“Actually, we do,” Juan said. “But we need you to help us prove it.”
Marceau’s grin dripped with contempt. “I think you’ve got nothing, which is why I’m going to be leaving now.”
She stood and started gathering her things.
“You’re making a mistake,” Gretchen said. “We will find the evidence that you’ve been helping ShadowFoe.”
“No you won’t,” Marceau said, tossing her tote bag over her shoulder, and then she threw herself at the umbrella, pulling it down despite Juan’s efforts. It exposed them for just a moment, but that was enough time for one shot.
Juan dived for cover, and the round hit Marceau in the upper chest, spinning her around in a fountain of blood. The crack of the rifle came immediately after. Screams of panicking tourists erupted around the pool as they ran for safety.
Juan held the umbrella steady again, shielding them with it as he and Gretchen dragged Marcea
u’s limp body toward the protection of the restaurant. Once they were out of danger, they laid her down, and Gretchen put pressure on the wound.
Marceau’s eyes were fading fast.
“They . . . betrayed me.”
“Who?” Juan said.
“Shadow . . . Foe. Plans.”
“What plans?”
“The formula . . . is in the treasure. Polichev. It’s . . . the code.” She swallowed hard to get the words out. “They’re going . . . zings. Germany. Lightning grid.” Her hand reached for her tote bag before dropping to the floor.
Gretchen checked for a pulse, then shook her head.
Juan searched the tote bag. Besides Marceau’s wallet, the only thing it held was her phone. That’s what she was reaching for.
He tried to access the smartphone, but it was password-protected. He took Marceau’s still-warm thumb and placed it on the fingerprint reader. The screen unlocked. He switched the auto-lock setting to Never so the phone would remain open.
“Come on,” Juan said. “We don’t want to stick around.” He took out his phone and called Eddie as they made their way to the stairs to evacuate along with everyone else.
“We heard a shot,” Eddie said. “Are you all right?”
“We’re fine. Meet us at the back exit.”
Juan looked down at Marceau’s phone. If there was anything on there that could lead them to ShadowFoe, Eric and Murph would find it.
—
O’Connor packed up their gear so they could make their getaway before the police could figure out where the shot came from, while Sirkal called Golov and put him on speaker.
“Tell me you have good news,” Golov said. “Did you get the target?”
“Yes, sir,” Sirkal said, looking at the red dot blinking on his phone’s map of Nice. “Marceau is dead, and her phone is on the move. The mission is a success.”
FORTY-SIX
After disabling the location feature on Marie Marceau’s phone and ensuring that it was not equipped with any kind of tracking device, Juan and the others went back to the Oregon to see if there was any actionable intelligence on it. Within an hour of handing Marceau’s phone over to Eric and Murph, the two computer experts called a meeting to report their findings.
The Oregon’s senior staff assembled in the conference room along with Gretchen. Maurice unobtrusively set out a spread of smoked duck, Brie and Camembert cheeses, and French bread for them to eat while they talked. Juan didn’t realize how hungry he was until he took his first bite. He and the others munched happily while Eric began the talk.
“As you suspected, Marie Marceau has been working with ShadowFoe for quite a while. We’ve found emails on her phone dating back six months.”
Murph shook his head in disappointment. “A crying shame. And I was planning to ask her out, too. Eventually.”