Le Nouveau Order - Something New.

[DrP]

I've started something new. Seem Interesting??? The characters are completely new and not to be confused with persons living or dead.


The Beginning
     Roz Valois was walking out of an elevator into her office. No one dared approach her when she wasn't in a room where she would be the one to talk first. However, an urgent matter in the Controller's office found Drew Laval up on her floor.

"Roz, we have an urgent situation," Drew said intercepting Roz on her way to her office.

"What is it Drew, I really don't have all day," Roz answered, still looking straight ahead at her office.

"It is Collette," Drew responded. "She finds something wrong with one of the asset accounts. It seems that it is majorly understated." We made it to Roz's office and she shut the door behind us.

"I can't see what the problem is," Roz said quickly as she shut the door. "Ok, the real problem is that the Chancellor-Minister DuPont is declaring that all our business practices need to be audited."

"So why did one of the departments completely vanish?" Drew inquired.

"The Chancellor-Minister can't know that one of our departments in closely tied with China," Roz explained. "You know the law. Ever since the Confederation formed, Chinese goods and services were banned and punishable by the full extent of the law."

"This means that we will be suffering a major loss at the end of the year," Drew replied. "What exactly was this dealing with China?"

"Well, in the Department of Research, there was a secret partnership with Premier Wong in production of energy from coffee beans," Roz clarified. "Coffee beans have a mysterious power that our Department of Research has discovered, and the Chinese possess a technology far greater than us."

"So what is going to happen now?" Drew asked, worried about Roz's ties to the Chancellor-Minister himself.

"Nothing," Roz said assuring him. "We delay reporting of some expenses and accrue our revenues early. I have a way of keeping my business out of meetings with the Chancellor Minister"

"That's illegal," Drew said irked. "What about the shareholders?"
 
Roz stood up and looked at Drew intensely. "In a few months, we'll be lucky we have shareholders." Roz turned around a looked out into the city of Paris. The sun was setting slowly in the east over the city. "Paris has seen better days," Roz continued. "But I fear what Chancellor-Minister DuPont has in store for Europe." 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

   Drew Laval was born in France in 2002. Growing up, he had a fascination for finance and an inquisitive mind toward anything involving money. Drew was a precocious child, learning many aspects of the financial market at an early age. By age 10, he had a diverse portfolio of securities and commodities and was regarded as the smartest financial mind of the century, but he had a passion for financial reporting as it just came natural to him. He graduated from the University of Paris at age 20 and was hired as tax accountant at Alpine Corporation, where he has been for the past five years, now as the Controller. He works closely with Collette Marceaux, the CFO and with Roz Valois, the CEO.

   Collette Marceaux was a smart woman. Best friends with Drew since the University of Paris, she works quite well with him whilst at work. She has a photographic memory and remembers almost everything she learns. She is generally quiet and shy, usually hiding behind one of her many stacks of novels. However, she is quite loquacious with friends and never afraid to crack a joke. She can easily be noticed with her black wayfarer glasses and her auburn hair tightly packed into a bun. She often visits Roz after hours to go over her findings each day.

   Roz Valois moved to Paris from her native Montreal after graduating from Columbia University in New York. After working as the Undersecretary to the Finance Minister of the European Confederation for a year, she became the CEO of Alpine Corporation after it was rebranded from Starbucks following the economic collapse of the United States. She is quite ruthless in business practice, but laid back and sarcastic in social situations. Drew and Roz share a relationship that allows her brutality to be set aside when discussing business, as the same with Collette. She currently sits on the Council of Ministers as a Finance Advisor to Chancellor-Minister Albert DuPont and has been rated the second most powerful woman in the world behind Chinese Premier Li Wong.

   Albert DuPont was elected to be the first Chancellor-Minister of the European Confederation, a culmination of the European Union as one large country, in 2020. He turned a profit by using liberal policies to stimulate economic growth, reduce corruption and worked with all parties to establish a common rapport. However, when he was reelected in 2026, winds of change began to blow as he and the European National Assembly began writing a constitution. The public would let CM DuPont do whatever he wants and basically had theoretical authoritarian power, though soon it would change. 

