“If you can’t pull rank, pull somebody else’s.”

“If you can’t pull rank, pull somebody else’s.” is a maxim of Agnès’s that returns to Darac at a moment when his own authority is not enough. He uses its logic to invoke support from higher command, turning borrowed institutional standing into a means of obtaining information that may prevent Jarret from killing again.

Meaning and Context

The saying sets out a tactical alternative to relying on one’s formal rank: if personal authority cannot persuade, enlist someone else’s authority. Its return to Darac’s mind is prompted by a call from a man who questions his identity as Captain Darac and dismisses the kidnapping and murder allegations involving Jarret as impossible. Rather than continuing to argue from his own position, Darac draws on the maxim’s principle.

Use in the Investigation

Darac tells the caller that Commandant Lanvalle of the DCRI and everyone below him in the chain of command are behind the investigation. He then stresses the immediate stakes: Jarret has killed and may kill again unless the police stop him quickly. The appeal is both an assertion of institutional backing and a direct request for any useful information.

The maxim is therefore shown in action, not merely recalled as advice. Darac uses the authority of senior command to challenge the caller’s disbelief and redirect the conversation toward what the caller knows. As a photograph of Jarret emerges slice by slice, the exchange remains unresolved: the caller begins to ask whether they are sure, but the passage does not yet establish what information he will provide.