Three years later...

A Game of Cat and Mouse

As the night drew darker, Aramis felt better. He still hurt, but it was bearable.
"How you doing now 'Mis?" Porthos asked his friend, his tone laced with concern.
"Fine. I'm fine. Enough about me. I'm staying here. What is it Grimaud wants the three of you to do?"
"He's got a list of people he wants us to kill. The thing is, we're not going to be together. They're splitting the three of us up. We're going in three different directions," D'Artagnan said.
"This man is smart. He knows keeping us apart means we can't plan to escape or rescue you. Aramis, swap places with either D'Artagnan or Porthos. Please. I'm begging you. He's already beat you up. We can't leave you here. You are the most powerful man in France. You can't risk it," Athos remarked.
"I'm staying," Aramis groaned. "For the last time. I'm staying."
"Fine."
D'Artagnan was worried. He would gladly swap places with the Minister but one thing about Aramis was that he could be stubborn. Once his mind was set there was no changing it, especially when it came to risking his own life before others. They talked all night. Anything to distract them from what was to come.

Night became morning. Light was seeping in through the window. Sylvie took this opportunity to check on Aramis.
"Oh God. It's worse than I thought."
"Sylvie, relax. It's just the blood that makes it look bad. I'm OK. Really."
Guards flooded the cellar and dragged all four, including Aramis, up the stairs to the main hall where Grimaud was. Sylvie stayed downstairs.
Two men held Aramis. One held a knife to his throat and the other had a pistol pressing into his head. D'Artagnan's face was etched with worry. Aramis stayed silent and stared at the opposite wall like he was trying to forget a loaded gun was pointed at his head. Grimaud took another gun and shoved it to his ribs.
"Remember, Musketeers, he is under my custody and I will not hesitate to kill him if I have to. You better behave. Or he gets it." He ordered his men. "You two take D'Artagnan. You two with Porthos and you two with the bastard who killed my brother. I will get daily reports. Do not fail me. Or him," he added, jabbing Aramis' side. The other three were unchained, and with one guard gripping onto each of them, they left. The men, jostling Aramis between them, followed.
D'Artagnan got onto his horse, a guard behind him and another one in front. They rode off. Five minutes later, Porthos and his escorts rode in a different direction and likewise Athos and his guards in a third direction. Grimaud looked at Aramis and smirked.
"Bring him inside. Clean him up. Gag him again. Keep him chained. I don't trust him. Take him back down with the girl after. I'm not finished with him though. I'll get him back up here later. Carry on from yesterday." Grimaud snarled the last words in Aramis' ear. The Musketeer was taken into a bathroom. The guards washed away the blood from his face with a scratchy rag which didn't help with the pain. They tied a new gag around his mouth, putting more knots in it. They knew full well Sylvie had untied it last time and would do so again. Why even bother then? Show of power, he guessed. He was led back down to the cellar, but was shocked to find the door swinging wide open. Aramis knew what this meant. Sylvie had escaped. He smiled from under the cloth that was wound round his mouth. But he soon realised Grimaud had posted guards at all the doors which meant she was still inside the house. But she wasn't here. And she was trying. Athos would be proud of his wife.
"What do we do?" One guard asked dumbly.
"Inform Georges. Bring the Musketeer with us. Maybe he knows where she went."
"How could he though? He was up there all morning."
"Yes but they had all night to make a plan, didn't they?" The second guard was clearly more intelligent than the first. They took Aramis back up the stairs. Grimaud stood there confused.
"I thought I told you to take him back down."
"The girl's escaped. He might know where she is," the guard said.
"How did she get out?" Grimaud demanded of his men. Aramis was watching the whole thing, slightly amused. He let out a small laugh through the gag. Georges rounded on him and pressed his gun to Aramis' forehead.
"You think this is funny, Musketeer? You know where she is?" He ripped off the gag, scratching Aramis' face as he went. His face was getting a lot of abuse. He didn't like that "What's so funny?" Grimaud snapped. Aramis was still chuckling.
"You were outwitted by a girl. You're not that smart, are you Grimaud?" This earned Aramis a slap to the face.
"Keep your mouth shut. But maybe she'll come out if she thinks her friend is going to die in her place," Grimaud said directly to the Musketeer.
"No, she won't. She's not afraid of death. And, incidentally, neither am I." Grimaud and another man got hold of the Musketeer. Grimaud kept his pistol to Aramis' head. "Move!" The Minister was shoved forwards, still laughing. His laughter made them treat him harsher, but he didn't care.
Grimaud took him into every room, shouting the same thing every time.
"If you're in here, come out! Otherwise Aramis dies." And Aramis would shout the same thing every time in return.
"Sylvie, don't. Trust me. Stay hidden." Aramis would always get a jab of the pistol every time he said that, but he didn't care. The girl was smart. She wouldn't reveal herself. And Grimaud wouldn't kill Aramis. He and Sylvie were both too valuable. He needed his enemies dead. Sylvie and Grimaud were playing a game of cat and mouse. A game that Aramis liked.
But it would be short lived. He saw something move between the clothes in the open wardrobe. Unfortunately, so had Grimaud. It would have been an involuntary move, one that Sylvie won't even have realised she had made. The other man who had a hold of Aramis advanced towards the wardrobe, leaving the Minister with Grimaud and a pistol to his head.
"We know you're here. So come out and both of you live. Aramis is here, with a loaded gun pointed at him. Would you risk his life to save your own? Come out and you both live." More men had entered the room and again Aramis had two men with him. He probably would have been able to wrench himself free of Grimaud's grip, but not now that there were more. One of them gagged him again.
Sylvie emerged from the wardrobe. Aramis sighed and bowed his head before looking at her.
"I'm sorry," she mouthed. A man advanced towards her with rope but Grimaud stopped him. Aramis was confused. Surely he would tie her up after that?
"No. When he pays for her mistakes, she can be the one to tend to him. Remind him it was her fault he got hurt. Not now though. We'll make them wait and anticipate. Take them down but have a guard at the door. Oh and girl, if you even think about taking his gag off, he'll pay for it even harder." Sylvie, accompanied by two guards and Aramis, now having been transferred from Grimaud to another were dragged back down and chucked in the cellar. One man stood at the door, facing the opposite way. When Sylvie made sure he wasn't looking, she freed Aramis' mouth.
"How did they find me?"
"You moved accidentally. Nice try though. It was worth it."
"Not for you. You're getting punished because of me. And where are the others?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. And the others rode off with the guards. Sylvie, this has only just begun."