[K-NiGhT]

Interesting...makes me want to finish my story! (which we all know won't get started till like, spring break )

[DrP]

I have 14 Hours on a plane in 10 days. I can get a lot done if I don't spend it all watching movies!

[K-NiGhT]

Well this sounds fairly interesting...i'll read yours if you will read mine when i finish chapter 1 lol.

[DrP]

Yeah... I already have a few chapters of this done.

YOu should take a look at my awesome one... Steps to Simplicity (Link is in my Signature... it's pretty awesome!)

[K-NiGhT]

You should take a look at my awesome one... Steps to Simplicity (Link is in my Signature... it's pretty awesome!)

Already started. It's really good :3

[Winter]

I wanna be in it! I wanna be in it!

[K-NiGhT]

I wanna be in it! I wanna be in it!

This

[DrP]

I wanna be in it! I wanna be in it!

I really dont have the intention, but if I find a place that needs a character... Ill see what I can do.

[SlowPokemon]

Makes me want to finish the NSM novel o.O

[DrP]

Makes me want to finish the NSM novel o.O

DOEET!

[DrP]

Also... DL Post because...


Chapter 1:

"... I really have no idea what is going on," Jake said on his phone in plain English as he walked into the Alpine Corporation store. "You should come over right away!"

Jake Wagner was not from France. He was an American before he moved to the European Confederation. He and his sister, Nicole, fled the former United States as civil unrest came about when the government stopped paying debts. No one began to pay their taxes in outrage and began immigrating to other countries. The former United States was then taken over by China, Apple Corporation, Canada and the New Republic of Texas.
Jake is usually found in an Alpine store, sipping cappuccinos and lattes like most people his type. Scarves, beanies, peacoats and wayfarer shades were common items that Jake wore. He listens to lots of jazz music while blogging about his time in France (both in English and French). He was a journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle before Apple Corporation took it over. Now he spends time relaxing and taking lots of photos of Paris.
Jake's sister Nicole can be found in an Alpine store, too. The only thing different is that she is found talking with customers, crunching numbers in the back room and making many drinks for customers. She is the manager of the largest (and most profitable) AC Store in Europe. She keeps a place where Jake and his friends sit when the store is full. Nicole is wary of CM DuPont when she has conversations with the suppliers. She knows something is amiss.

"I can't get out of work now," the person on the other line responded. "I'm up to my arms in papers that I need to get through. I will be there as soon as I can."

"Fine," Jake said disappointed. "I'll see you when you get here, I guess."

Jake walked inside and went to his usual armchair and table. Nicole was doing her usual thing and walking around with a bottle of Windex and a rag, wiping down tables and cleaning food cases and making everything sparkle. Nicole was a bit of a neat freak, and if anyone crossed her... no one would to be there when it happened.

Nicole walked over to her brother, who was now typing away at his latest blog entry and said, "you know you drink too much coffee."

"You know you have told me that I drink too much coffee too many times," Jake sarcastically responded, sipping his cappuccino in utter defiance to his sister's comment.

"Yes, yes," Nicole answered. "You do that all the time I say that. Have you talked to Drew at all recently?"
 
"I was just on the phone with him as I was walking in," Jake responded. "He seems to be stuck at the office. He and Collette seem to be busy. Roz keeps them quite occupied, I guess."

"Well, do you know if he's coming by today?" Nicole quickly asked. "I have some stuff I need to talk to Roz and him about."

"Is it about the bad coffee bean?" Jake said winking.

"Yes..." Nicole sighed. "It seems it's getting worse."

Just as Nicole said that, a man walked in the door. The entire coffeehouse hushed to a whisper and the room seemed to get much colder. A tall, bony man with pale skin stood at the door. He placed his hat on the coat rack next to the door and walked to the counter.

"Bonjour Monsieur Mechaut," Nicole greeted the man. "Would you like your usual today?"

