escape | vento aureo

xx. off to pompeii

Prosciutto peels off the last bandage from my forehead. "Alright, that should be it."

"Ow," I mutter, reaching up to touch the sore spot.

"Don't touch it!" he snaps, smacking my hand.

"Okay, Mum." I roll my eyes.

"Mamá's the word." He tosses the bandage in the garbage and instructs me to leave the "infirmary."

Out in the living room of a small apartment serving as a temporary HQ for La Squadra, I see Illuso and Nero sitting on the couches. Both of them are absorbed in their laptops. I take a seat next to Illuso and glance at his screen. A map of . . . somewhere, definitely somewhere here in Italy. I lean in closer and read some of the locations. "Pompeii? Are we doing volcano sacrifices as a last-ditch effort because I totally volunteer Ghi--"

He snorts. "We are not sacrificing Ghiaccio, no matter how much of a gremlin he might be."

"Don't call my second-in-command a gremlin; I picked him myself." Nero mutters absentmindedly.

I turn my attention back to the map. "So what is this then?"

"We have someone on the inside who has access to some information about Bucciarati and his team. They know where they're headed and have been passing information on to us." Illuso points at a vineyard toward the edge of the map. "They've been here for a few days, likely to see if we're gonna make a move. Since we haven't, the Boss thinks it's safe for them to move continue heading toward the church. He's supplying them some mode of transportation. The key to it will be somewhere in the ruins of Pompeii."

"So we're going to get it before they do?"

He sighs. "We can't. We have to wait for them to move first. Our informant doesn't know exactly where the key is, so we need them to show us by accident or by force." He smiles after saying the last bit.

I nod. "Got it. But how do you know you can trust this informant? It seems Passione has been quick to turn on people as of late."

"They've been helping us for a while and haven't misled us yet."

"Alright then." While Illuso goes back to working on his computer, I gaze at a picture on the wall and become lost in thought. My mission is to put an end to the Boss and get the Stand arrows, not whatever the hell is going on. I wasn't supposed to get attached to these people, murderers and thieves and all other kinds of criminals. A simple in and out mission. Yet here I am, helping a group of killers overthrow the Boss when it's not even my business--killers who would turn on me should they discover that I'm no more than a spy and that I'm after the all-too-important arrows. And God, Polnareff doesn't have any idea what's going on. Something important could happen while I'm busy playing mafioso, and I wouldn't have a clue. I need to contact him, but it's too dangerous.

I can practically feel the mission falling apart around me. My mind tries to trace back where this all started going wrong. If I fail this mission, the Foundation will be pissed--

"Did you hear a word I said?" Illuso snaps at me.

I jump. "Illuso you scared the shit out of me!" I take a deep breath. "And no, I didn't."

"You. Me. Pompeii. Interested?"

"Oh, Illuso~ Can we have dinner first?~"

". . ."

I feel very uncomfortable. "Uh, forget I said that. Sure. It'll be nice to stretch my legs."

"Then let's go. We don't have time to waste." He pulls me off the couch and grabs some documents. "Hold these for me."

I hold them close to my stomach as he practically drags me out the door.

"Watch him, Quinn," Nero calls after us. "He has a habit of getting cocky."

In a flash, we're heading down the stairs. Sunshine greets me for the first time in what feels like forever as we leave the apartment building. I close my eyes and trust my feet not to trip over anything.

"What are you doing? Photosynthesizing?" Illuso asks with a snort.

"Exactly. I'm a plant dressed in a human's skin."

He laughs. It's a nice, hearty laugh. "You act so stuck-up around the others, but once someone gets you alone, you transform into a crackhead. You're so fake."

I open my eyes to glare at him. "I can go back to acting stuck-up if you want."

"No thank you."

I look down at the documents he handed me. They're sealed away in a yellow folder. "So what are these?"

"I have a lot of info on Bucciarati and his gang. I like to do my research beforehand so that I know what to expect, though I don't have any intel on their Stands."

I think for a quick moment. "I don't know if Bucciarati is going to be there, but if he is, his Stand can create zippers on different surfaces. Or at least something like that."

He nods. "Ah, I understand. Greatly appreciated."

"Don't mention it."

------

The ruins of Pompeii are completely deserted. I lean against a brick wall and sigh deeply. Waiting has taken a toll on my nerves. Thankfully, I'm in the mirror world where no one except Illuso can see and hear me. "This is kind of trippy, not gonna lie." I glanced at my watch to check the time, which is backwards.

"You get used to it," Illuso promises. "Hey, look."

I glance at the mirror, the nearest way in and out of here. A teenage kid stands there. He stares at the mirror intently at first but loses interest.

Illuso heads over to the mirror. "Ah, the kid genius. We'll get him first."

While he plays peekaboo, I summon Escape. I know we haven't fought anyone in a while, but we've got this. And we've got Illuso. Escape and I don't often communicate; however, I get the feeling that Escape wants some activity after all this downtime--perhaps along with a chance to (indirectly) get back at Bucciarati.

A yelp alerts me that the kid is now in the mirror world, looking around with the wild eyes of a caged beast. Illuso laughs at him. "How nice of you to join us, Pannacotta Fugo. My friend and I are dying for some action, so by all means, let's get this show on the road."