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FLORENCE, ITALY
VERONA NEVER THOUGHT SHE WOULD BE BACK IN EUROPE. Mostly because the Professor had forbidden it after the Royal Mint heist. She sat in the backseat of one of the cars as the whole group headed towards the Italian Monastery they would be doing the preparation for the heist. It was where Berlin had proposed the heist idea to the Professor years back. Verona remembered the many times back in Toledo where she and Berlin traded stories of their love for the country. The architecture, art, culture. She wished she could've experienced it with him. He should've been there.
Because of unfortunate events that had taken place, a chunk of their group was no longer with them. Therefore, they recruited a few new faces to the team-- Palermo, Bogota, and Marseille.
When they arrived at the Monastery, the group exited the three cars. Verona gazed in awe at the building in front of her, a small smile forming on her face. Florence's lips twisted up when he noticed the expression on her face, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He could tell she was excited to be back in Italy, regardless of the reason why they were really there. He remembered the stories she shared with him about how she traveled to the various cities in the country throughout her childhood.
Everything was peaceful, until a certain someone noticed her presence.
"I won't work with a Vasquez." Palermo mentioned, the distaste evident in his voice. His words caught the attention of everyone in the group, an unwanted tension building up. Verona's face dropped slightly, her lips twisting downwards. "Nor do I want one involved with this plan. It's disrespectful to Andrés' memory." The utter disgust on his face made her tilt her head to the side, eyes narrowing at him.
"I'm not my father." Verona remarked, fists clenching at her sides. Her father had always been a sensitive subject, but even more so now because of the circumstances. The news hadn't said anything else about him, and it had been almost a month. She didn't know if he was conscious, dead, or still in a coma. She wondered if they were purposely hiding the information to get her out of hiding. Maybe it was all a ploy to lure her out to arrest her. But she was too smart to fall for that trap.
"Your father's on his deathbed, right?" He rhetorically asked, as a sickening smirk formed on his face. "It's what he deserves." His face hardened as he said the last part, and she could tell he really meant it.
"Son of a bitch." She snapped, a burst of anger bubbling up in her. She tried lunging at the man, but was held back by Florence and Nairobi. She desperately tried thrashing around in their grips, as Palermo let out a small chuckle at her reaction. The amusement on his face made Florence's jaw clench. Part of him wanted to let Verona go to see what she would do to him, but he knew it wasn't a smart idea.
