I need to apologize to everyone who reads this. I was very absent lately. I know. I´ll try to post the rest of this story in due time.
Heat of Action
Javert had no idea what Valjean was up to. Why he was doing the things he did. It was still odd to him, to know how much time had passed since he´d learned that the old con was in Paris, only a day before he´d been ordered to take care of an expected revolution. A revolution that was now three years in the past.
What had happened? He´d lost three years. And now he was riding beside a criminal he´d hunted for much longer than that. Not on his way to a station-house. Not with Valjean in cuffs. But with an agreement that could only be called insane.
Maybe Valjean really wanted to save that girl. Maybe it was only a trick to get him, Javert, to drop his guard. He must know that he had no other choice but to follow these kidnappers to save her. Could it be that this kidnapping only came just at the right moment for this convict, to divert Javert´s attention so he could slip away?
It wouldn´t happen. He wouldn´t allow it. What Valjean claimed was just impossible. An insane idea of a mad mind. Friends with a criminal. Him? Quitting the police? For a criminal? It was pure madness.
He trained his eyes to the ground, concentrating on the tracks. There was only one way they could have taken. This path had not split for over an hour. And by now it was obvious that they were heading into the hills. God, where were they taking her?
They reached an elevation and the view revealed their real destination.
"The tracks." Valjean exclaimed, staring at the hillside rising after this low depression before them. Two tracks ran up that hill and just as they looked a train loaded with coal was hoisted upwards, while a long row of horses got led to the other side, alongside, much faster than the train.
"What the hell is that?" Javert heard himself ask, unable to take his eyes off this strange scene.
"I … I believe they drag the train over the hills with hoists." Valjean answered, just as mesmerized as he was. "The horses can´t carry the weight so they …" he cleared his throat meeting Javert´s gaze, embarrassed. He must have known the question was merely rhetorical. But his unease lasted only one more second, before realization came over him.
"They must plan another attack on the train." he cried. "That´s why they´re here. They …" he stared at the hoists again, and Javert could almost read it on his forehead.
"And they took the girl along for the fun?" he asked, startling the old con. "You´re not making much sense, Valjean."
"I don´t know what they´re up to. But they didn´t come here for nothing."
"I agree." Javert replied but obviously Valjean did not understand the irony in his tone.
"You follow the tracks." he decided, as if he was the one giving the orders. "Find Michelle. I´ll warn the workers." And with that he would have turned his horse around, to ride off and away, had Javert not blocked his way.
"I told you, 24601. You won´t leave my sight." When the old con only stared, uncomprehending, he dared him: "What is more important, Valjean? This girl´s safety or a phantom train sabotage that comes very handy just now, when you actually have to face me and your just punishment?"
The blank gaze turned dark, instantly. "It´s not a phantom. And I´m not lying to get away. I want to do the right thing."
"Then come with me and save this poor girl."
"Fine!" Valjean spurred his horse, down the other direction, leaving Javert to follow him.
...
"I see them." the criminal holding Michelle said.
"Good. You know what to do."
The other man nodded, and grabbed Michelle, taking her from the first man. He began shaking her. But the girl only shook her head, rooting her feet fast into the ground. It was more than clear that she would refuse to walk another step or scream, no matter how much they tried to scare her.
As much as he hated it, but she really wouldn´t leave him any other choice.
...
The scream echoed over the whole place, and Javert´s heart skipped a beat at the sound.
"Michelle!" Valjean cried beside him, just as he spotted the two men, higher up the hill, between the trees. One of them was twisting the girl´s arm. A moment later the convict was gone from his side, trying to spur the horse up this very steep slope.
"Stop!" Javert roared, scared by the sight. The horse would fall, and hurt itself AND Valjean in the process. Maybe even fatally. Thanks God the animal was agile and much smarter than Valjean. It managed to catch itself, after sliding and losing its balance. And after this failed attempt of obedience it simply stayed where it was, refusing to obey Valjean´s demands, too scared to try again.
