Page 77 of Niccolo (Mafia Kings #7)

Sofia

T he morning after I got back, Fausto convinced his contact at the Swiss bank to make a call on our behalf.

An hour later, we were on the phone with der J?ger.

I had assumed a man named ‘the Hunter’ would be a gruff, no-nonsense, scary motherfucker.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

“Helllllooooo – is this Herr Rosolini?” a high, sing-song voice called out from the speakerphone.

Fausto and I exchanged confused looks.

“Yes – is this der J?ger?” Fausto asked.

“Ja, it is!” the man said cheerfully. “That is my professional moniker, I guess you could say. My actual name is Friedrich Zollner. Please, call me Friedrich!”

“Uh… nice to meet you, Friedrich. Please, call me Fausto.”

“Such a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fausto! I was so happy to hear from Herr Schmidt at the bank. He said you have an interesting project for me!”

“Yes. I need someone found in the Dolomite mountains north of Venice.”

“OOOOooooh – lovely! I’m well acquainted with the area.”

“Wonderful, because I need the target found as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, well, it’s a VERY large area, Herr Rosolini, as I’m sure you’re aware. Is your quarry an accomplished woodsman?”

“Massimo likes to hunt and backpack, if that’s what you mean.”

“Oh,” Zollner said, sounding like he was wincing. “That could be an issue.”

“You’re saying you can’t find him?”

Zollner giggled obscenely.

“Oh, NO! No no no no no. I’ll find him. There is no doubt about that. It’s just that if he’s good at navigating the forest, it might take some time.” Zollner’s voice suddenly became darker. “But I WILL find him. What do you want done with him once I do?”

“It’s not just him. There’s also a young woman with him.”

“OOOOoooooh! Lovers, perhaps?” Zollner asked, back to the giggly, sing-song voice.

“No. He’s acting as her bodyguard.”

“Interesting. So this Massimo is armed, ja?”

“You should assume that, yes.”

“Wunderbar! I do so love a challenge. However, that WILL increase the price substantially.”

“Which is what, exactly?”

“Hmmm… two targets… is the girl dangerous as well?”

“Not that I know of. Lucia Fioretti is a spoiled little rich girl.”

“I see… well, as long as she’s not a Mossad agent or something, I don’t think it will be a problem. My price is 30,000 euros per day, plus expenses, with a 100,000 bonus once I catch them.”

Fausto raised his eyebrows. “Not bad. However, as far as catching them goes, we have something else in mind.”

“Ah.”

I expected Zollner to make some sort of speech about how he didn’t do murder-for-hire, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. He quickly launched into a cheerful recitation of his fees.

“If you need one or both of them eliminated, there’s a separate 50,000 euro fee – each – in addition to the 100,000 for finding them. If you need the corpses never to be found, that’s an additional 50,000 per body.”

“Actually, at this point, I’d like to turn you over to my colleague, Sofia.”

“Hello, Signor Zollner,” I said.

“Well, hellOOOO, Sofia!” he said cheerfully. “Although, please, call me Friedrich!”

“Alright… Friedrich,” I said, then launched into the plan I’d devised. “We want to use the girl as bait. The goal is to lure Massimo’s brothers into an ambush – which means we’d need you to let Massimo go.”

“Really! How unexpected!”

“The ambush will take place at a cemetery island off the coast of Venice. It has a bell tower perfect for a sniper position.”

“Oh, I am LOVING this! But why not simply lure them to the Dolomites? I could handle them there.”

“In the spirit of transparency, there’s something else we need to tell you,” I said, looking at Fausto for final confirmation.

He nodded.

“Yeessssss?” Zollner asked.

“Lucia Fioretti is a mafia princess, the daughter of the family that runs Venice,” I said. “It is imperative that she not be harmed because she’ll be used as a bargaining chip. And the main targets – the brothers you’ll be luring into the trap – are also mafia, from the Florence region of Tuscany.”

I half-expected Zollner to balk –

But he surprised me again.

“OOOooooOOOH! I’m loving this assignment already!” he giggled. Then he turned businesslike. “Of course, I charge separately for every target I take out – 50,000 per head.”

“That’s fine. Oh… I should probably mention something: the targets are my nephews.”

By this point in the conversation, I doubted Zollner would have any reservations –

And he didn’t disappoint.

Instead, he laughed.

“Oh ho ho HO! The next family reunion will be an uncomfortable one, I think, ja?”

“Hopefully you can make sure I’m the only one AT the family reunion.”

“I can absolutely guarantee it, my good man!”

“We’re anticipating that they’ll bring backup, too – foot soldiers who work for my nephews.”

“How many, would you estimate?”

“Hard to say. It could be as few as four or five, or it could be as many as 30.”

“More targets, more money!” Zollner exclaimed like a giddy child. “Although, I am a bit concerned about taking out so MANY men at one time. My position could be overwhelmed if they are halfway competent.”

“You’ll have mercenaries from the Wagner Group backing you up,” Fausto said. “Are you familiar with them?”

“FAMILIAR with them?! I’ve worked with them extensively! Oh, this will be FUN! A friendly competition, ja?”

Zollner sounded far too happy about the whole thing for my tastes.

He was either an idiot…

A madman…

Or a complete psychopath.

Maybe a combination of all three.

“Excellent,” Fausto said. “One last thing.”

“Yes?”

“I want you to keep my name out of this entirely. Do not mention my name or Sofia’s at any point during your mission. Is that clear?”

“Crystal clear, mein Herr!”

“Good. I’ll have you coordinate everything with my son, Aurelio, who’s already in Venice.”

I frowned in alarm at Fausto, but he waved me off dismissively.

“Wunderbar! I look forward to speaking with Herr Aurelio! I’ll set off for the Dolomites this very afternoon.” Zollner’s voice suddenly turned crafty. “As soon as you deposit half a million euros as a retainer fee in my Swiss bank account.”

“If you’ll give me the information, I’ll do it as soon as we get off the call.”

Zollner rattled off a series of numbers, which Fausto wrote down.

“Lovely! A pleasure doing business with you!” Zollner said at the end.

“The pleasure is all mine, Friedrich.”

“Auf wiedersehen, my good Fausto – and to you as well, Fr?ulein Sofia!”

“Ciao,” I said, and he hung up.

I looked at Fausto. “He’s crazy.”

“As long as he gets the job done, I don’t give a shit.”

“Is it really a good idea to get Aurelio involved in this?” I asked. “He’s had something of a reverse Midas touch so far.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything he’s touched has turned to shit.”

Fausto laughed, then grimaced. “Yes, well… he is my son… and I want him involved.”

“Do you want him involved, or do you want to win?” I asked.

Fausto’s face suddenly grew dark. “Aurelio will be the one coordinating the attack in Venice. My decision is final.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m SURE.”

“…alright.”

As it turned out, ignoring my objections was one of the worst mistakes Fausto ever made.