"Ladies and Gentlemen, I beg a minute of your time" "Just enough to ask you not to take too seriously this "black monocle"" "which studies the behaviour of an almost mad intellectual, surrounded by numerous and strange spies." "Spies are from the other side." "Ours are secret agents." "Black humour stars in these adventures that Colonel Rémy invented for you, not forgetting that reality sometimes outdoes fiction." "And, of course, any resemblance with living persons would be sheer coincidence." "Sure it would So, since secret agents, for once, have no secrets for us, let's enjoy it." "See you soon." "THE BLACK MONOCLE" "I can't believe how cold it is." "Oh, you know, it fits the season." "We can't complain." " Do you want a smoke?" " I never smoke." "Demob!" "Demob!" "The bastard followed us here." "His car is just back there." "We'll organize a small homemade accident for him." " How will we get back?" " We'll walk." "It will be good for you." "How late are we going to hit the sack this time?" "What with my lungs, I'll be lucky not to catch my death." "Hey!" "Villemaur is a feudal castle, its origins going back to the tenth century." "Leveled during the twelfth century, rebuilt during the thirteenth century." "The North wing, now missing, as well as the South-East tower and the West wing were built in 1465-75." "Everything else is from the sixteenth century." "This way, ladies and gentlemen." "This way, ladies and gentlemen." "As you can see, this is old, this is historic!" "I told you the dampness would be the death of me." " Why didn't you have a toddy?" " What are you, mad?" "Never a drop of alcohol." "Here, the old guardroom, infamous for the assassination of the Duke of Vergy by rogues in the employ of Marquis of Villemaur Hugues the Third." "I request a moment of silence." "The victim came in through here, and the numerous others charged him." "The body fell here." "A few years ago, you could still see the blood." " How awful!" " Historic." " Are the motives of the crime documented?" " Oh, they were religious motives." "At that time, some were singing mass in Latin, others in French, and they couldn't understand each other." "So, you know how it is, one word leads to another..." "Well, it's all explained in the booklet you can buy from me before you go." "Which is a tradition, as you all know..." "Here is Diane of Poitiers' bedroom..." " Good morning, mister Curator." " Good morning, my good man." "You'll note as you go in the two solid silver candle holders and the two Empire armchairs." "You have many visitors." "I should be jealous." "Oh, yes?" "What about the Rhine castles, your old Burgs." "I should be jealous too." "The Lorelei is worth as much as Diane of Poitiers." "Although I must admit that, since a few days, I feel like the Lorelei is here." "Incognito." " Oh, Mr Curator..." " Call me Hubert." "Do you think it will sound more administrative?" "Well, between colleagues, "Madam Curator" seems a little too official." " I'm Erika then." " Erika!" "Such a pretty name." "There's a letter from the Ministry in the mail, Mr Curator." " It would be..." " Yes, later, later, later, Miss." " Can't you see I'm busy?" " I can." "Here began a gallery leading to the Tower of the Tormented" "You can see it through the window." "The tower." "Inside are the torture chamber, the cells, the dungeons, hidden staircases, secret corridors, well the whole shebang." "This is unique and historic!" "But can't be visited on account of being ruins." "The Fine Arts have been studying the amount of work required for twenty years." "The file is on the right track now." "Alright, now, this way!" "No visits either." "There, is situated the office of the Curator and the Marquis of Villemaur's apartment." " It's a private home." " Are there any ghosts?" "Only on saturdays, sundays and holidays." "For your headache, take a glass of hot water, stir it with a red iron" " and then drink it." " Yeah?" "It's an old wives's remedy but it works like a charm." " Bye, chaps!" " Bye." " I think he's pulling your leg." " I can always try." "You never know." "Well, Trochu, did you approach the gentlemen?" "They arrived late last night." "Swell car." " And what would you say of them?" " They're of delicate health." "What about your project with the Marquis?" "It's taking shape." "We have an important dinner tonight." "A capital dinner, I should say." " Happy birthday, daddy." " Thank you, kid." "Thank you all." "A toast: to the success of my projects!" "I can't unveil them for you yet, but I'm sure that all my true friends will rejoice in them." " To your projects!" "Are they very secret?" " Very." "Then I hope I'm one of your true friends." "Are you happy with your stay, madam?" "Overjoyed." "And I've been learning so much." " Have you?" " Mr. Curator is so cooperative." "He likes old stones and beautiful women." "Is that true?" "I do not allow my work to invade my private life." "Is that why you don't live in the castle?" " Maybe." " The French are well-organized." "Yes." "We know how to surround ourselves with an enjoyable disarray." "Mr. Marquis." "Doesn't your daughter know our country?" "Please excuse her, commandatore." "Her studies, her engagement didn't leave her any time to discover the world." "The modern world." " And Venice is for honeymoons." " That's true." "So you will bring us your young wife, sir?" "Bénédicte will lead me wherever she wants to go." "I think I'll ask Matthias to show me his own country first." "I don't know Germany either." "Our sun is