Kyungsoo ran forward, his heart beating fast as he managed to stop Theodore before the boy reached the blonde woman. Jongin picked Lilly up, protectively turning her half away from the man and woman in front of them. Theodore kicked, whining and reaching for the woman as Kyungsoo held him close.

“Sorry,” Jongin mumbled towards the couple.

Kyungsoo struggled to gain control of the small child as he yelled out for his mother. He felt a sense of dread staring at the woman. Why did the twins think she was their mother? Was it a byproduct of such a loss at a young age or something else?

“I am not your mother, children.” The woman’s voice was strained as she looked from one child to the other. She was rather pretty, blonde with petite features and perfectly coiffed hair.

“No, of course not.” The man next to her raised an eyebrow at the scene. “Though dare I ask, whose children are they?”

Kyungsoo’s dread only increased with the question. “Sorry, again, we shall be going. Come on Jongin, we must be returning to the house.”

“Ah, I know!” The man exclaimed, “I saw you at D’Adderleigh’s house. They must be his children.”

“Jongin, hurry.” Kyungsoo kept a tight hold on the child, traversing the greenspace with wide strides. He had to get them out of there, away from the man who it seemed was involved in very unsavory activities. No good could come from him discovering that the twins were Minseok’s.

“Don’t look back,” Jongin instructed, catching up with Kyungsoo.

The twins continued to cry and struggle, ensuring that Jongin and Kyungsoo had their work cut out for them. Yet they wouldn’t let the children down. No, the entire exchange seemed to have a dangerous undertone, and both men knew they had to get home –quickly.

When they were out of the park, halfway back to the townhouse, Kyungsoo spoke over the whines of the children. “That man, he was the same one who brought the package the other day.”

“What?!” Jongin sounded shocked and afraid, an appropriate reaction.

“We need to tell the Sirs when they return, I am not sure who that woman was but it all seems to be such an amazing coincidence.” Kyungsoo was worried, very worried.

***

Minseok found the floor very interesting. Extremely interesting. Far more interesting than the horrible image that had just been burned into his brain.

“Out! Now!” Jongdae was yelling from inside his office.

“You don’t have to act like a shy young lad about all of this, Jongdae.” Heechul was pleading his case inside and the entire situation could not be more embarrassing.

“I can’t look him in the eyes,” Luhan muttered from next to Minseok, “I – that- why us?”

“Try to forget, just try to forget.”  Minseok was repeating the same words to himself, hoping to god it would all go away soon.

When the office door opened Minseok and Luhan jumped back a good foot, startled as Heechul strode past them. He didn’t seem all that concerned about what they had walked in on.

“Old boys, don’t you dare let this get around town or I will do my worst!” Heechul wagged a finger in both of their faces. “I don’t want everyone cuming for him once they know what he looks like .” Heechul winked. “If you understand my meaning?”

“Please leave.” Minseok shut his eyes, cringing.

Heechul laughed heartily, leaving the area with an easy gait. Luhan reached for Minseok, patting him on the shoulder. “We will get through this together.”

Minseok nodded.

“You um, I- is there something you needed?” Jongdae called from within his office, “If you um- can you not come in right now?” Minseok could tell his best friend was beyond embarrassed, which was a completely natural reaction to having two of his friends walk in on him and his boyfriend engaged in very personal behavior on his desk.

“I am not sure that you want me to shout it out loud, it is about the case,” Minseok responded, wishing very much that he didn’t have to go face his friend at the moment, the amount of second hand embarrassment he was feeling was slightly suffocating.

“Ah, the case,” Jongdae’s heavy sigh could be heard from outside the room. “Come in.”

Minseok edged into the room first, Luhan behind him. He kept his eyes averted, only speaking once Luhan had shut the door.

“Um, can you – I – see…-please forget what you saw.” Jongdae sounded mortified.

“We will!” Luhan chirped. “Saw what?”

“Yes, well, thanks. Now what did you have to report?”

Minseok had never looked at the floor in Jongdae’s office for this long, it was rather worn and a bit dirty. “Kyungsoo noticed that the date of Changmin’s election is the same date on the letters that were delivered to our townhome. I dare say there is a connection there.”

“Hm, yes, that is likely. I am reasoning out that the copies of the letter are a warning, and that whomever sent them will very likely be distributing the letters en masse on that date.”

