AN: There is a little French in this chapter, but nothing important to the plot. It's pretty basic stuff, but feel free to google translate if you're desperate. (Or there will be a translation at the end.) Thanks to all who continue to read, review and support this story :)
Chapter 34
The French countryside they drove through along the A41 and A42 on their way into the heart of Lyon from Switzerland was absolutely breathtaking. The Lac de Miribel-Jonage or The Lake of Blue Waters in the Grand Park Miribel-Jonage was particularly beautiful sight, not too far from their destination.
"We should grab some lunch at a café before my meeting, it's at 2," Tris decided, as they parked the car. "Would you mind pulling out your cell and finding us something good nearby?"
"There are plenty of nice places along the Rhône. Let's head for Suelta Verde," Uriah suggested. "It's this way."
It was a brisk 25ºF as they walked along the sidewalk and Tris was grateful for the warmth of her leather gloves and Valentino coat. The only part Tris really appreciated about her current, expensive wardrobe was the quality of each item. The silks felt simply wonderful against her skin, each pair of pants were cut superbly, the many sets of gloves had the best, softest lining, and the coats were all cut very well and warm, as well as being fashionable. Tris was able to think happily at length over this aspect of her clothing, at least.
Uriah had much less to worry about, he mainly just had a slew of expensive designer suits, Armani, Tom Ford, Prada and Hugo Boss featuring most prominently. Accompanying dress shirts, ties and shoes had been supplied as well. Tris thought it a pity that Uriah's outfits were all wasted on her, Marlene would've definitely enjoyed the picture Uriah cut in the expensive clothing. He also had a nice supply of casual wear, as well as evening wear, and winter coats and gloves. There were a few designer scarves too, but Uriah scorned them, inferring that they were 'too girly'.
For the most part, the expensive clothing did not bother Uriah nearly as much as it did Tris. To him pants were pants, and a shirt was a shirt. He wasn't overly fond of having to wear a tie at times though, and he definitely wasn't looking forward to having to wear the dreaded tuxedo, at least once.
They got a seat and ordered and were making quick work of their food, talking as they went.
"After my meeting, we'll spend an hour or two the park over there, Parc de la Tete d'Or," Tris said, trying hard to pronounce the French words correctly.
"Just run your words together more, and say your 'ls' like this," Uriah suggested, demonstrating. "And what's so great about this park?"
"Well, for one, it's right across the road, very accessible, and two, it's supposedly very pretty, with some really nice attractions," Tris told him. "Or at least that's what the online tourist sites say. We need something to talk about should anyone ask us what we saw here in Lyon. If we have time, we might even be able to squeeze in forty-five minutes in the Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon. It's open until 6pm, and is right next to the park."
"Right, so you're out of your meeting, say by 3.30, we spend an hour or two in the park, grab dinner somewhere, then head back to the hotel in Lausanne," Uriah summarised. "Plus, while you're in your meeting I'll find some nice place for us to eat, as befits our social status. When you put all that on paper, plus our morning, we'll have had a pretty full on day."
"It is kind of weird to think we've been in two countries today, when in America we could still be trying to get from one state to another, let alone another country," Tris agreed. "I never went to Europe as a child, so it's kind of nice getting to see it now, and in this way."
They settled the bill, and then headed straight for the Interpol headquarters.
It was a big, square, modern building with lots of glass panelling, it was very impressive, without being out of place its beautiful location, surrounded by nature.
The headed up the gravel drive and into the front of the building.
"Tris Prior, to see Ronald Noble," Tris said. "We have an appointment for 2 o'clock."
"Mais oui," the reception replied. "Of course. Monsieur Noble's personal assistant will be down presently, and will escort you to Monsieur Noble's office."
A tall young man, with olive skin, brown eyes and brown hair presently joined them.
"Mademoiselle Prior?" he said. "I am Carlo Furlan, Monsieur Noble's personal assistant. We will go through security, and then I will take you up to his offices."
Uriah and Tris followed Carlo, their identification passing muster through Interpol's system.
"Uriah, you will join me for the initial meeting with Mr Noble," Tris told him, as they waited in Ronald Noble's outer office.
"Mlle Prior, M. Pedrad, it is a pleasure to meet you," Ronald Noble said, coming out of his office, extending his hand, and shaking both of their hands. "Please, follow me into my office."
