A traffic accident on the Limmatquai.
A fire in a warehouse district.
Ongoing power outages, now being attributed to “infrastructure failures under investigation.”
“Infrastructure failures,” Marcus said bitterly. “That’s one way to describe it.”
“They cannot say more until they know more,” the Baroness said. She had returned to her chair, her composure fully restored—or atleast the appearance of it. “The government will not speculate publicly. It is not our way.”
“The Swiss way is driving me crazy,” Will said.
“Yes.” A ghost of a smile touched the Baroness’s lips. “It does that to outsiders.”
I shifted, and a spike of pain shot through my shoulder.
“You should rest,” Will said quietly.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You were half dead twelve hours ago.”
“And now I’m half alive. That’s an improvement, isn’t it?”
He gave me a look that said we’d be discussing this later, and I gave him one back that said I was looking forward to it.
The radio crackled again.
“We interrupt this program for a special announcement.”
The room went still. The Baroness shot to her feet, Bisch rising beside her and taking hold of her hand with a gentleness that surprised me. She winced at his touch but refused to pull away. My mind refused to process whatever that meant.
I felt Will holding his breath beside me. The others looked to do the same.
Even the air seemed to stop moving.
“We now go live to Federal Council President Josef Frei, speaking from the Federal Palace in Bern.”
Silence filled the airwaves.
Then a new voice spoke. It was older, gravelly, and carried the weight of one who’d just fought a great battle.
“My fellow citizens.”
I reached for Will’s hand. He was already reaching for mine.
“This morning, the Federal Council convened in emergency session to address the crisis that has gripped Bern and our nation. The events of the past twenty-four hours demanded our immediate attention and our most careful deliberation.”
Frei paused.
The farmhouse was deathly still.
“I speak to you now not to offer false comfort, but to share the truth. Switzerland has just faced a grave threat from men who swore oaths to serve this nation. Instead, they chose to betray it.”
The Baroness closed her eyes.
“The attacks that struck Bern last night were not the work of foreign agents or communist agitators, though a foreign hand guided many of the efforts. The assaults on Bern were orchestrated by Swiss citizens—men who believed they could seize control of our government through fear and deception. They manufactured a crisis in the false hope ofusing it as justification for the assumption of extraordinary powers. They sought to seize control of our government and, by extension, our nation. They failed.”
“Jesus Christ,” Danny whispered. “They actually did it.”
