Evening My Lovelies
Sorry about the slight delay I was about to publish it when I had an idea to include some more lovely bantering between our boys.
This chapter is a little bit of a filler but I have some drama planned for tomorrow so hopefully this will keep you all happy until then :)
330 reviews how awesome is that :D
Notes On Reviews:
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - If anyone was going to understand shitty childhoods then it would be our lovely Porthos, glad you liked their moment. Yeah Dubois makes a pretty crappy spy... but then in all fairness Angry Treville + Angry Richelieu = Scary Encounter so I kinda felt a bit sorry for him. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Tidia: Thanks for the review - I was going to go with something a bit more... dramatic... Still might but I'm glad you liked the idea. Porthos's and D'Arts chat was something I was quite looking forward to writing so I'm really happy that everyone seemed to like it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
pain in the mikta: Thanks for the review - Hahaha :D Glad you liked the Porthos/D'Art chat, it was something I was looking forward to writing and it's been really well received so I'm very happy now :D Oh don't worry our boys will get their chance with Ortiz *grins evilly* :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
watlocked: Thanks for the review - Yeah Treville's quite scary/intimidating, bad guys shouldnt even try to lie to him. There's still more to the plan then that but its a start. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Helensg: Thanks for the review - No need to worry about that I still have quite a bit planned for this story :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - :D I'm really happy you like Porthos/D'Art moment it was fun to write :) D'Arts nightmares are going to cause him some issues for a fair bit but our boys will sort him out before too long i would imagine. Yep the plan is now in affect *cue dramatic music* :) Dubois is a bit of a whimp but then Treville and Richelieu make quite the scary combination. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Gin red (Guest): Thanks for the review - I'm so happy you're enjoying the story so far :D worry not we're not anywhere near the end yet I have quite a few more ideas for this :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Porthos is such a big teddy-bear when he needs to be :D It was a lot of fun to write their chat and have him get D'Art to open up a bit more. Richelieu and Treville teaming up is always a bad sign for enemies of France and unfortunately for poor cowardly Dubois he was on the receiving end of their anger... He had no chance really. We get to see a bit more of a lighter side of our boys today hopefully you'll like it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always many thanks to you lovely people who support this story by following/favouriting/reviewing/reading, love you all!
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Thirty-Two: Uncovering A Lead
"I trust Dubois gave you the information you required?" King Louis asked inquisitively, though there was an air of annoyance to him but that was likely due to the fact that he had considered Dubois a 'friend' of sorts.
"He sang like a bird once given the correct motivation Your Majesty," Richelieu informed, a smirk still on his face for how well that particular interrogation had gone.
Both himself and Treville had come to the silent agreement that they were not leaving the room without some sort of information from the noble. This plus the stress from everything that was going on had led to some very determined and persistent interrogators.
Not that they really needed to have pushed as hard as they did. Dubois was a snake of a man, he lacked the backbone for the sort of work he had been drafted in to do and it had the men seriously questioning why he was chosen for such a task, though then they were quickly reminded of the wealth the man possessed and the connections he could provide and the reasoning became apparent.
"And Captain Treville?" Queen Anne enquired tersely, the stress of the whole situation as well as having to deal with Louis constant mood swings, the young King switching between angry and ranting to fearful and panicking, on a regular basis was grating on the usually mild mannered Queen's last nerve.
"He is bringing the list of names Dubois gave us to his men, both to see if they recognize any and to have them keeping a look out for anyone by those names. I will be doing the same with my regiment shortly as well." Richelieu explained.
"I see," nodded Louis, relaxing slightly at the knowledge that his two most reliable advisors appeared to have the situation well in hand. "How many names are there?"
"Dubois gave us the names of five individuals he knew to be involved in the plot against yourself and the citizens of France My Lord."
"I want them caught Cardinal," growled the King, rising from his seat on the throne in an attempt to appear more intimidating, "Alive if possible, we need to know how far this goes."
"Of course Your Majesty," Richelieu bowed, quickly repeating the bow to the Queen who nodded in response before leaving the room.
