Chapter 7
It was a nice summer morning and temperatures rose with the sun-up. Caroline, living in a small apartment with her two daughters and her younger sister, left the flat in the fifth floor of a nearly uninhabited building. Everything was dusty and old, and probably their flat was the cleanest and tidiest place within a mile. It was five o'clock and already over twenty degrees centigrade which promised a sweaty afternoon.
The sun had hardly reached the horizon, but Caroline wanted to go jogging before the heat became too intense. So she ran through the little village, the sandy streets of the residential neighbourhood until she reached the small park with its dying trees and the dry pond whose bottom was more a mud-wrestling playground for children than an actual little sea.
Caroline had nearly completely jogging around the former pond and was about to start the way back to her flat when she noticed two strange men a few meters ahead. Despite the rising temperatures, they were wearing suit trousers and white shirts. Looks like the Mafia, she thought, but they wouldn't get out at a time like this, dressed like this. Probably from a cartel. But it's odd that I never saw them before. After a while, one knew the other criminals in a little town like Potenza. And after all, Caroline and Katarina were mainly working in Rome where the Bertani cartel, formerly led by the three now deceased brothers Edoardo, Federico and Alessio, was coming to power again. Now, under the hand of Antonio Bertani, one of the three brothers' cousins. He had gathered a lot of friends within the last year, especially in South Italy and other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
But when Caroline came closer, she noticed that this wasn't two usual guys walking through the empty area of Potenza's South Park. They placed themselves into her way and she finally stopped right in front of them.
"Are you Caroline Montebello?" the taller guy asked with a Greek accent. She was surprised as he looked quite Italian.
"If so?" she paid back. She wasn't in the mood for small talk. She was sweating heavily, first because it was hotter than the days before and second because she had been running faster than she used to.
"We want to talk to you," the other one said. He was not so tall, had dark coloured hair so that he wouldn't attract too much attention in Italy, but his eyebrows were blonde.
"I think I look quite busy, and sweaty," she answered. Perhaps they hadn't been sent by any cartel or traffic organisation.
"We would like you to come with us," the first man said again. He looked quite serious and uncomfortable with the situation – or with Italy in general.
"I assume if I do not want to, you'll make me to," Caroline said and regained her normal pulse. She'd probably not return to her flat any soon. She only hoped that whoever these men were, they didn't send someone to visit Katarina as well. Her sister was getting Scarlet ready for pre-school and Carey for daily care in a town nearby.
"You are right with your assumption," the second man said with a warm smile. He definitely was the more social one.
"Alright, I don't have to tell you that I don't have all day," she said carefully. She knew that when men like that talked to her, she would get problems one way or the other. And that killing her way through any obstacles was probably going to be needed. The men accompanied her, the Greek leading the way while the other one, whose accent reminded her to northern British, was watching her step. They walked about one hundred meters before they brought her to a white van. She had to enter the backside where they sat down on a small bench without safety belts.
"I also assume it would not be of use if I asked where we are heading?" she wanted to know with intense sarcasm in her voice. The Greek looked as serious as always, but the other one seemed much friendlier.
"No, it wouldn't."
"May I tell my sister that I will come home later – in case that you aren't going to kill me?"
"Yes, but after that you will have to give me your mobile," he said.
She nodded. Sounded fair. She quickly typed an SMS to Katarina not to worry and then shut off her phone so that they couldn't search it. He took it and let it slid into his left trouser pocket. It was a twenty minute drive and without windows she had no idea where they would be. Caroline was led out and she found herself in an abandoned train station. There were only two railways and dedicating from the environment, she guessed that they were outside of Potenza in some kind of formerly industrial area which was now abandoned and only inhabited by people with criminal intent.
They entered an office in the stone building. It was the only room without broken windows but two of them were opened to let at least a bit of sticky air get out. "Please leave the door open," the man standing at the wooden, dusty desk said to the Greek who entered the room last. The person who unmistakably was the boss turned around to face Caroline. He seemed to be in his mid-fifties but looked much older, had grey hair neatly combed backwards and wore a suit as well, with the black jacket open. Whoever they were, they weren't used to the Italian summer heat – or just used to air conditioner.
"So you are Caroline Montebello," he began.