"No, Nicole," M. Mechaut replied coldly. "I will just have a cup of the French Roast, no room." Nicole quickly completed his request and brought him his coffee. Luc Mechaut was the senior Secretary of the Minister-Chancellor. He is generally described as a bony, cold human being who seems to be doing shady things. He always wants to know everyone's business, but people try and avoid him.

Luc Mechaut looked around the store. He walked over to a table where he took his finger and swiped it across the table and then gazed at what his finger picked up. He turned around and returned to Nicole. Just before he was about to speak, his phone rang.

"Hello Margot," Luc Mechaut answered his phone, not necessarily happy to receive the phone call. "What is it?" He continued talking to her as he walked out of the store and into a car waiting for him. The tension in Nicole's shoulders dropped as she returned to her previous task.

As it began to get dark, Drew appeared with Collette and Roz. "You finally were able to get out of the office," Jake greeted Drew and the others.

"There were too many important things to do, now that some of the Chancellor-Minister's new financial laws are going into effect," Collette answered snidely.

"We just needed to have our bases covered so that we don't have some mid-level bureaucrats in the European Financial Reporting Agency breathing down our back," Drew answered calmly. "It should be fine now. We've fixed everything up to the new standards."

Roz said nothing and calmly walked over to Nicole and began a conversation. "Look at Roz," Jake pointed out. "She seems really stressed out."

"Roz is ALWAYS stressed out," Drew answered sarcastically. "She is the CEO of Alpine Corp and she is on the Council of Ministers. It's probably because of her that we won't have those dumb bean counters audit our books."
"Well, Roz is just Roz I guess," Jake answered. He went back to his computer and continued typing and sipping his fourth latte of the day.

Drew surveyed the café and just observed the tasks his friends were doing: Nicole scrubbing windows, Roz presumably sending an email from her phone, Collette slumped over the counter sipping a latté and reading the current financial news from the global stock exchange in Munich. Drew walked to a stool next to Collette and just stared at the mural behind the counter. "What do you think this means, Collette?" Drew asked.
"Huh?" Collette answered, not knowing of what Drew was referring to.

"What do you think about the new things happening with DuPont and the entire European National Assembly?" Drew responded in much greater detail.

"I think it is a load of crap, in my honest opinion," Collette answered the question quite ardently and with a strong tone and proceeded to begin in what seemed was a rant. "I fear what is happening in the National Assembly and I fear Europe may descend into a government like China under Mao, the Soviet Union under Stalin, or like many movies about a charismatic leader who takes control of an empire benevolently and then makes the population fear him for getting his way."

"You read way too many old history books, Collette," Drew jokingly agreed with Collette's rant. "I do totally think you are right. I fear the next year will show change in Europe for the worst, and there is little I can really do about it."

"It is such a shame we can't do much," Collette responded a bit depressed. "We are mere accountants for one of the most popular corporations in the world. We may have financial support, but political and social power, as Nicole would say, 'forget about it'."

Drew watched as Collette's facial expressions turned from a depression to a painful worry. Drew gazed into her eyes and he saw fear. "I know how you feel," Drew reassured here. "There are not many people who are not in the mood or political mindset to go up against DuPont. He basically has them... brainwashed, in a sense, completely oblivious to his future intentions for Europe."

Nicole, whilst scrubbing the counters had been listening to the conversation between Drew and Collette, thinking exactly what Drew was saying. Drew looked over to Nicole, staring intently at him whilst doing her cleaning. They didn't commence a conversation, nor did Nicole stop scrubbing the counters. Drew looked at Nicole and saw in her face and in her eyes that she new something that he didn't know. "What is it Nicole?" Drew finally asked to the entranced Nicole.

"It's nothing," Nicole answered moving to wiping down the espresso machines. "I'm just listening to what you're saying."

"Well, that's something," Drew answered sarcastically. "You know something, don't you Nicole?"

