If what Bianca said was true then the same gang who destroyed her family has also kidnapped Marco and Blaire. I grabbed the notebook and ripped out the pieces of paper we used. I don't know about Bianca, but when I wrote in the notebook I didn't use my usual handwriting.
After tearing out the papers I ripped it into smaller pieces until I was sure it would be eligible. I would burn it if I could but that would set off a fire alarm. Instead I opened up a window and tossed out pieces of the paper. They flew away like confetti, raining down in the Italian country side. I waited five minutes before tossing more papers out and then another five minutes for the last bit of destroyed evidence.
"Alright, let's go. We still have half an hour until we get to Sorrento," I declared, moving the curtain aside. We got up and left our small booth behind walking to the next train car over.
"Any progress?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as I approached our group sitting together in a much larger booth. They were laughing and as soon as they saw me they quieted down.
"I got you a sandwich," Eric offered showing me a turkey sandwich on a plate. I sat down beside him taking the sandwich. Bianca sat on the other side next to Akio and Lavender.
"Guys I know that Blaire is strong and that Marco has been rescued before but they were different circumstances. We need to take this seriously," I reminded them.
"It's not that we aren't taking it seriously but we all thought that if we focused on something else, at least for the train ride we might feel better. We weren't thinking like spies at the moment, we were thinking like Blaire's closest friends. And were scared for her," Tiffany explained. I nodded my head understanding but there wasn't any time to lose.
"We can relax for the time being but as soon as this train stops we have to make sure nothing get's in the way of finding either of them ok?" I asked and everyone nodded their heads. We relaxed for a bit, chatting like any normal group of tourists would on their first train ride through Italy.
"Do you remember the first day we all met? When Eric made Charlee spill that strawberry smoothie all over herself?" Lavender asked with a laugh remembering our first mission together when we were all in high school.
"It was a mango smoothie and I gave you my jacket even though you so rudely yelled at me," Eric recalled with a smirk. I rolled my eyes but gave him a smile anyways. My smile fell apart when I turned to see Jacob. I need to tell Eric what happened.
"Eric we need to talk-" I began saying but suddenly the train came to a stop.
"Break is over, we're in Sorrento," Eric exclaimed interrupting me as he got out of the booth and gathered his things. I grumbled in frustration. God I just want to tell him what the hell I did but everything keeps getting in the way. I have to tell him but it's never the right time.
"Charlee get a move on!" Tiffany shouted. Everyone else was already walking away towards the exit. I grabbed my messenger bag with a huff and caught up with the rest of my teams. I would tell Eric as soon as this was all over.
"This was the ferry port where Blaire's last coordinates were sent from," Jacob explained. We had walked from the train station a few miles down towards the edge of Sorrento where a small port was available to carry people across.
"Where does it take people?" I asked, there were no signs or people to be seen.
"Sicily," Bianca explained knowingly.
"They're gone by now!" Jacob exclaimed, panic written all over his face.
"Hey, we know where they're going, we just have to get there," Lavender calmed him down. We walked over to the small office. The lights were on inside and I could see two men eating and arguing with each other through the glass double doors. I reached for the door and pulled on it but it didn't budge.
One of the men put down his food and turned to look at me. I tried to open the door again to let him know that I needed to come in. He yelled something in Italian and pointed at something above the door. I looked up and saw a sign in Italian that more than likely meant it was closed.
"I don't really speak Italian fluently. How do I tell them it's an emergency?" I asked Bianca hoping she would translate. Bianca was about to step up and say something but Jacob shoved her aside and stepped up instead. He shoved his hand in his left pocket and knocked on the glass door to get the attention of the men.
"I may not speak Italian but I speak another language I'm sure they'll understand," he said holding up a fistful of euros. The men looked at each other and then one of them got up and opened up the door for us.
"Told you," Jacob said giving Bianca a knowing smirk. A few seconds later we were all standing inside the office as Bianca and the men yelled back and forth in Italian while Jacob pretended to translate the whole thing.
"Now I think the man is saying something about a pirate ship," Jacob said as Bianca walked away from the two men and back towards us.
"So what happened?" Tiffany asked.
"They said that no one can use the ferry because all the drivers have gone home and they don't want to do it themselves," she explained.
"Tell them Jacob can give them more money," I offered.
"No they said they have a speed boat they'll rent us but we have to take it ourselves. So does anyone here know how to drive a speed boat?" Bianca asked.
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.
