At three o'clock in the afternoon, the weather in Paris suddenly changed, and it began to rain lightly.
A young man wearing a long black coat walked through the streets filled with umbrellas and turned into an alley with hurried steps. He pressed the brim of his hat with his hand, fearing that he would quickly lift the hat that didn't fit his head well. He didn't slow down until he rushed into a mansion deep in the alley.
"I'm looking for the boss."
"The boss is busy." The guard looked at his appearance and said, "Wait a moment."
"It's a big deal!" Seeing that he didn't react, the young man continued to say in a low voice, "It's a big deal for Bunting!"
The code was correct. The guard nodded slightly and gave way to the stairs: "In 202."
When he heard the house number and the stairs revealed in front of him, the young man was not very excited. Instead, he shivered because of the coldness in Nian Huhu's clothes, and then a vague feeling of fear and chills spread throughout his body.
"good."
The boss looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a thin build and a slight hunchback sitting on the chair in front of the bed. He deliberately stayed away from the stained glass window without curtains, so that he could use his nervous eyes to examine the small book in his hand.
Now was his alone time, to think about some problems and to devise solutions for possible variables. But in the eyes of others, every move he makes makes people feel uncomfortable, and if he stays for a long time, it will make people feel an inexplicable nervousness.
What the young man sent seemed important, but if you think about it for a moment, you will know that the most important thing in the whole thing is not this note.
Out of principle, Mick should praise this young man, especially now that there are not many people, there are even fewer who can use him smoothly. But based on the existing facts, Mick has to punish him again, and the entire surveillance team cannot escape.
"Fortunately, you sent it over as soon as possible and saved the opportunity to continue working for the empire."
This sentence was obviously different from what the young man expected, but he couldn't say anything in front of his boss and just stared blankly.
Seeing him like this, Mick carefully studied the handwriting on the note and explained by the way: "The note is indeed important, but it only becomes important if you cooperate with the person who stuffed the note. Now there is only the note, and the information only has time and place. How much do you think it’s worth?”
"..."
"Kid, the value of things changes."
In Mick's eyes, what's important now is not the words on the note, nor the fact that someone stuffed the note in Kavi, but that they didn't find out who the person was who stuffed the note.
Is it because they are incompetent, or is the other party too experienced, or is it someone who didn't insert the note at all?
"So you didn't see anything?"
"He had been chatting with Professor Sedillo from the Diocesan Hospital. He drank two cups of coffee, a burrito and a piece of cake. He called the waiter four times, and the first three times he asked for pen and paper."
The young man knew that Mick was not a simple person, and he was well prepared when he came here. He told the story of the past two hours as if he was announcing the menu: "He was originally seated in the back, and not many people could pass by him."
"Then you think he prepared the note himself?"
"It's...possible."
"hehe."
Mick grinned twice, licked his chapped lips with his tongue, but still said nothing, stuffed the note into his little notebook, and said: "There are still 7 hours left before the time on the paper, let the two The team is changing, you go and prepare."
"good."
"By the way, where is this road?"
"Rue Drouot... is in the Pigalle district. It is actually an extension of a square on the edge of the 9th arrondissement."
"ninth District?"
"It's a newly built commercial district, and there are some small theaters and other entertainment facilities." The young man has been in Paris for half a year and is very familiar with the neighborhood. "But at this time, it's not peaceful there."
At that time, Mick didn't quite understand what he meant by "not peaceful". It wasn't until he walked on the streets of Drouot at 10 o'clock in the evening that he really felt the style of Paris.
The gas street lamps on both sides shine through the hazy drizzle, illuminating the sidewalks with few pedestrians. In fact, it is not much different from a rainy night in Vienna. Of course, it would be more like it if there were not those girls who lifted up their skirts and exposed their thighs and knee-high white socks.
Mick misjudged the level of service here and made a huge mistake for the first time.
Along the way, he was constantly being greeted by those girls, who pulled their sleeves and harassed them. Sometimes they would boldly walk over quickly and throw a few cryptic words into his ear, trying to inspire this extremely cold person. interest.
