Page 117 of Under Her Protection

The car drove.

It went along the canal and across the river and up the Champs to the place de l'Étoile and onto the avenue Kléber and into the rue de Chaillot, and soon the gate of the residence opened and the gravel did its small wet sound, and the courtyard light came up.

In the back, Vivienne had not spoken.

The car stopped under the portico.

Vivienne got out.

Beaumont was at the door. Beaumont took the camel coat without speaking. Vivienne went into the hall and stopped at the foot of the stair, and she put her right hand on the bannister, and she stood there.

Leo came in behind her with the field jacket open over the charcoal suit.

"Vivienne."

"Mm."

"The library."

"No."

"Vivienne."

"No, Leo. Not the library."

"Where."

"My office. I have a phone in my office. I need to telephone Stefan Hartmann."

"Vivienne."

"I need to telephone Stefan Hartmann. I need to telephone Hugo Fournier. I need to telephone the head of communications and I need to telephone the head of legal and I need to telephone Isabella, who deserves to know I am alive. I am going to do that now."

"Vivienne."

"Now, Leo."

A beat.

"Copy."

She went into the small office off the hall.

Avery went in after her with the laptop. Leo stayed in the hall for two seconds. Then she went in after them.

Vivienne was at the desk. Avery had the laptop open on the corner of the desk. The screen was on a French news site that had gone live with a banner across the top of the page. Vivienne was looking at it. She was looking at it with both hands flat on the leather of the desk and her face doing nothing.

The banner said “LES DOCUMENTS STRAUSS”.

Below the banner, in two columns, was the front matter of a piece.

Vivienne read the banner.

She read the first paragraph.

She did not read the second.

"Avery."