“That boy will be the key,” she said. “If he contacts Fitzroy, we’ll know. What do you want me to do about the boy?”
“Don’t do anything. Follow him, if you have a chance. He has a brother somewhere that he’s very protective of. You find me that brother.”
10
“St. Just can’t help us much this time,” said Fitzroy.
Finn and Lucas sat at the small table in his tiny apartment making a short meal of wine, bread, and cheese. Somewhere in that very apartment, most likely, Fitzroy kept his chronoplate. It was a tremendous temptation to overpower him then and there, ransack the apartment, find the plate, and take him prisoner. The only thing that prevented them from doing just that was the fact that Fitzroy could well be exactly what he represented himself to be. If that was the case, given the way he already felt about them, their court-martial would be a foregone conclusion. The chronoplate could also be hidden elsewhere.
“Le Comte de Tournay de Basserive has been condemned to death, along with his entire family,” said Fitzroy. “The comtesse and her two children are still relatively safe. They’re in Valmy, where they’re being hidden by trusted friends. De Tournay, however, is still somewhere in Paris. St. Just has no idea where he is. He was sentenced in absentia and St. Just did what he could to defend him, but he’s already in disfavor with the rest of the tribunal.”
“How did he know where the family was?” said Lucas.
“The Tournays and the St. Justs knew each other before the Revolution,” said Fitzroy. “They were hardly in the same social class, but the St. Justs were not exactly paupers. Armand St. Just sent word that the Tournays had close friends in Valmy, a merchant and his wife whose children used to go to school together with Suzanne de Tournay and the young vicomte.” Fitzroy smiled. “Citizen St. Just has been a great help to us, keeping me informed as a member of the league. However, now that de Tournay has been sentenced, it’s only a matter of time before the soldiers of the Republic trace his family. You must get them out first. We’ll get the old man out as soon as we locate him.”
“Well, at least getting them out of Valmy should be easier than getting someone out of Paris,” Lucas said. “They’ll still have checkpoints manned by soldiers of the Republic, but their security won’t be as tight, especially since the Pimpernel hasn’t been active in that area.”
“That’s true,” Fitzroy said, “but don’t allow that to make you overconfident. I don’t want any mistakes this time. I’ve devised a plan for you to follow. I want you to pass it on to the members of the league exactly as I give it to you. If Mongoose attempts to interfere again, I’ll make certain that agent Cobra will be ready for him.”
“That would make a nice change of pace,” said Finn.
“Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Delaney,” said Fitzroy. “I’ll remind you that it wasn’t agent Cobra who allowed Mongoose to outfox you every time. I’ve made matters nice and simple for you. All you have to do is follow instructions. Leave Mongoose to those more qualified to deal with him.”
“What do you think?” said Andre.
“I think it’s very possible,” Lucas said. “Mongoose always was a slippery customer and Fitzroy has been in the ideal position to know everything that’s going on. His voice didn’t tell me anything, even though I was paying very close attention to its sound, but then if Mongoose couldn’t learn to disguise his voice, he never would’ve made head of field operations.”
“It felt a little tense in there,” said Finn. “I hope we didn’t give anything away.”
Lucas shook his head. “I think it’s all right, for now. If Fitzroy and Mongoose are the same, we should have proof of that very soon.”
“I was thinking that he might give me the slip by using the chronoplate to clock directly out of that apartment,” Andre said.
“It’s possible, but unlikely,” Lucas said. “If he really was an Observer, he’d do that to go from here to, say, Calais. On the other hand, we know that Mongoose isn’t working alone. He’s found himself a very unusual field man and he’s going to have to get in touch with him.”
“Suppose he doesn’t?” Andre said. “What if he decides to act alone this time?”
“He very well might,” said Finn, “but that kid gives Mongoose an advantage and I think he’ll use it. His plan gives him plenty of time to allow us to get in touch with Ffoulkes and then set out for Valmy. Once we’ve done that, he’ll probably start putting his own little plan into motion. He can use the kid to get to the comtesse and her children ahead of us while he sets things up in Cap Gris Nez. In order to do that, he’ll have to give instructions to the kid. I don’t think he’ll risk clocking around inside Paris. It’s too congested. Besides, there’s no need for him to do that. He has plenty of time. He’ll either go to the kid or the kid will come to him.”
“Unless he has already given Jean his instructions,” Andre said.
“That’s one thing he wouldn’t have done,” said Lucas. “He’d wait to make certain we didn’t demand any changes in his plan before he told Jean what to do. That’s why he allowed us enough time to get back to Cap Gris Nez and get in touch with Ffoulkes. Only we’re not going to do that. We’re going straight to Valmy. We’re also going to Cap Gris Nez by a different route than the one we agreed upon.”
“The important thing for you to do is to wait here,” said Finn, “and watch that house. Use your own judgment. If he hasn’t done anything after several hours or if Jean hasn’t come to see him, get over there and see if he’s still inside.”
“And if he’s not, I will break in,” said Andre.
Lucas nodded. “But be very careful. If he’s clocked out from inside that apartment, it’ll mean one of two things. He’s either clocked out with the plate, or else he’s programmed it to remain behind and clock him back the moment he activates the remote control unit. If that’s the case, you can be sure he’ll have taken steps to protect that room.”
“There are several systems he might have used,” said Finn.
“I’m familiar with them,” Andre said.
“I didn’t finish. You’re familiar with standard equipment. The TIA uses a different system,” Finn said. “Cobra gave us a brief description of it. It’s a more extreme defensive system than those used by the Corps and the Observers. Now pay attention…”
A little over half an hour had passed since Finn and Lucas had departed for Valmy, leaving Andre to watch the safehouse, when she saw Fitzroy leave by the front door. Despite the fact that there was no reason for him to suspect that he might be followed, Andre still took great precautions to trail him discreetly. She gave him lots of room, keeping back as far as she could, only closing the distance quickly when he turned a corner or was momentarily lost to her sight. Mongoose, if he was really Mongoose, seemed oblivious to her presence as he walked purposefully through the city street, heading toward the center of the city.
Abruptly, he turned into a side street that led into a small cul-de-sac, through an alley strewn with garbage. She quickly moved in when she saw him pass through a doorway into what turned out to be a small tobacco shop marked only with a crude wooden sign. A name had been carved into the sign and then the grooved carvings had been filled in with black paint. The sign had grown so dark that it was difficult to read the name painted there, but once she came close, she could see that it said, simply, “Lafitte’s.”
Cautiously, Andre peered through the grimy window. She saw a small room, crudely furnished with several tables and benches, where customers could sit and drink wine while they sampled tobacco from the jars upon the shelves on the left side of the room. On the other side of the room was a large workbench upon which some carving tools were scattered around. She could see some clay pipes stacked and ready for the kiln at the back of the shop, as well as several meerschaums in various stages of completion. Some wooden pipes, a novelty in Paris, had been carved from apple and cherry wood and hung by the bowls on nails driven at angles into the wall. The door was wedged open and Andre could smell the pleasant aroma of strong tobacco wafting out from the interior of the shop.