Blackout - Monica Ramirez

      French by birth, Laurence-Jacques Fournier has never considered himself as appertaining to a specific nation. Laurence is a free bird. He also runs an international mix of thieves, but not just common thieves. They are the elite of all kinds and methods, stealing anything and everything from jewelry to art, industrial and political secrets to top secret military projects, and, of course, armaments, which are extremely profitable on the black market.

      Brussels is the group's temporarily established headquarters for a very good reason. As the headquarters to the European Union and NATO, Brussels is the ultimate European city, often referred to as The Capital of Europe. Aside from the splendid and varied architectural styles, Brussels hosts over eighty museums, numerous tourist attractions, a vibrant nightlife with more restaurants and clubs than one could count. But most important, it's the location of the largest armory in Western Europe. And that's exactly what attracted Laurence and his group of thieves.

      In turn, however, they attract the attention of a very powerful, multi-national organization that is perhaps the EU's secret watchful eye. No one knows whom it reports to, no one seems to have solid proof that it even exists. There's a rumor in the Belgian and Austrian governments, suggesting the creation of a European Union intelligence service modeled on the CIA, but as usual, the interior ministers of the top five European countries are unwilling to agree on how to share intelligence with the other members. So as far as everyone knows, the proposal died there. Or did it?