Chapter 9: Act of impulse

Now the plan was to go to the location of the secret meeting held by Harry. Tintin and Haddock agreed to take off their disguises. They were already spotted in their hotel where the crazy fight was, so for those men to spot them again outside the street would be suspicious. Tintin and Haddock wore a hat and coat instead. Jacq kept her disguise on, although her make-up was running off, so she started to look a bit more like herself.

They arrived at Oleander Steer and waited in front of a small one-storey building which said 17 on the front door. It was starting to get dark and even cold. Tintin kept wondering whether he was right about the puzzle. "Maybe the G in the puzzle didn't stand for 17," thought Tintin. "It could have been something else." But soon enough they saw two of the recognizable figures approaching the building: it was Harry and Ruben.

The trio and Snowy sneaked behind the building and tried to spot the room where the meeting was held. They spotted Harry and Ruben having a conversation between each other.

"So what do you recon? Do you think that bloke had anything to do with Tintin?"

"Probably. Did you see anyone suspicious near our rooms?"

"I didn't spot anyone, Harry."

"Yes, I also heard that you were distracted. Tony informed me of the incident. How many times did I tell you? You better learn to control your temper or else you won't focus."

They heard more men entering the room. The three listened carefully as their meeting began.

"Oswald, you didn't see anyone at the airport?" said Harry to the brown-haired man.

"No, Harry, sir."

"Well, Steven and I were unsuccessful as well. However, we have two things: The first is that we spotted someone at our hotel who might be onto us. The second is that we received a telegram from Mr. Monroe. He suspects that the Princess and the King are hiding in Spain right now. The King might not have been able to tell anyone where he and his daughter went, but Mr. Monroe managed to get a few clues and find their hiding spot."

The three listening outside the window looked at each other and thought the exact same thing. Mr. Monroe was either William's brother Atticus or at least someone who shared the last name. But they knew one thing for sure: it couldn't have been Alexandra's father. Mr. Monore and King William were two different people according to what HArry said.

"Mr. Monroe is travelling there this instant. And he also gave us a new order: if we spot Tintin this time, we kill him. The same goes for his friend and his dog too."

"What about that girl who was with them?" asked Steven. "Some tourist girl with curly hair."

"Whoever she is, I don't think she's any threat to us. What we need to worry about now is Tintin. And I think that man is the first clue. I don't think he's working alone. Someone hit me from behind before I could reach—"

"ACHOO!"

"What was that?"

"Snowy!" whispered Tintin. "Sorry, Tintin. I couldn't hold it," thought Snowy. "It's really cold!"

Snowy and the three tried to leave before they could be spotted. Harry opened the curtains to see if there was someone out there. He turned his head and spotted someone with a hat and coat. He had spotted Tintin from behind but hadn't spotted Snowy, Jacq or Haddock. "THERE! STOP!" He took out his gun and started shooting. Tintin ran just in time.

"Who was that, Harry?" asked Ruben.

"Someone was spying on us. Let's go! Get him!"

The trio and Snowy ran as fast as they could from the bad guys before they could spot them. They were far enough, but they heard the bad guys reaching up to them. They heard gunshots from afar.

"I can't see him! It's too dark and he's too far away!" said Oswald.

"Stop complaining and get him!"

They noticed the figure taking a turn around the building. "Faster!" They took the turn to find what looked like a dead-end. It was the entrance to a closed shop. They found a door and saw that it was forced opened. "You two," said Harry to Steven and Oswald, "go around the back door!"

Inside the shop Tintin, Haddock, Jacq and Snowy reached the back door, but they saw a big lock on it. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't force open the door. "Blistering Barnacles!" whispered Haddock. "We need another exit!"

"Over there!" whispered Tintin pointing to a window across the other side of the shop.

But before they could try to reach the window, they heard gunshots. They ducked as quickly as possible. They tried to reach the window going slowly and quietly, but then they noticed two figures behind the back door. "Give it up, you brat!" said Harry. "You can't run away! The shop is surrounded!"