Valjean jumped out of the saddle, impatiently, and hurried to climb the slope. And Javert, in his lack of any other option, did the same.
Halfway up this hillside, he saw one of the two men leave, out of sight, while the second man dragged the girl away. Under different circumstances Javert would have ordered to split up, so each of them could follow one man. But the circumstances were not normal, and he was working with a convict he could not trust. He would be gone, possibly with the girl, before Javert would have caught up to the second criminal. So he abandoned this man, in favor of the other. He´d serve better if he helped to save the girl, he told himself. And by doing so he could make sure, Valjean would not bolt.
"Don´t!" he heard the girl cry out. "This is a hmmmpf."
The man had gagged her, his huge hand over the her mouth. And Javert felt a jolt of anger. Yes, this man was much more worth his attention right now. Valjean seemed to agree.
"Let her go. I swear you´ll regret it if you don´t."
"You approach from beneath." Javert instructed without thinking and sped up to climb higher. And without even seeing it, somehow he knew Valjean nodded, no hesitation at all.
"Let go of the girl and surrender now!" Javert ordered the criminal, without decreasing his climbing speed. "If you do, your punishment will be smaller. Think about it! You won´t get away!"
He knew the man would probably not listen. They never did. These calls were mere tries to distract the man. Sometimes it worked. Making them listen, making them focus on him, the source of those shouts, while forgetting about the second man. With some luck, Valjean would be able to get to the man in a moment of inattention.
He saw the man, still holding the girl in his chokehold. And he was backing off, away from him. Good. He had his attention.
Javert followed. He was now on the same level as the criminal. His feet still slipped once in a while, but mostly he could walk, using trees and bushes as hold. And at last the trees gave way to the hillside, prepared by the train company, to fit the tracks into the landscape. The rails went there, and only a bit higher from them, the hoists were squeaking and screaming with a deafening noise, dragging up yet another train, loaded with tons and tons of black coals from the nearby mines.
Javert sped up. His feet had much better grip on this earthy ground. But the kidnapper had the same advantage. Javert spurted uphill, towards the relentless hoist, to cut off the man´s escape, and yet again diverted his attention towards him, off of Valjean. It worked. Until the man realized that someone was coming up the hill from behind him.
"Give up!" Javert demanded again. "Surrender yourself."
The man glanced behind, at the approaching Valjean, clearly estimating his chances, before his gaze changed. And Javert did not like this change.
"Victor!" he cried, at a point behind Javert, and the inspector guessed he now knew where the second man had disappeared to.
He swirled around, expecting an attack, but instead his eyes needed a moment to actually spot the man. He was at the hoist. No. He was coming FROM the hoist. What had he done there? Hiding? It didn´t make sense.
If Javert had had more time to actually think this through, he might have understood it faster. But as it was he had merely seconds to register all these things at once, before the scream of the girl disturbed his mind yet again.
"No!" Valjean roared and when Javert swirled back to them, he saw the girl, just hitting the ground – right in the middle of the tracks – and Valjean jump after her, while the criminal ran away.
Javert considered following the man, but only until Valjean called his name, desperation and fear in his voice. The tone only irritated him for a second. When he saw the reason, his considering whether to run after the escaping criminal was finished. A girl, who´s foot was stuck between the iron of some tracks while the heavy train was slowly but surely closing in, left no room for consideration.
Valjean was trying to pull her out, and when that proved impossible, he frantically began untying her boot. Riding boots. Way too high up her leg to be opened in time. The train was almost there. The two of them would be crushed, slowly but without mercy.
"Stop this hoist!" Javert roared, hopelessly over the tracks, hoping in vain that someone would hear them on the other side. Someone who operated the hoists. Only a few more meters and the train would be at them. He ran, towards the hoist. There had to be a lever somewhere. Some sort of emergency stop mechanism.
Four meters. Valjean was still not done untying her boot. The girl pulled and pulled, frantically, but her foot was stuck.
Javert couldn´t see a lever. Only the huge wheels and the enormous wires pulling the train up this hill.
