Girls Just Want To Have... A Life (Eponine)

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

The rational side of Eponine knew that this idea was crazy. That there was no way two girls could possible succeed in stealing and ruining the Guard's supplies. Not in the current unrest, with the threat of revolution hanging heavy in the streets. It probably get both her and Mylene arrested, if the guards didn't shoot them on sight. Then again perhaps them being young girls, generally assumed to be harmless, would work in their favor. I might be easier to get closer to the supplies than if they had a handful of the students with them. They were certainly faster and quieter than any of the Amis, having grown up on the streets. Most of them would likely gawk at the thought of stealing to supply their endeavor. Luckily, Mylene and Eponine had not such moral objections.

"To the two craziest girls to grace to face of Paris." Eponine found herself chewing her bottom lip again as she thought carefully. Obviously they'd want to go after dark. Shadows were a thief's best friend and greatest ally. "Do you know when the guards are lightest? And where? The less we encounter, the better. And we'll need a spot that has good visibility so I can keep a lookout." Transporting what they took without being noticed was a whole other matter. Even with the two of them, she was sure they couldn't carry enough to truly make a difference. And she surely didn't want to make multiple trips. Each return multiplied the chance of getting caught. It had to be in and out, only once. One shot to possibly save their friends. "A horse and cart would probably draw too much attention. Not to mention where would we lay hands on a horse and cart? Wheelbarrow, maybe?" A wheelbarrow was awkward and tough to maneuver if they had to get anywhere fast, but it might be their best option. Beggars couldn't be choosers. And a wheelbarrow would allow them to carry the water they'd need to ruin the remaining supply. Between it and whatever they could carry themselves, it might just be enough.

And of course, with a wheelbarrow they could fit down the more narrow alleys throughout the city. "We'll need a few escape routes. Backups and meeting places, in case we get separated." Eponine fell into the planning, much like she did when she pulled jobs with Patron-Minette. In her mind she started cataloging possible lookout posts and hiding places she and Mylene could disappear into while guards ran past them. She allowed herself the barest glimmer of hope that they could pull this off. If everything went to plan.

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

Crazy they were, alright, but this would be necessary. None of them would be able to sit still and play the demure, patient and brainless girl while the lads declared war on the French Government and its lackeys. It had long since ceased to be their fight only, and they could do with all the help they would be offered, through whatever means. None of them would probably even think of stealing munition and they would try to make do with what they could lay their hands on through ‘honest’ means. Just that that never would be enough. They had to see that, yes? And if they would have to be forced to admit it, and best before they ran out of powder and bullets in the middle of a desperate fight!

But now they had gone past the state of deciding and onward to the state of planning, which was something at least. It really felt better to have something to look forward to, something to focus your mind on and plan. At least they could be doing their own share. Eponine’s question showed a great deal of consideration, a welcome counterbalance to Mylène’s usual impulsive nature and overhasty decisions. Who knew, acting on her own she would have probably walked straight up to the nearest station and tried to either slip in over the roof or to tease her way inside through other means. Hell, she would have even played on her wiles if that was what it took, but a coup staged together held so many more possibilities, and those showed far more chances of success as well. “The Southern ones are heavily guarded because of the slums…” she started, talking slowly as she tried to imagine Paris from above, as she had seen it sometimes, climbing on high roofs. “But in those North of la Seine there are more of the richer people… we’d probably stick out whatever we do. We could try East or West…” Furrowing her brows she traced her finger through a few specks of flour on the counter. “Would you either take… Rue de Babilone or Rue St. Victor?”

Her face lit up at the mentioning of a wheelbarrow. That could work, that could really work indeed! Yes, it was a plump vehicle, but it was used by many professions that roamed Paris and as such would not arouse much suspicion in the hands of two girls apparently on the way of her own business. “I could borrow the café’s wheelbarrow as well as two barrels… we could pretend to be ragmen or something similar… fill one of the barrels with dirty water, the other with some rags we also could hide the munition under…” No one in Paris apart from the lowest who did this job liked to come near the ragmen, since everyone feared they might be carrying diseases with them. As for the meeting places however, she was drawing a blank for now. “Best nothing that could set them somehow on the lads’ trail… right?”

