Page 95 of Dark Breaker

I lay out a strategic plan with my brother and my men. Nicolo distributes rifles and headsets and we assume our positions, settling in to wait. I hide behind a pillar near the edge of the third floor, with my men spread out behind similar columns around me. Nicolo is on the first floor with his men, situated deeper inside. Snipers watch from the rooftops of this structure and the adjacent buildings.

It might seem like overkill, but I know Massimo won’t arrive alone. If he comes, he’s going to bring a small army.

Noon arrives.

Massimo doesn’t show. I wonder if he even received my message. Perhaps he’s turned off his phone, like Rosa seems to have done.

We wait.

Ten minutes pass.

Twenty.

Finally, at half past noon, I hear a buzzing sound.

“What’s that?” I ask over the comm. “Rooftop snipers, what do you have?”

“There’s an off-the-shelf drone flying over the rooftops,” one of my men replies.

He’s come after all.

“Take it down,” I order.

“It’s gone,” he replies.

“Did it spot you or any of the others?” I ask.

“I’m not sure,” he says. “Though it’s probably safe to assume it did.”

“Snipers, reposition!” I order.

They do so. And not a moment too soon. RPGs arc from the windows of a building on the far side of the street and smash into the former positions my snipers had taken on the rooftops.

A moment later I hear the roars of engines in the streets below and several SUVs pull up. I count at least twenty.

More rockets come in, aimed at different floors. I’m forced to stay behind cover as dust and debris from the explosions fill the air.

When the rocket attack stops, I peer past my cover, focusing on the road below. I spot several Moretti men racing away from the SUVs and rushing toward the first floor. I raise my weapon to fire at them, but before I do, I’m distracted by the glint of a rifle eyepiece. It’s coming from behind one of the open doors of the remaining vehicles. I duck just in time. Flecks of concrete break away from the pillar next to my head.

I glance at my rocketeer and nod.

“Covering fire!” I shout.

Me and the others lay down suppressive fire as my rocketeer steps from behind his pillar and launches an RPG. I watch in satisfaction as it slams into the same SUV where the Moretti man is hiding, and the vehicle explodes.

But return gunfire forces me to take cover once again.

“We’re taking heavy fire,” Nicolo says over the comm. “I don’t suppose you can send back up?”

I glance at two of my men. “Federico, Isidoro, downstairs!”

They nod and retreat into the building.

We keep exchanging fire like that for some time, with both sides pinned down. It’s more a war of attrition than anything else, with one side waiting for the other to run out of ammo first.

And then my phone buzzes in my pocket.

Wondering who would be calling me now of all times, I fetch the phone.