Edge of Tomorrow (50 page)

Hatch continued to mull over the situation in
silence. Finally, Sara asked, “Well? What do you think, Hatch?”

“The place is like Fort Knox. I’ve seen
enough for now, Carmelo. Let’s move on. You said you had a first
cut at Carfagno’s family tree?” answered Hatch, not giving Sara a
direct reply to her question.

Bocca was obviously not afraid of a sniper
bullet, because he was an easy target on his balcony from several
nearby buildings. Hatch had to remind himself, however, that these
were in the main just street thugs, not professionals. Hatch had a
plan in mind, but could not share it with this group—especially
Syd—because she expected to be involved in whatever he did. Hatch
wanted to talk to Bocca, not just kill him from a distance, but his
plan was a one person job, and Syd would be very pissed off at him
if he revealed what he was thinking.

Carmelo handed a computer printout to Hatch.
It appeared to be a page from a family tree program available on
most computers. It had several blanks in the outer limbs of the
tree, but it did have one thread which lead from Carfagno to the
present time. Hatch scanned the chart quickly, then passed it to
Syd, who began looking at it with Sara looking over her
shoulder.

“Very interesting,” mused Syd.

“Isn’t it?” replied Hatch, as Carmelo smiled
his wicked grin, already privy to the contents of the page.

“If Lucchese knows anything about his
ancestors,
and
knows the
contents of the Carfagno letter and the treaty, we now know why he
is interested in getting his hands on that letter,” said Hatch. “He
is a direct descendant of the swapped daughter of Alfonso di
Conti.”

“And thus, could make the claim that he is
the true Prince of Monterra, not Giuliano II!” exclaimed Syd.

“Because he has di Conti blood in his fucking
veins!” said Sara.

“Right!” agreed Carmelo. “When this chart is
complete, there will be others, but he is a logical one who would
kill for the letter. I wonder how many people know as much as we
do. SISDE? The CIA? They have both seen the letter, or at least a
copy of it.”

“I know how SISDE knows. They have Holcomb’s
copy. How would the CIA know anything?” asked Sara.

“Helen Brooks probably has—or
had
—the original letter,” replied
Carmelo, “and she is at the U.S. Embassy, which is teeming with CIA
people.”

“What if she gave the original letter to her
dig sponsor, the American Archeological Association of Rome?” asked
Syd.

“Then we would be certain that the CIA knew,”
smiled Carmelo. “That organization is funded by the CIA—one of
their many front companies. That ensures that the CIA gets a first
look at anything coming out of excavations. They’ve done it for
years.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Syd. “Too many players in
this game!”

“A major question is how much does Lucchese
know, and if he knows as much as we do, what does he intend to do
about it?” stated Hatch with a frown.

“And does the Italian government have any
plans in the works?” added Syd.

Hatch stroked his beard and said, “Whatever
the Italians have in mind, the CIA will want to direct things to
fit their master plan of how things should be. They thrive on
fucking with other countries and their governments.”

Carmelo entered the conversation. “If we can
convince Bocca—and ultimately Lucchese—to stop attacking us, do we
really want to get involved in this Carfagno letter thing? Do we
really care who rules Monterra?”

Hatch responded, “Philosophically, no.
But personally, I wouldn’t want to see a butcher like Lucchese rule
anything. I’m not a real fan of this
royal
bloodline
shit anyway. George III of England was as
crazy as a loon, yet they let him do outlandishly ridiculous things
because of his
blood
! Pure
bullshit!”

“I agree!” said Sara. “But what’s our next
step?”

“We need to know more about who knows what,”
said Hatch. “I think we start by talking to Helen Brooks and see
what she knows about that subject. Any progress on that front,
Carmelo?”

“I talked to an assistant to the Ambassador
and he admitted she was under their protection. Since Holcomb was
murdered, she is quite afraid and won’t leave the embassy. Can’t
say I blame her. Afterwards, I talked to Triple Eye’s CIA contact
over there—he owed me a favor—and he said I could come to the
embassy and talk to her as long as I didn’t upset her. I scheduled
a meeting for one o’clock this afternoon,” replied Carmelo.

Hatch said, “That’s good. Maybe she can shed
some light on how Lucchese got involved in this. I wonder if Prince
Giuliano II knows what’s going on.”