waiting for you." "It shines for everybody." " Surely you exaggerate, my dear sir." " I'm sorry." "I was just joking." "People in my condition sometimes like to put the sun in the wrong." " You're ferocious." " That's my one luxury." " He gives me shivers." " He's a hero." "Oh, it does explain a lot, of course." "Will you allow us, madam?" "Come to the garden." " You know I'd love to." "But not tonight." " You're becoming snobbish, Matthias." "No, but your father needs me." "Are you going to put the world to rights again?" "Your father is a great scientist, Bénédicte." "A dreamer." "Do you mind that he already thinks of me as his son?" "I do." "Because since I brought you here, you're not the same any more." "Matthias." "You're hiding something from me." "Of course not." "You're the dreamer now." "I'll join you as soon as possible." "Love is beautiful." "And healthy." " A cigar, commandatore?" " Thank you." "Delighted." " Madam?" " No." " Armagnac?" " Thank you." "I'm sure you know Venice, madam." "Of course." "I was married once." "Once or twice." "But most bedrooms are the same really, except for breakfast." " And sometimes not even that." " Yes... well..." " You don't like Italians?" " I prefer Frenchmen." " Thank you." " Not all of them." "I certainly hope so." "Few men dare to pride themselves on their ferocity, commandant." " That was a joke." " I don't think so." " Your past is well-known, commandant." " The future is more interesting." "There's only one possible future." "The one we'll build together." "Your trust flatters me." "My dear friend, Mrs Murger, as part of her research trip, would like a display of my sound and light show." "So, if you'll allow us..." "I was about to urge you to show her your work." "And please forgive me for not coming with you." "My thanks." "That charming German girl wraps our young curator around her little finger." "He's willing to show her all of his skills." "He's an exhibitionist." "He may be the only one among us with nothing to hide." "We wanted to be left alone:" "love itself is our accomplice." "Up to now, no other word has been found to désignate that particular emotion." "Will you follow me to a quieter place?" "Gentlemen..." "I've got important news for you." "Our friends got here last night." "Here is Heinrich von Marsch who's been charged to contact us." "This is just one step." "Soon, we'll be able to act." "No, it's nothing: mister Curator is creating his atmosphere." "Young people need to pull out the big guns to declare their undying love." "What about this?" "Can't we visit it?" "No, it's part of the Marquis' private estate." " Oh?" "What is he doing?" " Nothing." " He's part of the Académie Française and..." " Does he write?" "Bits and pieces." "Political works." "Mostly he thinks." "Oh?" "And you never entered the tower?" " Well, no, he had all the doors sealed." " So it's impossible to get in?" "Well, underground passages link the castle to the tower." "The whole terrace overlooking the river is hollow:" "the old ruins have simply been covered up." "The battlements include entrances to the underground passages in many places." "I have all the old plans of the castle in my archives." " Will you show them to me?" " When you come to my place." "We'll never have time enough for everything." "And don't forget this:" "Adolf Hitler, in his wisdom, said:" ""I'm not trying to attract masses." "We must be an active minority." "A historic minority." "There are two possible outcomes to our battle:" "either the enemy will walk over our dead bodies or we shall walk over theirs. "" "Dear Adolf..." "The Commandant brings us the "Homeland and Liberty" movement, of which he is a living symbol." "Commandatore Vittorio Brozzi is in charge of Italian New Fascism." "We're still just a handful of men." "The Bolcheviks were such a handful when they seized power." "So were we when we marched to Rome." "Part of the German youth will follow us." "Do you think so?" "I guarantee it." "They're only waiting for a new führer." "We just have to invent him." "A mistake!" "We take both our revolutions and our wars seriously." "We don't need to invent him." "Adolf Gormann will be with us." "He died during the storming of Berlin." " No" " He disappeared anyway." "Of course he did." "Adolf Gormann, then chief of the Hitler Youth, managed to flee the chancellery just as the Russians invaded it." "He reached a sanctuary in Bavaria, then Spain then South America." "He's been spotted everywhere for fifteen years but there's never been any proof of his existence." "Many men died to protect his retreat but Adolf Gormann is alive and well." " And ready to join us." " Good news at last." " With Gormann of course..." " But where is he?" "Here." "He arrived yesterday night from Barcelona." "Heinrich von Mersch, the chief of his personal guard, can vouch for that." "It wasn't easy." "We've been followed here." "But we eliminated the last link in the chain." " Are you sure of it?" " He'll never talk anymore." "Who was he?" "A Russian, a Frenchman, an Englishman, an agent from Bonn or Israel, what's the difference?" "Either the enemy will walk over our dead bodies or we shall walk over theirs." "The Curator is at it again." "The time has come." "Tomorrow, we'll make Greater Europe." "Tomorrow, we'll save western civilization, whether it wants it or not." "Tomorrow, we'll build a new world." "A new order." "This is wonderful!" "In my place, I've got everything." "Stereophony, high fidelity, everything!" " I just love