“I’m hoping Sebastian finds him first and there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say,” Arthur said, against his hair. “I’ll send Wes a telegram from Paris, tell him the bootleggers are back or something, and to get out of town. He’s smarter than his mouth sometimes makes him seem; he’ll listen.”

They made it to the French coast in the middle of the night, and Zhang found them a deserted beach to come ashore. It was a short walk to a small seaside village, where a car was parked along the side of the road. Ellis got behind the wheel with Gwen and Jade up front, Rory in the middle between Arthur and Zhang in the back.

Arthur leaned forward. “Should we ask them if they arranged for this car?” he whispered to Jade. “We’re not stealing this, are we?”

“Of course not.” Jade paused. “You know, I said that with a certainty I’m not entirely sure the situation deserves.”

“Hey, Jade,” said Ellis, “start this baby up, would you?”

Jade gave Arthur an apologetic look.

“Don’t be like that,” said Ellis. “We’re borrowing it. We’ll leave it somewhere it can be recovered.”

Arthur rubbed his temples as Jade sighed and moved her fingers. The car’s engine roared to life a moment later.

The French country roads seemed mostly empty. The wind through the car’s windows was warmer than it had been in London, the whistling layered over the rumbling motor and murmured voices of the others. Arthur’s body was radiating heat next to him, and the rush of action had left Rory worn in its wake. He couldn’t resist resting his head on Arthur’s arm, dozing lightly, distantly aware of the tires on the pavement and Arthur’s small adjustments to let Rory sleep on him.

He woke fully to a city at night, glowing street lamps lining the blocks and none of Manhattan’s new skyscrapers dwarfing the shorter four-and five-story buildings. Cafes dotted the ground floors of the buildings, some of them still open, their bright yellow lights spilling onto the sidewalks and the knots of people tucked intimately around small tables.

Ellis pulled the car to the curb in front of an awning where muffled, lively jazz drifted out. Jade and Gwen went inside while Zhang’s astral projection followed. Ellis drummed his fingers on the wheel.

“Stella used to headline here,” Arthur said quietly, to Rory. “If it’s still the same proprietor—”

“It’s still Carmen, and she’s expecting us.” Ellis glanced over his shoulder. “Maybe it’s different when your daddy’s a congressman, but most of us can’t show up to Paris during the world’s fair and get rooms without notice. Give us some credit. We didn’t come here without a plan.”