“He’ll probably be the last to know,” laughed
Sara. “He’ll find out when someone yanks his country out from under
his crown.”

“I wonder if he should be alerted?” mused
Carmelo.

“Let’s talk to Brooks first before we decide
what involvement, if any, we want in this can of worms,” replied
Hatch. “You and I will leave here by chopper right away. We can
land at Triple Eye’s heliport. Since I am here in Italy, I should
make an appearance at the office anyway.”

“I was hoping you would. They always like to
see the boss,” grinned Carmelo.

“What do you gals want to do while we’re
gone?” asked Hatch.

“I’d love to see some of Rome before I have
to leave,” smirked Syd, “but I suppose it wouldn’t be prudent
today. The Bocca situation should be resolved before we give him
any easy targets.”

“You don’t have much luck as a sightseer, do
you, Syd?” laughed Sara. “Thanks to me, you didn’t get to see any
of Istanbul either!”

“Not your fault, Sara. Getting you home was
more important than sightseeing. I guess Sara and I can hang out
around the pool today, call out for a pizza,” chortled Syd.

“We could have done that in Florida,” added
Sara with a snicker as she looked at Hatch, rubbing it in.

Hatch looked forlorn, not knowing what to say
to the women about their ruined vacations. He had to bring the
Bocca thing to a close immediately! Syd could tell by the look on
his face that Hatch was not a happy camper.

Poor dear! I’m causing him to fret about
things he ordinarily would just shrug off. My less than exotic
vacation is not what he’s really worrying about. It’s the Bocca
thing. Storming that building with Lexus is not an option. A sniper
bullet the next time Bocca steps out on that balcony doesn’t really
resolve anything either, because Hatch wants to talk to him before
he neutralizes him. That leaves only one option: one person enters
Bocca’s place through the balcony! Hatch knows that, I know that.
He doesn’t know how to tell me I’m not going to be involved.
Dammit! He shouldn’t have to worry about my feelings! He should do
what he has to do without worrying about me—or my feelings! Should
I tell him what I think I know, or wait and see if he’ll tell
me?

“The pool is OK, Syd. I’m supposed to swim
laps to beef up the strength in my arm. Besides, I need to tone up
my tan,” said Sara.

“You’ll be perfectly safe here. Bill has his
Lexus troops deployed, and all sensors are activated. Just relax
and enjoy. We’ll be back sometime this afternoon,” said Hatch,
picturing Sara sunbathing in the nude. Would Syd do the same? What
a sight that would be! Hatch shook his head to clear the image.

• • •

Hatch called for the Triple Eye chopper to
pick them up in the courtyard, then he and Carmelo went to change
clothes and get ready to leave for Rome. Sara and Syd went to their
chambers to don bathing suits and gather towels, sun block,
manicure kits, nail polish, and other sundry items women consider
necessary for a visit to the pool. Sara, Syd, and Hatch appeared in
the hallway at the same time. Syd gave Hatch a quick kiss before he
headed for the stairs.

Sara smiled and said, “Just like seeing hubby
off to work, eh?”

“Sara! I haven’t known him long enough for
things to have progressed that far! It’s just that I know what he’s
planning to do and that was the last chance he had to tell me.
Since he chose not to, he can just squirm while his conscience
bothers him!” laughed Syd.

“Whatever are you babbling about, woman? You
sound like a jealous teen who wasn’t asked to the prom! He’s only
going to see Dr. Brooks.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But one way or
another he’s going to drop in on
Signore
Bocca by himself—without me. He thinks I
will be
really
pissed when I
find out, but I won’t. The only way to see Bocca is a one man job,”
stated Syd.

“How do you know what he’s planning if he
didn’t tell you?” queried Sara.

“Think about it, Sara. You’ve probably
planned more difficult missions than I have. You saw the pictures
of Bocca’s building. How would you get in to talk to him?”

Sara thought for a moment, playing the images
of the building through her mind.

“Of course! How stupid of me! Go in
through the balcony! I’d have Shadow-4 position me over the
balcony, down the rope, and bingo! Hello,
Signore
Bocca!” exclaimed Sara with a smile.
“You’re good, Syd! You saw that right away! You crafty
bitch!”

