“Well, it’s very elite,” he said. “Obviously, I can’t say much. Butwe’re keeping an eye on some very bad actors, and we always need boots on the ground—eyes and ears. It’s what we in the business call HUMINT.”
He sucked air through his teeth and took a swig from his beer.
Francesca sashayed into the room with a tinkling laugh. “Oh, I’m pleased it’s going so well! Come, Bea. Time for bed! No fighting. Give Nonno a hug.”
Bea clung on to Raoul’s neck, so that Francesca had to peel her away with much protest and tears. Raoul hugged her, and kissed her cheeks, then kissed them again.
Salvatrice came in from the kitchen, fanning her face with her hands. “It’s boiling in there! Gianni, pour me a prosecco, won’t you?”
She wore a tight, low-cut shirt, the crepey softness of her tanned skin bunching up at the pinched points.
“Raoul,” she exclaimed as Nikki’s father rose to his feet. “It’s been far too long.”
She kissed his cheeks, greeted Mac, and was introduced to Massimo.
“Will your husband be joining us?” Raoul asked.
Salvatrice pulled a pouting frown. “He has other priorities these days, I’m afraid. May I?”
She indicated the sofa. Raoul nodded and she settled in beside him. Gianni handed her a glass.
“He doesn’t talk much about it,” Gianni said to Mac, “but my father used to be in naval intelligence. He was the head of the Servizio Informazioni Operative e Situazione, SIOS.”
“Oh, it’s not called SIOS anymore,” Raoul said.
“Tell us more,” Salvatrice encouraged, placing fingers delicately on his arm. “It sounds fascinating.”
“Oh, I retired nearly a decade ago,” said Raoul. “I’m an old has-been.”
She gave a gentle laugh. “I don’t believe that for a moment.”
“Yes, do tell us, Mr. Serafino,” Mac encouraged. “Gianni said they called you out of retirement.”
Raoul sipped his wine, and leaned back. “I’m consulting on an old case—from nearly twenty years ago.”
“Tell us!” Salvatrice urged.
“Very well,” Raoul agreed. “There was a man called Lotterio Patalano. Customs and excise official. Married. Two boys. We came to suspect Patalano of falsifying shipping documents…. I can’t give details—but we became sure he was involved in smuggling operations. Some members of my team wanted to arrest him. Others, including myself, wanted to wait and understand his game.”
“You were quite right about waiting,” Mac interjected loudly. “It’s important to find the criminal networks and how they operate.”
Massimo muttered something under his breath.
“Sì,” Raoul said, then continued. “The thing that puzzled us was this: The system was far more complex than Patalano’s capability. He wasn’t stupid, but he wasn’t particularly clever—and this system was far more sophisticated than anything we’d seen.”
“What did you do?” Gianni asked.
“We arrested him, and he agreed to cooperate. But his stories were outrageous. He claimed that he was just a pawn in some global conspiracy. He talked about agents inside the Italian and US governments, and inside NATO intelligence.”
“You never told me this,” said Massimo sharply. “Did you ever identify these agents?”
Raoul shook his head.
“NATO intelligence?” Gianni said, grinning at Mac. “What do you think of that, Mac? You have leaks in your organization.”
“Counterespionage is one of our core capabilities,” Mac said with cool confidence, then launched into the history of intelligence operations in Europe. Nikki translated for Massimo, who seemed increasingly irritated.
“If he’s an intelligence officer,” Massimo said, “then I’m the Queen of Denmark.”
