The timeline is tighter than I hoped but workable if everything goes according to plan. If Sabine can access the files she needs and expose Bryan before the Barone organization decides I've outlived my usefulness and a dozen other variables align, then I may still be able to redeem myself. Barone won't want anything to do with a corrupt military commander and an investigation, which is what will happen when Sabine turns in her evidence and testimony. And if I play it right, the boss will be forced to listen to me, or at least take a meeting with me so he can hear what will happen if he tries to come after me.
"Appreciate the warning." My coffee tastes bitter and I set it down without finishing. "What else do you know about the contract? About the broker and the client behind it?"
Lucas glances around the coffee shop, confirming we're still alone and out of earshot of the few other patrons scattered throughout the space. "Boss knows it's a military official. Captain in the army with connections high enough that having him in our pocket opens doors into military-grade weapons and smuggling operations we've never had access to before."
The information aligns with everything Sabine has told me about Bryan's position and influence, and the pieces of Don Vittorio's larger plan start falling into place. Talking strictly business-aligned, it makes sense. They get a new source and contact, perhaps some sway, and he gets his diaper changed. But it's a bad alliance for this city and our country as a whole.
"So this contract isn't just about eliminating twelve people. It's about leverage."
"It's always about leverage." Lucas sounds cynical, but he understands the stakes as well as I do. "Boss does the captain a favor by cleaning up his mess, captain owes the family and can't refuse when we come calling for access to military supply chains and distribution networks. Everybody wins except the people who end up dead."
"And me." The addition is unnecessary—dead is exactly what I am if I can't pull this off.
"Yeah." Lucas doesn't try to sugarcoat it. "You're the final piece that needs removing before the arrangement is clean."
Don Vittorio never intended for me to walk away from this contract alive. The moment I took that folder three weeks ago, my expiration date was set, and every name I've crossed off since then has been another step toward my own elimination. Afucking hourglass dropping sand and I'm the one making sure it keeps moving.
"What would you do?" I ask him, not that I need his advice. "If you were in my position, what's the play?"
Lucas thinks about it for a long moment. He drums his fingers against his coffee mug and stares at me with a blank expression. Then he shrugs and scrunches his lips before his face relaxes again. "Get leverage of your own. Find something that makes you more valuable alive than dead, or at least makes killing you too costly to be worth the cleanup."
"Like what?" I sip more of the bitter coffee and watch him over the rim of the mug.
"Like proof that connects the boss to a military official ordering hits on American citizens." Lucas's voice drops even lower and he leans across the table again. "Or documentation that shows Don Vittorio Barone facilitated the murder of twelve people, including active duty soldiers, on behalf of a military captain."
The suggestion is exactly what Sabine has been planning all along, and the realization that our goals have been aligned from the start makes something click into place that should've been obvious days ago. She needs proof to expose Bryan. I need proof to keep Vittorio from eliminating me. The same evidence serves both purposes if we can get our hands on it before time runs out.
"How much does the boss know about the client's background?" My mind is already working out how to make this happen as easily as possible without letting Sabine get caught up in the middle of it.
Lucas shakes his head. "All he knows is a captain offered good money to eliminate twelve targets. The why behind the contractisn't relevant to the boss as long as the money clears and the leverage materializes."
"But it would matter if it became public." Now I'm thinking aloud. "If evidence surfaced that Vittorio Barone facilitated the murder of American soldiers to help a military officer cover up war crimes and sexual assault, that's not just bad publicity. That's federal investigation territory."
"That's life in prison territory." Lucas corrects. "The boss would burn you to the ground before letting that information surface, which means holding that evidence is the only card you have left to play."
The waitress refills our coffee without asking and disappears again, and I watch her go but I'm not focused on her. My mind is flooding with ideas on what to do next. Sabine is right. We have to prove Bryan is dirty because in doing so, it ties him to this list. If we can tie him to the list, and the broker, then the murders will come back on him too. And Barone will want nothing to do with his precious military commander.
"You didn't hear any of this from me." Lucas finishes his coffee and stands, dropping cash on the table for both our drinks. "And if anyone asks, we talked about football and the weather and you're on schedule to finish the contract by Christmas."
"Understood." My hand extends across the table and he grips it hard. "Thanks for the warning, Lucas. I owe you."
"You don't owe me anything." His expression softens slightly. "Just stay alive long enough to collect, yeah? Would be a shame to lose you after all these years."
He leaves, and I sit in the booth staring at my coffee while processing everything he told me. The boss wants me dead. Thecontract is about leverage over a military official. The only way to survive is to gather proof that makes killing me more dangerous than keeping me alive.
Which means Sabine's plan isn't just about justice anymore. It's about survival for both of us, and the evidence she needs to expose Bryan is the same evidence I need to keep Don Vittorio from putting me in the ground.
12
SABINE
My morning briefing runs longer than usual, and Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell's voice drones through updates on the weapons smuggling taskforce while I think about what I'm about to do.
I have to get into that file directory today and get what I need, and that means after today, I'm on the run. There'll be no turning back after this point, which is a scary thought. But I can't let fear win. Fear is why I'm here—one man's fear of facing things. Well, I'm not him, and I have to make sure he pays for what he did out of fear of being caught doing the wrong thing.
Mitchell dismisses the team and I return to my desk, settling into the chair and pulling up routine reports that need reviewing. Everything has to look normal until the moment comes. So I do my normal thing, combing through my emails and responding, and checking on status reports from men in the field tracking weapons shipments.
The morning stretches into afternoon, and somewhere around two o'clock, Mitchell stops by my desk with a folder in hand anda serious expression, almost like I'm in trouble. My pulse kicks up before forcing it to steady, and when she speaks I almost jump out of my skin. I'm already expecting a hammer to fall and I haven't even done anything wrong yet. This anxiety might kill me.