“Thanks, Sara—I think. It’s just the way I
was trained to look at all situations—as if they are some sort of
puzzle to be solved. Cute suit, by the way, what there is of
it!”

Sara had on a skimpy Hunter Green bikini
under a white, see-through cover-up. Syd’s black bikini was one she
had purchased in Rome and white skin showed above the bra top, on
her lower stomach, and the top of her hips. She was planning to
extend her tan to areas of her body which were normally not
exposed. They both wore sandals.

Sara laughed, “That thing you’re wearing
doesn’t hide much either! You’re becoming more daring!”

“Well, you know what they say, ‘When in Rome
…’”

“I know the saying, but so far it’s passed me
by. I haven’t even gotten laid yet and I’m horny as hell! At least,
you’re gettin’ some every night!”

“Sara! How presumptuous!”

“Presumptuous my ass! There’s no sexual
tension in your body! I can see the contentment in your face!”

“I meant, how can you presume that I’m only
getting it at night?” roared Syd.

“Go ahead, rub it in!”

“Gunny looked like he was game for a tryst
with you. Maybe you can lose yourself to him in that poker game
tonight,” suggested Syd.

“Don’t I wish! But Hatch’s fucking
rules prohibit it!
Double entendre
intended!” scowled Sara. “Maybe I should send into town for a
gigolo for the night!”

“Poor Sara! That’s not something I can help
you with.”

“Well, let’s do something to take my mind off
my sexual problems. You haven’t been shown the finer points of this
castle, have you?” said Sara.

“No, Hatch hasn’t had the time to give me the
tour,” replied Syd. “This would be a good time—on the way to the
pool.”

“Good. First of all, let me say that this
castle was built in three different time frames, resulting in three
buildings kind of connected together, with common walls. This part
has been renovated, as has the farthest away section—where Gina and
the help live. The middle section is still being worked on, but
there is a hallway on the first floor that connects this section to
the back section. The tower is situated over the south wall of this
part of the castle. You saw that stairway on the tower that went
down inside the wall?”

“Briefly. I was a little busy at the time,
though I did wonder where it went,” replied Syd.

“Put your pool bag down and follow me. There
are some things I want to show you,” said Sara, putting down her
own tote bag.

She walked toward the south end of the hall,
away from the north stairs. The wall opposite the living quarters
had a suit of armor about every eight feet, with shields and
medieval weapons hanging on the wall space in between. Each item
had a small brass plaque near it describing what it was and the
historical dates when it was in use. When they reached the end of
the hall, Sara stopped and faced the shield that hung there.

“If you noticed, all of these shields have a
colorful coat-of-arms on them. This one goes with that suit of
armor there. All of the shields with green on them somewhere are
special. They have a secret door behind them. Let me show you,”
said Sara.

Sara reached behind the shield and pulled on
a small ring in the wall. A piece of the wall—two and a half feet
wide and six feet tall—swung smoothly outwards like a door,
revealing an entry into a dark passageway. Sara entered the
opening, and once inside, flipped a switch on the inside wall which
turned on a row of dim lights.

“Come on in for a minute, Syd,” said
Sara.

“OK. Are you sure there is enough room in
there?”

“It’s actually quite roomy,” replied Sara,
who was now standing erect. The passageway was six and a half feet
tall and three and a half feet wide. Syd joined her in the
tunnel.

“Wow! Not bad! Lights, too!” exclaimed Syd.
“I used to like to play in tunnels when I was a kid.”

“Me, too. The lights are low-wattage ones,
but they are good enough. There are also flashlights clipped to the
wall here,” she said pointing, “and about every ten yards just in
case there is a power failure, and the backup power also fails. You
don’t want to be caught inside these walls without a light.”

“Yeah! Scary!” answered Syd.

Sara continued, “If you go south in this
passageway, you will come to a set of stairs. Going up the stairs,
you get to the third and fourth floors, and then the tower. Going
north, you pass two more sets of stairs. If you watch the west
wall, you will see yellow numbers with a yellow circle nearby.
These indicate exits back into the main hall. The numbers are to
orient you to where you are. Number one is the northernmost exit,
and so on. You just lift the latch in the yellow circle to release
the door.”