Mia's car raced down the back streets of the city, the mystery woman not bothering to slow down whatsoever. Mia kept glancing behind them, fully expecting to see people following but no one was after them. And she was extremely grateful for that. She then turned her head back to the woman who still hadn't said anything. Mia noticed a certain sense of self confidence emanating from the woman and it only pissed her off more.
"Who are you and why were you at the docks?" Mia demanded coldly, cutting straight to the point.
The woman glanced over once at Mia before turning back to the road. "I'm no enemy of yours, Mia."
"Pull over," Mia said, ignoring the woman's statement. "Pull over now!"
The woman made no signs of stopping the car, her fingers snaked around the leather wheel tightly, her foot pressed hardly on the pedal as they continued to speed through the more desert streets of Montalbano Jonico.
Mia was sick of being given the silent treatment and so in a quick, smooth movement, she pulled out a small knife from her boot and shoved it in the woman's direction, pausing just centimetres away from her chest. Her hand shook, probably since she just witnessed her partner be killed before her eyes.
"If you don't tell me who you are and what you were doing there, I'll drive this knife into your chest," Mia threatened, her voice laced with venom and hostility.
The woman seemed to tense up at the threat and let out a sigh. "I work for another agency. I was sent to look for the same information Caterina found. But I wasn't the one who killed her. Seems like there's another person at the party."
Mia eased the knife up but kept it close to her, her eyes watching her like a hawk, her body completely still, ready to pounce at any given moment.
She didn't bother paying attention to where they were driving until the woman turned into a familiar street, triggering a set of chills to breakout within Mia. It was the street she lived on.
The woman slowed the car outside of Mia's house before shutting off the engine, getting ready to leave but Mia grasped her by the arm, digging her fingers into the skin to show she wasn't playing games.
"How do you know where I live?" Mia asked, staring her dead in the eyes.
"It was in your file. I said before, I'm not your enemy here," the woman replied before yanking herself free from Mia's grip, leaving the car.
Mia pushed open her door, climbing out quickly to see where the woman was going. But she saw that she stood still, seemingly waiting for Mia to join her out of the now tense car.
"Go inside your home and take it easy. Forget any of this. Forget I saved you. Move on and you won't get hurt," was all the woman said to her before she walked away, leaving Mia with a whirlwind of questions that she needed answered. But she pushed the questions aside and rushed into her house, locking the door to its securest way.
Mia turned and the reality of what had happened struck her. She couldn't hold back the choked sob that escaped her mouth. A few loose tears trickled down her and onto her palm as she covered her mouth, falling back against the door. Her knees felt weak and her stomach was churning. All her years working for the DIS and she never once had experienced something like this. But even she knew that she couldn't let it affect her too much or else it'd be easy to figure out that she was the one with Caterina.
That wasn't the scariest thought to her, though. The scariest one was that the assassin who took Caterina out saw her own face and was on their way now to finish the job. The thought troubled Mia to her core but she made no efforts in moving away from the door, not to grab a gun or to keep a very close lookout. Instead she just stayed where she was, crying quietly to herself.
*
Night fell quickly upon the Italian city and everything started to wind down as the night grew later.
It was almost three in the morning, and Orabella stirred in her sleep. She felt herself being pulled into another one of her traumatic dreams and there was nothing she could do about it.
She was a child again. Young and fragile, completely pure and innocent with her full life ahead of her. But she didn't feel innocent or pure, not anymore.
She was backed into a corner of a dark, damp room that had a horrible rotten stench to it which would've made her eyes water, but she was use to it.
She wiped at her tear stained cheeks again, but that didn't stop another load of heavy tears cascading down her face as she watched as another girl was dragged from the room, her screams masking her own. The sound of men shouting followed by a loud smack filled up the room, striking fear through Orabella's body.
'What about this one? Cheap and will be made to follow whatever orders you give her, won't you, piccolo?' One of the men spoke, his voice husky and ragged.
The child he took with her cried out again but she was quickly silenced. Orabella closed her eyes, wishing someone would save her. Anyone.
The sound of heavy footsteps ricocheted into the room. When she opened her eyes, she saw the other man point at her. Orabella began screaming but it was too late to do anything as the man swiftly made his way over to her, grabbing her by the arms and dragged her across the floor, ignoring her thrashing and persistence.
Orabella jolted awake, throwing herself upwards from the drenched silk bedsheets. She panted heavily, the images still playing vividly in her mind. She swatted at the loose beads of sweat that were dribbling down her face while she tried to get her breathing back under control.
She looked up and let out a light scream when she saw a shadowed figure lurking at the door of her bedroom. The figure stepped into the moonlight that shone throw the blinds, revealing themselves to be Ceresa. Orabella closed her eyes, feeling herself ease up at his presence.
"What are you doing here?" Orabella asked, still slightly breathless. She grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped it across the face, enjoying the cool dampness that it supplied.
