All For Love

Chapter 10

Luka silently skulked around the trees that edged towards the shoreline. Montparnasse stood imposingly on an island just off the coast, shrouded in mist. The jagged rocks made escape difficult if you didn't know your way, but Kim assured him there was a passageway that became visible at low tide. He would know, he had been one of the guards from Montarnasse when it was a DuPont prison, and he knew exactly where the resistance prisoners were being held.

"It looks low enough now." Kim said, observing the horizon. "We should have enough time before sunrise.

Luka nodded. "Let's move then."

Clamoring into the row boats, Luka directed their small band of men to follow Kim's direction. When Luka had arrived at the nearby army camp, he found a mixed bag of men from various regiments who had become separated through either ambush, injury or like Kim had been displaced and disillusioned.

Luka was still reeling from the news that the Prince had been killed. It had to have been an ambush, he was certain of it. He blamed himself for ever leaving, positive that it was his absence that made Adrien vulnerable to attack... and Marinette. He closed his eyes and pictured her face. So young and beautiful, but not his. He might have thought he would have had a chance, but he could see it in those bluebell eyes. She loved Adrien, and as much as he hated to admit it, Adrien loved her. At least they were together in the end. Perhaps there was some comfort in that.

News of the death of the Prince, and Chat Noir, had also hit the men hard. Their heroes were gone, and so was their will to keep fighting. Luka was grateful to Kim for stirring up enough patriotism for a small band of men to volunteer and save the prisoners.

In the silence of the predawn, only the sound of the oars dipping rhythmically into the lapping ocean could be heard. Luka closed his eyes for a moment, remembering back to when he was a boy, sailing with his family on the open ocean. He missed the sounds of the sea living in the Capital, the way that is would calm and soothe the pain he felt in his heart.

The low mist on the water parted and swirled around the boats as the men followed Kim's lead. Once they had reached their destination, Kim used a set of keys he had taken when he had fled the tower to open the now exposed gate. Luka jumped out of the boat and found his footing on the rocks, indicating with his hand for the rest of the men to stay with the boats. Wading through the knee deep water into the small channel that ran below the building, Luka followed Kim to a narrow, winding staircase leading to a heavy wood door.

"The guards change at this time for the morning shift." Kim whispered. "We'll only have minutes. Are you sure your contacts are going to be ready for us?"

Luka nodded his head. "Don't worry, they'll be there."

As Kim had said, the damp, dark corridors of the prison were empty. Luka and Kim made quick time around the labyrinth, finding the wing where they kept "political prisoners" although Kim said they were almost always members of the resistance. Luka started to become nervous though when they found many of the cells were empty.

"I thought they arrested dozens of people?"

Kim nodded with a frown. "They must have moved some of them to the work camps already."

"Luka?"

Luka ran towards the sound of the voice and grabbed the outstretched hand.

"Nino, thank God you're still here."

"I never thought I would be so happy to see your ugly mug." Nino teased. "When we heard what happened to the Prince, we didn't know if they had gotten you too."

"Kim? Kim, is that you?"

A man in glasses approached the cell gate. The tall former guard couldn't believe his eyes when he caught sight of his old childhood friend.