music." " Oh, Wagner!" " Bach?" " Oh, yes, Bach!" "Bach is sublime!" " Do you like Brahms?" " Yes I do." "That was high-fidelity too." "It's such a shame that you must sleep at the castle tonight." "How could I know that mister Curator would be so handsome?" "And such a great kisser?" "You disrespectful little Frenchman." "Oh yes, please, let me be disrespectful to you." "Not here." "Tomorrow." "At your place." "Why always wait for tomorrow?" "Because, since the storming of Berlin, everytime I make love outdoors," "I feel like I'm being raped." "It spoils it." "Since Gormann is here, why don't we discuss all of this with him?" " True." "It's a lack of trust." " No, it's a last precaution." "When I tell him about this conversation, he'll probably receive you." "I feel this is necessary, but we must act quickly." "The others will be back soon." "We must break up the meeting." "Let's go in the other room, shall we?" " Let them go then join me." " What's up?" "There is a traitor among us." "We must act quickly." "A traitor?" "So there's a worm in the fruit?" "A charming evening, wasn't it?" "Yes, the marquis has very sound political ideas." "Oh, yes?" "Well, you know, I prefer Romanesque architecture to politics." "Romanesque, is it?" "I thought you had a weakness for foreign exchanges." " Oh, commandant..." " That was just a witticism." " I must talk to you." " Oh, no, please, leave me alone." " Aren't you ashamed?" " I?" "Not at all." "Ashamed of what?" " Of us." " Look." "You'll quietly go to bed now." "How ugly you are." " I'm really sorry..." " No no:" "I am." "Blind men have an acute sense of hearing." "She's your secretary, I gather?" "Yes." "I really don't know why they're all after me." "They like you, perhaps." "Commandant, I'm too weak with women." "When I came to Villemaur, she was alone..." " So were you..." " Exactly." "She should understand." "She sounds like she did." "One is always too kind to the staff." " What was that?" " Shots." "Let's go back." "Maybe we'd better call the Police." "You don't believe in the Police, do you?" "It could be a suicide." "Oh, no, she wouldn't..." "No, it has to be a poacher." "They closed the door anyway." "You must be tired." "I'll drive you home then I'll come back and see if everything is peaceful." "Very kind of you." "Don't take any risk." "Vaults and Funeral Monuments makers." "Get him!" "He's ours." "They're going to kill him!" "They're going to kill him!" " Shut up." "Won't you shut up?" " But they're going to kill him!" " Oh, come on, you..." " What's going on?" "Nothing." "Well.. an unfortunate incident." "We chanced on a prowler, we fired a few shots to scare him away, but I think we mostly scared Bénédicte." "You're reassured now, darling, aren't you?" "It was nothing." "I'm really better now." "I'd even dare to ask you, dear lady, to stay with her for a short time." "While I go and make sure everything is in order." "Of course, you can rely on me." "Come, Bénédicte." " I winged him." " I guess we have him." "The house is full of holes and draughts, you know." "Don't be afraid." "Don't say a word." "I got lost." "You know all of the passageways." "Let me out without anybody seeing us." "If they discover me, you'll have nothing but trouble." "Let's go." " This is not my lucky day." " Why?" "Mr. Curator didn't join you?" "Two years ago, in Barcelona, the bastard was already on Gormann's trail." "He didn't know that I spotted him." " We lost him." " Look for him." "I'm fed up with stairs." "We're too few." "There are two many hiding places in this house." "Too bad we missed him." "Mister Marquis." "The little secretary disappeared as well." "If she's willing to help him, nobody knows this wing of the castle better than she does" "Only in the park can we stop them." "Let's go." "This is the moat." "You can take it from here." " Nothing to tell Bénédicte?" " It would be too long to explain." "Quick!" " He musn't get out of here alive!" " He knows that." "That goes for the girl too." "I don't want any witnesses." "Don't worry." " Don't leave me here, I beseech you." " Come." "This reminds me of my anti-aircraft defence days, pal." "There he is!" " Good evening, Mr. Curator, and thanks." " Good evening, commandant." "Did you have a nice evening, commandant?" "Interesting but somewhat protracted." "I cooked a small delicious cassoulet for myself." "Also I met a rather unpleasant fellow." "Wouldn't you rather practice with a hoola-hoop?" "This is quite serious, commandant." "In Geneva,they killed a bloke in the elevator with a poisoned dart..." "I'm getting better at it." "Also let me tell you something:" "I'm getting bored here." "The boss sent us on some sidetrack where we're wasting our youth." "You already said that in Iraq." "The next day, the King was disemboweled and the country aflame with civil war." "Those were the days." "Let's say they did it to cheer you up." "But Villemaur and his little rowdy guys aren't up to it." " You're quite uncivilized, Trochu." " That I may be." "But I've got flair." "And doesn't your flair.." "let you detect all the foreign secret agents swarming around the castle?" "We're like flies in this trade." "As soon as there's a sugar cube, we fly to it from every direction." "This time, it's a rather huge sugar cube:" "Adolf Gormann." " He's dead." " He's in the castle." " Did you see him?" " I'm blind." "A blind spy." "When the boss begins having ideas..." "It's the mark of a serious war veteran." "Of someone you can trust for a revolution." " There was a fight tonight, at