Faced with this naked teasing, Mick could do nothing but swallow his anger and walk towards his destination.
However, when they were less than a hundred meters away from their destination, several girls not far away suddenly jumped out of the dark alley and ran around like crazy. This was a very serious signal to other girls, and the whole street suddenly became a place for them to flee wantonly.
In order to run faster, some people not only have to lift up their skirts, but also take off their obstructing shoes.
In Mick's eyes, their behavior has no beauty at all, like cockroaches that have been hiding in the dark for a long time and suddenly see the light. What really interested him was not the cockroaches themselves, but who brought them to light.
"It looks like a big manhunt," said the young man who sent the note. "I've only seen it once, last month."
"Every month?"
"No, it shouldn't happen often, unless something big happens in this place. When I met them, it was because a high-ranking official's son died on Drouot Street, so the police searched for them for questioning."
Mick scratched his chin with his fingers, quickly sorted out the possibilities, and immediately made a judgment: "Let's go back."
...
Compared to Mick, who was new to Paris and was unfamiliar with Paris, Alphonse, who came here on the same train, was more at home.
This famous French chef who is obsessed with cooking is not the kind of LSP who likes to hang out in Pigalle. At least he is much more restrained than the drunkard who squanders his money wantonly. After being single for so many years, he must have needs, but he knows how to restrain himself, and now he has a good way to distract himself after trying to write.
Just when Mick made up his mind to give up the plan, he had a great conversation with a charming girl in a pub not far away.
"Your name is Laura...emmm, Laura Patty?" Alphonse carefully wrote the name in standard writing, "Here, tell me your story."
Laura was originally going to meet last night's guests here, hoping to make another easy profit, but she didn't expect that she would meet such a weirdo while avoiding a big manhunt. But for her, she can do anything as long as she can make money: "Are you sure you can make 20 francs just by telling stories?"
"Yes, that's right." Alphonse was afraid that she wouldn't believe it, so he took out the money from his pocket and put it on the table. "The premise is that I am satisfied."
“Actually, as long as you pay a little more...” Laura stepped forward and hugged his thick arm, promoting herself with a slightly miserable smile, “The hotel next door is where I live, and I can go there at any time. .”
There was a slight problem with Alphonse's first two books. Now his mind is full of stories and he has no time to hang out with strange women: "Just leave if you don't tell me. I still want to write my own stuff."
"It's an eye-opener that there is someone like you."
Laura sighed, snapped her fingers to the bartender, asked for a half-lit cigarette, took two puffs and asked: “If you really want to know, I can tell you. But it’s not a pleasant thing. Son, it will bring back some memories for me."
Alphonse drew another 10-franc note: "Is it enough?"
Laura nodded, put the money in her pocket first, ordered a glass of wine, and finally started talking: "Everything must start when I was 17 years old. At that time, I did not live in Paris, but in a watch shop in Rouen. Shop. It’s not easy for a girl to live without her parents, and she still has to deal with the gaze of that old man.”
"Bullying you?" Alphonse guessed following the experiences of other girls.
“Actually, it’s not bullying in the real sense.” Laura laughed angrily at her innocence at that time, “It was just some hand skills, to be honest, I didn’t feel much, and then... Anyway, I was scared to death at the time, He just ran away into the street."
Alphonse nodded repeatedly: "Then what?"
"I remember that there was no one on the street at that time." Laura looked out the window. "I ran and got dressed, and then walked onto the road to Paris, thinking that I could hide as long as I came to Paris."
"Escaped all night?"
"Yes, I just ran in the direction of Paris. Although I always thought that the gendarmes would come to arrest me, I could still feel hungry, and I soon realized that I didn't bring any money." Laura took two sips of wine, and then He couldn't wait to take a puff of his cigarette again, "I just ran like this all day."
Alphonse stopped writing when he heard this: "No, this story won't work. If you do this..."
