Chapter Four
‘Start with explaining what happened immediately after the Great Unknown collapsed.’ Quigley suggested. Jill straightened her glasses with her index and middle fingers. Her glasses were a delicate golden frame with clear, thin transparent lenses that let the Quagmire triplets see the green of her eyes catch the light. The office was barely lit, as most of the light was coming from all the devices around them, and from the outside. The moon was huge that night, but the storm clouds had concealed it once again. ‘The world could very well end on a night like this.’ Jill said, while looking up at the huge window, where rain splattered against the glass, producing a characteristically wet, dull rattling sound.
‘I thought the world was going to end as well, two years ago. When I boarded my own escape capsule, I managed to hack into the communication system with ease. The person who built the system, a japanese scientist, taught me how.’ Jill narrated, with the Quagmires listening attentively. ‘I contacted Violet Baudelaire, Audrey Addams and my nice and nephew, and then you. If you remember, I boarded my escape capsule with Beatrice Baudelaire.’
‘What happened?’ Duncan couldn’t contain himself. Beatrice was the fourth Baudelaire, the adopted sister/daughter of the Baudelaires, the child of Kit Snicket and Dewey Denouement, both deceased. Beatrice had no one in the world but her newfound adoptive family, and she journeyed with them through another series of unfortunate events that led to their separation. Any news of any Baudelaire’s whereabouts were a welcome bit of information.
‘Beatrice… I left her in the care of the one person in the world I could trust. Unlike the others, I never underwhent stasis, and neither did she. Beatrice was too young, the process would kill her. Fearing for her life, and mine, I set my escape pod’s course to the last place I thought anyone would look to find me.’ Jill continued her tale.
‘Ultima.’ She uttered. The name of that town so far north, the town the Baudelaires had once set to reach, but never did. The last
last safe place. ‘I took Beatrice to Morrigan Montague, the sister to Mortimer Montague. The Montagues were a wealthy, numerous family back in the day, and they funded several research programs I conducted. They were the only ones I could think of at the time. But when got there, my escape capsule malfunctioned. I had to eject myself and Beatrice on a lifeboat. The capsule exploded, leaving debris all over the beach, along with other debris that had floated up from the depths. I had to walk very far to Ultima, with a small child in my arms, in the dead of winter. I thought I was going to die, when he found me.’
‘Who?’ Isadora asked. ‘You wouldn’t know him, but perhaps you might have heard of him. He was staying with others at Morrigan’s estate, and he was patrolling the surrounding woods through a secret road on his horse. He is Emma Squalor’s cousin, Tiago James Squalor. He found me, and took me and Beatrice to the estate. When I got there, I had a fever so high, and I couldn’t see straight.’ Jill grimaced. ‘I was bed-ridden for two weeks. I guess the emotional distress I went through recently had weakened my immune system.’
‘Beatrice was taken care of then, and so was I.’ Jill recalled. ‘When I could finally sit up, they interviewed me, and I told them everything. You’d be surprised to hear the list of people that were there.’
‘Do tell us.’ Duncan said. ‘Starting with Morrigan Montague and her heiress, Mina Watson, there also was Elizabeth Anwhistle, desperate to find any clues regarding the Baudelaires, and Emma Squalor, Tiago’s cousin. Lars Gabriel, her faithful assistant and V.F.D. sailor, was there. He had arrived shortly after me, with his partner Charles. And I was awestruck to find out Jerome Squalor was there, and alive.’
The Quagmires let out a surprised whimper. They never met Jerome in person, but they had heard of him and his alleged death.
‘After I gave them all the information I could, they saw fit to send me away. I was a liability, due to my previous ties to the higher tier members of the fire-fighting side. I didn’t blame them, but I wanted to be there for Beatrice. I knew she was protected, but it still pained me to be forced to leave. I thought I’d finally have some respite after my time aboard the Great Unknown, but no. The others didn’t trust me.’
‘You
were working for your sister and that dreadful man.’ Isadora pointed out. ‘And apparently, you’re still tied to them, aren’t you?’ Quigley added. Jill grimaced once again, and she got up in one motion. ‘Don’t judge me yet, Quagmires. There is a lot more to my current
situation than you would understand. I’m not here of my own accord.’