the castle." " Who?" "Don't know." "I was with Mérignac and he's not curious." " Shall we go and have a look?" " No, it would be too dangerous now." "I've got the Marquis' trust, I want to keep it." "Oh, bugger!" "At last." "Monique, here!" "Are you crazy?" "What is it?" "Something wrong?" "But... but..." "The Police... the Police..." "No, no, not the Police." "Operator?" "This is 18." "Please give me 11." "The nerve of doing this to me!" "Yes..." "Commandant Dromard?" "You shouldn't have done that, Mr. Curator." "I didn't." "I'm innocent." "You have to prove it." "We're all innocents." "It just takes a bad mood swing." "I give you my word of honour, commandant." "I believe you, Mérignac." "Get ready." "We're going to see the procureur" "Be quick about it." "I'm waiting for you." " You didn't touch anything?" " No." " And she didn't have any other clothes?" " No." "Weird, isn't it?" "Didn't you see anybody?" "No, the poor girl collapsed, she was dead." "Do you think I'm going to be a suspect?" " I'm afraid so." " But..." "I loved the kid, didn't I?" " You mean you were sleeping with her." " Yes,well..." "An adverse circumstance, but I'm on your side." "Our procureur is a smart fellow, we'll explain and I'll convince him." "I don't know how to thank you." "You see, I'd just left you, I thought you might be the understanding type." "So I thought of calling you first." "Let's go." "The hardest part is stil I ahead of us." " No, Dromard, I just had to tell you now." " You'll thank me later." "Yes, Mr. Procureur." "Of course, Mr. Procureur." "I'm sending a detective to the castle to investigate." "I'll deal with Mr. de Mérignac personally, yes." "Absolutely, with all proper courtesies, given his position in the area." "Rest assured, Mr. Procureur that I'm aware that Mr. de Mérignac is a friend of yours." "Goodbye, Mr. Procureur." "We'll deal with Mr. Curator, then..." "Miss Abadie lived in the area reserved for the curator – which he used as he saw fit." "You recently changed all of your staff, didn't you?" "Only part of it." "The ones who live in the castle." "And no possible relation with miss Abadie either?" "Not that I know of." "What about the other occupants of the castle?" "Well, I had guests." "An Italian businessman, a German architect, a lady that Mérignac asked me to welcome here:" "she's in France to study our sound and light shows." "We're still the best in that particular field." "Adolf Hitler said it:" ""France will have a Luna-Park!"" "Ah, yes, yes..." "And of course, there were your daughter and future son in law?" "That's it." "Oh, my future son in law will be away for a while..." "So you covered the body?" "Why?" " You didn't touch anything?" " No, commissioner?" "What about the weapon?" "I didn't touch it." "It's still stuck in her back." "Nobody came in, you say?" "No, commissioner." "The door was locked." "Where did you put the weapon,eh?" " But..." "I don't understand." " Goullet!" "Yes, commissioner." "You're going to search all of the apartment." "Yes, sir." "So, Mr. de Mérignac, do you still maintain that the knife stayed in the wound." "But... the commandant saw it as well as I did..." "Oh, excuse me..." "I don't know what I'm saying anymore." "How do you explain the disappearance of the knife?" " It's impossible." " You can say that again." "The murderer may have come back here while we were at the procureur's office." "Unthinkable." "There was no forced entry." "We're going to take it back from the start, if you don't mind." "Miss Abadie was your girlfriend, wasn't she?" " Well, you know..." " Yes or no?" " Yes but, of course, you understand..." " No, no, I don't, please explain." "If you'll allow me, Mr. Police commissioner," "I must say that I was a witness to a quarrel:" "Mr. de Mérignac didn't wish to go on with the affair." "Oh, he wanted to break up with her." "Very good." "Miss Abadie wasn't of his own station, she exasperated him." "That is quite understandable." "When did the quarrel take place?" "As we prepared to leave the castle." " Tonight?" " Yes." " And then?" " Then he drove me home." "In the car, he confided that he wished to put an end to an embarrassing affair." " But they were just words." " I never thought otherwise." "Well, all of this is very good." "So Miss Abadie comes to your place..." "In a nightdress, of course." "She rings the bell, you open the door, then what?" " She falls, dead." " Like that, right away?" "So she came to see you with a knife in her back?" "Maybe it's suicide." "What do you think?" "I didn't do it." "I must say, my dear friend, that all evidence seems to be against you, and if you hadn't given me your word of honour..." "I've his word, mister Police commissioner." "That's an important point." " Sure it is." " Miss Abadie was jealous." "Mr. Curator is really..." "very nice to women." "It seems he had thrown his handerchief somewhere else..." "Figuratively." "Sir!" "Sir!" "They arrested Mr. Curator, sir." " Mérignac..." "Why?" " They think he killed miss Monique." "Oh, come on!" "They were kissing in every corner of the tower." "Let me tell you, Sir, that policemen are all..." "Please, Chauvet..." "Sometimes, the Police have good reasons that we can't fathom." "If they sometimes arrest an innocent man, it's always for the common good." "Nonetheless, I think it would be advisable to temporarily cancel the public tours of the castle." "As a protest..." "Yes, Sir." "Where do you think you're going?" "Coming here is not really smart." " Is he in?" " Just give me the time