"He thinks there's only one of us?" thought Jacq.

"Come out nice and easy and we won't have to shoot down the whole place."

Tintin was about to move forward, when Haddock grabbed his arm and whispered, "Are you crazy? Didn't you hear what those gangsters said? They're going to kill you if they spot you."

"Don't worry. I'll sneak behind them," he said taking off his coat and hat to be more discreet.

"You're running out of time!" said Ruben impatiently shooting the place again. As even less luck would have it, Ruben shot down one of the sacks over where Tintin was. The sack, which turned out to contain apples fell on top of Tintin and hit him on his head. He fell to the ground and fell unconscious. "Oh no, not again!" said Snowy. "This is the fourth time this week!"

"Check to see if he's there," said Harry. "I bet it's Tintin." Ruben and Tony were about to approach the place where they thought they heard the noise. Haddock kept thinking about the worst now.

Jacq with very little time left did something she wouldn't expect herself to do at this moment. It was a risk she was willing to take to save their lives. "Captain. You and Snowy stay guard Tintin." She took Tintin's coat and hat and put them on. "Jacqueline?" asked Haddock. "What are you doing?"

"Improvising."

With Tintin's coat and hat on, she quietly moved away from Tintin, Haddock and Snowy. When the moment was right, she sprinted across the other side of the shop without hesitation trying to run towards the window. "THERE! SHOOT! You can't run away!"

They started firing at her. "AH!" she fell to the ground.

"Hang on! HOLD YOUR FIRE!" said Harry. He thought he heard a girl's voice coming out of that man. They approached Jacq pointing the gun at her. "Stand up! NOW!" Luckily she didn't get shot, so she was able to stand up just fine. Snowy started growling, but Haddock silenced him. "Oswald! Steven! Come back from the other entrance!" They obeyed.

Tintin started coming to his senses. "… What happened? My head..."

"Sh! Stay down," said Haddock.

Tintin, Haddock and Snowy still hiding managed to see and hear everything. Luckily the bad guys didn't notice them still hiding in the shop. They grabbed Jacq and moved her outside in the entrance. They saw her. "You're a girl?" They took off her hat and saw her long curly hair come out of the hat.

"Hey! That's the same girl as the other day!" said Tony. "I don't believe it. You're the little spy?"

"Surprised?" said Jacq with a European accent and more graceful sounding voice. Harry noticed the voice was quite familiar.

"Who exactly are you?" asked Harry.

"Don't you recognize me? I'm sure your boss Atticus Monroe would." Jacq mentioned the name to see if they reacted to that name. She carefully examined their faces and saw that they knew exactly what she was talking about. Jacq thought, "I knew it. Atticus IS their boss."

"How do you know about our boss?" said Ruben pointing a gun at her. Tintin didn't want Ruben to harm her, but for some reason Tintin didn't stop himself. Somehow he knew that Jacq had something in mind.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You men were careless and you allowed me to find out more about you."

"How did you even find us? I bet that Tintin told you what to do."

Jacq gave out a different expression. "No… Tintin's dead."

"… What? What are you saying?"

"And his dearest friend and poor dog too. As we ran away from you, we all fell into a river leading to a waterfall. Only I survived the fall…" Jacq with her acting skills made it seem like she was holding her tears back.

Tintin and Haddock looked at each other. Tintin didn't know exactly what she had planned. All he knew was that she knew exactly what she was doing.

The men weren't entirely sure whether Jacq was telling the truth, but they asked her more questions anyway. "How sure are you to say that you weren't alone? What about earlier today? Are you telling me that the mysterious man at the hotel was you?" Harry asked jokingly.

"Exactly," said Jacq.

"What? That's ridiculous! How could that man be you? How could that receptionist mistake a girl for a man?"

"The same reason you all mistook me for a man just a few seconds ago."

