Chapters 8-10. Hale's POV.

11 Days Until Deadline

Sabina Valley, Italy

I shook Kat awake when we landed in Italy. The minute I laid a hand on her she jumped and bolted upright, glaring at me through her still sleepy eyes.

I only smiled and winked, "Letting it get to you?" I guessed.

She smirked at me, the twinkle returning to her eyes. "Never."

She got out of her seat and waited for the flight attendant to open the door for her. I stayed right behind her, hands out in front of me. I needed to be able to grab her, in case she decided to make a run for it. And knowing Kat she might try.

The attendant opened the door, revealing the private airstrip, one of the most beautiful valleys in Italy, and a teenage girl with a cocked hip and a smirk on her lips.

"No way." I heard Kat say, freezing in her tracks.

The girl on the tarmac wiggled her fingers and grinned. "Hello, Kitty Kat."

Kat opened her mouth, and turned back to me, "Can I talk to you?"

She grabbed at me, but even though she was faster and much more catlike then I was- or will ever be- I was much more studier than her. I moved past Kat, down the stairs.

When my eyes leveled with the girls she said, "Hey, handsome."

I smirked and pulled her into a hug. I could feel her legs lift off the ground and wondered why she was wearing such a short skirt in such cold weather. I mean, it's not like I minded seeing her legs, but to be honest I would much rather see someone else's.

I let go of her because to be honest, I was used to getting girls to slobber over me. Even though Kat or my friend here have never slobbered (except for a cover), it was just a personal habit of mine to start pushing people away before they hurt me. Kat is the only person that I have kept close, besides Marcus.

Speaking of Kat, she still stood frozen, glaring down at us from the top of the steps.

She didn't move until Gabrielle called, "Oh, come on, Kitty, don't you have a hug for your cousin?"

Kat finally sighs and moved down the stairs, passing Gabrielle's open arms and moving into Arturo Taccone's hometown. Gabrielle left her hands out, like by some miracle Kat would come back for her.

Cue dramatic sigh.

Gabrielle grabbed my arm and pulled me up behind Kat. "Hale," she whined as she casually draped her arm through mine, "Kat's not being very nice to me."

"Kat," I said sternly, enjoying that fact that I could be in charge, if not for a little while, "hug your cousin."

Kat's arms didn't move from her pockets. She looked back at Gabrielle with a skeptical glare. I had never really seen Kat show any real affection to anyone other than her father. So when her arms didn't rise up to hug her cousin, I wasn't surprised.

Kat finally sighed and said, "It's good to see you, Gabrielle. I thought you were in Monte Carlo. The Eurotrash circuit."

I bit my lip from making some remark. Gabrielle was quick with the punch back. "And I thought you were in study hall. Guess we were both mistaken."

Gabrielle raised her head up high, pressing herself more firmly into me so that we could both walk down the narrow cobblestone streets. Kat strayed behind us like a third wheel.

"So, where's Alfred?" Gabrielle asked.

"You mean Marcus?" I corrected smoothly.

"Whatever." She said with a wave of her hand. I felt her hand in my pocket just as she said, "Happy birthday." I didn't see what it was, nor did I look down to find out. I assumed they were the photos I asked her to take when canvassing Taccone's mansion. If not, they can wait to be looked at.

"How's your mom?" Kat finally asked Gabrielle, breaking the silence.

"Engaged." Gabrielle gave an exasperated sigh. "Again."

"Oh," I exclaimed. "Congratulations."

"You could say that. He's a count. I think. Or maybe he's a duke." She turned to me. "Which one's better?"

Before I could answer we come to a low, stone wall. I took the pictures out of my pocket. I was right, they were the pictures I asked Gabrielle to take of Taccone's place. The place, or villa, was massive, and looked just as intimidating in the pictures as it did in the blueprints.

"This is as close as you got to the house?" I asked her finally.

She chopped on her gum. "You mean the fortress? Seriously, nice pickings guys."

"We didn't pick it." Kat reminded her.

"Whatever. The place has a fifteen- foot stone wall."

"We know," Kat told her.

"Four perimeter towers. With guards."

"We know," Kat said with a roll of her eyes this time.