They settled down into the available seats, and Ronald began to talk.
"Please pass on my sincerest thanks to your agency for your speedy assistance on this mission. We have been working hard to successfully ensure the capture Evelyn Johnson and her accomplices for some time now," Ronald began.
"We go where we're needed, and understand the important of this mission," Tris said seriously. "We would be having a much harder time without the ground work laid by your agency, and those assisting you. So thank you."
"We have a lot of people invested in this mission, that is true," Ronald agreed. "Is there anything further you wish you discuss before we meet with them? They're all here, in a secure meeting room, so we can all talk."
"I'm ready to meet with them when you are," Tris replied. "As you'd be aware from my partner's details, he won't be attending the meeting, due to his level of classification. He's here with me to assist, and offer protection. Will there be somewhere outside the meeting room that he can wait?"
"Of course, Mlle Prior," Ronald agreed. "Our building is secure, but we of course understand the protocols of your organisation. Your partner will be able to wait just outside the meeting room, in the hall. He can do whatever he needs to do there, the hallway is as secure as our meeting room."
"Thank you, Mr Noble, and please, call me Tris," Tris insisted with a smile.
"Very well, you may call me Ronald, if you prefer," Ronald offered. "Let us go."
Uriah and Tris followed Ronald out of the office, down a corridor, into an elevator, up a floor, down another corridor, and then he and Tris entered a room, Ronald swiping an access card in the door. Uriah was left in the hallway, as prearranged.
Once inside Tris looked around the room. There were three other people there, two men and one woman.
"This is Michel Quillé, Deputy Director of the Operations Department at Europol. Europol has been working alongside use, with the FBI, on this mission," Ronald said. "So, we also have Special Agents Butterfield and Williamson from the Bern FBI office. Everyone, this is Agent Tris Prior, from Dauntless, she and her partner are here to pick up where we left off with Evelyn Johnson."
"Please, call me Tris," she said, taking the seat offered by Ronald. "Thank you for all your efforts on this case, your groundwork and substantial notes have been very useful for my partner and me. We are looking forward to having a result for you all soon."
"You're a little young," Agent Williamson said bluntly. She looked to be about thirty five. "And you certainly seem over dressed. Do you actually have the necessary skills and experience for this mission?"
"Jennifer, she's more than qualified, Harrison Thompson has the utmost faith in her abilities, she's a very skilled agent, I have been shown proof of what she can do," Ronald said firmly.
"I am confident in my abilities, Agent Williamson," Tris said firmly. "And as for my clothing, my partner and I are posing as a wealthy American couple, and are thus, dressing accordingly. We're here in Lyon for 'sight seeing' today, so wearing anything less would not be appropriate."
"I know who you are!" Agent Butterfield exclaimed. "I just came back from Washington, meeting with some senior officials, and no less than three people mentioned you to me. You're the Dauntless agent who caught Jeanine Matthews, and you were responsible for taking down a corrupt Senator as well, right?"
"I was involved in those things, that's true," Tris allowed.
"Very impressive," Agent Butterfield said, looking appreciatively at her.
Michel Quillé, who had been sitting silently, listening intently then said, "Okay, now that we have established the girl is wonderful, how about we get down to business?"
"You are right, Michel, let us commence," Ronald agreed.
They began discussing their efforts thus far, making sure Tris was familiar with every necessary element of the case. Tris then explained what plans she had further made for the next couple of weeks, detailing specific ideas, for completing the mission.
They made notes, made suggestions, looked over the cover story Tris and Uriah were implementing and talked over what options there were, in case of an emergency.
"Once you have apprehended Evelyn, and as many of her associates as possible, including plenty of damning evidence, you will turn them over to The Federal Criminal Police in Switzerland, who work with Fedpol, Switzerland's Federal Office of Police on matters such as this. They will handle the formal arrest and arranging for the subsequent criminal trials, et cetera. Please also notify me as soon as possible, as I will need to speak with the head of both Fedpol and The Federal Criminal Police, to fill them in on the situation. At the moment, they are unaware of what we have been working on, as this is too complicated for their team to handle," Ronald explained. "Any questions?"
