Page 18 of Angel's Whisper

“Please, what?” Massimo seethed through his teeth.

“Let me explain,” Ricardo begged, still mindful that at any moment, he could topple over.

Massimo placed his hand back on the chair and inclined it even closer to the ground. Ricardo stuck out his hands, palms up. Trying to steady himself as he snatched breaths from the still air. But he couldn’t catch enough to calm himself down. He was still panting, still reeling from the full-on tilt, when Massimo allowed his chair to fall forward. Ricardo rocked hard in the chair, but he was just grateful to be on all four legs again. He inhaled sharply, blew out fast, and inhaled sharply again, trying to get his breathing back right. Once again, Massimo demonstrated a great deal of patience in allowing Ricardo to catch his breath before demanding that he speak.

“Okay, okay,” Ricardo began, still trying to catch his breath. “Maybe I know a little something about the breach.”

“You better know more than a little something,” Massimo corrected, once again sitting on his desk and offering a subtle smile.

“I, uhm,” he began, “may have had something to do with the RAT being put in place.”

“The RAT?” Massimo inquired.

“Remote access trojan,” Ricardo explained. “That’s what gives the other company access to your system. But,” Ricardo interjected, putting his pointer in the air for emphasis. “They can only see. They can’t manipulate your data. I made sure of that.”

“Who?” Massimo asked. “Who put you up to it?”

This time, the boss’s voice was even lower in pitch and timbre. That shook Ricardo. He wanted to lie, to tell Mr. Ricci anything but the truth. If the other company found out, they would certainly kill him. However, Ricardo had to come to terms with the fact that if he didn’t reveal the whole truth to Mr. Ricci, he might kill him, too.

“I will also kill everyone attached to you, your mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, wife if you have one, and your children if you’ve ever fucked somebody and managed to knock them up, and God forbid they gave birth to your seed.”

Ricardo considered his words as his eyes misted over with tears. Even if he was willing to risk his own life, he couldn’t possibly risk the lives of everyone he loved. He didn’t have a wife. He was much too nerdy for that. Nor did he have children. But he thought about his mother, grandmother, and sister. They deserved to live.

“They’ll kill me if I tell,” Ricardo whispered, blinking back the tears that threatened to descend. His bottom lip started to tremble as though he was going to break out in a full-fledged cry. Then he sighed, his shoulders dropping down even lower than they had been before. “But you’ll kill me if I don’t.”

Massimo silently affirmed with a nod of his head.

“Esposito,” Ricardo uttered, shaking his head. “It was the Esposito's.”

Massimo tried to keep the shocked look off his face. But he couldn’t turn down the overwhelming sense of shock and maddening anger that immediately overtook him. He folded in his bottom lip and released it slowly as he ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair.

“Thank you for the enlightening information,” Massimo finally said, rubbing his hands together. “Now, you are going to make sure that their system cannot duplicate any of the information we have. You are going to double the RAT to a dummy file that shows repetitive information, separating from our real files. But before any of that can happen, my guards are going to kick your ass and remind you of why it is an awful idea to betray your employer. They are not going to kill you. That would be counterproductive to the duties I need you to perform,” Massimo continued.

“Thank you, thank you so much for sparing my life,” Ricardo sighed and then tried to smile even though he still fought back the tears. “I promise I will do everything humanly possible to disable their system if I have to work overtime, stay up all night. Mr. Ricci, you have my word that I will get it done.”

“I know you will,” Massimo agreed. “You have little choice.”

Then, he leaped from his desk, picked Ricardo up by the collar, and held it tight.

“Here is your warning.”

He drew his fist back and punched Ricardo, sending his glasses flying. Massimo unleashed all the penned-up anger he had over the breach, the breachers, and the inside man. He pounded Ricardo relentlessly, striking him in quick succession. Ricardo’s knees buckled as his lip split open, and drops of red blood dotted his shirt. Massimo wasn’t finished, though. He pulled his fist back again and released a blow that caught Ricardo squarely on the chin. Simultaneously, Massimo released the hold he had on him, and Ricardo dropped to the floor, unconscious.

He still wasn’t finished, lifting his leg and kicking the man while he was down. It didn’t matter to Massimo where his foot struck as long as it struck. He kicked Ricardo repeatedly even though in Ricardo’s unconscious state, there were no sound effects. Only after he grew tired did Massimo stop.

“Get his ass out of here,” he instructed the guards. “Oh, and break some shit.”

Chapter Nine

Isotta wasn’t sure what to do. The priest dismissed her with twenty-five hail Mary’s to say in an effort to come to grips with what was bothering her. Isotta returned to the sanctuary, redid her sign of the cross, and reentered a pew. Maybe the silence of the sanctuary would provide just what she needed to come to terms with the assault at the hands of her husband. That’s what it was. It was an assault. Just coming to terms with that idea brought the press of lingering tears to Isotta’s eyes. How could he do such a thing? Massimo treated her impersonally, so like an object instead of a person with feelings. He treated her like he didn’t love her, like he didn’t even like her.

Isotta closed her eyes and prayed. It was the least she could do to try and remediate the horrible situation she found herself in.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Isotta blew out a long breath. She prayed the prayer, but it didn’t bring her any peace about her situation. Isotta found herself brewing on the idea of how her supposed husband treated her. How could he think that was alright? How? Isotta rubbed the prayer beads she had in her hand. The more she rubbed them, the more she ruminated on the idea that she had been disgraced by Massimo. Forgiveness for his actions wasn’t coming. Isotta found that anger felt much more comfortable. She closed her eyes again.

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.

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