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

Eponine hunched over the flour, trying to picture Paris from above. The river running through the middle, the cafe and the parks, the winding streets. Knowing they'd need neighborhoods they were familiar with, she pointed to the eastern edge. "Here. It's closer to the cafe, but far enough to not draw suspicion. And we both know the streets there. Plenty of little alleys for us to hide, should we need to." Already, Eponine was planning each escape route and secondary plan in her head. The twisting roads would lend themselves to losing pursuers, and the proximity of the slums meant it wouldn't be hard to get there and find a rundown or abandoned building in which to hide their treasure. "We can't bring it back to the cafe, or any of the boys. Not right away. If we're discovered and the police have half a brain between them, that's probably one of the first places they'll look. Pere has plenty of hiding places in Rue Saint-Denis though. And most people are smart enough to leave them alone." Of course although Eponine didn't say it, she hoped Patron-Minette didn't find out about them hiding munitions among their other ill-gotten gains. No telling what they would do with the stash if they did. "And if we get separated, we should meet up at the elephant. Gavroche can hide us if we're followed."

A grin split Eponine's face when Mylene mentioned disguises. "Mylene, you are a genuis!" It had not even crossed her mind to carry extra barrels on their backs, but the more powder they could get the better. Her glimmer of hope what quickly becoming a torch. "Okay, so we the transport and the routes. We still need a distraction. I don't think there will be any post completely unmanned. How will we get close enough?" Having to confront a guard increased their risk of being caught. Having to deal with knocking a guard unconscious and then hide the evidence further hurt their chances and took time they wouldn't have. And between the two of them, Eponine doubted they had enough strength to overpower them.

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

Eponine was right that they knew the East far better than the West, even though she trusted her friend to have mapped out most of Paris. There was a truth in the saying she had heard about Eponine after all, her ‘knowing her way around’. Mylène was more familiar with every edge of the underground and she had climbed more walls and roofs than she cared to remember, but concerning the streets itself, there was much she still could learn from the girl – also concerning hideouts. There was probably no one having a better plan where to hide something or someone than a Thenardier, as little as Eponine liked to be seen as her father’s daughter.
“I am quite sure between us we can think of something”, she agreed, adorning the crude flour picture with a few more side streets she had on her mind. “As a last resort, there’s always the catacombes. I still have that key.” A ghostly grin flickered over her face and she searched Eponine’s gaze for a moment. “Do you remember it…the key war? I can’t even remember which side you were on.” Probably her own. Every member of the Parisean underground would have killed for such a possession, a key that opened many of the doors leading down into the old quarries underneath Paris. Mylène had once obtained it by thieving luck and it had enabled her little band of child thieves to be quite succesful – a thorn in the side to many older, more established organizations.

But she soon returned her mind to matters at hand. Using one of the Thénardiers’ hideouts wasn’t exactly what she was looking forward to, but as a last resort, it would do excellently. “Best case of course would be us being able to attract no attention at all until we reach the Rue de la Chanverrerie… where the boys could immediately take it to their own stock!” But they would have to be REALLY lucky to make this work, and while Mylène was an optimistic person, she was not THAT blue-eyed. Not in a matter that could get them killed on the spot – and far worse, the cause of the boys busted! “But I like the idea of the elephant!”, she added and smiled. Little Gavroche, you could not help but like him immensly, with his sunny nature despite his rough life. He reminded Mylène so much of that one friend she had lost when about his age… Little Pépin, killed by Eponine’s father for stealing from him…

Chuckling, she made a dismissive gesture as Eponine called her a genius. She might have a few good ideas once or twice, but most of the time her ideas would not work out at all, because they were too risky, bordering on delusions of grandeur and carelessness. Hopefully, this one would not turn out the same! The question of distraction was a hard nut to crack, and Mylène took a short moment, furrowing her brows and playing with the iron rod they had used on the oven earlier. Finally, she heaved a sigh, and shook her head. “There’s probably no distraction on earth that could convince two guards to leave their posts long enough to allow two girls to slip through the door unseen, take powder, destroy the rest and then head out. Unless they’ll get struck by God’s hand from above…”

