Paris – November 15, 1937 – 1:10 PM
The plan was made in silence.
No radio. No phone. Just paper, pen, and long stares.
Claire, Émile, Solène, and Lorelei all knew: crossing the border with Claire's name plastered across the newspapers was suicide. But not going… was accepting that LUX would survive.
— "We take the night train to Lyon," Émile said.
— "From there, we cut through abandoned rail lines. I've got a contact who can take us by truck to the border."
— "And after that?" Solène asked.
Lorelei answered:
— "Then we enter Geneva as international journalists. The League of Nations doesn't yet have an official warrant for Claire. But they will. Soon."
—
Somewhere in Zurich – 2:47 PM
A man turned the LUX dossier with gloved fingers. Tall, with an accent from nowhere and eyes the color of steel.
— "Vaillant is moving toward the Codex."
Another agent nodded.
— "Do we authorize lethal force?"
— "Not yet. She might still be silenced… gracefully. After that, it won't matter."
—
Train to Lyon – 8:19 PM
Claire watched the tracks under the moonlight.
— "Do you think truth wins, Lorelei?"
The woman hesitated. Then replied:
— "Truth doesn't win. But it survives. And sometimes, that's enough to bring down empires."
Claire nodded.
And in silence, she wrote something on a scrap of paper.
Then folded it and slipped it into her pocket, right next to the name LUX.
—
The hunt had begun.
But now… they knew how to hunt back.