Shadow of great britain

"who?"

Vidocq turned to look. When his eyes were fixed on the carriage, the Paris detective's eyes also became playful.

"Oh... Bartemi, is it this bastard? His damn raccoon eyes are not very recognizable."

I don't know why, but when he saw the carriage, Arthur felt empty in his heart.

Years of service in the detective department gave him a special sense of smell. Coupled with the previous unhappiness with the Paris police in front of the detective agency, Arthur always felt that the police leader named Bartemi had appeared at this time. Something is wrong in Saint-Pélagé prison.

Arthur and Vidocq exchanged a brief look, and the two top detectives from both sides of the Taiwan Strait reached a consensus almost instantly.

Vidoc took out a gold Louis from his coat pocket and pushed it through the car window. He told the groom: "Follow the car carrying sacks in front of you, and be sure not to lose it."

The groom took the coin without looking back. It wasn't until he held it in his hand that he noticed something was wrong with the texture. He looked down and felt that his wrist wielding the whip had a little more strength: "You are willing to pay this price, don't He said he was following a carriage, even if he was following a dragoon, he couldn't escape from my grasp! "

Immediately afterwards, Arthur stuffed a cigar through the car window: "I hope you can keep your word like nails nailing a wooden board. By the way, it's best not to follow too close, because the person we are following is not a good person either." In return. If you can do this job beautifully and cleanly, in addition to the deposit just now, I will also pay you an additional fee after everything is over. "

"no problem!"

The groom suddenly took on a big job, and even the state of driving took on a new look. He was holding a cigar in his mouth and holding the reins tightly with both hands. In order to prevent Bartemi from being followed, he even reached out to lower the brim of his hat slightly. centimeter.

Seeing that he had exerted great energy, Arthur was a little relieved. He turned back to Vidoc and asked: "Except for you, about the death of Franco in Saint-Pelage Prison." Did you disclose it to the police department?”

"Heh...this is the most interesting part."

Vidoc sneered: "I never mentioned Francos' matter to them at all, and they didn't know where I planned to start investigating the case. In order to prevent these guys from getting in my way, I investigated separately from them. Yes, they check theirs, and I check mine, but our investigation results will eventually be summarized by Director Zhisoke. And I don’t believe Bartemi and the others are so smart, if they can think of it from Francos. Now that I have it, Risokai won’t rush to the detective office to ask me for help.”

Arthur blew out a smoke ring when he heard this: "It seems that this is the problem."

"What's wrong?"

Arthur reached out to the window and lit the cigar ashes: "The first rule of handling a case: the more people know the inside story, the more people will leak it. Mr. Vidocq, you should not ask Risso until the matter is settled. Kai reported it. Even if he promised you that he would not leak the secret, it does not mean that the people around him will not, and even he himself may not be trustworthy. "

This was the first time Vidocq heard such a novel argument: "Brother, what riddle are you talking about?"

Arthur hinted: "Mr. Vidocq, do you think that if the final result of the assassination case is revealed by the Breaux Detective Agency, such a result would be very difficult for Zissequet, the head of the Paris Police Department. Isn’t it very respectable? A huge department, a huge organization with tens of thousands of people in charge, but its ability to do things is not as good as the small and micro enterprises you founded. How will the king treat him, the chief of the Paris police? "

Vidocq stared at Arthur and suddenly laughed: "Of course I understand this, so I promised him that I will never be greedy for this credit. And the most important thing is that the case has not been investigated yet. Even if Suo Kai wants to take credit, is it too early? "

Arthur shook his head slightly: "Is there any new breakthrough from the Paris police? They just need to find the next clue from Francos' mouth."

"Well... I can't rule out this possibility." Vidocq asked instead: "So, we should have thought of it together. Do you also think that the sack in Bartemi's car should contain Francos’ body?”

"Perhaps it may not be a corpse." Arthur held his chin and analyzed: "Aren't you at odds with him? If he learns that Francois is the chess piece you want to use, while completing his mission, he will take him with him by the way. Wouldn’t it be disgusting to hide out of jail?”

"Your guess is very consistent with that bastard's dirty style, just like the departments he worked for in the past."

"You used to be the head of the Security Department, responsible for investigating and combating criminal activities. So what was this Bartemi, what was he responsible for in the past?"

Vidocq said disdainfully: "He has spent most of his career working in the Moral Patrol Department."

"Oh." Arthur understood instantly: "Specially responsible for prostitutes?"

"That's right. From your tone, it seems that both Scotland Yard and the Paris Police are looking down on these people who are trying to make a fortune out of women."

Vidocq ridiculed: "For example, the detective department we work in not only has to use our brains, but sometimes has to come into close combat and face-to-face confrontation with the most vicious criminals. The General Intelligence Department is responsible for monitoring political activities and social movements. There are many people at the parade and rally." Not to mention the danger, if the rallies find out that you are a police officer, you are lucky to be beaten to death. As for the Public Security Patrol Department, although they only deal with street gangsters, they walk so much every day, so it is still a hard work. Others, such as the Judicial Police Department, the Passport and Foreign Affairs Department, the Municipal Police Department, the Public Health Department, etc., also have their own difficulties. Only Bartemi's moral patrol only needs to be in front of prostitutes. Just pretend to be a hypocrite.”

