Dressed in dark clothes with his cap pulled low, Jean-Claude scurried through the darkened alley on silent feet, glancing furtively behind him. Tonight he was to learn of one of his most important assignments. The moon cast eerie shadows on the cobblestones. A sharp noise rang out above. Instinctively, he flattened himself against a rough brick wall. Was it a door, or a gunshot? His heart pounded as he waited, listening.
After a moment, satisfied that he was unobserved, he slipped into a shadowed doorway and knocked two times, paused, then repeated the sequence. The door swung open.
A barrel-chested man greeted him. “We’re just beginning.”
Jean-Claude acknowledged the small group in the dimly lit room. He removed his cap, ruffled his thick brown hair, and perched on a wooden milk crate