"No, I really don't," Nicole replied a bit worried, looking away while saying it. "I really am listening in to your conversation. It's simply coincidental." Nicole quickly finished her cleaning and quickly went into the back room.
 
"What do you thing that was about?" Drew asked Collette, who had returned to reading the news.

"I think she knows something," Collette agreed with my question to Nicole.

"I should go find out," Drew answered determined to figure out more about his thoughts on DuPont's intentions.

Before Drew rose to find Nicole, Collette stopped him and the look on her face was quite horrifying, a new truth about what was happening with the government. "Look at this," Collette gave her tablet with the news to Drew. "It's already starting."

"I don't understand," Drew responded aghast. Collette interrupted him from further saying what he was about to say.

"I think your projections are a bit to far into the future," Collette assured Drew of what they were talking about.

"This is crazy," Drew answered completely thrown into spin trying to comprehend this news. Roz quickly rose from her chair and went over to Collette and Drew to spread some news that she just discovered.

"I just read some new news out of the National Assembly over the Le Monde news wire," Roz said completely horrified. "I can't believe this is happening." Jake, noticing the group surrounding the bar, got up to see what the fuss was all about.

"What is going on?" Jake inquired. "Did someone die or something?"

"No, it's worse," Drew answered in a solemn voice and commenced reading the breaking news. "Chancellor-Minister DuPont has indefinitely suspended the National Assembly until further notice, becoming the sole head of state with absolute power until pending issues in the National Assembly can be further rectified and brought to a consensus."

"I knew this would happen," Nicole said quite perturbed about the recent event. "I've been planning for a day like this to happen ever since we fled the collapsing United States."

"Seriously, what is happening with governments in the 21st Century," Jake piped in. "First it was the insolvency of the United States, then the democratization of China, then the re-Communization of Russia and now this. It is utter madness I tell you."

"At least the rejoining of the Korea's was decent like the Chinese democratization," Roz added. "Now we just have to see what is happening. Albert didn't even mention something like this in the cabinet meetings, and this new constitution has been in deliberation for almost a year."

"Well, what do you think he is going to do now?" Drew inquired, hoping Roz might be able to shed some light on the matter.

"For all I know, the Chancellor-Minister wants to push to create a unified language between all the provinces," Roz began to answer Drew's question. "I'm not sure if he wants to combine them all or choose one. That is just the surface. If people will refuse to submit to his decrees, they will most likely be imprisoned, forced to do labor or even killed."

"We seriously don't need a Hitler 2.0," Collette piped in. "That is if he goes after a specific religion or race or what have you. We need to make sure that what we say will be in line with the Chancellor-Minister."

"We don't have to submit," Nicole raised her voice. "I've had a contingency plan for about a month, and after talking with coffee suppliers, we have a good shot of making out of this terrible anomaly alive. "

"What do the coffee suppliers know about this?" Roz quickly questioned Nicole's statement.

"It's a long story," Nicole answered. "We need to get to Nantes right away. Everyone, quickly pack up and help me close the store, then we head out the back and into my car."

"Nantes?" Drew asked puzzled and seemed a bit nervous and scared when asking the question. "Why Nantes?"

[DrP]

Let me know how this goes. I like it so far, but I may scrap this to pursue something else.


Chapter 2:
   Jake was driving Nicole's car with Collette and Drew and Roz followed in her car while talking over a Bluetooth connection between their cars.

   Nicole began to talk. "It all started when DuPont was reelected last year. Many MEAs were thinking he would make a transition into a large authoritarian regime, however no one outside the European Assembly even had a clue. With the majority of the assembly populated by the Europe First Party, things happened seamlessly. However those from the European People's Party, the Moderates of Europe and the three MEAs from the National Front began to arouse suspicion when he began to raise the VAT rates."

   "How absurd," Jake exclaimed. "They raised the VAT rates?"