MUSKETEER GARRISON
Upon returning to the garrison Treville's first point of call was to check on his recovering men. He knew it should probably have been done after he had given the names Dubois had told them out to his men, but being away from the garrison for most of the day for the last few days had meant that he had not had the chance to check on their recovery and it was something that was worrying him.
Walking into the small recovery room in the infirmary Treville couldn't keep the grin off of his face. "I see you finally managed to persuade one of the men to bring you wine," he smirked, chuckling as Athos merely lifted his glass up in salute to his words.
Aramis on the other hand, snorted at the Captain's words, "If by persuaded you mean verbally threatened the stable hand Henri when he came by to check on D'Artagnan, then yes he did."
"It was hardly a threat," huffed Athos in defense when Treville crossed his arms over his chest and raised a single eyebrow in question to Aramis's words.
"'Thos the poor kid looked ready to piss himself from your glare alone," chortled Porthos before reaching over D'Artagnan's head to steal one of the grapes in the Gascon's hand… and to Treville's great relief, D'Artagnan responded.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, only with noticeably less vigor then he would normally have, slapping the larger musketeer's hand away when it returned for another.
"Threatening stable hands aside –" Treville said, mock glaring at Athos as he spoke.
"I didn't threaten him!" Athos interrupted, before deciding to just remain silent and enjoy his first taste of wine in several long weeks.
" – How are you all doing?" Treville asked, ignoring his lieutenant's interruption.
"We're getting there Captain," answered Aramis, smiling softly as Porthos once again tried his luck at stealing another grape. "Some more than others," he added with a poignant look at D'Artagnan.
"…Least I can walk" grumbled the Gascon under his breath, though unfortunately for him Aramis was close enough to hear it.
"How do you know? you haven't tried it yet!" retorted Aramis, the grin on his face telling them all how much fun he was having bickering with the young Gascon.
"I don't have a broken leg," came D'Artagnan's dry reply and many would have thought the boy's spirit recovered given how he was back bantering with his brothers but because they were his brothers all three of the other inseparables could see the haunted look in the young man's eyes and how they no longer held the joyous sparkle they usually did when the bantering started.
"No just missing a chunk of it."
D'Artagnan's only response to this was to glare and the beaming marksman and to chuck a grape at his head.
"Now he attacks an already injured man, I'm hurt," Aramis exclaimed dramatically, his voice thick with mock-hurt as he placed a hand against his heart.
"Your flair for the dramatics hasn't faded I see," smirked Treville, chuckling softly as Aramis merely grinned brightly and shrugged in response.
"I think we're going a little stir crazy in here sir," said Athos seriously, though his small smirk at his brothers' banter remained on his face.
"Well I might be able to distract you from that for a little bit," Treville said, almost laughing as the four men instantly sat straighter in their beds and looked eagerly at him.
"We brought in Dubois who was mentioned in the documents D'Artagnan translated," Treville explained, pulling up a chair to sit at the foot of D'Artagnan's bed.
"He talked?" Asked Athos sounding surprised, mostly because he was aware of the difficulty the red guards were having with getting any information out of Ortiz, he had assumed the Spaniard would have chosen people equally adept at handling interrogations… Apparently he had not.
"He gave us the names of the other people he knows to be working with Ortiz," Treville nodded, "don't suppose you recognize any of these?" he asked, passing the list over to Athos who read out the names.
"Wait!" Porthos exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "That last one."
Athos tilted his head to the side, "Jacques Dupond?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know him Porthos?" Treville asked, anxiously waiting to hear if they already had a lead to one of the conspirators.
"Yeah," Porthos nodded aimlessly before remembering why that name was mentioned, "Lives in the Court. Likes to call himself a mercenary, he'll do pretty much anything for the right price regardless of the job or who pays him."
Treville nodded, it made sense that Ortiz would have a contact in the court. From Porthos's explanation of what happened whilst they were missing Treville got the sense that they felt the Spaniard had more sources and spies in the city then those he sent to follow D'Artagnan.
