Chapter 138: Cleaning Up the Loose Ends

At 8:30 PM, Carlos arrived at the abandoned factory on Belote Street with the tools and equipment he had bought, meeting up with William. Smiling, Carlos patted the bag he was carrying and said, "I'll handle the job. You came up with this plan, so you know it best. I'll leave the preparations to you." He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know how you come up with these ideas."

William took the large backpack Carlos handed him and gave Carlos a tranquilizer gun, smiling as he walked into the factory. He trusted Carlos's marksmanship; with a tranquilizer gun, capturing a retired special agent would be easy.

Sure enough, as soon as William finished setting up the equipment, Carlos came in, carrying the unconscious Claude on his back.

Carlos steadied Claude beside William and, wearing the gloves William handed him, helped secure Claude with medical restraints around his neck, upper right arm, wrist, and hand, positioning his hand to point a gun at his own temple. They fixed the arm and hand restraints to a collar and tied it to a metal frame overhead.

After adjusting the height so the unconscious Claude could stand, they placed Claude's gun into the fixed hand restraints, pointing it at his temple.

Once everything was set, William stepped back and asked Carlos, "How's this for a suicide setup?"

Carlos laughed, "Not bad. With the restraints, there won't be any bruising on his arm or wrist, and the coroner won't find anything suspicious. Now we just need a motive for Claude's suicide."

"That's easy. We'll link it to the recent attack on the White Palace. We'll make it look like he was silenced."

"I'll leave a note for his boss, saying that Claude was caught doing something against France's interests while on duty and was forced to give information about the White Palace to the attackers. If he ends up dead, it means the attackers are cleaning up loose ends.

The note will also mention that Claude had evidence of his boss's corruption, which would be released if his wife is harmed. Claude's boss won't dare investigate openly because of his own dirty dealings. He'll secretly search for the supposed evidence instead of probing into Claude's death."

Carlos interrupted, "Wait, William, if you wired the money, won't they trace it back to you if Claude's wife or the French authorities investigate?"

"Hehe, don't worry. I used several secret, untraceable accounts and transferred the money multiple times through offshore banks before finally depositing it in a small, private Swiss bank. They can only trace it to the underground money network."

"Alright, as long as you're prepared."

"Okay, let's get to work. You're the expert here, Carlos. Don't make it too clean. Leave some clues to make it look like Claude was silenced by the White Palace attackers."

"No problem. With the tranquilizers in his system, the autopsy will show he wasn't conscious when he died. His boss will definitely think it was a hit."

Satisfied, William left Carlos to finish up, took Claude's phone, and left the factory, heading to Claude's house on his motorcycle.

In a dark corner outside Claude's house, William used Claude's phone to send a message to his wife.

The message instructed her to flee to Switzerland immediately and go into hiding, without contacting any of Claude's former colleagues. For her safety, she should only contact Claude if he reached out first. If he died, she was to use the account details provided to claim the $2 million William had deposited.

True to her instincts as a special agent's wife, within twenty minutes, William saw Claude's wife rushing out of the building with a large backpack. As she exited, she apologized to a neighbor she bumped into, claiming she was in a hurry to catch a flight to Hawaii to meet her husband.

She sped off in her car, and William followed closely on his motorcycle. After about ten minutes, she suddenly swerved onto the highway.

William stopped at the highway entrance, watching her car disappear. He silently apologized to her, relieved that they had no children. He believed that, realizing she was being followed, she would become even more cautious. When Claude's death was announced, she would likely go into hiding for real. The $2 million would ensure a decent life for her.

After dealing with Claude's phone, William met up with Carlos. Carlos nodded, indicating that he had taken care of everything.

They rode their motorcycles to a residential area in the 13th district, hid their bikes, and drove a stolen car out of the district, taking a cab back to the Four Seasons Hotel.

William booked a room for Carlos and, reassured by the hotel manager that Ginny hadn't left her room, felt at ease. After a light supper and some washing up, he went to sleep.

The next morning, Carlos went out to prepare equipment and scout for a suitable sniper spot opposite 7 Belic Street, while William hired a top private investigator in Paris to monitor the arrival of the Albanian leader, Murad, at the airport.

With nothing to do, William asked the hotel manager to arrange a car and hired a beautiful 18-year-old part-time guide, a dance student from Paris University, to show him around the city's sights. By 3 PM, William received a call from the investigator confirming Murad's arrival in Paris, which put him at ease.

In a good mood, William bought the guide a $10,000 bracelet. By 7 PM, he was holding hands with her, enjoying a private boat ride on the Seine, drinking Latour wine, and eating food prepared by a Michelin-star chef.

As the boat approached 7 Belic Street, William and the guide danced on the upper deck to a pianist playing "Love's Remembrance."

Their joyful moment was interrupted by three gunshots. Laughing, William comforted the terrified guide, who clung to him tightly.

Back at the Four Seasons Hotel, they engaged in several rounds of vigorous exercise before falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, after paying the guide a $10,000 fee through the hotel's presidential suite manager, William waved goodbye to the reluctant young lady.

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