   "You didn't know," Drew answered calmly. "It was all over the news last July. He raised the rates to 35%"

   Nicole shushed Jake and Drew and continued to speak. "Anyways, ever since that time, some of the MEAs began to figure out ways to confront him, but with the drafting of the constitution and all the other issues going on with Russia and China, they had no idea what to do... until about a month ago. Some MEAs have gathered in Nantes to discuss their findings, and the coffee suppliers are one of the groups that these MEAs can trust, and those inside Alpine Corp, especially the department that deals with China.

   "How did you know about our dealings with China?" Roz demanded, quite infuriated to learn that one of her closely kept secrets has reached outside the Board of Directors.

   "Um," Nicole answered calmly. "Your director of China Operations, Guillaume LeRoux."

   "When we get back to Paris," Roz continued yelling. "I am going to give him the bum's rush and promote his sorry ass because he is saving our asses."

   "You know Roz," Collette piped in. "We can't tell if it's sarcasm when you're yelling."

   "Oh, I'm sorry," Roz said sarcastically. "It's ONLY natural."

   Nicole began to speak yet again, a bit irked that she keeps on being interrupted. "Our main goal is to listen to these MEAs and figure out how to solve this issue. We will be seen as going against the state and may be viewed as treasonous against the European Confederation and Switzerland... I'm finally finished."

   "So, what's going to happen?" Drew asked worried.

   "I absolutely have no idea," Nicole answered. "We have to wait and see."


"Where are we going?" Drew asked Nicole.

"I believe the place is called La Pontreuse," Nicole replied with a smirk.
   
"Of all the places!!!" Drew was quite irked to hear the restaurant's name. "Are we REALLY going to La Pontreuse. They could have chosen any place in Nantes, but La Pontreuse? Seriously?"

"What is so bad about the restaurant?" Roz asked. "I heard it is the best places to eat in Nantes.

"La Pontreuse is an extremely fantastic restaurant," Drew answered. "However, it's not the what, it's the who."

"You'll see, Roz," Jake smirked answering to Roz's still confused look.

Both cars arrived outside La Pontreuse to reveal a middle-aged couple standing outside the front of the restaurant, seeming to be waiting and searching for the rest of their party to arrive. The man was wearing a suit, with a tie loosened and with his sleeves rolled up. It seems that he just got off work. The woman was wearing a neatly pressed blouse and a long skirt, with a red apron tied to her waist and colorful silk scarf tied around her neck. The moment the cars arrived, the couple came running down the stairs to greet the group.

   "Well, Roz," Drew said calmly and a bit nervously. "Meet my parents."

   Drew's mother personally came around to the driver's side of the car just to personally greet Drew by opening his door and pulling him out of the car with a large amount of force and gave him a compressing hug.
   "Yes, it's nice to see you too, mom," Drew forced out his words while being squeezed a little too tightly by his mother. "

   "How long has it been, Drew?" Drew's mother asked.

"Two years," Drew answered trying to regain his breath.   

"Well, that is two years far too many," Drew's mother answered. "Well, aren't you going to introduce me to all your friends?

"Oh right," Drew answered. "Hey everyone, this is my mother Michelle and my father Etienne. Mom, Dad, this is Roz and Collette and of course you know Jake and Nicole." Everyone offered their greetings and extended handshakes to Drew's parents.

La Pontreuse is a restaurant modeled after five star restaurants in Paris and high-class American restaurants. Michelle Laval opened La Pontreuse in 2010 and it reached its claim to fame when it was featured on France 24 as the "new hotspot" in 2013. Michelle left the ownership duties to Drew at age 8 while she worked as the sommelier, one of the best in France. The building itself was built in 2014 after the restaurant began to rake in cash and it resembles one of the many chateaux in the Loire Valley.

Etienne and Michelle led the party into the restaurant, where people were waiting inside the main dining hall, however they weren't the people Nicole was looking for. In the rear of the right wing of the restaurant, there was a door leading with a single guard outside.

"Your party is in here," Michelle ushered Nicole and everyone towards the door.

"Thanks mom," Drew answered beginning to walk into the next room, followed by everyone.