"Don't worry, Mr. Chef." Laura put her arm on his arm again, "My story is just about to begin."
This is not the first time Alphonse has dealt with them, and almost everyone can guess their occupation. He came forward and smelled his sleeve: "I haven't touched the stove for two days, and I have changed my clothes. How do you know I am a chef?"
Laura burst out laughing: "The girl who told the story just now said it."
"Okay." Alphonse crossed out the parts he thought were unnecessary before, "Let's get straight to the point."
"I escaped all night and was caught up by the military police." Laura sighed, put down her half-smoked cigarette, and said, "The sun had just gone down and I was so tired that I was resting under the shade of a tree on the roadside when I heard someone coming from behind me. The sound of horse hooves came. I really wanted to spread my legs and run away, but you also know that two legs cannot run as fast as four legs."
Alphonse finally heard a good plot, and after writing a few sentences, he asked: "Then what?"
"Just like other sisters, I naturally have to pay some price to avoid murder charges." Laura put out the cigarette butt completely and drank all the wine. "By the way, the drink money is also yours?"
"Yes, I'll pay."
"Then give me a glass of bistouille." Laura chose a wine that was not on the wine list. "I taught you before, remember."
"I just add iced coffee to the soju. My skills are not that bad yet." The bartender took out the coffee beans from the cabinet under him and asked, "Should I add more coffee?"
"Um."
Laura's story is her own story.
Rouen is more than 100 kilometers away from Paris. Without money, she could only rely on her body to get to Paris. However, as soon as she arrived here, she was arrested and taken to the police station because she was dressed in rags and had no place to stay. Not only did she spend a week investigating her origins, but she was also sent to court.
Fortunately, the old judge was a good person, and he found Laura not guilty and released Laura in court. Before leaving, he communicated with her for five minutes and then gave her 5 francs to live on.
"I'm very grateful to him." Laura took a sip of the wine she asked for. The taste of high-concentration soju stimulated her taste buds. "In the beginning, I went to his place twice a week. Although it lasted half an hour each time, it was really good. It’s only five or six minutes.”
"Five francs every time?"
"Yes." Laura put down the glass and said, "Money did help me survive, but it also taught me how to look at people. Although young people have good energy, they don't have much money, but those old men are different. One He was dressed like a human but his eyes were darting around for no reason, just like a monkey seeing a banana."
"You were only 17 at the time?"
"Yes." Laura said, "I have lived peacefully in Paris for four years, and then you should understand that people can't always be so stable. One afternoon, that old fat man about the same size as you took me I was given a full 200 francs for dinner at a high-end restaurant, but I choked to death while eating steak."
"How sad."
"Who says it's not true? I spent half a year in jail for this matter, and I also paid hundreds of francs for it. In the end, my wife vouched for me, saying that I was working as a receptionist at her place, and then I was released. Come out."
Just as Laura was about to pour the wine into her stomach, she heard the doorbell of the tavern ringing, and a dwarf walked in on crutches. She thought of the bizarre incident last night, then glanced at Alphonse who was sitting aside and writing seriously, and suddenly brought the wine glass to the bartender: "This wine is too bitter, pour some milk."
"Why did you change your temper?"
"Want to try something different."
"I'm just saying there's something wrong with your recipe. There must be sugar in this wine."
The slightly heated milky white milk was poured into the dark coffee wine, sprinkled with two mint leaves, and stirred briefly to create a brand new thing.
Laura has no culture, and it is difficult to describe its strange taste in words, but one thing she is sure of is that "change" does not seem to be objectionable: "How about my story?"
Alphonse shook his head: "It's not worth 30 francs."
"Hahaha, then I made a profit today."
Alphonse put down his pen and noticed the man behind Laura, and he also laughed: "It doesn't matter. If you have another story next time, you can come to me again. I will be here during this period of time."
"OK."
"Then I won't disturb your work."
Laura kissed the three francs in her hand, walked with the AIDS man on crutches into the drizzle outside the door, and then disappeared into the darkness seeping out of the alley.
