Day 0.
October 1, 1999 - the beginning of the Halloween season.
Cannes, France.
The crowd is large, and the hall is filled with guests for tonight's celebration. It is truly unexpected to see people show up at events such as this phoney engagement celebration. The reason behind all of this comes down to the man of the night himself, the one who invited all of the people here in this hall filled with them, Monsieur Mathéo Du Bois - a billionaire who owns the media empire of CDB across the globe. According to the intel given to me, Monsieur DuBois has a fascination with collections in his private time. The task given to me is to infiltrate his party and plant some "ears" within his mansion so we can gather some evidence about his extracurricular activities.
"Agent Golden Lover, have you infiltrated the party?" an agent on my ear asks me.
"Oui," I reply.
A server on my left handed me a glass of champagne, complimentary for everyone in the party I reckon.
"Voulez-vous une coupe de champagne?" ["Would you like a glass of champagne?"] the server asks me.
"Non, merci." ["No, thank you."] I politely declined the offer.
Rule number 1 for a spy like me - Never, ever accept anything handed to you, especially in the middle of a mission, unless you made it with your own two hands. The reason for that is to avoid getting poisoned or being intoxicated in the midst of a mission which can result in blowing up your cover.
As I walk my way through the crowd, the man of the hour appeared on the balcony above looking down on us. Monsieur Du Bois is a man in his mid-40s, moustached, and has grey hair from his sideburns. The identity based on the description given to me on my brief matches the man on the balcony. To blend in with the crowd, I unshackled my cuffs, giving it more breathing room and silently make my way nearby as I plant the "ears" underneath the table topped with a flower vase - daisy.
"J'ai le plaisir de voir tous mes associés ici ce soir, alors que nous célébrons le succès que notre société, CDB "Channel Du Bois" a atteint après avoir reçu un contrat à vie avec de plus grandes sociétés aux États-Unis !" ["It is my pleasure to see all of my associates here tonight as we celebrate the success that our company, CDB "Channel DuBois" achieved after receiving a lifetime deal with bigger companies in the United States!"] Monsieur Du Bois welcomed every guests present in his party.
"Et pour cela, À votre santé!" ["And for that, Cheers!"] he added.
After welcoming everyone, he disappeared into thin air as he entered the room behind him that leads to the main rooms in his mansion. The brief that was given to me was to infiltrate the mansion which means that planting all of the "ears" in the lobby would not be sufficient and planting them within the main room would prove to give us more results.
"Agent Golden Lover, you have to pull back. The main room is filled with guards in it." an agent warn me.
Upon hearing his warning, I gave a small reply in hopes of making out of this mission in one piece.
"If you have not heard from me in 30 minutes, pull back. I'll be going into the enemy territory now." I reply as I remove the earbuds connected to me so there will be a low possibility of getting interrupted in the middle of the mission.
***
Meanwhile, inside the main room of the mansion Monsieur Du Bois got into, he greeted some prospects and regular customers for his hobby. The room is dark with only a spotlight at the centre stage found facing a crowd of masked audiences. This dark room is the main attraction of this place. A place where Monsieur DuBois handles his human trafficking gig which gives him the majority of his current net worth.
"C'est un plaisir de voir tous mes clients habituels ici, ainsi que les nouveaux clients que nous avons avec nous aujourd'hui." ["It is a pleasure to see every one of my regular customers here, and so are the new customers we have with us today."] Du Bois welcomes his esteem guests.
"Sur vos tables, chacun d'entre vous recevra un service gratuit pour sa présence ici aujourd'hui. N'hésitez donc pas à utiliser ces services pour vous mettre à l'aise." ["On your tables, each of you will receive a free service for your presence here today. Do not hesitate to use these services to put yourself at ease."] Du Bois added.
Upon hearing what he just said, the majority of the guest seem ecstatic about what he said. Slowly, the tables were "serviced" as several of Du Bois' collections make their way underneath.
"Pendant que certains d'entre vous prennent le temps d'apprécier le service qu'ils ont reçu, je voudrais commencer l'événement principal de la soirée." ["Now, while some of you take your time enjoying the service they have received, I would like to start the main event of the evening."] Du Bois declared.
***
Right in front of the door that leads to the main room of the mansion, there are about 5 guards who are heavily armed guarding the door. Below us, the lobby is filled with guests and the number keeps on rising. As these guests come and go, there are a handful of other guests making their way into the main room. That is when I planned for my next step to infiltrate inside.
I followed a suspicious gentleman into the toilets, looking for an opportunity to take my next step.
"C'est une fête bien remplie que nous avons là, hein ?" ["Quite a busy party we have here, huh?"] I ask as I made my way into the urinal next to him.
"Wie bitte?" ["I'm sorry, what?"] he ask me, confused by my remark.
"Oh, désolé, j'ai cru que vous étiez quelqu'un d'autre." [Oh, sorry I thought you were someone else."] I respond to his question.
A German gentleman huh? At that moment, that's when I grabbed the opportunity to gain access to the main room. In total disbelief, the gentleman is fuming with rage as I tried to talk with him. This type of guy is someone who holds himself on a high horse all of the time. Very predictable and you can easily push his buttons by every little thing.
"Was für ein Idiot! Wie kann er es wagen, mit mir zu reden?!" ["What an idiot! How dare he talk to me?!"] he stormed out as he finished doing his business.
I looked at the envelope I nabbed off of that German gentleman and with it, I can finally get inside the main room without having that much trouble or causing such a scene.
"Monsieur Lucas Herschel, huh?" I mumbled to myself.