Prosciutto handed Sorbet an uzi from the trunk of Risotto's car and several clips. He holstered his own pistol onto his calf and offered another pistol to Sorbet, but he already looked uncomfortable with the uzi in his hand. That's right, he prefers blades.
"You ever used a submachine gun?" Prosciutto asked as he rolled his pant leg back down over the concealed weapon.
"Once, it's not really my style though," Sorbet said.
"Right, well, this place is gonna be packed with guns and stands. Never bring a knife to a gunfight, yeah?" Prosciutto lit a cigarette. He was gonna need the nicotine.
"Thanks again, Prosciutto. For earlier with Gelly," Sorbet said as he examined the gun in his hands.
"We all feel safer without that blade in Gelato's hands," Prosciutto said and blew out a puff of smoke. Sorbet chuckled.
"Yeah. You're right about that. He's an artist."
"I was thinking fucking psychopath, but okay. Here Pesc," He turned and threw a clip of ammo to Pesci who caught it.
"Just in case, right, Fra?" Pesci smiled and put it in his pocket.
"Yeah, you shouldn't need it but like you said, just in case." His heart swelled as he watched Pesci load his gun in seconds. He refused to let the smile he felt inside play on his lips. "Just go for the heart like you been doing."
"And hold your ground," Pesci concluded. Prosciutto nodded. His heart was bubbling with pride. He'd done so well with Pesci, he was so much better than the rest of these chucklefucks. Certainly way better than Formaggio, kid barely had a leg to stand on.
"Everyone got their tactical earpieces working?" Sorbet said. Prosciutto helped Pesci put his on and made sure it worked. Once his was squared away, he tested his own.
"Melone, can you hear me?" Prosciutto pushed the button on his ear.
"Loud and clear, Pro," Melone chirped.
"We hear ya, Sciuts!" Formaggio said in his ear.
"We're also patched in," Illuso said. "I have you guys on the monitors, thanks to Melone. We'll keep you informed of what's going on inside."
"Wow, these are really convenient," Fugo said as he fiddled with the piece in his ear. "Our group should really have these."
"Fugo, does Melone have an antidote?" Risotto said.
"Yes, I gave it Formaggio before he left."
"Give one to Ghiaccio and Sorbet too. I want each group to have one."
"Okay." Fugo handed one to Ghiaccio who put it in his pocket and Sorbet did the same. "All the groups have one."
"Excellent," Risotto said. "Formaggio, be ready at a moment's notice in case things go south."
"Roger that, Capo," Formaggio said.
"Remember to keep an eye out for Tulmine. If his stand hits you, you're out of commission. Don't fuck around with them. If that happens, disengage immediately. Rendezvous with the others. Work together. I'm not losing any men on this mission. Copy that?" Risotto said gravely. Everyone assented into their earpiece.
"That's why we brought firepower," Prosciutto cocked his second handgun.
"Don't get caught with your pants down!" Pesci chimed in.
"I know we're flying blind here," Risotto continued, "but Illuso, Melone, and I will be your eyes. Stay sharp in there and should anything happen on our end, defer to Prosciutto and Sorbet for anything in the field."
"You got it, Risotto," Fugo said.
"Copy that," Ghiaccio said.
"Alright, review time," Prosciutto commanded. "I'm going to dispense Grateful Dead to dispatch most of the enemy. Pesci and Ghiaccio head in and take out anyone you see. Fugo, you do the same from the back. Sorbet and I will search the rooms for their leader. Babyface will take out the lower level. Everyone clear?" Prosciutto looked around and everyone nodded. "If we need backup, we'll call over. Melone, Riz, and Illuso are watching. Ghiaccio?"
Ghiaccio summoned White Album and went around the group one by one and touched each on the shoulder. He lowered their body temperatures by a few degrees so that they wouldn't be affected when Prosciutto used Grateful Dead.
"Done," Ghiaccio said.
"Alright," Prosciutto dropped his cigarette and ground it under his foot. "Let's get this done."
