A/N: (Updated on October 13, 2020). Sorry for the long hiatus, guys. 2020's been a shit year for me. Lot going on. Actually, I think it's been a shit year for everyone. Lol. Let's not repeat this year, shall we? Fingers crossed for 2021. Shoutout to the awesome Number Ten for reviewing! You rock, my friend! ;) \m/
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Number Ten––– Sorry for not getting back to you last chapter for reviewing :( I forgot you reviewed and I was so wrapped up in writing Chapter 4 that by the time I posted it, I saw you'd reviewed. So double shoutout this chapter to ya! I promise I didn't forget ya! :)
Yeah, how Quigley gets to Dr. Montgomery's house in the Netflix series didn't make sense to me, either. / Like, how did he know what way to go? It just didn't sit right with me. But ironically, I didn't write the chase because of that reason. I threw that in there because I thought Chapter 2 was going to be boring if I just followed how Netflix did it. *shrug* Funny how things work out _
Thanks! :) It wasextremelyhard to do, because many times the two contradicted each other (different time frames, different events, etc.). I wanted the most intriguing plot line that would entice the reader and make a good story, but I wanted to incorporate both the books and the series into this as well, not just one or the other. And putting both mediums into this story required threading everythingjustright. One wrong move, and the whole story would flop due to plot holes and contradictions. So I'm glad you think I did a good job winding the two together, because that was my intention and I was afraid I'd bomb it.
Yeah, hedoesdo some questionable things to Quigley, doesn't he? Is he really as noble as he appears to be? Dun dun DUN! Lol.
Thanks again for reading (and reviewing)! Makes me feel wicked good _
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Disclaimer:Me no own ASOUE. And no need to panic; the vase has been cleaned up so we can all dance right on the floor again! :D …No? Just me? Okay, I'll show myself out. T_T
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Chapter 5:
An Angel In Need
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"The Baudelaires?" I stopped walking and looked over my shoulder at Jacques, intrigued.
"Yes," Jacques said. "Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. They're the children of Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire, some volunteers who were killed recently in a fire that burned down their mansion. Arson by our enemies, no doubt. They were very good friends of mine. Have you heard of them?"
"I remember reading about them in The Daily Punctilio," I said.
"They…were V.F.D.'s greatest," Jacques said, looking up at the glass ceiling with a fond, reminiscent smile. "No one could match their skills, their intelligence, their charisma. They…were the leaders of V.F.D.. They didn't create V.F.D., but they did lead it to many great victories against our enemies."
"Did they?" I asked, trying to sound interested in something I knew nothing about.
"Ohh, yes," Jacques confirmed with a nod. "They were your parents' best friends. Those four went everywhere together: missions, vacations, you name it. Nothing could keep them apart." He looked out the glass wall and sighed mournfully. "Gone too soon," he whispered.
Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire were Mother and Father's best friends? How come we never knew them? Or their children? I take it because they were in V.F.D. and were thus kept a secret along with everything else? That was my guess.
Jacques brought his attention back inside the room and out of his misery. "Anyway, that's our other mission––to find them. An associate of mine told me they have one of the answers to get inside the headquarters, but since I haven't seen what the new codes are, I can't be entirely sure. But I trust her. Whether they know an answer or not, we have to find the Baudelaires. If something happens to them, then we lose this war." He stood up from the desk and made his way over to me, digging in his blazer pocket for something.
Wow. I underestimated how important these children were. But then again, their parents were the leaders of V.F.D., well, former leaders. I had a strong hunch that their "V.F.D. royalty" would carry on to them. And I wouldn't question it. If they needed to be found, possibly protected, then I'd do my duty as an apprentice to make sure it happened.
Just then, a three by five picture came into view from my right, and I looked to find Jacques offering it to me.
"This ought to help," he said. "These are the Baudelaires. Have you seen them around by chance?"
I took the picture from him and examined it closely. It was a worn old thing––Jacques must've had this for quite some time, or he'd just gotten it and the missions he'd been on recently had made quick work of its integrity. It was a snapshot of four people standing on Damocles Dock, a giant ship docked right behind them. The day this was taken was so overcast that I couldn't tell if it was taken in the morning, afternoon, or evening, but that wasn't important. What was important were the four people. Two of them looked about my age, the third one was merely an infant, and the fourth one was a tall, dark-skinned man in a gray three-piece suit and brown bowler hat. I studied the appearances of the older two children, a girl and a boy. The boy was bespectacled and about my height with short dark hair and dark eyes, obviously the studious type. But it wasn't him that had my attention. It was the girl standing next to him with the infant in her arms. She was slightly shorter than the boy, but just like him, she too had dark hair, only hers was long and flowing. Her angelic face was fraught with caution, her dark eyes looking out at her surroundings, scanning them, as if she were being hunted. My heart begin to pound.
