He was to accomplish this without arousing suspicion or risking his cover story. Better for the operation to be a complete failure, and for him to waste an entire year hanging around in clubs and shops in Geneva, than to call any attention to himself. His job was to be a fisherman—cast his line and wait to see if the fish would bite.

For a long time, it seemed that it would never happen. Indeed, the entire student body and faculty of the school relocated to Gstaad for three months during the winter. But Ahmet stayed here. Fishermen were not camp followers.

In carrying out this task, the girl Rita had been very helpful. She was on a list he had been given early in this mission. He had targeted her, of course, and built up her trust over time. She was a rich party girl, a hedonist, and she had slept with two of Ahmet’s friends, who were not his friends. She would have almost certainly slept with Ahmet, but Ahmet was a gentleman, and did not think of Rita in that way. However, during a visit to the school’s campus, he caught sight of Rita’s friend Elizabeth.

“She is so beautiful! I must meet her. Who is she?”

“Oh,” Rita said. “I’m afraid she’s out of your reach, lover boy.”

“She can’t be out of my reach. Who is she?”

“She’s Elizabeth Barrett.”

Ahmet made a face showing his confusion. The name meant nothing to him.

“A celebrity of some kind in your country?”

Rita nodded. “You might say that. She’s the daughter of the President.”

“Still, if I can meet her… somewhere quiet, where we can talk… maybe she would like me.”

“I think she’d fall head over heels for you, but you’d have to pry her out of the grip of the Secret Service.”

“I might have some ideas about that.”

Over time, he and Rita had concocted a plan. Rita would help Elizabeth escape the clutches of the school, and her security detail, for just one night. One night of fun, one night of talk, and dancing, and laughter. Ahmet and Elizabeth would get this one chance to meet, away from the prying eyes of the world.

But time passed, and the school year was coming to a close. Soon, the students would all leave for their next carefully scripted and curated adventures. It seemed that young Elizabeth was not brave enough to carry out the plan. And that was where everything stood, in a holding pattern, until this very moment.

He took a deep breath, and remained calm.

Escape mode? he typed into his phone, and pressed SEND.

He sipped his coffee and gazed out at the people in light jackets walking arm in arm through the square.

A few moments passed, then his phone beeped with the reply.

Yes.