Ah, the French - such a passionate people.  Francois performed admirably at the recent event in France. He understands how vulnerable the Merovingian's  foreign investments have become and the leverage this entails.

French colonial conquests and hegemony opened many doors for Le Milieu but has left a dark legacy. Old wounds and resentments feed resistance and retribution, karma must run its course, even Corsica is not immune.

Some understand that Fez refers to both a hat and a place and each existed long before Shriners were given a place at the table. Morroco has such a complicated history, so many players have skin in the game. Now a  Rif is developing in the fabric of time and space. Perhaps a fire is best described by one of its smoldering embers but of course youtube removed the video.

Censored by Youtube  

Be that as it may, the Merovingian has been playing games in North Africa for a long time, what are a few peasant Berbers to him? So they are Sunni, what of it? He plays with the Shia at the same time, after all, one must have Total control to be the big man on the block.

The Merovingian has many points at which pressure could be applied and that's why he will always be the bitch of   Pepe Il Bandito . Still, he is a very dangerous animal as Patchy the Pirate discovered. So, who won the card game this time out?

Pepe always wins at cards - everyone knows that. Still, Francois has both eyes and the Merovingian is picking splinters from his ass - how can this be? Well, that's where things take a little twist. You see, Patchy is a cagey old bastard who has been around a long time. He knew full well Pepe would win no matter what he did, so he called in the troops.

If there is one constant in this universe it is that military men, when they are honorable, are as thick as thieves. To them,  WWG1WGA is a way of life, not just a mantra. It doesn't matter if they are retired like Patchy or active like Frankenbunny , when the chips are down they have each other's backs.

Pepe ALWAYS wins at cards no matter who is at the table. He is invincible, not just because he is a master of strategy and tactics but because no dirty trick is beyond the reach of his moral bankruptcy. There is only one thing he fears and that is Spanish steel. Not the government loyalists, or the mercenaries, they can be bargained with or bought. No, it is the idealists, the ones who fight with the passion of their cause - he can't control them.

So, Patchy got Frankenbunny to call in  The Spaniard . He surrounded Pepe's main compound with a crack team of freedom fighters, real Zorro types, heroes of the people. They couldn't be bargained with or bought off, so he was forced to play ball. As expected, he won the poker match but as agreed immediately declared opposites day. That saved his compound (and his pride) but left the Merovinginian twisting in the wind. 

Patchy was quick to take his revenge. He impaled the Merovingian's ego and splintered his pride. With the pecking order firmly established, the motley crew now runs like clockwork.

All of these shenanigans were quite entertaining but the  Mad Hatter  just saw it as a distraction to capitalize on.

While everyone was focused on the drama, he was draining key systems of data. Dirt all the way up to  Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith .

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin , Archbishop of Lyon is more like the Archbishop of lying. The lawyers are going to have a field day with this one, but that's another story for another day...