A LITTLE CHAT

Chapter Three

Sunlight spilled across Marinette's bed. Slowly, her bluebell eyes fluttered open. Letting out a sleepy moan, she sat up.

Her bleary eyes locked onto a dark, blurry shape perched on the foot of her bed. She let out a shriek, jumped up, grabbed a book from her reading shelf, and threw it.

"Meowch!" a young boy's voice said.

Marinette's vision cleared, the fog of sleep lifting from her mind. She rubbed her eyes to find Chat Noir perched on the foot of her bed, rubbing the side of his head where the book had struck. "Chat Noir?" She blushed furiously, pulling her sheets up tightly over herself. "What are you doing on my bed, you tomcat?!"

Chat Noir smiled down at her. "I couldn't help myself," he said. "I wanted to know what My Lady looks like when she's asleep. So beautiful, by the way."

Marinette ducked her head, trembling. "Out!" she cried. "Go downstairs and...and sweep or something until I come down for breakfast!"

"As you wish," Chat Noir said, sketching a bow before gracefully flipping down to the lower level of the loft and disappearing through the trap door.

Marinette groaned, facepalming. "Ugh," she muttered. "So insufferable..."

"Aww, I think it's adorable!" Tikki said, giggling.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "We need to find a way to fix that cat before I fix that cat," she groused, shoving herself out of bed and padding down to get dressed.

* * * * *

Tick...tock...tick...tock...

The sound of the antique clock echoed throughout the empty, silent manor. Nathalie Sancoeur sat at the massive dining table where Adrien should have been at that precise moment, eating breakfast and having his schedule dictated to him.

Tick...tock...tick...tock...

Today, there was nothing to schedule. Adrien was still missing. Gabriel had cleared his calendar. Was nowhere to be found. Ordered that he not be disturbed unless it was news about his son.

Tick...tock...tick...tock...

Nathalie closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. She stood up, pulling out her phone, and called Adrien's bodyguard. "Watch the house," she ordered. "I'm going to go to his friends' houses, ask questions. Maybe there's something we've missed."

Tick...tock...tick...tock...

It was a lie. There was nothing they'd missed. They'd asked everyone. Nobody knew anything.

Tick...tock...tick...tock...

But she couldn't take one more second of the emptiness.

Tick...tock...tick...tock...

Not one more second of that damn clock.

Tick...tock...tick...tock...

* * * * *

The morning rush of customers at the boulangerie had been amused by the antics of the "Chat Noir themed helper" who packaged orders with a flair in between running back and forth between the kitchen and the front to bring fresh stock and doing assorted chores around the store. Some time after Marinette left for school, the tide of customers visiting the boulangerie ebbed. Tom headed upstairs for a mid-morning break, cracking his back. Downstairs, Chat Noir helped Sabine tidy up the store.

Sabine watched him work, a pensive frown on her face. "Chat Noir?" she began.

"Yes ma'am?"

Sabine smiled kindly at him, though her eyes shone with worry. "Are you absolutely sure there isn't someone you should tell about your situation? Maybe...maybe it would be a good idea to—"

"I can't let anybody know who I really am," Chat Noir said. "Not even—no, especially not my father." He shrugged. "I just have to hope Ladybug finds a way to fix this soon. I don't like being stuck like this." He paused, then added, "I don't like being a freeloader in your home, either, even though you've been very kind to me."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Sabine said. "We don't mind in the least. It's just..." She sighed. "Well..." She worried nervously with her wedding ring.

Chat Noir leaned against the broom he was using. "I know, somewhere out there, someone's worried about me, right?" he said.

"Well...that's one thing that bothers me," Sabine admitted. "Among many other things." She took a deep breath, then looked Chat Noir in the eyes. "How long do you think it'll really take everyone who's seen you like this to figure out the truth, Adrien?"

Chat Noir stiffened. "Uhh..."

"You say you've been stuck like this for three days," Sabine said. "That's exactly how long ago Adrien Agreste disappeared. I'm honestly amazed Marinette hasn't put it together yet."

Chat Noir looked away. "Y-yeah," he said, his cheeks heating up. "I, uhh...I know about her crush on me. Well, I do now. It's hard not to, with that...all that up in her room. I mean...yikes."

Sabine frowned mildly. "It bothers you?"

"Well...not really," Chat Noir said. He ducked his gaze, smiling slightly. "Honestly? It's the best thing to come out of this whole mess. Now that I know, as soon as I'm back to normal I can, umm...maybe see where that goes." His blush deepened.

