“Hmm?” I sighed happily, as the peacefulness in my heart lulled me to sleep.
“I love you too.”
Ava
Itfinallycamethrough—themessage with the location of the auction. Only twelve hours before the event and not two days like we had been told.
It was in Rome.
Owen paced the room as he did the math. “We have to leave right now. Or we won’t make it in time. Marshall, get your men and gear. Syntax, make sure the jet is already on the tarmac when we reach the airport. Everyone else, grab a go-bag. We leave in five minutes!”
Owen was cursing as we ran towards the cars. “By the time we reach them, the auction will be on for an hour already.”
“We’ll make it.”
Owen and I jumped into the backseat, with Emerie behind the wheel and Syntax next to her. We impatiently waited for thedecoy cars to speed off, seeing two vehicles slowly pull out of their parking, going after them.
As soon as the Apparitions’ spies were out of sight, we pulled out. Three more cars followed us with Marshall and his men. No spies in the rearview.
Emerie threw her hands in the air as we came around a corner, right into a traffic jam. “What the actual fuck is this?” she bellowed in frustration.
“Damn! I forgot! It’s the Gala tonight,” Syntax frowned, fidgeting in her seat.
“What Gala?” I wondered.
“A fundraiser for the museum. It’s the first one of its kind. But they plan to do it every year. It’s a big thing. Everyone who is everyone is here,” Syntax offered.
“And they’re blocking our way to the airport!” Emerie yelled again, blaring the sirens for people to move, but they stood still, nowhere to go.
Owen rolled his window down and beckoned one of the traffic controllers closer. He had a bundle of Snapdragon flowers in his arm, handing them out to the women waiting in the cars ahead of us. “We need to get through; can you make that happen?” Owen boomed at him as he reached us.
The traffic controller looked a little panicked, shifting his weight from side to side. “I’m sorry, sir, it’s backed up for blocks. There’s nothing we can do. Where are you headed?”
“The airport. And we’re in a real fucking hurry here.” Owen’s knee was bouncing incessantly. “They’re not getting away because oftraffic,” he added under his breath.
The man looked even more flustered. “All the roads to the airport are backed up. There’s nothing…” He trailed off, a frown creasing his brow. “Wait…” He turned from us and spoke into his two-way radio. He waited a brief moment before multiplevoices answered. He turned back to us, smiling broadly. “Give us two minutes and we’ll have the sidewalk cleared for you.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Owen praised, his shoulders relaxing a tiny bit.
The traffic controller puffed his chest out, looking exceptionally pleased with himself. “How about a flower for the special ladies while we wait?” He winked at Syntax as he held out a Snapdragon to her.
Emerie grabbed it from his hand and threw it in the backseat between me and Owen. “Are you serious right now? Just get us through!” she snapped.
I felt a tinge sorry for the guy, but no one was in the mood for flirting. He half-heartedly handed me a flower too before he turned and stomped away.
We watched the traffic controllers usher the onlookers off the sidewalk, Emerie blaring her sirens when a group of teenagers protested. They cleared away some dustbins and store signs and finally, the cars lurched forward.
“We’ll be another fifteen minutes late, Owen mumbled grumpily as he watched the flashing lights out his window as we drove by the Gala’s runway.
The flight to Rome was eleven hours long. We used the time to plan our takedown and gear up. The auction was held in the basement of an old gothic church. Somehow it seemed both ironic and fitting, since the event was hosted by the devil.
The plan was simple, but rock solid. Since there were only two entrances to the basement, we storm in from both sides and trap them.
We weren’t taking any chances. Each agent was equipped with gas masks and dart guns with my instant tranquiliser darts.If anyone tried to fight or create chaos, they would be out cold within two seconds as the poison made contact with their nervous system.
It wasn’t standard procedure, but since the Apparitions were such a high flight risk, we had the go-ahead to use any means possible to bring them in. And a sleeping Grayson couldn’t slip out of cuffs again.
The plane started to descend and Owen stood. “Stick to the plan. But Varon is our number one target. So if you have to; fuck the plan. Whatever you do, make sure he doesn’t get away. And if you have him, don’t let him get in your head. You’ve seen the footage of how he baited us to get handcuff keys. Don’t let him touch you. And don’t take your eyes off him for one second. And get that dart in his ass as fast as possible.”
