“ So where is she?!” Jenny stood up and began to pace around the table. “ I dread to think what trouble that mouth of hers has gotten her into!”
They had walked for at least an hour. The sun had long since gone down and there was a chill in the air. Jo walked in silence next to the towering police Inspector, occasionally daring to look up at his face. She couldn’t quite make out what was happening. Here she was walking alongside her favourite character from her favourite story. As she had often suspected he was well over six feet in height, with broad shoulders, copper-toned skin. His hair, long, straight and steel coloured was tied back in a long ponytail. His eyes, she had noticed, were pale green and, despite the fact that by her calculations he was in his late forties, she found him quite handsome. He glanced down at her and noticed her obvious star, Jo quickly returned her gaze to the floor. He coughed slightly and she glanced up,
Soon they reached the Place Saint-Michel and Jo glanced around, looking for signs of life.
PART FIVE
“ You still haven’t explained how you knew me,” his voice was deep and rich.
“ Oh…well…I guess your reputation proceeds you,” Jo smiled briefly but his expression stayed the same and her smile quickly faded. “ You are one of the most well-known policemen in Paris, are you not?”
“ Just where are we going anyway?” Jo asked,
“ I…I…” Javert seemed thrown off by the directness of her question,
“ Well, if you don’t know…I’ll go my own way if you don’t mind!” With that Jo turned about and started to walk back down the street. Moments later she could hear Javert’s heavy footsteps thudding after her’s.
“ STOP!” his low voice called out and Jo stopped, she wasn’t going to argue with a six foot cop. She turned around just as he reached her. His eyes looked into hers for a moment,
“ Am I under arrest?” Jo asked,
“ What?” Javert again seemed unsure of himself.
“ Am I under arrest?” Jo repeated,
“ No…no you’re not…”
“ Then why can’t I go?”
“ Because…because…you shouldn’t be out on the streets alone at night.” He lowered his gaze from hers and Jo felt like giggling but thought better of it.
“ Oh I see…” Jo leant forwards with her hand and touched his arm, his head snapped back up and their eyes met again. “ Well, if you’re not arresting me, why don’t you help me find my friends?” Jo smiled and was relieved to see it returned.
“ Where are they?”
“ I don’t know, the last time I saw them all, we were in a square…” Javert thought for a moment,
“ Well, the only square near to where I found you if the Place Saint-Michel,”
“ Let’s try there then,” Jo grinned, finally she might be able to find the others. They started walking again, this time Javert walking slightly in front to show the way. Jo smiled to herself, she was about to speak when she felt someone grab her from behind, a hand over her mouth stifled her scream. Javert again carried on for a little while before noticing she was no longer there.
“ Madmoiselle, we will never find your friends if you insist on stopping!” he turned around and froze when he saw what was going on.
“ Give your money!” a rough voice behind Jo yelled out at Javert. He in return began to walk towards them, as Javert neared them he took his night stick once more in his hand.
“ Let her go,” Javert’s voice was firm.
“ The money!” was the reply. Javert took another step closer and Jo’s assailant quickly pressed a blade against her throat. “ I mean it M’sieur! Her life means nothing to me!” Jo could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she felt the blade pressing harder against her throat. Javert looked at Jo and then at the eyes of her attacker. Then like lightning Javert threw himself at the man. Jo was thrown to the floor and she quickly got up to see Javert and the man struggling on the floor. Jo wanted to yell for help but who would hear her? She would have to do something, the stranger had gotten the upper hand and had the blade pressed against Javert’s throat. Javert’s pale green eyes burned with rage as he tried to fight his way free. Jo noticed his night stick lying on the floor near her feet. Without thinking she picked it up and ran over, hitting the man over the head. He collapsed to one side and Jo fell to her knees next to Javert.
“ Are you alright?” her voice was full of concern. She held out her hand to help him to his feet, he gingerly took her hand and she helped him up. Javert turned to look for the culprit but the man had gone.
“ Thank you,” Jo looked up at him. Javert turned and looked at her, a confused expression on his face.
“ Thank me? Is it I who should thank you! You…you…saved my life!”
