Beginning, Section II, Next Section
Part 20
While Elizabeth and the Gardiners were at Pemberley, and Fanny2 was guarding Henry Crawford, the Nun received another email from collins@cuteandcuddly.com. He clicked on the message and read it.
Wickham.
10 - Brighton
first payment 20.000
last payment 30.000
He nodded appreciatively. Wickham's demise would be a gift to the world. He wondered if Lady Catherine was getting nervous -- he had received so many assignments lately that it was hardly doable. He had had to subcontract a few, even, but he was usually quick, and he had ten days for this assignment. "Off to Brighton," he said cheerfully.
The Nun stopped his car in a lonely place and changed into a habit. He put on a pair of glasses and hid his hands in his sleeves. It was better to continue on foot, because it would be rather awkward if he were stopped by the police and had to show them the driver's license made out in one of his fake names.
The night before he had rung Wickham to arrange a meeting in a church, pretending to be Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins was an ex-clergyman who had been removed from his office for fiddling with both the profits of the church jumble sale and the church cleaner, so it was perfectly plausible that he would suggest a meeting in a church.
It was a church open to the public, and the Nun arrived early to check it out. It was perfect, because there were some lovely niches and pillars that could hide the action from the view of the few tourists and pious. He knelt down in the last row and said the rosary.
Sitting in the last row gave him a good view of anyone who passed, because most people walked to the front, as did Wickham. He got up and slowly walked behind the pillars until he was level with Wickham. Wickham looked around for Collins, and when he did not see him he walked towards one of the niches.
"Perfect," the Nun muttered and he gripped his dart.
Wickham turned and saw him. His eyes grew large. "You!" he exclaimed.
"Plof!" And the deed was done and Wickham's body sagged to the floor
"Veni, vidi, cecidi," the Nun said. "Mundus requiescat in pacem."
He left the church at a leisurely pace, taking care not to walk too close to short people, or his height would be noticed. Reaching his car, he took off his habit and drove back to where he came from, stopping along the way to make a short phone call.
"It's done," he said to the person on the other side. "I have almost run out of the stuff. I think I can do two more, but that's it."
Maybe that's enough, but let me know in advance.
"Sure."
What was your payment this time?
"Fifty thousand."
Nice, nice. I shall see to it that you get a little bonus.
"Oh, yay," the Nun said dryly. "With the emphasis on little, I suppose?" He hung up and left the phone booth. Suddenly he changed his mind and went back to dial another number. "Hello darling, do you remember me? What's for dinner?" and he chatted to wife for a while.
"Lydia told me Wickham was killed in Brighton," Bennet warned Fanny2 over the telephone. "Be careful. It is not unthinkable that the Nun may be after Henry Crawford as well, so you must not let him out of your sight."
"Even at night?" she shrieked.
"Yes."
"Oh Bennet! Can't you put anyone else on the job?" Fanny2 complained. "What if he tries to make a pass at me?"
"Enjoy it." He put down the phone.
"How are Jane and Kitty doing?"
"Kitty is upset with you because you keep her here in Meryton," his secretary Fanny answered, "and Jane has been digging up information in London."
"Anything useful?"
"Not yet. Mary is still cross-checking it. I talked to the Gardiners -- they met Darcy."
"I know."
"He is on their payroll."
"I know."
"Argh!" Fanny cried in frustration. "Is there anything you do not know?"
"If it's any consolation to you, I found it out this morning when I called them. I think it's time to call Elizabeth back. She has no business at Pemberley when Darcy is a good guy and Wickham a dead guy. She's needed in Meryton."
Part 21
Elizabeth had not yet received the order to return to Meryton because she had not checked her email. She had been too preoccupied to do so, because of Darcy's invitation. The evening of the day Wickham was killed Elizabeth and the Gardiners were to dine at Pemberley. They arrived there early, noticing that the hosts and most of the other guests had just arrived from somewhere themselves.
Elizabeth and Darcy were getting along very nicely, but it was a pity that dinner was such an interrupted event. First Mrs. Gardiner's mobile went off, causing some confusion because everyone seemed to be carrying one and nobody knew which one the sound came from. Mr. Gardiner guessed that it was one of her spy boys, because she moved away from the table to have some privacy. His wife had a whole arsenal of spy boys.
Shortly afterwards Mr. Hurst decided he had to make a phone call, and he moved to the opposite side of the room.
As if this was not quite enough, Louisa Hurst's and Caroline Bingley's mobiles rang also. Elizabeth was amazed that everyone carried such a thing. Bennet forbade her to, because it was not safe. She rolled her eyes at Mr. Gardiner. "When does yours go off?"
He laughed and pointed at his wife. "It already did. We share one."
Elizabeth occupied herself with listening in on Louisa and Caroline. "I'm at Pemberley," Caroline was saying. "Oh. Yes. Yes. Oh." Elizabeth thought Caroline was holding a particularly interesting conversation and turned her attention to Louisa who was apparently arranging a meeting with someone, but not on Fridays because she had aerobics classes then. Elizabeth mischievously wondered if Mr. Hurst was actually calling his wife, because her phone had rung as soon as he had dialed his.
To his great annoyance, Darcy was also called away for a phone call when everybody else had hung up, and he excused himself. All the callers and called looked extremely pleased with their calls, especially Mrs. Gardiner, and Elizabeth surmised that everyone had received some good news.
"My cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam will be joining us tomorrow," Darcy announced as he returned.
Elizabeth grinned. She liked him and remembered that she called him a babe. Georgiana looked pleased as well and Mrs. Gardiner looked interested. She wondered why. Does she not know he is in the service? I'll tell her later.
Darcy saw her grin and got worried. "Do you like my cousin, Elizabeth?"
"Sure, he's adorable," she smiled.
Caroline gave her a very disapproving look and Darcy looked sheepish. Elizabeth grinned even more. "Adorability runs in the family, I guess," she said to him in a low voice, and his face brightened.
Later that evening, when everybody was doing their own thing, many emails were sent.
Subject: Tomorrow
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:19:02 +0200
From: Fitzwilliam Darcy <"darcy@spyring.com">
To: TheColonel@lover-boy.comWhat time will you arrive?
Subject: Tonight
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:21:26 +0200
From: Fitzwilliam Darcy <"darcy@spyring.com">
To: elizabeth@spyring.comI hope you enjoyed it.
Subject: Re: Tomorrow
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:23:04 +0200
From: r. fitzwilliam <"TheColonel@lover-boy.com">
To: darcy@spyring.comFitzwilliam Darcy wrote:
>
>What time will you arrive?tea time? I have some things to take care of first.
Subject: Re: Job
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:28:14 +0200
From: The Nun <"nun@death-star.com">
To: collins@cuteandcuddly.comCollins wrote:
>Wickham.
>10 - Brighton
>first payment 20.000
>last payment 30.000done
Subject: Re: Re: Tomorrow
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:28:32 +0200
From: Fitzwilliam Darcy <"darcy@spyring.com">
To: TheColonel@lover-boy.com>Fitzwilliam Darcy wrote:
>>
>>What time will you arrive?r.fitzwilliam wrote:
>
>tea time? I have some things to take care of first.OK. what's her name?
Subject: money
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:30:01 +0200
From: hurst <"hurst@cornerpub.com">
To: bingley@netherfield.netcame into some money today. can finally pay you back.
Subject: business...
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:30:59 +0200
From: r. fitzwilliam <"TheColonel@lover-boy.com">
To: fitzie-fan@iamyours.comI had some other business to take care of today, but do you think we could take care of ours before tea time tomorrow?
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Tomorrow
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:33:55 +0200
From: r. fitzwilliam <"TheColonel@lover-boy.com">
To: darcy@spyring.comBusiness!
&none of yours ;-P
Subject: hurst & money
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:36:41 +0200
From: charles b <"bingley@netherfield.net">
To: crln@hotmail.comwhere did hurst get that money from
he offered to pay me back!!!
