Lizanna's POV:
The pie had sailed into the air, exploding twenty feet away from the mansion. Someone had tackled me from behind, shielding me from the explosion and I wondered who I had to thank for that.
Tuning out the fearful screams, I was turned over and shaken gently by Andrés. "Hey, Lizanna are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said as I peeked an eye open. "I'm fine. Thanks."
He helped me up to my feet, placing his strong arms around my waist as he hoisted me up. As we walked back inside of the now chaos ridden mansion, I could smell Andrés's cologne and I all but drooled. Shameful, I know, but I was a sucker for masculine cologne and he just smelled so good.
Lilliana, Feliciana, and Diamonte were all trying to calm the crying children while I guessed the guys went out to find the perpetrator for this attack. "Sit here for a bit. I'll be outside making a few calls."
I nodded my head and he helped me ease into the seat before leaving. Not a moment later, Nero and Raphael ran from across the room and into my sides, hugging the life out of me. "Lizanna," Nero cried. "I'm sorry." My heart softened and I pulled both crying boys closer to me. Raphael kept tearfully shouting out his apologies in Italian while his tears and snot mixed in with my clothing.
"Shh, shh...thank you for worrying about me, but you don't have to."
Nero turned his watery eyes to mine. "W-Why not?"
"Because, I've made up my mind to stay here for awhile to protect you and the city. Both of you," I started again as I placed a kiss on their foreheads, "will be safe. I'll make sure of it."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Andrés's POV:
Damn it!
I walked out of the mansion with long strides, pulling my phone out as I scrolled through my contacts. I could feel the boiling rage I had suppressed for the well-being of the children instantly shattering and coursing through every fiber of my being.
I was enraged.
I was fucking ready to kill.
Who ever had done this will die, I'll make sure of it. To go after the children is like going after my own family and I will not settle for that kind of threat.
Then there was Lizanna. Her quick reaction to the incident not only saved the children's life, but my team's as well and I am deeply grateful for her quick thinking and presence. I remember looking at her weirdly as she ran out of the living room, juggling what seemed to be a steaming pie in her hands. The odd way she was moving initally made me think that she was doing some kind of parlor trick for the children...that is until I overheard Nero saying something about a beeping noise coming from inside the pie and a recurring flashing red light. At that moment, I knew that something was wrong and I raced after her, fortunately catching up with her the moment she threw the pie into the air and exploded. Surprised, I pulled her back by her shirt and shielded her with my body.
If it weren't for her, we'd all be dead....and everything my family and friends have been able to do thus far would all have been at stake. She risked her life without so much as a second thought to save people she hardly even knew, for people like us that have been nothing but a hindrance for her...
When I finally found my father's name, I pressed the call button and he picked up on the first ring.
"What's the matter son?"
"The orphanage was attacked just now dad. Whoever did it literally implanted a bomb inside of a pie and gave it to one of the child to bring inside of the compound. Their plan of trying to blow us all up almost fucking worked and my hunch says it's the Bianchi's work."
My father uttered a plethora of curses over the phone at my story. "Please tell me that everyone is ok."
"Everyone's fine. It was Lizanna who noticed the bomb and discarded it safely aways from the orphanage. I'm calling you not only to tell you what happened, but to tell you to send men down here to patrol the area and be stationed here. I don't want another incident like this to happen again, especially at the expense of the children's lives. Donatello, Leo, and Hernández are currently out looking for the perpetrator right now as we speak. I'll call you back if we discover anything."
"Alright, son. My people will be there within the next thirty minutes. Stay safe until then."
"I will," I said softly before ending the call.
Throughout the next thirty minutes, I did my own snooping of the vicinity to make sure that nothing suspicious was planted inside or outside the orphange. I came up with nothing so I returned back inside of the living room where some of the children were still being comforted by either Feliciana, Diamonte, or Lilliana.
I spotted Lizanna draping a blanket around two unconscious boys on the couch. She had a smile on her face and I decided to make my way over. She saw me approaching from the corner of her eye and met me halfway.
"Andrés, about the deal? Well, I wanted to tell you that I accept. My decision is not based on the heat of the moment because of what just happened, but from careful evaluation of you, the gang, and your family. I've acknowledged that what you do is for the greater good of the people and the city you care about and I believe that intertwines with my own profession. So, with my acceptance, I pledge to give everything that I have to help you and your family achieve your goal. With that being said, for the time being I accept the title of being your mafia's police girl."
I grinned, then extended my hand toward her for a handshake to seal the deal. "Good, I knew you would accept. We look forward to working with you Officer Marvel."