Sabine smiled. "I've always felt like you two were perfect for each other." She frowned again. "Which is why you need to be honest with her before she figures it out on her own. And she will."

Chat Noir sighed. "I just...it's awkward right now, you know? A big part of the reason I don't want to change back in front of anyone right now is, well..." He wrung his hands. "This is embarrassing."

Sabine shook her head. "I...I can understand that," she said. "But I really think it's the right thing to do. Especially since you don't really know how long you'll be stuck like this, right? Marinette's going to eat herself up with worry the longer this drags on unless she knows the truth."

Chat Noir bowed his head. "You're probably right," he said. "I just...I need time to work up the nerve to be straight with her."

"Don't take too long," Sabine advised. She grimaced. "I'm worried about what your father is likely to do. Christmas was bad enough, and you were only missing for a couple of hours."

Chat Noir winced. "Yeah...I am not looking forward to the shouting match we'll have when I go home."

"What did happen on Christmas, anyway?" Sabine asked curiously.

Chat Noir had the grace to look sheepish. "I, umm...I was just kind of mad at the world that night. You know, first Christmas without my mom, Father was being...well, Father..." He shook his head. "I just needed to be out of that house, so I went cat and took a little run around Paris being, well..." His tail drooped. "A dumb emo teen." He sighed. "It's just dumb luck that the one time Father bothers to check on me, I'm out doing...this."

"Oh," Sabine said, her eyes sad. She drew Chat Noir into a hug. "I think I understand," she said. "You've had it rough, haven't you?" She let go, then gave him a motherly frown. "And if you come clean with Marinette, she can be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on. She'll want to."

Chat Noir sighed. "Yeah..."

* * * * *

Marinette sighed as, once again, Adrien failed to materialize in his seat next to Nino. A heavy air hung over the class. Mademoiselle Bustier finished taking roll, then glanced at the empty seat and sighed. "No word yet?" she asked the class at large.

"Gabriel's been working my daddy over pretty hard," Chloé said, the usual waspish air of superiority gone from her voice. She looked as lost as Marinette felt.

"Papa's been working all night looking for him," Sabrina added.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir, are they out looking too?" Nino asked. "They wouldn't let him down, would they?"

"Ladybug won't give up until Adrien is found," Marinette said confidently. "You can guarantee that."

"And Chat Noir?" Nino asked. "He's out looking too, right?"

Marinette winced, glancing at Alya. Alya shrugged. "Well, I...I actually heard that Chat Noir is taking care of that other big thing that happened," Marinette said. "You know, that murder? I mean, a city councillor was murdered, you know. That's...that's important too, right?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Nino said, frowning. "Man, this week, right?"

"Yeah..."

Alya pursed her lips, frowning thoughtfully. She observed Marinette curiously.

Marinette hated liars. Hated lying.

And yet, she'd just very casually invented one heck of a tale to explain away something that honestly didn't need explaining away. Especially since anyone who thought too much about it might question why Marinette knew what Chat Noir was allegedly doing.

Also, the fact that Marinette had seized on that specific current event for her little tale did not escape Alya's notice. Her journalistic instincts told her Marinette was hiding something.

Something other than a petit Chat.

* * * * *

"Incompetent!" Gabriel Agreste snarled, slamming a fist on Mayor Bourgeois' desk. "Your imbecilic police force couldn't find a bottle of wine in a restaurant!"

Andre Bourgeois bristled. "N-now see here, Monsieur Agreste," he said. "Paris is a very large city, Adrien is a single teenage boy! I assure you, every effort is being made—"

"In other words, you put that idiot Raincomprix in charge of the search," Gabriel said. "Which means my son will never be found."

"Look, I understand," Mayor Bourgeois said. "I am also a father raising my child alone. I would be angry and impatient if something like this happened to my Chloé. But you must understand, we are doing everything humanly possible!"

Gabriel frowned, then straightened up, adjusting his jacket and ascot. "Yes. Yes, of course you are. Forgive me." He folded his hands behind his back. "I must attend to something. I will return this evening for an update on the search." With that, he stalked out of the Mayor's office, hand clasped to a small brooch he wore.

* * * * *

When Marinette returned home for lunch, she found Chat Noir excitedly helping her mother in the kitchen, grinning like the little kid he looked like. She giggled at the sight. "Enjoying yourself, minou?"

