After making a series of preparations, Ronan arrived in District Sixteen.
The luxurious mansion where the party was held was located next to the Bois de Boulogne Forest Park in the western part of the city.
This place was like the ambiguous scenes depicted in numerous French literary works and paintings.
Ronan parked the rented car and entered the observation tower on a small hill inside the park. He took out a telescope and looked towards the target mansion.
The security around and within the mansion was extremely tight, with security personnel scattered everywhere. It would be quite difficult to sneak in during the daytime.
Ronan carefully observed the vehicles coming and going. All the vehicles were parked in the parking lot on the west side. From this vantage point, he could see most of the vehicles' license plates.
After observing for a while, he noticed seven or eight cars specifically used for transporting people.
Ronan noted down the car models, license plate numbers, and the attire of the personnel inside.
As more tourists filled the park, someone approached the observation tower.
Ronan packed up his things, descended the tower, and circled around the mansion a couple of times from a distance before leaving District Sixteen. He went to a nearby mall to buy similar clothing and then proceeded to District Seven, which was separated by a river.
Parkeris-Saint Galerie resided in District Seven. According to the information provided by Murad, Ronan was waiting beneath an apartment building for this French man.
The other party seemed busy, frequently making and answering phone calls.
Ronan discreetly followed him.
A hunter must be patient.
In the afternoon, Parkeris-Saint Galerie arrived at a hotel. He entered the café on one side of the lobby and ordered afternoon tea, indicating he planned to stay for a while.
Ronan assessed the surroundings of the hotel and called the hired personnel to come over.
This hotel was close to the Seine River, directly opposite District Sixteen. To come from across the river, one would inevitably have to cross a bridge.
Ronan's target was the driver. He quickly devised a plan based on the terrain and rehearsed it mentally. He found a spot where he could simultaneously keep an eye on the bridge and the hotel entrance, then settled in with patience.
...
In District Sixteen, a Citroën was parked at the entrance of a luxurious villa.
Jean-Claude got out of the car and, led by on-site officers, descended to the basement of the villa along with the agents from the Security Bureau.
On the ground lay two bodies, both shot in the head, the father and son from Albania, Murad.
Jean-Claude's expression turned quite grim as he asked, "When did they die?"
Someone immediately answered, "Between midnight and one o'clock last night."
Jean-Claude nodded, "Shortly after the attack on the Javel Station."
Pointing at the two bodies, the person continued, "We traced and investigated the whole way here. Based on the various traces at the scene, we deduce that the assailant brought the Murad father and son into the villa, subjected them to severe interrogation, and then executed them."
Jean-Claude inquired, "Any clues left behind?"
One of the technical agents responded, "Based on our analysis, we can confirm that the assailant responsible for the attack on Paradise Street and Javel Station is the same person. The suspect appears to be a white, brown-haired male around twenty-eight years old. According to customs entry records, he flew into Paris yesterday afternoon from Bogotá, Colombia. His name is Ryan Brent, a Canadian."
Upon hearing the name Bogotá, Jean-Claude immediately thought of Bileina Island.
Bileina Island was near the border between Colombia and Venezuela. The two individuals who destroyed the Ovía raw material processing plant were a man and a woman.
Could this Ryan Brent be the man?
Judging by the timing, he destroyed the factory and promptly came to France?
This wasn't an ordinary person. He single-handedly defeated the Albanian gang at the Javel Station!
He killed over fifty gang gunmen!
Jean-Claude's background as a field operative still influenced him, despite his time in administrative roles. He keenly sensed that this person came for the incident at Bileina Island!
No one knew how much information Murad was tortured to reveal. Ryan Brent's next target was very likely to be Ovía Group, or even anyone in this industrial chain.
Jean-Claude instructed his assistant, "Issue an immediate search warrant for Ryan Brent throughout the greater Paris area. Find him as soon as possible!"
"Yes!" the assistant hurried to contact the relevant personnel.
Leaving the basement, Jean-Claude found a quiet spot to make a call. Once the connection was established, he immediately said, "Carl, Murad father and son are dead."
"What?" The voice on the other end was considerably surprised.
Jean-Claude roughly explained the situation and reminded, "This person is after us. Be cautious about your safety. Also, I suggest you cancel the party tonight. This is an extraordinary time, and in case of any unexpected situation..."
"No, no, Claude, the party can't be canceled. William Clève is returning to the United States tomorrow." Carl Otto was not only an artist but also a businessman. "His promotion this time will make a significant impact on our high-end brand's presence in Washington's upper society."
He didn't seem concerned, "It's just one person. Our security measures are top-notch! We have a large number of elite guards, and several of the main guests are accompanied by highly skilled agents!"
