Chapter 50

CHAPTER 50

Out of all the cracks in her plan, Brunelle had been most worried about MoMo. As it turned out, she didn't need to be.

He wasn't happy, of course, about Amir being taken into custody, but he understood why it was necessary, as well as what his role had been in it.

Gibert had lived up to his end of the bargain, sneaking the flash drive into the evidence log. Once his text had arrived, confirming that it had been done, she had finally been able to breathe.

The DGSI command center had been a hive of activity overnight. A small cadre of trusted agents had been handpicked by Director General de Vasselot to work the assignment. As they did, they were gripped with a universal terror—in addition to the names already on Jadot's list, how many other government operatives had the Russians co-opted? Had Jadot uncovered them all? Or were there more? And if there were more, how many of them were from right inside DGSI?

Those operatives identified by Jadot had been placed under immediate surveillance. The director general didn't want to move on anyone, not yet. She wanted to have a solid plan in place first. Brunelle agreed with her. If they weren't exceedingly careful, they could blow the entire thing. The moment that happened, they would lose any opportunity to fully grasp the scope of how badly the French government had been penetrated, as well as to bring every bad actor to justice. It was a highly sensitive situation that required patience and cunning.

Brunelle was also still bound and determined to nail Jadot's killer. Unfortunately, the fates were not cooperating. The getaway car had all but vanished into thin air. The farther one moved from the heart of Paris, the fewer traffic cams there were. MoMo suggested that the Russians might have even pulled off somewhere and switched license plates, making their search all but impossible. Even the AI software had come up empty.

Nonetheless, she refused to throw in the towel. The reason they had yet to generate any new leads was simply that they were not looking in the right places. There was always evidence. You just needed to adjust your eyesight in order to see it. She wasn't going to stop until she uncovered something.

At the same time, de Vasselot expected her attention to be fully focused on Jadot's list. Brunelle had uncovered it, after all. How they handled this bombshell was going to impact both the DGSI and Brunelle's long-term career. This was a quintessential make-or-break moment if ever there was one.

Though she could strategize with the best of them, determining how to move against so many well-connected people, all at once, with no one knowing it was coming, was proving almost impossible to wrap her brain around. Whom could they trust to make the arrests? Would they apply for warrants, or use provisions in the terrorism code? There was even a law going back to the 1940s, created in the aftermath of the Nazi-collaborating Vichy government, that DGSI's lead attorney thought could be dusted off and put into play.

At every turn, the director general made space for her to weigh in. Brunelle could see what was happening and she was grateful for it. A brilliant, successful woman who had risen to head one of the most powerful law enforcement agencies in France, de Vasselot was allowing another up-and-coming woman the opportunity to take her shot and make her mark. It was beyond generous.

Brunelle, however, was not going to win any politically correct plaudits with her ideas. She wanted to kick in the door of every single traitor, drag them out of their beds, and livestream their interrogations. Part of her even wanted to let citizens choose from a menu of punishments and vote via text message. She wasn't a total anarchist, but when it came to dealing with people who were willing to sell out their country to an enemy like Russia, she was definitely open to exploring a wide range of remedies, including the unorthodox.

Her punitive desire to inflict maximum pain and consequences aside, if she could help plot the DGSI's next steps, it would cement her as a superstar. The trajectory of her career would be all but guaranteed.

Think, she told herself. How do you gather up that many people all at once? How do you outsmart so many intelligent and talented people? There had to be a way.

Suddenly, it hit her. You don't outsmart them. You allow them to outsmart themselves. You hand out ropes spun from golden thread and watch as they turn into nooses.

Pulling de Vasselot aside, she said, "I think I may have an answer for you. But first I need to ask—does the president trust you? I mean really trust you."