Page 80 of Niccolo

The day before the wedding, ‘Diana’ arrived at Fausto’s for the meeting.

She was stunning. Even with minimal makeup, she reminded me of Gal Gadot, the actress who played Wonder Woman.

Adding to her already formidable glamor, she spoke with a posh British accent.

She was smart, capable, and perceptive –

And most definitely Rachel Bauer.

Fausto asked her point blank if that was her name. She neither confirmed nor denied it, but her expression of surprise told us everything we needed to know.

Fausto spun a little fable about how he and Dario were cousins, thathewas the Good Samaritan who had anonymously sent Dario to jail, and now he feared Dario’s retribution.

Fausto portrayed himself as an innocent importer/exporter of olive oil, just as he’d said he would.

Not that she bought it. I could see the distrust on her face.

However, Fausto’s willingness to meet her 200,000 euro fee persuaded her.

After hearing her price, I was glad to be in theconsiglierebusiness rather than the assassin trade. It paid much better.

I didn’t say anything during the meeting with Rachel. I don’t know… there was something about her being former MI6 that spooked me. I didn’t feel any need for her to know anything about me other than my appearance.

Rachel looked at some maps Fausto had assembled, discussed logistics, and provided him with a list of supplies she needed. After that, she retired to a cottage on the edge of the estate. Fausto wanted to keep her close by in case an opportunity to kill Dario presented itself.

Thank God he did, because it wasn’t so much an ‘opportunity’ as a ‘necessity.’

33

The day of the wedding arrived.

It was a Wednesday, which was odd to me; I’d always thought of weddings as happening on weekends.

But I guess when you’re a richmafioso –and all of your guests are richmafiosos– every day was just like the rest. No need to wait for the weekend.

Fausto, Aurelio, and I piled into the Rolls-Royce, and the driver took off for the Rosolini estate.

Aurelio was still stuck on an asinine idea he’d had the week before.

“I still say we should call in Wagner on the wedding,” he argued. “Kill them all in one shot.”

“NO,” Fausto snapped.

“Why not?!”

“A bunch of rampaging mercenaries in a firefight against Dario’s foot soldiers – what could possibly go wrong?” Fausto said sarcastically. “What if they killus?”

“We can send them in after we’re gone!”

“Once Dario and the others are dead, youdorealize I have to stay on good terms with the rest of theCosa Nostra,don’t you?Do you know how suspicious it would be if I miraculously left before the entire wedding party got slaughtered?”

“But – ”

“STOP ASKING!” Fausto yelled at him.

Aurelio sank into bitter silence.

Fausto turned to me. “We’ll introduce you as Aurelio’s date, obviously, but I’d rather stay away from your past as a chess master. No sense piquing their curiosity.”

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