"If I weren't, your men wouldn't have brought me here," she answered with a side-look to the British man, ignoring the Greek guy who stood like an immobile plastic statue next to the door.
The older man smiled. Probably it is just the Greek one without humour, she thought. "I am sorry for abducting you so suddenly but we couldn't risk attracting more attention than we already did."
"I'm sorry?"
"You are under constant police surveillance, Miss Montebello. And you are aware of that or you wouldn't carefully get rid of your shadow every time you meet someone higher in the hierarchy of crime."
"So it was you who had been following me the last two weeks," she suddenly realised. "I just thought it was another police agency who didn't know about my surveillance status."
"So you noticed. Might I ask when?"
"Several times. Most notably when I was out four days ago, meeting up with José Ligueres."
"That had been your turn, Petrelis," the grey-haired man turned to the Greek one. He did not comment and so the boss continued talking to Caroline, "do you know who we are?"
"I am pretty sure that you are going to tell me," she answered.
"You are right in that case. But first I want to talk about the information I retrieved from your official FBI file."
"I take along you acquired it in the most legal way," she teased.
"It says you studied at university in Great Britain with a small scholarship – and honestly, I think I don't want to know where the rest of the money came from. You were a murder suspect in the case of your parents' death but charges were dropped – without any explanation. You have been involved in several smaller coups, finally risen to a hit man with a certain reputation while your sister got engaged with a drug boss. That did not go well and you both had to look for a new job, didn't you?"
He looked up from the papers on the desk and stared at her for a few seconds. She remained motionless.
"Then it says you appeared in the United States, working for an organisation calling itself Scorpia. And this organisation rose and fell twice due to the interactions of an NCIS team – which you continued to cross paths with in the following months. You even helped one of their agents... I don't know why you did this but it's pretty impressive that you always got out without being permanently arrested. The last entry is about the attempted murder of Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo which you prevented... and ended up being stabbed. You escaped from hospital a few months ago and returned to Italy after two weeks in Japan."
"Nice that you wrote me a CV," she said slightly aggressively, but patiently.
"What can you tell me about Scorpia?"
"The organisation I had been a member of?"
"What else?"
"There had been another SCORPIA before."
"How was the other Scorpia organisation founded? The one you were part of," he answered calmly.
Caroline had a quick look around. The Greek guy seemed to be bored, staring at his feet, covering them in the sand. The Briton stood half a meter behind her, un-relaxed, watching her carefully. She sighed and then tried to formulate an answer that would not get her killed, "Scorpia was a criminal organisation founded by Zeljan Kurst, Max Grendel and other criminals. Most of them had political or police records. They executed certain jobs for the right amount of money. Finally, their plans had been crossed by a school boy thrice which led to their destruction. Dr Medici and few others had tried to re-establish the organisation's initial plans, including the rise to power within the international underground. This new organisation failed twice as well, this time by the hands of an NCIS team of Washington DC. Scorpia had become ridiculous and as all members were either arrested or murdered, they ceased to exist."
"You are still here."
"Because I place my loyalties very carefully. And I tend to have a plan B."
"How had you first come into contact with Dr Medici?"
"How do you know that it was Dr Medici recruiting me, and not someone else?"
"You had been one of the members of the re-foundation of Scorpia. That isn't something that stays secret for a long time. You also got your sister into the organisation when you had to kill another member."
Caroline hesitated before she went on, "Dr Medici had heard about my small reputation I had had as a hacker. I had tried to stay very anonymous at the time and when he noticed that I was also working as a contract killer from time to time, he thought he could use me for the organisation he planned to re-build. So finally he contacted me by simply approaching me in a bar, if you want to have that detail."
"What does S-P-I-C tell you?"
"I beg you pardon?" she asked, not confused, but suddenly knowing that they were checking her background for something a lot worse coming up.
"The Southern Prison for cases requiring Intensive Care."
"As you asked me about it, you can be sure that I know what it stands for, but I do not understand your question," she said carefully.
"What do you know about it?"
"Well, as the name says it is a prison," she said and shortly turned to the Briton with hesitation. He remained motionless. "It is also called 'the modern Alcatraz' and security is very high so that no one can escape."
"And if we wanted someone to escape, what would you recommend?"