Three meters.
If only he had something to put between the wheels. It would stop the machinery, right? But he had nothing.
Two meters.
And that was the moment when he saw it. Just for a second, a tiny glimmer, wandering along a thin ropelike thing, before it vanished out of his sight.
"JAVERT!"
The train was there. But so was the fuse. Javert knew what would happen, a heartbeat before it did. And for a moment time itself seemed to have slowed down for him. Only for him. He could see it all. The huge hoist, moaning and huffing under the weight it pulled up the hill, the movements slowed down in a strange way, as if the whole world had gotten sluggish. The screeching of the train´s wheels on the iron tracks, way too close to Valjean and the girl at this point. Valjean´s cry and her´s too, both of them sounding as if they were miles away, not the mere twenty meters that separated them from Javert.
The figure of the culprit he´d seen coming from the hoist mere minutes before, watching him from a safe distance, mesmerized, as if he too couldn´t take his eyes off that scene. A scene that he had created.
Javert had no idea how he managed it to swirl around before the explosion happened. But somehow he felt his feet starting to move, running towards Valjean and the girl. He could see the old con´s gray head, bowing over the girl – again way too slow – as if he could protect her from getting crushed by this train. He didn´t know that the real danger was not behind them.
It was behind Javert.
And just as the inspector opened his mouth to cry out for them, he heard the roaring sound of flames shooting up behind him. He felt the heat, in his back. Something hit him square in the shoulder, something big and hot and it knocked him down.
He flew, the world swirling around him and landed in the dirt by the trees, his mind already numb. What he saw when he opened his eyes was a dream. Unreal. Horrible. He saw the train, huge, like a monster, towering over Valjean and the girl. It stopped, inches away from Valjean´s ankles, while burning fragments flew all around them, from the exploding hoist.
The wires that had pulled the train uphill snapped off like cords, flipping away. Javert saw one of them miss Valjean´s back only about mere inches, as he threw himself over the girl again, hoping against any hope. Somewhere in the distance he could hear shouts and screams. Men. But too distant. Way too distant. Just as the world, it all seemed to retrieve, away from him. Shapes, sounds, even the light. Until everything was dark.
...
Valjean only knew that hell had broken lose around them, but he was too scared for Michelle to dare and look up. He held her safe – he hoped – beneath him. If anything should strike down on them, it should hit him, not her. At one point he´d felt the draft of something coming close but he didn´t feel any impact. Close call.
And then the noise that had felt like an impact all on its own, was fading. He didn´t have to look to know that the train was rolling back down the slope, derailing, thundering downhill and crashing where it had started its way up. It was an awful sound, but it was distant. Like a storm just behind the horizon. A little further ahead he heard the last hopeless movements of the destroyed hoist, much louder, until it broke down for good, and was just dead. After that the only sounds left was the fire.
He looked up. The shady light of the evening was lightened by dark burning spots, confusing his eyes.
"Hurry." he urged Michelle´s foot out of the boot, at last. They needed to get off this track, away from this hoist, in case it should explode again.
"Javert!"
He didn´t get an answer.
Michelle got up, her boot in hand, and jumped out of the rails, before she quickly slipped it back on. And that was the moment, when Valjean saw him.
He lay at the treeline, in the shadow. He´d almost overlooked him.
"Antoine!"
His foot got stuck on the rail, and he tripped. He barely noticed. There was blood, too much blood, on Javert´s back. The blood and shredded clothes made it impossible to see the whole damage, but Valjean knew that it was too late. A wound like that would kill a man, if he didn´t get medical attention instantly. And they were miles away from the city. If Antoine wasn´t dead already he´d die within minutes.
Valjean tore his own coat apart, pressed the cloth to Javert´s back and frantically wrapped the rest around him, to somehow at least resemble a bandage.
"Michelle!" he shouted, but the girl was already standing right behind him. Pale and silent. Who knew for how long.