“Which means we have four days until all hell breaks loose,” Luhan chimed in.

“Yes, I fear so.” Jongdae’s embarrassment seemed to have disappeared and been replaced by frustration at the case - as evidenced by the tone of his voice.

“I would like to visit Mrs. Page’s house one more time and find out why that man – the one who delivered the package – was there.” Minseok had thought about it on the way over to Jongdae’s office.

“Sehun is investigating him, one Choi Siwon, “Jongdae remarked. “Though last night he didn’t report finding anything of note.”

“Well than I dare say it is fair for us to pay Mrs. Page a visit if Sehun hasn’t done so himself.” Luhan supported Minseok’s train of thought completely.

“Hm. Let me know what you find out, and please, take care.”

“Yes, you too.” Minseok was happy to turn around and leave, even if the embarrassing situation was fading it was still very much present.

“Come on, we will need to take a carriage there, it is too far to walk.”  Luhan grabbed a hold of Minseok’s arm, lightly guiding him out of Jongdae’s office.

They were nearing the exit when one of Jongdae’s agents, a man that Minseok could never quite recall the name of – Tae, Taec something, walked past.

“Is Mr. Kim in his office?” The agent asked.

“Yes.” Luhan answered. Minseok was happy the agent hadn’t arrived earlier, if he had been the one to walk in on Jongdae and Heechul’s escapades Jongdae would likely have died of embarrassment – it was bad enough it was his two close friends who had seen it.

Exiting the building Minseok focused his thoughts on the task at hand, including the need to take a carriage over to Mrs. Page’s house. It was frightening, the thought of hailing a hackney carriage, after what had happened to Junmyeon. He prayed they would be safe, and hopefully uncover new evidence that would end the madness soon, before anyone else was injured.

***

Sehun was not impressed. He had been to many drinking establishments in the middle of the day – high end places where only the wealthiest of the peerage would frequent, mid-range haunts where young and foolish gentlemen showed up to drink away from the prying eyes of society. He had even set foot in some questionable establishments in the East End, but none of them – not one, smelled as terrible as this place. It was a strange odor, like sweat and fungus. Absolutely disgusting.

It was dirty and dark, the long tables leaning to and fro as though they were barely supported by the wooden legs that logically were somewhere underneath all of the grime, hiding somewhere in the shadows.  Only a few patrons milled about the place at that hour, one of whom was definitely a sailor of some sort. The barkeep was a woman who sported far less than a full mouth of teeth, her hair frizzed out and her skin speckled with age spots. Why the Comte Labeaux had picked such a place for their meeting was beyond Sehun, surely there had to have been a place with a bit less disease ridden like setting for them to meet. Sehun was afraid to drink the water here, much less the ale or any of the liquors. He was certain that anything pushed in front of him was likely rife with contagions of some sort.

When the door to the tavern opened, a tall figure cloaked in shadow from the bright afternoon sun filtering in behind him, Sehun prayed it was the Comte. Once the door was closed, the familiar tap-tap of a walking stick sounding out, Sehun knew that he had arrived.

Sehun leaned back on the bench, watching as the Comte approached him with ease. For a man that seemed to be very biased in his associations, Kris was apparently not bothered by the rough atmosphere.

“Did you find the place easily?” The Comte questioned as he took his seat.

“Yes, though I can’t understand why you would want to meet here.” Sehun cast a disgusted look towards the bar, where the old woman was busy speaking to herself in French.

The Comte chuckled, saying something in French to the bar woman. She laughed, a cackle really, and retrieved something from behind the bar.

“This is the best place for genuine Pont-l'Évêque cheese in the city,” The Comte smiled widely as the old woman brought out a wrapped package, setting it on the table along with a knife. The pungent odor, the same smell that had been so reviling to Sehun before, increased tenfold.

“That is what smells so awful?!” Sehun pinched his nose, grimacing as Kris unwrapped the package, revealing a square cream colored block of cheese.

“Perhaps it is an acquired taste.” The Comte cut off a thick slab, taking a large bite of the cheese as he ignored Sehun’s disgusted expression. “Would you like some?”

Sehun vigorously shook his head.

“A shame.” The Comte finished chewing. “Shall we talk business?”

