Page 162 of The Session

“So they have blackmail material on Arnaud?” Diane asked.

“I would say not only that but they also might have offered, in a very indirect way, to help her clean up evidence of certain things.”

“Evidence of what?” asked Diane.

“I don’t think we should proceed,” Laurent cut in, shaking his head. “Blackmail is his family business.”

“I’m trying really hard to get us out of that line of work,” Mark argued. “And I’ve gone to some extreme means to accomplish that. Not everybody at Summit’s happy with me right now, but I can assure you this is not blackmail.”

“That’s what most blackmailers say,” replied Laurent.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a productive discussion if we’re trying to parse what ‘blackmail’ means.” Mark gestured at the screen. “None of this is going to be admissible in court. And I don’t think your boss or Nathan Morris ever want it to get that far.”

“If they don’t want your father in court, why seek to have him arrested?” Laurent asked, confused.

“Because Morris knew that the moment Max was in legal jeopardy, he’d hop on his boat and try to disappear. Of course, this time Morris planned to make him disappear permanently. But, no, he didn’t want Max Lightman tried in court. He didn’t want to make him into a martyr. He wanted to make it look like Max was on the run and went into hiding, permanently. That was the cleanest way for him to take power,” said Mark. “See?”

“It sounds like another narrative,” Laurent replied.

“But it has the benefit of being true,” Mark said. “Anyway, this is why it would be best if you ended your investigation.”

“You realize the moment you set foot in here, you’re in French territory,” Laurent remarked, pointing toward the phone. “We can have you arrested. We can seize that and have you prosecuted under French law.”

Mark considered that. “I’m not sure if that’s actually true or your narrative. Either way, I know two things: Morris does not want this to go to court, and neither does your boss. And while I have no intent to expose her dirty, actually criminal, laundry, I do think you should consider it more seriously.”

Mark quickly scrolled past the Safid/Morris message chain until he reached a much earlier part of their conversation.

Namor: Arnaud says they finally got the PM to pressure for Conman’s arrest. Notice issued. She says she’ll delay the warrant so Conman has enough time to make it to his boat. Make Sure the Canadians Are Ready.

Prinz: Done.

“Nathan Morris wasn’t just spying on you. He was collaborating with your boss.” Mark nodded toward the door behind him. “I don’t think you’re being watched from across the street. I think you’re being watched from the inside.”

Laurent rested his forehead on his hand and sighed, swearing under his breath.

“Well played, Mark. But I need more than this,” Diane replied, pointing at the screen. “It’s not enough for me to call this off.”

“Well, as I said, I’m not here to blackmail anybody. I’m just here to make it very clear that this isn’t what you think it is, and somewhere between now and the theoretical date my father would be appearing in a French courtroom, you can expect more mischief from Morris and Safid because everything is on the line.”

“What are we supposed to do?” asked Diane.

“That’s up to you. If you want confirmation of this but don’t want to get entangled, just tell your boss that Mark Greenley came in here and said one word.”

“And what word is that?” asked Laurent.

“Karim.”

“Why? Who’s that?” asked Diane.

Laurent put his hand out and touched Diane’s arm. “Leave it.”

She got the message.

“What do you think we should do?” asked Diane. “Let Safid and Nathan Morris get away with it?”

“I assure you that if you say ‘Karim’ to Arnaud, she’ll make sure your service deals with Safid and Morris.”

“Who’s that?” asked Diane.