"Bribe the guards. I heard it would work from time to time."
"Bribery leaves traces. And we do not like weak links."
"Perhaps it would help if you told me who you are," she answered with a smile.
"We are people being interested in getting Zeljan Kurst out of prison," the boss said, leaving some time to make the words sicker in. "This name rings a bell?"
"Yes."
"Did you know that he is serving a life sentence in this prison?"
"Yes."
"And isn't it kind of an irony that you, being one of the Computing Science students having been elected to program the island's defence parameters, participated in an organisation that he founded a few decades ago?"
She kept silence for a few seconds before she was able to speak. "Am I right if I assume... that you just kidnapped me in front of the eyes of my CIA shadow to ask me about the computer program I programmed several years ago for an American prison because you want to get out an old criminal who had been the founding member of one of the many criminal organisations that exist these days?"
"The point with your CIA shadows is not quite accurate. None of them witnessed your abduction," the Briton behind her suddenly awoke. "They were all dead before we approached you. By now, CIA will have noticed that you escaped surveillance."
"Great," she muttered. All the makings of a perfect start of a day. "I did not install the computer system on my own and neither can I shut it down."
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," the boss said.
"Are you asking me to do what I think you are asking me to do?" Caroline wanted to know.
"We want you to help us to break into one of the most secure prisons of the United States."
"That's how most of the American action movies begin."
"Yes, but they hardly have a computer genius on their side who had worked out the defences and knows pretty much about them."
"What makes you think I am on your side? Did I miss the blackmailing part?" she asked.
"I know that you hardly are interested in money, Miss Montebello, I noticed that while reading your very interesting life story. But we can offer you something else instead. You had joined Scorpia because of its power. You want power, Miss Montebello."
"Yeah, because I learnt that the guys working higher up don't get killed that easily."
"But you aren't a guy. You are a woman. And who would want to kill you?"
"Oh, I can tell you some names."
"And we could take care of them."
"What exactly do you want and what exactly will I get for it?" she asked, now indeed being a bit impatient.
"We want you to help us to free Zeljan Kurst successfully. For that, you will become one of our head members. And there are only ten of twelve so far."
"In case that you're trying to tell me that you're SCORPIA, you should better look for a less haunted name," she answered with an inner sigh. Seriously?
"We are SCORPIA. The ones directly descending from the original organisation. Zeljan Kurst has been in contact with us for more than five years now and we have made progress."
"Progress in what?"
"Building up a stable network. We are growing and only then will we step into the spotlight again."
"And the escape of Zeljan Kurst will bring you into that spotlight, and with that coup you will regain your reputation. That neither a fourteen year old school boy nor a NCIS agent with severe depressions can stop you now?"
He smiled. "Exactly," he said, taking her sarcastic comment with humour. "And we would like to have you back in the game, Miss Montebello. Our current members are direct relatives or best friends of former SCORPIA members. But you are the only one of the newer organisation that would be worth a membership here."
Caroline didn't respond.
"I know that you might want to think about that. You can. George will drive you back to your flat. You might as well talk to your sister about the offer. But of course no one else shall know. When you do what we demand of you, we will get your sister into a nice position within Scorpia as well and we could really use a good link to the Italian Mafia, especially since we chose Italy as our main country. As you see, we try to keep SCORPIA international. We will pay you a visit tomorrow morning. You should have made a definite decision until then." With that, he nodded to George who led her out of the office again. They stepped into another car, a dark blue VW, this time even with seat belts.
None of them said a word during the drive and Caroline noticed that she had been right with the location of the train station. "I know that you have your doubts about SCORPIA," George, the Briton said, when they had arrived in front of Caroline's flat. "But you also know what you will reach when you help us. Right now, you're only the small hit man again. You do your job, you get your money. Police observes you day and night. Don't you want to have a more secure job? Where you can finally sleep calmer again?"
"See you tomorrow," Caroline said and stepped out of the car. She watched him drive away before she entered the apartment building and walked up the stairs. She knocked at the door and Katarina opened.
When she entered without a word and took off her shoes, her younger sister noticed, "care to tell me what this was all about?"
"First, I think, I need a shower," Caroline answered and vanished into the bathroom after quickly hugging her little sister.