Tony giggled, "Oh yeah! That's true!"

"Shut up, Tony!" said Harry slapping Tony on the shoulder.

Jacq continued, "I do have quite the acting skills. The reason I went today was because I suspected you came all the way to India for some reason. Probably something to do with Bordwell. And I managed to sneak into your room and then your meeting."

"Are you telling the truth? How do we know that the man wasn't Tintin? Or what about the man who hit me from behind? Wasn't there anyone else with you? You mean to tell us you were alone in all this?"

"I came on my own. If you're referring to the commotion around the dining room, then that must have been someone else who hit you, because I don't know what you're talking about. you just grabbed me and then you fell down."

Harry proceeded to ask her more questions, still not entirely convinced, "Very well. Tell me, what else do you know?"

"Not much. I know that Atticus is your boss and I know that he's in Spain. Wait until Interpol hears this…"

"She knows too much! I should kill you right now!" said Ruben angrily.

"Again, I must advise you that you don't kill me. Instead it'd be much better if you brought me to Atticus. You'd be doing a good job for him."

"And what makes you believe that's a much better option?"

Then her posture changed slightly into a more graceful manner. "Because… I believe that it'd be a pleasure to visit him again. He'd be extremely pleased to see me. After all, I am his niece."

They all stood quiet.

"YOU'RE… YOU'RE Alexandra?"

"Indeed."

"But… the hair… and the… the look and the…"

"Like I said, I am quite the actress. It's a natural ability."

"But… what are you even doing here? In India out of all places?"

"I was escorted to India due to a few change of plans. Mr. Tintin and Mr. Haddock were hired to escort me there, but due to another few complications, we had to wait here for a few days."

"We thought you were in Spain all along. Is the King there?"

"I don't know how my uncle heard something like that. My father is some place else."

"Where?"

"I'm not telling. However, I'll be glad to tell you if you bring me to Uncle Atticus. Immediately. Right now."

The men looked at Harry. Harry thought about it for a while. "… Tony, get the car. Ruben, bring the rope at the other hotel. We'll tie her up before she changes her mind."

While they waited for the car, they took their time to go and get rope in the building to tie up Jacq's hands. In the meantime, Harry told Steven and Oswald to check the shop again to see if she was alone this whole time. They didn't find anyone there and the back door was still locked. A while later, Tony arrived with the blue car. They opened the door for her to enter, but Harry slammed the door before she could get in. "I'm just curious about one thing, Princess… Why do you want to see your uncle? I won't let you in until you give us a damn good reason."

"… For one thing, I am future Queen. I do have a great responsibility for my country and I am willing to deal with any problem or issue, big or small. I believe I should talk to Uncle Atticus myself. Give him a piece of my mind… I am also a bit upset that he lied about being dead this whole time. I won't allow him to get away with any of this."

Harry thought about it for a while. Jacq was able to convince him that she was Princess Alexandra, but not enough to say that she was alone. "Very well, Princess. Do what you think is best. But let me warn you that what you're doing is pointless." He opened the door. "Tony, let's go to the airport. Before our plane leaves. We'll take her to Mr. Monroe if that's what she wants." As Jacq entered the car, Harry told Steven and Oswald, "Wait. I have a mission for you two. If you find Tintin and his friend alive, kill them immediately. Let me know."

"You're not convinced that they're dead?" asked Ruben.

"I don't know what this Princess is up to, but I don't think she could have done this on her own. Ruben, if you see anyone following us in the back of the car, let me know."

Steven and Oswald looked at the blue car as it drove off. Suddenly they heard something behind their backs. "HANDS UP! NOW!"

They obeyed. "Don't move, or it'll be the last thing you ever do! Drop your guns!"

Steven and Oswald put their guns on the ground. Tintin, the one behind them, picked up their guns and said, "Thank you, gentlemen. You're very co-operative."

"Wait… you weren't holding a gun?" asked Steven.