"And a moat. Did you know that, Miss Smarty-pants? Did you know there's an actual moat? Like with things under the water?" Gabrielle gave a full body shiver, showing her disgust.

I sighed and turned away from the bickering cousins, putting the pictures in my pocket and leaning my elbows on the wall. The view was quite beautiful, the fertile land and sheep were really the view of a lifetime. Right.

"Fine," Kat said. "What about the police report?"

Gabrielle just laughed in her face, the sound resonating off the stones. And I smiled a small smile too. Ah Kat, I thought, you're just so funny sometimes.

"You didn't check with the police… at all? You didn't ask them about anything?"

Gabrielle smiled at Kat and spoke slowly, as if Kat had gotten stupider while she was away, "Men like Arturo Taccone don't call the police, Kat."

There was a pause, and when she talked her voice was vitriolic, "Those of us who don't abandon our families are able to learn these things."

Kat rolled her eyes again, "Geez, I left for a few-"

"You left." Gabrielle's voice was colder then the wind, and I watched silently as the two cousin's battled it out. "And you'd still be behind your ivory-covered walls if we hadn't… You'd still be there."

I shot Gabrielle a look, letting her know that was a close one. Kat wasn't that stupid and she would figure it out soon enough. I glanced nervously at Kat I could practically see the gears turning as she looked from her cousin to me and back again. She wrinkled her nose and I knew we were going to get yelled at.

She only wrinkles her nose when she thinks she smells a lie.

"Gabrielle," Kat said slowly, "how'd you know there was ivy at Colgan?

Gabrielle scoffed, "Isn't there always ivy at boarding schools Kat?"

But Kat wasn't paying attention; the puzzle pieces were being put together and it was too late to stop them.

"Gabrielle, Hale?" Kat smacked my shoulder and I jumped. "It wasn't bad enough that you got me kicked out of school but you had to use her to help you? Gabrielle?"

I knew she would be mad. That's why I didn't tell her about it. Why did she need to know anyway?

"I can hear you," Gabrielle sang behind us.

I looked at Gabrielle but gestured at Kat, "She's adorable when she's jealous."

The anger in Kat's eyes was evident as she kicked me in the shin. "Hey! It had to be done, remember? And contrary to popular belief, I don't know that many girls."

The two girls standing in front of me stared at me with the same expression, reminding me eerily that they were cousin. I amended myself quickly, "Okay, I don't know that many girls who have your special skill."

Gabrielle battered her eyelashes at me, "Oh, you do know how to make a girl feel special."

I glanced at Kat, and her whole demeanor had changed. She was tense, and instead of her eyes portraying anger, they portrayed betrayal.

She turned to me. "I'll see you at the hotel." She turned to her cousin, her voice even colder as she talked to her, "And I'll see you at Christmas or at one of your mother's weddings or… something. Thanks for coming, Gabrielle. But I'm sure there's a beach somewhere that wishes you were on it, so I'll let you go back to your business and I'll get back to mine."

With that she turned and walked away. I turned to follow her but Gabrielle grabbed my arm at the last second and pulled me back. Kat had almost made it to the corner when Gabrielle called after her. "You think you're the only person in the world who loves your dad?"

Kat stopped in her tracks but didn't turn to look back at her cousin. I know they weren't the best of friends, and the family business automatically made them competitors for the same spot. But sometimes Kat needs to let her guard down and let herself trust someone other than her father and Uncle Eddie.

"You need me," Gabrielle said. And I was surprised. There was so whining or begging. No doubt or flirt or ditz. She sounded for once like she knew what she was doing, and that she was good at it. "Like it or not, Kitty Kat, the reunion stats now."

Gabrielle got to drive the tiny European car that she jump-started.

She parked the car on the side of a winding, country road. The night sky was clear and there was a cool damp breeze in the air.

"Tell me again why I had to ride in the backseat." I climbed my way out of the car and stretched, things cracking as I looked down at Kat.

"The billionaire always rides in the back, big guy." She reached out to pat me on the chest, but before she could pull away I caught her wrist, her gloved hand splayed across my pounding heart. Her touch always did strange things to me, and this time things were no different.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked quietly, trying not to let my quickened breath give me away.

