A Few Days With Her
sadness
melancholy
Good morning. Good morning.
"Second-hand scooter. Very used but still in good shape.
"Up for grabs."
Is it Belkacem?
Belkacem may have given the number to someone.
His superior, for example.
The call was anonymous,
but whoever made it knows we can locate the phone.
How long will it take? To locate the call?
With all the authorisations needed, satellite problems...
Tomorrow? OK.
Right. We need a code name for whoever wrote this message.
Where was the bar where you gave Belkacem the number?
Pigalle? That's it then. OK.
Let's hope it's not a red herring.
He phones to say he's got the scooter without knowing what it means.
That's possible.
Of course it is.
Henri Duflot alerted them with his talk of submarines.
He's so unsubtle
it wouldn't surprise me if they knew we'd lost something.
They don't know what, but they can still use it.
Right, keep me posted. Of course.
Well? Twenty-four hours to trace the call.
What's Mag saying?
He wants this to work. We all do.
How about dinner on Thursday with Emilie? It's been ages.
I'd like that.
Come and see this.
Sisteron wants to go to Algiers. I'm going crazy.
On TV last night there was a report on the Tokyo Metro.
I thought I saw Cyclone.
Why go to Algiers? I don't know.
To go to his house, meet his secretary,
breathe the same air as him, see where it leads.
Good idea.
The security forces went there two days after he disappeared.
They don't know Cyclone as well as he does.
True. You leave tomorrow.
Thank you.
It responds well to brute force.
I can get you another one. Another coffee?
Another manuscript. Really?
He was involved in two cover stories,
one involving a brothel in Russia in the '90s, the script I gave you.
"A Few Days With Her"?
Then we needed a cover as a writer,
of light fiction.
He got carried away and wrote poems we never used.
They weren't bad.
Interested? Yes.
I can't think why.
I'll send it to you later today. Thanks.
Thanks for the coffee.
If you're looking for a chat-up line,
just sign the manuscript with the poems.
Then you can pretend you wrote them.
Thank you.
The way the land is divided up will affect future distribution.
Granting UNESCO World Heritage status in 2011
to historic sites
has given them real symbolic value.
As well as splitting up territories, we're splitting up symbolic sites
which have real cultural and historic value.
Nadia, we must broach a rather sensitive issue.
More sensitive than the discussions we have here on a daily basis?
This would be easier if I didn't have so much respect for you.
That's what they all say.
Without... Drat!
Nadim told me about your boyfriend.
Nadim's obsessed. It's his job to be obsessed.
We're not in Damas now.
He can't get away with it here.
That's just it. We are not in Damas now.
You can't get away with it either.
Who's saying this to me?
The businessman who's constantly on the move
from one city to another and one hotel to another?
Bachar el-Assad's cousin.
The man you're seeing... I'm not any more.
Why? Nadim will only cause him trouble.
Nadim will cause him trouble anyway.
Meaning?
Nadia...
You have no idea what lengths the security forces will go to.
This Paul Lefebvre might have been spending time with you for years,
taking his time to become your boyfriend,
never demanding anything from you.
And all so that he can recruit you one day without you even realising.
What are you talking about?
Why would he do that?
I'm just an academic.
You are more than that. You are here with us.
He couldn't have known that when I met him.
So he had no idea you had reservations
about the rebels who fell into the hands of extremists?
He had no inkling that your moderate views
might lead you to the position you hold today?
We know nothing about him.
Let's just hope he's not a spy or a journalist.
Where does he live?
I don't know his address in Paris.
Where do you meet?
Don't force me to phone Bachar to tell him you're unreliable.
He might be in a hotel finishing off his book.
Hôtel de la Porte Dorée.
Porte Dorée?
Tell them to take it away again.
Tell them in their contract it is written that we can return it within one week
The scratches were already there when it was delivered.
Tell them we asked for a grey fridge.
This one's black.
No, don't say you've changed your mind.
Yes, lie to them.
Listen. I'm at work. Have a think about it.
Bye.
Do you speak a bit of Persian? A tiny bit.
Do you know the colours? Grey, black?
Red, blue, pink.
I had the same au pair between the ages of two and 12.
Dorna. She was Iranian.
Grey, black.
Who cares? It's only a fridge.
You're coming with us, calmly.
Don't make a fuss.
What did I do?
Who are you?
Shall we get started?
Why am I here?
I like you, so we'll make it quick.
We know you hang out with Reza Mortazavi.
Yes, I work with him. I know you do.
We've even got photos of you both at work.
Look.
