One singular sensation
Ev'ry little step she takes
Sarah leaned against a pillar and adjusted her mike. In the earpiece, and back at headquarters, Amanda chattered away in Japanese. Sarah caught a few words: she was setting up the music, and reassuring Jeanne-Marie that everything would be perfect.
One thrilling combination
Ev'ry move that she makes
It had to be perfect. It was Sarah's first official mission, so she was only a monitor, but she was essential to getting Jeanne-Marie in. And getting Jeanne-Marie in, with the timing Sarah had helped plan, and the song she'd chosen, was essential to everything else.
One smile and suddenly nobody else will do
[es, dɪn, ta]—Amanda, counting off in the language Sarah was creating. The music started in Sarah's ear, and Jeanne-Marie entered the ballroom right on cue. A waiter drifted by, and Sarah took a glass of champagne and pretended to drink while she watched Jeanne-Marie's progress.
You know you'll never be lonely with you-know-who
From this angle, she was doing beautifully. She took every step as if she were back on a catwalk, under glaring lights and hundreds of eyes. And people were watching. A silence spread from the doorway as the guests noticed her, and she strode on, Cinderella with a hidden earpiece.
One moment in her presence
and you can forget the rest
The ripples reached Francis and his gaggle of admirers a little later than planned, and a couple of Parisian youths were caught in the spotlight that blossomed from the ceiling and set off every sparkle in Jeanne-Marie's dress. France blinked once, then—Sarah crossed her fingers—left his followers.
For the girl is second best to none, son
He bowed to her, kissed her hand (such a gentleman when he wants to be), asked her name. "Jeanne," she whispered, and his eyes lit up. They wandered off hand in hand, leaving the ballroom in chaos.
Ooh! Sigh! Give her your attention
[ʃak es], Sarah whispered into her mike.
Dana got on the other line. "Excellent work, ladies. Go have some fun, and I'll pick you two up in the morning."
[es], Sarah acknowledged, and turned her wires off.
"Sorry?" said a voice behind her.
Do I really have to mention
She's the one
"Huh?" Sarah turned around. The guy behind her was tall, French, and looked like Cary Elwes.
"You're new here?" he asked in English, with a trace of a Paris accent. "My name is Louis."
"Sarah," she replied, taking the hand he offered her. "This is my first time in Paris; I'm from…" should she mention England?…"Chicago." She followed him out of the shadows.
Later, when he found her wire, she told him she'd been helping a friend, and refused to say more. But in the morning he saw her leave with Jeanne-Marie.
He would draw his own conclusions, but that didn't bother Sarah. She had a Frenchman's phone number written on her arm, and as they left the city, Jeanne-Marie had drawn a signed contract from the front of her dress.
There would be many more nights in Paris.
…
A/N: Works in square brackets are in the Pidgin, a language Sarah has constructed for Hungary and her agents. [ʃak es] sounds like /shock A's/ and means "we scored" or "mission accomplished." [es] means both "yes" and "one."
Cary Elwes played Westley in The Princess Bride. If you have never seen The Princess Bride, shame on you. Go rent it.