Those in the Court were the most disillusioned of all of Paris's occupants and those that had the most reason to hate the King. It wouldn't take much for a charismatic individual like Ortiz to gain support from them by offering them things like money or the chance for payback.
"Do you still have any contacts in the Court that would be willing to help us out?" Athos asked gently. He knew, as did they all, that Porthos's time in the Court was not something he often willingly talked about, even more so after the events many months ago when his childhood friend Charon had died there by musketeer hands after trying to blow the whole place to smithereens.
Athos also knew that Porthos's start in the regiment wasn't the easiest and many of their fellow musketeers looked down on him because of his skin colour and his upbringing. This combined with the amount of criminal work those in the Court often had to resort to in order to survive had left the musketeer with the very difficult decision of distancing himself from all reminders of his past life.
Scratching the back of his neck Porthos considered it for a moment, he truly didn't have many in the Court who would see him as anything other than a traitor who left them to join the musketeers. He also had the sneaking suspicion that many blamed him for Charon's death, despite the fact that the man had been more than willing to blow them all to hell if it gave him a better life.
"I can try Flea," he offered hesitantly, eager to see the beautiful woman who had long since stolen his heart but also nervous to involve her. "No guarantees but she might be willin' to help."
"I appreciate it Porthos, thank you." Treville nodded, "What about the other names? Do they mean anything to the rest of you?"
"…The first two," D'Artagnan said quietly, his face scrunching up as he tried to put a face to the names, "They sound vaguely familiar but… But I don't know where from… Sorry" he added, hanging his head at the end, feeling quite useless.
"From Lupiac maybe?" Aramis asked trying to help jog the young man's mind.
"No." D'Artagnan said vehemently, shaking his head and scowling as he did so, "It's the sort of place where everyone knows everyone and I'd remember them if it was from there."
"I'm surprised you don't know the woman though 'Mis," grinned Porthos cheekily, taking the attention off of D'Artagnan, which the Gascon was immensely thankful for.
"Alas this must be one of the few maidens who I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting," exclaimed the medic joyfully.
"She's working for Ortiz," came Athos deadpan reply as he raised an eyebrow at the Spaniard.
"Very true," shrugged Aramis, "Must be why we haven't met before… Though," he added with his trademark grin growing on his face. "Considering the fact that Ortiz seems to have picked people who would go unnoticed in a crowd or unrestricted to certain places, I would suggest checking out the brothels. Something I'm more than happy to assist with."
"You can't walk 'Mis," Porthos reminded his friend, smirking at the disappointed pout that graced his friend's face at the reminder.
"I'll use crutches," grinned Aramis.
"To get you around all the brothels in the city?" Athos asked, unimpressed.
"It's my duty as a musketeer to find this woman," exclaimed Aramis in mock offence to his brothers' lack of faith.
"So it has nothing to do with you wanting to talk to pretty women?" D'Artagnan asked cheekily, though it was clear he was forcing himself to appear so, letting the familiar banter distract him from trying to figure out where he knew the first two names from.
"Oh he'll do more than talk," grinned Porthos mischievously, wiggling his eyebrows at his brothers and making D'Artagnan chuckle slightly at the look on Aramis's face.
"Gentlemen," said Athos sternly, instantly putting a stop to the growing banter whilst also subtly reminding them that they were in front of their Captain.
"How soon can you set up this meet with Flea?" Treville asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement at the groups bickering while the rest of his face remained locked in a look of pure seriousness.
"Depends on 'im," answered Porthos, nodding over to Aramis.
"Providing he goes on a horse and takes someone else with him, he should be alright to leave tomorrow." Aramis explained, though his voice was now underlined with worry for the larger musketeer. "Your ribs and wrist are still healing so you had better be careful, I don't want to have to reset any of them when you return."
"Yes mother," agreed Porthos, rolling his eyes at the medic's worrying.
"Then I leave you to rest for now," Treville nodded, rising from his seat. "I'll inform the Cardinal that we had a lead on one of the names and I'll get Thierry to join you in the morning for your trip into the city."