Subject: Re: business...
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:36:59 +0200
From: someone<"fitzie-fan@iamyours.com">
To: TheColonel@lover-boy.comr. fitzwilliam wrote:
>I had some other business to take care of today, but do you think we could take care of ours before >tea time tomorrow?I guess so. I'll be there.
Subject: The Nun
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:37:32 +0200
From: Gardiner <"gardiner@spyring.com">
To: fanny@spyring.comHi Fanny, you can tell Bennet that I have just received word that Wickham has been eliminated today.
M.G.
Subject: Re: hurst & money
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 21:39:41 +0200
From: Caroline R. B.<"crln@hotmail.com">
To: bingley@netherfield.netHurst and money? Odd...
Part 22
Elizabeth turned on her laptop the next morning and checked her email. She had several messages, and decided to read Darcy's first. She smiled when she read it, but she couldn't think of a reply, so she clicked on Fanny's first mail.
Subject: Come back
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 15:44:41 +0200
From: Fanny <"fanny@spyring.com">
To: elizabeth@spyring.comBennet calls you back to Longbourn straight away. There is no reason to stay in Lambton. You're needed here.
Fanny.
"Why?" she whined. "I wonder what that next mail is about."
Subject: Emergency
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 07:09:52 +0200
From: Fanny <"fanny@spyring.com">
To: elizabeth@spyring.comEmergency. Lydia has disappeared. We fear the worst. Return at once.
Fanny.
"Lydia?" she cried. "Oh no!"
Darcy arrived to find her packing in a frenzy. She was not actually getting anything done, merely making a big mess.
"What is wrong?" he asked.
"I have been called back. Lydia has disappeared. I know they fear she has been killed!" The tears ran freely. "She was like a little sister to me!"
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, no."
"Where are the Gardiners?" Darcy looked around.
"They are out. I will have to tell them before I go. I can't leave before they get back and I am in such a hurry!"
"I can do that for you. You can go. I'm sorry you won't be able to visit us at Pemberley today."
"So am I," she said sadly. Finally she had packed all her things. "I must go."
"Bye," he said.
Elizabeth left and he waited for the Gardiners to return. They arrived after an hour or so, very worried about Lydia, whom they knew well also. "Darcy, I think they could use you," Mr. Gardiner said.
"Use me?"
"Yes. You have a lot of connections," Mrs. Gardiner added. "You might be able to find out what has happened to the girl, and besides, you have absolutely nothing to do here, except to hold fancy dinner parties."
Darcy was happy that his superior allowed him to do something and he grinned. "With good food though, wouldn't you say, Mrs. Gardiner?"
"Excellent food. Now get moving."
"Yes, ma'am!"
While Darcy was getting ready for the action, Colonel Fitzwilliam was entertaining a mysterious visitor at his home, and Mr. Hurst was depositing a sum of money at the bank, Lady Catherine held a short conference with Collins.
"It is time for the final action. Send word to our minions to place the bombs in Parliament Friday. That will show them not to mess with me. It is time that my demands were met."
"Yes, Lady Catherine," Collins bowed. "Does Your Ladyship have any other wishes?"
"Eliminate the Nun. No one must know who ordered all those deaths."
"How?" Collins squeaked.
"I leave that up to you, but if he is not dead by Friday you know whose head will be rolling."
"I don't know who he is!" Collins protested in fear.
"Find out. Are you stupid or something?"
Part 23
At three o'clock in the afternoon two cars pulled up in front of the house. Colonel Fitzwilliam alighted from one and Caroline from the other. "I don't see Darcy's car," he said to her.
She frowned. "It is a bit daft to invite you to tea and then leave."
They went inside and Georgiana told them that Darcy had been called away on an emergency.
"He's not a doctor, is he?" Caroline said. "What is the emergency for?"
"He didn't say," Georgiana said. "I'm sorry. His emergencies are always rather hush-hush and he never tells me about them."
"Are you free tonight?" the Colonel asked Caroline with an engaging smile.
"Yes."
"Let's go and have some fun then. I give you leave to hold a pyjama party with your friends or something, Georgiana," her cousin said, "because I deprive you of one of your guests." He handed her some money. "Have fun too."
Darcy questioned some of his informants, and he found out that Brighton was the place where Lydia had been seen last. He had heard that Wickham had been assassinated there, of course, and he wondered if the two cases were somehow connected. Wickham had been stationed in Meryton as well, and it was not unthinkable that Lydia had met him, he thought.
He went to see his Brighton informant, and learned that Lydia has visited her two days ago, but that she had not showed up for their second appointment. He found out the name of her hotel and walked over.
"Lydia Bennet?" he inquired of the receptionist. Bennet was the name all of Bennet's team used when they were on a job.
"Sorry, sir. She hasn't been in since yesterday morning," the receptionist told him after checking her books.
"Have you any idea where she went?"
"No, sir."
"Did she not ask for directions to anywhere?" he asked.
"No, sir."
He walked out of the hotel again, seemingly. He had caught a glimpse of Lydia's room number, 149, and he walked around to enter through the back door. Unseen by the receptionist he went up to the first floor to Lydia's room. Picking the lock was easy, and he closed the door behind him as he looked around the room. It was pretty chaotic, and he started with some papers lying on the table. They were unimportant, and his eye fell on Lydia's laptop. He opened it and turned it on. She had a message from Wickham in her mailbox, and he read that Wickham had had a meeting with Lydia in the house he was staying in. Darcy copied the address and left the hotel.
Subject: Meeting
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 15:21:14 +0200
From: Collins <"collins@cuteandcuddly.com">
To: nun@death-star.com
I would like a meeting. I shall leave it up to you to suggest a date and a place, but I would appreciate it if it could be before Friday, if at all possible with your schedule.
Your humble servant,
William Collins
Fanny2 had to share a room with Henry Crawford and he embarrassed her no end by reading poetry out loud when they were in bed -- they had a room with two single beds. He kept her from sleep all the time with all of his questions about what she liked and where she had been. She was not really grateful to Bennet for this assignment, and yet, she had to admit that Henry was not always annoying. She had to be even more alert now that both his associates had been killed. He could well be on the Nun's hit-list, so they had to keep Henry's whereabouts concealed.
Meanwhile, some of Collins' underlings and corrupted soldiers were busy fabricating bombs with the materials that had disappeared from various army bases.
Elizabeth had returned to Longbourn for a hectic meeting. Everybody had been called back, because things were going to happen, as Bennet put it. They were all ready for action and Bennet announced that he himself would go in search of Lydia, as the others could not be missed.
Part 24
Colonel Fitzwilliam had taken Caroline to one of his aunt's restaurants. After dinner they had settled themselves on his couch with a bottle of wine.
Collins anxiously checked his email every thirty minutes for a reply from the Nun, but none came. He was getting desperate already. How could he kill the man, or woman, if he did not know who it was? He would be replaced if he did not succeed. Perhaps he could make a deal with the assassin. But then he got an idea. Somehow it had to be possible to see which computer the emails came from. He picked up a phone and dialed the number of a computer wizard.
Darcy arrived at the house Wickham had been staying in. He observed it from the outside and saw all the curtains were drawn. It was rather unusual. He did not ring the bell. There was no need to advertise his presence. He went round the back and climbed over a wall. With a thud he landed in the garden and immediately pressed his back against the house. No one came. Darcy tried the back door. It was locked, but he was an experienced lock picker. He swung the door open and stepped into the kitchen. Quietly he checked the rooms with his gun in his right hand. There was no one downstairs. Even more quietly he climbed the stairs. One of the rooms upstairs was locked, but the key hung on a hook beside the door. He turned it in the lock and opened the door. He stepped inside and something hit him on the head. It all went black.