"I've never done this kind of thing before, this is fun!" Chat Noir said eagerly.

"Lunch will be ready for you kids in a few minutes," Sabine said. She gave Chat Noir a look Marinette couldn't quite interpret; he returned it with an apprehensive shake of his head. Sabine sighed slightly, but smiled. It took Marinette a minute to realize that her mother had just given Chat Noir the "isn't there something you need to say?" routine.

"Chat Noir, why don't you wash up, I can finish here," Sabine said. Chat Noir nodded and retreated to the bathroom.

Marinette frowned curiously. "What was all that about?"

Sabine shook her head. "I just...I've been trying to convince Chat Noir that he can trust us, that we won't tell anybody who he is. He's...he's a little stubborn about it."

Marinette sighed. "Well, it's to be expected," she said. "I mean, Chat Noir's been put in a lot of embarrassing situations fighting Akumatized with Ladybug, but this? This is the worst one yet."

Sabine frowned. "How would you know that?" she wondered.

"Oh! Umm...Ladyblog," Marinette said. "Plus, well...a lot of these Akumatized kind of happen at my school, you know? Or to my friends. Like when Juleka got Akumatized and turned everybody into a freaky-looking clown woman. Including Chat Noir! I saw it happen, too." She giggled.

"Oh," Sabine said, nodding thoughtfully. "That makes sense, I suppose. Well, go wash up for lunch."

After Marinette and Chat Noir ate, Marinette asked Chat Noir to head upstairs with her for a few minutes before she had to go back to school.

"What's up?" Chat Noir asked as he perched on the chaise.

"Chaton, what do you remember about the men who attacked you?" Marinette asked, picking up her tablet and stylus and dropping into her favorite desk chair.

Chat Noir frowned. "Not much. Well..." He scratched his cheek. "I got a pretty good look at the guy who poisoned me. I didn't see the other guy at all though."

Marinette tucked her legs underneath herself, her brow furrowed as she tapped and swiped away at her tablet. "Tell me what he looked like," she said.

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow with interest. "What, you're gonna draw the guy?"

"I'll try to," Marinette said. "You said he killed a city councillor, right? That means the police will be looking for a suspect in that case. If you can give me a decent description of this guy, I can pass it on to Mayor Bourgeois as Ladybug..." She trailed off.

Chat Noir's eyes widened. "And if they can find him, we can find out what he poisoned me with and maybe get an antidote!" he finished excitedly. "My Lady, you are awesome."

Marinette blushed. "Well, one of us has to be," she said in a lightly teasing tone. "Okay, so tell me about this guy. How tall was he, what was his build, hair color, eyes, anything."

Chat Noir looked up at the ceiling, his brow furrowing. "Height and build...he was kind of like my fa—" He paused. "That wouldn't be much help." He shook his head. "Okay...I'd say height and build were similar to Monsieur Agreste." He nodded. "Yeah, my father and Monsieur Agreste have about the same build, and so did this guy."

Marinette began sketching a figure. "So between 180 and 185 centimeters, fit build?"

"Yeah." Chat Noir nodded. "He had dark skin."

"How dark?" Marinette asked.

"Not super dark, but...hmm..."

Marinette pulled out her phone and called up a photo, which she showed to Chat Noir. She tapped two boys in the picture with a fingernail. "Would you say as dark as Max here, or more like Nino here?"

"Kind of in between," Chat Noir said. "I think he may have been Mediterranean, he kind of had that look about him."

"Okay," Marinette said, putting her phone away and working on the sketch. "Eyes?"

"Ice blue," Chat Noir said. "Narrow, kind of set together a little. His nose was pretty thin." He paused. "Oh! He had a small scar on his chin, vertical, right up the cleft. Oh, and a scar on his left cheek, also vertical, about a half centimeter."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Pretty good memory, minou."

"Hey, the guy tried to kill me," Chat Noir said. "Besides, the kind of situations we get into, you learn to notice all kinds of things really fast."

"That's true," Marinette said as she worked. "How about his hair?"

"Didn't really see his hair," Chat Noir said. "He was wearing a black wool cap." He frowned. "And a black sweater, and a black flannel jacket."

"In this weather?" Marinette wondered as she drew.

Chat Noir shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Anything else?"

"That's all I remember."

Marinette nodded. A couple of minutes later, she turned her tablet around and held it out to Chat Noir. "Like this?"

