January 14th, 1935.
Whitehall, London
Rain drizzled over the dark roofs of Westminster.
Inside a briefing room beneath the Foreign Office, members of British Intelligence and select observers from the War Office were gathering in haste.
The chairs were mismatched, the lighting uneven, and the documents on the central table still warm from the presses of the Cipher Bureau.
"Close the door," said one of the senior men. "No minutes. No stenographer."
The room quieted as Commander Douglas Farrow of MI6 placed a thin folder before him.
"We've received a curious trail of reports from Paris," Farrow began. "French Army reform, specifically. A name has surfaced multiple times..Major Étienne Moreau."
A few heads tilted at the unfamiliar name.
"He's been mentioned in association with France's recent committee hearings on defense budget reform. Connected to General Beauchamp. From Yugoslavia to his famous speech from the palace to accompanying Laval to Rome earlier this month."