"Kitty, what are you doing?" Tulmine stood in the doorway of the interrogation room. She spun around as the doctor lay forward in her chair. She'd thrown up again.
"Checking on the doctor."
"Leave her, sis. Andréa doesn't want you messing with her anymore. Come on out here." Angela walked out of the room and Tulmine closed the door behind her. "What happened to you?" He grabbed her face to look at her cheek better. It bruised slightly where Andréa had struck her. She yanked her face out of his hand.
"It's nothing."
"Did that bitch hit you?" Tulmine raised his voice.
"Don't call her that!" Angela snapped.
"Angela! I don't like what's going on here. If Andréa were a man, I'd have kicked her ass by now." He balled his fist.
"And she's your boss."
"Well, yeah, that too. I need a beer, you want one?" Angela shrugged and followed him to the fridge where Sale was already poking around.
"Hey, man, wanna hand us two cold ones?" Tulmine asked. Sale reached in and handed one to Tulmine. He went to take it but it wouldn't leave Sale's hand. He tried to pull but it was stuck fast.
"Gotcha," Sale laughed.
"Dude, that trick is so old. Just give me the damn beer." Tulmine growled and Sale released the kinetic energy on the bottle allowing Tulmine to take it.
"Yet, you keep falling for it."
"Fuck off, man."
"Here, Angela," Sale said and gave her the other beer. Sale had been sweet on her, but he never crossed the line because he was afraid of Andréa coming down on him. She could be very scary.
"Thanks." She cracked it open and took a sip. She wished she could get drunk. She just wanted anything to numb herself. She was feeling tired from the coke withdrawal, maybe she would do some later in secret. She went and sat on the couch, and Tulmine followed her over. Sale went back to perusing the fridge.
"Hey, kitty. You good?" Tulmine looked concerned and then put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, fuck her. Look, why don't we just bounce, y'know? You, me, and Terra?"
"We can't go. What will you do? The Boss doesn't do drugs anymore."
"Who knows? Maybe Cookie will take me back? She was always cool, remember? And she liked you..." Tulmine squeezed her shoulders.
"Cookie's straight." Angela took another sip.
"Eh, get a person drunk enough…and who knows?"
"She never stopped talking about that assassin so I doubt it."
"I'm just saying, think about it, Angie Cat. If you want out, I'll get you out. I'm not gonna let my little sister be a punching bag for some wannabe drug lord cunt." Angela felt incredibly uncomfortable with his word choice. She loved Andréa and she really didn't like Tulmine badmouthing her. But she was also still a bit upset, so part of her was glad for her brother's defensive behavior.
"Sale! Sale! Help! I don't know what's going on!" Zucchero, Sale's partner, ran into the room. If it wasn't for his odd hairstyle, Angela wouldn't have recognized him at all. His skin was wrinkled and his hair was white.
"What the fuck happened to you?" Sale closed the refrigerator door and looked at his partner.
"I don't know but it's happening to some of the others too!" Zucchero cried. Just then an old man and woman came out from the adjoining room.
"Tulmine! Something is happening!" The man said. He looked more advanced in the aging process than the woman.
"It must be a stand attack. Maybe those Esecuzioni bastards got wind of the doc's disappearance," Tulmine said as he stood up.
"But how would they know where we are?" Angela asked.
"I don't know. We need to go find Andréa and Terra." They raced up to the main floor and heard gunfire. "Hurry!"
They ran down the corridor until they made it to Andréa's office. As soon as they kicked open the door the room was cold, Terra and Andréa were at the desk.
"Andréa!" Tulmine yelled.
"I know. The assassins found us. I thought that might be the case. So I've been preparing."
"Everyone's old!" Angela said.
"It's one of the assassin's stands. Cold slows the process. It's why I've kept this room like a meat locker for the last few days. It ages not only the body but the mind, weakening your stand."
"Well, they're already in. I heard gunfire," Tulmine stated urgently.
"Tulmine, guard the doctor. We need her. Angela, I need you to kill any intruders you find. Terra, you stay with me. Have Zucchero and Sale been affected?" Andréa asked.