Arthur joked: "But it seems that this hypocrite has been promoted now?"

Vidocq snorted: "You work in the most risk-free job all day long, and you hardly make a mistake all year round. You can get promoted even if you work in a place like this!"

As soon as Vidocq said these words, not only Arthur fell silent, but he himself fell silent as well.

The two people looked at each other, lowered their heads in unison, and sighed together.

A simple sentence, but it broke the hearts of two people.

In a sense, the careers of the two great detectives in the past two years are quite similar.

One of them took a bullet that he shouldn't have taken during the London riots, and the other helped turn the tide during the Republican uprising in Paris.

In the end, one was assigned to Hannover and the other was forced to retire internally.

Although Vidocq said that he envied Arthur for still being able to work in the public sector, Arthur knew in his heart that if he hadn't been shot to death, he would have been lying in the coffin board of St. Martin's Church for three days before he died. The miracle of resurrection.

So now, his end may be worse than Vidoc's.

Whether it was embezzling public funds from the London Stock Exchange or ordering the police to open fire under the Tower of London, he had to bear all the responsibilities.

Although the cabinet might give him a lenient sentence in view of his hard work and not let the court actually sentence him to hanging, it would definitely push him out directly to face the artillery attack on Fleet Street.

Not to mention being a knight of the lower rank and second secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I am afraid that he will not be able to survive in Britain from now on.

But it was precisely because he lay in St. Martin's Church for three days that he aroused the anger of the Scotland Yard police officers. After all, there were quite a few police officers in Scotland Yard who cherished his friendship.

Even Director Luo Wan, who had always disliked him, was willing to cut himself off at this critical moment and went directly to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to find Viscount Melbourne to slap the table.

Coupled with the good popularity that Arthur had accumulated over the years, the king's appreciation and mercy, and the combined efforts of the Duke of Wellington, Lord Brougham and others, this young man from the York countryside was given a cold treatment.

In other words, under normal circumstances, if an average person wants to follow his path to success, he needs at least three lives.

Even Arthur himself needs two lives.

The two were silent for a while, and finally Vidocq broke the silence first.

"Forget it, let's not mention these unlucky things. The most important thing at the moment is to find out what kind of treasure is in Bartemi's sack. He will not appear in San Perage prison for no reason, here The prisoners are usually criminals and political prisoners, but clients and prostitutes are not.”

The carriage of the two followed Bartemi's carriage all the way west out of the Latin Quarter and the Saint-Germain District. As the carriage drove out of the main city, the vehicles and pedestrians on the road became increasingly sparse.

In heavy traffic, it can be difficult to tell whether someone is following you or not.

And when the traffic flow is small, all the tricks and conspiracies become nowhere to be found.

Arthur patted Vidocq's leg calmly, and then raised his head sideways.

Vidocq raised his hand and touched the brim of his hat, signaling to Arthur that he also noticed something was wrong.

When the carriage left the Saint-Pélagé prison, the two of them thought they were stalking a mantis stalking a cicada.

But now they discovered that there were a few oriole following behind them.

Arthur took out a gold pocket watch from his arms. The glass mirror inside the watch cover clearly reflected the two carriages following them.

Who are these people?

Arthur's heart was full of doubts.

Those royalists from Brittany?

Are they here to follow Vidocq and me, or are they here to follow the Paris Police?

If it was really them, it would mean that their forged identification documents were indeed made by Francos.

The life and death of the forger Francos are also uncertain. Even if this guy is really dead, it will not be done by this group of royalists, because no one will send people to follow a body that can no longer be leaked.

But if these people were not royalists, then who were they?

This kind of endless thinking always annoyed Arthur, but luckily, he no longer needed to think.

A carriage suddenly appeared at the end of this narrow street. It parked there quietly without any intention of giving way.

This car not only blocked Bartemi's way, but also blocked the way of Arthur and Vidocq.

Behind them, the two carriages responsible for tracking them also stopped.

When the groom who was driving saw this, he was impatient and was about to give way to the car blocking the road in front of him, but then he thought about the fact that he was on a tracking mission, and he suppressed his anger in an instant.

But what he never expected was that the two guests who had just reminded him to stay hidden suddenly shouted: "Don't worry about it, just rush out!"

"ah?"

Before the groom could figure out what was going on, he scratched the back of his head and turned around and asked: "Two gentlemen, you..."

Before he could finish his words, he was jumped to the ground by a pedestrian.

He raised his head stubbornly and planned to resist, but the thug's heavy punch knocked his head down in an instant.

It was only then that he noticed the two cars following him.

The car door was pushed open violently, and several thugs wearing big-brimmed hats and burgundy vests got out of the car as if they were tap dancing. They stepped forward and threw off their tuxedos, revealing the gun holsters hanging on their belts.

Vidoc saw this scene through the car window, gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! I never thought that I, Vidoc, would be tricked one day!"