‘Then tell us.’ Duncan said. ‘Explain so we might understand.’ The Quagmires were fed up. They wanted answers, and even if Jill cried and begged they would force her to give them the answers. Letting her avoid to give them a single bit of information could prove fatal. ‘I was on the run for a while, but I stayed close to Ultima. I also monitored the positions of the remaining escape capsules with a miniature radar I built years ago.’ Jill opened a wooden box that was previously concealed by a stack of papers. She retrieved a small round object with a green screen that resembled a pocketwatch, but about the size of a grown man’s hand.
‘With this I could tell where each and one of the survivors were. My sister and her partner never underwhent stasis, I must say. Nor did Dr. Lugae.’
‘Wait.’ Quigley stopped Jill, standing up. He looked into her green eyes. ‘Are you telling me you know where the Baudelaires are?’ Jill was grimly surprised at his outburst. Gathering herself, she looked the other way. ‘No. I knew then. Not now. I instructed Violet to separate from Klaus and Sunny. I had her set her siblings’ stasis chambers to awaken at a later date than her own, and then leave a note or a letter for them to find when they awakened.’
‘
Why?’ Quigley walked up to Jill nervously. He looked angry, angrier then Isadora and Duncan had seen him in quite a long time. Quigley was the largest of the three, and next to Jill Nebra, he looked a grown man. His shoulders were larger than ever before. Jill was tall, and made taller still with her high heels, but Quigley was nearly as tall. His outburst disconcerted the scientist even more. ‘It had to be done.’ Was Jill’s response. ‘I’d heard about the plans to start Gothic Works as a revenge-driven organization, specialized in murdering all volunteers. Violet had better chance on passing as someone else if and only if she didn’t have a younger man with a small child by her at all times. Dangerous times arrived after the destruction of the Great Unknown, Quagmires.’
Quigley had nothing to say to that. His hope of finding Violet once again deflated, Quigley sat back on his wooden stool, defeated, and ashamed of bursting out at Jill Nebra. ‘Sorry.’ He said. Jill straightened her glasses in her characteristic manner. ‘You need not apologize.’ She said. ‘I understand.’
‘But Jill, this you can tell us. Where exactly did you tell Violet to go?’ Isadora asked. Quigley’s hope rekindled, and he looked at his sister and then Jill Nebra eagerly. ‘I told her to head for Tedia, and hop on a train to Paltryville. From there she’d take another train to Damocles Dock, and from there, it was up to her. I didn’t have the time to plan out a course after that.’
‘There was some peace and quiet, and I was enough of a fool to believe maybe my sister and her dreadful partner had forgotten about their revenge back-up plan. But once news started going around of volunteers being murdered in gruesome manners all around the country, I knew I was doomed.’ Jill said. ‘There was little point in hiding, at least for me. I knew they’d find me eventually, but I did my best to help other volunteers I came across on my travels. I found a girl, a japanese girl, looking for her brothers, of whom she’d been separated as well. I saw another Violet in her, and I gave her some money and food, but she was too tired to carry on. We took a bit of solace in each other’s company in an abandoned Asylum.’
‘Kiyoha Higurashi, was her name. She is an orphan, and she was on the run. She told me about her life of servitude at the House of Red Leaves in Yoshiwara, and told me she had met the Baudelaires. I was thrilled to find out about how corageous they were in helping Kiyoha and her brothers. There was a fire, and they had to escape, but it wasn’t until long after the Great Unknown had collapsed that she was separated from her siblings. Kiyoha was working as a waitress in a restaurant that happened to be a new V.F.D. point of
rendezvous, while living in a room above the restaurant. She was smart enough to have a plan for her siblings. They always had access to a preemptively packed case filled with money and food for an eventual escape. And they had to, once Gothic Works attacked the restaurant. Kiyoha didn’t attempt to save her brothers. She managed to get out through a secret passage her boss had told her about, a passage they used to get delivered goods from outside to the kitchen. She told me she was about to go around the corner when she looked back at the restaurant she had hoped would become a new home to her and her family. She saw her brother Ren jump to the next building’s roof while using a system they’d devised to safely transfer their toddler sibling, Daisuke, to the other side. Kiyoha ran, and never looked back. She was scared and had to resort to all sorts of thievery, pocket-picking, lock-picking methods to survive. She was persecuted and found herself near Ophelia, where I found her. We stayed for a night at the abandoned Asylum. Addams Asylum. I headed there with hope of finding clues about Audrey Addams, since she was pregnant with Desmond’s child, but she never returned to that place. There was nothing for her there anymore.’