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

Eponine nodded to her friend. Yes, she remembered the key war, all too well. She was still living with her family then and still trying to do her part for Patron-Minette. She'll never forget the look in worker's eyes as he seized her wrist, her fingers curled around his keys to the underground. Wincing, she had prepared herself for the shout for police, but it didn't come. Instead the man, so much bigger than her sent her on her way with a vicious slap and a warning never to try it again. Her eye had swollen shut and stayed that way for a week. Despite the urging from her father's gang, she never worked up the nerve to try for another key, knowing she had gotten off so easy that time. Looking to Mylene, she thanked the higher powers that she had a friend like her. "If it comes to it. But a wheelbarrow will be difficult on the stairs."

Studying the makeshift map they had made, Eponine wrinkled her nose. "What we need are a couple routes, and they have to double back and twist on each other. We need to know where we're going, but look like we don't. If we take a straight shot, it'll betray our destination, even if they don't catch us." She pointed out a couple streets, drawing in some smaller lines. "These alleys switchback into each other. Pretty close to an entrance to the underground. Should we need it." Sighing, she rested her chin on her hand, looking up at Mylene. "Might be a good idea to scope out the routes the day before. Make sure they're all still clear.

A mischievous grin spread across Eponine's face as she stared at her friend. "The hand of God from above huh? Think something dropped by a particularly nimble gamine on the roof counts as the hand of God?" Mylene could scramble up buildings as easily as a cat. Eponine had seen it over her life in Paris. At times, she wished she had Mylene's confidence. In truth, heights made her stomach flip and her heart race, though she'd never admit it. She relied more on her speed and agility when it came to escaping pursuers. But now, Mylene's climbing might be the things that made this offensive work.

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

The steps would be a hindrance alright, a very serious one even. The catacombes were alright as an escape route if you were on foot and flexible. She had seen herself in her younger years how impossible it could get to either descend or ascend them when you were carrying something… or someone. They really could only be a last resort in the kind of plan they were brewing now, but then she trusted Eponine to find them a good way through the streets without leading any pursuers directly to the lads’s secret headquarter.
“Yeah, dun wanna end up with a crushed chest by a wheelbarrow runnin’ rampart, an’ I doubt we’d get it through some of the narrower passages anyway. Best stay on surface until we have no chance.” If everything went completely awry, they might have to leave some of their pickings behind, but that would be desastrous. The whole point of this operation was to make a difference for the better, how could that be done with only two handful of gunpowder and bullets more?

Eponine seemed to have had the same thoughts, since she added onto their crude map with a few side streets, explaining the plan of meandering through the city to throw off pursuers while exactly knowing where they were going and what route they would take. “Brilliance, girl, you know that?!” Mylène exclaimed, new hope kindling the spark that had nearly died in her heart looking at all the difficulties. This was why she didn’t do planning well, there were far too many obstacles and negative thoughts of failure to overcome when you really sat down and planned something from scratch. Mylène was impulsive and spontaneous… but she couldn’t deny Eponine might have been in less tight spots because of a better strategy. “We’ll just design a few routes that dun look rehearsed while they are… an’ depending on the situation we’ll only say A, B, or C an’ know which one it is. Right?” It might well be they wouldn’t have much time talking should they get busted, but then… they were both gamines, fleeing from guards had been part of their lives always.

At first, Mylène just blinked, not quite catching on so quickly as to what Eponine was referring to, but then she smacked her forhead and started to laugh. “Louis’ rotten head, how could I not see it?! ‘course I could do that!” Pushing herself off the counter energetically, she walked over to the basket with fire logs and pulled out one that looked particularly heavy. “One of these thrown with some force an’ not jus’ dropped… Ponine, tha’ might jus’ work! We’d need to watch for the right moment… maybe in the middle of the dead watch, when there won’ be a change o’ guards soon enough for ‘em te be found before we’re ready…”

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

"We'll keep the underground as a last ditch plan. If it comes to it, we can hide the wheelbarrow and come back for it after slipping into the catacombs to hide." Eponine didn't like the idea of leaving the supplies unattended, but if it meant the difference in getting some of the supplies to their friends or getting them both arrested and none of the supplies making it, Eponine would choose the former. There was little they could do from inside a jail cell, and she would not have Mylene risk her new life by getting caught. She had so much more to lose than Eponine, with her honest job and safe lodgings, and Eponine wouldn't dream of ruining it for her. If it came to it, Eponine would send her on ahead while she distracted any pursuers. A Thenardier would be a bigger catch for the police than a barmaid any day.