"Zucchero has, Sale has not."
"Send Sale to fight with Angela. Zucchero defends with you."
"Got it." Tulmine turned tail to relay orders.
"We defend until we can't. If they push past the main corridors, we take the doc and leave. Terra, we need to grab what we can in case the assassins are successful."
Angela turned and left the office.
Purple Haze busted open the door and attacked the men in the room. Guns began blazing as Fugo remained outside the door for cover. Bullets passed through Purple Haze as he lunged and punched the person closest to him. A bulb broke and screams filled the room as the virus began to eat through three people nearby. More gunfire peeled off as the others began to panic at the plague spreading before them. Purple Haze roared. The sunlight from the outside was already neutralizing the violet fog and Fugo stepped inside.
He surveyed the room. Two men and a woman writhed on the floor as their flesh began to disintegrate. Fugo looked away. He hated seeing what his stand was capable of but he knew it was necessary. He noticed they were also old so Prosciutto's stand was working. He tried to put their agonized screams from his mind. They were a threat to Giorno. There were two more men that ran into the room with guns. They raised their weapons and began to shoot at Fugo but Purple Haze punched the bullets away.
"Purple Haze! Go!" Fugo yelled. The crazed stand roared again and the men faltered a moment as they looked around. They weren't stand users, so they couldn't see the beast that made the sound.
All in Fugo's favor.
Purple Haze grabbed one of the men and threw him across the room as the other man began shooting wildly at the source. Fugo thought it best to dispatch these two without using the virus. He might need it later for a stand user. Purple Haze lunged at the one shooting and smashed his head into the ground. The other man sat up and aimed at Fugo. Fugo raised the pistol in his hand that Prosciutto had given him. He lined up the sight and took a shot. He'd missed the head but hit the man in the shoulder which disrupted the shot the man was about to take. Purple Haze turned and grabbed the man and slammed his head into the wall repeatedly until his skull cracked. It was savage to watch and Fugo really didn't understand how Ghiaccio did this every day.
Well, he said he didn't like torture.
Torture was one thing, hurting until information was received. Fugo, Mista, and Narancia were efficient about their methods and had their victims spilling quickly. It never lasted very long, at least one dance, unlike some of his compatriots in La Squadra who took delight in the act. Once his gang was done torturing someone they usually dispatched them quickly. No need to prolong it, but the savagery of smashing in a person's skull made Fugo uncomfortable. He'd done such savage acts before, his professor and Narancia, but he'd blacked out for those moments.
This was him.
It was necessary, he kept telling himself, but he wondered which was actually worse, smashing skulls or rotting from the inside out.
He hated all of this.
He hated Purple Haze and he hated having to shoot a gun. He just hoped he would meet up with Ghiaccio soon, and then he could be relegated to a support role.
He left the room to secure the hall.
Melone switched between several cameras and watched as Pesci and Ghiaccio split off from Prosciutto and Sorbet. He switched to the back cam and saw Fugo clearing a hallway with Purple Haze.
"So far so good," Formaggio said. "These bastards won't even know what hit them! Seems like a lot of them aren't stand users."
"Well, some of them are probably just here as bodyguards for the drug moving operation against other drug factions. They aren't prepared for stand users," Melone reasoned.
"Except the few Risotto told us about."
"That's probably why they employed them," Melone explained. "Once Giorno made his proclamation, they probably knew that we'd try to weed them out eventually and so picked up some extra protection."
"Makes sense, but with all of us here, they don't have a chance."
"Hopefully, but we don't know what their boss or Terra are capable of. Like Risotto said, they're wildcards." No matter how many times he tried, there were still cameras that couldn't be accessed—three on the main level and one downstairs.
"Why are these ones blank?" Formaggio pointed at the screen.
"I can't hack those ones. The firewall around them is nearly impenetrable. One of these is probably where their boss is hiding."
"Yo, Sciuts. You copy?" Formaggio said.
"Yeah, what's up?" Prosciutto responded.