The room was long, filled with a long table with many people, some important figures, and some people no common person would recognize.

"Good Evening everyone, please take your seats," a man standing on the opposite side of the table gestured Drew and everyone else to sit. "I should introduce myself, I am Bishop Michel, the bishop of Nantes and I called this meeting to order after our leader, François Poupard was detained in England."

"Thank you for inviting us," Drew answered from the other side of the table, still wondering why he was there. "If you don't mind telling us, why are we here exactly? All I know is that Nicole heard that there was something going on against the Chancellor-Minister and that the coffee suppliers from the Alpine Corporation are in on it."

"That is a excellent Monsieur Laval," the Bishop calmly responded. "We are Le Nouveau Order, a group who knows of DuPont's intentions for Europe beyond what people might think on what the media is reporting. That is just the tip of the iceberg. We believe that DuPont is searching for an external force to control not just the people within his jurisdiction, but control the intangibles through tangible forces."

"What do you mean by an external force?" Roz asked, completely confused with what was happening. "Is it something along the lines of assistance from other countries or using psychological tactics or drugs to change how people act and think?"

"It is far worse than that," Etienne Laval answered Roz's question in a worried tone that it sent chills down everyone's spine. "We believe he has been studying the ancient Druid texts that will enable him to magically control the things modern drugs and technology can't even place a finger on. We live in a time where we saw cancer and AIDs eradicated and where the malnourished in the world have access to a standard minimum, however we live in a time where ancient practices can still haunt our dreams and ruin the very fabric of our freedom with our souls."

"It is turning into a religious disaster," Bishop Michel added. "I'm not sure if you already know, but DuPont is planning on dismantling the Catholic Church and bringing it under state control where new ideologies will be taught and the people would be 're-educated' on what is right and what is wrong."

"But what about the coffee suppliers?" Nicole inquired, puzzled like the others in the room hearing this information for the first time. "How do they play a role in all this?"

"The coffee suppliers are a front for our secret communication between the others throughout Europe," a woman said at the front of the room. "But in transporting information, we use their extensive knowledge of coffee. They are not ordinary people conducting business. The coffee suppliers for Alpine Corporation in the city of Paris also are working on harnessing the magical power of coffee to help defeat the Chancellor-Minister's growing magical power."

"Woah! Hold on!" Jake exclaimed quite shocked. "You mean there is magical power in the liquid that I drink every single day? So, you think that I can get magical powers from drinking all that coffee?"

"SSSSH!" Nicole shushed Jake and pointed her head back in the direction of the other members to get everything back on track.

"And how do we fit in to all this?" Drew asked. "What is making us stand out from the others?"

"Well that's the think, Drew," Etienne answered the question. "It's the fact that you don't stand out. Well most of you. Roz and Nicole are unable to play active roles in this because of Roz's close ties to the Chancellor-Minister and Nicole for running a store with lots of visitation by high ranking officials that are close to DuPont."

"So what is it exactly that we have to do?" Collette inquired. She had been quite silent the entire time, just taking everything in. It seemed to everyone else that she was getting all the information and she understood it.
"Well, we actually don't know," Bishop Michel replied quite unsure. "All we know is that you are to meet one of our Order members in LaHavre and you will go from there."

"You are to identify yourself to be an 'Ally of the State' and that you are 'protecting its interests'," Etienne added to the Bishop's response. "We are here for you all, and we need to keep the lines of communication. We feel that DuPont will have his cronies monitoring emails, phone calls, and the many forms of messages we can send with our devices."

"All we know is that one of the members stationed in our Seattle headquarters in Canada is coming out here," Bishop Michel said quite worried, a bit unnerved about the possibility of who it might be. "We placed our main offices abroad so we could have a legal front in another country and to possibly serve as a place to drum up resistance to European ideals and to protect the interests that the Canadian government holds dear. The rest of the former United States is still recovering from the massive split, so they can't help. Only the Republic of Texas and the Canadian possessions are stable."