Eponine grinned at Mylene as she pointed out a her plan, tracing her finger along a line in the flour. Of course she couldn't be certain of any of these paths until she went and saw for herself. She'd have to do that tonight, once the sun had set and darkness crept into the city. It would do no good for her to choose something they could only follow in the light. A torch would be too dangerous to run with, both because of the powder and because it would make it impossible to hide their location. "Not brilliant, Mylene. Just experienced. And once we've picked the routes, we just need to practice them. You free tomorrow night?"

When Mylene looked at her confused, Eponine feared for a moment that she hadn't understood her. Until Mylene had picked up the log and grinned. "Exactly!" A severe enough blow would knock a grown man out cold without causing permanent damage. "And once he's out, just sit him the bench, leaned against the wall. Still looks like he's on watch, if a little lazy about it." The less attention they could call to a missing patrol, the more time they had to carry out their plan.

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

Mylène gave a slow, thoughtful nod, even though her brows creased at the mental image of having to leave the wheelbarrow somewhere and pray for it not to be taken by someone else. Whoever was in the possession of one or two barrels of gunpowder could be dangerous. It wouldn’t help the revolution either, if some pickpocket decided to play God with his newly found playtoy and blew up some houses. Or worse, if someone found the barrels not knowing what was in it, and endangered his own life and that of others… Mylène knew it would be just bad luck and nothing she should feel responsible for, and the gamine part in her also didn’t. People died every day. And yet… she would have had a part in it, and that might gnaw on her still. Then again, nothing had gone wrong yet, so no need to beat herself up on eventualities. “I hate the sound of last ditch”, she commented therefore and stuck out her tongue at her friend. “How about nothing goes wrong? Then we have our weaving patterns of escape until we reach our destination, and the boys will be gobsmacked. Ha, they’d even own us… I like the sound of that!” Of course she did not do this because she wanted anyone to own her… but just to see the funny side of it, she would probably rub Courf’s nose in that fact.

Her mood being excellent again, she gave a playful laugh at Eponine’s question and fluttered her eyelashes at her coquettishly, acting like a grisette that just had been asked out by her favourite lover. “You know I could NEVER resist such an invitation, darling. For you, I’m always free. Where shall we meet?” Even though the matter was serious, she really would rather spend the evening in Eponine’s company roaming the streets than by sitting up in her room or working her feet sore while serving. She would be asking to be let out as soon as night fell, or whenever Ponine wanted to stage this, maybe add one or two hints that she might want to meet with ‘someone’. Lately, Madame Hucheloup had been wanting to impute a dalliance to Mylène, dropping hints of her being allowed to ‘stay out during one day or night’ if she so wanted. Maybe those fantasies had been sparked by seeing how well she got along with most of the Amis, but Mylène didn’t really care for the cause, as long as she could use this lenience to her advantage in what was to come.

Chuckling, she rubbed her hands, imagining the scene in front of her inner eye, a knocked-out guard that looked like he was just dozing. “An’ judging by how very well loooved these guards are in Paris, I doubt someone that wasn’t a National Guard either would even care to ‘wake’ him should he pass by. I know, I’d just snicker an’ let him doze… maybe pick his pockets while I’m at it…” It really looked like their plan could work, given a bit of good luck and optimism, and she took in a deep breath of inward preparation, when a very delicious smell hit her nostrils. To test, she sniffed again, then nodded. “Looks like those quiches might be done. Wanna give me a quick hand again?”

[EPONINE THENARDIER]

Eponine smiled at Mylene's optimistic spirit and wished she could share in it. But life had taught her that things never went to plan, no matter how air tight she made that plan. When she planned a scheme, she always made sure her back up plans had back ups. Contingency was the name of the game for her, and it was how she'd survived on the street for so long on her own. Already she was assessing both their strengths and fitting them to the best routes she could think of. Her mind had gone into overdrive, plotting and mapping, so much that she almost missed Mylene's comment about the boys' reaction to the two of them showing up with much needed supplies. She laughed briefly, shaking her head. "They won't know what to do, kiss us or scold us for our stupidity."

