Chapter 56: Rain and The Wolf in Paris

 

Paris, France. Montmartre. 18th Arrondissement. Two Days Later.

It was raining. A cold, grey, relentless drizzle that soaked into the bones. A taxi stopped on a cobblestone street. The driver grunted, "No cars past this point. You walk."

Sebastian stepped out into a puddle. He was wearing a hoodie and jeans he bought at the airport duty-free. He leaned heavily on a cheap cane. "I hate Paris," he muttered, shaking the rain off his hood. "And I hate economy class. The kid behind me kicked my seat for seven hours."

Harper stepped out beside him, clutching her backpack (which contained the Rolling Pin). "You survived," she linked her arm through his. "And you didn't buy the airline."

"I thought about it," Sebastian admitted. "The coffee was a crime against humanity."

They looked up at the building. It wasn't a hotel. It was an old, narrow apartment block with peeling blue paint and flower boxes on the windows. Number 42.

"This is the address Louis gave me," Harper checked her phone. "Top floor."

Sebastian looked at the five stories of winding stairs. No elevator. He looked at his legs. They were throbbing. "Of course," he sighed. "The Frenchman lives in a tower. How romantic."

"We can find a hotel..." Harper started.

"No," Sebastian gritted his teeth. "We climb."

---

[The Wolf's Den]

It took them ten minutes. By the time they reached the top floor, Sebastian was pale and sweating, but he hadn't complained once. Harper knocked on the door. Three short taps. One long.

The door opened instantly. Count Louis.

He wasn't wearing a tuxedo today. He wore a loose linen shirt, sleeves rolled up, revealing tattoos of vines and thorns on his forearms. He held a glass of red wine. He looked at Harper, soaking wet. Then he looked at Sebastian, leaning on the doorframe, looking like he wanted to murder someone.

"You made it," Louis smiled lazily. "And you brought the baggage."

"The 'baggage' is her husband," Sebastian pushed past him, limping into the apartment. "And if you call me that again, I'll buy this building and evict you."

"Charming," Louis closed the door.

The apartment was small but beautiful. It was filled with books, paintings, and the smell of oil paint and old paper. It felt like a time capsule.

"Make yourself at home," Louis gestured to a velvet sofa. "But don't touch the easel. It's wet."

Sebastian collapsed onto the sofa. Harper sat next to him, her hand instinctively finding his knee, rubbing it gently. Louis watched them. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.

"We brought it," Harper unzipped her backpack. She pulled out the heavy steel Rolling Pin. She placed it on the coffee table.

Louis’s expression changed instantly. The playfulness vanished. He sat down, staring at the object with reverence. "Mon Dieu," he whispered. "She actually did it. She hid the Holy Grail in a kitchen tool."

He reached out to touch the binary flowers engraved on the steel. "Do you know what this is, Harper?"

"It's a code," Harper said. "But we don't have the cipher."

"I have the cipher," Louis stood up and walked to a bookshelf. He pulled out a worn, leather-bound journal. "Your mother left this with me the night she fled. She said, 'If my daughter ever returns with the steel, give her the paper'."

He opened the journal. It was filled with sketches. Sketches of a baby. Harper.

Harper’s breath hitched. She saw a drawing of herself sleeping in a crib. Underneath, in elegant handwriting: My little masterpiece. May you never know the darkness I saw.

"She loved you," Louis said softly. "More than her life."

Sebastian watched Harper’s face crumble. He saw the tears welling up. He felt a surge of jealousy—not romantic, but protective. He hated that this stranger had pieces of Harper's life that he didn't.

"The code," Sebastian interrupted, his voice rough. "What does it say?"

Louis glared at him. "Impatient, aren't we?"

He placed the journal next to the rolling pin. He traced the binary pattern against a grid in the book.

"It's not a formula," Louis frowned. "It's... coordinates."

"Coordinates for what?" Harper wiped her eyes.

"For the Sanctuary," Louis looked up. "The original lab. The one Arthur Sterling thought he burned down in 1996."

"Burned down?" Sebastian sat up straighter.

"Yes," Louis’s voice was dark. "After Catherine escaped, your father ordered the lab destroyed to hide the evidence. He thought he incinerated everything." "But Catherine was smart. She built a fail-safe. A hidden level underground." "The Rolling Pin is the physical key to open the door."

Louis pointed to a map of Paris on the wall. He pointed to a spot near the Catacombs.

"It's down there," Louis said. "Buried under six million skeletons." "And if the Syndicate finds out we are here... they will bury us with them."

---

[The Tension]

"We go tonight," Sebastian said immediately. "The longer we wait, the more danger she is in."

"Agreed," Louis stood up. "I have equipment. Flashlights, maps, weapons."

He walked to a cabinet and pulled out two Glock 19s. He tossed one to Sebastian. Sebastian caught it mid-air with one hand, checking the chamber in a split second.

Louis raised an eyebrow. "You handle that well for a corporate suit."

"I'm a fast learner," Sebastian tucked the gun into his jeans.

"One thing," Louis leaned against the table. "The Catacombs are a maze. I know them. You don't. So down there, you follow my lead."

"I follow no one," Sebastian stood up, using his cane to steady himself. He towered over the Frenchman. "I lead. You navigate."

The two men stared at each other. The air crackled with testosterone. Wolf vs. Lion.

"Stop it," Harper stood between them. "Both of you." She looked at Louis. "You are my mother's friend. I trust you." She looked at Sebastian. "You are my husband. I chose you."

She grabbed the Rolling Pin. "Now, are we going to measure dicks, or are we going to save the world?"

Sebastian and Louis looked at her. Then, simultaneously, they smirked.

"After you, Madame," Louis bowed mockingly.

"Let's go," Sebastian took Harper’s hand.

They walked out into the Parisian rain. Into the city of lights. And down into the city of the dead.

(End of Chapter 56)