Kat looked up at me, honesty evident as she spoke. "This is our only idea."

I heard Gabrielle pop the hood of the car and tinker around, so if anyone passed they wouldn't stop to ask questions.

But I kept my gaze on Kat, her eyes searching mine. I felt like a little boy again, and was reminded of the mother I never had as Kat gently brushed my hair off my forehead. Her fingers barely grazed my face, but it was enough to show that she cared. So I was ready to do this, for her.

I wanted to tell her. "Kat, I-"

"Coming?" Gabrielle's whisper cut me off. Kat's hand dropped off my chest and she turned away from me first, my unsaid declaration of protection hanging on my tongue. But as the two girls started for the woods, I had no choice but to follow.

The woods were not as quiet as I would've liked. The forest floor crunching underneath our feet was very loud and obnoxious.

"Opps," Kat said again as she stumbled. I walked by her, my hands on her waist to steady her as she walked up the uneven terrain. I knew this frustrated her, slipping and tripping all the time- she usually carries and exhibits much more graceful than this. No one said anything to her though. Not one sarcastic joke or comment was made, and now was definitely not the time to joke around.

"That's it," Gabrielle said as she stopped abruptly, almost causing Kat to run into her.

Even at night Taccone's fortress didn't look scary. It was large and looming and would be a perfect little postcard to send out to people, except for the guards with large guns, stationed in the towers.

I was pulled down to the ground by Kat. I could feel the dampness of the grass against me as I lay down on my stomach, next to Kat. I'm sure the girls could feel it too as we lay at the top of the hill, looking down on Taccone's large villa.

I heard Kat sigh, and I knew she was thinking what I was. That Gabrielle was right; you had to see it to believe it. Only a fool would try to break into those walls.

I paused in thought as I studied the stones and the moat. "Groundhog?" I finally asked, deciding someone had to suggest something.

"No time," Kat replied. "The tunneling alone would take days, and Taccone wouldn't leave these woods unpatrolled for that long."

I tried again, "Fallen Angel?"

"Maybe," Kat answered, tilting her head towards the sky. "But even on a night with no moon, that inner courtyard is awfully small to risk someone seeing you or your parachute. And no one builds guard towers if they aren't going to fill them with guards."

I shook my head. There had to some way to get in. Someone had done it before, and we had to do it now. Gabrielle turned over to lay on her back with a dramatic sigh. Kat huffed out, scratching her black ski cap and finally ripping it off her head when it became too itchy.

I stared at Taccone's mansion. There has to be a way in. "So someone either Trojan Horsed or Avon Ladied or… or… maybe someone did Groundhog it. That's a possibility right Kat?"

But instead of answering me, Kat stood up and started walking away, so quickly that Gabrielle or I couldn't grab onto her.

"Get down!" Gabrielle snapped as she grabbed for Kat's leg again.

"Where are you going?" I asked her as she purposefully walked towards the drawbridge.

"Kat!" Gabrielle hissed when Kat kept walking, running a hand through her locks of hair as the rain started to fall. "You're going to get us caught."

My heart sank and I felt like someone had punched me in the gut when she paused, only for a moment to flash a wicked smile and say, "I know."

We watched nervously as Kat came to the drawbridge. She walked to the side of the road, the iron gates looming down at her as she pushed a button to announce her arrival. She looked cool, calm, collected, confident. As the gates swung open and lightning flashed, she reminded me of the girl she was when I first met her, not the girl I had been working with over the summer.

Kat entered the villa and we watched silently as it ate her up, swallowing her whole.

I lay on the ground, in the shade of the trees and watched as rain fell and lightning flashed, thunder booing not long after. I sighed. Gabrielle hadn't said a word, and neither had I. She may not admit that she's a huge fan of her cousin, but as Gabrielle watched the doors attentively; I knew she at least cared.

And I did too, which was why I was so upset. Kat didn't understand what was type of man Taccone was. She didn't understand that by going in there and saying one wrong thing, her father could be dead by morning.

"What do you think is going on in there?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know." Gabrielle whispered. "I would say Kat normally isn't this stupid, but-"

"She normally is?" I cut her off with a smirk, trying my best to keep my mind off of Taccone and Kat.