to ask him." "You double-crossing jerk!" "Not blind, not anything!" "So it's always the same thing:" "you just can't act straight." " I do act straight." " Straight as a curve." "I beg your pardon: he saved your arse." "Just when you were about to be dishonoured." "Once more." "Yes, and you split with the documents that I was forced to entrust to you." " Any job deserves a fee, Gretchen." " Shall I cook two eggs for you?" "Do you know where you can put your bloody eggs?" "Alright!" "Well-cooked." "Maurice..." "How stupid to counter each other." " Look, Gretchen..." " Don't you call me Gretchen!" "You're quite touchy for a German intelligence agent." "Since you've been at it for ten years..." "You're bothering me." "Still stupid as ever." "Both of you!" "Alright." "Now tell me why you came here." "Once Mérignac was arrested, I didn't have anything to do in the castle." "Sure." "But what were you looking for there?" "A new life." "Clean." "Hygienic." "Dedicated to art." "Right..." "I was looking for Gormann." "One of our agents was on his trail." "I was supposed to get into the castle then wait." "No news from him since then." "His car was found in the river..." "and his body in his car." " Say..." " Yes?" "You don't really think poor Mérignac would kill a woman, do you?" " No." " Then why did you have him arrested?" "Can you see the knife you're using?" "Right..." "I pulled it out of the victim's body." "The disappearance of this knife strongly accuses Merignac, so he's arrested." "Suppose we didn't find a culprit now, anybody, the investigation would go on, mostly in the castle." "Gormann, knowing the police are on the premises, wouldn't come." "Logical, isn't it?" " Do you want a slice of bread?" " No, thanks." "Can't you afford a cleaning woman?" "What a good idea?" "We barely had time to fire the last one, in Tangiers." "She was salting our tortillas with arsenic." "Why was Monique Abadie killed?" "Maybe she saw things she wasn't supposed to see." "I heard shots as I left the castle." " Do you know who was shot at?" " No, but you're going to tell me." " Matthias." " Matthias." "You don't say..." "And he's not been seen since." "He's traveling." " Can you guess why?" " I don't have the slightest idea." "You don't know anything?" "Don't you know when Gormann is supposed to arrive?" " And you're telling me the whole truth." " My word of honour." "Good morning, commandant." "I need to talk to you now!" "In private." "Trochu..." "Leave us." " There was a traitor among us." " You don't say?" "He was Matthias, my own future son in law." " Oh?" "We can't trust anybody, can we?" " He was an agent from the East." "Von Mersh unmasked him." "I couldn't inform you earlier, the risk was too great:" "the castle was crawling with gendarmes." "We still haven't found the body, but it can't be very far." "It has to be in the moat, or in some bushes." "Merignac's arrest gave me more freedom of action." "There are two precautions to take anyway." "First you must come to the castle less frequently" "Second, Gormann is not safe anymore at my place." "Heinrich von Mersch is going to take him away tonight." " That sounds reasonable." " I came to ask that approval from you." " What about Monique Abadie?" " An unfortunate event but a necessary precaution." "Poor Mérignac!" "I fear he was the victim of a tragic misunderstanding." "Oh, so, you're the one who..." "Congratulations." "We needed a culprit." "Quick." "And I also feared the discovery of a hunting weapon might direct the investigator's attention to the castle." " Yeah..." "But how did you see it?" " What?" " The hunting weapon." " Trochu did, of course." "The good Trochu..." "Goodbye, commandant." " Rest and wait for my instructions." " Goodbye, Villemaur, thank you." "Trochu!" "Trochu!" " Sir?" " I want to thank you, Trochu." "For the dagger?" "It was the least I could do." "Thanks, anyway." "The bastard tried to trick us." "He's going out now." " Thankfully I had heard." " If you heard, then Gretchen..." "Gretchen heard too." "What about your word of honour?" " Well... it escaped me." " You rascal." "You were involved and you hid it from me." "Gormann has arrived and you hid it from me." "And did you tell me about Von Mersh?" "No!" "Who do you two think I am?" "The girl who, in London, put us to sleep while the atomic submarine's coordinates fled to West Germany." "I slept with him that night." "Please..." "We jest while Gormann might be about to flee." " Well, what can we do?" " Find his hiding place." "Difficult." "The castle is full of secret rooms." "I know one of the entrances of the castle's secret areas." "We can try." "But..." "How do you know that?" "Mérignac." " So that was why." " Of course." "And you had him arrested just when he was about to give me the plans of the old secret areas in the castle." "But..." "I'm a good loser:" "I'm willing to show you the entrance." "Of course she will:" "she can't use it on her own." "That will be quite enough, warrant officer!" "Let's go." "But..." "let's not be careless." "I'll only go as far as the entrance." "Sure." "She'll survive us all." "Here you are." "Good luck." " Did you read Fantômas?" " Don't touch that." "It's filthy." "You can't trust anybody nowadays, can you, commandant?" "Traitors." "Always traitors." "Neither blind nor an honest man." "You won't get out of here alive." " A change of perspective..." " That's underground wars for you." "You won't be able to get out." "You are finished, Dromard." "Surrender." "You owe us a few