Games of State - Tom Clancy [150]
There was also very little discussion about what Dominique might do to prevent all this from occurring. The man not only commanded a terrorist army, he himself had killed. He would probably go to any lengths to protect his empire.
Why not? Hood asked himself as they neared the main entrance. Dominique would probably find himself above the law. Since the crippling rail strike of 1995, France had been reeling from public sector labor disputes and crippling unemployment. Who would dare take on a big employer like Dominique? Especially if he claimed that he was being harassed. Even Ballon's superiors would have to acknowledge that their man was a fanatic. And that was if they were inclined to be charitable, thought Hood.
An iron gate had been added to the perimeter of the bastide. The only concession to the modern day were small, black video cameras which looked out from the tops of the arabesque designs on top. There was a large red brick booth behind the gate, designed in the style of the edifice. As the group approached, two men emerged. One was a uniformed guard, the other a young man in a business suit. Neither seemed surprised by the arrival of Ballon's party.
"Colonel Bernard Benjamin Ballon of Le Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale," Ballon said in French as he reached the gate. He withdrew a leather wallet, unfolded a document, and held it open on his side of the gate. "This is a search warrant, executed by Judge Christophe Labique in Paris and countersigned by my commander, General Francois Charrier."
The man in the business suit extended a manicured hand through the gate. "I am M. Vaudran of the law firm Vaudran, Vaudran, and Boisnard. We represent Demain. Show me your warrant."
"You understand that I'm only required to present the document and explain the purpose of my visit," Ballon said.
"I will take it and read it and only then will you be admitted."
"The law says you can read it while we search," Ballon informed him. "You are familiar with the law? You may have it as a keepsake once we're inside."
Vaudran said, "I must show it to my client before I can admit you."
Ballon glared at him for a moment; then held the document up to the camera on top of the gate. "Your client sees it," he said. "This is a warrant, not a request. Open the gate."
"I'm sorry," the attorney said, "but you need more than a piece of paper. You need cause."
"We have that," Bailon said. "Proprietary elements have appeared in both Demain computer games and a hate game on the Internet called Hangin' with the Crowd."
"What kind of elements?"
"A level-select code. We have it on computer. You are entitled to see it before a trial, not before a search. It's all in the warrant. Now, M. Vaudran, open the gate."
The attorney regarded Ballon for a moment, then signaled his associate to return to the booth. The guard shut the wooden door and picked up a telephone.
"You have sixty seconds," Ballon yelled to him. He looked at his watch. "Sergeant Ste. Marie?"
"Yes, sir!"
"You have charges to blow open the lock?"
"Yes, sir."
"Prepare them."
"Yes, sir."
The attorney said, "You realize what you're doing, I hope?"
Ballon continued to look at his watch.
"Careers have been ruined by lesser mistakes," Vaudran pointed out.
"There's only one career at risk," Ballon said. He looked directly at the attorney. "No. Two." He looked down again.
Hausen had translated the exchange for Hood, Stoll, and Nancy. As Hood stood watching, he wondered what they were going. to accomplish by this operation. Dominique had surely seen them outside and had concealed or destroyed anything incriminating. He was probably using these last minutes to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.
Less than a minute after leaving, the guard