"Yeah," she breathed, her breath showing in the chilly air.

"That's something I use to love about her," I confined in Gabrielle. Her massacred eyes looked at me. She was one of the few people that knew that I cared for Kat greatly.

"I don't see how you can love stupidity," she mumbled as lightning flashed.

"I used to think it's wasn't stupidity." I tried to explain. "I thought it was courage or bravery."

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows at me, "Really?"

"How many people do you know that will march into an armed fortress?"

She gave me a skeptical look. "Are you trying to convince me that she is sane or yourself?"

"Myself," I mumbled.

"You have every right to be mad at her, it's okay." Gabrielle placed a hand on my shoulder. "She is the one who left."

I covered my face with my hands. My head was reeling. The anger I had for Kat boiled up inside me and consumed until it took over. She knew how I felt about Taccone and his goons, and yet she still put her life on the line for this mission.

She had left me. And maybe it was selfish of me to think that she hurt me the most by leaving. So I wasn't ready to forgive her for leaving me for a third time.

That's when Gabrielle hit my arm. The drawbridge was lowing, and Kat was walking through the rain and the darkness, taking her sweet time. She looked as if she didn't have a care in the world.

And that's part of what made her so good.

We got back to the hotel. With a quick change of clothes we were ready to watch the disk that Taccone slipped to Kat.

I hadn't spoken a word to Kat the entire ride over here, or even now. She hadn't said anything to me either.

"There should be popcorn," Gabrielle's voice called from across the suite. "Am I the only one who thinks there should be popcorn?"

"Milk Duds," I said as I sank into the end of the sofa. "I, personally, am a fan of the Dud."

Kat pulled her damp hair into a bun, pulling on a dry sweater before taking out a notebook from her bag and crossing her less on the opposite end of the couch.

She glanced at me, and I knew that she knew why I wasn't talking to her. I wondered if she was going to apologize. I wondered if she knew that I wasn't quite ready to forgive her yet.

Kat shook her head and pressed PLAY on the remote. Black- and- white images flashed across the flat screen: a long entryway, a professional- grade kitchen, a wine cellar, a billiards parlor, Taccone's study, and finally…

"Stop."

Gabrielle hit pause and the image on the screen was of a room with a marble floor. The only furniture was a bench, and the five paintings that hung on the wall were the only décor.

"Blueprints," Kat ordered, but I was already pulling out the prints and rolling them onto the coffee table.

"Here." Kat pointed to a room that looked like it had similar dimensions to the one on the screen.

"Looks like it's located underground, probably only accessible here." She pointed to the blueprint of the floor above. "A hidden elevator in Taccone's office."

"How do you know that?" Gabrielle asked.

Kat closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to imagine what she saw. "Because I'm pretty sure I was standing right in front of it tonight."

I tensed, but didn't speak as I hit PLAY on the remote. The images kept flashing before our eyes, and it was silent- in the film and in the room. It stayed silent on screen, even as lighting flashed in the window of Taccone's study, and the screen went dark.

In the room, there was a collective sigh and an exclamation of, "Benjamin Franklin."

Having only executed one or two of those plans with Kat, it was hard for me to image what the thief did. My best guess though, was just to wait until a stormy night arrived and… well, attack.

The tape resumed, and Kat leaned in closer to squint. "How long until the generators kicked on?"

"Forty- five seconds," Gabrielle answered.

"Not bad," I said. It wasn't, either. In my home, it usually takes a minute or two for the generators to kick in.

"For Taccone's system or our guy?" Gabrielle asked.

I shrugged, as if to say that it could go either way.

"Everything else went black, but this room…" Kat pointed to the vaultlike space on the screen. "This room must be on a separate feed from the rest of the house. This room kept recording."

Kat looked down at the blueprints for a brief moment. "Looks like it's directly under…"

Kat's voice trialed as we all watched as water dripped from the gallery ceiling.

"The moat," we all finished in unison.

"Cool," my voice in pure awe as I watched the screen. Whoever did this was good. "Benjamin Franklin with a side of Loch Ness Monster."

"Eww!" Gabrielle exclaimed. "That moat is disgusting. Seriously. No way I would go near it."