"Yeah, I think Melone might have sumin' for ya," Formaggio said as he looked at the screens. "Some of the cameras can't be patched through."
"You think their boss might be in one of those rooms?" Sorbet interrupted.
"Exactly, there are three on the main level," Melone said. "One is in the northeast corner, one next to the kitchens, and one in the middle. There's also one in the lower level but I doubt that's it."
"There could be something in one of those rooms that they don't want us to know about. Who knows what else these guys are hiding?" Prosciutto said.
"I already have Junior heading to the lower levels so leave that one to me," asserted Melone.
"Copy, keep us posted about what you find." Prosciutto said and Melone switched to talking to Glacé.
"Glacé, how's it coming?" His answer appeared on the screen.
-Everything's great so far.
-There were some men, but I killed them, no problem!
-Also, I found the man I targeted.
-He's dead now.
"Good. Are you in the lower level yet?" Melone asked.
-Yup.
-I'm clearing it out just like you told me to, Mommy.
"Di molto! Just be careful down there. You should be fine against Tulmine's ability but you should still be cautious. We don't know who else is in the building. There might be other stand users."
-I'll make you and Daddy proud.
"Who's daddy?" Formaggio asked. "Isn't that the target? He said he killed him. Why would he make him proud?"
Melone remained quiet and went back to looking at the cameras.
"Unless that's not the father, is it?" Formaggio prodded.
Melone tried again to hack into the cameras to distract himself.
"Melone, it's gonna come out if this thing lives," argued Formaggio.
"So then why worry about it? Glacé might…" Melone couldn't finish the sentence.
"You actually care about it. You've never cared before. Who's blood is it?" Formaggio demanded. "It's one of ours, isn't it?"
"Mag, please. Can we not do this now?" Melone pleaded.
"Riz is gonna be pissed to hear you've been 'experimenting' with our DNA."
"I know!" Melone snapped.
"I know it's not me. He called me Uncle. And you're the mom. And Fugo's not really apart of our group to make "proud." So that leaves seven other potential dads. But I feel like I'm only gonna need one guess, aren't I?"
Melone stared so hard at the screen and typed tensely.
"It's Blue's, isn't it? That's why you call him Glacé. I've heard you call Ghiaccio that before."
Melone closed his eyes and stopped typing.
"Melone! You used Ghiaccio's DNA in Babyface!" Formaggio exclaimed. "He doesn't know right? There's no way he knows about it! He'd be too pissed to even look at you if he did!"
"Just shut the fuck up!" Melone yelled, grabbing Formaggio's jacket collar. Formaggio was taken aback by the outburst. "I know I fucked up! It could have been any of you, but I chose Ghia. He was the most compatible match and I wanted to see what a compatible match could make! I always make abominations with incompatible people, and as I said earlier, I was experimenting. So I'd appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut while I figure out how to fix this!" He was shaking. Melone didn't want Glacé to die, but he wasn't sure what was going to happen if he lived either. He'd never had a Junior live this long.
"Where the fuck did you get our DNA?" Formaggio snapped as he swatted Melone's hand away.
"I had it," Melone said as he turned back to the screen.
"And that scares the absolute piss out of me. I want mine back as soon as this mission's over," Formaggio demanded.
"Fine. Now shut up and focus." Melone switched the screens back to see Ghiaccio and Pesci fighting more men and women with guns in a hallway. Melone shifted to the left a bit and moved Babyface to his left side to see the screen better.
A bolt of blue light crashed to his right where he'd just been. Formaggio jumped to his feet as Melone turned around.
"What the fuck was that?!" Formaggio yelled.
"There, on the other roof!" Melone stood up and pointed to the adjacent building. There was a blonde woman standing with a blue bow in her hands. She drew the string back and let fly another bolt of light in their direction. They dove out of the way.
He suddenly heard Risotto in his ears.
"Everyone on high alert! Prosciutto's been hit, and Grateful Dead is out of commission. Stand users are back to full power."
Formaggio's eyes were wide as he spoke his next word.
"Shit."