For the past two weeks, we have not been alone. I've seen tyre tracks and shoe prints in Georgia. Vehicles have moved. A thinking human presence. One of our traps was searched. Fortunately, I had removed my note. They didn't leave one. Although they clearly saw that the trap was being maintained. I have a bad feeling about this. They are not pacifist survivors. I hide the vehicle with Damien and Blaise. We have to identify the threat.

I know which building in the city we can find the images from the surveillance cameras. We enter in ninja mode. There is no one inside. We scan the screens for clues. They are easy to find, in the middle of the city centre, picking up unnecessary jewellery and luxury items. There are seven of them, with three vehicles, many weapons. They seem organised and hierarchical. They do not separate. They inspect each building in a meticulous and tactical assault. They have established their headquarters in one of our shelters. They have looted the others. The way they move, I can quickly detect ex-military. So the threat is significant.

Given what they are stealing, I don't think they will help us. I even assume they will kill and pillage us. Melia and I may live, but as male toys. We must not be detected. Only I am level with one of them. The freshness of the traps has indicated to them a human presence. However, they do not know where we are.

They are looking for us in the city. We must ascertain their intentions, warlike or not. We need to set a trap for them, one that is far more complex than a hole in the ground with poisoned meat. I have an idea. In this building we have access not only to the cameras, but to the whole city's electrical network. I type a message on the illuminated information board within sight of the men.

- HELP HELP Four SURVIVORS We are 5 rue Lafayette. Come and get us

Blaise asks me to explain. Mélia and I have rigged the hut with traps. Mannequins were placed inside. It was a trap designed a long time ago in case of attacks by dangerous people, when Melia and I were alone.

We have to get out of here in case our friends have the idea to check this building first. I lead them close to the trap. At 6 rue Lafayette, the building across the street, where we pick up the house cameras via wifi. My perfect knowledge of the city allows us to arrive in front of the armed men.

I have time to turn on the control screens. So we see them enter the building. Shoot the first dummy in the head without a care in the world. Their belligerent intentions are confirmed. When the shooter realises it is a dummy, they become suspicious. They decide to visit the house in storm mode.

I simulate noise on the floor by turning on the radio to get them all inside. They take the time to explore the ground floor and then all go upstairs. First room, first trap. Jewellery in the bedside table drawer is visible. A man approaches. The weight of his body on the floorboard triggers a crossbow, which hits him in the heart. Despite his bulletproof vest, he is pierced. The other six become nervous.

Second room, second trap. This time, what is tempting is the gold bars on the desk. One of the men cautiously steps forward. He touches the bars and crouches down. No crossbow this time. He grabs the bars. At the last one, a mechanism is triggered. A mine that no longer has any weight. It explodes, killing the man and wounding two others.

The windows of the house are all with fixed bars. There is only one way in and out. The building is an old shop. The front door has a gate, the closing mechanism of which can be operated by remote control. I close the gate to trap them at the same time as the mine explodes. After the explosion, they all want to get out. Their rapid descent sets off another trap. The stairs have been soaped. If you go slowly, you keep your balance. If you go fast, you fall. Two men are injured. The others are looking for an exit. They are seeing that they are in prison.

Meanwhile, Blaise and Damien collect their vehicles and the surplus weapons, military precision equipment. They unload the jewellery and other useless stuff. My friends don't have time to finish. The soldiers have spotted them. The men shoot at them. My friends hide behind the bodywork. There is a risk of another shoot-out.

Damien talks to them. He proposes a peace, as Richard had done. If they lay down their weapons, we won't do anything to them. We don't care about the jewellery. We just want a peace agreement. The men refuse. The boys try a peace solution. I recognise the leader of the group and jump. General Ibanez. A former colleague of Papinou and Richard. A mercenary ready for anything. The only one not yet wounded. A killer.

I call the house phone without telling my friends. I know the lascar. I have to negotiate with him out of conscience. Only I know how it will end. He is not the type to surrender or take prisoners. One of the men picks up. I ask to speak to their leader. The man laughs at me when he hears my girlish voice.

- STUPID AND USELESS SOLDIER. PUT ME THROUGH TO GENERAL IBANEZ IMMEDIATELY OR HE WILL PUT A HOLE IN YOUR HEAD!

A girl's voice, but an authoritative tone and the mention of his superior's name. He passes the handset.

- General Ibanez. I know you. I am one of General Farmer's little girls. I know what you want. The jewels and money are yours. I don't want bloodshed. I'm offering you a peace agreement. Order your soldiers to stop shooting. I'll let you go with all the gold and jewels you want. I don't care. On my honor. On the honor of the Farmer family. You'll be safe. On the condition that you give me your word of honor, too. That you will never attack us.

I know he will. I also know that as soon as I open the doors, he will shoot. I call my friends back. I tell them to get in the pick-up without arguing and to leave. Immediately. That's an order. They have to trust me. They must leave for the farmhouse immediately. Tell Mélia IBANEZ. She will understand. I'm staying so that the military can't find them, can't see where they're running to. If I'm not back in two days, they should consider me dead and not come looking for me under any circumstances. The boys want to stay. I order them to go and protect the farmhouse. They refuse. I point my gun at them. They leave with Killer.

The general having accepted my proposal, I make him wait. I told him that the doors will open automatically in two hours. Time for me and the two boys to escape. The idiot believed me. He doesn't know I'm still here. He underestimates that I am much more vicious than Papinou. I made sure to hang up the phone badly. I pretended to talk to the boys and tell them to hide us at the den, in the Farmer's hotel. The General will immediately think of Papinou's old house and rush in headlong. He was never very clever. That's my plan.

In two hours, I have prepared the place. I return to 6 rue Lafayette and open the doors. As expected, the men head for Papinou's. Three of them enter and shoot the concealed mannequins on sight without thinking. Three go in and shoot the concealed dummies on sight without thinking. The watermelons feign brains at first and fool them for a few minutes. They don't keep their promise. So I have no reason to spare them. If one survives, it will attack us. An over-trained soldier will quickly overcome a civilian stronghold. I am the only one capable of defending myself against people of this level. Papinou and Richard trained me. I am the only one able to protect my friends. What I am about to do tears my heart out. I have to do it. For my friends' lives.

I'm on the roof next door. In a sniper's position. With Richard's rifle. As he taught me. Clear view. High up. On the ground. Protected by the edge of the building. Invisible, but seeing perfectly. Ibanez, a good coward, is outside. He is shot in the head. The man next to him, his lieutenant, too. Always neutralize the most dangerous or the leaders first. There are three of them left. Locked in the house at the first shot. They aim in my direction, but cannot reach me. I am not in their field of vision.

I start a small fire upstairs. I wait. When the flames become too strong, they come out. Despite my arms in the air, I pull them like rabbits. Without emotion. When they are all dead, I come down from my perch. I tie their bodies to their 4WD and drag them to the nearest pit trap. I cover them with rat poison. Then I get behind the wheel of the 4X4 and drive home. Kill or be killed. You have to choose sides to survive.

When I arrive, the boys have retrieved weapons and are arguing with Melia. She has locked the access gates and refuses to give them the code. They calm down immediately when they see me. They were worried about me. I'm fine. Mélia asks me what I've done. I answer her in a muted voice.

- What was necessary. Like Papinou or Richard would have done.

I go back inside to avoid any more questions and head for the shower. I have just enough time to hear the boys questioning Melia who tells them that I must have killed the men to protect us all. If they care about me, they won't ask me any questions," Melia adds.