43. Finding Hope
43
Finding Hope
Matt
It turns out Antoinette's surprise guest happens to be her father, Antonio Rossi, along with an entourage of what appears to be European kingpins.
It's hard to say if they're here under duress or of their own free will, but from what I understand, Antonio Rossi wouldn't give a fuck either way.
I use his arrival as an excuse to hang back, needing a moment to get my bearings and my emotions under control. I'm just walking up to the group when Antoinette says, “If you fucking call me that again, I will shoot you in the face.”
Having zero context, I raise an eyebrow and ask, “And who are you talking to?”
She glances at me and then points at her father, who puts both hands up in surrender. “My apologies. I had no idea you were so sensitive.”
Within a split second, she's got a knife in her hand, pointing it at him. “Call me sensitive one more time.”
“Antonio," Lilith intercedes. “If you really want to see something happen, tell her to calm down.”
Antonio turns his attention to Lilith cocking his head at her, as he says sarcastically, “Obviously, I'm not the smartest man in the room, but I'm not that stupid, either.”
Lilith opens her mouth to respond, but Antoinette puts her hand up and interrupts, “Don't you two fucking start.”
Lilith rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, and Antonio does a rather decent job of swatting away an invisible fly.
Antoinette sighs and then continues more calmly, “We don't have the time to even begin to unpack the bullshit that's between you two. And you both already know that’s not why we're here.”
They both remain quiet but nod in acknowledgment of her words. Then she turns back to Antonio and asks, “Have you found out anything?”
“Just what you already know.”
Antoinette squints at him, her body visibly tensing. “And that would be?”
He crosses his arms over his chest and tilts his head at her as he considers his next words. And then he explains, “That the entire warehouse exploded, and there are no known survivors.”
Her jaw clenches as do her fists, and she slams the knife she was still holding down on the table, “Try again.”
Antonio's features soften, and he makes a move to step toward her but then stops short, dropping his hands and looking at her helplessly. “Do you want me to lie?”
She turns away, heavily resting her hands on the bench in front of her, and then she turns and looks at him over her shoulder as she whispers, “I won't believe it until I see proof.”
His eyes widen, and he shakes his head as he replies, “The entire building was practically vaporized. What kind of proof are you hoping for?”
Her jaw clenches, and then she slams her fist down on the workbench viciously. Once. Twice. “He is not dead until I see it with my own fucking eyes.”
No one says anything, and silence echoes throughout the room. With a shout of frustration, she lunges for a computer monitor, yanking it up and bodily throwing it across the room. I turn my eyes to Tony, who's staring at her in amusement as she stands there, trembling with rage and anguish.
Slowly, she turns to face us, but now her shoulders droop. She hangs her head as she whispers half-brokenly, “You know the rules.”
Her statement hangs out there in the universe. I scan the usual suspects, who are all standing around, and this time, everyone just looks helpless.
I start forward but stop short when Jessica beats me to it. She steps in front of Antoinette and grips her by her upper arm, giving her a shake. Antoinette raises her head slowly, her eyes slightly glassy as she looks at Jessica. And then Jessica replies firmly, “They're not dead unless you've removed their head and set their body on fire yourself.”
Antonio opens his mouth to speak, but I do first. “That's right. That's the rule.”
Antonio gives me an impatient look, and I lift a shoulder, shaking my head slightly. Carolina joins Antoinette and Jessica, putting an arm around each of them as she leans in and speaks softly. Jessica laughs, and Antoinette gives her a somewhat watery smile as she nods. Carolina turns to me and says, “We've done enough waiting around. Let's go fuck shit up.”
Tony laughs, and Antonio mutters, “Finally, something I can get behind.”
I nod, turning to Antonio. “I take it you have some actual leads?”
He inclines his head to his entourage and replies, “These fuckers do.”
“How do we know they won't just lead us to our own slaughter?”
Antonio shrugs, looking unfazed. “Well, I guess we don't really. But most of them have families they'd rather not see tortured and murdered. So, the odds are in our favor.”
“How many countries are we talking about?”
“Just the usuals: Russia, France, Italy. That should probably cover it.”
“And Boston,” a voice responds from across the room.
I step away from the group and look around Antonio to see Camilla striding closer, a disgruntled look on her face.
She stops next to me, anger burning in her eyes as I ask, “What the fuck is in Boston?”
“Seamus,” she growls. “He barely made it out of that fucking building before it went up. Got knocked senseless for his trouble.”
“Then how did he end up in Boston?” Jessica asks.
“One of the rival families took him. I'm getting some conflicting information, but the common correlation is that they have him.”
Jessica snorts and mutters, “Well, they can fucking keep him.”
Camilla laughs bitterly, and she turns her gaze on Jessica. “I'd be inclined to agree. However, I'm also hearing chatter that he's not alone.”
“Is it just some of his men with him?”
Camilla shakes her head. “No one is saying who they are. Which means either they don't know or have good reason not to say.”
I look at Antoinette, who's already wide-eyed and staring at me. A slight chill goes down my spine as she whispers, “Could it be him?”
I shake my head and shrug helplessly. “I don't know—”
“Fucking right it's him,” Tony chirps.
I raise a hand as I say, “Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We can hope for the best as long as we're prepared for the worst.” I turn back to Camilla, leveling her with a serious look, as I say, “Have they given any real information about the men they have?”
She smiles and replies, “Oh, yeah. An old Irish who's half-dead. Some young fucking nobody who doesn't say much.” She pauses, looking over at Tony, then Antoinette, and then back at me as she adds, “And one big fucking belligerent asshole who threatened to rip out a spine and ass-fuck someone with it.”
An audible gasp rushes out of Antoinette, and she exclaims, “That's fucking got to be him. He's the only guy I know who talks about fucking people with spines.”
“But how?” Carolina exclaims.
Lilith turns to her, placing her hands on her hips as she sputters, “You’re seriously going to fucking knock it now? After all of your dramatics?”
Antoinette opens her mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a choked-up sob of excitement. She bends at the waist, resting her hands on the tops of her thighs as she expels several days’ worth of frustration and fear. Jessica pats her on the back, and Carolina does the same; both sets of eyes are a bit glassy at the news.
Then Tony steps up, clapping his hands together as he bellows, “Enough with this crybaby bullshit. We got fucking work to do.”
I nod in agreement, finding myself giving a clap of my own before I can stop myself. Then I frown and turn to Camilla. “So, who would you like to be this time?”
Her smile broadens, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and she replies, “I'm so glad you asked.”