— I will be there in an hour, then I go to the wonderful little village of La Clusaz, in Savoie. Do you know it?
— Yeah, I skied there a few times as a teenager.
— That's fine, I'll text you the coordinates. See you tonight, kiddo!
Claire is relieved. She did it. Putting the phone in her jacket pocket, she opens the car door and sits down next to Erwan, who is watching her proudly.
— Claire, you know you're the bravest woman I've ever met?
— Come on, I don't even know how I did it.
— But you did.
— Erwan.
— Yes?
— Take me to my children, and my husband.
— At your orders, Madame Sautet.
Chapter 13
Erwan turns on the ignition.
Claire turns to him, instinctively.
— In fact, get down from there right now. Let me drive.
— As you wish, I confess I thought you were going to ask me first. I remember that you already couldn't stand automatic cars...
— Come on, get out of the way, move over," said Claire firmly.
Erwan raises his hands like a defendant and executes himself, gets out of the car and goes around the vehicle while Claire settles into the cockpit.
— All right, how do we disable this autonomous vehicle, I want to drive!
— Here, it's done," Erwan retorts, looking amused.
The female voice resonates in the cabin.
— You've taken command of IACar, so be careful.
— "Prudent"? How does she know I'm a woman?
— It's full of sensors, I'll tell you that I don't know.
— Are you sure your American friends can be trusted? I'm sure they're listening to us right now. Hold on, let's go say hi.
While starting the car, Claire leans forward and looks up at the sky, through the windshield, as if she was talking to the satellites above her head. Erwan laughs for a moment, then his face changes instantly when he sees a text message on his encrypted messaging system:
Article 16 probably renewed9 : tanks being deployed in front of the Assembly, reinforced arrangements, risk of riot level 4. Cause: mass arrests in progress in French homes of resistance for sedition.
— Claire, it's starting. We have to be quick.
— Erwan, swear to me again that they are safe.
— Yes, I hope so.
— I'm sorry, Erwan, I know you're doing everything you can. Will you turn on the radio? We'll see what they say. We're not far now, another hundred miles.
The car's female voice resonates in the passenger compartment.
— You have expressed the wish to turn on the radio for information, do you confirm this choice?
Annoyed, Claire answers in the affirmative. The car plugs into France Info. The news obviously doesn't talk about the wild demonstration in Stalingrad, nor about the others for that matter. On the other hand, following the attack on her campaign headquarters, the journalist explains that President Michèle Desrivière is going to deliver a speech to the nation within the hour, live from the Elysée Palace, with the intention - she is still speaking in the conditional - of renewing once again article 16 of the Constitution, which gives the Head of State exceptional power. She recalls the text with seriousness, even with a touch of anguish that her professionalism finds hard to conceal: "When the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the Nation, the integrity of its territory or the fulfilment of its international commitments are threatened in a serious and immediate manner and the regular functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted, the President of the Republic takes the measures required by these circumstances".
At that moment, Erwan receives another text message.
It is confirmed, it is indeed the 121st Regiment of the train in10 its entirety which watches over all the State buildings. Capacities are up to the maximum.
— She's turned around. She won't go to the meeting, exclaimed Erwan.
— Turn back? But are you sure she was even on her way?
— Yeah, I'm just saying, we've been manipulated, and so has the US Secretary of State.
New text message.
Alert. The heads of state are leaving the nest. Secret meeting canceled. Awaiting instructions.
— She wanted to test you earlier, see what you knew, and what we knew. It's a fool's game, Erwan continued.
— So this is it. We're in. Dictatorship is pronounced, with applause. Fuck, I'm disgusted.
— Come on, it's okay. You're gonna have your kids back soon.
— But this is a dictatorship! And we're gonna get arrested for sedition, she might even reinstate the death penalty just for us! Do you want me to remind you why our parents voted no to the first treaty establishing a constitution for Europe?
— I know, I studied the fine print at Science-Po like you did.
— Voilà! And who was the maneuvering to write these little lines? Just call Claire back.
— People like her.
— Funny thing is, the Bilderberg guys got fucked by one of their offspring.
— I admit it's funny.
— Call your contact, I want to know if the kids are okay.
— I can't, it's a military zone.
— St. Laurent de Machin, a military zone?
— Yeah, it's close to the airport, and it's a great hideout. They won't be looking for us there.
— For that I trust you," smiles Claire.
New text message on Erwan's phone.
Bloody riots under way in Paris, several squares under barricade fire. The soldiers fired. A dozen dead.
The apparent peace and luxurious quiet of the self-contained sedan's interior makes it special. The couple left the capital, Paris was under pressure, and there it exploded: but without them. Or rather, the pressure drove them out, like a rocket, and they managed to escape at the right moment.
Only 20 miles to go.
