Private Rome

Chapter 81

I started to replay my encounters with Father Vito but didn’t get far in my trawl because there was the loud and unmistakable sound of someone hitting the warehouse shutters.

Faduma and I were on our feet instantly and left the apartment. We crept downstairs into the disused and empty offices and I moved ahead into the warehouse itself, picked my way around the stacks of boxes, and climbed a loading platform that gave me access to the high letterbox windows overlooking the main entrance.

My thundering heartbeat eased and the tension melted away when I saw Justine, Sci and Mo-bot standing outside with Valentina.

“Let them in,” I said to Faduma, and she hurried over to the small roll shutter, unlocked it and opened it.

My colleagues stepped inside, their relief to see me palpable. Valentina followed them and closed the shutter behind her.

I jumped off the loading platform and went over to Justine, who threw her arms around me. We kissed and I didn’t care that we had company. I was just so relieved to see her and hold her in my arms again, I was reluctant to let go.

“Okay. That’s enough,” Mo-bot said. “We’ll cut you love birds some slack, but this is a professional outfit and we’ve got work to do.”

Justine and I parted, and I saw Faduma and Valentina grinning at Mo-bot’s intervention.

“It’s so good to see you,” I told Justine before turning to Mo-bot and Sci. “All of you. Let’s go upstairs.”

I took them into the apartment above the offices. Mo-bot squeaked with delight when she saw her laptop.

“I thought I’d lost my baby,” she said, as though speaking to a cherished pet.

“You nearly did. A member of Propaganda Tre was in the apartment downloading the hard drives. He had a program set up to wipe them, but I managed to stop him.”

“I owe you, Jack,” Mo-bot said, sitting at her machine.

Sci crouched to check the contents of the holdall I’d managed to retrieve.

“You got our gear,” he said. “Well, most of it anyway. Good work, boss.”

He had a way of saying “boss” that made it sound as though he was praising a junior.

“We’ve lost all the feeds,” Mo-bot said, retrieving the surveillance footage that showed Milan Verde and the other members of the Dark Fates destroying the concealed cameras. “They must have swept the place to discover them all, which makes them more sophisticated than your average street gang.”

“We have enough gear left to get eyes and ears on them again,” Sci responded, gesturing at the holdall. “I want to know what they’re hiding.”

“A meeting with Christian Altmer for one thing,” I revealed. “It’s on the surveillance footage about four hours before they destroyed the cameras. We’d never have known if they’d succeeded in wiping the machines.”

“Altmer again,” Justine remarked.

“Looks like you were right about him,” I replied. “I’m meeting him later.”

“And walking into a trap,” Faduma said unhelpfully.

Justine flashed me a look of concern.

“When? Why?” she asked.

“To find out what he knows, why he’s consorting with a street gang,” I said. “I want you, Sci and Mo-bot to re-establish surveillance on the Inferno. We need to know what else the Dark Fates are hiding.”

I wanted us to have eyes and ears on the gang, but a large part of the reason I asked Justine to go to the bar in Esquilino was to keep her away from my meeting with Altmer. I knew I would be walking into danger and didn’t want our personal relationship to complicate a potentially volatile situation.

“No way,” she said. “I’m coming with you. I can help you with Altmer, read the situation, watch for danger. Have your back.”

“And I can get you out of danger,” Mo-bot said.

“Sci can’t handle the Inferno on his own,” I responded.

“Not after last time,” he conceded. “They’ll have guessed I was the one who planted the devices. And if their man reviewed the footage, he’ll have seen me walking away from them after I put them in position.”

“I’ll go, Jack,” Faduma said. “I’ll help Sci. Then the others can go with you. Keep you safe.”

I couldn’t think of any reason to object.

“Thank you, Ms Salah,” Mo-bot said. “It’s nice to meet someone else who’s brimming with common sense.”

“I’d like to help too,” Valentina said, speaking up at last. She seemed a little starstruck and looked at Mo-bot with unmistakable awe. “It would be an honor to work with you in the real world.”

“Don’t overdo it, Valentina,” Mo-bot said. “I might develop a God complex or something. If it’s okay with the boss, I think we’ll take all the help we can get.”

I nodded. Mo-bot was right; we were facing a network of powerful interests and weren’t in any position to turn away offers of assistance from people with special talents.

“It’s fine with me,” I said, and Valentina smiled.