“Please, Mr. Prime Minister. Tell me everything you know.”

The prime minister spoke for two minutes. When he was finished, the French president said, “Why do I get the sense I’m being told only part of the story?”

“I’m afraid we know only part of the story.”

“Why didn’t you tell us you were pursuing a suspect on French soil?”

“There wasn’t time for a formal consultation, Mr. President. It fell into the category of a hot pursuit.”

“And what about the Italians? Have you informed them that you have a suspect in a bombing that took place on Italian soil?”

“No, Mr. President, we haven’t.”

“What a surprise,” the Frenchman said. “Do you have photographs that might help us identify any of the potential bombers?”

“I’m afraid we do not.”

“I don’t suppose you’d care to send along a photo of your missing agent.”

“Under the circumstances—”

“I thought that would be your answer,” the Frenchman said. “I’m dispatching my ambassador to your office. I’m confident he will receive a full and frank briefing on this entire matter.”

“He will indeed, sir.”

“Something tells me there will be fallout from this affair, but first things first. I’ll be in touch.”

“Good luck, Mr. President.”

The French leader slammed down the phone and looked at his aide. “Convene the Group Napoleon immediately,” he said. “I’ll deal with the chancellor.”

TWENTY MINUTES AFTER hanging up, the president of France was taking his usual seat at the cabinet table in the Salon Murat. Gathered around him were the members of Group Napoleon, a streamlined team of senior intelligence and security officials and cabinet ministers, designed for dealing with imminent threats to the French homeland. Seated directly across the expansive table was the prime minister. Between the two men was an ornate double-faced brass clock. It read 4:35 P.M.

The president opened the meeting with a concise recounting of what he had just learned. There followed several minutes of somewhat heated discussion, for the source of the information, the Israeli prime minister, was a distinctly unpopular man in Paris. In the end, though, every member of the group concluded that the threat was too credible to ignore. “Obviously, gentlemen, we need to increase the threat level and take precautions,” the president said. “How high do we go?”