When In Rome You Catch a Killer

Chapter one

The woman's screams filled the shed but all of a sudden the noise quickly died down when the cloth-like material was wrapped around her face. The more she struggled to get loose the more friction she felt on her wrists from the thick rope.
"We both know what will happen if you don't shut up." Arcanum yelled harshly. He didn't have to let her live; he could easily freeze her but what's the fun in that. After a few minutes of her moving around in her chair she finally stopped, knowing her life would be at risk if she didn't. "Now, I want a simple answer. Where... Is.... The... File..." he threatened, and with one swift movement he removed the cloth from her mouth.
"I-I..." she trembled in fear not knowing what to say.
"Is that all you have to say?!" he screamed so loudly it even hurt his own ears a bit. "T-the file is in the main office." The poor woman didn't know if these words were her last so she told the truth. Arcanum walked over to the wall to use the landline. He dialed a phone number; a woman picked up.
"Badra, you ready?" Arcanum said through the phone.
"Yes sir." the woman on the phone answered.
"She said the file is in the main office. When you get there tell people you were on your lunch break."
"Yes sir." Arcanum hung up the phone. He walked back to the woman on the chair.
"You better not have been lying. I'm getting someone to check as we speak."
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"Agent Giovanni, agent Delilah come to my office now please" The chief of the CIAs investigations office's voice rang across the rooms of the building. Delilah was walking as fast as she could so she wouldn't be late. That day she thought she looked very nice. She wore a khaki skirt and a pale blue blouse to match her eyes. She had her naturally kinky hair tied back in a bun and some pearl earrings and necklace to finish off the look. After thinking about every possibility of why her and Giovanni could have been called she made it to the office door just to see the very man leaning against the wall.
"Speak of the devil" she said in a low whisper. Giovanni wasn't a bad looking man, in fact he was the opposite. Olive skin, green eyes, the chocolatey brown curly hair and that golden smile. Except he was a major flirt and thought too much about himself. To be quite frank she thought he cared more about his hair then his job. He always carried around a comb to make sure the sides of his hair that he had gelled stayed in place.
"Nice to see you too Delilah" he winked at her with a smirk on his face. Upon opening the door they were greeted by a medium skinned woman with dark brown eyes. Her black pantsuit, matte black shoes, and black hijab looked so professional delilah couldn't help but admire her boss.

"Hello fellow agents, I've called you both here to announce some good news." Delilah's face lit up with joy, "There's a serial killer on the loose, he goes by Arcanum Glacies. Next to his victims he leaves a red party cup filled with ice. His last killing was in France. By the pattern of locations he's been we suspect that his next killing will be in Rome."
"So the exciting news is that there's a serial killer out there?" Giovanni asked sarcastically.
"No, the exciting news is that you two are paired up to find Arcanum Glacies!" Delilah looked like her spirit had just left her body.
"Wait what! Giovanni and I, the same guy who checks out women instead of working, is getting assigned to the same mission as me?!"
"Yes, and what is all this about checking out women?" Aaria asked as she turned to face Giovanni. Giovanni turned red as he looked the other way.
"Wait, this is still all so confusing, you want two people to catch a serial killer who you're not even sure will be in Rome?" Delilah screamed.
"That's right." Delilah was in disbelief. "I never would've assigned you two to the mission if I thought you couldn't handle it."
After the three of them finished discussing the mission Aaria sent them away to pack before their flight at ten in the morning. Delilah left rushing to get to her car. She didn't want to walk to her car with Giovanni by her side. As soon as she got to her car she drove off to her apartment.
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Giovanni got to his car and arrived at his condo a few minutes later. His Yorkie, Princess, greeted him at the door. "Hello Princess!" He said in a baby voice as he picked her up. He walked over to his kitchen and poured dog food in Princess's bowl. He checked the time, it was six. He got out cold ramen leftovers from his fridge and heated them up in the microwave. He sat alone at the table to eat. Giovanni had the hardest time being home, everything used to be hers. It felt like only yesterday Carol and Giovanni were celebrating their three year anniversary. Carol is the one who gave him Princess for his birthday, she's also the one who decided they should move in and buy this condo. Giovanni tried his best to not cry whenever he got home. When he finished eating Princess followed him upstairs to his room. He pulled out a suitcase from his closet and opened it on his bed. He picked out some clothes to last him a month. Before he closed his suitcase he couldn't resist packing the snow globe of Chicago Carol gave him their last Christmas together. She always said she was going to live in Chicago, Giovanni never wanted to. Giovanni always took it hard upon himself for not realizing that the snow globe was a sign she wanted to leave. A tear rolled down his cheek as he held the snow globe tightly on his chest. Princess tried comforting him but it only hurt him more to see another one of Carol's presents. Giovanni couldn't hold in his tears anymore. He closed his suitcase and walked it to the front door. He wiped off his tears and called his brother, Emilio. He asked if he could take care of Princess for a month. Emilio knows Giovanni is an agent and couldn't provide any more information than "I'll be on a mission", so Emilio didn't mind saying yes. They agreed that Giovanni would drop Princess off at eight in the morning. After finishing everything he had to do, he returned to his room and turned on his television. As he layed in his bed with Princess sitting on his lap watching Avengers for the millionth time he looked beside him, Carol wasn't there next to him. Tears fell down his face. Gio ended up crying himself to sleep for the third time this month.
Gio woke up at seven to put on his clothes and eat breakfast before having to drop off Princess. He was wearing dark blue jeans secured with a brown belt, a maroon colored shirt and some brown dress shoes. He prepared Princess's cradle and got her inside using a bit of popcorn as bait. He carried her to his car and drove half an hour through traffic to get to Emilio's condo. Giovanni stood at Emilio's doorstop waiting for him to open the door. Emilio opened the door and greeted him with a smile. He noticed that though Gio tried to hide his sadness, his red puffy eyes gave it away.
"Thanks for taking Princess," Gio said as he handed Princess in her cradle to Emilio. "Sorry for only telling you last night, I only found out yesterday that I'd be going on this mission."
"Don't be sorry Gio I'm happy to take care of Princess." Emilio brushed his black hair away from his coffee colored eyes. Giovanni smiled, he wanted to leave before Emilio commented on his red puffy eyes.
"Well I'll be off then. See you."
"Don't leave so soon, come inside and have some coffee." Emilio said rather demandingly.
"I really shouldn't, my plane leaves at ten."
"Well it's only eight. You can stay for another half hour, right?"
"I really can't, I have a partner this time. She would kill me if I'm late by even a second. I'll be back in a month. We can talk then." Gio walked to his car and waved goodbye to his brother and Princess before getting in. Emilio took Princess inside as Giovanni drove off to the airport.
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