explanations, Dromard." "Quick!" "Yes, you owe us a few explanations, Dromard." "Quick." "We want you alive, Dromard." "Well... temporarily alive." "You can't possibly escape." "Come on now." " This is useless, Dromard." " Trochu!" " Get away, sir." " Where are you?" "For God's sake, get away!" " Get away, sir!" "I'll join you soon." " Catch the other one!" "Catch him!" "I want them both." "Both!" "Trochu!" "Trochu!" " Who's this bloke?" " He's the commandant's right hand man." "Since the other's gone away, this one will talk for both of them." "Poor Trochu." "In his own way, he wasn't such a bad guy." "Don't talk as if he were dead already." " Maybe he'd better be." " He will not talk." "And that will make his situation better?" "Gretchen, I must get him out of this." "How?" "If you call your pals, they'll be too late." " I'm going to call... the Police." " They won't allow you to." "I laugh at their permission." "No, the French are definitely not very serious." "Trochu has always been with me." "Italy." "Germany." "Indochina." "And now the Secret services." "He saved my life ten times." "Twenty times." "So what?" "What is your life worth?" "Or his?" "And what about mine." "We're already dead." "You know it." "A service number is erased." "A blot appears on a name, either true or false, and we might as well never have existed." "Of course not, of course not, of course not." "Bah." "I was just saying that to comfort you." " Also the cops will never go with it." " The Villemaur cops will." "Afterwards, I won't need any others." "If you call the Police, Gormann is going to flee and we'll lose his trail." "His trail?" "I found no trace of him in the castle's underground passages." " And I'm willing to risk it." " Well, I'm not." " What are you going to do?" " Go back to the castle." "You're a total looney." "No." "Your cover is blown with the Marquis, but the charming envoy from the Fine Arts in Bonn is beyond reproach." "I'll play it solo." "They're going to make mince meat out of you." "The castle is full of men." "And men... are my specialty." " Do you plan on seducing the Marquis?" " Maybe the Marquis." "Maybe von Mersch." "Who knows?" "Maybe Gormann himself." " Gormann..." "Von Mersh..." " Yes." " The Marquis..." " Yes." "Of course, of course." "Sure you do." "Naturally." " Lift him some more." " He's heavy." "That's the way to get a back pain." "Of course not, old sport." "Smoothly." "One, two, there we are." "I can't believe those unfortunate people force us to use such methods." "They're criminals." "He's fainted." "We won't get anything out of him." "Let's give him some time to recover." "He'll become more understanding." "Believe me, I'm used to this." "It's lunch time." " Well it's about time." "I was hungry." " Hey, can't you wait for me?" "Nothing has changed." "They refuse to understand." "The whole world is against us." "And all I think about is saving the fools!" "But I'll force them to attend to the real problems." "Do you hear me, Heinrich?" "A happy world." "A happy world!" "It's awful." "I think my father is becoming crazy." "The man they caught is Trochu." "They tortured him." " You're positive that Dromard could flee?" " Yes I am." "They were furious." " Very Good." " No!" "I can't take it anymore!" "If I didn't find you tonight, you'd be dead." " It feels like war, Matthias." " It is war, Bénédicte." "War never stops." "It began ten thousand years ago." "Yes." "With people like you..." "all of them cruel, lying..." " Even you lied to me, Matthias." " I was as sincere as I could." "You used me in order to approach my father." " Why?" " I'm Russian, Bénédicte." "So I work for Russia." "Isn't it normal?" "You could be Russian and an architect, a teacher, a doctor..." "A Russian once said:" ""It takes all kind to make a world"." "That's one of our sayings." "Did you build the Eiffel Tower too?" "Look, Bénédicte." "We're not talking politics." "Kiss me." " I like it when you're in my arms." " How can I believe you?" "You know, back home, being sincere is a kind of suicide." "But I love you anyway, Bénédicte." "Sincerely." "Why do you look so sad when you say it?" "It's such a new feeling that it somewhat feels like a bad omen." "How dare you speak like that?" "You sound like you're afraid of being happy." "Oh, happiness, you know..." "I never thought much about it." "You must give me time to get used to it." "Matthias!" "What if we went away together, now?" " Where?" "Moscow?" " No." "Just anywhere." "Tonight you were willing to." "You said you were sick of it all." " That's true." " You're feeling better now." "I must go and see that bloke, Bénédicte." " Who?" "Dromard's friend?" " Yes." " We can't let him croak, can we?" " Then it's all going to start again." "The Mérignac chap was a very convenient murderer." "His case was making swift progress." "He was arrested in the best of circumstances." "We just had to convict him." "Also I got used to him." "We were beginning to like each other." " There are always complications." " Use Villemaur to get over your pain." "A Marquis." "An Academic." "Who can we trust?" "Say, I'm sorry, but you do take whole responsability for all of it?" " Don't worry about a thing." " That's rich." "Blind men aren't blind anymore, innocents are guilty, culprits are innocent, spies are roaming the streets." "People kill and torture, not caring about justice more than if it didn't exist." "And you don't want me to worry." "That's wonderful." "Send Mérignac to me as soon as he's discharged from prison." "Please