Chapter 139
139
In my absence, Dario, Alessandra, Adriano, Bianca, and Niccolo had moved to a panic room deep within the house.
Being young and impetuous, Valentino had demanded to help the foot soldiers guard the compound. Niccolo figured Val was the least likely target amongst the brothers and would be a bigger pain in the ass if they made him stay in the panic room, so he’d agreed.
Roberto was in his office doing something financial. Niccolo wanted him in the panic room, but Roberto had refused. At least he was being guarded by two of our most trusted men.
The panic room was a large stone chamber with no windows. In case the shooter came back, no one wanted to give him a second chance.
…or, as I explained to the others, to give her a second chance.
Some didn’t take it so well.
“Your ex-GIRLFRIEND was the one who tried to kill us?!” Adriano yelled.
“I didn’t get a good look,” I replied, “but from the way the shooter moved, I’d bet good money on it p>
“Rachel,” Dario murmured.
It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded anyway.
“This is the one in MI6, correct?” Niccolo asked.
I glared at him. “That was supposed to have been between us p>
“If she’s taking potshots at us,” Niccolo snapped, “then I don’t really give a shit about keeping her secrets p>
“Wait – MI6, like James Bond MI6?!” Adriano asked, his eyes bugging out.
“Yes,” I grumbled.
“You had a girlfriend who was like James Bond?!” Alessandra asked, clearly impressed.
“More or less p>
“Why the fuck would MI6 want us dead?!” Adriano asked.
“I doubt the shooter wanted you dead,” I told Adriano, “or she would have killed you and Bianca when you were on your picnic p>
“…fuck…” Adriano whispered, realizing just how close he and his new bride had come to death.
Bianca huddled up against him with a whimper, and he hugged her close.
“Why would MI6 come after us in the first place?” Niccolo asked.
I sighed. “When they hired me – ”
“Whoa, whoa, WHOA,” Adriano butted in. “YOU worked for MI6, too p>
“Briefly p>
“That’s so cool…” Bianca whispered, her awe temporarily overcoming her fear.
“NO IT’S NOT!” Adriano shouted, then turned angrily to me. “Why the fuck are you only telling us about this now p>
“Dario and I knew,” Niccolo said.
Adriano looked at him like Niccolo had stabbed him in the back. “You knew, but I didn’t p>
“It was on a need-to-know basis p>
“Well, I think I need to know right fucking NOW p>
Niccolo glared at Adriano. “Will you please be quiet so we can figure out how the hell we’re going to handle this p>
That just made Adriano angrier. “You didn’t tell me about this fucking shit, and now you want me to – ”
“Adriano,” Dario said sternly.
Adriano immediately shut up.
Dario looked at me. “You were saying p>
“When they hired me,” I said, “they told me I would be eliminating rogue arms dealers, terrorists… and organized crime figures p>
“Great,” Niccolo grumbled.
“So you think that’s what she’s doing?” Dario asked.
“No disrespect intended, but I find it hard to believe MI6 would care about you p>
“Why not? I’m an organized crime figure p>
“Yes, but you’re not a big enough fish p>
Dario chuckled. “I don’t know whether to be offended or relieved p>
“Why do you say that?” Adriano asked in irritation. “Why aren’t we be big enough p>
“When I got arrested in Lake Como, I was on my way to kill an arms merchant. He was going to auction off a bunch of plutonium to Iran for nuclear bombs. I don’t think you guys are quite at that level yet p>
“…oh,” Adriano said, his ego clearly deflated.
“There’s another reason it’s doubtful your ex was working for MI6,” Niccolo said.
“What’s that p>
“Ten minutes after we get word from Massimo that he’s been attacked in Venice, there’s an attempt on Dario’s life. Who benefits from both events?” Niccolo asked rhetorically, then answered: “Fausto p>
He was right. It was obvious.
“Could Fausto and MI6 be working together?” Dario asked.
