Hidden Tracks | ✓

36 | master of spin

We did thorough research on Ianucci with some help from TIA.

Turned out, Patricio Ianucci was quite the eminent man. He was one of the richest businessmen in the country, and his luxurious property in Florence was a clear indication.

And now we knew he also did business on the side with Miguel Rubio. As in drug trafficking. Great.

We got no links of Ianucci with Mason Caldwell or Amélie Beaumont, though. The only indication we had of any connection between them was the message in Morse.

So now it was up to us to spy on Ianucci and try to get information about the whereabouts of Caldwell and Beaumont. It wouldn't be easy, since we needed a way to get inside his mansion and extract info without leaking out our motives.

So we spent the next day trying to devise a foolproof plan that would get us through this mission.

"Maybe we can adopt the identities we used at the gala," Miranda said. "As in Marco being the drug dealer Alcacer and you being Sofia, Kaia."

"And then what?"

"Then the two of you can try to meet Ianucci, telling him Rubio sent you. You can pretend you've gone to speak with him on Rubio's behalf, and I can keep a watch out front, since I'm sure I won't be allowed to enter as Soler's 'girlfriend'," Miranda replied.

I pondered over this for a minute. "I don't think this plan is entirely foolproof. Ianucci can easily try to cross check with Rubio whether he's actually sent us or not, and then he'll obviously get to know the truth. Our cover will be blown."

Soler had been awfully quiet all this while. Suddenly he piped up, "What if Rubio doesn't rat us out to Ianucci? What if he says he sent us here?"

I sat up. "What do you mean? How would that be possible?"

Soler looked tense, but excitement gleamed in his eyes. "Look, right now we're searching for Mason and Amélie, who we don't think are innocent civilians anymore. They're clearly using fake ids and might be associated with this entire drug trafficking business. We also know they have ties with Ianucci, the drug lord, who's also supposed to be friends with Rubio.

But we know Rubio and Mason Caldwell used to know each other and then had a falling out. So if Mason's secretly working with Ianucci or contacting him in any way, it could very well mean that Ianucci is also betraying Rubio. Working against him and helping Caldwell.

And my gut is telling me Rubio doesn't have a clue about Mason and Ianucci's business, whatever they're doing. So I propose we take a big risk here."

Soler stopped to take a breath. His eyes rested on me for a moment. I frowned. "What big risk?"

He hesitated for a moment. "We tell Rubio the truth about ourselves. We tell him who we are and what we're working on. We tell him how our identities as drug dealers Alcacer and Sofia were all fake. Then we let him know how Mason and his 'friend' Ianucci are working together. That way we can get his attention. We tell him we're trying to catch them, that our whole pretence and disguise is part of the plan. He'll most likely want to cooperate with us after knowing his friend and former friend-turned-foe are working together."

I thought over this. "This is a very risky plan and might backfire in a million ways, but if it works, we can actually get Rubio on our side."

Miranda nodded. "If Rubio himself verifies our identity we won't have much of a problem going in and meeting Ianucci. But it's going to be a risk to reveal the whole truth to Rubio. Are you sure you want to do that, Marco?"

Soler nodded. "I can do it, I can call him up and tell him everything. Let's just hope this works."

°

Some time later, after a thorough examination of our plan and trying to come up with alternatives, we decided to go with Soler's idea. It was risky, in case Rubio didn't side with us and instead turned against us even further.

But if it worked, we'd have one hell of an ally.

Soler took a deep breath in and dialled Rubio's number. He put it on speakerphone for us to listen.

After a few moments of bated breath, he finally picked up. "Hola?"

"Hola, Señor Rubio, soy Alcacer," Soler mimicked a perfect Spanish accent.

"Oh, hello, Alcacer, it's been a while since I heard from you. To what do I owe the pleasure, señor? Got anything new to offer?"

Soler hesitated. "Actually, I would like to speak with you about something important. Es muy importante que sepas."

"Ay, qué pasa? Would you like to meet and discuss whatever it is you wish to talk about?"

Soler frowned. "Actually, I'm in Florence at the moment, so I don't think--"

"Perfecto! I'm in Florence too. I'll meet you here, name the time and place."

I raised my eyebrows at Soler, clearly surprised at the... convenient turn of events. So now it meant we could actually meet Rubio and tell him the truth in person.

"Muy bien, señor. What do you say we meet at Il Palagio? At Four Seasons?"

"Great, I'll meet you tomorrow, at 7. Don't be late, Alcacer. Time is money."

As soon as Rubio hung up, Soler turned to us, taking charge. "So we're meeting him tomorrow. You and me, Winter. Miranda, I think you should stay near the Palagio at all times, in case we need you."

Miranda nodded. "Absolutely."

I looked at Soler, and noticed his eyes were already on me. Observing, waiting for my reaction.

I gave him a slight nod. "Okay, agreed."

I didn't know how I felt about being alone with Soler once again, but I had to push all those weird thoughts to the side now. We had a much bigger risk to take tomorrow night, and it might just be a gamble we would either congratulate ourselves for taking, or end up regretting heavily.

Only time, and Rubio's anger scale, would tell.