SEBASTIAN KNAPP AND Egor Tarabasov approached the gates of the U.S. Embassy in Paris a few minutes shy of 10:00 A.M. They'd come from different routes. Sebastian had flown a charter jet, courtesy of the French government, from New York City to Paris overnight. Egor had simply taken one of his own private jets and traveled from Russia, arriving an hour ago.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgJkypHScN
They showed their passports to the U.S. Marines at the gates. Then they stopped in the front entry station, apart from the main building. "Please turn your cell phones on and off, and then check them here," said one of the guards. Each of the men complied, leaving the phones in a black basket and getting a receipt for them, which they would show when they returned. Standard routine at the U.S. Embassy, and Sebastian and Egor had been here before.
They passed through a metal detector and walked with an escort into the building and up to the office of the Justice Department attaché, Huey Nickerson. They waited outside the door with a marine for ten minutes before they entered.
Nickerson was wearing a crisp white shirt and a dark purple tie. He was talking into a headset while taking notes. He motioned for the two men to have a seat.
When he was off the phone, he removed the headset and looked at the two men. "Thanks for coming, gentlemen."
"You said it was important," said Egor.
"Yes, it is." Nickerson folded his hands and took a moment. "I consider it my duty to watch out for Americans who come to this country. I can't be their lawyer, but I can certainly be their advocate in other ways. I tried to perform that role for your girlfriends. I don't know how well I did, but I tried."
"And?" Sebastian rolled his hand, as if were eager for the punch line.
"I think I owe you two the same courtesy," said Nickerson. "I've just been made aware that the day before Ms. Barton escaped from prison, her lawyer----you remember Abeau Chaney?----had filed some documents with the court."
Nickerson slid two copies of the documents across his desk, one each for Sebastian and Egor.
"I thought you should see them right away," he told them.
Sebastian and Egor read the documents thoroughly, stopping on certain items, scratching their heads, rubbing their eyes. They looked at each other in disbelief. They looked back at Nickerson, as if he had any further information.
"When I find out more," said Nickerson, "I'll be sure to let you know."
Each man nodded, still stunned. They trudged out in silence with the marine escort through the embassy and out into the open air. They handed the receipts to the marines at the entry station and got their cell phones back.
They got into a cab and drove to a bar about a mile west of the U.S. Embassy, still on the right bank of the Siene and within sight of the Eiffel Tower. The air was crisp and the sun was high; it was really a beautiful day, but the weather was lost on the two Americans at the moment.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBIAfimMVz
Godfredo Costa was already at the bar, nursing a glass of Belvedere.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡod1K0IbasZ
"Buen día. gentlemen," he said, using an old colloquial greeting from his native Argentina.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTP5xxTo2d8
"I'll have what he's drinking," Sebastian said to the waitress. "Make it a double."403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5kT6WOPME