"Yeah!" Lydia cried triumphantly. She had been practicing this in her mind, and she was very happy that it had really worked. The crook lay sprawled out on the floor, and she stepped over him, turning back to pick up his gun to take it with her. She walked out of the house and back to her hotel, where she packed all her belongings and was just ready to set off for Longbourn when Bennet called.
"Yes, I'm all right. I escaped," Lydia told him.
"Wickham's dead."
"He told me he was blackmailing Lady Catherine because of the pigeon scandal."
"Interesting. That might have something to do with his death. Did he tell you anything?"
"No. Yes. He suspected Edmund Bertram of being the Nun."
"Edmund Bertram? Highly unlikely."
"I don't know why."
"Stay there, Lydia. Check out that church again, and where he might have parked his car and all that."
She unpacked her things again since Bennet had ordered her to stay in Brighton for the time being.
Darcy regained consciousness. His head hurt, and he groaned. He wondered who had hit him. Whoever it was had not thought it necessary to lock him up or kill him. It had probably been Lydia. "Ungrateful girl," he muttered. "I come to rescue her and look what she does to me. She even took my gun."
He called Mrs. Gardiner. "I found her, I think, but she hit me over the head and got away." Mrs. Gardiner laughed at his tone. "Sure, laugh."
"I have had some alarming news from Longbourn. Charlotte has intercepted some of Collins' phone calls. He is having the Nun's emails traced."
"Why is that alarming?" Darcy was surprised.
"I think he has been ordered to eliminate the Nun."
"So?"
"I do not want that."
"Why not? He's a killer."
"I have my reasons. I also believe your cousin is in danger. Can you come back straight away?"
Darcy was worried. "Sure."
"Keep a very close eye on Collins."
"OK."
The Nun and his wife of three months were woken up by the sound of the phone ringing. He answered it, listened, and put it down again with a frown. "What was it?" his wife asked sleepily and a little annoyed.
"Get dressed as quickly as you can," he ordered. "We are leaving."
"What? Now?"
"Yes, now." He kissed her. "Everything will be all right. Just do as I say."
Part 25
Darcy had sped to Hunsford to keep an eye on Collins, but once he got there, he discovered that the slimeball had already left and nobody knew where he had gone. This was indeed a setback and Darcy remembered Mrs. Gardiner's words about his cousin possibly being in danger. He wonder what Colonel Fitzwilliam had gotten himself into. He did not tell Darcy much about what he was doing, having a higher rank. Darcy drove to the Colonel's house. On his way over he encountered Caroline's car and he wondered what it was doing there just before dawn. Could Caroline be Fitzwilliam latest flame? Darcy shuddered.
Darcy parked his car outside of the gates and walked down the path. His cousin's car was still there, but there was also another car. Collins. Darcy froze. What is Collins doing here? Wasn't he supposed to eliminate the Nun? Is Caroline the Nun? He advanced with caution and took out his gun. The door was half open and he entered. He heard Collins move upstairs and calling, "Fitzwilliam, where are you, you villain?"
Fitzwilliam a villain?
"I know you are the Nun, you killer! Come to Collins, baby. You can't escape me!"
Darcy almost dropped his gun. Fitzwilliam is the Nun? No! That can't be. That stupid Collins must be mistaken. Fitzwilliam obviously isn't here. He had to confer with Mrs. Gardiner on this one, and he ran out of the house. He started his car and drove back to Pemberley.
Lydia checked out the church where Wickham was killed. She saw how easy it had been to do something like that unnoticed with all the niches. She sat down on one of the benches next to an old woman. "I come here every day," said the woman. "There was a man killed in here a few days ago. Very bad."
"Did you see it happen?"
"Oh, no."
"I have heard it was done by a nun," Lydia said. "Perhaps you saw her."
"A nun? There are many nuns here. I know most of them, except that tall one."
"A tall one?"
"Yes, very tall. Like a man. She almost pushed me over near the door. Very rude, not at all nun-like."
"Maybe it was a man after all. Where did he go?"
"To the left, like me, but she walked much faster than I did and I did not see her anymore when I reached the bridge."
"Thank you. You have been most helpful." Lydia left the church and turned left. She walked down the street until she came to a bridge. This was where the old woman had lost sight of the nun. Over the bridge she turned right, because that seemed a more deserted area. She was right, because she was soon out of town and she saw many places where someone could park a car and change into a habit. Lydia was not sure what to do with all of this information. All she had found out was that the Nun was tall and had a car, probably.
Darcy arrived at Pemberley and was met by his cousin. "What are you doing here?" Darcy yelled. "I think you have some explaining to do! What was Collins doing at your place?"
"I do not, Major Darcy. May I remind you that I am your superior?"
Darcy glared at his cousin. He never pulled rank with him. "I was ordered to keep an eye on you."
"Well, you were late, weren't you? If we hadn't left, we could have been killed."
"Who are we?"
Colonel Fitzwilliam ignored him. "All we should care about is removing our aunt. Let's go to your study and discuss what can be done. Things are about to get out of hand if we do not act quickly."
Part 26
Mrs. Gardiner tapped her pen on the table. "One, we need to eliminate Collins. He is a loose cannon. Two, something must be done about Lady Catherine. Some of my agents have already taken care of branches of her organisation, but the people closest to her and she herself are still active."
"What about the Nun?" Darcy asked. "Who is it? Collins was looking for her, him, whatever."
"Let us not worry about the Nun," said Mrs. Gardiner. "He is on my payroll."
"What?" Darcy cried. He stared at his cousin. "So it is you!"
Colonel Fitzwilliam saluted and his fingers made a shooting gesture. "Poow!"
"What else don't I know about you?"
"Some more things concerning my family life that I shall not go into now because they have no bearing on the case whatsoever."
"Well," Mrs. Gardiner continued. "Mary has dug up some evidence that Lady Catherine actually broke the law in some instances, so we can get her arrested."
"Will that help?" the Colonel asked doubtfully. "No doubt she will run her empire from prison, or worse, she will not even get sentenced."
"We shall see," said Mrs. Gardiner enigmatically. She counted on Lady Catherine to leave Rosings in a coffin or an ambulance. Undoubtedly they would have to storm Rosings, and it was more than natural that there might be some casualties on the other side when the villains would try to escape. "I do not think the nun trick would work on Collins anymore, so we had better call in your apprentice. Where is she at the moment? Can she be here tomorrow?"
"She's in Gdynia."
"You have an apprentice?" Darcy asked incredulously.
"Sure. I can't be everywhere at the same time. I subcontracted some contracts to someone with the perfect cover: she is a law-student."
In Bennet's office meanwhile, he was instructing his team about the course of action to be followed. "Everybody to Kent."
"What is going to happen?" Elizabeth asked.
"The Grand Finale," Lydia ranted.
"Exactly. We are going to put an end to this forever," said Bennet.
"May we first know who is suspect and who isn't, before we accidentally shoot them?" Jane asked.
"Everybody connected to Rosings is bad," said Bennet.
"Uhh," said Elizabeth. "Not quite."
"What do you mean?"
She took him aside. "Darcy is in the service and so is Colonel Fitzwilliam."
"How long have you known this?" Bennet demanded.
"Well, ever since I first went to Kent. He told me so."
"Elizabeth! I hope you had a very good reason to withhold such evidence from me."
"He...he...offered me his help but I turned it down because I did not like him."
"Since when do you let your personal feelings interfere with your job?" he asked severely. "This might have saved us time!"
"I'm sorry."
"We shall discuss this later in more detail," he warned her. They returned to the others. "Correction. Darcy and Fitzwilliam do not belong to the bad guys."
Part 27
Everybody went to Kent for the total wipe-out. All agents had been summoned, even some people they had never seen, or they had never suspected of being colleagues.
"Have you booked us rooms, Charlotte?" Mrs. Gardiner asked when she and her many spy-boys arrived. Bennet and his spy-girls were already there.
"Yes, though some people will have to share because this Inn is not big enough to accommodate all of us."
