After leaving the Louvre, the three of them found a restaurant nearby for lunch. After a short break, they drove to Notre Dame.
The Notre Dame Cathedral... a Catholic cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Paris... construction started in 1163. It was over 800 years old.
They took a few cheesy photos out front, then went inside and did the tour, from the crypts all the way up to the bell tower.
"Alright, that's Notre Dame done." The three of them were walking back to the car. "Next stop, the Eiffel Tower!" Helen said cheerfully.
Behind her, the two of them glanced at each other. Franklin frowned. "Yo, Helen... I'm suddenly not feeling so hot. I think we should cancel the rest of the night. I just... I gotta get back to the hotel and rest."
Helen stopped, her face full of concern. "Oh my god, Mr. Clinton, do you need to go to a hospital?"
Franklin gave a weak laugh. "Nah, nah. It's nothing. We just got off an all-night flight, you know? The jet lag is just... getting me. It's normal. I'll be fine after a night's sleep."
Helen nodded. "Okay, of course. You two get some rest. We have plenty of time. The sightseeing can wait."
They drove back to the Four Seasons.
After splitting from Helen in the lobby, they went back to their suite. The instant the door clicked shut, the exhaustion vanished from their faces.
They sat on the couch. Franklin tossed a Paris Tourist Guide on the coffee table and clicked a pen.
"Alright. Two targets tonight. First, we burn Notre Dame to the ground. Second, we boost the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. Here's the plan," Franklin said.
"First, we jack a fire truck. We dump all the water, find a gas station, and fill that giant-ass tank with gasoline. Then, we drive that motherfucker right up to the front square of Notre Dame, hit the high-pressure hose, and give the whole place a 'gasoline bath.' And then... whoosh."
A-Train's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's fucking good. And then?"
"The second Notre Dame is lit, it'll send the whole goddamn city into a panic. Every cop, every firefighter... they're all gonna be at the church. While they're running around like headless fucking chickens, we're gone. We hit the Louvre."
"With your 'Super Speed' and my 'Technopathy,' we can waltz in, take out the Louvre's security, and grab the Mona Lisa. By the time the Paris cops figure out what the fuck is happening, we'll be long gone."
"So? Do you see any holes?"
A-Train thought it over for a second, then nodded. "Solid as fuck. What do we need to prep?"
"Nothing," Franklin said. "We don't need to prep shit. We'll just wing it as we go."
"Dope. Let's run it by the boss."
Jason got Franklin's plan, glanced at it, and saw no obvious flaws. He forwarded it to Chloe just to be sure.
Chloe's algorithm was simple and brutal. She just converted their powers into data and the entire Paris police force into data, then ran the simulation.
The results came back in minutes.
As long as Franklin and A-Train didn't actively try to get themselves killed, and assuming the French government didn't just nuke their own city... it was a 100% win. A total slaughter.
.........
At 6 PM, Franklin called room service and ordered two steak dinners.
At 6:15, a waiter wheeled the cart in. Franklin, not holding a grudge about the suite, tipped the guy a fat €50. The waiter was so grateful he was bowing.
7 PM. They finished eating. Time to go.
"Yo, Franks, camera in the hall," A-Train noted.
"I know. Don't sweat it."
Franklin walked into the bathroom and found the red emergency-alarm button on the wall. He put a finger to his temple and activated his power.
Instantly, he had control of the alarm. He followed the wiring... and in seconds, he had control of the entire hotel's surveillance system.
"Done. They're all blind."
"Fucking slick," A-Train said, giving a thumbs-up.
They pushed the door open, didn't bother with any masks or sneaking, and just strolled into the elevator.
In the hotel's security room, the monitors showed an empty elevator car. The guards didn't notice a thing.
Leaving through the back, they walked the Paris streets for half an hour, ending up in a different district.
The streets were alive, packed with cars. Franklin walked past a row of them, activated his power, and an imported Audi's locks clicked open.
They got in and drove toward the suburbs.
