Chapter 13

“Under guard of forty-two. Along a secret avenue.
Castel Sant’Angelo is waiting.
They’re the guards of the Holy See. They’re the guards of Christianity.
Their path through history is paved with salvation.”
-Sabaton,”The Last Stand”

Aboard Franz Hauber’s yacht, something was happening on Spencer Malone’s computer.

“Tracy!” He called out. “The Contessa’s finally turned her computer on!”

Tracy Baker came running from belowdecks.

“What’ve we got?” She asked him.

“From what I see, she has two email addresses that she uses regularly: lacontessa at castlefinzione dot snfnz is her business one, and lafuckingcontessa at castlefinzione is her personal one. Looks like she’s sending one to a cptortega at ultimados dot snfnz.”

“So,” Tracy mused. “She’s calling in her backup. Looks like Gordon’s going to get his wish.”

“He wants to fight one of them.” Spencer pointed out. “Not fifty.”

“She’s not going to bring that many. She’ll want them to get into the castle to spring her trap. She’ll probably even let them get hold of the pendant to catch them red-handed. What we do after that is the real question.”

Spencer turned around in his chair.

“There’s also the fact that we don’t know how it opens for sure. I mean, Morris saw how the other end does, but not the one under that house.”

“The tunnel was built before the Renaissance. The San Finziones of Old weren’t known for their creativity. Why do you think everything in the country is San Finzione this and San Finzione that? It’ll be another secret stone to press. With the cam, Alice should be able to tell them how to find it.”

“That’s another thing.” Spencer told her, wheeling back around to his computer. “Reports of previous incidents at the castle say that in an emergency, they activate a signal jammer that shuts down all unauthorized communication for blocks around. People who live near the castle complain that their phones and internet stop working every time it happens.”

“We know the guys are walking into a trap.” Tracy thought aloud. “So, she’ll wait until they get inside to turn it on.”

“Once she does, we’ll lose comms and cams. They’ll be on their own until they get back out. From the reports, the Denti house should be far enough down La Collina to be out of jamming range.”

Squeaking came from belowdecks, and the boat began to rock slightly. Tracy took note of it.

“Sounds like Alice has forgiven Franz.” She told Spencer. “Good. We’re going to need her to whip up a couple things. What’s La Contessa telling the Ultimados?”

Spencer watched the letters appear on the screen as La Contessa typed them. The words were in Spanish, which was a language that the native Texan understood.

“She’s telling the captain she wants six of them for a special overnight duty at the castle.”

“Only six?” Tracy asked. “She IS confident in them.” She picked up the sketched map of the castle that Spencer had pieced together from tourists’ stories and compared it to Morris Sinclair’s rough drawing of La Contessa’s Study. “She knows we’re aware of the tunnel out, but not that other door Morris saw.” She traced a line from the Study’s rough position on the ground floor to where the passage might lead on the first. We’re assuming the pendant will be in that safe, but it’s just as likely that she keeps it with her in the bedroom. This passage leads to either her room, the maid’s, or both. If it’s not in the safe, that should be our next move.”

Morris Sinclair walked in from the deck. He was somewhat calmer now that Gordon Walker had returned from dumping the car Franz had been driving around in. He saw what they were doing, grabbed a beer from behind the bar, and walked over to them.

“You weren’t going to invite me in on the planning?” Morris asked Tracy.

“This is still the pre-planning.” Tracy explained. “The actual planning comes in a couple hours. Right now, Spencer’s getting some good stuff off that bug you put on her computer.”

Morris hesitated. Coming up with things at the last moment was a thing Tracy did. Admitting that she didn’t have a full plan eight hours before the job was par for the course.

“Ok. Have you accounted for the whole ‘she’s a witch’ thing?” He asked.

“Actually, yes.” Tracy said with a smile. She walked over to where a plastic pistol case was sitting and picked it up. “Oh, Gordon!” She called. Gordon Walker entered the room from the deck.

“Yeah, Tracy?”

