Still wearing his overcoat and with his hat on his chest, Jean is curled up on a bench in the sidewalk. It is past midnight. Little to no one else was there on the street. He has been lying there for some time, but he is still looking up at the sky over Paris. From a distance, the Eiffel tower is visible. He was unable to sleep, and his favorite activity at night is to stroll around the deserted streets of Paris and take in its beauty. The beauty the war stole from him.
He is employed in the construction industry. It being the 1950s, the Marshall Plan was in full swing, and the city was being rebuilt. Of course, there were political differences between factions, but everyone agreed on the importance of the city. Jean used to be a member of the French fighting forces during the war, but after things calmed down, he opted to pursue other interests. The war took its toll on him, as it did on everyone else, and his inability to sleep at night is a result of his service. Looking out for a German onslaught at any moment. All of his battling left him with scars, both psychologically and physically. He has one scar his face from a German soldier during a life-or-death hand-to-hand battle. He used to be a lovely, vibrant young man who loved to read and play the piano. Now that he’s obviously emaciated and his hands have stiffened, he’s satisfied with what he’s doing for the Parisians, rebuilding his city.
He grew restless, stood up, put on his hat, and decided to go for a walk. The streets were perilous even if they were empty. Many people arrived to Paris during the rebuilding phase, but not all of them had good intentions, and some turned to the other side in order to live. Organized criminality thrived. At the period, the streets were known for kidnappings, particularly of small children. Jean had a good eye as a result of his duty, and he could read people. He always looked down the alleyways as he walked through the streets; the darkest places were always lively. Men and women conversing around small fires. He wasn’t very attentive to anything. During this transitional period, there were numerous youths on the streets begging, and many were found dead in the river, many of whom had been sexually molested. The authorities ignored this issue because they were too preoccupied with reconstructing the city. Jean wanted to do something about it, but he didn’t know where to start. He walked until he reached the Seine River. He leaned against the railing and looked at the water, thinking about the children who lost their lives in it. As he contemplated these concerns, a girl, barely ten years old and smiling yet alone, passed past him. He looked at the youngster, she smiled at him, and he returned the smile. With his coat, he concealed the scar on his face. She reminded him of someone, those eyes, which he had seen someplace but couldn’t place.
“Where is your mother ? “ He asked the child
“There….” The child pointed to the other side of the river.
“I will walk you there..”
He felt a strong blow behind his head as he stretched his arm to the child, he fell down, someone snatched the infant and ran, he wanted to pursue but couldn’t. As he lied there, his consciousness steadily faded, and then it was dark..
Jean woke up, still dizzy but he knew the child is in danger. He stood up slowly as he tried to make sense of the situation. He started to frantically look everywhere trying to spot where she was taken. He couldn’t see anyone. Suddenly, he noticed a group of men gathered around a fire on the other side of the river. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he had a bad feeling about them. He decided to investigate and started walking towards them. As he approached, he could see that they were drinking and gambling. Jean knew he had to act fast. He quickly retreated, carefully avoiding being seen, the priority was the child. He monitored and surveilled the place from a distance. The men were sitting near a warehouse; the child could be there, Jean reasoned. On the other side, he noticed a set of little stairs. He gently made his way past the men and up the stairs. The door was secured, but Jean noticed a gap in the roof. He summoned all of his might and made it to the roof, slid through the opening, and made it to the warehouse’s first floor. He slowly opened a couple crates, finding general goods, wine, and pistols, Jean thought to himself, “Mafia.”
He peered down to see where the child is, he spotted her inside a room, unconsciousness. He found a crowbar and took it up. Made his way to the ground floor. Slowly sneaking up on the men. He found a can and tossed it to a distance. The men looked at the direction where the sound came from. Jean attacked with the crowbar. Knocking two of them out cold and as one rushed towards him he put his hands and the crowbar to the use and disposed of him quickly. The woman, took a pistol out of her purse and started shooting at Jean, he took refuge behind a big box and then threw the crowbar at her, knocking her down. He rushed towards the room the child was in picked her up and rushed to the first floor. The men outside hearing all this sound rushed to the ground floor, the women pointed at the first floor.
The men started unloading their guns towards Jean. He rushed to the back of the floor, putting the child in a safe position. The child was awake, he tried to console her by saying everything will be alright. He gave her his coat and told her to hang tight. Jean could hear footsteps outside, they are going to use to the stairs and some men were trying to make their way to the first floor. He opened the crates and picked up a pistol and bullets, he found rags and a match box. With the loaded pistol Jean rushed to the front unloading the gun on the thugs, picking them out one by one, seeing this rest took cover and shot at him from a distance. He ran to the back and dragged some heavy boxes with much effort in front of the door. The men already made their way up the stairs but now can’t break the door open. With the alcohol bottles and the rag he found, Jean made a few Molotov cocktails. He threw this at the thugs below and the fire distracted them. He grabbed the kid and made his way to the top of the building and as he made his way he threw two more of his Molotov cocktails at the men trying to break the door open. The men screamed and as they tried to get the fire off of them, many fell to their deaths. Jean held the child close to his chest with a pistol on his other hand. He could hear the police sirens approaching and was relieved to hear them. As the police pulled up, a few remaining thugs tried to put up a defense but was gunned down. Jean signaled he was up on the roof and the police helped him and child get down.
Medical personal took the child from Jean, she was holding on to him, he assured her everything is going to be okay. The police chief approached Jean
“You served ? “
“Yes sir..”
“Well done.. son, These people were in our radar for some time but these are the small fishes, we were trying to take out the big ones. But a life saved is a life saved nonetheless.
The chief shook his hand. Jean stood there watching as the police went through what’s left of Jean burned down. They took the gang’s property, or what was remained of it. He noticed a woman racing towards a child and hugging her; she had to be the mother. He approached them, and the mother turned towards Jean as he began to speak. “Adeline……. ?”
He understood where he has seen those eyes in the child before.
“Jean…? You saved my daughter ..?”
“Why didn’t you wait for me ?”
“You’re the one who left and never came back Jean…”
“Is this your daughter ?” The police chief interrupted
“Yes.. sir” Adeline replied
“Don’t you know how unsafe this streets are at night ? Where were you and why did you leave your daughter alone ?..”
Adeline didn’t say anything, The chief didn’t say anything more and asked her to leave with her daughter. As she left Jean wanted to stop her but the police chief interrupted again
“Listen young man, you’ve gotten yourself into some trouble here. The people who ran this will come looking for you, it’s in your best interest to leave this city for once and for all. Leave to the country side. Don’t worry we will drop you off outside town and from their my men will take care of you and you have to come with me now..”
Jean took another good look at Adeline, it might be the last time he might see her and got into the car.
Adeline with her daughter walked to the opposite side of the river, she was weeping. They used to be in love, but then came the war, and the Germans took over Paris for a spell. Jean left to battle, and she never heard from him again. She was accused of having an unlawful liaison with a German soldier, which ruined her postwar life. Her pregnancy did not help matters either. She was gradually rebuilding her life.
Back in the car, Jean didn’t say anything. He was imagining what it could have been. He paid no heed to the distance travelled.
“Get down..” The chief’s comments jolted him out of his reverie. Both males exited the vehicle. It was a strange place, and it was pitch black. A van approached, and two men got out.
“They will take care of you..” He walked towards them, said the chief.
“Bang bang bang…”
Jean’s chest was pierced by three bullets. It was the chief of police.
“Get rid of the body…” The police chief informed the other two men before driving away. The men dumped Jean’s body in a nearby pit and began covering it up.