"Have you read the latest about the Republic of Apple and the Repubblica New Yorka recently?" Collette asked to lighten the serious mood. "Apple has begun an overhaul of the old California government, cutting the wasteful spending and the RNY is on its fourth currency system after the 'favor' system failed."

"It's really interesting what's happening," Etienne responded to Collette's aside. "I remember a time when the US in the 1990s, when it was a pleasant time to live, but by 2001 and the problems that happened during the Bush and Obama presidencies just drove it worse. All of us here in France knew that they kept shooting themselves into a deeper grave."

"So, is that why Canada decided to intervene and save the US Government?" Drew asked.

"The reason why Canada stepped in is because they knew they could help the United States, but when the government was dissolved by the voting power of Canada's investment in the US, they began to split everything up and make it how it is today," Jake answered quickly, knowing that firsthand experience would probably be more credible.

"I would not want to go back," Nicole responded. "New York was a nice city has descended into mob family rule, the Confederation has reinstituted slavery, the Republic of Texas is rapidly expanding, the Republic of Apple is ripping off it's citizens, and New China has been experiencing an economic boom of it's food industry in Kansas and Nebraska. But, now the best places to live in this world are now Canada, China and Australia."

"It's quite a pity," Bishop Michel said in a somber tone. "The world used to be a nice place to live. Now all that's going on is just further digging us deeper into a hole. That's why we have to fight back."

"Anyways, to get back on subject," Etienne spoke up to redirect attention to him opening the curtains revealing a large square and park behind the restaurant and lighting the dimly lit room. "It is time to begin focusing on what DuPont is exactly dealing with. We know he has discovered the basics to practicing Druid magic, however we have little to no idea what power it is giving him."

"I guess it is up to us to find out," Jake answered quickly.

"Yes," Bishop Michel butted in. "And for you to understand what is going on, you will meet a member of the order who has a much greater knowledge of the Druid texts and spells that we have used to our advantage. We live in a modern world, but it is the past that still pulls the strings in society."

"And where are we going to meet this person?" Roz asked.
 
"He will be meeting you when you arrive in LaHavre," Etienne answered Roz, standing up, looking like he is about to instruct the group. "Now, we need to get you ready to leave. You can't take your normal vehicles, so we have purchased new ones for you to travel in. None of us are enemies of the state until DuPont starts sending his dogs after us to sniff us out. From here on out, don't trust anyone but yourselves and those that can show you their allegiance to the order by repeating the last two lines of Ô Canada."

"And what is that, Etienne?" Jake asked completely puzzled
.
"Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau," Roz replied in a hushed voice.

"He guards the honor of his flag?" Jake said, not expecting it. "I guess that is fine."

"This is just temporary," Bishop Michel said. "It's sort of a password. It changes every week, so you will be messaged the new password whenever you get a new one."

"We will also be giving you new phones to have," Etienne added. "European law allows for non-European phone numbers to not be tracked by the Ministry of Communication and thus will allow us to pass under the radar. We all have Canadian numbers, so it is easy to access everyone here and in Seattle. Now, we must get going. Please follow me."

Etienne proceeded to walk out of the room and head out the back door of the restaurant. However, before he reached the door, Michelle came running.

"Etienne, hide everyone. She's here!" Michelle exclaimed as she came running down the hall. "She's here, hide everyone."

"Everyone, get into the wine cellar and take the tunnel," Etienne urged in an urgent tone. "Drew, take this package and don't open it until you are out of the city on your way to LaHavre. Bishop Michel will show you the way to the cars and give you further instructions."

Michelle and Etienne left back towards the front of the restaurant while Drew was holding a fairly heavy package for its size. The group quickly went into the wine cellar with Drew looking back at the hallway, with many scenarios going on in his head.


Etienne and Michelle arrived in the main foyer of the restaurant to discover a tall, slender woman, dressed in a large black trench coat and a scarf on top of a very expensive looking pantsuit. Her deep brown hair flowed down her head in multiple layers, making her seem less intimidating, but her piercing blue eyes made it seem she could peer right into your soul and her bold, red lipstick let you know she meant business. Overall, she was a gorgeous woman, and one that can keep a man's head from turning away for a long time. A few other men also dressed in trench coats, wearing hats and sunglasses, accompanied her.