"No problem, Aunt Gardiner," Henry Crawford said cheerfully. "Fanny and I are used to it now, aren't we, Fan?"
"I wish you would not call me Fan," Fanny2 said stiffly. "And I still am not used to it, thank you very much."
Elizabeth, who had just seen a James Bond film, was ready to believe she was in the middle of one. Darcy looked very neat in his suit when he stepped out of his car in front of the Inn. She wondered if his car was gadgeted too. Fortunately he did not have any women with him, because that would have made her a little jealous.
"Where is that Colonel of yours?" Bennet asked Mrs. Gardiner. "He is the only one who isn't here yet."
"Oh, there he is," Mrs. Gardiner said, nodding towards the entrance where somebody was having the greatest trouble in tearing his mouth away from a woman with sunglasses and a short dress. "Colonel!" she yelled authoritatively, and he raised his hand in acknowledgment but continued kissing.
"This is a James Bond film," Elizabeth said to Darcy. "I always thought they sketched a much too romantic picture of our profession, you know."
"Does that mean you'd never start anything with a colleague?" he asked with some disappointment.
"Well..."
Colonel Fitzwilliam finally joined them, and Mrs. Gardiner gave him a disapproving look. "Wipe that lipstick off your face and act professional. We have been waiting for you for ages."
"Have some compassion for those of us who are unfortunate to marry outside of the service," he complained. "You can kiss Mr. Gardiner anytime you want, even while in the middle of the action, but I..." he sighed.
Mrs. Gardiner gave him a strange look. "All right," she said briskly. "We are gathered here today to put an end to the devious and criminal activities of Lady Catherine De Bourgh."
"Hear, hear," said somebody.
"We have enough evidence to have her arrested. However, we are not in the position to do so, and we should not reveal ourselves to the police. We shall have them informed after we have taken action."
"We would prefer to do away with her altogether, you mean?" Jane asked. "Isn't that a bit..."
"Oh Jane!" Elizabeth cried. "She's evil. Oh, sorry, Fitzwilliam. She's your aunt."
"No problem," said both Fitzwilliams at the same time.
"We are not too fond of her," the Colonel said. "Sometimes a person must sacrifice his family for world peace. It's good thing that the family members to sacrifice in this case are also the least loved."
"Okay, Colonel," said Mrs. Gardiner sarcastically. "Now that you have informed all of us of the many sacrifices you've had to make to be present here, let us start with the plan. We shall infiltrate the grounds after dark, and I shall divide you into small groups."
Darcy gave Elizabeth a hopeful look, which she returned.
Henry Crawford gave Fanny2 a hopeful look, which she did not return.
"One group shall enter through the front gate, one group through the back gate, and two climb over the walls on the sides to eliminate patrolling guards. We oldies," she indicated herself, Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet, "shall enter through the front gate. I must confer with Bennet about the composition of the other groups, however, and I will let you all know after dinner what we have worked out. Everyone is free to go to their rooms now until dinner. Here's the list with the room numbers. Some of you will have to share, but you're allowed to pick your own roommates."
Part 28
The agents crowded around the list of room numbers and available beds per room. "I wish I had stayed home," Darcy complained. "I'll be roomed with Fitzwilliam again, and he always leaves the bathroom in such a mess. He also crams the room with all of his beauty cases."
"Yeah, my beauty cases," the Colonel grinned. "They contain my tools of the trade," he said, referring to his guns, rifle, and poisoned darts kit.
"Room for three," Charlotte called.
"Lydia, Kitty and Jane!" Lydia answered, and she grabbed the key before anyone could protest.
"Another room for three."
"Me and the Henrys," Darcy spoke up quickly.
"Heck, Darcy!" Henry Crawford complained. "I wanted to go with Fanny."
"It's Fanny2 you mean, Henry2," Henry Tilney said. "Fanny is Bennet's assistant, Henry is me." They disappeared after Darcy, bickering about who had the most right to the name of plain Henry, and who would have to settle for Henry2.
"Let me see," said Charlotte. "That leaves Elizabeth, Fanny2, and Colonel Fitzwilliam and me? For two double rooms?"
"We're going to have to do some shuffling," said Fanny2, who feared she would be teamed with the Colonel, since Charlotte and Elizabeth were such good friends. "Does any of you want to share with Darcy or the Henrys?"
"No need!" the Colonel waved. "I already have a room," he said in a half whisper to Fanny2. "If I could just officially share with you, I'll unofficially share with my wife and I won't be any bother. Just keep a good eye on my bags, and don't tell anyone."
"I suppose this means you'll be late for dinner," Fanny2 said with an unusual touch of sarcasm.
"Oh no," he said innocently. "She has been buzzed back to work because there is an emergency, or a disaster looming, or something like that. She's not here. What a coincidence, eh! That her work and mine are being in a state of emergency at the same time."
Hmmm, Fanny2 thought.
"Well?" Charlotte said impatiently. "How do we split up?"
"You go with Elizabeth," said Fanny2.
"Okay."
When all the agents were upstairs, running to and fro to compare bathrooms and the size of the TV, their superiors sat discussing the attack.
"We'll have a Henry and a Fitzwilliam scale the wall on either side," Mr. Gardiner suggested. "It's better to keep the namesakes apart to prevent them from fighting among themselves. The girls can enter through the back gate, storm in through the kitchen and eliminate the guards or whatever they may find there. We can ring at the front gate as a diversion, pretending that we've come to make a deal."
"We'll encounter some serious assistance. Perhaps one of us is acting as Lady Catherine's informer. She's got one, we know that for sure, but as yet we haven't been able to find out who it is," Bennet warned.
"You never told me that, Bennet," Mrs. Gardiner said with narrowed eyes.
"I was never sure, but the movements of my girls were always tracked. Too much of a coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
"So, Bennet," Mrs. Gardiner said slowly. "Chances are that our little plan will leak out to Rosings?"
"It is not impossible." Bennet smiled an enigmatic smile, however. "But you know I always have some agents tucked away for rainy days, and this case is no exception. You know I never show the back of my tongue."
"The airforce," Mr. Gardiner guessed.
"The navy?" Mrs. Gardiner frowned.
Bennet said nothing. He only smiled.
Part 29
"Mrs. Gardiner?" a waitress inquired. "There is a phone call for you."
Mrs. Gardiner rose and followed the waitress to the phone. She talked briefly, thanked the caller and hung up. "It is as you though, Bennet," she said in a somber voice. "Someone spilled the beans and Lady Catherine is gone."
"Damn," said Bennet.
"Are you going to call in your extras?"
"I have to make a few phone calls," Bennet announced. He walked out of the Inn to a public phone booth where he could not be overheard. He dialed a few numbers and asked them all the same question until he received a positive answer. "I'll be sending someone over to help you, Captain Wentworth."
"They keep a good watch out. Nobody will arrive."
"And through the air?"
"No airport."
"How about a parachute?" Bennet asked.
"That might work, and if my assistant could land right on my yacht, it would be completely perfect."
"Phone Fanny with your position in half an hour, and she'll arrange the dropping," Bennet said, and hung up. Now all he needed was somebody reliable. All of his agents were occupied or stuck here, and the risk of leaking another plan was too great. Suddenly he thought of his old Airforce friend. He dialed his number. "Sorry to bother you, old pal, but we've got an emergency here. Could you lend me one of your people who can jump out of planes and who is generally reliable?"
"Well," said his friend. "Most are involved with other cases, but I could call one back from leave, if you wish."
"Please do."
"Unless this is about Lady Catherine De Bourgh?"
"How did you guess?" Bennet asked.
"Well, there's not much else happening at the moment. I have Captain Bingley on the case. Knows how to jump out of planes too."
"Can I borrow your Captain?"
"Sure."
"Good," said Bennet in relief. "I'll have Fanny work out a dropping arrangement, so if you could brief your Captain? Fanny will contact you and Bingley later to tell all."
