A/N: (Updated April 8, 2022)
Disclaimer: Me no own ASOUE. Get off my case, will ya?
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Chapter 10:
The Hunt Begins
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Days had passed since I'd found the access codes and still no Jacques. No call, no note, no nothing. It was almost like he'd abandoned me. If I'd known the phone number to his taxi, I would've called him the minute I found the codes. I hope he's alright. I hope Duncan and Isadora are alright. The suspense was killing me. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to get out of here. I was going insane from all the uncomfortable silence in the house, and the occasional reptilian shriek from Dr. Montgomery's cuckoo clock. The only bright side to my situation was that I'd found and read all of The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations. It was a lengthy book, and reading it kept me up most nights, but most of the mysteries surrounding me were all cleared up. I'd learned about V.F.D.'s shady history, all the volunteers who served in it, the schism that tore it apart, how to speak in code… In fact, I learned so much that I wouldn't have time to list everything I learned.
It turns out Mother and Father were tight with Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire. They'd gone on numerous missions together, some quite dangerous. I thought back to the Daily Punctilio Mother and Father were reading in the library the night of the fire. They were disturbed by the headline––their friends' house had burned down and killed them. I felt bad for them. I couldn't imagine losing my best friend or friends in a fire…not that I had any friends, anyway. And the reason they wouldn't tell us anything in the library was because they were in a secret organization with the Baudelaires and they wanted to keep V.F.D. a secret. Now everything made sense.
I'd taken so many notes on V.F.D. and other things that my notebook was almost full. Good thing Jacques packed an extra one for me. I walked over to the glass wall and looked out at the peculiar shrubbery, finishing the turkey sandwich I'd made. I wish Jacques were back. I wanted to get this sugar bowl thing out of the way. In fact, I was looking for any reason to get out of the house and go on an adventure. I was a natural explorer. I craved the open road and frequently looked for whatever trouble I could get into. That's just who I was. Duncan and Isadora didn't hear the call like I did. They preferred to stay in the comfort of home. I was the problem child growing up, just ask them.
I wonder if the paper's here...
I walked out of the room and out of the house down the driveway. Sure enough, it was. I hurried down to get it, desperate for the horseradish smell to get out of my nose. I didn't even bother to read it until I got back inside. I uncurled The Daily Punctilio and read the headline.
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COUNT OLAF DEAD! MURDERERS BREAK OUT OF JAIL!
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What the––? Somebody beat me to the punch? My heart sped up, elated at the news. Eager to see who the man or woman was who killed him, I read on.
.
Count Olaf, local actor who is responsible for child
endangerment of the Baudelaire children and the
kidnapping of the Quagmire twins, Duncan and Isadora,
was pronounced dead in the Village of Fowl Devotees
this morning around 9:18 a.m.. Detective Dupin and
Officer Luciana, the new law enforcement of V.F.D., say
that when they had gone to check on Count Olaf in the V.F.D.
jail, they'd found him dead with four teeth marks on his neck.
Recently, the Village of Fowl Devotees had adopted the
Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, and have placed
them in the care of local resident, Hector. But the two officers
say that the Baudelaires are responsible for the murder of
Count Olaf, having discovered prison blueprints and a mechanical
device on the scene. Violet, who is an inventor, had built the
device to get inside the jail, and Sunny has four very sharp teeth
that matched the bite marks on Count Olaf's neck exactly.
The Baudelaires were arrested and put in jail that morning. But it
gets better. The Baudelaires had broken out of jail and recruited two
more accomplices, which turned out to be the missing Quagmire
twins, Duncan and Isadora. The five are to be burned at the stake for
their crimes.
.
Wait, the Baudelaires killed Count Olaf? Duncan and Isadora were alright? They knew the Baudelaires? They're all going to be burned at the stake? A whole mess of thoughts and emotions washed over me and it wasn't long before I was overwhelmed. But what I didn't pay attention to was the picture below the headline. Right next to a picture of the Baudelaires' mugshots was a mugshot of Count Olaf, only it wasn't him. It was a picture of Jacques disguised as Count Olaf. My face fell, my heart tensing up.
"Oh no," I whispered, unable to believe my eyes. Jacques was dead. No wonder he never got back to me.
I was officially on my own again.
I remembered what he said if something had happened to him. I had to get to the Village of Fowl Devotees. There, I'd find the Baudelaires and Duncan and Isadora. Two birds, one stone. That, and I had to save them from being burned at the stake. I had to get down there now. I could smell the smoke from the fire already.
Wait...smoke?
I sniffed. I smelled smoke alright. I looked around, wondering where it was coming from. Through the complicated-looking door, I found the giant glass room engulfed in fire. My eyes widened. How did it––?! Never mind. I had to get out of here. I ran into the giant glass room and grabbed my backpack by the door, then I bolted out the front door and down the driveway. I had to get back to the city. From there I could catch a bus to the town of V.F.D.. But there was no time to wait for a trolley to come pick me up. I retraced my steps back to the trap door, pulled it open, and lowered myself into its dark, dank depths. Great. Here we go with this again. When I hit the floor, the lights came on, much to my relief. I scanned the walls for a destination that was in the city. Spying Veblen Hall on the directory, I took a left and began running.
I couldn't believe my luck. The Baudelaires and my siblings in the same town. And they were all alright. All I had to do now was get down there to save them. I just hope I'm not too late.