   "Good Afternoon M. Laval," the woman said. "It is nice to see you again."

   "Bonjour Margot," Etienne answered nervously, quickly glancing at the bulge from underneath Margot's scarf. "Have you met my wife, Michelle?" Michelle made a face that made Etienne turn red a bit.

   "I believe I have not," Margot replied, looking toward Michelle. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Michelle. I am Margot Landrieu, Director of Europol."

   "Is there something wrong Mme Landrieu?" Michelle asked uneasily.

   "There shouldn't be, knowing your husband" Margot replied calmly. "There was an anonymous tip that some political dissent happened here a few nights ago. I am here to investigate to see if it will threaten the well-being of the Confederation."

   "I really wouldn't think so Margot," Etienne responded a bit less unnerved than before. "There was a minor issue of a customer who felt that he wanted to slander the name of the Chancellor-Minister. He could have gotten quite drunk. Our restaurant does have a reputation of having 'involved' wealthy persons come here, and many of them like to drink too much."

    "Then, if you don't mind if we come by a few nights later this week and observe your clientele over dinner?" Margot graciously asked.

   "By all means, if it helps your investigation," Etienne answered. "The protection and longevity of the Confederation is number one on my list of protecting."

   "Thank you, Etienne," Margot answered. "I will let the Chancellor-Minister know personally of your cooperation in this matter."


After going through the tunnel, the group and Bishop Michel exited into the sunlight. They walked a few blocks down and came to a few cars parked on the side of a road. They were fancy, but not too fancy to be obvious.
   "Not to shabby, Bishop Michel," Jake said patting Bishop Michel on the back. "Mercedes E Class cars are quite chic these days."

   "Yes, they are," Bishop Michel quietly answered before clearing his throat. "So, you guys will travel in pairs. Roz and Drew, Collette and Jake, and Nicole alone. You will have a sixth person join your group in LaHavre. The place you're meeting at is the Alpine Store on Boulevard François I. Once there, you will ask for a 'Vingt Cappuccino with no coffee and six spoons of foam' and you will be directed from there. Do you have any further questions?"

   Everyone was silent as Collette wrote all the information down.

   "I think that is it," Roz answered.
 
   "Ok, well your phones are in your cars and I wish you great luck in your journey to save the Confederation," Bishop Michel said. "I will be relaying information to you and be assured that you can go to the Catholic Church for safety. Check the guide in your phones for instructions to get out of situations general knowledge to save yourself and flee to Canada in case our plans fail. Plus there are instructions to get to Rome in this case."

   "Thank you Bishop Michel," Drew answered and gave him a hug before getting into his car with Roz and drove off .

The entire city of Nantes was swarmed with Europol forces. Something was amiss and we all were directed into the center of the city. It seems that they were expecting someone; rather, they were expecting us. Once in front of the Hôtel de Ville, a tall woman stopped us. She happened to be Margot Landrieu.

"Sortez les voitures, maintenant!" Margot screamed.  Everyone exited the cars and stood attention as she walked looking at us. The gazed into our souls with those piercing blue eyes that sent a chill down their spines.

"These are not them," Margot said moments later, after observing everyone in our party. "They are friends to the Chancellor-Minister. " She turned directly to Roz. "The Chancellor-Minister would like to see you when your return to Paris with your friends, Minister."

"Understood, Officer Landrieu," Roz said in a straight voice. It was not the time for sarcasm, however Roz was an expert in conducting herself professionally. There was indeed a fine line between work and personal feelings with Roz.

Officer Landrieu returned to her post in the city square, surrounded by agents as everyone returned back to their respective cars and continued on the road out of the city.

[Roz~]

Didn't have time to read it until now since I'm not busy anymore, and I like it! I hope you'll continue writing that story.