"Sure."
"I owe you one."
"Sure."
Bennet called Fanny, and then he returned to the Inn. He assembled everyone in what everyone called the boys' room, and he informed them that there was to be no raid today. Meanwhile he and the Gardiners observed everyone's facial expression very closely. They saw nothing. Nobody looked suspicious.
"Do we know where she has gone?" Darcy asked.
"No," Bennet lied. If he said they did, they'd ask him where, and why they were not going there. He could not say that it was unnecessary without revealing that there were more agents on the case, and potentially threatening the lives of those agents. It was too dangerous with an informer in their midst. Let Lady Catherine think that she was safe.
Part 30
While Bennet and the Gardiners were trying to find out who had spilled the beans to Lady Catherine, Captains Wentworth and Bingley were just getting acquainted before embarking on their secret mission. Wentworth had come in a motor yacht, and he was now trying to locate the figure that had jumped out of the plane some time before. Suddenly he noticed him among the trees, but all he saw was a pair of legs. The upper half of his temporary partner's body was hidden under the parachute. Wentworth shook his head angrily at such stupidity. Apparently the person had not noticed Wentworth's arrival. Did this idiot not know that he was an easy target this way? And he had to work with this clever specimen of mankind! He decided to teach him a lesson. "Freeze! I'm pointing a gun at you!" The person under the parachute froze. "Now take it off!" Wentworth ordered. He enjoyed this, actually. It was not often that he got to play on land.
"What do you think I've been trying to do for the past half hour?" the parachutist said in a muffled voice.
"Slowly!"
"Are you stupid?" the muffled voice said again. "I'm stuck."
Wentworth had to help, and he uncovered a woman, to his great surprise. "I don't need you. You've got to go," he said in a decided tone. He could not use two partners, and least of all a woman who looked like she had no idea how to hold a gun, let alone make her way into a fortified mansion.
"What?" cried the woman indignantly. "You already have a partner? Why did I get orders to go here then? As if I don't have anything better to do!" She thought of her rudely interrupted romantic weekend.
"I was told I was going to get Captain Bingley."
"So?"
"So? Who are you?"
"I am Captain Bingley," the woman said icily.
"You have got to be kidding," said Wentworth in disgust. He had never worked with a female colleague before, and his opinion of them as a valuable partner was consequently not very high. Certainly Headquarters could not have sent him a woman? It was impossible. She had to be an impostor. "Show me some ID or I'll call Bennet to ask your name."
"Don't call him! And ID is going to be difficult."
"Why?"
"I didn't marry a person with the same last name as mine, so it might not tell you anything. It's all very complicated. I was investigating this person, see, and I married him, but nobody knows, and my husband doesn't know I was investigating him either. Something nasty is going to happen when people find out about my marriage and my job," Captain Bingley said with a sigh. "They might think I'm not impartial or objective, you know."
"Fine mess you're in, Captain. Why should I believe you?" Wentworth was still holding his gun.
"Look, Captain. We are here with a common goal: the destruction of Lady Catherine De Bourgh. We are not going to accomplish anything by fighting amongst ourselves."
"How will I know I can trust you?"
Bingley handed him a plastic card. "You might recognise this."
"It does say Bingley!" Wentworth exclaimed indignantly. "You were acting as if it didn't!"
"Yes, of course," she said sweetly. "I was just testing the extent of your male chauvinism."
"Aren't we going to take any action?" Darcy asked his superior when she looked in on the card game that was going on in one of the guys' rooms.
Mrs. Gardiner shook her head. "Patience is --"
"-- something we are running out of!" Colonel Fitzwilliam added. "We want to do something." Both Henrys agreed by nodding their heads. "Who knows what the woman might do if you don't keep an eye on her. Before you know it she might wipe this whole hotel out with us in it. Or worse, she might even take over the country."
Mrs. Gardiner smiled mysteriously. "I promise that there will be some action for you boys in the next 24 hours."
"After you found out where Lady Catherine is hiding, that is," Darcy stated. "Why can't we do that? I'm bored to death in this stupid hotel. I've tried all their tea varieties at least twice already."
"We know where she is."
"You do?" the four men exclaimed in unison. "Let's go then!"
"No. Not until we find out who's been passing on crucial information. We have a mole." The four all looked alarmed, and Mrs. Gardiner could not see any signs of guilt, but she had not expected to. She would find out soon enough. Meanwhile, she hoped that those agents of Bennet's could manage by themselves for another few hours.
Part 31
Bennet and Gardiner felt it was time for everybody to move to the south coast, where Lady Catherine had a seaside mansion. "New arrivals will be noticed. I heard they are keeping a close watch on the roads."
"What do we do? Do you have people in place?"
"I do."
"Who?"
Bennet shook his head enigmatically. "I can't tell you that. They are infiltrating. To reveal their identities and whereabouts would jeopardise their mission. I have another plan, though," he said and he started to reveal the plan. This plan was agreed to, and they began informing their team in Spy Chat.
B &G 13:43:08
FW, are you ready to raid?
Cpt B. 13:43:47
Yes. We go in at 23:57. I calculated the time between the patrols, and 23:57 is the perfect time. We should reach the kitchen at 00:00 approx.
Colonel 13:44:08
Who the heck is Cpt B.? Or FW?
B &G 13:44:23
Colonel, they're the ones you'll be meeting in the kitchen. 00:00, note that down.
FW 13:44:29
Yes, we are ready to raid.
FW 13:44:40
Damn! Cpt B., that was addressed to ME!
B & G 13:44:56
Rest of group will deal with the guards. FW and Cpt B., we have two agents on the premises who will welcome you once you get inside the house.
F. D. 13:45:11
I heard from Her that she has ordered the nun to eliminate you all.
Cpt B. 13:45:36
I heard from Her that she has ordered the nun to eliminate you all.
If the Nun does that, I'll eliminate the Nun.
Colonel 13:45:54
I heard from Her that she has ordered the nun to eliminate you all.
I heard the same. I also heard he was not satisfied with the offered payment ;)
Charlotte 13:45:59
So, B & G, you have back-up we don't know anything about?
B & G 13:46:13
Yes.
B & G 13:47:00
Since I can talk to the rest of you in person, I'll instruct you later.
F. D. 13:47:22
Umm...be careful while you raid. I wouldn't like to be mistaken for a villain and get killed, you know.
Lizzy 13:47:51
Umm...be careful while you raid. I wouldn't like to be mistaken for a villain and get killed, you know.
Naww, that would be a waste of a perfectly good man :)
The Nun joined the chat at 13:47:52
F. D. 13:48:12
WHAT???
B & G 13:48:25
It's the Nun! guys, exit NOW!
Colonel 13:48:33
Hahahaha!
Mr. Collins joined the chat at 13:48:42
B & G 13:48:45
All out!
B & G left the chat at 13:48:50
Cpt B. left the chat at 13:48:56
Lyd & Kit left the chat at 13:48:57
Fanny2 left the chat at 13:49:02
Fanny_Fan left the chat at 13:49:05
Charlotte left the chat at 13:49:06
HenryT left the chat at 13:49:09
Janey left the chat at 13:49:15
FW left the chat at 13:49:16
Mr. Collins 13:49:17
Mr/Ms Nun, I have a new offer. 50 thousand per capita.
The Nun 13:49:30
No.
Fitzie_Fan joined the chat at 13:49:32
Colonel 13:49:39
Sweetie!
Fitzie_Fan 13:49:44
Darling! *kisses Colonel*
Mr. Collins 13:49:47
U reject the offer, Mr/Ms nun?
The Nun 13:50:05
U reject the offer, Mr/Ms nun?
the only receiving good offers here seems to be Mr/Ms Colonel!
Mr. Collins 13:50:26
the only receiving good offers here seems to be Mr/Ms Colonel!