“Whereas I don’t seriously believe the myths that La Contessa can command the wills of others, Morris seems to, and I have accounted for them. Do you recall when I said I’d take care of anything bigger than what you brought with you? It’s time to give it to you.”

“You know I don’t want to kill any more people, Tracy.” Gordon commented, following Morris’ lead and grabbing a beer.

“And I wouldn’t ask that of you. Firstly, it appears you’re going to get your wish. La Contessa has ordered six Ultimados to the castle for the evening. I know you want to fight one. How do you feel about six?”

Walker’s eyes widened.

“Like that challenge you promised is finally here.”

“Well,” Tracy remarked. “We now have an idea of what her trap will be: an ambush. And being a clever thief with a flair for the dramatic, she’ll probably wait until Morris gets that safe open to spring it. It sounds like you’re up to the task of facing the Ultimados. That brings us back to the subject of her alleged ability to command others.”

She sat on a couch and turned the gun case to face her, unlatching it.

“It stands to reason that if she can command others, she has to do so literally. With an actual verbal command. Which means she needs to be there and needs to speak it. Otherwise, why not go on the tele and conquer the world with a few words? The key to defeating such a power, then, would be to take her down before she can speak. That’s just a matter of getting the drop on her, which we know you can do. Do you think you’d be able to hit her in time with this?”

Tracy opened the case and turned it to face him. Gordon admired the firearm inside.

“Yeah.” He mused. “Yeah, that could do it.”

Contessa Helena de San Finzione and her friends had moved their meeting to the War Room in Castle Finzione’s Government Wing. Supervisor Luc Allaine of Interpol and Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez had joined them. Luc reported to the others that the President’s guards had been questioned and that one of them had told his girlfriend that he would be guarding The Star of Uongo. Agents with Interpol’s office in Mtaji, the capital city, were now working with local police to question the woman and find out who she might have told.

Nigel Mander was the only one of Helen’s friends who had been in the War Room before. Most of them were swiveling in their chairs around the glass topped conference table.

“Now THIS is a room for plotting the deaths of your enemies!” Julie Equals proclaimed from the chair at the head of the table. Helen walked up to her and playfully shoved her out of it.

“That’s La Contessa’s seat.” She said, taking it. Helen looked over to Susan Bailey enjoying the way her high-backed white leather chair moved.

“How much of San Finzione’s defense budget goes to this room alone?” Susan asked.

“Now that SanFinTech exists and we make our own stuff,” Helen answered. “Not as much as before.” She turned to Troy Equals, who was looking at a monitor displaying the current locations of all of San Finzione’s naval ships at sea. “I’m guessing you approve of the change of venue, Troilus.”

“Oh, yes.” Troy agreed. He looked expectantly at the center of the table and something embedded under the glass.

That gave Susan a question.

“Why aren’t we having this meeting in your Study like always, Helen?”

“Two reasons, Susan. The first is that everything going on is still top secret and we know that security has already been breached, so it makes sense to discuss things in the most secure aboveground room in the castle for now. The second reason is the same one I wanted Julie out of my seat. Because sitting in this spot, I can do this.”

Helen activated the touchscreen built into her spot at the table. The thing that Troy had been looking at in the table sprang to life and a three-dimensional model of Castle Finzione appeared in the air above it. Susan let out a squeal of delight that caused all other conversation in the room to cease and everyone to look at her.

“Sorry, everyone.” Susan said, grinning. “There was this table in the Ultimados’ command center during the whole thing with Whyte. I never got to see them use it, but I knew it had to do something like this. So, I’ve been waiting a long time to see Helen make a fancy holographic map appear in the air.”

“It gets cooler.” Helen told her, lighting a cigarette. “Watch this.” She touched the screen a few more times and the tunnel and the exit in the Denti house were added to the display. The hologram of the castle went transparent and turned into a vector-graphic 3D floorplan of the castle. While the room was still impressed with that, Helen blew a stream of smoke at the holographic emitter, making the laser beams that came from it visible to all of them.

