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Back The Frenchman
Chapters (76)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  3. DEDICATION
  4. AMIN
  5. PARIS
  6. … TWO YEARS LATER
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  64. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  65. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  66. CHAPTER SIXTY
  67. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  71. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  73. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  74. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  75. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  76. EPILOGUE

‘The game is on,’ said de Payns. ‘Time to play.’

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De Payns kept the pressure on the team the next day. They established that the VIP lived alone, except for a live-in bodyguard and a driver who made random circuits of the suburb while the VIP was sleeping.

Templar had been meticulous about wiping the shots of the VIP as soon as practical after they were taken. In the French secret services operatives had to be able to take a good photograph—from up close, from two miles away, from a suitcase, from a phone, from a plane and underwater. People didn’t work in the field until they could do that, and do it using a range of equipment.

During the daylight hours of the fifth day, the Thursday, Templar disappeared, leaving de Payns to drive the car. In the early evening he met Templar at a cafe in the south of the city. Templar was sitting under a TV that was blaring out a soccer match because he preferred to have public conversations in an area where there was white noise. He reported that during the day a cheap and battered car was parked in front of the VIP’s house and unshaven, badly dressed men were inside.

‘Your conclusion?’ asked de Payns.

‘That house is clearly under surveillance, and by the way these guys were occupying his house, I’d say it’s a common event. The place is checked every day.’

‘ISI?’ asked de Payns.

‘Probably, but not their A-team.’

De Payns shook his head. ‘We’re not getting into that house then.’

‘No, we’re not,’ agreed Templar. ‘That driver does passes as well. They might even have an overwatch operating, that’s why my hide is so far back.’

De Payns sipped on his coffee and thought about it—they were Day Five in Pakistan, their rooms had been searched and they had identified a VIP who was minded by the ISI. They had yet to isolate the VIP’s phone number, but they had three numbers—one of which was the VIP’s—and the techs back at the Bunker now had something to monitor. De Payns wasn’t exactly elated with the results, but they were all still in one piece and he didn’t want to push his luck.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX