Thanks go to Maiafay for beta reading this chapter!
Chapter 3
The crowd rose to their feet, applause thundering as the last notes from Mozart's Don Giovanni overture fell from the orchestra's strings.
Crow was among the first to rise. He had one of the best views in the privacy of the mezzanine box seat in the Teatro alla Scala. There was something about music that always drove his emotions, and Mozart was no exception. He had been a master, composing the overture in a single night.
"An excellent performance, wouldn't you say, Excella?" he asked over the dying applause. The maestro returned to the stage, which increased the volume of clapping once again, this time adding in a foray of whistles and cheers.
Beside him, Excella Gionne rose more slowly, but looked please nonetheless, joining the applause with her own, though muted through the fabric of her opera gloves. "Very," she called back. "One of my favorite pieces. It's a pity that Albert wasn't able to enjoy it with us as well."
He suppressed a grin. He had extended the invitation to Wesker at Excella's request, to which he was flatly denied. His partner was a far more wanted man than himself, and getting him to participate in anything but research in an isolated lab was nearly impossible. In addition, he doubted Wesker even enjoyed music. "He apologized, and said he would have loved to come, but couldn't be pulled away from his current project."
It took some time for the crowd to file out of the theater, especially after the lengthy ovation. There was a reception in the theater museum for VIPs, one that he would have very much liked to have attended, but he needed to keep a low profile. Excella had been attracting paparazzi by the droves with her new promotion. Getting into the theater had been taxing enough. Factoring in other celebrities attending the concert, attracting more cameras and eyes, and he was content with waiting patiently for the box foyer to empty.
"My own apologies once again for not being able to procure the Royal Box for your celebration tonight, Excella," he said. "I insisted on making this evening extra special, but the British Royal family is hard to sway when they want to see the same event."
Excella chuckled, patting him on the arm assuringly. "You apologize far too much, James. This is the third time you have mentioned it, and this will be the third time I will ignore it."
Their escorts, three suited guards with earpieces, arrived at the box, carrying their coats. He would make certain to help Excella into hers, a lush ivory chinchilla with wide, kimono style sleeves.
She looked absolutely stunning, dressed in a long flowing evening gown a lighter shade than her coat. It cinched around her waist like a corset, with an ample dip in the neckline and no back.
"It's such a shame for the evening to end so quickly," he remarked casually as he slid the exotic coat over her shoulders. "Perhaps we could find something else to do? One call and I could have a room cleared for us at the Barretto al Baglioni, dinner for two."
"And it would be charming," Excella assured him, buttoning the front of the coat until the fur tickled at her chin. "But I think it best we head back to the plane. I'm due at Tricell headquarters in three days, and there's much that needs to be transferred from my villa to the new facility."
"Intent on working even now?" he asked with a smile, even though he already knew the answer. Disappointing, to say the least. One of the Tricell agents helped him into his own coat, a long black cashmere that swept around his knees. "I thought this was supposed to be an earned reprieve for your promotion, away from all the science and labs."
Indeed, this was Excella's second promotion in the last sixth months. He knew that supplying her with information would produce results, but he never dreamed that she would advance so quickly through the ranks at Tricell. He was still amazed to know the reason why she hadn't been promoted earlier: her Gionne lineage was only an offshoot of the founders of Tricell. With his and Wesker's help, they had proven the corporation wrong.
Now, if only she would be a little more…open with their relationship. But nonetheless, he was slowly winning her over little by little. Crow had a feeling she was just after the power he represented, but he was confident that more intimate feelings would begin to show soon. At any rate, who was he to complain about being on the receiving end of her charm?
The guards formed a hollow triangle for them to move in. The box foyer had already emptied with people attending the reception; either that or it had been cleared by the Tricell agents.
He offered his arm to Excella, and she all but hung off of him. Together, they exited the theater through a side entrance, away from the waiting crowds of people and cameras that might catch a glimpse of him. A long white Rolls Royce limousine was already waiting for them. Rain had passed earlier that night; all that was left was the wet ground with a few shallow puddles, and the skies had opened up to reveal stars and a partly waxing moon.
One of their escorts opened the rear door, allowing Crow to help Excella into the interior by the hand. He then slid in next to her, and the limo turned out onto the street. The roads leading out from the theater were packed, maintained by the local police in mirrored vests and flashlights. Fortunately for them, their driver was able to pull enough influence to get them through a barricade quickly and on their way to the airport. Behind them, the three agents rode in an unassuming black sedan.
"Since you are so intent on working at the moment, perhaps you would like to tell me how are the latest 343's coming along?" Crow asked.
"They are developing well enough," Excella said. "Reversing the genetic necrosis was troubling for some time, but Albert was very helpful in correcting it. We've managed to produce a stable prototype for now." She glanced at him mischievously. "Just in time for a little surprise…"
"Oh?" he asked with a grin. He slid closer to her, nonchalantly running a hand along her leg. "What surprise would that be?"
"I'm sure you've heard stories of a plan to combat bioterrorists? President Graham is very confident in the results, even going so far as to 'send us a message' as he put it in his last speech." She leaned into him, fur settling against cashmere. "Well, I'm going to send him one back."
"And just how do you plan on doing that?"
Excella smirked, reaching up to tease his chin with her satin-covered finger. "I said it will be a surprise. You'll just have to wait to find out…"
He smiled back. "That project is very near and dear to you. If you're intending to use it in a surprise, then it must be quite something."
Wesker had forwarded him the results of the 343 Decimator series, an extension of Umbrella's work. Specifically, it was an improvement on the Eliminator series and their work on primates. Crow had examined all of Excella's work on the project, and nearly all of it was seamless. It was her first notable accomplishment with the resources he and Wesker had given her.
Normally, Wesker wouldn't waste his time with a dead-end project that Umbrella never finished, but he wanted to test Excella. It was the first time Crow had seen him impressed with someone, and he seemed rather reluctant to contact Tricell to begin with. In order to appease his own conscience, he insisted that Excella prove herself worthy of his own time. How had he put it?
'She's no William Birkin, but what she lacks in brilliance she makes up for in sanity.'
A low chirp sounded from Excella's handbag. She pulled out the culprit, her cell phone. "Yes?" She listened for a minute, carefree, and then a furrow creased her forehead. "Bastardo," she swore. "Where?" She listened more. "Tell him to wait. I will be there shortly."
"Is something the matter?" Crow inquired. Rarely did he hear Excella swear in any form, English or otherwise.
"Yes," she replied, snapping her phone shut. "Unexpected business."
She called to the driver another address in Italian, and then leaned back in the cushions of the leather seat. Angry, yet still beautiful, Crow admired. She had quite possibly the most perfect face he'd ever seen, with her glossy lips in a furious pout and her green eyes glaring venomously. Her long black hair usually never left its flawless beehive, and tonight it looked marvelous with the long diamond earrings that dangled beneath it.
The limousine took a turn off the main road and onto a side street, and then drove a few more blocks before turning once again, moving deeper into a darker part of the city. Eventually, they arrived at their destination. Crow glanced out the window to settle his own unease, but no other cars had followed besides their escorts. This was a risky move on Excella's part, meeting with someone in person. With the entire world on edge after the fiasco with the Global Pharmaceutics Consortium, the last thing he needed was the vice-CEO of Tricell meeting people in shady locations.
The rear door of the car in front of them opened, and out stepped a short but lanky man hunched over in the darkness. He opened the limousine door after a quick, nervous look around, and then slid into the interior opposite of them. Crow suppressed a curl of his lip at the appearance of the ratty man. Greasy, stringy hair, a scent of sweat, and a mismatched wardrobe of blue jeans and dust-colored suit coat.
Excella glared at the man and pursed her lips. The eyes that had been batting at him all night burned now beneath the coal eyeliner, and long dark lashes. Intoxicating. She folded her hands on her lap, just below the fur of her jacket. "Ricardo, darling, would you be so kind as to explain why I am here? I should be unwinding in the cabin of my plane, enjoying a glass of wine with my handsome associate. Instead, I find myself sitting in this filthy part of town, staring at your equally repulsive face."
The man, Ricardo, ran a hand through his hair and blinked. Dark circles hung around eyes. "We was ambushed. After we made the exchange."
Excella paused after two blinks. "And the shipment? How much of it did I lose?"
He paused. "All of it."
Crow winced slightly as he realized what was going on.
Excella didn't react, other than continue to stare that same burning look into Ricardo. Crow had seen the way her eyes got glassy like a serpent's when she got angry. It was enough to make anyone uncomfortable; Ricardo was showing it through a few nervous shifts in the leather upholstery. Any second, he would see two holes burning where the man's eyes used to be.
Excella spoke very patiently. "Let me tell you some monetary values, Ricardo, and I suggest you tell me what they mean to you. The first one is easy: fifty-million, four-hundred thousand American dollars."
"I know what it cost, you gave me the money to pay for it," Ricardo snapped. He sulked like a child in the leather upholstery, even crossing his arms.
Excella nodded. "Good. Mind your tone. The next: two point eight billion Euros."
Ricardo thought for a second. "Dunno."
"That is my current net worth. As the new Vice-CEO of Tricell Pharmaceutics, I expect that to double within three months. It would do you well to remember who pays you. Now the last: two-hundred thousand American dollars."
Once again, Ricardo shrugged impatiently.
"That is exactly how much it would take to professionally kill you the second you step from my car. My men, however, will do it for free."
Upon hearing her simple ultimatum, Ricardo swallowed hard. His face had adopted a shiny pallor, and it wasn't even that warm in the limousine. Excella, on the other hand, hadn't changed at all, like some ice queen with frozen blood. The agents following them had stopped at the end of the block, no more than a phone call away.
Excella slipped her phone out of her handbag, casually sifting it through her fingers as if undecided whether to make the call or not. "Now, tell me what happened to this simple little deal I assigned you with, and why I lost over fifty million dollars of both mine and my company's money."
"It went down as planned." Ricardo said. "We gave them the cash, and I checked out the goods. It was everything you wanted, plus a few odds and ends they put with it. But like I said, either someone snitched, or we was compromised. We had the goods moving right on schedule, but the next thing I know, this bitch blows a hole in my boat. She damn near blew my head off, but lucky me, I's got contingencies, and-"
"She?" interrupted Crow, catching his eye. "Ah, Mister…?"
"Irving, and yeah, I said 'she'," replied Ricardo rolling his eyes. When not dealing with Excella herself, he seemed quite the cocky fellow, even smiling when he continued. "Asian bitch; a real looker. Didn't look like Feds or Interpol."
Crow struggled to keep the smile on his face from a grin. He glanced at Excella. "Well, I don't think it will take much effort to determine who the culprit is."
Excella shifted her irritated glare slightly to his direction, and he fell silent. She considered Irving for a moment, then glanced out the window. "What did she want, other than try to sabotage my company?"
"The bitch came after me, said she wanted to know who I was workin' for." He looked at Excella like that was worth something. "I told her to piss off and got the hell out of there."
For a few long moments, Excella remained silent. Crow could see her reflection in the window, and she appeared to be deep in thought, weighing two obvious choices.
Irving swallowed hard. "Look, I didn't tell her nothing, and if she knew who you was, she wouldn't have been trying to blow my balls off. With any luck, she probably went down with the ship."
Crow snickered.
Excella paused longer, and then her features relaxed. "Very well, Ricardo. I shall overlook this little setback this one time only. I'd rather not have to go through the annoyance of wasting a phone call on your miserable life."
Irving sighed audibly in relief, sagging a little bit. He still looked sweaty, but immensely relieved nonetheless. "I'll make it up to you. Scout's honor."
Excella didn't reply; she only shot him a look that may as well have screamed 'get out'. Irving did so, and quickly.
Once he left, Excella's attitude calmed. Even though she wasn't glaring at him anymore, she still seemed to radiate some kind of anger or annoyance. In a clipped tone she ordered the driver to pull out, and they were soon heading back towards the airport where her private jet waited.
When the silence stretched to uncomfortable lengths, Crow shifted in his seat. "Don't let such a thing worry you, my dear. These types of situations are bound to happen, which is why we take precautions to make sure they don't interfere in the future. Tricell remains at the top, and Irving, unprofessional as he seems, has at least spared us a leak in intelligence."
He slung his arm over her shoulder, but to his surprise, she shifted away and looked out the window. "It would have been better if you had killed her when you had the chance," she said. "How many times could you have pulled the trigger when she was oblivious to your operations?"
His brow furrowed at Excella's sudden change in attitude. "I understand your feelings, Excella, but I assure you, killing Miss Wong was not a good idea. She was too dangerous, too clever, and there was no reason to believe she would pursue us this far. Perhaps her presence was entirely unrelated? Irving has his share of enemies. Ada could have committed to another organization…"
Ada Wong was the only thing he ever lied to Excella about. This wasn't the first time she had come up, and in fact, seemed to be one of the last things hindering his and Excella's relationship. There had been plenty of opportunities to do away with the troublesome operative, but he still found himself entranced with the Asian woman. Putting her down would be like killing the last of an exotic species.
However, he didn't like the fact that she appeared to be searching for him. If she was this committed, then things were bad.
"You may think so, but I disagree," Excella said, fishing out her phone again. She punched a number, muttering to herself. "Months of research and resources lost. Albert will be furious…"
"What are you doing?" He thought for a minute that she changed her mind about killing Irving.
"Tying up loose ends, like you should have done before investing in me." She lifted the phone to her ear. What followed was a stream of Italian that he couldn't understand, save for the name Ada Wong.
He didn't have to guess what she just said.
Author's Note: Chapter 4 might be a little longer wait than usual because I'm going on a trip for a week. I've got it mostly written up, however, and as soon as I get back, I can finish it and work on getting it up. Thank you all for reading!