"Your problem was taken care of but," he started, trying to mask the nervous look that was creeping its way onto his face, "there was a complication."
"Complication?" Orabella repeated, looking back up at him.
"There were two other people there. And that could mean that more people may know what Caterina did," Ceresa explained.
Orabella rubbed her head, exhausted. "I'll handle it. Goodnight, Romano."
Ceresa nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Orabella cursed to herself, running a hand through her sweat soaked hair. She glanced over to the picture of her and her parents on the nightstand. But looking at it tonight only made her eyes well up and she had to drag herself away from it, falling back down onto the sheets. She found herself being pulled back into the allure of sleep and soon enough, the world around her went dark as she slipped back into unconsciousness.
*
The morning spring sun shone down on the DIS building; the air was crisp and chilly and so many of the agents were dressed slightly warmer than on normal days. The wind was cold, pushing the cold harder into everyone's faces. People raced about, desperate to get to their destinations and to escape the frosty morning cold.
The elevator doors pinged open, the metallic screeching sound was quieter today and a lot of the agents were thankful for it. A pile of people emerged from the elevator, along with Mia, who made her way quickly across the very open and large room. Her face was blank, and she avoided almost everyone that looked at her and tried to talk to her. She pushed her brown curls out of her face, tucking her hair behind her ear as she walked on.
Mia walked until she saw Orabella's office looming closer and closer, but she walked straight for it with determination in each step. Pushing open the door, she saw Orabella at her desk reading through what looked to be a new case file.
"Everything OK, agent Di Marco?" Orabella said, looking up to meet Mia's gaze.
"My partner was murdered yesterday, Orabella. How do you think I'm doing?" Mia replied. She closed her eyes, regretting the tone of her voice.
"Sorry. I shouldn't—"
"Don't apologise, Mia. I can understand what you're going through. Is there anything on your mind?" Orabella asked, completely heartfelt and sincere. Mia knew Orabella wouldn't normally act like this, but when Orabella recruited Mia years ago, they developed a small bond. Not big enough to be fully fledged friends, but big enough to treat each other more than co-workers.
"I think that Caterina's assassin could be the mole," Mia began to say. She knew she shouldn't lie. She also knew that she had to try and get any heat off of her back and if that meant still insinuating that the mole was still out there, then so be it.
Orabella stared at Mia, observing her, taking her words in with deep consideration. After a moment of silence, Orabella shifted off her chair and stood, walking around her desk to stand before Mia.
"It's an interesting theory," Orabella said, nodding but Mia could see that her superior was unconvinced, "but we've already narrowed down a reason as to why agent Emmi was murdered. If that's all, then you're dismissed. Feel free to take a few days off, if need be."
Mia held back the annoyed eye roll and just settled on a nod before turning around and leaving the office.
She walked a few feet before stopping, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. She knew that Caterina finding something out and her assassination wasn't just a coincidence. There had to be a connection between the two and as much as she didn't want to admit it, Orabella might be that connection. But she wasn't going to get anywhere without any sort of information.
Mia glanced around the countless cubicles, watching as everyone was busy at work; some agents typed away quickly on their computers, others were talking to one another while showing each other files and different pieces of paper, some were rushing around the place. Everyone seemed to be distracted and that's exactly what Mia needed.
She swiftly made her way over to Caterina's computer before typing in her login details. Just as she was about to do a little digging, she saw a faint shadow appear on the computer. She turned her head back to see a man hovering over her, his eyes squinted with curiosity and intimidation.
"I'm just putting everything on her computer onto the Deceased Agents server then I'm deleting the account," Mia said with no emotion. It was the protocol; if an agent dies, their partner is tasked with putting everything on their computer up on the Deceased Agents server and then they must delete the agent's account. It was to help keep the DIS safe and secure.
The hovering agent gave a nod of approval before stalking off, probably to watch over someone else. Mia waited until he was far enough away before she commenced with the protocol. But before she moved everything, she made sure to check over each file and folder for any hidden documents that could give Mia any light on what Caterina had found. She had almost scoured every square foot of Caterina's computer, her patience was almost through the roof and she could feel herself ready to punch the screen angrily, until she came across an encrypted file in a seemingly harmless and innocent folder.
She worked quickly to unencrypt it, desperate to find out what was inside it and when it finally loaded up on the screen, she felt her insides twist with doubt and worry. It was a list. A small list consisting of four names. And one of the names stood out to Mia on a much larger scale.
Piotro Ricci
It was Lorenzo's older brother. The same brother that Lorenzo thought was out of the city on a business venture. She wasted no time in printing the list and shoving into her pocket before deleting Caterina's account.
Something had to be happening. And whatever Caterina had found, it must be something big and dangerous. Mia pushed the thoughts aside, keeping herself calm and collected as she strode straight towards the elevator. The first thing she needed to do was inform Lorenzo. Then, she had to come back and find out more. No matter what the cost.