UPSIDE DOWN

~ 43 ~

Sylvie 

Papa stood at the head of the table and folded his hands together. The screens were dimmed; the maps were tucked away. For a moment the room hummed only with the sound of breath, five brothers, Nico on the small live feed, and Sylvie in the chair nearest him. He looked at each face once, then spoke, slow and plain.

"Enough of the fog," he said. "I'll say this in simple words. We've done the long, ugly work while I was gone. We starved him, we built the paperwork, we bought time. Now there's one job left, lure him in, lock him up in a way he can't walk out of, and hand the facts to the right people so he never walks free again. That's it. Clear?"

He let the sentence land. Heads nodded, but he wasn't finished.

"Now I'll tell you what you will do. No jargon. No theatre. Just the job and the reason why."

He pointed to Andrea.

"Andrea, strike lead. You orchestrate the teams. When Viktor takes the bait, you run the operation. You're in charge of timing, communications, and making sure nobody improvises. You keep the family ring intact and make the final call when it's time to move."

Andrea swallowed and nodded once.

"Aurelio, perimeter and logistics. Every route in and out, every vehicle, every possible exit, you make it unusable. If someone tries to get in or out who's not on our list, you close it. You control movement. You make the ground honest."

Aurelio's jaw tightened. He gave a curt, "Got it."

"Francesco, medical." Angelo's voice softened. "You are the one who keeps the people who matter alive. Wounds, knockouts, shock—anything that could go wrong clinically is your problem. You keep Sylvie technically fine and keep all of us stable until extraction."

Francesco's lips twitched into his usual half-smile. "I'm ready."

"Matteo, field logistics." Angelo's tone grew practical. "You coordinate transport, safe houses, fuel, kit drops, and the things that move us like clockwork. You ensure the plan can move without holes."

Matteo nodded, restless but steady.

"Luca, close personal protection and visibility. You stay with Sylvie during key windows. Your role is small but critical: keep her calm, keep her from ever being alone, and be the human alarm. You are her anchor."

Luca's face paled a little, then set in determination. He squeezed Sylvie's hand.

"Francesco and Nico," Angelo continued, "you two run intel and feeds during the operation. Nico, you lock the external channels and verify what comes in or out. Francesco, you stand by with the switched feeds I've already prepared. If a camera goes dark, we already know why and where. No surprises."

Nico gave a tight nod. Francesco tapped the table as if tapping rhythm into a plan.

"And me?" Angelo said, and every head turned. "I do the legal and diplomatic end. I make sure the paperwork exists the minute he's in custody. Prosecutors, sanctions, witnesses, we bring them forward during capture so Viktor has nowhere to run. I will attach the full case file to the arrest. We make this a legal kill, not a private vengeance."

He looked straight at Sylvie then, slowing his voice to the simplest cadence.

"And you, Sylvie, you are not bait. You are a part of the plan because you asked to be. You will be visible in the rumor we leak; you will never be alone with him; there will be at least two people within reach of you at all times during the window. You tell me if anything feels wrong. Your job is to listen to your gut and use the signals we rehearse. You just need to tell the word 'abort,' we extract immediately. Nothing else. No drama. Signal, and we move."