Published at 18th of March 2026 6:16 am

Chapter 908: Conferencière

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Jacques was arrested without incident not long after the attack was conducted by his cell. Others like it had appeared across the city, leaving its emergency services stretched thin.

He was completely unaware of the end that awaited his cell, and many others embedded throughout the city. Without even realizing it, he had been spared their cruel fate.

The act of burning down a place that he knew had nothing to do with his initial resentments towards the German Reich, nor his fears of their influence capturing Swiss institutions.

The ice cream parlor had been a place of refuge to him while he was young and destitute during Switzerland’s decades long economic downturn.

He knew the owner well enough to understand that the man was a hardworking patriot of Swiss-German background, but with no love or loyalty to the German Reich, which threatened to devour the Swiss Confederation.

The act of burning down such a treasured memory was enough to shatter the grip over his mind that Reveil de France had fastened over the past year.

However, when he arrived at the police station, he found it curious that he wasn’t booked normally. Instead, he was taken into protective custody, the room sealed off from the outside, and protected by armed guards inside and outside.

His heart began to beat slightly quicker than it normally would. Suspecting that he was about to face a summary execution rather than a criminal trial.

However, when the door opened and revealed a man in a neat three piece suit, flanked by police officers armed with submachine guns. His anxiety only grew.

That is until the man sat down and placed his hat on the table. Pulling out a litany of documents from his briefcase, and placing them out gently, and organized across the table.

When he finally stopped, he rested his chin on his hands, which were curled together. Staring Jacques blankly in the eye.

"What you say next determines whether or not we can ensure your survival. If you are honest with me and hide nothing from your testimony. I can guarantee that the full weight of the Federal Police is behind your protection. But if I detect even the slightest trace of hesitation with the truth, I will leave you to the fate of your comrades here."

Fate of his comrades? Jacques’s confusion was visible and genuine enough that the interrogator found it intriguing. The inflection in his voice reflected that sentiment.

"How curious? You weren’t aware? You didn’t plan this? You didn’t rat out your fellow terrorists? Well.... Isn’t this interesting? So that means we got to you before they did?"

This only served to prolonge Jacque’s confusion, he immediately pressed forward in his seat, the shackles digging deep into his force, restraining his movement.

"I’m sorry, I don’t understand. You’re saying Philippe, and the others. They’re?"

"Dead...." The word was blunt, precise, and yet still sharp enough to carve into Jacque’s soul. The shock was evident even as the interrogator continued.

"We’re trying our best to figure out how. But we suspect they died midway through their flight from the authorities. A rather peculiar matter, as National Intelligence has been tracking your cell and its movements for months. We had even prepared a force to detain you all when you arrived at your safe house. But.... You never made it back. I guess they weren’t expecting you to be overcome by a moment of conscience following your attack. Now were they?"

Jacques could feel it, the thought, the identity of who was responsible for killing Philippe in and the others before they could retreat safely to their safe house.

Sure, he was quite surprised that the authorities knew about their actions all along. But what was more concerning was that Philippe and the others had died before they fell into their trap.

He knew it, but he couldn’t say it. The fear... the dread.... The horror of who was really responsible prevented him from fully consciously understanding.

"When you say they... you mean..."

"The Germans...." The accusation was made without hesitation and with full confidence. And the interrogator didn’t stop there.

"I’m certain they were planning to evacuate the premises, let your little revolutionary organization conduct its attacks. And then use the burning of their enterprises as justification to insert their soldiers into our streets under the guise of joint-security operations. Unfortunately for them, they miscalculated your sense of remorse."

Jacques sat still, processing the information for some time. But no matter how he looked at it, he didn’t know how his survival mattered. And no matter how he wrapped his mind around it he still couldn’t understand what was right in front of him.

"So what if I survived? Philippe and the others are dead, the attacks were conducted. And I am now in your custody. The rest of my cell is wiped out, and I don’t know anything remotely related to what the Germans are or aren’t planning. Even if they killed me, nothing would change."

However, the interrogator did not seem to believe Jacques. Not because he felt the man was lying, but because he felt the man just simply didn’t understand the bigger picture. And he was quick to unfold his hand and lay out all his cards in the process.

"I need to know everyone you have ever made contact within your organization. And everything you know about its structure. Because the possibility that someone inside of it, someone you may know, is not who they claim to be."

This idea instantly filled Jacques with dread, causing him to bristle in his seat while the interrogator continued.

"I’m afraid they may be a German intelligence asset coordinating all of our downfall. The fact that you live means we may yet still be able to identify this individual. And if we can do that, we can prove what the Reich is planning behind the scenes."

The interrogator leaned forward, almost as if he were genuinely pleading with his eyes for cooperation rather than testimony. "

So what do you say? Are you willing to put your petty pride and your ideology aside to actually help us keep the Germans from taking over our homeland?"

Share