"Yo, Franks, check this shit." A-Train was rifling through the glove box and found a man-bag. He opened it. ID, cash... and an iPhone.
"Nice," Franklin grinned. "Saves us the trouble of finding one. You can make the call. Say..." He looked out the window and picked a random address.
A-Train immediately downloaded a voice-changer app, dialed 112, and reported a massive fire at some factory in the suburbs.
He hung up. They parked on a side street and waited.
Franklin lit a cigarette, cracking the window. "Yo, 'Train... lemme ask you something."
"What's up, Franks?"
"This afternoon... when I said I was sick... you see how worried Helen got? You think... you think she's into me?"
A-Train's face fucking twitched. Is this motherfucker serious? She was worried you were gonna cancel, dumbass. She was worried about her thousand-dollar-a-day paycheck.
"Why are you quiet, man?"
A-Train just laughed. "Franks, my man, forget Helen. After this, we'll go hit a titty bar. That's more your speed."
Franklin got pissed. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"
A-Train sighed. "Look, bro, I'm just gonna be real. Your game with women is shit. Fucking terrible. If you don't fix that, no girl is ever gonna be into you. Even if they are, they're just into your wallet."
Franklin's face went stiff.
That... sounded familiar. His ex-girlfriend had said the same goddamn thing.
He'd been hit where it hurt. He threw his cigarette out the window, pissed. "Hmph! Fuck you, man! We're both single. Your game ain't no better!"
A-Train just laughed awkwardly. He didn't argue.
.........
About ten minutes later, they heard sirens. A fire truck came into view.
"Showtime."
They both got out of the car and ran into the road, waving their arms frantically, looking like two normal guys in trouble.
The fire truck slowed and pulled over. A firefighter hopped out and ran over. "Hey, you guys in trouble?"
"Blah blah blah blah blah..."
"Oh, foreigners," The firefighter sighed. He turned back to the truck. "Hey, anyone here speak English?"
The other three firefighters, all except the driver, got out and walked over.
Franklin and A-Train looked at each other. Now.
Jason had maxed out their combat and weapons skills to Level 10. Combined with their superhuman speed and strength, the four firefighters were dead in five seconds.
They never even knew what hit them.
The driver saw it all and panicked, slamming the cab door locks. Just lock the doors, they can't get in, just gotta call the cops and drive...
"Hey."
A voice was right in his ear.
The driver whipped his head around. A-Train was in the passenger seat, grinning at him.
"Ahhh!"
After a single scream, A-Train killed the driver and pushed his body out onto the street.
Franklin slid behind the wheel, grabbing the massive steering wheel. "Fuck, I've boosted a lot of cars, but this is the first time driving a fire truck."
A-Train hopped in. "We gotta dump the water. Franks, you know how this shit works?"
Franklin started the engine. "Fuck no. You Google it."
A-Train pulled out the stolen phone and typed in the truck's model.
Even though it was his first time, with Driving Mastery 10, Franklin handled the massive truck like a pro.
"You found it?"
A-Train laughed. "Yo, Franks, we lucked out! This is some high-tech German shit. It's all automatic, all on a touchscreen."
"Alright, let's empty this motherfucker! Give these passing cars a bath!"
A-Train followed the instructions, aiming the water cannon on top.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The pump kicked in, and the cannon aimed.
"Pooof!"
A massive jet of water shot out, spraying over a hundred meters.
"WOAH! Fire trucks are FUCKING COOL!"
The two of them were like a couple of kids, bobbing their heads to the thump-thump-thump of the pump, hooting and hollering.
The truck emptied fast. Five minutes later, all 3.5 tons of water were gone.
Franklin pointed. "Yo, look. Gas station."
A-Train cracked his knuckles. "Good. Let's go 'fill 'er up.'"
The fire truck pulled into the gas station. They both hopped out.
An attendant walked over, grabbing the nozzle. "Sir, fill it up?"
"Yeah, all the way," Franklin replied with a smile, in English.
The attendant looked at him, confused, and in that split second, Franklin rushed him.
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You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
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