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"ERIC SLOW DOWN!!" I yelled clinging onto the of the flimsy handlebar on the poor excuse of a speedboat. It was more of a death contraption. Tiffany hung onto my arm for dear life and Bianca was muttering selective Italian words under her breath on the other side of me.
"Its called a speedboat for a reason babe!" he yelled back from the driver's seat with what almost sounded like a laugh. I swear to god he's having fun driving us all near to death. We were all sitting in the back, clinging onto the handlebars for support.
Oh except for Jacob of course, who was sitting right next to Eric guiding him. With these two in front we would never make it to Sicily in one piece but Eric was the only one who knew how to drive the damned death trap and Jacob still had his GPS.
"We're almost there, I can see the city lights!" Jacob yelled.
"Oh god I hate this," Akio muttered looking rather green.
"Please don't throw up on me," Lavender told him looking at him with concern.
"Wow you're such a caring girlfriend," he replied.
"Girlfriend??!!" Tiffany and I exclaimed at the same time. She never told us he had asked her out.
"Hey can we wait for the gossip after we get this mission over with? Oh and hold on," Eric exclaimed.
"What?" I yelled. I couldn't hear him over the roar of the motor but before he could answer the speedboat came to a halt and I slid right out of my seat and onto a puddle on the floor.
"Let's never do that again," I muttered from the wet floor.
"Agreed," Akio replied right before spilling the contents of his stomach over the side of the boat and into the water.
"Weak," Jacob muttered jumping off the boat and onto the sandy shore. Eric tied the boat down at the port next to the other ferry boats.
"Alright we're in Sicily now how on earth do we find them?" Tiffany asked.
"If the ones behind the kidnapping are the Tenebra gang like you suspect and they're here in Sicily then the other gangs around here would already know of their whereabouts. When a new gang arrives in another gang's turf, they know," Bianca explained.
"Yeahhh I'm still confused," Eric drawled out. Bianca sighed and looked at us realizing none of us really knew where she was going with this.
"Just leave it to me, I'll find them," she promised with a determined look.
Ten minutes later and we were all standing in front of a sketchy looking bar in front of an even more dubious looking part of town. So far Sicily wasn't looking too welcoming.
"Charlee come with me, the rest of you wait five minutes and then go in. Spread out. Go order a drink or whatever. Just blend in," Bianca instructed giving everyone direct orders. Without waiting for anyone's agreements or complaints Bianca walked into the bar and I followed her in.
She went up to the bartender and ordered three drinks. Then she told him something else and the bartender gave her a scowl and shook his head. She reached out and placed her hand over his saying something else in a softer voice. He looked into her eyes and nodded his head in the direction of a man sitting at a table in a far off corner.
"Grazie amore mio," she purred leaning right into kiss him only to break away and leaving him in a daze. She grabbed two of the drinks leaving me to grab my own and follow her away from the bar and towards the man at the table.
She placed the drink in front of the man and slid into the chair in front of him with a smile. I followed suit and saw the rest of our group enter the bar from the corner of my eyes. The man looked up and eyed us both wearily.
"Lucca," Bianca smiled taking a sip from her drink.
"How do you know my name?" he asked in a thick accent.
"Not how but why," she replied. His brows furrowed and he put the drink aside with a meaty hand.
"Who sent you to find me?" he asked with a glare.
"No one sent me. You don't know me, I'm here for a favor," Bianca told him. I remained quiet.
"What do you want?" he asked, remaining stoic.
"I have reasons to know the Tenebra are here. They arrived today, what do you know about it?" Bianca asked.
"Omerta," the man replied shaking his head and looking at us both with distaste.
"I'm not a police officer, you can't use the code of silence against me," she told him.
"If you don't work for the government then who are you?" he asked her.
"I was with Cosa Nostra," she replied and suddenly the facial expression of the man changed entirely ranging from pity at first and then back to his original guarded expression.
"So you're here on pending business," he nodded his head.
"Exactly so what do you know?" Bianca asked a little more forcibly.
"All I've heard are whispers but from what I last heard, they are staying at the Grande Hotel Et Des Palmes," he told her. Bianca nodded her head and begun to get up.
"Girl?" Luca spoke up right as we were about to leave. Bianca turned to face him with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sorry about what happened with your family," Lucca said giving her a knowing look. Bianca sipped the last bit of her drink and gave Lucca a wad of money. Without another word she left the table and I followed. I hadn't said a single word this entire time but I doubt this was a good time to speak up.