whispers into a bone mic: "Louvre team is set. Vingt-trois heures quarante-sept."
At the Palais de l'Élysée, is giving a final interview. He announces a surprise "unity walk" tomorrow—from the Arc de Triomphe to the Grand Palais. Open to the public. Alice watches on a monitor, her jaw tightening.
(picks up the phone, no hesitation): "She’ll never trust me."
Her second-in-command, whispers, "Alice, if the Minister finds out you countermanded his orders..."
Alice and Marco are the only ones with a backup channel—an old 5G mesh network she built after the 2023 riots. She watches the official feeds go dark. CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera—all show the same image: the collapsed tunnel, smoke, and a claim of responsibility from a group called .
