Me: Hooray! I finally finished this chapter! :D (God... took me long enough.)
Tintin: Oh, good. :I
Me: ... what is it this time, Oh-Quiffy-One? :/
Tintin: Nothing. I'm just happy that I'm not being beaten up or dying in this chapter. :)
Me: ... Ah! Well, I'm glad you're happy. :D
Tintin: I'll even do the disclaimer today. AkuRoku18 does not own The Adventures of Tintin (I'm sort of glad she doesn't...), or is she making a profit off of this fanfic. :)
Me: Thanks, Tintin! :D Wait... what was that part in the middle? :S
Tintin: Which part? ^^
Me: The part about you being glad that I don't own the Adventures of Tintin...? ^^
Tintin: Erm... :/
Me: ^J^
Tintin: ... I don't want to know what that face means. D:
Chapter 4
October 16, 1940
Tintin awoke in a white room with a little window to his right and a chair to his left. He was lying in a nice white bed with several pillows propped up behind his head. The sun was shining pleasantly outside, streaming in through the window. It must be the afternoon… Tintin thought. He pushed himself up slightly and cringed. His side felt as if someone were digging a hot fire poker into the skin. Tintin decided it would be best not to move and lay back into the pillows. What I do for a living… The door opened and a nurse walked in with a familiar face behind her. It was Nileas.
"Tintin! It is good to see you're awake," he said with a relieved, yet tired smile on his face. He was carrying a glass of water for himself. Somewhere behind him, the reporter heard Snowy's bark and the little white dog weaved between Nileas's and the nurse's legs. He jumped onto Tintin's bed and started to lick his face.
"Augh! Snowy! Stop that, you mutt!" Tintin cried amusedly, trying to shove the dog away from him. His side gave another throb and he muttered, "Ow."
Nileas whispered to the nurse, "Boroúme na eímaste mónoi?"
"Nai, kýrie," she replied and left the room, shutting the door behind here.
"I thought I asked you to leave Greece," Nileas said sternly after the nurse had walked out of earshot.
"I was going to, but I dug up some information that you need to know!"
"And what's that?"
Tintin exclaimed, "The Italians are going to invade Greece!"
Nileas dropped the glass he was holding and it shattered on the floor. "Ti? You'd best be joking, Tintin!" He muttered, "Thélete kalýtera na mi̱n vrísketai…"
"I'm not joking. The people that kidnapped me and probably attacked you are working with the Italians. They're called the Order of Hades and I heard them talk to one of Mussolini's generals! The Italian army will be here on the 28th of October, and Greece not only be ruled by a dictator; it'll be enslaved by the Italians. Do you want that, Nileas?" Tintin asked angrily.
Nileas stood silent, suddenly finding interest in the cracks of the white wallpaper. He finally spat out, "Óchi. You know I don't, Tintin."
"Then, you'll help me?" asked the reporter, sitting up straighter. Even Snowy looked expectantly at the Greek.
"… what sort of plan did you have in mind?" Nileas replied heavily, as if he didn't want to ask.
"You're not going to like this, but I need to see if Metaxas will heed my advice," Tintin said, earning a sharp glare and something that sounded like a choking noise and a growl.
"WHAT? You're kidding! You're out of your blasted mind!" Nileas roared. Tintin was sure he had made each person in the whole building jump. The black haired Greek hissed, "If you weren't hospitalized, I would punch you."
The younger male furrowed his brow and retorted, "I'm glad those men shot me."
The two locked eyes briefly, blue and blue-green. Then, Nileas said, "I'm sorry, but how do you know that Metaxas will listen to you? He brushed you off the last time you met."
"I have to try. And if he doesn't take my word, then it's up to us and the 'Naó tou Poseidó̱na' to take out Abaddon and the Order of Hades."
The Greek nodded and said, "Very well. I can get you into the Parliamentary building without the guards noticing, but you shouldn't try to do anything risky yet; you are still injured, you know." He glanced back at the door as it had opened. A nurse was standing in the doorway.
"Eínai óla entáxei?" she asked. She was carrying a clipboard with something clipped to it.
"Nai, nai . Nómiza óti sas zí̱ti̱sa na fýgo̱?" replied Nileas, giving her a look of annoyance.