"It may not be a trap for us. Maybe they are here for Bartemi."

Arthur's face didn't look good either: "But even if we are involved, it will not be easy to escape unscathed."

Vidocq opened his coat, revealing two pistols at his waist: "I know your sword skills are good, but I haven't asked you about your marksmanship yet?"

Arthur took the pistol he threw over: "I can only say that it's okay. Every time like this, I miss Alexander very much."

"Remember to find a place to hide later and pray to God. As long as we survive their shooting, your sword skills will come in handy. Do you have a knife on you?"

Arthur picked up the cane beside him and slowly turned the handle. The bright blade was instantly exposed in front of Vidocq's eyes.

Even the Paris detective couldn't help but marvel at such an exquisite gadget: "As expected of an upper-class London gentleman, such a gadget for killing people is made so uniquely, so sinister!"

After saying this, Vidocq opened the car door, but did not rush out. Instead, he used the cover of the car door to expose half of his body and hid his gun-holding right hand behind the car door.

Arthur got out of the car through the door on the other side. He faced the opposite direction, always paying attention to the reactions of Bartemi and the blocker in front of him.

Vidocq said with a smile on his face: "Fellow heroes, I wonder which path you are on? What kind of work do you do? I am also an insider. You should have heard of the name 'Jean Louis'. No. Right? If money is tight these days, although I’m not rich, I can still afford to treat the brothers to a few drinks, so I don’t have to do anything to embarrass everyone.”

If it were an ordinary gangster, he might have put away his gun after hearing Vidocq's words.

But this wave of people in front of me is obviously not here for money.

The leader did not approach Vidocq, but stopped ten steps away and said coldly: "We are not interested in you. Get down on the ground immediately and we can save your life."

While he was talking to Vidocq, Bartemi in front had already clashed with the blocker.

It’s just that this Paris police officer who is usually responsible for moral pickets is obviously not good at close combat. After being punched twice in the face, he was quickly dragged out of the carriage like a dead dog. Even the Paris police’s iconic Képi's hat also fell to the ground and was crushed by the thugs.

"Be honest, or I'll fucking shoot you!"

They separated two people to control Bartemi, while the other person quickly untied the sack.

"Boss, it's Francos. This kid is out of breath!"

The man just finished saying this, and suddenly he was stunned again. His eyes met Arthur, his brows suddenly frowned, and then he said in surprise: "Is it you?"

Vidocq was about to take action, but when he heard this, he quickly turned his head to Arthur: "Do you know each other?"

Arthur stared at the man without speaking for a long time. He didn't remember seeing such a face. But if the other party was a royalist, he might have actually met each other. After all, the lights were too dark that night, and he was not in the mood to get to know the royalists one by one.

Arthur did not answer Vidocq's question directly, but pressed down slightly with one hand to signal him to calm down.

He didn't know why, but he always felt that something was wrong with everything he encountered today.

Whether it was the Paris police officer Bartemi who swaggered around in an open carriage to transport forgers, or this bizarre street encounter...

In particular, when the royalists came to ask for help, he specifically told them to keep a low profile recently and not to rush in. Moreover, this group of royalists also lost a member named Duhan recently...

Suddenly, the pseudonym 'Jean Louis' that Vidocq mentioned that he was proud of flashed through Arthur's mind.

For a moment, his memory seemed to travel back to the time when he was investigating the Liverpool assassination a year ago.

At that time, in order to find out the clues to the assassination, he asked Coconut Tree in a London cafe for his experience in the Paris Security Department.

Mr. Coconut Tree told Arthur at that time that when he was young, Vidocq often used the two false identities of 'Jean Louis' and 'Julius' to disguise himself as criminal associates to fish for law enforcement. In order to gain the trust of criminals, he even planned a fake prison break.

When he thought of this, Arthur finally understood where his sense of disobedience came from.

Or, even if this is not a scene led by Vidocq, even if the other party is really a royalist, then his life will not be in danger.

When he thought of this, Arthur felt relaxed.

In order to prove his point of view, he calmly pointed down the muzzle of the pistol hidden behind his back and poured out the bullets.

The pistol Vidocq gave him was a classic flintlock gun. In order to facilitate loading, bullets and black powder were usually wrapped in kraft paper and stuffed into the barrel.

Arthur opened the paper package with his nails, and then rubbed it gently with his fingers.

As expected, his fingers felt sticky. Vidocq had mixed water into the gunpowder. It would be damned if the gun could go off!

Arthur felt confident and spoke more calmly.

Although he didn't know why Vidocq suspected that he was connected with the royalists, since the other party wanted to act, he would accompany him to the end.

It is necessary to show that it has nothing to do with the royalists, but it also needs to be in line with the current mood of wanting to survive. It is not easier to show that it is reasonable than performing on the stage of a Paris theater.

"Sorry, I don't remember where I saw you. My memory is not very good. Could you please remind me?"

Arthur opened his arms so that the other party could see his pistol: "But for safety and to avoid unnecessary conflicts, I think we can put down the pistol together first. After all, bullets don't have eyes."