The narrator reflects on Bruno's recent email, finding satisfaction that his intuition about impending violence is correct but that he blames Pascal rather than her. She takes childish pleasure in casting Pascal and the Moulinards as the reckless ones while she sees herself as merely doing her job. There has been no further correspondence between Bruno and the Moulinards since his warning.

The narrator now possesses subminister Platon's complete travel itinerary. He will appear at the agricultural fair at the lake in Vantôme at 13:00 one week from now, accompanied only by his Serb bodyguard and driver Georges, an aging cynic she expects would flee to save himself. Platon will arrive in a black Citroën DS 7 Crossback, greet prize-winning breeders, sample regional food, and depart at 13:30 for Lot-et-Garonne.

She updates her contacts on plans at Le Moulin and among the farmers, warning that the plans might leak and that Platon could cancel if alerted. Her contacts reply that they themselves are his intelligence, implying control over what he hears.

The narrator recalls describing a classical black bloc tactic to Burdmoore. Walking under the walnut trees at Le Moulin, Burdmoore offers names of potential recruits—the two kitchen managers and Felix from the walnut operation—saying people are ready to split from Pascal, whom some suspect of talking to police. The narrator wonders if her earlier insinuations to Mao I and Mao II have spread, but decides she only needs Burdmoore.

She tells Burdmoore the plan is to charge Platon, omitting mention of the armed escort. When he questions the point, she frames it as demonstrating Guyenne's autonomy against Parisian power, picturing peasants and Cagots routing nobles. Burdmoore studies her face, then reveals a secret: he has Hepatitis C and a failing liver, doesn't have much time left, and won't seek miracle cures—signaling his willingness to commit fully.