*kisses The Nun*
accept?
Fitzie_Fan 13:50:27
My business is taking me a little longer than planned, but you'll see me soon!
Colonel 13:51:04
Darling! *kisses Colonel*
I hate cybersex ;)
F. D. 13:51:26
Fitzie_fan, which one of us are you fan of?
Colonel 13:51:44
Still here, F.D.? Let me guess, you're private messaging with Lizzy ;-P
The Nun 13:52:00
Sorry about that. I had to go and empty my stomach for a minute, and Collins, are you gay? I'm not & I'd prefer not to be kissed by a man, thank you.
F.D. and Lizzy, stop private messaging me about my identity! I won't answer.
Fitzie_Fan 13:52:08
Have to go! My colleague is starting to complain about women and careers. *kiss*
Fitzie_Fan left the chat at 13:52:17
Lizzy 13:52:27
Still here, F.D.? Let me guess, you're private messaging with Lizzy ;-P
Uh huh ;)
F. D. 13:52:38
Well, Nun, I think you're a terrible spoilsport.
Coz, shall we eliminate him as well?
Mr. Collins 13:52:44
I hate cybersex ;)
I dont
Lizzy, U fancy a bit of cs w/ me?
Colonel 13:53:19
Well, Nun, I think you're a terrible spoilsport.
Coz, shall we eliminate him as well?
Sure, why not ;)
Hey, FD, was that the lunch gong?
Colonel left the chat at 13:53:35
F. D. left the chat at 13:53:51
Lizzy left the chat at 13:53:58
Mr. Collins 13:54:00
Lizzy?
Mr. Collins left the chat at 13:54:56
Part 32
"I don't get this," said Darcy to Fitzwilliam when they walked down to lunch in Lady Catherine's fortified mansion. "Mrs. Gardiner knows who the Nun is, and yet they urged everyone to get out of chat."
"My guess is that Bennet doesn't know, and he was probably the one typing."
"I hope those people will be a bit careful when they storm the house. I have some stuff I want to do after this job."
"Like what?" the Colonel asked.
"I think I could allow myself to be in love when this job is over," Darcy said professionally. "I suppose you wouldn't understand."
"No," said the Colonel, who did not have such control over his feelings as Darcy seemed to have.
"Like, if you die, nobody cares, and you won't die thinking there's so much that you had still wanted to do with this woman, like marrying her, and thinking of your wedding party."
"You can manage without a wedding party," said the Colonel confidently. He could not say he was already married, because the walls had ears and what if anyone overheard and decided to blackmail him by threatening to hurt his wife? He was in a precarious position, having worked for both sides. Collins knew his identity, and the Colonel was completely at his mercy, for if Collins ever told Lady Catherine, her nephew was a dead man. Fortunately for the Colonel, Collins tried to enrich himself by paying the Nun less than what Lady Catherine paid him for the Nun, and he was enjoying the fact that he could take advantage of this situation. Collins had recently read a bit of Volpone, and Mosca was his new hero.
They all sat down to lunch in ominous silence. Lady Catherine did not allow anyone to speak before she had spoken, and she seemed to be in a particularly foul mood because Collins had informed her that the Nun had turned down her offer of 60.000 pounds per kill. Collins had not said that he was planning on keeping 10.000 of that sum for himself. Also, some of her London bombs had been discovered before they had gone off, and new measures had had to be taken.
Her daughter Anne never said anything, and her cousins had yet to discover whether she approved of her mother's business dealings and whether she could be spared when the hurds invaded De Bourgh Mansion.
Bennet and Gardiner assembled their troops in the woods close to the mansion. This way, nobody could email or chat to people on the inside and inform them of the plans. "Listen up. We split up and we eliminate the guards. You've all done that before. I recall we practiced this six times on our last training weekend, so this should be a piece of cake. At five past midnight we all head for the house and hope that those on the inside have cleared the way sufficiently. Any questions?"
"What do we do once we're inside the house?" somebody asked.
"We provide back up for those already inside. And now we wait until dark." The group dispersed and settled down to wait.
Captains Wentworth and Bingley slowly and carefully made their way to the house. Suddenly they stumbled on a person trying to make radio contact with someone. The person had not heard them approach from behind. They paused. "What do we do?" Bingley asked, and they listened to what was being said.
"Dipsy here," said the shadow. "I have news. Tonight at midnight there --"
"Eliminate," said Wentworth curtly, and they jumped forward before the person could say more.
After the deed was done, they moved on, and they reached the wall at a quarter to twelve. There were still more than ten minutes to spare before they could go over the wall. "Wentworth," said Bingley.
"Yes?"
"Please don't kill any handsome men you might find in there."
"War trophy?"
"You could say that."
Bennet gave the attack sign, but in the dark it was difficult to see if all of his team were there. Nobody noticed that one of them was missing.
The radio operator took off her headphones. "Sorry, Mr. Collins. Something happened and I didn't hear anything. It was Dipsy, though, saying something about 4am."
"Something is imminent, baby," said Collins. "Keep listening."
"Yeah..." said the operator, not wanting to mention the muffled struggle she had heard.
Part 33
Wentworth and Bingley had gone over the wall and Bingley was picking the lock of the kitchen door, cursing under her breath. "You'd think that he'd be happy to see me, and that he'd have the kitchen door wide open, but of course he doesn't know I'm coming. What will he say?" She straightened her back. "It's open, Captain." They went in. It was pitch dark in the kitchen. "Colonel? Turn the lights on," Bingley hissed. "I know you're there."
Something clattered to the floor and seconds later the lights went on. If Darcy and the person in the nun's habit were surprised at her combat suit, the gun and her khaki nail polish, they did not say so, and anyway, the nun was too busy retrieving his gun from the floor, where he had dropped it upon hearing a familiar voice.
"Oh, crisis," Wentworth groaned. "It's the bloody Nun!" he reached for his gun.
"Caroline?" Darcy looked puzzled. "What are you doing here funnily dressed?"
"Rescuing the hubby," she replied. "And Wentworth put that gun down!"
"What's a hubby?" Darcy asked. "Wentworth, don't shoot the Colonel!"
Wentworth lowered his gun, but still gave the nun a menacing glare. "Why does he dress up as a nun? We all know about the Nun."
"I am the Nun," Colonel Fitzwilliam replied calmly, even if he was very much wondering whether he was actually married to a Captain Bingley, just like Caroline was wondering whether she was actually married to an assassin.
While they were thus digesting their surprise, they were surprised by the slimy Collins. He entered the kitchen and pointed a poisoned dart gun at them. "Haha," he cackled evilly. "I've got you there, my friends. You thought you could outwit me, you Fitz nitwits, but it didn't happen. I'm still smarter than you. Don't mess with my patroness! You're gonna die! In the corner, hands above your heads," he motioned. "Did you think I wouldn't have an informer in your group? Ha! Some people are smart. They know when to accept an offer. Unlike you, Colonel. Fifty thousand pounds was not enough for you, but let me tell you that I'll receive a hundred thousand when I eliminate the Nun. I knew you were coming in. From chat of course. Not from that treacherous radio operator. I knocked her out cold because she was telling me lies. All I had to do is lie in wait and steal a few of the Nun's weapons when he had left his room. You're a fool, Colonel. Had you thought I wouldn't search your bags? This is such a handy weapon," he said lovingly. "Soundless and deadly. And no antidote, haha. I know now why you use it. Isn't it ironic that you will die by it? All of you, traitors and villains. And the lovely lady as well, although I will save her for last. I might have a bit of fun with her first." He gave her a lecherous smile.
The Colonel did not care if the odious toad had poisoned darts. No way was he going to lay his filthy hands on his wife. He jumped forward to attack Collins. Collins, taken by surprise, accidentally pulled the trigger and shot a dart.
Somebody fell.
