Geronimo Stilton: INTERPOL-Trouble In France: An Old Enemy Returns

Under Siege

Trap squeaked up for everyone, "Us? One more chance? With all due respect, Mr. General Secretariat, I speak for myself and on behalf of my teammates that none of this was our fault! The ones who failed you were the escorts! We never had anything to do with the second abduction, Geronimo and Hussein just happened to be with the contestants and volunteered to escort them." I tell ya, Trap may not be smart, be he had a sense of reason.

"But once you take charge of a situation, you take the responsibility with you and never let go," Kobel said. "So this makes it partially your fault. I'm putting you all in charge of the security of the remaining designers. Stilton, what's your next move?"

"We won't need anymore improvements in the security details," Geronimo began. "All we have to change are the ones who are guarding. We need to collaborate with multiple agencies and request for highly trained personnel."

"There's also the matter of eradicating the mole," Benjamin added. "If we can't get rid of him or her, it'll be easier for them to counter our security measures.

"Problem is, have you found the mole?" Kobel questioned.

"I have reason to believe we have," Geronimo squeaked. "And she is in this room as we speak." He gave another short glare at Roux as he took out his iPhone and selected a video from his Gallery. "That's the interrogation footage of the drug dealer we found on the Deep Web." He slid the phone to Kobel on its backside and then he played it, volume turned to full blast.

"Who did you last sold the drug to?" Geronimo demanded in the video.

Blanc frowned. "Let me think, my memory is a bit fuzzy... It was...uh..."

"Blanc?" Hussein called.

"No, wait, I think I am getting something..."

Geronimo glanced at his watch "Blanc?"

"No, wait! I am getting something!"

"Did he or she mention a name, Blanc?" Hussein snapped again.

Blanc stopped to recall. "Ah! Now that you said it, SHE actually did. She said her name was Roux."

Kobel immediately frowned and turned to Roux. Roux reacted by gasping when she heard her name.

Geronimo and Hussein exchanged shocked looks. "Could you give a description about her? Any distinct ones?" Geronimo asked.

Blanc took another moment to fetch how her appearance was. "I can never forget about ze unique shade of red on her shoulder length hair..."

"When did you run the deal with her?" Geronimo interrogated.

"Sunday, March twenty-third. Midnight"

The video ended. "Roux?"

"What?! How could it be me?! Monsieur Kobel, it was not! I swear!" Roux defended herself.

"Then why did Gustav mention your name and the exact same hair color and style as yours?" Geronimo questioned.

"How should I know?! Maybe someone wants to frame me!"

"That's possible," Kobel supported. "But you can't prove that, so we can't rule you out as a suspect."

"Besides, why not?" Hussein said. "You're the organizer of the fashion week itself. Of course you knew where they stayed at, when they traveled to places, what they traveled in... And you had the right to know what Interpol knew so you had a little info on security details via Kobel."

"Zat is... true," she admitted. "But why would I do such things? What could I possibly gain by feeding info to zees... Technologists?"

Geronimo started to catch up on the idea and remembered what the old enemies offered. "What else...? Money. It's all everyone ever wanted. The Technologists could offer several times as much payment from your project tender Interpol offered you."