"Ahh! Lypámai, kýrie!" the nurse cried, quickly shutting the door. Her footsteps echoed throughout the hallway.
Nileas sighed and ruffled his messy raven hair. "Alright. We'll wait a couple days for you to recover, then we'll—" He stopped talking abruptly when he saw Tintin climbing out of the hospital bed. "… what are you doing?"
"What does it look like? Let's get moving," replied Tintin. Snowy leapt off the bed and barked. He walked briskly to the little chair. His clothes were washed and neatly folded on the chair. "Ahh… there we go. I'll have to ask you to step outside, Nileas. I'm going to change."
"W-wait! If you think I'm going to let you do this now, while you're hurt, you can forget it!" said Nileas, his voice rising. When Tintin said nothing, the Greek continued, "Tintin! Are you even listening to me?"
"Intently," Tintin said cheerfully.
"Grrr! Come now, be reasonable. You were shot, for Zeus's sake!"
"Your point? I've been shot plenty of times before."
Nileas's shoulders sagged and he grumbled, "I'll be waiting outside." He slowly turned around and left the room. The reporter sighed and he unbuttoned his hospital shirt.
"I can understand his concern, but there are more important things going on now, Snowy," he said. The little white dog yipped. Tintin pulled off the shirt and exchanged it for his own button-up shirt. He looked briefly at the bandaged mess that covered his side. "I'll just have to carry on with this wound." Some movements pulling on his blue sweater made his side throb painfully, but he ignored it. "After all, this is for the greater good, eh, Snowy?" Snowy barked.
Eventually, Tintin had completely changed and met up with Nileas outside of the hospital. He startled several nurses on his way out. When he came outside, he asked, "Well, are you ready to go, Nileas?"
"I still think this is a bad idea," Nileas muttered, but he nonetheless followed Tintin as he walked away from the white building. "Tintin, are you sure? If this plan of yours goes wrong… you could wind up dead."
"I've cheated death before. Even when things were the most bleak," Tintin said with stark confidence.
"Oh, really. Like how?"
"You've heard about Professor Calculus's famous Moon-Rocket expedition, right?"
"Yes, I have. It was in all the newspapers."
"Well, when the rocket was off course and there was little oxygen left, I still managed to correct the course just in time. I thought it was curtains for me and my friends, but we still made it back to Earth," explained the reporter, putting his hands in his pockets.
Nileas stared at Tintin incredulously and said, "They didn't write that in the article I read."
Tintin laughed, "That probably would have been too distressing for the public." His Greek companion chuckled.
"Of course. I'm glad that at least you're assured that your crazy plan will work," Nileas said seriously. "I just don't know how you're going to convince him… Metaxas, I mean."
"Oh, I can be very convincing when I want to be," said Tintin slyly.
"Alright, if you say so."
"Now then. For your part of the plan, it needs to be dark outside…"
Soon, it was past seven o'clock and Tintin and Nileas were ready to deploy their plan. Nileas led the reporter and the dog behind the Parliamentary building. He knew of a secret door and passage that led straight to Metaxas's office. It was sort of an escape passage for the ruler if anything were ever to happen.
"You're going to have to hurry, Tintin," Nileas whispered. "Metaxas always goes out for a walk from seven to eight, so…" He checked his watch. The hands showed it was seven twenty. "You've got forty minutes."
"Easy," Tintin said, opening the door. Snowy was about to jump into the passageway, but Tintin said, "No, Snowy. You stay out here with Nileas, alright?" Snowy barked defiantly. "Snowy. Stay," the dog's master said firmly. The little white dog huffed and stood next to Nileas. "Good boy. Nileas, if I don't come back half an hour after eight, just execute the rest of the plan without me." The raven haired Greek nodded, so Tintin stepped through the trap door and into the dark passageway.
"Good luck," Nileas called. Snowy howled softly. The door shut behind Tintin, turning the whole passage pitch black.
"Great." Tintin pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket. "This is why I have my torch." He turned it on and said, "Much better." He followed the long passage until he came to a ladder that led straight up. I wonder where in Metaxas' office this will lead… Tintin checked his own watch. It read seven thirty five. "Good, I have plenty of time." He grabbed the rungs of the ladder and began to climb.