Lizanna wrapped her slim fingers around my hand firmly. "It's my pleasure, Andrés Vito."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FBI Headquarters
Third person POV:
The team returned back to the investigation room hours later with valuable information. They had started the case with bits and pieces of information that, at the time, left them with nothing to further the investigation. But now, they possessed almost everything to speed up the case, they just needed to assemble what they've gathered together...starting with Bell's intel.
"I spoke with Agent Dreyer like you commanded and he came up with nothing. There wasn't a single record that matched the description of the three escapees, which means they were here illegally. So, I did some more digging on my own and found this article online." Bell pulled out a newspaper article that read: La famiglia Vito hanno fatto di nuovo!
"The text is in Italian and it translates to The Vito family have done it again! The article basically talks about how some wealthy family is helping extensively to reshape their city, which is Milan, and its economy. By the way the author is describing their efforts, I would say that the Vito family is doing something positive. So, my research at least got us some information about one of the escapees. We now have an idea of where Andrés Vito may be staying."
Hawthorne nodded at her findings. "Good work."
Light was the next to speak. "I spoke with Agent Blackburn, who, by the way, is a huge fucking asshole."
Hawthorne laughed. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you about him. Whenever he and his team are engrossed in something they hate being disturbed. What did you do?"
Light frowned. "All I did was tap him on his shoulder with my finger and he almost bit the shit out of it. Like what the fuck, he's a maniac! Plus, he had the audacity to scream that I scared the shit out of him, when in reality he scared the crap out of me!" Bell and Hawthorne chuckled at Light's antics, but settled down when he regained his composure. "On a serious note, Agent Blackburn was able to trace the IP signal address of the hacker who shut down all of Juggernaut's defence systems. After hours of sneaking through their own cyber defense system, the signal was traced to Milan, Italy."
"Good work, but what about the exact coordinates of the hacker's location. It'll be hard to search through a large city without any idea on where to look?" Hawthorne asked.
"Yes, I had also inquired that question to Blackburn, but he explained to me that though he was able to trace the signal, the hackers cyber defenses were so heavily protected that he was only able to just find the general location. He said that he and his team will still try to get through, but it will take some time," Light explained.
Hawthorne accepted his information and proceeded to stand to present his own findings. "My task involved my visit to the forensic lab. I spoke to Agent Wild and she told me that most of the officers remains she was able to analyze did not match with anyone in our U.S database."
"Are you kidding me," Bell uttered. "We've had that many illegal criminals doing their business here undetected for that long?"
"And because of that," Hawthorne started again. "She was unable to find out their place of origin..."
Light shook his head. "So, what you're telling us is that we have more than 1,000 unidentifiable officers down stairs who are tied to this investigation and we have no idea as to where they came from? How can we--"
"Ok, this game of let's-all-interrupt-our- superior has got to end. Like, can a guy fucking finish?" Hawthorne grunted.
Light and Bell coughed and gestured for him to continue.
"Thank you," he smiled. "Now because of their unclear origin she decided to do an analysis of the drugs found with their remains...and she discovered Adamantine, a drug so rare that it can only be grown in one place."
"Where?" Light and Bell asked.
"Roggano, Italy. It is a gang-infested and poorly developed city forty minutes outside of Milan. I believe that this, agents, is where we truly start our investigation. We already have enough information to work with, all we need is Director Cartwright's authorization to send us covertly out there to look for Officer Lizanna Marvel and arrest these people."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Hideout
"I don't think they shared my pie." Maryann said allowed as she kneaded flour on the kitchen surface. She was referring to what took place hours ago at the orphanage. "And I made it just for them too. What a waste."
From the other side of the room, Walter quietly sipped his tea before sitting it down gently. "No worries, there's always tomorrow," he said casually. After finishing his tea, Walter stood up from his chair, zipped up his flame resistant suit, and grabbed his strap-on fire accelerant tank before making his way out of the hideout.
"Walter," Maryann called. "Do you know where everyone is? I'm almost done cooking."
Walter slid back his face mask. "Kennedy went into town to look for a quick snack, and when I say that I mean she went out to look for a poor child to eat. Christian also went out to get his chainsaw and knives polished. As far as im concerned, Kenji's in the basement with his geeky computers and shit. As for Ivan, I don't have a clue where he is. He's probably out beating someone to death again."
Maryann nodded. "And what about you? Where are you headed?"
"I'm going to the next town over to let off some steam." With that, Walter slid back on his face mask and stepped out of the door. He would choose to walk the two mile trek to Monza in the dark...because there was no better way to enjoy the spread of a fiery blaze than at night when people were "safely" asleep.
****************
Sorry for the late update. I had my last final today 😧