She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.
"Uhh…" I stuttered, blushing, unable to peel my eyes off her. "No, I haven't," I admitted weakly, shaking my head. "Wait. What were their names again?"
"Violet, Klaus, and Sunny," Jacques replied. "Violet's the oldest, she's fourteen, then Klaus, he's twelve, and Sunny's the baby."
Violet. Never had a name captivated me before, render me numb and catatonic. I was totally on board for finding them now. "Who's that guy?" I asked, pointing to the man with the bowler hat.
"That," Jacques said, failing to camouflage the disgust in his voice, "is Arthur Poe, the Vice President of Orphan Affairs at Mulctuary Money Management. He's in charge of the Baudelaires' estate. He was tasked with finding the Baudelaires a legal guardian and safeguarding their fortune until Violet came of age, until basic incompetence got in the way…and Count Olaf."
My face scrunched at the odd name. "Count Olaf?"
"Yes." Jacques reached into his blazer pocket again. He pulled out another three by five picture and held it out for me to see, as both my hands were occupied at the moment. Only one person was in this equally worn picture, and immediately, this man gave me the creeps. He was a scrawny, homely-looking thing, like a stray cat that hadn't been fed for days, with one long eyebrow, wild salt-and-pepper hair, and a haggard, unshaven face. But his appearance wasn't what gave me the creeps––it was his eyes. They were dark like the Baudelaires', but unlike theirs, his were soulless and cold. Even the bottom of the ocean couldn't compete with how dark and cold they were. And they weren't just dark––they were shiny. The shiniest I'd ever seen. Like he had an intense hunger that he just couldn't satisfy. "Olaf used to be a volunteer quite some time ago. But a tragic night at the opera changed all that, and before we knew it, V.F.D. was split in two. Never the same since. He's been one of our worst enemies since then––a notorious murderer, arsonist, and bad actor. We speculate he was the one behind Bertrand and Beatrice's deaths and the destruction of the Baudelaire mansion."
That explains the enemies thing. But it wasn't having enemies that worried me––it was who the enemies were. It was volunteer versus volunteer. Brother versus brother. Friend versus friend. I couldn't imagine fighting against one of my own, especially if it was Duncan or Isadora. In fact, I wouldn't know what to do if that happened. Respect for Jacques was in order.
"In addition to that," Jacques continued, thankfully tucking the picture of Count Olaf back into his blazer pocket. "He murdered their aunt, Josephine Anwhistle, and their uncle, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery."
My eyes widened in realization. Count Olaf murdered Dr. Montgomery? The guy whose house we were in right now? That explains why I hadn't seen him since I arrived here. Or his family, if he had one. I looked around at all the cages covered by dusty sheets. That's probably why every cage in here was empty, was because he was dead and couldn't take care of his pets anymore. They'd all been given to someone or someplace to be taken care of. And the dust on the sheets merely told me how long he'd been dead.
"But that's not the most disturbing thing that that man's ever done. He's actually attempted to lawfully marry Violet to gain access to their fortune." Jacques shuddered. "That man's vileness knows no bounds. And haunts my nightmares."
My gaze fell back down to the picture of Damocles Dock, honing in on Violet again. God, no wonder she looked on edge. I felt my chest tighten. Clearly, her story had yanked my heartstrings, and so badly I just wanted to swoop in and save her from all of this. But I didn't know where she was, where Count Olaf was, nothing was. I was at the mercy of Jacques's intel. I found my heart pounding again, but it wasn't because I was enamored. No. I was furious. Furious that this…this…monster came into this poor girl's life and turned it into a nightmare, a living hell. I wouldn't have it. I had to help her. "Where are they?" I asked, hoping Jacques would see me as focused on the mission rather than my ulterior motive.
"I was hoping you knew," Jacques said. "Have you seen or heard anything about them lately?"
I shook my head again. I was just as desperate as Jacques for a lead. "No, I haven't," I sighed. "But I'll find them. I promise," I added firmly.
"We'll find them together," Jacques reminded me with smile. He held out his hand, and I reluctantly handed over the snapshot of the Baudelaires and Mr. Poe. I watched Jacques retreat back around Dr. Montgomery's desk. "I love your spirit, Quigley, but you can't take Count Olaf on by yourself. He and his acting troupe are far too dangerous, especially if you're an apprentice just starting out."
"No more dangerous than the situation the Baudelaires are in," I pointed out.
"Be that as it may," Jacques said, sitting down and looking at me. "My answer is still no. Not on your own." He picked up a pencil and began sifting through the papers on the desk.
