Operation Leap of Faith

Chapter 7

One day ago - Rome

"So now you know . Took you long enough to figure it out," Alibi commented, taking a sip of her coffee.

It was a lovely cafe in the center of the city, one they had gone before, all those years ago when Sledge was newly arrived in Italy and was easily enchanted by everything around him. Maestro insisted on bringing him here, saying this was the best coffee in the whole city. Now, here they were again.

He looked at Alibi, taking note of how different she looked from the last time he'd seen her. She seemed even colder and quieter, not to mention she wore her hair longer. In comparison, Maestro looked almost the same, just a few more lines on his handsome face and more grey peppering his hair.

"I didn't exactly figure it out on my own," Sledge admitted with a bashful smile; no shame in admitting the truth. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Adriano already filled me in, don't worry."

That was Maestro's style, yes. He was a big gossip and couldn't keep his mouth shut. Although this simplified Sledge's work, no need to have the same conversation twice.

"Very well. Do you have any questions or can we move into the part where I have to convince you to join?"

Alibi's little smile came and went in a flash, but if Sledge didn't know better, he'd say she looked almost fond. Could she have missed him too? They were never that close, but they'd got along well.

"There's something Rainbow could help me with, if I was to join, I mean."

Was this a negotiation or a condition? Sledge turned to look at Maestro since his silence was pretty telling of his involvement in this idea. "You support her conditions, I presume. Or did you plan this together?"

"It will be good for both Rainbow and the Brotherhood, caramellino ."

It was as good as an admission of Sledge's suspicions. He drank from his own cup to hide his smile when he heard Maestro falling back on the cutesy nicknames. He always did that when he wanted Sledge to agree with him on something.

"I can't make any promises, but I want to hear it," Sledge said. Best case scenario, it would be a sensible request that he could pass along to Six or Harry.

"For a time I posed as an arms dealer to get closer to the Vinciguerra family," Alibi explained, "but the whole operation failed rather spectacularly. The GIS gave up on finding them again, but the Brotherhood didn't."

Sledge didn't understand how her undercover mission was related to the whole assassin business. His confusion must have shown clearly on his face, for Maestro impatiently took over Alibi's explanation.

"The Vinciguerra family bought a villa in Toscana. That house is essential for the Brotherhood."

"I thought the Vinciguerras had gone underground, leaving most of their possessions behind?" Sledge asked, still not seeing the whole picture.

"There has been too much traffic in that area lately, for being an abandoned one," Alibi answered him. "Some of the vans coming and going had the Abstergo logo painted on them."

Right, the tech company that Six didn't want to deal with. Because they were enemies of the assassins. Goodness, this was bringing Sledge a headache. "So you want us to go visit this Villa, that's it?"

"If the visit trend continues as it is, it won't be empty when we go," Alibi put her cup down, looking directly at Sledge. "Adriano and I know how to hold down and resist, but we'll need specialists in breaking down defenses and entering. Like you."