpoon into the Stricken Stream, and hearing her father's screams echo out over the Hinterlands.

"He's improving," Dewey replied, which is a vague answer, although a positive one, so Violet chose not to pursue matters further.

More people were filing into the hall and filling up the seats at the table. Although they were all new faces to the Baudelaires, Arlo recognised many of them, either from his previous visit to the Headquarters or from them stopping at his home, the small V.F.D. Base in the Verdant Valley that his father ran. He knew many of them by name; Montgomery Montgomery, Mr C.M. Kornbluth, Olivia Caliban. Others, he merely knew by sight, but he still found their faces reassuring.

Finally, when the influx - a word which here means "stream of people entering the council hall" - had slowed, one last person entered the room. It was a short, blonde-haired woman who wore glasses, and she came running over towards the three children, smiling. However, she quickly found herself in the arms of Dewey Denouement, who introduced her to the children as Kit Snicket.

"You're Jacques' sister?" Klaus asked once she was introduced, which was a stupid question, considering he already knew the answer.

"He's my twin," Kit replied, smiling. "I believe you were travelling with him on your way here."

"Yes," Klaus said. "We were, but-"

"When will our father arrive?" Violet asked Kit, interrupting her brother before he said anything inappropriate. Violet had no idea whether she knew that Jacques had gone missing after his helicopter was shot down.

"He'll be along soon," Kit replied confidently, and I'm pleased to say that she was right. Soon two important-looking women in white overalls came rushing in along with a gurney, which is a type of mobile bed often used to transport patients around hospitals. On this day, the patient in the bed was the weathered figure of the Baudelaires' father.
"Father!" both Violet and Klaus shouted at the same time, and ran over to their parent, overjoyed. Neither sibling had known what to expect when they had arrived at the Headquarters, and they were pleased with their father's condition. He wasn't anywhere near full fitness, as he was still confined to a hospital bed, but he wasn't in a life-threatening condition as the Baudelaires had feared. He looked tired and low on energy, and he had layers of bandages around his torso. His face was unshaven, which seemed odd to Violet and Klaus, as they had known their father to shave every morning for as long as they could remember. But despite what life had thrown at him, Bertrand Baudelaire seemed happy, and that was enough for his children.

"Are you alright?" was the first question asked, but surprisingly it was the father doing the asking, and the children doing the answering.

"Yes, we're fine," Klaus answered, smiling down at his father. "We've had a rough ride, but we're alright."

"I wish the same could be said for mother and Sunny," Violet said sadly.

"Listen here," Mr. Baudelaire said confidently. "The organisation are doing everything within their power to find Beatrice and Sunny. There's no reason to worry."

"Have they found them yet?" Violet asked. "Because Klaus knows where they are."

"Really?" Kit Snicket said, who had followed the Baudelaires over to their father. "How did you find this out?"

"When I was captured by the Firestarters," Klaus replied. "After Jacques' helicopter crashed."

"Jacques crashed?" Apparently Kit hadn't heard of her twin's fate.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "He survived, and left the helicopter behind. We don't know where he went, but we know that he has the Snicket File."

"What's the Snicket File?" Violet asked, but nobody answered her.

"How do you know about that?" Kit asked Klaus. She appeared very concerned.

"A man asked me if I knew where it was, when the Firestarters caught me."

"What was he like?" Kit asked.

"He was bald," Klaus said. "But he had a beard. And he spoke in a hoarse, scratchy voice. Who is he?"

"We do not speak of his name," Kit said. "He is a very treacherous man. One of the first defectors at the start of the schism. You are very lucky to have escaped, Klaus. Few others can boat of escaping the man with a beard but no hair."

"It wasn't really due to me that I escaped," Klaus admitted. "If it wasn't for Violet and Arlo, I'd still be stuck there."

"Then all of you have already risked your lives for our organisation. That is more than I could possibly ask of you three, so young and so brave," Kit smiled. "I trust that you wish to become members of V.F.D., Baudelaires?"
For a moment, Violet and Klaus paused, unsure of themselves. If their parents had wanted them to become involved, then surely they would have told their children about V.F.D.? But they hadn't been told, and they were involved anyway. With two members of their family missing due to the schism in V.F.D., Violet and Klaus felt as though thrived to play a part. And anyway, they were now responsible young adults, and they no longer needed the parental protection that was needed five years before. At fourteen and twelve, Violet and Klaus were nowhere near adults, but they could look after themselves, and make their own decisions.

"Of course we do," they replied together confidently, and Kit's smile grew broader.

"I hope you take after your parents, Baudelaires," she said, still clinging to Dewey. "They are among the most noble of us."

Violet opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off when a bell rang out loudly across the Headquarters. She guessed that it was nearby, as she had to put her hands to her ears to protect them from the loud noise, as did Klaus and Arlo, but the other V.F.D. members didn't really react to the noise. Violet assumed that they were used to it.

"Well, that signals the start of the council meeting," Kit explained. "Come with me, children."

Kit Snicket led the three children to the long table at the centre of the hall, and Violet couldn't help but feel anxious.
After all, the future of her brother and herself would be decided by the men and women around this table.