"Wow, Marinette, you're amazing," Chat Noir said. "Yeah, that's pretty close. His eyebrows were a little thicker. His skin was maybe just a touch darker than that."

Marinette spent a moment making corrections, then showed the picture to Chat Noir again. He nodded, his brow drawing down. "Yeah, that's him."

"Okay." Marinette sent the picture to her printer, then spun her chair around. "Soon as I get a chance to slip out as Ladybug, I'll take this to the Mayor and get the police looking for this creep." She flashed Chat Noir a determined look over her shoulder. "We'll get this guy, minou."

"I hope so," Chat Noir said.

Marinette paused, a pensive frown on her face. "You know," she said, "I understand why you don't want to change back in front of me with this going on, but..." She smiled encouragingly. "I promise I won't make fun of you. I promise I'll understand. You are safe with me, safe with my family. You know that, right?"

Chat Noir sighed and ducked his head. "I know," he said. "I...I'm thinking about it, honestly. Your mother had a long talk with me this morning, tried...tried to encourage me to be honest. I just...I need time." He looked up at her, his eyes stormy. "Maybe...maybe tomorrow?"

Marinette smiled. "Okay," she said. "I won't push you." She frowned at the time. "I'd better be getting back to school." She folded the sketch and stuck it in her purse, then gave Chat Noir's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "See you later, Chaton."

After she left, Chat Noir flopped back on the chaise, staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm such a coward..."

* * * * *

True to form, Gabriel Agreste had returned to the mayor's office to demand a status update. He was singularly unimpressed with the lack of progress in the search. He was in the middle of berating Mayor Bourgeois again when Ladybug entered the office.

"Ladybug!" Mayor Bourgeois exclaimed thankfully, standing and straightening his sash. "What brings you by today?"

"Have you by any chance found my son?" Gabriel demanded sharply.

"Not yet, Monsieur Agreste," Ladybug said. "I'm actually here about a different matter." She pulled a folded sketch out of somewhere neither man could quite fathom and presented it to the mayor. "I've been sheltering a witness to the murder of Councillor Devereaux," she said. "This is a sketch of the killer."

Mayor Bourgeois gasped, taking the sketch in trembling hands and studying it. "Th-this is the man who killed Jean-Robert?"

"Andre," Gabriel said tersely, "my son is in danger. Councillor Devereaux is already dead. This can wait. My son cannot."

"Monsieur Agreste!" Ladybug snapped harshly, scandalized.

Mayor Bourgeois daubed at his forehead with his handkerchief and focused a steely gaze on Gabriel. "Jean-Robert was a good friend of mine," he said solemnly. "He...he helped me immensely in my first campaign. He was at Chloé's christening." He wadded his handkerchief in a clenched fist. "If...if this can help us find his killer, I—"

Gabriel bowed his head solemnly. "My...apologies. Councillor Devereaux was a good man," he said. "He deserves justice. I spoke inappropriately." He adjusted his glasses with one finger. "Andre, Ladybug, I'll leave you to attend to this." He turned and headed for the door.

"Monsieur Agreste?" Ladybug called softly to his back. "We'll find Adrien. I promise."

Gabriel spared her a brief glance, nodded stiffly, and left.

* * * * *

Evening turned to night. As the hour drew late, Sabine went upstairs to fetch Marinette and Chat Noir for dinner. She found Chat Noir standing just below the trap door, rocking on his heels. She tilted her head. "What are you doing out here?" she wondered.

Chat Noir blushed. "Umm...Marinette's...changing," he said.

"Oh," Sabine said, suppressing a giggle. "Well, when she's done, tell her dinner's ready." She paused, then whispered, "Have you thought about—"

"Tomorrow," Chat Noir promised. "I...tomorrow. It's Saturday tomorrow, so...yeah."

"Alright."

The trap door opened, and Marinette peeked out. "Oh! Mama, didn't hear you down here."

Sabine chuckled. "Dinner's ready."

"Okay. We'll be down in just a minute." As soon as Sabine headed downstairs, Marinette dropped through the trap door. "I gave the sketch to Mayor Bourgeois," she whispered. "All of Paris is looking for this creep now."

"Thank you," Chat Noir said gratefully. He tilted his head. "You were gone an awfully long time."

Marinette sighed. "I was searching for Adrien," she said. "I'm...I'm scared to death something terrible's happened to him. And...you should've seen his father. He was hounding the mayor, it...it was scary."

