The Darkness in Dreams (Enforcer's Legacy, #1)(54)
Lexi finished her second cup coffee as she read the final document in the files. The Italians had been thorough, but they hadn’t traced Katerina’s movements back for more than a few weeks. Lexi didn’t need surveillance to track a person’s movements. Habitual patterns were not as random as people thought. Earth energies had a lot to do with how attractive or repulsive a location felt, and it wasn’t always the taste of the coffee that drew people to a certain cafe.
According to Marge, what people didn’t see had more influence on their actions than what they did see. Actually, it was what people felt and didn’t feel, but they’d been sitting on Lexi’s deck at the time, watching a pair of grown men and laughing hysterically about what people didn’t see. The idiots had been flirting with what turned out to be sneaker waves. Some people needed to get knocked on their asses before they realized their own stupidity.
Still, Lexi assumed the Italian warriors had loaded their own tracking software onto the laptop. They were good, not as skilled as Ethan, but talented enough Lexi began the first swift keystrokes that would lead her to Matthew’s secret backdoors.
An hour later, Lexi acknowledged that Katerina knew how to hide her presence from the cyber world. The girl never posted on social media, sent or received email, commented on her friend’s posts or did any electronic banking. And if she used a cell phone, it was encrypted.
But Lexi discovered the posting on social media from one of Katerina’s friends, about how thrilled Katerina was to be visiting Florence “because of a research grant.” Katerina’s godfather was identified as a scholar, with a particular interest in ancient European civilizations if an obscure book he’d written ten years ago was any proof. Lexi found it in an online archive through her old university, used a password and quickly scanned the contents.
Lexi followed another lead and discovered a brief announcement posted by the godfather’s academic institution: the professor had turned down a coveted research grant for health reasons and his goddaughter, Katerina Varga, had accepted in his stead. Kat had majored in computer science and ancient languages. One of her published papers had been on the lost Etruscan language. It was not an Indo-European language but based on the ancient Aegean languages with elements of Raetic, spoken in the Eastern Alps. Katerina had proposed using computer algorithms to cross-reference with known ancient dialects. The paper had been moderately received, with some skepticism. Multiple theories were argued as to the origin of the Etruscans since the Romans had obliterated almost all of Etruscan culture. Katerina had then been accepted into a doctoral program at her godfather’s institution, which she turned it down two months later to accept the research grant.
And there is was. Katrina had come to Florence to research the Etruscans.
Lexi felt energized. She gathered the hair at her nape and wrapped it into the knot for convenience. In skinny jeans and a black top, she would look like every other tourist visiting the Museo Archeologico—the one place in Florence Katerina would not have overlooked. The museum housed one of the most extensive Etruscan collections in Italy. If Lexi was lucky, she would pick up some imprint of the girl’s presence, a trace that might lead her to more interesting clues. And since it was within walking distance, not more than a few blocks, she might find other interesting memories along the way.
Florence had a long and ancient history. It was calling to her.
And yeah, Arsen could just try to kick her ass, Lexi thought as she walked out the door.
Luca was waiting at the end of the alley leading to Katerina’s old flat, leaning against the armored black vehicle blocking the street. Angry pedestrians swarmed around the shiny metal, shouting their displeasure in typical blunt fashion.
Christan met Luca’s eyes. “What kept you?”
“Someone I saved for you.”
“Who?”
The Italian smiled. “A mercenary who’s regretting his decision right now.”
Luca opened the car door, waited while Christan and Arsen slipped inside. Then he joined them and slapped the back of the driver’s seat. The vehicle pulled away from the alley.
“How did you find him?” Christan asked in Italian.
“We had intel on two attacks scheduled for last night. They’re working with two-man teams now. A snatcher and a driver. We got the girl, but the driver got away. The snatcher wasn’t so lucky.”
Christan nodded. “What of the other attack?”
“We’re still looking for the two girls.” Luca’s voice was hard. The vehicle was merging onto the Autostrada. It rode low to the ground due to the heavy armored protection.
“Something’s changed,” the Italian continued, as the vehicle sped up. “Word on the street says their boss is impatient. Makes them sloppy.”
Christan stared out at the passing landscape. “Did you identify your snatcher?”
“A low-level assassin. He’s worked for both Six and Five. We might get more information when this guy sees you. He’s not talking much to the rest of us.”
“Where is he?”
“A farmhouse well out of town. Private.” Christan nodded without emotion. The Italian warriors understood better than most; this was a harsh world where vengeance wasn’t always swift. And an Enforcer’s justice not always blind.
They reached their destination within an hour, stood in a cellar smelling of fear and mold within five minutes. Christan recognized the man. His actions over the centuries had been unsavory and undistinguished. Rumor had it he’d been somewhere else, but now he was here, and there was not much else to do. The moment the snatcher recognized who stood in front of him, he lost whatever hope he still possessed.