Page 115 of Capuleto

They took the bait. There was only one access road to the house, so I only had to wait at a safe distance and intercept the service vehicle.

When I saw it appear around the bend, I stepped into the crosswalk to make it stop. I pretended to be a delivery driver needing directions.

The worker, who didn’t know the street I had invented, offered to look it up on his GPS because I told him I couldn’t find it on mine.

He turned his head, and I gave him a little prick that would send him straight into the arms of a deep sleep.

The narcotic I administered gave me a couple of hours to maneuver before he woke up. Enough time to get an idea of how many guys were in the house, make a mental sketch of the spaces, assess possible access and escape routes, and, of course, evaluate the internal security system that was now offline due to the power outage.

I didn’t want to go in blind; when I re-entered that same night, I needed to find a place to hide and gather the information I needed.

I stripped the guy and tied him up. He was a bit shorter and thinner than me, but the loose-fitting clothes he wore did the job.

I couldn’t go in armed; that would be too risky in case they decided to search me, so I stashed my weapons and prayed none of those guys recognized me. I hadn’t come across any of them before, at least not the ones I saw through the front windshield of the vehicles, though I couldn’t guarantee they hadn’t been watching Nikita and thus knew who I was. I had to accept that possibility as a risk.

I hadn’t called my boss; in fact, I didn’t have my phone on me. I was worried about being tracked. The best thing in these kinds of missions was to stay out of communication until you were out of danger.

I adjusted the company cap, kept my head down, modified my posture, and faked a slight limp that wasn’t mine.

You can never be too careful when entering hostile territory.

When I knocked on the door, I tried to stay calm. Two guys armed with AK-47s let me in after a frisk and presenting my installer credentials.

I reached the main door of the house escorted by one of them, observing every corner of the property out of the corner of my eye.

There, the housemaid waited to explain the problem. Yuri was nowhere to be seen; he might not have been there or hadn’t gotten up yet.

“I've never been greeted with so much protection before,” I noted, trying to gain the maid’s trust.

“Here, no precaution is too much. Don’t worry, they won’t harm you.” If they knew who I was, I was sure they would. “Follow me, I'll take you to the meter room.”

I continued memorizing the rooms.

“What a house, it must be a lot of work to clean it. Especially with so many men around, they surely don’t make it easy for you.” She gave me a knowing smile; she was petite and pretty. When needed, I knew how to win over women.

“Yes, although there are two of us.” The security guard had stayed at the door.

“Two women for how many men?”

“Eight, seven,” she corrected herself, her expression tightening as if a painful memory had been triggered. Perhaps there had been a recent casualty. “Although they are quite clean.”

“And they all live here?”

“Yes, they share a couple of large rooms. We have our own room as well. We’ve arrived,” she announced.

She opened a door leading to the garage.

“It’s here.”

The room wasn’t very large. It was a space where the meters, the house’s home automation system, the security panel, and the electricity were distributed.

“Everything okay?” asked a voice behind us.

“Yes, Kulkov, it’s the worker the boss called for.” So, Yuri was in the house; good to know.

“Leave, I’ll stay with him.” I glanced sideways at Kulkov.

He was almost as tall and broad as me, with tattoos marking him as a member of the Bratva. His appearance would intimidate most people; shaved head, piercing gaze, and an AK-47 slung over his shoulder.

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