Page 31 of Niccolo (Mafia Kings #7)

D ays before Adriano’s wedding, we were getting close.

Fausto told me he was arranging the financial attack. He didn’t give me any information beyond that.

The one thing we didn’t have yet was an assassin…

Until the old man bounded into the library one day with a delighted smile on his face.

“What do you think of her?” Fausto asked as he handed me a slip of paper.

I read through the list of credentials.

Former European intelligence agent who had spearheaded dozens of international missions…

Extensive experience in firefights…

And an excellent sniper, to boot.

The only name given was Diana.

I was assuming it was a code name. Maybe the Latin version of Artemis, goddess of the Hunt.

Or perhaps a mononym – the assassin version of Madonna or Cher.

To be honest, I was surprised Fausto had chosen a female assassin.

On the other hand, he had chosen a female consigliere.

“She looks fine,” I said.

Fausto giggled with delight. “What if I told you I believe she’s the former lover of Lars, my nephew’s Enforcer?”

I stared at him in shock. “What?! How?!”

“I told you Lars worked briefly for MI6. During our initial meeting, he mentioned a woman named Rachel Bauer who also worked for MI6. They were estranged, though he obviously still harbored feelings for her. Love of his life, that sort of thing.” Fausto beamed as he tapped the paper.

“I believe this Diana and Rachel Bauer might be one and the same.”

“Are you sure?!”

“No – we’ll have to meet her to be positive. But think of what it means if I’m right!”

I stared down at the paper. “That would be perfect!”

“What would be perfect?” a familiar voice asked.

I looked up to see Aurelio striding through the door to the library.

“Your father’s found the ideal assassin,” I replied.

“Remember when I told you Lars was in MI6?” Fausto said to his son. “I believe his ex-lover, also from MI6, is now a contract killer.”

“So why’s that perfect?” Aurelio asked, annoyed that he didn’t see why.

“If she manages to kill Dario and get away,” I explained, “we can reveal afterwards that it was Lars’s ex who killed him.

That will cast suspicion on Lars. They might even execute him – or try to, anyway.

Best-case scenario, they all kill each other when Lars tries to escape.

Even in the worst-case scenario – just Dario and Lars die – their forces are cut by a third.

“Say the assassin fails. Doesn’t matter. If Lars kills her before she gets away, he realizes he killed the love of his life. It’ll destroy him and make him absolutely worthless as an Enforcer.

“Say she fails but escapes. Doesn’t matter. We arrange it so the brothers find out it was Lars’s ex, casting suspicion on him once again. No matter what happens, we win.”

“…oh…” Aurelio said, less than overwhelmed.

“Don’t you see?!” Fausto cried out. “Both psychologically and militarily, it’s utterly devastating!”

“What if she won’t take the job because of Lars?” Aurelio asked defiantly.

“We don’t tell her about him,” Fausto said with a grin.

“But what happens if she spots Lars before she kills Dario?”

I shrugged. “Even if she does, everything else I said remains the same. The only other option is she withdraws without being detected, in which case we just try again with a different assassin.”

“Why not hire somebody else and get it right the first time?” Aurelio snarled.

“Because the odds of her fucking them up are significantly higher no matter whether she succeeds or fails,” I snapped.

“Exactly,” Fausto agreed.

Aurelio just grumbled.

I assumed he was pissed Fausto had told me first. On top of that, I’d understood the genius of the plan without needing an explanation… unlike him.

Fausto frowned at his son, then turned back to me. “We have to get her here as soon as possible so we can confirm her identity.”

“If it’s not her, what then?” I asked.

“Then we’ll still have an eminently qualified assassin.”

“You think she’ll take the job?”

He laughed. “She kills for money. Of course she’ll take the job.”

“If it really is Rachel Bauer, she’s former MI6,” I pointed out. “She might have some sort of scruples about who she’ll go after.”

“We’ll stress that he’s mafia .”

“What are you in this scenario, then?”

“Why, a simple importer/exporter,” Fausto said innocently, “who’s being horrendously abused by an evil mafioso.”

Then he broke out in a delighted cackle.

“An importer/exporter is what you told me when we first met,” I reminded him, “and I saw right through it.”

“I told you we were going to kill mafiosos, and you took the job, didn’t you?” he replied with a self-satisfied smile.

I had to admit, he was right.

Whatever qualms this Rachel Bauer might have…

She could probably be persuaded to overlook them.

“Whoever this bitch is,” Aurelio said smugly, “she can’t hold a candle to my Wagner guys.”

I looked at him in disgust.

Fausto simply smiled. “We shall see.”

“By the way, you need to get a haircut,” Aurelio said to me. He had cut off his own ponytail weeks before, during the whole Mezzasalma fiasco.

“Why?” I asked in surprise. I thought he meant I needed it for meeting Rachel. I didn’t realize there was some mafia code concerning haircuts when hiring an assassin.

“For Adriano’s wedding,” he said contemptuously. “Duh.”

“I don’t need to get a haircut for a goddamn wedding,” I snapped.

“If you want people to believe you’re my date, you will.” Aurelio snorted. “Not that a haircut is nearly enough.”

“Fuck you.”

I turned to Fausto to protest, but the older man said, “It’s not a bad idea. I’ll have my men take you to Florence. While you’re there, get a nice dress. We need you looking your best.”

“For your son?” I sneered.

“For camouflage,” Fausto replied with a smile.