How long have you worked for him? For a few weeks.
So you do work for him.
He recruited me as a PhD student of seismology.
Seismology?
Plate tectonics?
Or the clash of civilizations?
Right.
You can sit there, cute as a kitten, telling porkies, but we know.
We've known for a year and a half.
What is it that you know?
Reza Mortazavi is not a seismologist.
He works for the Iranians and so do you.
Can I have a tissue?
Reza's not Iranian.
Or rather, he is Iranian,
but he's not working for the Iranians.
In France, he works at the Institute of Earth Physics.
I have no idea who he works for in Iran.
He works at the University of Teheran.
I don't get it. Why am I here?
You don't get it? No.
You don't get what I'm saying? No, I don't understand any of it.
What shall I do with the student card?
Shall I leave it on the table? You'll need it to get the loan.
Put it in the bag with the other things.
Where shall I leave the bag?
The café on the corner.
Can I look through it? At your own risk.
Will I discover anything? Only that I wear dentures
and that I have fungus on my toenails.
No, thanks!
Thanks, love. I'm relying on you.
Sure.
For the loan application
It's known in the jargon as a rat trap.
The manuscript had been opened. That's what I wanted.
For them to search Paul Lefebvre's life
and conclude that he has nothing to hide.
That Paul Lefebvre is a teacher with aspirations to be a writer,
and Nadia El-Mansour is incapable of betraying state secrets.
CLINIC
ALGIERS
That's better.
Sorry about the smell, but it tastes delicious.
Can I call my family, please?
Is this yours?
Date of birth. 26.09.89.
Have you got a boyfriend?
He's not in touch much.
Last week he was.
"Are you at home? Can I come over?"
He's a romantic.
Thibaud.
Thibaud's a terrible name.
"I want to fuck you like last time."
What did he do last time?
Give you cunnilingus?
I bet I'm right.
Is Thibaud your boyfriend?
Is he your boyfriend? No.
So he's your fuck buddy?
You look the sort to have a fuck buddy called Thibaud.
Thibaud.
Right, back to business.
Reza... What about Reza?
You're starting to piss me off. There's nothing to find out.
It's you who's starting to piss me off.
Have you worked for Mr Benarfa for long?
Two years. Did he have a girlfriend?
Who exactly are you?
A childhood friend.
Mrs Benarfa sent me. She was worried about her son.
Why didn't she come herself? She's tired.
A childhood friend would know if he had a girlfriend.
He knows I'm close to his mother. He doesn't want to get married.
No girlfriend, too busy at work.
So nothing special happened before he left?
No, nothing special.
Excuse me.
Right.
I really liked Mr Benarfa. It's weird him not being here.
You talk about him as if he were dead.
He is dead.
Don't you think?
How is the report on Malotru coming along?
It's a work in progress. I still have a few interviews to do.
He's just not very available. Then you should see him tonight.
Tonight? Has he agreed?
My wife and I are dining with him. Can you come?
You're inviting me to dinner to talk to Debailly?
Yes, then you'll see him in a more relaxed context.
It will give you a different perspective.
Yes or no?
All right. Great.
There are more shredders upstairs.
Stop!
OK, that will do.
There.
You're ready to kill anyone you like
with your bare fists.
But that won't be much use to you, Rambo.
Now I'll show you how to get your head kicked in.
What do I do? Nothing.
You're just a poor bookseller, a doctor, a teacher or whatever,
who gets attacked for no reason.
So I do nothing? No.
OK. No, don't put a helmet on.
Only use your arms in self-defence.
Protect your organs.
Let your upper ribs take the brunt of it.
Lower your chin.
Stop them kicking your carotid artery.
You do nothing.
You don't know how to fight back.
If you feel yourself drifting off, give into that feeling.
It will hurt less.
I know it's silly, but I find it weird
for a boy to be better at French than math.
Henri is great at math.
French is important too.
Yes, but still... I've always wondered
whether his mental block about numbers was psychological.
It's not a mental block, darling.
What do you think?
Do you think he should see someone?
It wouldn't bother me, my son seeing a shrink.
As long as I'm not told it's all my fault.
He just needs to play fewer video games.
No word from Guillaume? He'll be on his way.
I'll go and call him.
My husband can't bear the idea of his son seeing a shrink.
He's a bit conservative.
Don't you agree?
Can you give me the name of one of your colleagues?
I'll give it some thought. Can't you give me a name now?
Don't tell Henri. He's already not keen on the idea.
I'll tell him once I get an appointment.
What's that?
It's a document.
An important document.