Most of the room applauded.

“Thanks, everyone. Now, unless Tracy is cleverer than we think and all this is all the kind of misdirection shit Whyte got off on, Sinclair and Walker are coming in via the tunnel.” Helen pointed at the Denti house with her cigarette. “Which, of course, deposits them in the Study. From there, they can get out the door into the hallway to make their way through the castle, where we’ll have Troy and four Ultimados waiting to make them surrender. Or, if they know about that one too, they could try the passage to my and Jeanne’s rooms. That’s where they’ll run into Mander and I on the other side of the wall.”

Ramirez had a question about that.

“Four Ultimados? Capitan Ortega informed me that La Contessa requested six.”

“Two will be protecting the twins.” Helen informed him. “And that’s where I’d like you in all this, Susan, guarding the boys. We know this is personal for Tracy, but I don’t think she’s crazy enough to go after them. I’m still not taking any chances with their safety. We can move them to their parents’ room for the night. But one of us should stay with them.” Helen pressed another button and the room lit up on the map. “That should be far enough away from everything to keep them and yourself safe.”

Susan nodded. Although the four of them tended to sleep together whenever they visited from Seattle, the guest bedroom closest to La Contessa’s chambers and the Nursery had been designated Troy, Julie, and Susan’s permanent room and was where they kept their things. She also had a question for Helen.

“Could their target be the Study itself?” She asked. “There’s plenty of stuff to take in there. One classified document off your desk would be of value to someone. And I know her goal isn’t money, but there’s a lot of it in your safe.”

“About three hundred-grand. A tempting target, but not enough for someone’s magnum opus. And if it was about taking any old thing from me, there are plenty of gold knick-knacks that could have fit into Sinclair’s pocket while he was in there. But he’s too smart a thief to steal anything during the recon. No, the job is personal, so the score is personal too.”

“Well.” Julie made her way into the conversation. “Susan’s got the babies taken care of. Troy will have Ultimados protecting him, so he’s ok. You and Mander have each other. Now, what have you got for the rest of us that you’re NOT going to stick on the sidelines, Helena?”

“Tracy’s expecting a trap, and we’re it.” Helen answered. “And yes, I knew you wouldn’t settle for keeping the kids safe with Susan, so I have something important in mind for you, Julie.”

“Well, you’ve got Troy protected. You’re not planning on sticking me with La Policia on this, are you?” Julie looked around the room. “Say, where is Prefect LeGrasse, anyway?”

“He’s not coming.” Helen told her. “La Policia have been ordered to stay out of this. Tracy fancies this a criminal-vs-criminal challenge. That’s fine. I’ll play that game. And the most basic rule, which even I won’t cheat at, is ‘no cops.’ Turning to The Man would mean admitting she’s too good for me to handle my way and I lose.”

The Generalissimo had something to say about that.

“I feel I should remind La Contessa that there is more at stake here than a matter of thieves’ honor. The People of Uongo still need you to recover the Star in time for the treaty-signing.”

“Oui.” Luc agreed. “As the only representative of Le Man present, I would encourage La Contessa to use every resource at her disposal. However, as someone with an understanding of how the criminal mind and the laws of this country work, I also recognize that there is no stopping you.”

Helen took a drag and leaned back in her chair.

“It’s nice to see that you’ve picked up the first thing you need to know about working with me, Luc. And no, Hernando, I haven’t forgotten about the Star of Uongo. We get Sinclair and Walker; we get Tracy and the rest of them. We get Tracy, we get the Star back and I make her tell us the name of the buyer. The smartest and admittedly funniest thing Tracy could do right now would be nothing. Leave us there all night, hiding behind furniture and waiting to yell surprise, while she goes laughing out of town with the money. The people she works with are good enough that one of them has to have pointed that out. But she’s still going through with it. Because she NEEDS to! Because until she pulls this off, I’m the better criminal. And if that was something she could accept, we wouldn’t be having to do all this.”