Chapter 14
Claire holds the steering wheel firmly in her hands. She's trying to hide her stress, but she's shaking. The motorway exit is close, towards the East the couple sees the so particular shape of the LGV-Saint-Exupéry station: two huge wings of a metal butterfly. It is grey, the ceiling is low.
Several signs indicate that the zone is militarized, and warn that martial law now applies in this part of the territory. The car's GPS indicates an address in the small town of Saint-Laurent de Mûre. Here, everything is quiet. To their astonishment, no road checks have stopped them, no checkpoints, hardly an army khaki car has parked near the pharmacy on the square.
Claire's heart starts beating really fast. Only a hundred yards to go. The car enters a dead end, slowly. On either side, ordinary houses adjoin each other. A man whose face has been turned pink by alcohol or fatigue, is gardening, staring at them for a long time, and then returns to his work. Claire sees Lana playing on a red tricycle in the entrance hall. Her eyes fog up immediately.
Lana gets up, and she screams:
— It's mom, it's mom! She's with a gentleman.
At that moment, Benedict, who was on the verandah, runs out.
— Theo, Mom's here!
The teenager's coming out of the house. The automatic gate opens. Lana runs to the car.
Erwan, take a deep breath.
He's imagined this moment a thousand times. But it's no longer a dream, it's reality in the here and now. She's here, she's beautiful, she's his daughter. Instantly, it's as if five years of missing years were coming back to him. It's violent. The state stole five years of his life with his wife and his daughter. He has this terrible feeling of having been deprived of his freedom, like a prisoner. His daughter doesn't know him. She thinks he's dead. He hasn't made any connection with her, and his wife doesn't love him any more, not the way she used to. She's had a life, and he can't break that.
— I'm going out, take your time, I'm going to prepare her, Claire says tenderly to Erwan, caressing his hand.
Erwan has to take off his glasses and rub his burning eyes. He cries, he sobs. He fought to see her again. There she is, finally, he swears he'll never leave her again. Whatever it takes, he's got some time to catch up, but getting out of this car is going to take courage.
Benedict is slowly walking through the freshly cut grass. He instinctively looks for his son's hand. Even though he is tall, Theophilus lets himself be taken in, and they both walk down the slope towards the entrance. Lana is already in his mother's arms.
— See, I promised you I wouldn't be long. I'm right here. I'm right here.
— You're not going back?
— No, I'm staying.
Claire gets up and takes Theo in her arms, he is sincerely moved too, but does everything to hide it. Benedict looks her deeply in the eyes. Claire too. The eyes don't lie. She throws herself into his arms and kisses him.
— I love you," said Claire. Thank you for trusting me.
— I never doubted it.
— But how do you do it?
— I love you too, that must be why.
— Benedict, I failed. And I'm sorry I dragged you into this.
— I saw that, we'll talk about it later. Is he in there?
— Yes.
— Mom, who's the man in the car? Why doesn't he come out?
— There, we'll have to go," said Claire backing away. It's crazy, it's like Lana knows...
— Everything is going to be all right," said Benedict, caressing Claire's brown fringe. Everything's going to be all right.
Suddenly, the car starts up again, turns around and drives away. Erwan left again.
— He needs time, and so do we," says Claire.
— That's not very smart... he wouldn't want to run into a patrol car.
— He knows what he's doing, he'll be back.
— Come on, let's go home. I guess you've seen the news, it's on every channel, right?
— The Desrivières speech?
— Yeah, she's crazy, she's gonna make a lot of enemies.
— She's already got too much.
— Claire, the people who brought me here told me next to nothing. Just that you were some kind of... spy, and that if you came here, your mission would have failed and you had to leave the country as soon as possible under false identities.
— There, you know everything, so I failed.
— But you're... really a spy?
— As a matter of fact. Yeah. I mean, now you see, I'm not sure who I am.
— Sit down, I'll make you some tea.
On television, the silent images of the stern, silent President are shown on a loop on all channels.
— Mommy, I drew you a picture.
— Thank you, darling, it's very beautiful. You made two suns.
— Yes, I prefer Vence.
Claire strokes her wheat blond hair and kisses him on the neck.
— You smell good, Mom.
— You think so? Well, I think I should take a good shower.
— Claire, did you hear that?
— Somebody's in the lobby, and it's not... the one that was with you.
— What?
— Don't move, I'll see.
— Watch out!
— Don't worry about it. Just stay close to Lana, and Theo's downstairs in the basement.
Chapter 15
Benedict hurtles down the small stone stairs to meet the stranger who has just entered the property, taking advantage of the gate that is still open.
— Sir, can I help you? Sir? This is private property...