be assured that I don't want to keep your Mérignac." "And you did get my point, didn't you?" "No false move." "I want to get warrant officer Trochu back alive." "And your blockade must be faultless." "Neither Gormann nor anybody must get through it." "As soon as night falls, the gendarmes must surround the castle." "Alright, alright, I'll take care of everything." "Cut the bullshit." "Where are your manners?" "It was just to wake you up." " You'd better untie me." " Let's talk first." "I'm not very comfortable." "Why did you refuse to talk?" "What would you have me tell them?" "The truth?" "Either they wouldn't have believed it and gone on fiddling with me, or they would have believed it and..." "I wouldn't have interested them anymore." "Put yourself in their place." "Yeah." " You want Gormann, don't you?" " So they say." "You do too?" "Yeah." "But Heinrich von Mersh spotted me first." "Tough luck." "We thought you'd drowned." "I can swim." "And then the Marquis' daughter hid me." "They won't look for you here." "As for us, we more or less came to your rescue." "I'd be all shook up if I believed you." "Look, Ivan, we're on the same job." "Let's do it together." "We can't trick them now, can we?" "Spooks of all countries, unite!" " Come and see!" "Come and see!" " What happened?" " An explosion." " Don't come too close." "Careful..." "He certainly couldn't get out." "That must be him, I can see him, there!" "His tank exploded, didn't it?" "I couldn't open the door:" "they emptied my pockets out." " Was it hard?" " They had no reason to spare me." "Come." " What did you tell them?" " I gave them hell." "You should have heard me screaming." "But if you remember, the Vietnamese were tops when it came to questioning." "So after them..." "There's just Mersh: he was properly educated." " But he's lost his touch." " How did you escape them?" "Thanks to Matthias." "Who's Russian, by the way." "He's hiding there." "We had a summit conference." "Any sign of Gormann?" "No." "But I gave my word to Ivan that we would go there tonight." "Well, we are going there indeed." "We don't have to feel obligated." "My word is not that dear to me." "But we are obligated." "I did talk." " To whom?" " To the Police." "Our cover is blown, then?" "Why did you do such a thing?" "It can't be for me, can it?" "What would you have done in my place?" " It's not the same thing." " Yes it is." "As you can see." "What is the boss going to say?" "What is it?" "I locked Gretchen in the bedroom to stop her doing something stupid." " Maybe she's asleep." " Alone?" "I doubt that." ""Bismarck was here!" "I leave you those... trinkets... "" "Terrible spelling..." ""Your Erika for ever. "" " She's got feelings." " Strange..." "How did she get out?" "Maybe she jumped out of the window." "That would be too good to be true." " Hi!" " Ciao." " So she took the elevator." " To where?" " To the castle, of course." " The broad certainly has guts." "Too much." "Much too much." " Oh, Mrs Murger." " What is she doing here?" "A beautiful woman, isn't she?" " Beautiful women are often dangerous." " I do not hate danger." " Well?" " Open the door." "Did you miss you plane, dear lady?" "For our sake, I hope you did." "I cancelled my departure." "Oh?" "Jean: fetch Mrs Murger's lugagge and pay for her cab." " But..." " Please..." "Nothing unfortunate happened, I hope?" "Yes..." "Grave news" " that I wanted to share with you." " Please do." "When will your daughter's fiancé, Matthias Fischer, be back?" "I don't expect him before a few days." " Well, pray that he doesn't come back." " I fail to understand." "When you introduced me to Matthias Fischer," " I had a suspicion, a feeling..." " Did you, now?" "A suspicion..." "I sought one of my friends' advice..." "and I'm now positive." "Matthias Fischer is a dreadful crook:" "he was convicted in my country and letting your daughter marry him would be a step down for your family." "Poor Bénédicte." "Would you like me to talk to her?" "To prepare her?" "We'll talk about this again later." "Jean will show you to your room." " I tipped him one new franc." " Two." " One." " Two." "Alright, three." "Your return makes me so happy." "Yes it does." "When you live in wariness and doubt, what a joy it is to find someone to trust." "Ah!" "To read in those beautiful eyes like in an open book." " What about Dromard?" " Perfect." "Beautiful pyrotechnics." " Congratulations." "Thanks." " I couldn't do anything less, sir." "Please, please, I like a job well done." "Don't you think it's dangerous to let a witness in here?" " You're the suspicious kind, von Mersh." " I've got reasons." "Matthias, an agent from the East." " Dromard, a probable French agent..." " They've been eliminated." "A handful of determined men can rule a flock of sheep." "Others will come." "I've got responsabilities, I don't want to take any risk." "You and your precious companion will be taken to a safe haven tonight, and will wait for my orders there, in no danger." "That's another good reason not to let anybody witness our departure." "Except for the Italian chap, everybody betrayed you." "The higher you get, the lonelier you are." "And up there, on the summits where the eagle soars, there are very few superior men." "But I'm not asking you not to take precautions." " In fact I order you to take them." " Oh, in that case, it's OK." "Even about Mrs Murger?" "Of course." "Even about her." " Are you sure that Dromard is dead?" " Yes I am." "It would take a miracle..." " Get back there then." " Oh