"Move." he ordered her. "Search the horses. We left them at the bottom. Hurry. We need to bring him to a doctor. Go!"
And she ran, without objection, downhill. He saw her dodge, and vanished between the trees. Because the bottom of the hill was blocked with the burning wrack of the train. Valjean didn´t dare to hope that any of the workers down there were able to help them anymore. Oh dear God why? Why did they do that?
"Antoine!" he turned the lifeless man around. "Antoine, can you hear me?"
But Antoine didn´t respond. His eyes were closed, one cheek bruised and bloody. But Valjean believed to feel that life was still in him. That his friend was still in this shell that God had given him on earth. But for how long? How much time did they have?
He glanced down the hill again, considering to cry out for help. Some workers must have survived this. Maybe they could help. Maybe.
But it was hopeless. Even if someone was down there, they wouldn´t even hear him. Michelle would call them, he knew she would. She was bright. She knew looking for the horses would be in vain. The animals would have fled. And with them even the last hope to bring Antoine to a doctor was gone as well.
The panic came in one big rush, threatening to crush him under its weight. He could feel it, coming over him like a wave. Merciless. And fast.
"He won´t make it." someone spoke up, disrupting the silence, and Valjean jumped, and swirled around, ready to fight this new threat. "His body is in shock already." the man with the gun told him. "And if he doesn´t bleed to death, he´ll die from blood poisoning, considering what probably hit him. He´ll die in any case, long before you reach the city. Slowly. And painfully."
Valjean panted, glaring at this man. And as he looked, the criminal pointed his gun at Antoine.
"I could keep him from that fate." he said, but Valjean had already moved, blocking his line of fire. This man would not shoot Antoine like a rabid dog. Not while he was here.
The man reacted surprised at the action, and raised a brow, chuckling. "So you´re willing to die for your friend." he commented. "That makes my offer much easier."
"What do you want?" Valjean snapped, trying to estimate if he could attack and win a struggle. But in this moment he spotted the second man, a few feet behind the first. Also armed. No, there was no chance. Not with Antoine bleeding to death behind him.
"I want you." the man answered his question. "You´ll come with me. Without struggle …"
"I´m not leaving him." Valjean interrupted and the man before him pretended he hadn´t spoken.
"I offer your friend medical attention in return." he spoke, slowly, as if afraid Valjean wouldn´t understand. And he was right. What?
"I can save his life." he explained. "I can´t promise he´ll make it but … I´ll try what I can. But you have to cooperate."
Valjean´s mind was racing. Was that a trick? Why would he do that? Antoine! Michelle was still not back. And even if she´d be. These men had guns.
"How much time you think your friend has?" the man urged him for an answer. "Do we have a deal or not?"
Valjean glared at this man, but his hate was completely lost on this calm facade. And there was absolutely no time at all, to demand an explanation to why he made this offer in the first place. After he´d almost killed them. No time at all.
"Deal." he forced the word out. And this man with the gun nodded. Once.
...
When they´d heard the sounds in the distance, Cosette had known something was wrong. Because that sound was no thunder.
Beside her Marius had jerked the reigns, stopping the cart abruptly.
"Did you hear that?" he asked, searching the land ahead of them. But there was nothing.
Cosette searched too, but she was looking inside herself. Listening. Trying to understand.
"Drive." she urged him. "Drive."
And he did. The sounds had not been too far away. More proof she didn´t need to know that Pascal had led them well, following the tracks they had found. Tracks that could have been from anyone, but something had told her, it had not been from just anyone. That those tracks would lead them to her Papa and Javert and Michelle. Sweet Michelle. Oh God, what had just happened?
The wood gave way to a depression just before the land rose again, up a steep hill. And at the bottom of this hill … there was hell. They had just about spotted this burning wreckage when a new thunder came rumbling upon them. But this time it came from behind.
Cosette ducked down, expecting to be overrun. And then five horses dashed past them, like a raging army. They were surrounded, two riders stopping just by their sides. And when Cosette saw his face, her blood ran cold.