Chat Noir looked away. "I see," he said quietly. He shook his head. "Let's...let's go to dinner. Maybe tomorrow...maybe tomorrow something good will happen."

"Maybe," Marinette said.

* * * * *

In the cellar of a bar on the outskirts of Paris, a dark man with ice blue eyes sat alone at a wood table, drinking from a small glass.

The door to the cellar burst open; the dark man reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. He relaxed when he recognized the man who descended the stairs, a heavyset redhead with a scrub of beard, a hooked nose, and a heavy brow. He was scowling, and his green eyes flashed with anger and irritation. "You shouldn't make such a showy entrance, Stout," the dark man said. "I almost shot you."

"I ought to shoot you," the man named Stout grumbled in a faint Irish brogue. "We're in deep shit because of you."

The dark man raised an eyebrow. "Are we now? What do you mean?" Stout threw a newspaper at him. The dark man picked it up with a frown, scanning the front page. His eyes widened. "What the hell—?!"

"Somebody saw you, Ouzo," Stout said, settling at the table with a grunt. "Went to the Mayor with a damn detailed sketch. The police are out in force looking for you."

Ouzo snarled a Greek curse. "How the hell?" he spat. "I killed the only witness! You saw it! I gave him that drug!"

"We should've cut his throat," Stout grumbled. "I don't trust poisons. They're not always foolproof."

"Dammit, we got that stuff from the Japanese branch," Ouzo said sourly. "They assured us it's untraceable and lethal."

"So what now?" Stout asked.

"We wait for orders," Ouzo said, tossing back his drink in one gulp.

The cellar door opened again. Heels clicked sharply on the steps. Long, slender, fair-skinned legs descended into view. Both men tensed.

"My my...you boys made quite a mess," a honeyed voice said.

The woman who emerged from the stairs wore a black business suit and heels. She had blue eyes, long blond hair, and smooth, fair skin.

"Vermouth," Ouzo said, his mouth suddenly dry.

"We expect our agents who earn codenames to perform to the highest standard," Vermouth said, shaking her head. "Not even a month after earning your codenames, you've already broken the first taboo. You left a witness alive. Your face is all over the news."

"It's not possible!" Ouzo snarled. "I killed the only witness! A teenage boy! There was no one else!"

"Blame your stupid poison, not us!" Stout said. "If it was worth anything, this wouldn't—"

"Poison?" Vermouth interrupted sharply, her eyes narrowed. "Your witness, you gave him APTX-4869?"

"That's right," Ouzo said. "I was assured it was completely lethal."

Vermouth sighed. "Well...that explains it." She looked intently at the two men. "The boy, the witness, did you recognize him?"

Stout shrugged. "He was just some kid. Blond hair, maybe fourteen or fifteen."

"I recognized him," Ouzo said. "He's a little famous in Paris. His name is Adrien Agreste."

"The son of Gabriel Agreste," Vermouth said, nodding. "That makes this situation even worse than it already was."

"But we killed him!" Ouzo insisted.

Vermouth laughed. It wasn't a nice sound. "They really should have warned you, Ouzo..."

She pulled a nine millimeter handgun out of her blazer.

"APTX-4869 has a spectacular habit of leaving survivors."

She fired two shots into Ouzo, one into his chest, the other into his forehead.

"I don't. Unless I intend to."

"You—!" Stout roared, drawing his own gun. Before he could get a shot off, Vermouth emptied her clip into him. He slumped to the floor, his gun clattering to the ground beside him.

Vermouth sighed and pocketed her gun, then calmly walked around the room, examining the various spirits on the shelves. She pulled down every bottle of liquor and wine, throwing them into the center of the room. They smashed on the concrete floor, their contents spreading and mixing.

Once she'd made a circuit of the cellar and was back at the foot of the steps, Vermouth pulled a cigarette case and a matchbook out of her pocket. She placed one cigarette between her blood red lips, eyeing the two dead bodies on the floor with cold amusement. "By the way...you're fired," she said casually. She struck a match to light her cigarette, then tossed the still-burning match into the pool of booze on the floor. As it caught, she struck another match, used it to light the entire matchbook on fire, then tossed it at Ouzo's cooling corpse. His flannel jacket caught fire, adding to the growing conflagration.

Vermouth calmly walked up the steps, her heels clicking sharply as she left the burning cellar.

À SUIVRE...

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