witchfinder_general | OOM: Javert in London for the scond time

OOM: Javert in London for the scond time

It' the same featureless blue corridor as before, but this time, there are still people about in it.

Nobody, however, is paying any attention to them: two women with papers under their arms are chatting to each other, and a man is wheeling a trolley of scientific equipment into an open door.

Father Harman holds the door of the supply closet open for Javert.

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Father Harman walks through the sliding glass doors out onto the sidewalk; it's not very busy, but far from deserted as it was at night. "Yes, they are," he says. "It was the obvious place to take you to; they know they'd better not ask questions about anything connected to me, and with the way we tend to move around, you can always rely on somebody there speaking fluent French."

'I hope Father Meunier will be there, but if he is not then it will be well enough.'

The man may not remember him in any case. But if he does, it will be easier to explain the further struggle he is engaging with rather than having to start from the beginning. Still, one priest is much the same as another.

He watches some cars go by with obvious interest. Fascinating things.

'Do you expect to stay in London now?'

"The last I heard, he was still here," Father Harman says. "He's teaching at the Jesuit college in Wimbledon this year."

Pause.

"And yes, I expect to stay because I'm assigned to that government project, rather than work with my order directly. I'm on permanent loan, you might say."

He has no idea where Wimbledon is. It could be on the moon.

'Ah. No danger of hunting creatures elsewhere, then.'

He vaguely wonders who is doing the job in France. But this is not his world.

"The Vatican office that recruited me for this job has other priests in other countries, working with whatever authority or organisation does this thing there," Father Harman says. "And in some places, the Vatican isn't welcome. There's presumably people in Moscow, for example, but they're allied with some department where you'd least expect them. Fire brigade, emergency service for gas leaks, something like that."

'So even if you have no cases here any more, you cannot be sure the infestation will not spread from another country.'

That could be problematic, he imagines.

"The last lot we dealt with was coming in from Brazil by plane," Father Harman says. "We do know where to find our counterparts, and alert each other."

'I am glad to hear it. Anything else would be dangerously lax.'

Some things never change, and a strong work ethic is one of them.

"Exactly," Father Harman says. "And if there is one thing we can't afford, it's being dangerously lax. That is when the Code Fives will slip through the crack, and it's our duty to prevent precisely that, at any cost."

Father Harman is a friendly and understanding person, a good priest with infinite tolerance -- but the moment vampires come into play, he turns into steel and stone.

Javert gives him a sideways glance, and the corner of his mouth turns up a little.

He likes Father Harman as a priest and a man, and automatically respects him because of his profession. But he finds he also rather likes the version made of steel. It reminds him more of his kind of religion, even if the cause of his resolve is vampires, and not stupid sinners.

'Any cost at all, Father?'

"Any," Father Harman says. "After all, humanity needs us, even if they don't know about it. Any little thing that slips through the cracks can cause global disaster."

'It is good there are people watching for them, even if they do not know it or appreciate it.'

Harman, he feels, would have made a good policeman.

'Mankind always needs its guardians, so long as they do not abuse the position. And you will not.'

"That's always the question," Father Harman says. "Who watches the watchers?"

His mouth sets to a line.

'They should be able to watch themselves.'

"Actually," Father Harman says, "our conscience and our sense of purpose should watch us, and if that is not enough, we have each other; we should not hesitate to call someone out who missteps, which calls for flat hierarchy and limited power for everyone concerned."

'I agree.'

He does, entirely. He held himself to the highest of standards, but would never overstep the boundaries laid out by his superiors.

'And yet, a man should take responsibility for himself. If he does not think he can do such a job on his own merits, he should not take it.'

"Exactly," Father Harman says.

While he has all the tolerance in the world for other people and their fallibility, his own attitude towards duty is rather like Javert's.

"If somebody knows about vampires, though, and has any skills that can help fight them, we need to retain their services, so we have to walk a fine line. But whoever can't deal with the rigorous self-control this kind of access and power demands of us must be put into a place where they have no chance of abusing their power, and the latitude a position in our team might give them."

'You press them into service whether they wish it or not? And if they do not agree, then...imprisonment?'

He does not know what to think about that, if it is true. His initial reaction is that it is only good sense, but then he remembers that his judgement is not to be trusted.

"Oh no!" Father Harman says, horrified. "We do what we can to hire them away from their current jobs, with the ordinary arsenal of enticements, which is simply paying them well, plus the knowledge that their work will make a difference to humanity. Anybody who knows about the Code Fives will have encountered them, and that will most likely mean a tale of loss and horror. No, it's just that even facing these beings doesn't make anybody a good and ethical person automatically."

...he is reminded why his judgement is not to be trusted.

'I see. You simply hope they are decent enough to behave as they should.'

That is possibly not wise, but again, this is not his world.

"No," Father Harman says. "The moment we see the not behaving as they should, we find them places where they can't do much harm, or use the position for their own advantage. But it means we have to keep eyes on our team members."

'Ah. Then my apologies, if I made it sound as though you detained people in ways you perhaps should not.'

He should know that Harman would not. But there, he is very intent on his work, and who knows what that might do to a person?

"We don't," Father Harman says. "People come first; animals deserve respect and should be kept in ways that is adequate for their species and behaviour. The only things that don't get asked at all are dead things."

He finds himself wondering what Valjean would make of this. And, inexplicably, the desire to ask him.

He pushes it away.

'Vampires are dead,' he says, almost to himself. And remembers that yes, Dracula had felt dead to the touch. But he was not, was he? He had never actually been killed...or perhaps he had. Abel was not clear on the subject, and he had not wanted to know, and now it is hazy in his mind.

'Yes. It is as it should be.'

"Not all of them in the bar unmistakeably are," Father Harman says. "But ours are, and must be treated accordingly. There are some cultures on earth that keep their dead around, but it's rare, and usually considered bizarre. As a rule, the dead must be put to rest."

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