The man, two meters tall, wears a black Stetson trilby hat, a leather jacket, closely shaved, massive. He says nothing, and walks towards him with a dark look on his face. With a controlled and very quick gesture, he takes out of his inside pocket a gun with a long silencer and shoots. Benedict has no time to react, and collapses on the shooter, who holds him in his arms. The killer carries Benedict in a corner of the house, hidden by shrubs, near the stères of firewood. As a professional killer, he prepares mechanically to fire two more bullets, one in the heart, and one in the head. He's a mercenary. Benedict is breathless, mute, holding his stomach. He begs, reaching out his arm to the attacker.
Suddenly, the killer collapses, knocked out by a garden tool, into the pebbles. It's Erwan, who comes to save Benedict.
— Quick, let's not stay here. We'll take him to the basement.
— Erwan?
— It's me. It's me. Can you walk?
Benedict comes to his senses, and begins to understand what just happened to him. He is still sitting with his buttocks on the floor, next to the killer, who is lying on his stomach, unconscious.
— He shot me.
— Yeah. He's a weirdo. He works for the state. His absence will be noticed soon and the army will be here any minute. We've got to get out of here. Can you move your feet and your hands, please?
— Yes, I think so, and it doesn't hurt anymore.
— Okay, luckily the bullet didn't hit any organs, your pupils aren't dilated. Press hard here, it's gonna hurt. Come on, get up!
Erwan helps Benedict to enter the house through the garage.
— What about him? Ask for Benedict.
— I'll drag it to the garage, we'll take care of it later.
— What the fuck happened? Ask Theophilus who's coming to their bedside.
— Theo, help your father, please.
— Who the hell are you? You?
— Erwan. I'm on your side.
Erwan drags the killer by the feet and slides him into the garage.
— And who's he?
— This is the guy who shot your father.
— Holy shit!
Erwan, go back to Benedict, supported by Theophilus. They cross the basement corridor that leads to a room.
— Help me, we'll bandage him up and get out of here. You had your emergency things packed, I presume?
— Yes, we'd been warned that this could happen," Theophilus replies, his eyes wide open on the scene that's unfolding.
— Okay, Theo. Go get Claire, we're gonna need her, and we're all gonna get the hell out of here. We've got 15 minutes to take off, no more.
Erwan is observing Benedict's injury a little better.
— It's a real miracle, the bullet exited on the other side and the bleeding is minimal.
— Are you a doctor?
— No, but I've been trained in jungle survival training, it helps.
— I'm a doctor, and everything you say is true. I'm a lucky man. I've got my briefcase. Claire's gonna help me, and I'll tell her what to do to stitch it up.
— Okay, it suits me, it saves me from endangering another person. Come on, let's get out of here.
Claire runs down the wide spiral wooden stairs to the basement.
— Damn it, Benedict! Where is that asshole?
— In the garage, on the floor, we'll move it.
— Nobody's going to move!
Suddenly, the killer arrives and holds Theophilus at bay, with a screwdriver pointed at his carotid artery.
— I'm sorry, I haven't seen him, Theo says.
— It's not your fault, get off him!
— Start by dropping your weapon, Erwan.
Erwan gently takes out his handgun and puts it on the floor.
Suddenly, noise echoes down the corridor, then a huge clatter of glass noise. The killer is so surprised that he turns his head. Theophilus, taken by superhuman courage, takes advantage of this to grab his screwdriver and wrench the assailant's arm, and finds himself face to face with him. The killer slaps him with a violent blow, then falls.
Erwan takes the opportunity to pick up his gun and shoot. He takes aim, hits the carotid. The man bleeds to death.
— Theo, find Lana ! I don't want her to see this," shouts Benedict.
— Dad... she's... she's right here.
Indeed, Lana, approaches Theo and comes to hide near his leg, clinging to him, to get away from the killer's body.
&n
bsp; — I dropped the glass. You saw, I'm strong!
Erwan, out of the room and into the hallway. He bends his knee, and instinctively puts himself at his height.
— Lana? Says Erwan.
— Yes, just like the gentleman told me to be careful with the bottles when we arrived, and if I pushed here... it would fall off.
— Lana, but you're awesome! Come on, don't just stand there.
Erwan, take her into the bedroom, where her father is bedridden.
— What's the matter, Dad?
— He has a stomach ache," Claire explains.
Theophilus, with trembling hands and hallucinated eyes, tries to take a little humour.
— What about me? Did you see the arm key?
Claire can't believe it, and yet she knows he's just been through a trauma. Usually not very talkative, the fact that he starts talking instinctively is a good sign. Although a boy his age shouldn't have to go through that. Claire approaches him gently, gently, he hasn't moved.
— Come on over here.
Claire hugs him, he lets it happen.
— I'm proud of you.
— Okay, I know who she now takes the little one from," said Benedict, laughing and taking her little hand. Ah shit, it hurts when I laugh.
— Yes, like my daddy in heaven! Says Lana
The Last President- The Complete Trilogy Page 15