"From what I could see, there were at least five Old Masters in that room, Gabs," I told her with an eye roll. "You'd go near it."

"Maybe," Gabrielle admitted. "But if he cut a hole in the ceiling of a room under a moat, then why isn't it flooded?"

I glanced at Kat as she got up out of her seat, depositing her notebook on the couch. She didn't even need to look at the screen as she recited what was happening. "He rode a mini-submarine in from the lake and then sealed it to the room's roof. After that, all he had to do was open the hatch, cut the hole, and… A mini-submarine," Kat said again with a shake of her head. It looked as if she was trying to get rid of a memory or sudden thought.

Her cousin looked from the screen to her. "How do you know?"

"Because that's what Dad did." A silence fell over the room as Kat walked to the windows that overlooked the quiet streets. Her eyes shut for a moment, "Two years ago. Venice. It was-"

"Beautiful," I said. I remember when it was happening. I had only been apart of "the family" for about two years, and I had gone on many different types of heist with Kat. I had learned so many different techniques from her, and I had learned almost all of the different code names. I was in complete awe when I heard that her father did this. I idolized Bobby Bishop even more for pulling off such a risky thing.

Then again, that's what Kat did tonight and I wasn't talking to her for it. But she was also my best friend, and I have every right to worry about her more than I do her father (who, at the time, still hated me).

"Risky," Kat finished. Her voice ripped through my thoughts. I sighed, "Well, at least we know why your dad is Taccone's leading suspect."

"Only suspect," Gabrielle corrected.

Kat turned back to the screen to watch as a man in a wet suit moved through the gallery. No movement was hurried or wasted as he neutralized the pressure switches on each painting and packed them into individual cases. He slid them through the hole, into the submarine that was waiting outside.

"Taccone said that when the power went out, someone lopped the video feed to the guard's station, so no one saw a thing. What we're watching is from an off-site backup system that our guy either didn't know about or missed." Kat shrugged and continued to explain, "However it happened, no one even knew those paintings were gone until Taccone got home from a business trip."

"What kind of business is he in?" Gabrielle asked, like she was actually interested in Taccone.

"The business of being incredibly scary," Kat answered, at the same time I said, "Evil."

Both girls looked at me, eyebrows raised. When I spoke again my voice was soft, "Arturo Taccone is in the business of evil."

By the way Kat looked at me, she knew I wasn't telling her something. And she was right. I didn't want her to know of Taccone's past, the gruesome and horrible things he has done- killing people and their families for money. I didn't want to scare her or make her even more worried about her dad than she already was.

With that thought I threw the remote on the table. My voice cold and bitter as a talked to Kat for the first time in hours, "So maybe I'm going to handcuff myself to you the next time you decide to take a stroll."

"I was fine," she insisted. "He… likes me. I amuse him. He thinks I'm-" Kat paused, as if she herself hadn't realized until now- "like him."

"You're not," I blurted. Now I looked at her, our eyes finally meeting. "You are not like Arturo Taccone."

She held my glaze and my eyes wandered hers. Pictures of dead bodies flashed through my eyes, stories of death and destruction filled my thoughts as I stared at the girl I plan to have by my side for the rest of my life. This was not what she was like, nor would I let her story become one of tragedy because of him.

"How deep would the river that runs to the moat be at its shallowest?" Gabrielle asked, breaking silence.

Kat shrugged but kept her eyes on me. "Eight feet."

I was the one to look away as I nodded. "I'd say ten at the most."

"How small would the sub have the be?"

"Small," Kat answered.

"Note to self," Gabrielle muttered. "When it comes to moats, deeper isn't necessarily better."

Then I asked, "How small?"

Kat turned to the screen, staring at the masked man who had been caught in the act of stealing five priceless paintings, and possibly Bobby Bishop's future.

I knew Kat had a plan in mind as a smirk spread across her face.

"There's just one way to find out."

Hey everyone,

Let me know what you think. I tried to let more of Hale's personal thoughts shine through. I hope you enjoyed reading.

Also, thanks again to everyone who took the time to review this story. You really make my day!

- artist1157

P.S. Sorry if this was too long for some of you. I update by "days left", not by chapter.