It's meant to stay in the department. God knows what it's doing in my bag.
I left in a hurry. I wasn't paying attention.
You didn't do it on purpose, so it's not your fault.
I know, but...
Right...
There's...
Sylvie Laffont who is good for problems with learning.
I wonder if you'd mind not mentioning the document to Henri?
It's a serious offence to take a document like that out.
It will be our little secret.
How do you spell Laffont? With two Fs.
Well?
He's not answering.
It's ringing, but in the void. It's going straight to voicemail.
Here we are waiting for him, and he's blocking my calls.
I knew it.
I've sensed it since he came back.
Sensed what?
He treats me like an idiot.
I don't think so.
Do you mind if I get two starters?
He does, he thinks I'm stupid, inferior.
Because I've never gone undercover.
He thinks he's better than me.
He thinks he's above us, above all of us.
He does.
You too.
He must have a good reason for not being here.
I'd like to know what it is.
So you speak Farsi, just like that, because you're curious.
I'm tired.
And I'm tired of you. Now, why Farsi?
It was my nanny when I was young. She was Iranian.
You had a nanny? Didn't you go to school?
Yes.
After school, when I was little, and before school.
Was your nanny reliable? She was like an au pair.
Your parents were a PA and on the dole,
but you had an au pair like an English princess.
She was a friend of the family.
So I can call her if I like?
If I wanted to ask this friend of the family some questions?
I'm hungry.
I know.
Has no one come for me?
Like who?
Tell me.
Who might come for you?
Have you got a partner?
My boyfriend must be looking for me.
He's your fuck buddy, not your boyfriend,
and I bet he can't even make you come.
I could keep you here for another 10 days,
and no one would come for you.
OK?
OK.
What are you doing here? What about you?
Have you got keys?
He left his keys at the office the night he disappeared.
So is that yours?
I'm having problems with my husband.
I thought, since Mr Benarfa wasn't here...
Just for a few days, until it blows over.
I'm sure he wouldn't have minded. Why didn't you tell me?
I wasn't convinced you were a friend of Mr Benarfa's.
You're not really his type.
Where's my cat?
I ate it for dinner.
No, no, no. I'm sorry. I don't know where it's gone.
Wait, don't forget this. It's not mine.
Are you sure?
Where am I meant to sleep now?
Good morning.
They only took my jacket.
Have you been to the police? I'll go this afternoon.
I was in A&E all night.
How many of them were there?
Sorry about dinner.
No problem. We're the ones who are sorry.
We were worried, that's all. And with good reason.
Good morning. Guillaume? Sylvain Ellenstein wants to see you.
Thank you.
We've traced the phone that sent the message to here.
31 Rue Mohamed Rached.
Sisteron. What's up?
How's it going in Algiers?
Fine.
31 Rue Mohamed Rached. Does that ring any bells?
It's one of the dead drops Cyclone and I used
whenever the Internet went down.
Why?
No reason. Thanks.
Yes?
It's Mag.
What's up?
Stay in Cyclone's apartment. Don't go out.
We'll send a protection team to escort you to the airport.
Don't go away.
Yes?
You were saying?
A mobile sent us a message from Cyclone's dead letter box.
Someone's holding Cyclone. Someone knows he works for us.
They'll be watching you.
Don't leave the apartment and don't trust anyone.
Right.
Coming in?
Are you OK?
Get out.
But...
Is this another joke?
Right?
Get out.
I didn't leave my husband who was yelling at me
only to let some stranger...
So those are your drugs.
Are you ill?
Help!
Fuck!
They thought she'd crack last night.
She asked whether anyone had come for her,
claiming she meant her boyfriend.
Even when she's thrown by the idea of Reza being a spy,
she gives nothing away.
That's good. Simon says she's tough.
He said to tell you he's sick of hitting her.
He thinks she's cute.
You were cute too before you got disfigured.
Have you been to the police?
As soon as I get a moment.
We should call Simon.
If she hasn't cracked by now, she never will. She must be hungry.
You can go.
One minute I'm Bin Laden's daughter, and now I can go?
We've checked you out.
We've got nothing on you.
Eat this.
Was I good?
What?
Questioning me, was it good?
Did you enjoy hitting me?
You're tough.
It's all the sport I do.
Do you run?
Among other things.
Me too.
In a gym?
Buttes-Chaumont.
He's finally come out. Can I go now?
How long did he stay?
Almost two hours.
OK, I'm going back.
How do we know he didn't go to the police?
Go and check.
How do I do that? I can't go back and ask.
Say you witnessed an assault and want to report it.