Elizabeth climbed over the wall and knocked out the guards like she had practiced. They fell to the ground and she quickly gagged them and tied them up. Grabbing their guns she ran towards the house to regain her breath in the shadows of the wall. Silently she moved towards the corner. Another dark figure joined her. Suddenly they heard a piercing scream from inside the house.
"What was that, Lizzy?" Jane asked.
Elizabeth frowned. "I don't know, but it didn't sound too good to me. Let's go!" They ran towards the kitchen door. It was a shocking sight that greeted them there. Two people who looked like they were dead, one wounded and one who was blankly staring into space, possibly wounded as well. Only one person was still standing and just about to step into the hall.
Part 34
Darcy turned when Elizabeth and Jane entered. "I'm glad you're here," he said curtly. "Things went a bit wrong here."
"I can see that," said Elizabeth grimly, while she looked at the obviously dead Collins with the butcher's knife protruding from his chest. An unknown man -- Wentworth -- was bandaging his arm, but he looked otherwise alright. A nun, who on closer inspection turned out to be Colonel Fitzwilliam, sat looking at the limp body of a woman in a combat suit, draped half across his knees. Her eyes were closed, but the Colonel looked so totally numbed that Elizabeth guessed she must be dead. "It's Caroline," she said in surprise.
Colonel Fitzwilliam looked up to her with lifeless eyes and then he looked down again. "It was," he said tonelessly.
"Come on," Darcy urged. "We have no time to lose."
"Jane, stay with him," Elizabeth looked over her shoulder. "He doesn't look too good." She followed Darcy out and Wentworth joined them, despite his bandaged arm. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes," he answered. "Don't worry. Wentworth."
"Elizabeth. Darcy," she nodded ahead to Darcy. They heard gunshots outside and Darcy halted. "Go on," she prodded. "The rest of the team will take care of that. We must make sure she isn't inside anymore."
"Let's kill the radio first," he suggested. "Shouldn't take too long."
"Anne!" cried Wentworth upon seeing the unconscious radio operator.
Darcy smashed the radio panel. "We don't have time for this," he pulled Elizabeth along. "This is obviously a game for single people." They continued on alone. "The caves!" he exclaimed when they did not find any trace of Lady Catherine anywhere.
"The caves?" Elizabeth repeated.
"Yes, through here," Darcy ran to the study. He placed his fingers on the eyes of a horrible bronze Buddha statue and part of the bookcase swung away. "Let's go."
Elizabeth was impressed. "How do you know all this?" she asked a little suspiciously.
"No time to explain," Darcy said quickly. "Shut up and follow me." He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the narrow passage that sloped downwards. Suddenly he stopped and she bumped into him.
"Nice aftershave," Elizabeth said stupidly in the dark.
"Thanks. It looks like we're locked out of the tunnel," he said, trying the wooden door before him.
"Shoot the lock," she suggested. "That's what I always read in books. Either that or celluloid, though I haven't got the foggiest what celluloid is."
"Good idea. I'll shoot. Plug you ears."
Elizabeth laid a hand on his shoulder. "Wait. Will people be able to follow us and assist us if necessary?"
"No."
"Aii."
"Indeed," he muttered. "Get out of the way or you'll be hit." He fired a couple of shots and the lock sprung open mysteriously. "Okay, there we go." The tunnel was cold and there was a draught. At one point Darcy fell forwards into a pile of earth. There was a hole in the roof directly above him. "At least we get fresh air," he said, helping Elizabeth who had fallen as well. "I think we're almost there. It's getting rocky here." Suddenly there was a bit of light before them. When they came closer, they felt that the tunnel widened into a cave of sorts, and at the end of the cave they could see a star twinkling. By the light of the moon and stars they could just see a boat taking off in the distance. "Damn," Darcy said. "Are you cold?"
"A little."
He put his arm around her. "There isn't much we can do. She probably hasn't got another boat down here. Shall we go back?"
"I think we had better."
Part 35
"Colonel?" said Jane. "Come. Let's go." He did not seem to hear her, so she pulled at his arm.
"Caroline," he mumbled when she finally got through to him. "I won't leave her here with that toad."
"Take her then," Jane urged. "But you must come." They were joined by Wentworth who was supporting a dazed looking woman. "Who's that?" Jane asked.
"My ex-fiancée."
"What was Caroline doing here?" she asked Wentworth.
"Bennet sent her."
"And umm...was she a good friend of the Colonel's?"
"Married to him, I think," said Wentworth contorting his face as pain shot through his wounded arm.
Jane led them to where Bennet and the Gardiners were waiting. They could not discern much in the dark. "Jane? Who did you bring?" Bennet peered behind her.
"Captain Wentworth, sir," said Wentworth in a tired voice. "I don't know if Anne Elliot works for you, but since I found her knocked unconscious, I took her anyway. I have a knife wound."
"Ow, my head," said Anne, whose head had been bursting with every step. "I need to lie down."
"Come with me," said Jane. "I have a first aid kit."
"Colonel?" said Mrs. Gardiner anxiously. "Who are you carrying? Is she in need of first aid as well?"
"It's Captain Bingley," Wentworth informed them before following Jane. "She's been shot with a poisoned dart."
"Oh dear. Colonel, that is your field. What do we do?" Mrs. Gardiner had no idea of his personal involvement, and his deeply grieved tone surprised her.
"There is nothing we can do."
"No antidote?" she asked anxiously.
"No." He gently let the body down on the ground and caressed it.
"Colonel," said Bennet. "Life goes on. You have a job to do."
"Bennet," said Mrs. Gardiner angrily. "Leave him alone. Let me handle this." She sat down next to the Colonel and put her arm around him. "I did not know you loved her. Who is she?"
"M-m-my w-w-wife," said Colonel Fitzwilliam, and haltingly he told Mrs. Gardiner how he had met her. "She's w-w-wearing my w-w-wedding ring," he concluded, taking Caroline's hand to show Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner accidentally grabbed her by the wrist instead of the hand, and by doing so she made a curious discovery.
Elizabeth and Darcy were about to get back into the tunnel when there was a sudden explosion. Darcy threw Elizabeth down on the ground and covered her with his body. "What was that?" she asked when the sound had died down, but before Darcy could answer, there was another explosion further away.
"Time bombs in the tunnel," he said grimly. "So she couldn't be followed. Fortunately we were early, or else we would have been blown up. Before it turns out that there are any in the cave as well we had better get out of here."
"How? Swimming?"
Darcy noticed that it was high tide, and that they would likely be smashed onto the rocks if they tried to climb onto land anywhere. "I suppose we could explore the tunnel and see if we can still make our way through. Maybe it didn't cave in. Or we could wait here till it's ebb."
"I vote for that. If there really were bombs, they would have gone off at the same time as those other two."
"I hope you're right."
"If not, we go down together. How's that?" Elizabeth joked.
"Great," Darcy said drily.
Part 36
"I think we need to get this lady to a hospital," Mrs. Gardiner decided.
"Why? For anatomy students to play with?" Colonel Fitzwilliam said bitterly. "No. I don't want her body cut up."
"Listen to me. She is not dead!"
"Not dead?" he repeated dumbly.
"She still has a pulse. Why did you not check?" Mrs. Gardiner almost shouted at him as she scrambled to her feet.
"Because...because my darts are lethal! Why should I check?"
"You probably made a mistake preparing them!"
"I didn't prepare anything. Collins did that. She's not dead? He didn't mix the two substances? She's not dead? Alive?" He tried to feel her pulse, but in his eagerness he could not feel anything.
"Get her to the hospital," Mrs. Gardiner ordered. "I'll drive you."
"She escaped," Lydia reported to Bennet. "We searched the house, but we could not find anyone. Where's Lizzy and Darcy?"
"There was no sign of them either?"
"Nowhere."
"That is very strange. We must assume they are after Lady Catherine then and wait until they contact us," Bennet said. "Let's all go back to the hotel and get some rest. Anybody wounded?"
