Lin Mei and Viktor infiltrated Paris through the Eurostarâfake passports, forgettable faces, just two more travelers in the crowds flowing through Gare du Nord.
The city was beautiful and deadly. Every corner held potential ambush points. Every face in the crowd might belong to someone hunting them.
Michael Oduya lived in the 16th arrondissementâa wealthy neighborhood of tree-lined streets and elegant apartments. He had done well for himself since joining The Surgeon's organization. Kill count **67**, according to their intelligence.
Not a major player. But a witness to one specific crime.
They established surveillance on his apartment, watching his routines. He left for work at eight each morningâa consulting firm that served as a front for Surgeon operations. He returned at seven each evening. Wednesdays, he visited a woman in Montmartre. Sundays, he attended mass at a church near his home.
"Predictable," Viktor observed. "For an operative, he has bad security awareness."
"He thinks he's protected." Lin Mei studied Oduya through binoculars. "The Surgeon's umbrella. Why would anyone come after him?"
"We are why."
The extraction happened on a Wednesdayâthe one day Oduya deviated from his apartment-work-apartment routine. He took the Metro to Montmartre, climbing the winding streets to a small flat above a bakery.
Lin Mei intercepted him on the stairs.
"Mr. Oduya." She stepped out of the shadows, blocking his path. "We need to talk."
He was fastâtrained reflexes reaching for the weapon at his hip. Viktor was faster, appearing behind him and pinning his arms before the gun cleared the holster.
"Calm," Viktor rumbled. "We want to talk only."
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"We want the truth." Lin Mei moved closer. "About a journalist in London. Marcus Reid. You remember him?"
Oduya's face went pale. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You were one of two operatives who killed him three weeks ago. The other operative is dead. You're the only witness left."
"You're Council remnants. The ones Laurent warned about."
"We're the people who are going to give you a choice." Lin Mei's voice was cold. "Testify to what you didâon record, to independent observersâor we leave you somewhere the authorities will find you. Along with evidence connecting you to Reid's murder."
"They'll never believe it. Laurent has protectionâ"
"Laurent's protection doesn't extend to you. You're expendable. A loose end." Lin Mei leaned closer. "The question is whether you want to be a loose end that tells the truth, or one that gets quietly eliminated when you're no longer useful."
Oduya's eyes darted between Lin Mei and Viktor. His training was telling him to resist, to deny, to wait for rescue. But his survival instincts were telling him something different.
"What... what do you want me to say?"
"The truth. That Laurent ordered Reid's assassination. That you participated. That the 'reformed' Surgeon is the same monster he always was."
"If I do this, I'm dead. He'll have me killed."
"If you don't do this, you're dead anyway. Either we turn you over, or Laurent decides you're a risk and eliminates you himself." Lin Mei stepped back. "Your choice. But choose quickly."
---
They extracted Oduya to a safe location outside the cityâan abandoned farmhouse that Viktor had scouted days earlier. There, with cameras rolling and Elena's medical contacts watching via secure stream, Oduya told his story.
He spoke for three hours. The assassination of Marcus Reid. Other operations he had participated in. The structure of The Surgeon's current organization, which maintained all the brutality of the old Council behind a veneer of reformation.
"Laurent talks about change," Oduya said, his voice hollow with exhaustion. "About doing things differently. But it's all lies. The only thing that's changed is the public face. Underneath, we're doing the same things we always did."
"Why did you join?" Elena asked.
"Money. Protection. The illusion of purpose." Oduya shook his head. "I told myself it was necessary. That the people we killed were bad people, threats that needed to be eliminated. But Reid was just a journalist. He was just asking questions."
"And Laurent ordered his death personally?"
"I heard the order myself. Laurent called it 'necessary containment.' Said Reid was getting too close to connections that couldn't be exposed." Oduya's eyes were haunted. "I pulled the trigger. I can still see his face."
The recording ended. Jin saved the footage, running it through multiple verification protocols.
"This is good," he reported to Kai via satellite. "The medical experts confirm his stress responses are genuine. The details match what we have from intercepts. It's the most solid evidence we've gotten."
"Is it enough?"
"Alone? Probably not. Laurent's lawyers will claim coercion, fabrication. But combined with the intercepted communications, the financial records, the pattern of operations..." Jin paused. "It's enough to raise serious questions. The kind of questions that don't go away."
"Then we release it."
"Are you sure? Once this is out, there's no going back. Laurent will know exactly who's responsible."
Kai looked out the cabin window at the darkening sky. Somewhere out there, The Surgeon was sleeping soundly, confident in his victory.
"Release it," Kai said. "Let the world see what they're protecting."
The first chapter had ended with exposure.
The second would end with justice.
Or something like it.