What if he's given a description to the police? They'll recognise me.
I'm wearing his jacket? What? You idiot!
I wasn't expecting to have to check for myself
whether the police were after me or not.
I don't care. Go in and say you witnessed an assault.
If he's reported you and they arrest you,
so much the better.
That means we've got it wrong and we don't need to worry.
You mean you've got it wrong.
You must be joking. Last time I had to interrupt FELIS
was for some ludicrous 24-hour story about a double agent.
What is it this time? A Soviet mole?
A bogus renegade? Or something serious?
Something serious.
Are you sure? Yes.
Right.
Then let me give you the rundown.
FELIS was launched yesterday. I can no longer contact my men.
To stop the machine we must tell the Americans
the operation we've been working on with them and the British
for the past 14 months has been infiltrated.
They'll have to call in their guys, warn ours
and sit on a plan involving a cruiser,
two helicopters and about 100 of their people.
So I'll ask you again.
Take your time.
Are you sure?
One of our undercover agents is in the hands of the Algerians,
and he knows the location of FELIS.
Has he given away the location?
He gave away one of his dead drops. That's all we know.
That's not enough.
I'm not halting procedures for that.
It's not possible. I need more.
What are you doing here? It's directors only at this time.
You've got all day to come here.
And if you've come to brown-nose, you've picked a very bad time.
I did as you suggested.
I reported the assault.
They didn't know what I was talking about.
I was wearing his jacket too!
Hilarious. Just give me the info, please.
He hasn't been to the police. Are you sure?
Yes, there's no proof. Don't worry.
Yes?
OK.
Your gun.
We work for the French police
in cooperation with the Algerian security forces.
We are arresting you for your involvement in terrorism.
What are you talking about? I haven't done anything.
You're Benarfa's accomplice.
What?
But I've done nothing wrong. Michel, I'm innocent.
He'll give her the fright of her life, so she'll keep her trap shut.
Michel!
Where is it?
Come with me, baby. I'll make you talk.
She was squatting at his place.
I can't help it if she was there when you phoned.
I thought she was working for the Algerians.
I couldn't let her go. She might have blabbed.
Did you have to beat her up? Well...
What happened to you? Nothing.
Did you have to beat that poor secretary up?
No, I didn't have to, but...
I couldn't think what else to do. Why didn't you say something?
I could hardly phone you with her there.
And when we phoned you?
Listen, I had a lot on my mind. I'm sorry.
What would you have suggested? Keeping her there?
And the drugs? Tranquillizers, anti-depressants,
sleeping tablets, plus drugs prescribed by the psychiatrist.
He was seeing a psychiatrist.
Can I talk to you?
Two days ago I took out some top-secret documents.
I didn't do it deliberately, obviously.
It was the night we were meeting for dinner.
I left my desk in a hurry,
and I accidentally slipped the documents into my bag.
When did you realise? At the restaurant.
I had a sleepless night afterwards.
Did you tell anyone?
I'm telling you now.
Why me? You should tell Henri Duflot.
Why not you?
By telling you, I'm telling the department, aren't I?
I mean, everything you do concerns me, and everything I do concerns you.
It won't affect me,
but it could have serious implications for other people.
It's not a question of hierarchy but of collective responsibility.
Did you bring the documents back? Of course.
Amen.
You know when you've made a serious mistake, right?
You should.
Telling someone else is a way
of objectivising the mistake and gauging how important it is.
Have you never needed a colleague's advice?
Yes. What was the occasion?
Are you interviewing me again? No.
Why do you think that?
Enemies on the outside and on the inside.
If you make a mistake, your life is permanently under threat.
Sensing a trap and walking into it.
Getting beaten up without retaliating.
Being given the third degree without batting an eyelid.
I was already an expert, but I was becoming even more of one.
Concealing more and more, deeper and deeper.
Putting up barriers, on the outside and within.
I was in permanent training and, I must admit,
feeling my heart beat at a rate of knots,
hearing it pounding in my ears,
not giving anything away,
I was starting to enjoy it.
It's your turn to watch me suffer.
You told me where you run, so you can't mind me coming here.
I'd just finished anyway.
Can't you give me anything?
Nothing at all.
Zilch.
You sent your little prick-teaser of a message and that's it.
No music, no ringtone, no photos, no contacts.
Any appointments?
Mon. 06 Oct. 2014
Car park, ORLY, Terminal W, level 2, Mr Vincent
Am I disturbing you? No.
In the phone's calendar there's an appointment for you.
Pigalle wants to meet you.