"No," Henry Crawford answered.
"Good! Much better than that pathetic lot Jane dragged out of the house. All of them have been taken to the hospital. Are we all here?" He did a quick head count. "No, who's missing?"
"Charlotte," Kitty frowned. "Funny. I haven't seen her since way before we went in." Of course the only two who could shed light on Charlotte's absence were being driven to the nearest hospital, but Bennet had had his suspicions, or if he had not, he pretended not to be surprised.
In the hospital, Jane had called Charles Bingley to stay with his sister, because she and Colonel Fitzwilliam needed to get back to work. Poor Charles was not in the service, and Jane doubted that he had ever given its existence much thought. Now he was faced with Jane who carried a gun concealed under her coat, and an unconscious sister in a combat suit. Charles, who never could keep up with trends, thought this was a new fashion for ladies. That did not worry him much, although he did not understand how she ever came to be in this hospital, and who the mysterious priest -- Colonel Fitzwilliam without his nun's head dress looked like a priest of some obscure order -- was who had to explain to the doctor what kind of poison was in Caroline's body.
When the priest kissed Caroline's forehead, Bingley was a little surprised. Aren't they sworn to celibacy or something? "Father," he ventured. "Did you bless her just now? I didn't know my sister was religious. I mean, go right ahead and kiss her if that's any sort of ritual, but I must admit that I'm kind of surprised." The priest gave him a puzzled look. "I'm sorry," said Bingley. "I didn't mean to interrupt your prayer or whatever."
"That's quite alright, brother. I wasn't praying," he said to his brother-in-law.
"Charles, Charles," Bingley, who had no idea of his sister's marriage, said hastily. "Is she going to be okay? Does your divinity watch over her now?"
"She is in safe hands," said the Colonel, who had more faith in medicine than in divinities. "I must go now, but I'll be back."
Elizabeth and Darcy were waiting for the opportunity to get out of the cave. They were speculating on what the rest of the group had been up to. "I wonder who Collins' informer was," Elizabeth said. "He implied that it was someone from our group."
"I hope not."
"I'm a little cold."
"Give your hands."
Part 37
Darcy had his mini-computer with him, of course. He turned it on to communicate with the Gardiners and Bennet.
"Cool thingy," said Elizabeth appreciatively. "I wish Bennet weren't so technophobic."
"That's because he's only got female agents," Darcy answered as he waited for his appointed Chat page to load. "He's afraid that they'll go to silly chat rooms and use it to look up pictures of movie stars."
"Yeah, right." She did not comment any more, because she wanted to know what Darcy was going to do. "Oooh! That chat!"
F & E joined the chat at 03:40:12
"Who are F & E?" Elizabeth asked.
"That's us," Darcy explained. "I thought you knew my name was Fitzwilliam?"
"Uhh, yeah."
F & E 03:40:45
Nobody here?
B & G joined the chat at 03:44:12
F & E 03:44:57
It was about time!
B & G 03:45:15
Where are you two?
F & E 03:46:40
We are in a cave. (Really!) Waiting for low tide so we can get out. Meanwhile, we are amusing ourselves. Elizabeth is looking up Leonardo sites, Bennet.
B & G 03:47:01
A cave? How did you end up there? Where is Lady C?
F & E 03:47:45
escaped *
Janey joined the chat at 03:47:52
Colonel joined the chat at 03:47:58
F & E 03:48:18
# silence all around as B&G absorb the shock #
B & G 03:48:41
No need to become facetious, F. This is a serious issue.
F & E 03:47:45
Janey! Colonel! Have you recovered?
Colonel 03:48:09
DEATH WISH LXVI!
F & E 03:48:33
love those movies!
F & E 03:48:45
Is no one going to talk to us? We are bored.
Colonel 03:48:58
# Hates to interrupt the caveman's friendly chatter, but wants to get down to action #
B & G 03:49:21
F & E, I suggest you report back here as soon as possible. Who is Leonardo? Is he Lady C's sidekick?
Janey 03:49:27
# kicks doorman #
F & E 03:49:33
# staying respectfully away from Colonel #
Colonel 03:49:50
bye
B & G 03:49:59
Colonel, you don't know where she's gone. You CAN'T get down to action.
F & E 03:50:08
don't get killed, Richard
Colonel left the chat at 03:50:11
F & E 03:50:22
stop him hes unbalancde
Janey 03:50:28
Colonel, don't do anything rash!
F & E 03:50:31
...typo...
B & G 03:50:38
Don't worry, F. He's not going anywhere other than his bed. We drugged his hot cocoa.
F & E 03:50:52
Hot cocoa?????!?!??!?
F & E 03:51:05
He drinks that muck? But good move, anyway. We'll be out of this cave and in hot pursuit of Lady Catherine once the water level is lower. Can you arrange for a boat and some weapons. Plenty of ammo too!
Part 38
At low tide the two in the cave found their way out. They climbed the rocks towards the beach where they found Kitty waiting beside a small speedboat.
"Hang on," Darcy protested angrily. "Do we have to pursue Lady Catherine in that?"
"No," said Kitty, who was a little afraid of him. "There's a yacht just around the corner. There, behind those rocks."
"Okay." Elizabeth started pushing the boat into the water. "Are you coming, Kitty?"
"No way," Kitty said quickly. She was much too scared that Darcy would yell at her if she did something stupid. "I was ordered to give you the boat, that's all. I'm going back now. Here," she handed them an ordinary looking parcel wrapped in brown paper. "Take this parcel so we can track your progress on the internet. Good luck." Kitty pushed them off and there they went.
Elizabeth looked at Darcy from the corner of her eye. He was steering the boat with a grim expression on his face. "I must thank you for taking me with you," she said quietly.
"What?" he yelled. "I can't hear you."
"Thanks for taking me," she yelled back.
"Oh!" Darcy returned his attention to his course again.
"You could easily have taken the Colonel," Elizabeth yelled at his back.
He shook his head and mumbled something she could not overhear because they were going so fast.
"What? Why not?"
The speedboat slowed down as the yacht came into sight. Darcy turned. "We work well together," he said quickly. "You and I," he added, in case she had misunderstood. "I know it's probably too late to ask right now, but you could always take the speedboat back. Do you want to work with me now?"
"Yes!"
Darcy glowed with pleasure. "Chouette!" He pulled a serious face. "No romantic stuff anymore, though," he said. "Business first."
"When did we ever...?" Elizabeth looked puzzled.
Darcy coloured brightly. "Oh dear."
"Are you mixing this up with a previous assignment?" Elizabeth frowned unhappily.
"Uhh, my dreams, I guess," he said awkwardly. "They seemed so real!" he said quickly.
"I forgive you on one condition," she said archly.
"And that is?"
"When this is all over, etcetera, etcetera."
"No problem!" Darcy promised faithfully.
Bennet and Gardiner were tracking the progress of the parcel on the internet. "It slows," Mr. Gardiner exclaimed. "They reached the yacht."
"I hope those smarties take it with them. There is no point in showing us where to find the speedboat."
After a short delay they saw the parcel take off again. "There they go," said Mr. Gardiner with satisfaction.
Mrs. Gardiner had gone to the hospital to interrogate Wentworth and Bingley. Bingley was still unconscious, but Wentworth was doing fine. "Wentworth, does she have a seaworthy yacht?"
"Yes."
"Where is it?"
"Not far from the house. A few miles, at that classy marina."
"Oh, I know it." Mrs. Gardiner immediately phoned the Henrys to go there. "Where does she usually go with it?"
"I think she'll be going to London."
Colonel Fitzwilliam was out cold from his hot cocoa. He really found it distasteful in a normal condition, but now he did not taste or feel anything positive anymore. He wondered if he was an evil machine or if the Nun had had justice on his side. Before reaching any conclusion he had fallen into a deep sleep and he was as harmless as a baby.