The Adventures of Mademoiselle Mac 2-Book Bundle by Christopher Ward Page B

starting a brief burst of applause from the Shadows, who seemed more than a little confused by this demonstration. “ Merci, Monsieur le Docteur, merccci . Yesss, but before that happens, there is one symbolic act that will cast the heart of Paris into sweet despair. The giant crane you have been working on so hard is finished, my friends, and tonight it will be wheeled into position beside the Seine in the Square Jean XXIII, where it will appear ready to go to work like so many others the next morning — fixing, building, repairing ... but it has a different destiny, does it not?”
    Here he paused dramatically as the Shadows nodded and grinned their snaky smiles, knowing, no doubt, what was coming next. “And as it readies to pluck the spire of Notre Dame like a spiky blossom from the cathedral, I will personally inaugurate the launching of the great darkness ... with this.”
    He held up what appeared to be an expensive, oversized bottle of champagne filled with black liquid. “Good enough to destroy the golden shine of the dome of Les Invalides, good enough for the rose window of Notre Dame, non, mes amis ?”
    As he called out a final “All right, let’s go ... much to do,” over the swell of approving sounds in the room, the meeting broke up into little groups that began to disperse. I slipped into a closet to hide until all was silent. I couldn’t resist taking a closer look at the cloud tank as I passed quietly out of the room. The sounds of Dr. Brouillard chewing and grunting from an adjoining room covered my departure nicely. Up close, the tiny clouds looked like pinpoints of liquid light, glowing from within, all whizzing around the tank like they were dying to escape and do their worst. At least that’s how I imagined it. Back in the hallway, I took a long breath and figured it was time to get out while I could. I had more than I needed to go to the police with. How to get out of here?
    At that instant, heavy footsteps pounded down the hall toward me. I jumped back into the lab just in time to watch Blag crashing down the hall with a ferocious scowl on his face, no doubt sent on some nasty mission by Luc Fiat. After a bit of time had passed, it was quiet once more, and I thought I’d head in Blag’s direction. Instead of exiting, though, I found myself in a circular space with twin elevators painted to resemble the Arc de Triomphe at night with hallways fanning off like the boulevards at L’Etoile. Clever, but bizarre. Cool blue light oozed from above, and looking up, I saw one large room or office encircling the area with partially opaque glass. A strange scene was being acted out on this circular stage. Two identical figures gestured at each other in silhouette like a mirror with a delayed reflection. One would step forward, raising his arms and dramatically dropping them to his sides, then the other would respond with almost the same moves in reverse.
    I watched, fascinated and intensely curious, until I saw one of the figures lift something large and pointed over his head and swing it wildly at the other. He must have missed his target, because the glass above me suddenly shattered with a huge crash, and jagged pieces flew into the air. I dove into the nearest hallway and watched while a vast panel of window opened to reveal Fiat, trembling and holding a shining golden cross at his side.
    He spat out his words at the figure across the room. “I should’ve known when you told me to “Lighten up, Louche” that your ridiculous campaign was no cover-up at all. When we were children, you always put the sun in your pictures, didn’t you? And you were terrified of Papa’s shadow buzzards while I loved them. And don’t think I didn’t know about your secret weekend tennis and volleyball; that make-up didn’t hide your tan, you little lizard.”
    I couldn’t hear the reply from the other side of the room, but I was