Page 371 of Niccolo

153

Sofia

On the monitors in the library, Fausto and I watched two rectangles on the screen:

The forward-looking camera of the motorcycle driver…

And the camera of the gunman.

There was no sound, but the visuals were disorienting enough.

Fausto and I held our breath as he opened fire.

We saw the muzzle flash –

But no one seemed to be hit as the brothers protected their don.

I caught a glimpse of Niccolo, and my heart skipped a beat in fear.

“Goddamn it, he missed Dario!” Fausto cursed.

I didn’t have time to answer as the bike headed right for Lars, who dove out of the way.

Suddenly, Rachel was there in the camera’s field of vision –

And we saw the shock on her face as her chest exploded red.

“No, not HER!” Fausto shouted angrily.

“What’s wrong?”

“Who gives a shit abouther?”

“No, this is perfect. Lars will go insane with rage. If he abandons his post, the others lose their most powerful piece on the board.”

Suddenly, the cameras of both the driver and gunman wobbled. It appeared the motorcycle had slammed into a car.

Within seconds, both men were running for a bunch of stone monoliths in the distance.

I reached over to the chess set and took away a pawn.

“One down,” I said.

154

Niccolo

Iwatched helplessly as Lars jumped over a car hood and raced after the driver and gunman.

“BACK INSIDE, BACK INSIDE!” I screamed at the others.

At the top of the steps, Massimo handed off the Widow to two foot soldiers who hustled her inside.

At the bottom of the steps, Adriano, Roberto, and Valentino helped Dario to his feet. All of them but Dario had pulled their pistols –

Just as a black SUV in the stream of traffic gunned its engine and jumped the curb.

I knew what was coming next.

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