"Would it perhaps be simpler if I called you as soon as we are ready for an arrest to be made?" Tris suggested. "That way, you can contact the necessary parties, and explain what they're walking into, so that they're aware of the situation from the moment they become involved."
"Very good," Ronald agreed. "We shall go with that."
"Alright," Tris said standing. "That concludes our meeting for the day then, and I shall speak with you some time next week, following the fundraiser."
The others in the room stood, and Ronald walked out, to where Uriah was waiting in the hall, seemingly focused on his cell phone.
"Finished?" he asked Tris, looking up as they exited the room.
"Yes, we're ready to head off," Tris told him. "I trust you've kept yourself well occupied?"
"Well, Mr and Mrs Murray have a reservation for 6.30 at Le Gourmet de Sèze which serves first class French food, and is only 7 or 8 minutes from here. We can head straight there once we finish our sight seeing," Uriah told her.
"I think you will be pleased with Le Gourmet de Sèze, the food is certainly the best in the city," Ronald told them. "What sights shall you see this afternoon?"
"We're going to look at the Parc de la Tete d'Or, and then maybe the Musée d'art contemporain," Tris informed him.
"Very good choices," Ronald agreed. "Enjoy the rest of your day, and good luck with your other ventures, until next we meet."
Uriah and Tris left the building, and headed straight for the park.
"So when Evelyn's people look into us, what will they do when we find we don't exist?" Uriah asked curiously, as they walked around the grounds.
"Well, we do exist. The internet is a wonderful thing, Harrison had someone in IT, one of the directors from another branch, who specialises in IT, fabricate our entire lives, at least electronically," Tris told him. "It's pretty cool, and creepy actually. The article on our wedding is pretty surreal."
"And when this is all over all evidence of our fake lives will just be erased as well?" Uriah asked.
"Yep," Tris said. "I don't know exactly how they do it, but for the IT guys, it's a pretty simple process. This Japanese garden is beautiful."
"If you like that kind of thing," Uriah said complacently. "I'd rather find a theme park with wild rides, personally."
"Maybe some other time," Tris said dryly. "For now, all I can suggest is having a look at the animals at the zoo. They're about as lively as things are going to get here."
They wandered around more, looking at the animals and gardens, before heading to the museum to look at the art for a quick look around to see what was on offer.
"You know, that part of the lives of the cultured rich does not really appeal to me," Uriah remarked as the left the museum. "I'm good with the cool cars, jets, jewels, awesome food and travel. But museums are really not my style."
"What about a historical museum, with war artefacts and old weapons?" Tris asked. "That would surely not be too bad, compared to blobs of colour on paper."
"Yeah, that wouldn't be too bad," Uriah mused. "Well, come on now, my lady who-is-not-really my lady. Let's go eat!"
At the restaurant, Tris and Uriah ordered, Tris understanding just enough French to make sure she ended up with a meal she'd enjoy.
"Bon soir, j'mapelle Jean-Paul. Je serai votre serveur ce soir. Que voulez-vous commander?" the waiter asked in French.
"Pour entrée, je voudrais le salade lyonnaise, et pour le plat principal, je voudrais le cabillaud poché avec des olives vertes et pommes de terre en purée," Tris told the waiter, speaking slowly as she strung together what she thought were the correct words. "Et pour le dessert le coing et parfat de sucre brun."
"Tres bien, mademoiselle," the waiter said with a smile. "Et pour le monsieur?"
Uriah rattled off his order, including a bottle of red wine, and sent the waiter on his way.
"I'm surprised you didn't order the chocolate marquise," Uriah said with a grin. "I'm also impressed you managed to order well enough for the waiter to understand!"
"Well, helpfully, the French words for the food were right in front of me, the rest was just basic French, which happens to be the extent of my limited knowledge of the language," Tris replied. "And yes, the chocolate cake was tempting, but let's face it, I can get it whenever I want at home, and I doubt they could top our chocolate cake."
They had a pleasant evening, talking of inconsequential things, and enjoying first class food. When they were finished they returned to the car to head back to their hotel in Lausanne.
Once there Tris said to Uriah, "I have to call Harrison, report on a couple of things to him. You might as well shower in your room or hit the gym while I make my call."
