Eighteen Ninety Four

Day 3 - A Quick Exit

Magda looked up and down the street as the men closed in. There were 5 of them left, all of them breathing hard from the chase, and none of them looking particularly forgiving. Vernet shifted slightly, clearly sizing the men up, standing protectively between her and them. Gappy raised the revolver, pointing it at Magda.

"Now then Mademoiselle, just hand over that bag of yours, and no-one needs to get hurt," he said with a grin made all the more sinister by the huge gaps in his gums. "No-one else, at least."

One of the other attackers grunted, his nose was bleeding hard from where Vernet had driven him into the cobbles, his expression ugly and his eyes alive with malice.

"Alternatively," Madga said conversationally, keeping her voice light and breezy with an effort. "You could tell me who hired you and I can pay you double what they did."

She flinched at the sound of the gun being cocked, but took a firmer grip on her case. Gappy stepped closer, and Vernet stepped back, one hand extended towards her to keep her behind him. Reluctantly, she stepped back too and then felt the semi-circular flagstone beneath her heels shudder slightly, sinking and throwing her off balance. She just had time to grab Vernet's wrist for balance before the stone gave, sending her plunging downwards. Vernet's arm slipped from hers as she crashed backwards, hitting what felt like a stone slide and falling fast into the darkness. She just managed to turn herself and used the heels of her boots to slow her decent, but she still hit the bottom of the slide with a thump that jarred her entire body. Cursing, she picked herself up, then as a sudden shaft of sunlight appeared from above her and she threw herself flat against the stone wall to avoid another tumbling humanoid form.  Vernet landed more gracefully than she had and turned to stare up at the trapdoor high above them. 

"Did you know that was there?" Magda asked him.

"As much as it would make me appear very impressive to say yes," He reached in his pocket and pulled out a matchbook, scraping one against the wall to make a burst of bright red light. "I have to admit, I didn't have the first clue."

Magda looked around in the yellow light from the flames. The passageway was made of immaculately dressed stone, a smooth passage nearly 7 foot tall, although deceptively thin, not quite broad enough to allow 2 people to walk side by side. The floor was covered in a thin layer of powdery dirt and dust, which appeared to be undisturbed.

"I don't know what this tunnel is," Vernet continued. "It's not a sewer. It's too shallow."

"And not fragrant enough," Magda added. "It looks like it's been designed for a purpose though, and it would be certainly good for quick movement. Aren't we near the Louvre? Maybe it's a secret exit from one of the palaces? After all, isn't Rome peppered with tunnels made by the monarchy for quick exits?"

Vernet opened his mouth, maybe to correct her, then stopped abruptly as there was a clatter from above and the trapdoor opened again. They both leapt back at the sudden burst of sunshine, and there was the loud bang of a gunshot, kicking up a cloud of dust at the toes of Vernet's scuffed boots. Magda stared into the dark, then, one hand on the wall, started to hurry along the passage, the click of her heels echoing unpleasantly. Vernet followed more slowly, looking back.

"So are you going to tell me who those men are?" Magda asked him after a moment.

"How do you know I wasn't going to ask you that?" He shot back.

"Wishing to cast no aspersions, they are rather more your class than mine."

"But you're the one they're after," He replied smoothly. "You and that book."

"Yes," Magda frowned. "That is interesting. I have plenty of things worth stealing, but if you believe Monsieur Barnier, this book isn't one of them."