‘Did you find out anything else about her whereabouts?’ Isadora asked. ‘What about Klaus and Sunny? Where did you tell them to go?’
‘I told Violet to instruct Klaus to take Sunny and use every bit of knowledge he had to ensure their survival in the wild, at least for the winter. When they awakened from stasis, Klaus and Sunny found their way somehow to the hinterlands. I received a cryptic, coded telegram from them, sent from Last Chance General Store. Here is the decoded message.’ Jill produced a small piece of paper from within her dress and handed it to the Quagmires. The paper smelled of perfume.
To Doctor Jill Nebra, p.h.d.
From: K, S
WE ARE HEADING TOWARDS THE MORTMAIN MOUNTAINS STOP WE WILL STAY THERE FOR THE WINTER STOP AFTER THE WINTER WE WILL SEND MORE NEWS STOP PLEASE INFORM VIOLET STOP LIFE IS TOO HARD WITHOUT HER STOPIt was all but overwhelming reading that telegram. The Quagmires had tears on their eyes. It was all too painful. The idea of Klaus and Sunny surviving alone in the Mortmain Mountains for the winter was too harsh. For all they knew, the Baudelaires could very well have frozen to deaths in that vast, icy environment.
‘Klaus and Sunny are out there,
somewhere, Quagmires.’
‘Yes they are. And it’s your fault.’ Quigley said bitterly. Jill looked very hurt and surprised. ‘What I did was only with the best of intentions. I wanted them to have every chance.’
‘Now for what remains.’ Duncan said. He was taking notes in his notebook, copying the contents of Klaus’ telegram. ‘How did you come to work in Lugae Laboratory?’
‘Like I said, I was with Kiyoha back then. We hiked through the woods of Ophelia. We saw the ruins of an orphanage, which burned to the ground. We hopped on a train that would take us away from there. Kiyoha hoped to find her siblings in the city. I tried to warn her how dangerous it would be to go back, but she didn’t listen. We passed by the road that overlooks Briny Beach, and I saw Anwhistle Aquatics in ruins, once again, with a pillar of smoke rising from the sea.’ Jill recalled. ‘As we entered the city, Kiyoha thanked me and said it would be best for us to part ways. I gave her more money, and she disappeared. After that I took a cab around town. On the back of the cab, I saw a newspaper. My heart almost stopped at the headline.’ Jill picked up an old newspaper clipping from inside one of the books on her desk – a copy of The Daily Punctilio. Duncan rolled his eyes at the name Punctilio, but what was on that clipping was more despair-inducing than a washed-up excuse for jornalism.
The Daily Punctilio
All the news in fits of prints
Gruesome murders and fire at Montague Estate
This Thursday the 28th Montague Estate, house of prominent Ultimanian figure Morrigan Montague burned to the ground. The bodies of several guests and house staff were found, murdered in a grisly display of cruelty. The snow outside the main entrance was drenched red with blood. Morrigan Montague was 98 years old. There is no clue on to who the murdered slash arsonist was, or if it was only indeed just one perpetrator. The Ultima Police Department has opened an investigation. Any information concerning these grisly events should be passed to the local authorities. Local deputy Thomas N. Thomas has stated ‘While it appears several guests were murdered, some of Ms. Montague’s guests were either absent at the time, or kidnapped. We are looking into their whereabouts.’‘What? No! No!’ Quigley shouted as if his shouts could change the reality of it. ‘Who died?’ Isadora asked, tears in her eyes. ‘I…I don’t know. Morrigan died, that’s for sure. But from what I gathered she was not murdered. Her heart simply failed when she witnessed some of her guests’ murders. This is Gothic Works’s so-called “work”, my friends.’ Jill said, looking sadder than ever.
‘Beatrice! What about Beatrice?’ Isadora asked desperately. ‘Wait, it says here some of the guests were absent at the time. And Beatrice being a little girl, her murder would surely be mentioned.’Duncan reasoned. ‘If a child dies in any fire or by murder, it will most certainly be mentioned on paper.’
‘There is still hope.’ Quigley stated, resolute. ‘Can we keep this?’ Duncan asked Jill, who nodded affirmatively. She then continued her narration. ‘I knew I was lost then and there in that cab. I told the driver to make for the Tenenbaum Train Station as fast as he could. There was a traffic jam on Bright Avenue. A part of Thriller Park had caught on fire. The part where the Fulfillment home and store once stood.’
