“Shit, hang on,” Ciel said. The alarm blared so loudly I thought my eardrums might fucking burst. A second later, the sound cut off.
“How the fuck did that happen?” I hissed.
“I took down every security system I could see,” Ciel said tightly. “It must be run through backup power or something. It’s nowhere.”
“What is done is done,” Obi said. “Adapt. The alarm has sounded. Be on alert. We need to find Volpe and wrap this up. Ciel, did you intercept any outgoing communications to law enforcement?”
“I’m not sure,” the hacker responded. “I can’t see the signal for this alarm, so it’s probably hardwired, but those systems usually take a few seconds before they transmit a signal out of the house. Let’s just hope I cut it off in time.”
“I don’t see any movement,” Ryuji murmured from his vantage point.
“Caspian, we’ve reached checkpoint two,” Obi said. “Let’s proceed with the plan and be prepared to engage with more targets. They’re likely headed to your location.”
I double-checked my weapons. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d faced multiple opponents by myself.
Let’s fucking do this.
Moving through the bottom floor, I methodically cleared each room and hallway. Twice I had to shoot first, ask questions later. Stepping over the bodies, I continued my path through the bottom floor, with still no sign of Don Vincenzo, Chiara, or Max.
“Ground floor clear,” I told the others as I reached the stairs.
“Third floor clear,” Wynn echoed a few moments after.
That left the basement and the second floor.
“Movement on the second floor,” Ryuji said. “Can’t get a clear visual, but I see shadows on the walls.”
The stairs plunged into darkness. I paused my ascent.
“Power is out,” Ciel confirmed in my ear. “Not me. Someone else cut it. I’m working at restoring it.”
“My visual is gone,” Ryuji grumbled.
“Caspian, Wynn and I are headed to the second-story. Proceed with caution. We’ll rendezvous and finish with the basement if the second floor is clear.”
“Copy,” I replied quietly. I started back up the stairs again. The moonlight trickling in through the large windows illuminated my steps as I made it to the landing.
My eyes, adjusting to the darkness, caught on the loft where Leona and Chiara used to hang out and do homework after school. How many hours had I sat here, watching them both, and praying that one day she’d look up and see me in front of her? Countless.
The soft click of a door opening had my head snapping toward the hallway. If I hadn’t paused, I wouldn’t have heard it.
Don Vincenzo’s head popped out. Any movement, any sound, and he’d hear me.
“Cas found Tommaso,” Ciel’s voice said in my ear, notifying them for me. Thank fuck, Ciel still had access to the camerasystems, even with the main power out. “Second floor, central study.”
I stepped forward, lifting my guns. My knee burned from going up so many stairs and my shoulder ached from raising my guns for so long, but I gritted my teeth against the pain.
“Be careful, Cas,” Leona’s voice whispered.
She deserved vengeance. She deserved for this to be over. But I couldn’t just kill Vincenzo without knowing where Max was or what he was doing here.
“Come,” Vincenzo said. He pulled the door open and stepped through. I waited, gun trained on the door. Chiara stepped out behind her father. Dressed in a thin tank top and shorts, she clutched her phone against her chest, fear in her eyes as she watched her father’s back.
“Chiara is there,” Leona blurted through the comms. “Nobody hurt her.”
I held my breath as one last figure stepped through the door behind them. Max. There he fucking was. Ten feet away from me. Hands gripping his own guns, he stepped through the door with a slight limp to his step, falling between Chiara and Don Tommaso as the three turned the opposite direction from me.
“It’s Max,” Leona breathed.
