The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1004: Chapter 60: Fishing Enforcement_2

“That’s different,” Victor replied. “I was imprisoned because I was wrongfully accused, while that guy Francois was caught by me red-handed for forging bank notes. Is there any reason for him to claim he’s been wronged when he’s sentenced to a life of hard labor?”

Heine couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Victor, aren’t you afraid they’ll escape prison and seek revenge on you for doing things like this?”

“Revenge on me? My God! Mr. Heine, what are you thinking? I’ve escaped prison five times in my life; no one understands better than me what these escapees think after they get out. Generally, when people break out, there’s only one thing on their minds: to hide quietly and not let anyone discover them. They won’t risk seeking trouble with me.”

Victor sneered, “Besides, though these thugs and hoodlums spit on the ground when mentioning my name in private, if they hear someone shouting my name on the street, they’d be scared stiff. In any Paris criminal gang, even the infamous ‘Stokers’ robbers, a shout of ‘Victor’s coming’ is enough to leave them trembling with pale lips. Many hate me to the core, but what they’re praying for in their hearts is for God to keep me far away from them, not to come after me.”

Arthur took out his pipe and looked at the sky outside the window, “So I guess, you’re planning to go to Brest Prison? To find the only one besides you capable of forging convincing official identity documents, Francois? He made a living with this craft, and if there’s anyone left in Paris capable of forgery, he’d definitely know them.”

Victor stared at Arthur with admiration, “Brother, you’re indeed London’s finest detective; our thoughts are aligned. However, my guess is a bit bolder. I suspect that the identity documents from the carriage shop might well come from Francois. This guy has a few subtle habits when forging documents. Perhaps he doesn’t even notice, but I do know very well that when writing the letter ‘ç’, his pen stroke will always slightly lift, and I just verified that with the document in Jusco’s hand; the handwriting is identical to Francois’s.”

“Are you saying the Royalists got the forged documents from Francois, who’s locked up in prison?” Arthur’s first reaction to this news was to ask, “Could Francois have already escaped?”

“Escape? No, he doesn’t need to escape to get the documents out.”

Victor explained, “Brother, you don’t understand the local ecology of these Parisian criminal gangs. Although Francois is in prison, when his cellmates are released after serving their sentences, they can certainly help him carry something out. Our prisons here are filled with such technical talents. Even though many have been sentenced to life labor, they can still contribute their wits to the criminal enterprises from behind bars.”

Arthur glanced over the case files Victor had just organized on the table, “If we just go to the prison like this, Francois would absolutely refuse to admit the good things he’s done. He’s already been sentenced to life labor, and if he’s implicated in regicide, forget about being released; one wonders if he’d survive the fall of this year.”

“You’re right, so we need to disguise ourselves a bit and also reach out to a few reliable introducers.”

Victor sighed somewhat regretfully, “It’s a pity I’m getting old now. Even if I dress up, those robbers won’t believe I’m a fresh-faced rookie. So, brother, do you mind sacrificing yourself a bit? Later, we’ll get into disguise, and I’ll take you to sit at Boucher Tavern on Quermay 9th Street.”

Arthur frowned and asked, “What are we doing there? Do you have a contact making connections there?”

“No.”

Victor circled Arthur, rubbing his chin, considering how to groom this young lad from London. “Tonight at the Boucher Hotel, just have some fun. There’re plenty of girls there, and we’ll drink and play dice with them, then drunkenly keep them for the night, and the two of us will lie exhausted on the bed until noon the next day.”

“Mr. Victor…”

“What?”

Arthur took a deep puff from his pipe, “If you want to take me to have fun, just say so. I’ve been seriously studying the case files for half a day, only for you to tell me that tonight’s arrangement is to keep girls.”

The Great Dumas sat down beside Arthur with a grin and put his arms around his shoulders, “Arthur, in this aspect, I did not play a good host. I should have taken you to experience the sights of Paris before Mr. Victor did. But since Mr. Victor mentioned it, I’ll treat you tonight.”

Heine, hearing this, put down the dirt he was digging up on Liszt and raised his hand, “Count me in.”

Victor, with a pipe in his mouth, lectured, “Gentlemen, we’re not just going to have fun tonight, or at least Arthur and I aren’t. We still need to entertain the ladies.”

“Of course,” The Great Dumas thumped his chest in assurance, “Happiness is mutual. When it comes to keeping the ladies happy, no one does it better than me.”

Hearing this, Victor realized he couldn’t count on the chubby man tonight, and he turned his attention back to Arthur, laying his plan out.

“Boucher Bar is a place where the Crusaders gang in the Saint-Germain district often come to have fun. The girls there are familiar with the head of the Crusaders, Gervais, who is an old acquaintance of the forger Francois. So tonight’s plan is to get the girls tipsy first. We’ll chat them up as we try to make them believe we’re newcomers to Paris, and then plead with them to introduce us and help us get a foot in the door. We cast a wide net, and if we’re lucky enough to encounter a soft-hearted and talkative one, we should get introduced.”