‘Home? They lived in the park?’ Isadora asked. ‘Yes. They built it, so the mayor allowed them to live in it. They were wealthy enough to take care of the park by themselves. It was one of the things that were most attractive about Desmond Fulfillment, I guess.’ Jill turned back to the large window. Outside, the wind and rain raged on, almost bent on tearing down the entire laboratory. It
was a night in which the world could end. ‘I saw them walking out of the park in their uniforms.
Gothic Works.’ Jill’s voice was wrought with pain. ‘Everywhere I went, I could never rid myself of them. I knew they were closing in on me.’
‘But why? Why did they must absolutely have you?’ Quigley could not understand. Jill turned to eye the Quagmires. ‘Because I was the missing piece of the Grimstone project. Years ago when Jeremiah Hudson took with him the largest shard we had, the project came to a halt. We had only a few remaining crystals to work with. Subjects ten and eleven failed grievously. Subjects twelve and thirteen, however, they are still alive. And one of them is here.’
‘You don’t mean…’ Jill did not let Duncan complete his sentence. ‘Yes. Cindry is subject Thirteen, the perfected one. Her Grimstone infusion is complete as it can get. Nemo is close in perfection, I must say.’
‘Perfect?’ Isadora protested. ‘She told us she was sick for weeks, and so was Nemo! Both of them almost died because someone thought it was a good idea to put that damned substance in their bloodstream. Don’t tell me they are perfect!’
‘When I told you to find them for me, I wasn’t doing so to help this project. I wanted to purify their blood. The reversed process of Infusion. Substituting some of their blood with mine. I am the aunt of both of them and I took the apropriate tests. We are compatible. My hope was that you would bring them to me. I have the machines ready and I can begin processing Cindry’s blood. All I need is her consent.’
‘I’m surprised no one has put her in a tube already.’ Quigley said. ‘What’s the hold up? I figured as soon as those creepy scientists got their hands on Cindry they’d start their cruelty all over again.’
‘She’s been through hell, Jill. If you
are her aunt and you want the best for her, you’ll help her escape.’ Isadora said.
‘Escape?’ Jill smiled. It was a very sad smile. ‘There is no escape from here, Quagmires. Not for Cindry, and not for me. If I can cleanse her blood from the Grimstone, she’ll be useless to Dr. Lugae. And he’ll let her go. He has no time for useless test subjects. He proved it with Lucian.’
‘Lucian?’
‘We retrieved his body from the mines, you know. Jannus. His actual name was Lucian Lugae, and long ago, he was Dr. Ludovico Lugae’s son, and a Grimstone Project test subject. He was injected with grimstone while still in his mother’s womb.’
‘
What?!’ The Quagmires uttered in unison. That revelation was most unexpected. ‘Yes. Lucian was a test subject, but his Grimstone abilities never proved as powerful as Dr. Lugae hoped. Our mad scientist moved on to the next subjects eagerly while abandoning his son and putting him in stasis. Or trying to. Jannus’
abilities were actually dormant, and once he saw himself betrayed by his father, he broke himself out of the stasis chamber. He discovered he was no more than a guinea pig to his father. He would have destroyed this whole laboratory by himself and killed his father. I never understood why he didn’t. What he did do is break into Dr. Lugae’s laboratory of monstrosities, and broke out the subjects that were still strong enough, mercy killing the others. ‘
‘The albino giant.’ Isadora muttered. Jill’s eye flashed for a second. ‘You
saw him? In the mines? Oh my. He was a particularly gruesome case of grimstone rejection. It caused him to mutate and grow to a monstrous proportion. He was already a large man to begin with, I have to say.’ Jill said. ‘This Dr. Lugae…he sounds like a complete monster.’
Jill looked into each of the Quagmires’ eyes.
‘He is.’
The Quamires had seen him before. He gave a speech before the Collapse began. It was particularly painful to realize so many good people and so many valorous volunteers had perished and yet that horrible disgusting villain was still alive pursuing his evil experiments. And the Quagmires knew a showdown was inevitable. They had already killed one man in self-defense. They had only to look at each other, and they knew. They knew if the opportunity came, they would once again pull the trigger and kill Ludovico Lugae for all he had done. Time and time again they had suffered blows from villains and their cohorts. Time and time again the Quagmires had suffered because of their enemies. They had hesitated in the past. But now was no time for hesitation. Now was the time to strike back.