“ Well…erm…you didn’t arrest me when there was no reason for you not to…” Jo paused, “ So I suppose I owed you something.” An impulse made Jo reach forward and grab Javert’s hand. He looked at her with his mouth open in shock. “ So…thank you,” Jo raised herself up on her toes and quickly kissed his cheek. He stared at her as she pulled her face away from his. “ What?” Jo looked decidedly confused.
“ You…you…why did…?” Javert stammered as he raised a hand to his cheek.
“ It was a kiss, nothing more. Don’t you usually kiss friends when you thank them?” Jo raised an eyebrow, she really didn’t understand why he was making such a big deal out of it. It wasn’t as if she’d thrown herself at him. “ Especially if they have saved your life!” she smiled. Jo knelt down and picked up his hat and night stick from the floor and passed them to him. He reached out to take them and frowned. Jo looked down and saw that her forearm had been caught by the attacker’s blade and was bleeding.
“ Oh it’s nothing…” Jo started but Javert wasn’t listening. He had reached into his pocket and had pulled out a handkerchief. He gently took hold of her arm and wrapped the cloth around it, carefully tying it. He glanced at her face and smiled softly, taking his hat and night stick out of her hands. Then a frown once more creased his forehead and he looked down at her.
“ I suddenly realise, Mademoiselle, I do not know your name.”
“ Of course you don’t,” Jo laughed, “ It’s Jo, my name is Jo,” Javert’s handsome grin widened as he took her hand in his and raising it to his lips, kissed it.
“ Jo. I’m delighted to meet your acquaintance. My name is Phillipe…” Jo smiled back.
“ Phillipe,” Jo repeated as Javert offered his arm. Jo took it and they continued down the street.
“ I would hazard a guess that your friends are in there…” Javert gestured towards a doorway in the far corner of the square. A faded sign above the door read, “ Café Musain”, the sounds of laughter were filtering out of the open doorway. They walked nearer and then Javert stopped. “ I must leave you know Jo. I am not welcome in such a place but I hope that you find your friends…and that I may find you again soon…” He gave a little bow, kissed her hand and left. Jo watched his back until it vanished into the shadows, then she turned back to the doorway and taking a deep breath, she entered the café. Jo reached the bottom of the steps just inside the door and looked around. At first she saw no one she recognised and as she was turning to leave, she heard a yell from the far side of the café.
“ JO!” she turned back to see Rosie, Mark , Lucy and Jenny dashing across the room.
“ Thank god you’re here!” Jo exclaimed, as she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“ Where have you been?” Lucy asked as they led her over to were they had been sitting. Mark fetched another chair and let out an exasperated sigh as he saw Jo’s arm.
“ And what have you been doing?!” Jo rolled her eyes,
“ Nothing, you see this bloke tried to mug us, he attacked Phillipe, I got involved and…”
“ Woah, woah woah!” Jenny shouted, “ You were mugged?!”
“ And just who is this Phillipe?” Rosie’s eyebrows were raised high.
“ Oysh! After I lost you I found these big gates and I thought you’d gone through them. But as I was climbing over them, someone stopped me because they thought I was trying to rob the house. This person was Inspector Phillipe Javert,” Rosie opened her mouth but Jo held up her hand. “ So, in the end he doesn’t arrest me and I asked him to help me find you lot. Phillipe agrees and then this bloke appears and tries to mug us. He had a knife and nearly killed Phillipe, I intervened and got a little scratch. Then Phillie showed me the way here and that is what I’ve been doing!” The others sat back in amazement, “ Anyway, where did you get to? How did you get back here?” Jo looked at Rosie.
“ Oh, I bumped into a student and he showed me the way back here…” Rosie shifted in her seat,
“ And who was the student?” Jo raised her eyebrows and Rosie blushed.
“ Oh…it was…”
“ Marius!” Lucy said as a large grin covered Jo’s face.
“ And we’ve met Enjolras, Grantaire, Jean Prouvaire and Courfeyrac!” Mark exclaimed.
“ And Feuilly, don’t forget him,” Jenny said quietly.
“ Doesn’t sound like you’ll be forgetting him in a hurry!” grinned Jo, the friends laughed amongst themselves and shortly the door at the back of the room opened and Grantaire appeared.
“ Drink with me my friends!” he yelled as the students poured out of the room. A cheer arose as glasses were distributed. Jo leaned over to Mark and grinned,
“ I can’t think who that is!!”
BACK TO PART THREE
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