41.

Paris, France

Jeremy rushes out of the building, quickly descending the steps from the porch to the sidewalk. The dead-end street breathes tranquility. Alexandre chose this location for the peace it offers despite being in the heart of the Caumartin District. Jeremy heads towards Place Charles Garnier. The Opera edifice, named after him, with its greenish copper dome, comes into view when he passes under the arcades leading to the esplanade. He turns left, crosses Rue Auber, and follows the sidewalk, trailing behind an accordion bus, the only vehicle allowed to travel in this direction due to its dedicated lane.

The bus stops a hundred yards further, alongside a modern structure with a smooth, white facade and reflective windows. The design somewhat clashes with the surrounding Haussmannian architecture. The building, sandwiched between two majestic limestone-clad constructions with sculpted cornices, wrought iron balconies, and dormer windows at the roof level, feels cold. This office building, with its first two levels open to the street in a wide forecourt, houses the entrance to the "Auber" RER A terminal. Jay ducks inside just as the double bus moves on to its next destination. Though he can afford taxis, he has always preferred public transportation for practical reasons.

After validating his travel pass, he accesses the station's vaulted hall and arrives on the broad platform, accustomed to a high volume of passengers. Those exiting the trains come to visit or work on the grand boulevards, while those entering head towards La Défense and its numerous offices. It's not yet 9 a.m., and trains stops frequently. Jay waits no more than two minutes before one appears and disgorges its riders. He steps in. All seats are taken, so he stands by the doors, which close behind him. The car is full but not packed. Only two stations separate him from La Défense. Ten minutes of idleness is enough for Jeremy's mind to painfully revisit Sarah's memories. First time he is back to the city where they met since her death.

The mass motion of passengers exiting the train snaps Jeremy back to reality. He must focus now. Doc is counting on him. Accessing one of a major bank's central terminals is their Holy Grail. With it, the Englishman can monitor Phoenix's money transfers as easily as a GPS tracks geographic locations. Once this last piece is in place, all they need to do is wait for Phoenix to make his move, then pull the chain and bring this dog to heel. The only dark cloud now is the ransom Phoenix will undoubtedly demand. Jay has yet to receive confirmation from Kinkaid regarding the funds. The major seemed unenthusiastic about his plan, favoring more traditional methods of investigation that don't involve a civilian and extensive hacking...

But Jeremy remains convinced that Kinkaid will manage to secure the capitals when the moment comes. What other choice does he have? The raid on the Philadelphia headquarters yielded nothing. And even if the major's team tries to follow leads by analyzing the equipment found and the few fingerprints collected, time is of the essence. If Phoenix detects no activity from Doc on Echelon, he will likely move forward quickly.

Jeremy arrives at the esplanade. He's early. Alexandre has announced his visit for 9:30 a.m. He considers his options. Showing up now won't gain him anything; security protocol is strict, and he knows his access to the basement is only allowed for the requested period. He's not in the mood to wander the terrace and enjoy the sun breaking through the cloud cover, his mind too preoccupied. And he's already nervous enough without pacing in front of the bank consortium's building entrance. He notices a Starbucks on the corner of the esplanade and decides to get a hot chocolate. Alexandre, being a dangerous coffee addict, meant Jay hadn't eaten breakfast before leaving his apartment.

He orders, sits on a high stool, and sips his warm drink, reviewing in his thoughts the sequences of instructions he'll soon have to type surreptitiously into his client's systems.

At 9:25 a.m., he exits the café and crosses the terrace, emerging a mere two hundred yards from his client's imposing black building. He pushed his anxiety aside. Focused and ready to complete this crucial part of their plan to find Phoenix, he leaves the more crowded area of the esplanade and heads down the side alley leading to the tower. Only a hundred yards separates him from the entrance when he hears a phone ringing. He slows; the insistent chiming seems to be coming from him... But he doesn't have his mobile with him; he knows it's bugged and hasn't turned it on for nearly two weeks. He stops, pats his pockets, and feels a handset in his jacket. He pulls out a low-end cellular with surprise, looking at it as if it were an alien object. This phone isn't his, of course, yet it certainly didn't end up there by accident. Someone slipped it into his coat, whether on the street or on the RER, there were plenty of opportunities.

Kinkaid? Phoenix? One of them must have found him, and Kinkaid doesn't need such subterfuge to speak to him. The ringing stops, and soon a message displays on the screen:

"Pick up."

Jeremy winces in pain. He thinks about the hot chocolate he just drank, wondering when and who could have poured nanites into it. Unless he was unknowingly infected some time ago... But thanks to Doc, he understands how nanobots work. He raises his arm to throw the phone as far away as possible, out of transmission range. An iron grip prevents him. The man twisting his wrist forces him to kneel. Jeremy has the presence of mind to open his hand, and the handset falls. But the stranger catches it in mid-air, gently places it on the ground, and activates the speakerphone.

"You should answer," he points out sarcastically.

Continuing to crush his arm, the brute hinders him from fleeing, while Phoenix's voice emanates from the speaker.

"SdS?"

Jeremy clenches his jaws, struggling. He tries to flee, to stand up, to rush towards the building entrance where the guards will protect him, but his assailant holds him in a vice. His contorted face, he shakes his arm, still captive.

"It's over, SdS," Phoenix continues.

Jeremy fixes his eyes on the glass doors. Someone will surely come out, or access the building, pass through this alley, see the scene...

"You've lost..."

Jeremy lets out a plaintive moan.

"...and your precious Doctor... He too is dead."

The Frenchman jerks and struggles even harder.

"Thanks for leading me to him."

Jeremy breathes heavily.

"Impossible!" he manages to articulate.

"Dubitative? It's always the little mistakes..."

Jeremy finds the strength to stand, but a violent kick between his shoulder blades brings him back to the ground. This time he's lying flat, the other has released his arm. The hold is now unnecessary; Jay is in no condition to move.

"Sarah Wessler's phone," Phoenix blurts out...

Phoenix tells the truth... While Doc's means of communication, including Jay's mobile, had been protected by his efforts—encrypting data and forbidding GPS tracking—Sarah's phone, in the brief moment Jay and Doc had turned it on, had irrevocably signaled its location to the nearest cell towers. Phoenix, or his team of mercenaries, must have been monitoring the device and triangulated its position...

Jeremy curls up, his head in his hands.

"I win all around... Goodbye, SdS..."

Jay convulses. His ponytail flails, he sees his limbs twitch before him, his eyes roll back slowly, and it's the end.

An employee enters the alley and takes in the scene.

"Hey! What's happening?"

Unperturbed, the man who attacked Jeremy turns to her. "He had a seizure," he explains.

The young woman rushes to Jeremy's side and kneels beside him. "Call the firefighters, quickly."

The assailant picks up the phone still lying on the ground, stands up pocketing it, and soon disappears towards the esplanade.

Surprised, the employee extends an arm towards him with a blood-covered hand.

"Sir! Sir!"

Then, realizing he won't return, she rummages in her bag for her own mobile.

She stays until the emergency responders arrive: they declare Jeremy deceased on the scene.

In the small crowd that has formed at the alley's entrance, a brunette walks away from the group. Satisfied, Lucy dials Macmillan's number to confirm Baltac's death.