"I knew it was a good idea to follow you." Taillon shouted, his horse still dancing nervously. "What did your friends do?"
But before Cosette could even think of an answer, she heard the cry of a voice, between all the noise down at the hill. Between all those shouts of men and horses, there was a girl´s voice.
Her eyes darted down. And there she was, running towards the police. Calling for help.
"Michelle!" Cosette wanted to jump off the cart but Taillon blocked her way. His gaze was cold and rigid. You stay right here, it said. But Cosette was not the only one determined to get down to the girl.
Marius spurred the horse into motion again, driving the cart downhill before Taillon or his second man could do anything about it.
Michelle instantly dismissed the police when she saw them, and this time Cosette was not stopped by a police man. She caught the girl in her arms, embracing her and thanked God a thousand times.
Only this girl would not indulge in her embrace for longer than a second.
"Javert´s hurt!" she instantly told her. "Your father stayed with him, up the hill. Someone needs to help them!"
Cosette swirled around to Marius, just when Taillon reached them. One of his men – the three that had used their precious time by questioning the workers of this railroad – came forward to report,with determined efficiency.
"Sir. There are some injured men back there. One severe."
"Casualties?"
"Not yet. They could get out of the way in time. But this one man needs a doctor."
"Take care of that."
"Yes sir. And sir. One of them says he saw two men, tempering with the hoist before it exploded. He says one of them was a gypsy."
"It wasn´t them!" Michelle instantly shouted, scandalized. "It was those men who took me. It was all a trap."
"She said Javert is hurt." Cosette reminded, demanding Taillon´s attention. "We need to find and help them."
"We will." Taillon assured her, cold and determined. "And you will stay in our custody until we can sort this out. Sergeant. Have an eye on these people. I´ll question them later."
"Yes, sir."
And with that Taillon was gone.
They stayed, watched by this one police man, and all this time, Cosette wanted to break out. She wanted to run up that hill and search for her father. Who knew what these men would do when they found him. But what could she do? She had two kids under her and Marius´ care. So she stayed, until the police returned.
Javert and her Papa were not with them, and the way they talked they had not found their bodies either. Cosette felt relieved, only until Taillon ordered to escort them back to Lyon. She had seen enough of this man to know what escorting really meant. It meant they were arrested. And this time it wouldn´t be just a slap on the wrist, like before when he´d threatened Marius. Her Papa and Javert were suspected of sabotage!
Two of Taillon´s men were ordered to bring them back to town. Taillon himself and the rest of his little troop would stay behind. To help the workers. Or better yet, to keep up the search for Javert and Valjean.
"They can´t really think, Javert and your father did this." Pascal hissed, angry, and Cosette gently shushed him. The boy was right. It was insane but Taillon had opened up his mind and he believed exactly that. And if Michelle was right, and Javert was really hurt that badly, the two of them had no chance at all out there. Not without help. But how could they possibly help them if they were brought back to Lyon to sit tight, maybe even in a cell?
The answer was simple. They couldn´t.
They had left the wreckage side behind for like ten minutes, when Cosette turned around to Michelle and the boy. The two kids met her gaze, and held it. For a moment no one said anything, until Cosette gave Michelle a tight hug, whispering into her ear. She knew the girl would understand, and she knew Pascal was bright enough to catch up without any words. Just as Marius would understand. She could see that in his eyes too. He asked her, with his gaze only, if she was sure. If she was sure she was ready for this. And the answer was yes. She was.
Without a warning Marius spurred the little cart into motion again, trying to outrun the two police men. But just when they must believe this was exactly what he was up to, spurring their horses to catch them, he yanked the reigns back, and stopped the cart. The two police horses rose to their rear feet, just like the horse pulling their cart, and Cosette jumped off. The police men needed only a moment to regain control of their horses, but that moment was enough for the four of them to vanish between the trees, each of them into a different direction.
Even though I have been a little unfaithful (which I swear I´ll try to better) you can still tell me what you think. Your words remind me of the Reason why I do this.