Their hotel had a gym, and Uriah and Tris were both trying to make a habit of using it once a day, when they could fit it in.
"Yeah, I think I'll hit the gym, after a long day of doing nothing, I could use some exercise," Uriah agreed. "See you in a bit then."
The first thing Tris did in her room was to get straight out of her outfit and into a pair of black sweat pants and a black sweater, pulling a pair of ugg boots onto her feet to complete her new outfit. An outfit of complete comfort and familiarity. She could be back in her room at Dauntless.
"Hi Harrison," Tris said, when he picked up. "Do you have time to talk now?"
"Sure," Harrison replied. "How was your trip to Lyon today? Do you have a successful report for me?"
"The meeting went very well," Tris answered. "We're all in complete understanding as to the details of the case, and they're on board with the steps that Uriah and I are putting into motion to complete the mission."
"Very good, I'm glad things are going smoothly, you're doing well," Harrison told her.
"There is one thing that is bothering me," Tris added slowly.
"What?" Harrison asked, concerned.
"Our primary target is Evelyn Johnson. She use to be Evelyn Eaton. She's Four's mother, and she's supposed to be dead. Four thinks she's dead, but she's not, and I'm in Europe, tracking her down because she is a criminal who has masterminded a comprehensive organisation devoted to the illegal dealing of stolen artefacts!" Tris exclaimed, becoming more agitated as she spoke. "I accept the fact that I can't tell Four where I am, or what I'm doing, but the fact that I know him mother is alive, and I can't tell him doesn't sit right with me."
"If we were to tell him it would create a whole lot of issues, he would have a lot of questions we couldn't answer," Harrison told her. "I've had an IT guy at another branch make it so that Four's credentials don't give him any access to any of the files pertaining to this case. He shouldn't be able to hack his way in either, try as he might."
"I appreciate and accept that, and I understand where you're coming from, but couldn't we find some way of telling him that the mother his misses daily and thinks is dead, isn't actually dead?" Tris pleaded.
"Tris, we can't. We certainly can't at this point. Maybe down the line, once this mission is complete," Harrison negotiated. "Once you get back, and if things are wrapped up satisfactorily, then we can re-evaluate your request. Until now, you will have to figure out a way to cope with what you know. It's all part of being a Dauntless agent."
"Yes sir," Tris said seriously.
"Tris, I get that you're in a hard position," Harrison added, more gently. "You're doing a good job so far, and I know you're going to keep on that way. Don't hesitate to call again if anything comes up, or if you have anything important to report. I look forward to reading your case notes from today soon."
"Thank you, and I'll get started on them right away," Tris replied. "Bye Harrison."
Tris hung up and rubbed her eyes wearily, smearing her mascara. This prompted her to take a shower, get the day's grime off her and relax a little. She really should've hit the gym, but she just didn't have it in her.
When Tris got out of the bathroom, a fluffy robe wrapped around her figure, she headed over to the chest of drawers in which her foldable clothes were stored in.
Tris opened a draw and looked at the sugar-pink silk-satin Olivia von Halle pyjama set Marlene had packed. She picked it up, and touched it softly. It felt foreign to the usual soft, familiar, black flannelette pyjamas she had been wearing that winter, but it was a good kind of foreign. She knew it was silly, but she somehow felt that silk pyjamas would somehow soften the blow that her phone call with Harrison had dealt. Plus, they would be comfortable and comforting to relax in while she started compiling her report from their day in the field.
AN: Thanks for reading! Please review with any thoughts or questions :)
Translations: "Bon soir, j'mapelle Jean-Paul. Je serai votre serveur ce soir. Que voulez-vous commander?" the waiter asked in French.
"Good evening, my name is Jean-Paul. I'll be your server tonight. What would you like to order?"
"Pour entrée, je voudrais le salade lyonnaise, et pour le plat principal, je voudrais le cabillaud poché avec des olives vertes et pommes de terre en purée," Tris told the waiter, speaking slowly as she strung together what she thought were the correct words. "Et pour le dessert le coing et parfat de sucre brun."
"For entree, I would like the lyonnaise salad and for the main course, I would like poached cod with green olives and potatoes mashed," Tris told the waiter, speaking slowly as she strung together what she thought were the proper words. "And for dessert, quince parfait with brown sugar."