Eponine couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend's coy response to her question of meeting. She grinned, unable to help herself as she linked her arm through Mylene's. "I was thinking this quiet little place, out of the way. Some of my friends told me about it. A little wine shop off Rue de la Chanverrerie." What better place to start than the place they needed to get to? Then they had to work backwards towards the storage, over and over if they had to just to learn their routes. She could scout them out ahead of time alone and know which were free and which had too many spying eyes and obstacles to be viable.

"There wouldn't be anything to pick," Eponine stated, wiggling her fingers and grinning. "Not once I get through. Never know what might be useful from his pockets." Eponine breathed deep, letting herself smile at the prospect of this plan working. Maybe they might actually save these boys' hides. Her stomach grumbled as Mylene asked her help again and Eponine nodded, reaching for the rod she had used before. Hooking it into the door, she pulled and her mouth positively watered at the smell that hit her. "Wow, Mylene. Those smell... amazing." Fearing she might actually break down and buy one, or worse, accept the charity of her friend, she laid the rod against the wall again. "I should probably head back out. The street's likely safe by now. Well, safer. I'll see you tonight. Just after sundown?"

[MYLÈNE LACOQUINE]

Kiss us or scold us… that made Mylène snicker. She couldn’t imagine anyone of Les Amis to be as impulsive as to attack them with a hug and a kiss out of the blue – well, maybe Courfeyrac would be – but the image was still a most funny one. Unbidden, certain memories of two days past flickered up in her mind before she could push them aside. In that short moment there, she knew she had felt letdown for this honorable step being taken back. It had been right in the moment of course, since there was no real reason as to why there SHOULD have been a step forward, crossing the invisible line after all. But… what if… Ah, what about these what ifs again? What would be, would be, and what would not be likewise! Even though of course it was only natural she might not say no to a kiss – from any of them!
“How about both?” she suggested, grinning sassily. “I don’t care ‘bout the order. Or they can take turns. Some scold, some kiss, an’ if we’re lucky, Marius’ll be in the latter group.”

Oh, that girl was clever! Mylène had known it before, of course, but Eponine managed to surprise her still. Starting their routes at where they wanted to end up seemed like a reasonable idea indeed, but if they kept the wine shop as the outward target, they were less likely to be connected to any kind of youth entering and leaving a certain house vis-à-vis. “Ah, wine is always a good addition to time spent together, chérie!” she commented, still somehow keeping the pretense of this being some kind of amorous tryst, because it was just too funny to pass up. “And out of the way… my my, what do you have planned for us both, hm? Apart from the obvious of course.” The obvious being their secret route planning of course, in their own little code of words, but it also could entail a less serious and more suggestive meaning. Why Mylène felt in a mood to pretend such things she did not know, maybe it was the excitement and apprehension of the coming task already showing.

Hearing her friend’s stomach grumble in hunger, Mylène felt bad for asking for her help again. The quiches DID smell delicious and she remembered the times very well when these smells had only taunted her never ceasing hunger, when she had had to weigh the risk of giving into this lure and daring to steal something. One could lose a hand or rot for a few years in a cell for doing nothing but stealing a mouthful to eat, but when you hadn’t eaten for days, these prospects lost some of their atrocity. And yet, while she was tempted to let one of the quiches drop to the floor, claiming it could not be sold any customer now, she knew that Ponine would see through that and be offended. That girl’s pride was as tall as the towers of Notre Dame and as impregnable as the walls of a castle and she did not want to give her the feeling she was pitying her, even though it wasn’t even true. She knew better than to try and make things easy for Ponine… that girl didn’t want it easy.

Therefore, she just gave a nod and a smile. “Tonight after sundown it is. Take care! But then… I know you do, in your own way!” Sighing inwardly, she watched Ponine leave, being left alone again with a few more thoughts to clutter her mind, and with her likewise growling stomach. But it did not seem fair to her that she would allow herself right now what Ponine had refused. She would wait for the evening, a growling stomach was nothing she could not ignore.