Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
He looked exactly the same, like he hadn’t blinked once during my long speech. He didn’t seem pleased by my confession or sympathetic toward my plight. “How did you get into this situation? No one hunts someone for years unless it’s personal.”
“I didn’t do anything. My father crossed one of his associates.”
He stared hard at my face and waited for more information.
“In retaliation, he killed my father, my mother, my sisters…and then tried to kill me. He’s not personally pursuing me. Probably thinks I’m already dead. But the bounty hunters he hired are men of their word. Even though they’ve already been paid, they won’t stop until they finish the job.”
“The Oath.”
“What?”
“The men who are trying to kill you. That’s what they’re called.”
“You know them?”
“Not personally,” he said. “I take out my own garbage. But they’re part of the Fifth Republic. And if they’re still trying to kill you, then they’re in violation of the pact. Homines ex codice.”
He’d just said a lot of words I didn’t understand. “What?”
“People of the code,” he said.
“But what does that mean? What pact are they violating? You mean the law? What makes you think criminals care about that? Do you care about that?” The men I’d dealt with believed they were above the law, and honestly, it was true. I’d gone to the police before, but it’d gotten me nowhere. I didn’t hear from the detectives unless I called them for an update.
“No, I’m not talking about civilian law,” he said calmly. “The Fifth Republic is a secret society between the Senate and the people of the Republic. I’m the president of the Senate and serve President Martin directly as a liaison between the gangs of Paris and the government.”
I heard every word, but I felt my stare go blank from trying to understand it.
He continued, like he knew I would have more questions if he didn’t. “The gangs operate in ordinance of the code. Not to involve innocents in their affairs. That means no trafficking. Deals don’t happen in the public eye. No innocent bystanders are killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In exchange for their cooperation, they’re allowed to conduct their illegal activities without fear of government involvement, like arrest or prison time. That means shipping over international lines isn’t impeded. Everyone’s lives are easier, the prisons aren’t overrun with inmates, and the people of the Republic are safe to live their lives without fear.”
Unable to believe all that, I focused on the seriousness of his face. The confidence in his stare. He’d just admitted that a secret society operated in the capital of France, and it was practically common knowledge. “I had no idea.”
“Then we did our job. When crime was at its worst a few years ago, it affected tourism and our economy. Even local citizens were out less often, not on the street past ten. It had a negative impact on business all across the capital. So, the French Emperors were founded. My predecessor led it for a few years, and when he left, I took over.”
“The French Emperors?”
“The Third Republic was founded by Napoleon, so it’s a nod to his rulership over Paris.”
“Didn’t people hate Napoleon?”
He gave a shrug. “It’s not easy making the hard decisions no one else wants to make.”
Now I understood why he had been so nonchalantly calm and confident when I’d jumped into his car and screamed at him to drive. Now I understood why he’d handed me a wad of cash and had a gun tucked into the back of his jeans. Why his Range Rover was made of bulletproof glass. Why he’d renovated an entire hotel to make his private residence, a piece of real estate that must have cost him at least two hundred million euro. With the staff that served him, he had to be a billionaire.
And that was the reason the Oath couldn’t get me here. They either couldn’t figure out I was staying here, or they wouldn’t provoke Luca to get to me. Either way, I was the safest I’d been since that horrible night I’d lost everyone and everything. “How does a single man police so many criminals?”
“There are four of us. We each have our own arrondissements, but they report to me. Not only do I have all the resources of President Martin, the Senate, and the Republic, but I also have my own private militia at my disposal. And policing is a harsh word because most of them are happy to cooperate. It’s convenient and cost-effective to operate their business openly instead of in the shadows, jumping through loopholes and taking detours to get their product where it needs to go.”
I was still in disbelief. I’d been part of this world, and even I didn’t know about it.
“If your story is the truth, then you’re the victim in a conflict that didn’t involve you. Regardless of the severity of your father’s betrayal, taking out his entire family is against the code.”