“No. Well, I suppose it’s theoretically possible – but it’s highly unlikely p>
“Why p>
“MI6 would never risk working with a gangster, especially not on an assassination attempt. It would be too big a liability if it was discovered, and the gangster could blackmail them by threatening to go public. I just don’t see it p>
“Which leaves two possibilities,” Niccolo said. “If it really was your ex-girlfriend who tried to shoot Dario, then she’s either left MI6… or she’s moonlighting as an assassin-for-hire p>
He was right. Nothing else made sense –
But both options seemed incredibly unlike Rachel.
Or maybe I just didn’t want to admit that if she had left MI6, then all the times I’d kept Alistair’s secrets were utterly pointless… and I’d sacrificed our relationship for nothing.
“Just how bad was your final parting, Lars?” Dario asked.
“Bad, but – why are you asking p>
“Was it bad enough that she would intentionally take a job where she might have to kill you p>
I stood there, stunned.
I hadn’t even considered the possibility.
“Jesus, dude, what did you do to her?” Adriano asked.
“I didn’t do anything!” I snapped, then went back to feeling blindsided. “I can’t imagine she would have taken the job if she knew I was here p>
“She might not have,” Niccolo said darkly. “One other person knew her name and that she worked for MI6 p>
My mind flashed back to my first day at the mansion and my meeting with Niccolo, Leonardo, and –
“Fausto,” I murmured.
Niccolo nodded. “It would be just like him to track her down and hire her but not tell her about you. He would realize that even if she didn’t succeed in killing Dario, it would still be an insidious way to fuck with you personally – and disrupt our entire organization p>
I grew enraged. I wanted to track down Fausto and kill him myself –
But a part of me wondered if Rachel actually had known I worked for the Rosolinis and decided to take the job to send me a final Fuck you.
That possibility gnawed at my guts.
“Whether she knew or not,” Niccolo said, “we have to decide on our next – ”
“I need to go after her,” I blurted out.
Everyone in the room stared at me.
“Why?” Dario asked.
My mind raced for a good enough reason to convince him. “We need to know what Rachel knows. If she’s working for Fausto, then she might be able to tell us something about his grand plan p>
“I’m pretty sure Fausto’s grand plan is to kill us,” Niccolo said sarcastically.
“She might know more about that. She might know his next – ”
“No,” Niccolo interrupted.
“‘No,’ what? She doesn’t know more, or – ”
“You’re not going after her. It’s a poor use of our limited resources p>
“If I find out what Fausto’s next move is, I’d say it’s an excellent use of our resources p>
“IF – if, if, if,” Niccolo said impatiently. “Don’t you see? You’re playing right into his hands. This is exactly what he wanted: to distract you so you abandon us, which makes us easier to kill p>
“I’m pretty sure he wanted to kill Dario,” I snapped. “And that didn’t happen p>
Niccolo shook his head. “You’re too close to this p>
“It’s business p>
Niccolo snorted. “Riiiiight – it’s not personal at all p>
I looked over at Dario. He was the one I had to convince, not his consigliere. “Dario, I need to go after her p>
“NO! We need you here!” Niccolo argued.
“Please,” I said as I stared at Dario.
My old friend considered for a long moment…
And then he nodded. “Alright p>
“What?!” Niccolo shouted.
“Lars has trained our foot soldiers well. We’ll take every precaution in his absence,” Dario said. “Short of a missile strike, nobody can reach me in the safe room – and if it’s a missile strike, not even Lars can save us from that p>
“This is insane!” Niccolo snarled. “With Massimo gone, the rest of us should be closing ranks – not going off on wild goose chases p>
Niccolo was right.
But Dario knew that I had an agonizing pain burning deep within me. I wouldn’t be any good to him until I had taken care of it for good.
“Your objection is duly noted, consigliere,” Dario said, then looked at me. “Do what you must… but do it as quickly as possible p>
“Thank you,” I said gratefully.
Then I left the room to make my first call.