Page 66 of French Escapade

Ken

Andrea, who vanished when we were getting ready, returns with a victorious smile. He’s carrying a large duffle bag.

“I knew we had some, but I had no idea where they were stored,” he declares happily.

Curious, Jimmy opens the bag and pulls out night goggles. “With these, we’re perfectly equipped.”

“This model is two years old, but I don’t think there’ve been significant technological advances made since,” Ted explains.

“If there had been, you would have swapped them for the newest model?” Élodie asks.

“Absolutely. That’s one of the advantages of working for the very rich. They only care about results. If you can provide the service they require, no matter how absurd, then they don’t even look at the bill.”

“Money is no object,” Andrea says in English, with such a heavy French accent that we all laugh out loud.

“Yep, that’s it,” Ted confirms.

Élodie sighs.

“Yes, I know,” Ted says. “In the police, you need to fight for every single item. Last time I looked at one of your surveillance vans, I wondered how your colleagues managed to work in the summer.”

“We have AC in our cars,” Andrea adds.

“I’ll try to remember that next time I’m on a stakeout. Well … if I still have a job when I return,” Élodie says with a sad smile.

“You really think they are going to let you go?” I ask, as we leave the headquarters and go to the cars.

“I have no idea,” she confesses. “I was already in trouble before. But maybe it’s for the best. They had me basically confined to desk duty. Your case got me out of the office. It’s a good thing. I’ll deal with the consequences.”

I’m not sure she really believes this, or if she’s trying to convince herself and avoid making me feel guilty. The truth is that I wouldn’t mind if she quit her job. She deserves better than a desk job, especially when it’s not a good one.

For me, the best outcome would be for them to offer her back her job—better yet, with a promotion—and see her turn it down to leave with me. I have this John Wayne style image of me riding away with her into the sunset.

Back in the real world, it’s nightfall. Time to get going.

There are three bikes in front of the door. Dirt bikes, and really dirty ones at that. “Most of my men are back,” Ted explains. “Bikes are the best way to get close without raising alarm. I’m going to ride behind the team leader, who knows the way. Andrea and Jimmy will take the second bike, and the third one is for Ken and his femme fatale.”

I look at Élodie, who seems rather amused by the nickname Ted’s adopted for her. A good one, if you ask me. Much better than kickass babe.

“With the two men who stayed there, we’ll be a team of eight. We’ll be able to properly cover the four sides of the building and enter by surprise. The first thing we’ll do will be to neutralize the guards, and we’ll do it at the last minute.”

Ted’s plan seems good to me. We’ll need to synchronize our attacks to keep the element of surprise. We don’t want to give Arkady an opportunity to put a gun to Madison’s head and slip between our fingers once more.

There’s static in my earpiece, and then a voice. “Hey guys, Nathan here. Before you hit the road, this is a final test to make sure everyone hears me.”

He does a roll call, and one by one, we check in. Sound is perfect. We put on our helmets, climb onto the bikes, and depart in one column.

Once more, I regret the reason why we’re here. When this is over, I’ll have to take another night ride with Élodie through the countryside. Just the two of us. A ride when we can talk without our entire team listening in.

Fifteen minutes later, we reach a clearing where we ditch our rides and swap our riding helmets for the night goggles.

“Be careful,” the team leader says. “Don’t look up at the moon, and if someone turns on a light, close your eyes and take the damn thing off your face.”

No one on the team is ignorant that not doing so could cause permanent eye damage. Retina burn is no joke. But a reminder can’t hurt.

Ted, who’s taking lead for the operation, tells us how to spread out. Our attacks have to be perfectly timed to make sure none of the guards can sound an alarm.

Moving carefully, we all make our way closer to the house. Because nature is so silent, I feel like I’m making way too much noise. I’m not. When I stop, the only thing I can hear is the song of the cicadas.

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