The Prototype

75. Unmasked

MARCELLUS

The light stretched across the desk in slow, precise bands as the sun sank toward the horizon behind the curtains. The chandelier filled the rest of the room with a cool, steady glow that maintained soft, honest shadows along the walls and floor. The air carried faint espresso and leather with an undercurrent of cigar scent that settled in the room rather than moving through it. My fingertips moved over surveillance layouts and access rosters with practiced certainty, tracing lines and blind spots until every gap sat labeled and contained under the rules on those pages. The edges of the paper whispered once I shifted the stacks. The chair leather creaked when I eased more weight into it, a small sound that marked presence rather than announcement.

Monitors cycled through feeds in slow transitions. Stage crews aligned lights, sound technicians tested bass and tempo, electrical equipment created a constant, low hiss while technicians smoothed cables along the underfloor. Guards stood at their stations in pressed uniforms with radios clipped and calibrated, their hard bottom shoes producing a clean, measured rhythm on the dark marble corridors. Tables and sections formed precise arcs on the floor plans. I marked entry points with thicker pen strokes. The private hall behind the stage remained sealed to authorized faces only. Cameras positioned in layered redundancies across ceilings, hallways, corners, and service entrances controlled visibility.

A knock cut through the low hum of electronics with a measured sound that carried pressure through the wood. I answered without looking away from the blueprint.

"Come in."

The hinges released a soft complaint. Hard bottom shoes struck the doorway in a steady formation. Nino occupied the front with focus tightening the set of his jaw. Ricco entered behind him with a silent, observant expression, his eyes adjusting to the room before his body settled. Uncle Galilei stepped in with slower, weighted movement that pulled age and tradition into the room without a word spoken. Two softer steps followed once Gia and Gabby entered with heels that produced a whisper against marble rather than a click. The door closed with a muted snap that removed the hallway and enclosed us inside.

They moved into the office with presence rather than sound and changed the pressure in the air. Nino selected the chair opposite my desk with a measured shift of weight and placement of elbows on the armrests. Uncle Galilei positioned himself beside Nino with one slow lowering motion that secured him to the seat and reinforced the impression of a structure settling into place. Ricco remained standing near the side with arms folded across his chest, shoulders squared, gaze directed toward the desk. Gia and Gabby sat together on the small couch adjacent to my desk with straight spines and crossed legs angled toward the room.

I paused the surveillance feed and let the screen go dark once my fingertip pressed the remote sensor. A folder slid toward me when I pushed it forward. The edge of the cardstock scraped against the wood with a quiet rasp. I pressed my palm over the access list to anchor the names where I wanted them, feeling the printed letters under the thin paper and the slight texture of ink against skin.

"Everything for tonight stays in place," I said, my voice even and precise, the words setting a boundary across the room. "Vincenzo will be in attendance with just his brother Leonardo. Joseph will not be in attendance with them tonight. Let us move through positioning for the night."

My eyes moved to Ricco. The light caught the plane of his cheek. "Ricco, you control entry and exit. Every name checks twice. Every identification verified. I don't care if they are investors or plus one's; no one crosses that threshold without clearance. Rotate your teams hourly. No fatigue. No distraction."

He nodded once, small and complete, "We reinforced the lower corridor near the lounge," he said. "Coverage is tight. No gaps." The detail landed like a confirmation that closed the loop.