"Yes, it's an old trick. Never fails."

Haddock came towards them and tied them up using the rope he managed to sneak out of their hotel. Oswald said, "You are alive! Were you in the shop all along? But how did you manage to escape?'

"We used the window," said Haddock.

"I can't believe we didn't notice that before," said Steven.

After Tintin called Thompson and Thomson to their location, Haddock was trying to interrogate the two men. "You gangsters! Pirates! Where are you taking the poor girl?"

"I don't know!" said Steven, "We were just told that we had to go to Spain!"

"Thousands of Thundering Typhoons! You Son of sea-gherkins! Pickled Herrings! If your boss lays one finger on Jacqueline, I'll never forgive you—"

"Captain! Cut it!" said Tintin trying to calm him down. "We're going to rescue Jacq."

Xxx

The next day, Thompson and Thomson and the police arrived to arrest Steven and Oswald. The two detectives wore Arab costumes assuming that they had bought Indian outfits intending to blend in the city.

Inside their hotel room, Tintin and Haddock told them everything that had happened. The police went through the hotels where the bad guys stayed and found a few clues to confirm Tintin and Haddock's story. All they needed was to find out the exact place in Spain they went to.

"Ah! It's a good thing you mentioned Spain, Tintin," said Thomson. "According to the information given to us by Interpol a few days ago that The King and his daughter were indeed in Spain."

"Indeed," said Thompson. "They have stayed with a friend who owns a mansion in Spain. So far they haven't left the mansion and no one suspects they're in there."

"To be precise, they haven't left the mansion since they've stayed there."

"Then we better warn the family before Atticus arrives," said Tintin.

"What we need to worry about now is Jacqueline!" said Haddock. "Sooner or later those pickled-herrings will discover that she's not the real Alexandra and they'll kill her immediately!"

"Relax. We'll save her in time," said Tintin. "We have some of Jacq's items at the hotel. If Atticus is near where Alexandra is, and Jacq is being taken to Atticus, then Snowy can try to trace her scent nearby."

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"It's not that, Captain. I have faith in her, that's all. She's a very smart girl."

"You're not worried about her? Not the least bit?"

"I am… but now I know I can really trust her. What Jacq did back there wasn't just anything. She knew what she did last night and she saved us. Everything she did yesterday was really something. We would have been goners without her."

Haddock was still unsure about the whole thing. Nonetheless he did what Tintin said. He was sure about her coming with them to go after those gangsters. If Tintin's so sure that Jacq will be fine around danger, then Haddock shouldn't question his choices. If Tintin trusted Jacq, then Haddock trusted Jacq.

"Well, off we go now!" said Thompson.

"To be precise, we go off now!"

A/N Sorry I didn't upload this on Wednesday. I was just out all day and came back home late.

Well! Shortest chapter of How I met Tintin. It was pretty hard writing this chapter, because there's a lot of dialogue, but I still wanted the adventure to look like something you'd write in the comic, so I tried to cut down the dialogue into something more clear and less… well… boring. But then again, there ARE lots of long dialogue scenes in the comics. First things that come to mind are Land of the Black Gold (in a few scenes) and Tintin in America.

Way to go, Jacq! I don't think I would have been brave enough to do something like that! This moment is actually inspired of a chapter in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Hermione had to make-up a story to tell Professor Umbridge to not get caught in their plans.

I uploaded a new drawing of Tintin and Jacq together as the front cover of the fanfic. I really like drawing in general, so I thought this would be really nice (but I'm not good at colouring). I made them look like Disney characters in a way, because Jacq is also inspired by a few of Disney Princesses, mainly Belle and Rapunzel. I'd like to upload a drawing of Jacq in "Herge" form sometime, because I actually do have a drawing of that.
Please comment and tell me what you think about this chapter. I might be able to fix it if there's something really wrong with the chapter… aside from punctuation and grammar. I get that all the time!