Jean-Claude knew canceling wasn't possible, but he stressed caution, "Security checks must be absolutely rigorous! I will send you the images of that person shortly. If the target is spotted, eliminate him immediately!"
After hanging up the phone, the images of Ryan Brent were sent to Carl Otto.
...
In wintery Paris, where the evenings darkened early, Mikou approached the hotel in his Mercedes. As per their planned arrangement, he drove the car right in front of the hotel, then reversed to return the same way.
However, at the intersection leading to the hotel entrance, a Peugeot hit a cyclist, and an argument erupted, blocking the road.
Paris traffic was hectic, and the pace of life was rapid. Similar incidents occurred countless times each day.
Mikou had no choice but to circle around to the only nearby hotel where parking was easier. He parked by the roadside and called Parkeris-Saint Galerie, asking him to bring the person over.
After the call, someone tapped on the window from the outside, pointing to the front left wheel, trying to communicate something to him.
Mikou rolled down the window, "What's wrong?"
"Under the front tire..." Without warning, Ronan took action. He grabbed the person's neck with one hand and struck the back of their neck with the other.
Caught off guard, Mikou's vision darkened, and he lost consciousness.
Ronan injected him with a sedative he had bought in advance, pulled him out of the car, and tossed him into the trunk of the rental vehicle. He swiftly changed into Mikou's suit, equipped himself with the retrieved items, quickly altered his appearance with a disguise, covered the person with a blanket, shut the trunk, and returned to the driver's seat of the Mercedes.
The sedative concocted by the underground doctor was potent enough to keep him asleep until well past midnight.
After waiting for about five minutes, Parkeris-Saint Galerie arrived with two young women in coats.
Ronan got out of the car, opened the rear door, and didn't say a word.
Parkeris-Saint Galerie said to Ronan, "Thank you for your efforts, Mikou."
The two women got into the car one after the other. It was then that Ronan realized he recognized one of them!
Underneath her coat, the one dressed in an air hostess uniform was the same Air France stewardess he had encountered on the flight from Bogotá to Paris.
He remembered someone had struck up a conversation with her, and she had introduced herself as Katarina.
Ronan recognized Katarina, but she didn't recognize the changed appearance of Ronan.
Parkeris-Saint Galerie reminded, "Please bring him here again tomorrow."
Ronan didn't dare speak for fear of exposing his identity. He simply nodded and took the driver's seat, then drove away.
Crossing the Seine River, he entered District Sixteen.
The two women in the back seat had been chatting the whole time, asking each other how much they could earn from this trip.
Both of them were part-timers; they had regular professions. One was an Air France flight attendant, and the other was a dancer in an art troupe.
They had common ground in complaining about their exhausting jobs and how part-time work was easier and more lucrative.
Ronan was merely a driver, seemingly paying no attention, driving in silence.
The sky had turned completely dark as the Mercedes arrived at the entrance of the mansion.
A person in a black suit wearing earphones approached and signaled for the car to stop for inspection.
Under the cover of the night, the lights were a bit blinding.
The person glanced at the car and the driver's seat. The car was familiar, and the face in the driver's seat was their in-house driver. They knocked on the window, "Mikou, open the trunk."
Ronan pressed the trunk release button. The two other men in black suits, one went to inspect the trunk, and the other opened the car door to check if the women matched the reported photos.
Seeing his companion nod, the man in the black suit patted the car roof, "No problem, you can go."
The barrier ahead lifted, and Ronan started the car, driving into the mansion.
Passing through the front garden, he arrived at the villa's entrance. As soon as Ronan stopped the car, someone came and opened the rear door. The two women got out of the car and were led into the villa.
Ronan pulled away and parked in the western parking lot, purposely choosing a spot on the outskirts. He adjusted the car's position.
Next to the villa was an auxiliary building, and the other drivers were all heading in that direction.
Ronan also walked over, initially planning to slip away. However, he noticed a man in a black suit with earphones entering the restroom. He followed.
There was no one else in the restroom. When Ronan passed the man from behind, he suddenly struck, rendering him unconscious with one hand on his neck and the other striking his neck.
Dragging the man into one of the stalls, Ronan placed him on the toilet and administered a sedative injection.
He took off the security officer's badge and put it on, grabbed the walkie-talkie and earpiece, and also found a security access card in the man's pocket.
Locking the stall door from the inside, he climbed over the partition into the neighboring stall, connected the earpiece to the walkie-talkie, and adjusted his disguise.
Things were going smoothly for the time being. Ronan's main goal tonight was to rescue someone without causing a disturbance or using firearms.
As he prepared to exit and head for the backyard, he noticed another car approaching the front entrance of the main house. A woman in a high-slit yellow evening gown got out of the car and followed another middle-aged woman into the villa.
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