Eventually, he came to another trap door. The edges were lined with soot. Does this come out from underneath the fireplace? Tintin thought. Holding on to the ladder with one hand and with the flashlight clenched firmly between his teeth, he started to feel around the stone, trying to see if there was a lever or button to open it. But there was nothing. How do I get into this place if there's no lever? He pushed up on the stone slab, but it didn't budge. He furrowed his brow and went up another rung to push on the stone with his back. Crumbs! I can't move it! In his frustration, he punched the center of the slab. Tintin swore inwardly and examined his hand. He had split the skin on several knuckles. The reporter heard a mechanism click somewhere and the slab rose out and over. Hmm. That's different. I suppose getting angry at the thing is how you open it.
He climbed up the remainder of the ladder and into Metaxas' office. Tintin checked his watch again. Seven fifty. Metaxas would be back in ten minutes, supposedly. He crawled out of the fireplace and looked around the office. No-one home, he thought. He pulled up a chair from across the desk and sat down heavily. Now we wait. Ten minutes passed. The reporter looked at his watch. Eight o'clock. He should be here soon.
Another ten minutes. Eight ten? Where is he? Tintin stood from the chair and cautiously walked to the doors. There was some muttering from the other side of the wooden doors.
"Eínai ekeí, so̱stá?" a voice asked.
"Nai. Tha párete to álma páno̱ tou," the other voice replied. Tintin backed away from the doors and stood with his back against the wall next to the doorway. The doors swung open and the guards ran in, truncheons raised. "Poú pí̱ge?" the guard on the right asked.
"Den xéro̱…" the other said. Tintin carefully grabbed a candlestick from the table next to him and snuck up behind the right-hand guard. He hit the guard over the head, knocking him out. He crumpled to the ground, and his companion whipped around, cosh raised. "Ti sto diáolo?" he cried, bringing the bludgeon down on his enemy. But Tintin was too quick. He rolled to the side and smashed the candlestick against the other guard's neck.
The reporter said quickly, "Sorry about that. I'm really just here to see—" Ioannis Metaxas appeared in the doorway. "… Metaxas," Tintin finished.
"What the hell are you doing in here, boy?" Metaxas roared. He took a few paces forward and looked at the two unconscious guards. "How did you beat these two?"
"I'm sorry, sir. I was defending myself. I need to speak to you about a very important issue, sir," Tintin said, dropping the candlestick and raising both hands. "You see? I'm not here to hurt you."
Metaxas pulled a Smith & Wesson Model 1913 semi-automatic pistol out of a holster at his waist. He pointed it at Tintin's heart and shouted, "Get out of here now! Before I kill you!"
"Please, Metaxas, just hear me out," the young man said almost pleadingly. The angry Greek lowered the gun slightly and nodded. "Sir, there is going to be an attack on Greek soil."
"Hmph. You're lying."
"I'm not lying! The Italians are going to come to Greece and take over your country, Metaxas," explained Tintin. "They will enslave your people and force them to be subjected to Nazi rule." The dictator lowered the gun further and stared in disbelief.
"You must be joking, boy," Ioannis growled.
"I keep telling you, I'm not. I overheard a Greek anarchist plot with an Italian general. They said they would attack on the 28th of October."
Metaxas remained silent for several moments, then muttered in a low tone, "Get out."
"What?"
"GET OUT, BOY!" Metaxas thundered, raising the gun again. Tintin ran past the dictator through the door, just as he started to fire. He heard shouting in Greek (mostly insults) and multiple shots fired, but he just kept running. Several flights of stairs later, he sprinted out of the doors, panting. The young man took a minute to catch his breath, then jogged back behind the large stone building where Nileas and Snowy were waiting for him.
"What happened? I heard gunshots…" Nileas asked worriedly. Snowy leapt into Tintin's arms, licking his face.
"Stop it, Snowy!" chuckled Tintin softly. He put the dog down and said seriously, "Metaxas didn't believe me."
Nileas snorted, "I told you he wouldn't. He's as stubborn as a mule."
"Yes… but now we go through with the rest of the plan, without his help," Tintin said. He crossed his arms and continued, "We and the 'Naó tou Poseidó̱na' will take down the Order of Hades ourselves."