no." "Why?" "To see if there has been a miracle." "I don't want any witness." " What do we bet?" " Your hide." "And what about us?" "We pack." "We bump the witnesses off then take advantage of the night and go." " Shall we take the Marquis with us?" " No." "He wants to stay alone on the summit." " What?" " Never mind." "As soon as I had all the evidence in hand, I had you released." "It was about time." "I was beginning to doubt my country's justice." " No, no, that's impossible, you musn't." " Give him a drink." " No, not too much." " It's just alcohol." "When I thought you betrayed me and I ended up in jail, I understood everything." " Did you?" " Another drop." "I did, I did." "The case of the Lyons mail coach, Lesurques," "Monte-Cristo and the Duke of Enghien were all there in my cell..." "Get over it." "It's just a small miscarriage of justice here and there." "Of course you can always hope you'll be rehabilitated." " And you say the Marquis..." " Is a criminal." "So rich a man..." "Incredible." "And everything, I mean this mission, your blindness, all of this conspiracy..." "We need you." "Oh, you know, I been somewhat disheartened by all those events." "Miss Erika Murger is in their power." "What?" "But we must file a complaint, free her." "Now he understands." "A Police operation has been scheduled for tonight." "Why so late?" "Go now!" "They won't try to flee before it gets dark." "And they might kill her..." " Oh?" " ... should they see us coming." "No, ours must be a discreet move." "What we need are the plans of the secret area of the castle." "I've got them at my place." "I'll fetch them." "We're coming with you." "So we stick together, now, ok?" "They kidnapped Erika Murger almost before our very eyes." "Didn't they, sir?" "Of course she'd been really affected by your arrest." " Poor kid." " She was screaming:" "Hubert!" "Hubert!" " It was heartbreaking." " Trochu!" "Sir?" "The vigilance committee is downstairs." " I want that one." " Have you recovered enough?" " Just seeing him." " Why don't you use the backstairs?" "The backstairs?" "Oh, sure." "That gretchen has good ideas." "It won't be long." " So how's your health?" " Not great." "Come, we're going to cure you." " What floor?" " Bastard!" "He shouldn't have done that." "Nobody else?" "Just the looney, here." "Shall we off him?" "But... you're not going to kill a man in cold blood, are you?" "What should I do?" "Get angry?" " They're going to flee." " Somebody screamed." " That was nothing." "Let's go." " This way." "Too bad but we can't wait." "We must start now." " Are you sure?" "The whole thing?" " Yes." " Even the music?" " Of course." "Dromard must be warned." " Ready?" " I am." "Fire." "What about Wagner?" "Now!" "Now!" " The amp must warm up." " Faster, for Pete's sake, faster." "There we go." "We looked everywhere." "Nobody's there anymore." "We're back under the castle." "Maybe there's another way out." "This is the way to the service quarters." "This is our only hope, and a frail one too." "Maybe, because there's nothing in the ruins anymore, except for those two guys." "Don't shoot." "Don't shoot." "Don't shoot." "Don't shoot." "Don't shoot." " Who's the gentleman?" " Brozzi." "Never heard of him." "Nobody ever tells me anything anyway." "Never!" "I don't know a thing." "Come down, Gormann." "Did you hear me, Gormann?" "Surrender!" "Villemaur..." "The Marquis?" "The Marquis was Gormann?" "No." "Impossible." "Erika..." "It was either he or I." "I bet she didn't take long to decide." "You'd better get von Mersh for us" " What were you doing up there?" " That madman locked me up there." "And just now he tried to strangle me." "That's all." "But I was really frightened this time." "At last." "Sorry, I would have loved to get him for you alive." "Gormann died in 45." "In Berlin." "In the chancellery, with Hitler." "I myself drenched his body in gasoline then struck a match." "And he's been wanted for sixteen years." "Why did you keep the Gormann legend alive?" "As Gormann's surrogate, I was somebody." "At first, I thought we could go on fighting." "Then the Israeli commandos hounded me:" "I simply had to survive." "Some poor madmen like the Marquis helped me." "He sure believed in a revolution." "You're a soldier, Dromard:" "I'll give you the list of his contacts in the whole world." "There are more of them than you think." "But all, like the Marquis, are amateurs." "Gormann..." "Now he was someone!" "And it was the good old days." "What if Von Mersh should lie?" "What if Gormann really came to the castle but escaped us?" "You said the Marquis saw him, didn't you?" "We'll never know." "The Marquis is dead." "As for Von Mersch, he'll swear his whole life long that Gormann burned in Berlin." " Who killed the Marquis?" " I did." " It was self-defense, of course." " He tried to strangle me." "I don't mind..." "What about you?" "Didn't you see anything?" " I fainted." " Figures." "What about the Ruskie?" "Nothing serious." "I had him carried to the castle." "Good." " The Marquis is dead." " You startled me." "You don't mind the Marquis being dead?" "You're coming to tell me that after everything is over?" "I specifically asked you to wait for me." "Do you swear we'll never have secrets from each other anymore?" "My word of honour." "I will not see this." "No, I won't." "No I won't." "It's nothing." "You shouldn't take offense, old boy." "And let me tell you one thing:" "we're not the sort of people one should associate with." "Translation:" "Goupil66 November 2010"