I pursed my lips and made a fist with my free hand, ready to fight his verdict. Don't disrespect him, Quigley. He's your mentor, show him some respect, I thought. I growled inwardly, my blood boiling as I decided to keep my mouth shut and lay down my weapons. "Fighting is like a rocking chair," I remembered Mother and Father saying. "It gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere." Go read, Quigley, my mind urged me. Find those access codes. With a relenting sigh, I caved in to pressure and did as told, finding a spot along the glass wall to read. "How many codes are you looking for, Jacques?" I asked.
"I need three," Jacques replied without looking up, circling something on one of the pages.
Combing through Dr. Montgomery's entire library for three codes was going to take some time. Good thing I had plenty of it.
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"Hey." Something began to shake me lightly.
"Huh?" I grunted, jumping awake and looking around. Aw man, did I fall asleep? I'm only halfway through the book I grabbed.
"Break time," Jacques smiled down at me. "You hungry?"
"Yeah," I said, hoping I didn't sound as half as hungry as I actually was.
"Well, come on. There's some canned peaches in the kitchen," Jacques advised. "I'm afraid it's all Dr. Montgomery has right now."
"Okay." I wasn't complaining. Food was better than no food, and I hadn't eaten since dinner last night. Grabbing Jacques's hand, I heaved myself off the floor and followed him out of the giant glass room. After a few turns, we entered the kitchen, and Jacques made his way over to a tall cupboard in the corner.
"Forks are in that drawer over there," he told me, nodding at the drawer across the room.
"Thanks," I said, walking over to the one he specified. I took out a fork, and, after using the can opener, Jacques handed me a can of juicy orange heaven. I needed no encouragement to dig in.
"So how's the search coming?" Jacques asked, resting against the counter, crossing his legs. "Find anything?"
"Uh…no, not yet," I admitted, my cheeks heating up. I can't believe I fell asleep on the job. To be honest, I don't recall reading anything that looked important. Just a bunch of legal stuff.
"I see." Jacques popped a peach slice into his mouth.
"How's your search coming?" I asked, desperate to get far away from my failure.
"Mm…found a few helpful facts, but no access codes," Jacques said. "Found out that the Incredibly Deadly Viper that Dr. Montgomery had discovered is harmless, and that it's name is a misnomer."
"That's…good," I replied. Glad at least one snake in his collection was harmless.
"I also found out that the Boisterous Brook Trout that live in the Stricken Stream are rich in iron and omegas. They're good for eating should we get stranded in the Mortmain Mountains."
"Okay."
"And that Zombies in the Snow won at the box office."
My face scrunched. "Zombies in the Snow won at the box office?" I repeated. I watched that movie with Mother, Father, Duncan, and Isadora awhile back. Mother and Father seemed enthralled by it, but Duncan, Isadora, and I? None of us liked it. Poor acting, poor plot, poor dialogue…I could go on. But Mother and Father were so enthralled by it that they watched it with a spyglass. Why? I don't know. We weren't even that far away from the screen, and both of them could see with no problems. So why they used a spyglass to watch it was beyond me.
"It did," Jacques confirmed. "But I have to admit, it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen."
"It is," I agreed, nodding.
Jacques paused, lost in thought. "Would you like to see it again tonight?"
Wait. If it was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen, why would he want to go see it again? Made no sense to me. If I didn't like something, I wouldn't revisit it. But, Jacques was offering me a free movie, something he didn't have to do, a very kind gesture on his part. And after everything that had happened, I needed to get my mind off it somehow. "I thought you hated it?" I said.
"I do. But what it lacks in artistic development, it makes up for in…opportunity." Jacques smiled slyly at me. There was more to this than he was letting on.
"Opportunity?" I repeated.
Jacques kept smiling. "Quigley, if you're going to be a volunteer, you'll need to know how to use this." He reached in his blazer pocket and took out a gleaming gold and bronze cylinder. After watching me peer curiously at what it was, he pulled the end of it, and it sprung out to reveal its true form.
"A spyglass?" I asked. In order to be a volunteer, he wanted me to know how to peer through a telescope? That was it?
"Not just any spyglass," Jacques corrected me. "A volunteer's spyglass. It does more than just offer a closeup view of an opera."
Taking another bite of canned peaches, I flinched. That thing did more than just zoom in on things?
"You'll see what I mean later tonight when we go," Jacques winked at me. He compressed the spyglass and tucked it back in his blazer pocket. "For now, let's finish our peaches and get back to looking for those codes. We'll leave here around five thirty or so in my taxi."
I slurped down the remaining peach juice and disposed of my can and fork. Jacques followed suit, then we retraced our steps back to the giant glass room. A spyglass that did more than just offer a closeup view of an opera.
Yeah right.