“Yes.” Since the moment that the Comte Labeaux had saved him from being apprehended the night prior, they had come to a vague understanding, an understanding that needed a lot more explanation on the Comte’s part before Sehun felt completely confident in it.

“Let me ask you this first, have you ever heard of a hellfire club?” The Comte spoke slowly, as though Sehun would be unable to understand his words if he didn’t enunciate every syllable.

“A what?” Sehun searched his memory. He could not recall ever hearing the term before.

“A club, not unlike those you and your other rich English friends attend, though a bit more….secret.” The Comte paused to pop another piece of cheese in his mouth. “A club of wealthy individuals who are united by a common goal, to have scandalous, immoral parties, to act out and pull pranks, or to do something more…practically beneficial to all those involved.”

Sehun took a moment to digest the information, to associate it with the case at hand. “Is that what they are doing in the caverns? It is some sort of secret club?”

“Yes, you happened to find their headquarters, which as you witnessed was not exactly something they were happy about.”

“What are they doing down there?” Sehun shuddered to think of what could be the point of such a club and how it played into the larger scheme, the larger case.

 “Meeting, plotting. Deciding how best to overthrow the government.” Kris tilted his head to the side, seemingly amused by it all. “I have been tracking them for the better part of a year.”

“Why are you so concerned with them?” The Comte had not said nearly enough to quell Sehun’s suspicions around his true motivations.

“As I said, I am working for your government. They gave me asylum for a reason, letting me live here when my head is very much wanted in France. I chose sides, Sehun, and so did your government.”

“Then why are you not in contact with Jongdae or the Home Office?” Sehun was still puzzled. If the Comte spoke the truth, if he was truly working for the English government, than why wouldn’t he be aiding in the Home Office’s investigation? Why wouldn’t Jongdae know of this?

“The Prince Regent has his own men, Sehun. Men who operate above the official arm of the government.”

“Then why tell me all of this? Why not let me be caught?”

“Because, dear boy, I need you.” The way the Comte smiled, the way he leaned forward, a glint in his eyes, had Sehun feeling a slight sense of dread. “And judging by the fact I had to rescue you last night, I believe the feeling is mutual.”

Sehun swallowed, staring at the French nobleman. Why couldn’t anything be easy, clear cut, and certain?

***

Minseok was tense as the carriage traversed the congested roads, making its way towards Mrs. Page’s house. Luhan sat next to him, clasping his hand tightly. Both men were on edge, every unexpected noise, every strong jolt to the carriage had the pair freezing, then looking around with wide eyes.

The urgency, the need to solve the case was never as important as it was at the moment, danger at every turn, the unknown, and the damaging intentions all around them.

As the carriage neared the road Mrs. Page lived on, the acrid smell of smoke filled the air.

“There is a fire,” Minseok remarked, looking around.

Luhan tightened his hold of Minseok’s hand. “I see smoke up ahead.”

The carriage began to slow, the driver calling back about the road being blocked. Minseok nudged Luhan. “We should alight.”

They jumped out of the carriage, Luhan first. Staring ahead Minseok could make out the thick plumes of smoke, the road and sidewalk congested with bystanders. He jogged forward, towards the house, fearing the worst. His fears were realized as he neared their destination. The Page house was on fire, flames from the windows, the door, and the air heavy with smoke.

The fire was alarming, frightening – but what was more concerning was what was scattered around the house, singed, some on fire, blowing across the road.

Hundreds of crimson feathers, left in front of the burning house for all to see.

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a/n- I am back (again)! The plot thickens (again)! Did you guys miss me :P Thank you as always to everyone who is reading, commenting, up voting, and subbing. I will probably be updating this story more frequently here on out, I am through the majority of my fics for exchanges and fests and my personal life is calming down.

I realized that I posted a poll in chapter 18 of The Masquerade (of which this story is a sequel to) letting everyone vote on who they thought the guilty party is. So, without further adieux, welcome to the poll for The Crimson Feather! So, whodunit? I am excited to see who wins the vote!

PS- I excluded Luhan, Minseok, Jongin, and Kyungsoo – because it is kind of obvious they are not guilty ^^

 IMPORTANT! You can only have 4 choices to a poll, so the following polls should actually be viewed as one . Pick 1 option from below, not 1 per poll box. AFF only allows 4 choices per poll, so that is why there are 3 :) So vote for the one person you think is guilty overall, not one person per poll :) Thanks!!!