“Now, I’ve seen too much of the world.”
“I never realized how important all this is to you,” she said.
“I didn’t realize it myself. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about these things, but being here in the beating heart of my faith has brought it all back.”
“I hope it’s not too troubling,” she said.
“Troubling? No. More puzzling than anything else. I don’t know what to do with it. It’s reminded me how far I’ve drifted… how far adrift we all are,” I replied.
I took her hand and pulled her to me.
“But you always make me feel better,” I said, and she leaned closer and we kissed.
“I love you, Jack Morgan,” she said before kissing me again. For the briefest moment I had no worries at all.
CHAPTER56
MO-BOT HAD RENTED a metallic-red Renault Duster. The unremarkable midsize SUV was equipped with basic comforts such as air-conditioning, which fought the worst of Rome’s oven-dry heat, but what had interested her most about the vehicle was the large trunk, which she’d filled with newly acquired flight cases that contained the surveillance gear they’d brought with them from Los Angeles.
She was frustrated not to have access to the full equipment store of a local Private office, but Rome wasn’t properly open yet. She and Sci would have to make do with the gear they’d brought with them, which was enough to run a decent operation against a single target.
And that target was the Inferno Bar, nerve center of the merciless Dark Fates.
Mo-bot could see the bar now, both from the observationvehicle, parked two blocks away on Via Filippo Turati, and on the remote-control screen she was holding, which enabled her to pilot a mini-drone that was currently nearing the building. As before, there was a crowd gathered in the street outside, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that it was barely lunchtime and their alcohol consumption was already veering out of control.
Mo-bot flew the device up higher and took it through an open window on the second floor, into an office furnished with a desk and a row of filing cabinets. She piloted the device, which was not much bigger than a butterfly, into one corner of the room and brought it down on a cabinet, next to an in-tray that would conceal it from all but the most determined observer. She checked the microphone and camera and was satisfied it would give us eyes on the office for at least four days before the batteries ran dry.
“We’re all good,” Mo-bot said to Sci, who was lying in the fully reclined passenger seat. “Eight micro-drones deployed around the building. You’re up.”
Sci had unclipped the straps on his boots, so he could recline in comfort. Now he fastened them. He looked every inch the renegade old biker. Sometimes Mo-bot had to remind herself this grizzled road warrior was in fact one of the world’s foremost forensics experts.
“Tell me what I’m doing again,” he said, using a lever to bring the seat up.
Mo-bot rolled her eyes.
“I’m just kidding,” he confessed with a smile.
They climbed out of the Renault and went to the trunk. Mo-bot opened it and took out a heavily worn satchel.
“You have twelve audio and eight audio-visual devices,” she said. “Your target is the main bar and public areas.”
Drones would have been noticed flying around the bar, so they needed a human asset to install the devices that would complete their surveillance of the Dark Fates.
“Sink a few drinks and catch up with my new biker buddies,” Sci suggested. “That sound about right?”
Mo-bot elbowed him. “When are you going to grow up?”
“When someone makes me,” he replied, setting off toward the bar.
CHAPTER57
SCI’S HEART STARTED thumping as he left Mo-bot and walked along Via Filippo Turati toward the Inferno Bar. When he reached the corner with Via Mamiani he turned right and went along the run-down side street, heading for the crowd gathered outside the target. Sci had been in law enforcement long enough to be accustomed to danger and knew a little fear was healthy, just enough to give a person an edge.
This wasn’t even in his top ten most dangerous assignments. He was being asked to play himself; a veteran biker, a role that didn’t require him to stretch his acting ability. Anyone who knew him was familiar with his love of motorcycles, a passion of his since his early teens. He loved the sense of freedom he gained from being on two wheels, not to mention the speed and acceleration offered by even the most mundane bikes.
When he got about half a block from the Inferno, he relaxeda little. Like so many biker bars the world over, it was rowdy and attracted big personalities, loud drinkers who didn’t adhere to social norms. As if to prove his point, one of the men out front punched his neighbor and the two big guys set to brawling.
Sci held the messenger bag more tightly and wove around the crowd, which surged toward the scuffle. He opened the door and stepped inside the bar, which was the source of the loud heavy metal music that filled the street. The patrons here looked lackluster and depressed, but a couple of them did manage to muster the enthusiasm to go to the windows and doorway to watch the fight.
