Encrypted

II. Running

After the 7 hour flight, I was glad to be able to get back on the ground and get to work. I was pretty certain my father would be the one doing the exchange, and as far as I knew, he was already here.

I disembarked from the plane, strolling through the terminal and out into the streets of Paris. They were quite crowded, teens strolling around in groups since it was summer, adults heading here and there to get the food for the day, kids running and playing in the streets. It was crazy how all this could be going on, the traffic as crazy as Ceryce's parents always described, and yet there was a deadly drive probably sitting here somewhere.

I walked down the streets, asking a passer-by for the nearest hotel location. I stumbled a bit through my French, but the Parisian seemed to grasp enough of what I was saying to point me in the right direction along with giving me some verbal directions in broken English. I smiled, saying a quick "merci" before heading off in that direction. I smiled when I spotted the Plaza Tour Eiffel Hotel, a nice hotel that isn't too far from the Eiffel Tower. It seemed like a wonderful hotel, and I walked inside. After a bit of chatting with the receptionist, trying to comprehend her French while speaking my own, I finally get a room, letting her know that I don't know how long I'll be, but it should only be a week at the most.

I didn't rest once I got inside, bypassing the cream-colored bedspread and heading over to the wooden desk, setting my bags down in the corner and then pulling out my laptop. I immediately checked our credit card accounts, sighing when I spotted the credit on my father's work card for what looked like a first-class plane ticket over here. I managed to hack into the airport's database, confirming what I found. He would land later today, so I assumed the trade-off would happen tomorrow. I should probably try to figure out where the trade off would occur, track where my father went to after he landed. It would probably be close to whatever hotel he was staying at, which would probably be near enough to mine. Maybe at an outdoor restaurant where it would be easy to miss if you didn't know what to look for.

With a bit more digging, I found that he would be staying at the Canopy by Hilton Paris Trocadero, a somewhat nicer hotel than mine. Understandable that the CIA would make sure to give him the best accommodations. I pulled up Google Maps, searching the area for nearby outdoor restaurants. I did note that our hotels were pretty close to one another, but far enough that there was still a low chance of interaction.

The restaurant I found that met my criteria was the Restaurant de Coq. I glanced over the menu, glad that if this whole thing didn't turn out, at least I could get a chocolate croissant in the end.

I closed my laptop, better organizing my stuff before jumping on the bed, sighing in content at how comfortable it was. I had an evening ahead of me, and I was ready to put it to good use. After all, I was in Paris. Why should I just sit around in a pool of anxiety and wait to do the trade-off?

I quickly changed into a cropped hunter green strappy tank top and ripped black denim shorts, of course finishing the look with my favorite tall black boots and leather jacket. I slipped on a pair of sunglasses after tying my hair up into a ponytail.

Strolling around on the streets of Paris, I took in a deep breath, a smile making its way on my face. It almost felt like I was on vacation, just enjoying the beauty of this famous French city.

I stood in front of the Eiffel Tower, gazing up at it with a croissant in hand. It was so beautiful. So stunning. So-

"Evie?" a soft, slightly French voice asked, her voice holding some kind of wonder in it.

I turned around, my jaw dropping as I saw the stunning French twin of mine. Her hair was up in a bun, her blue eyes bright. She wore light makeup, pink lip gloss coated her lips. She was absolutely flawless.