Page 30 of Light Me Up

Noah gave him a big, toothy smile. Morelli was fucking with him, the bastard.

* * * *

Gianfranco continued his anxious yapping as Konig’s eyes followed the mystery couple out of the busy room that functioned as the security hub. The door clicked shut behind them, and Konig forced his gaze back to his ex-business partner as he ran a handkerchief over his own sweating forehead.

“Gianfranco, I am so sorry,” he repeated, making his voice weak and reedy. “It must have been those oysters at lunch. You know I’ve been looking forward to this moment ever since the Orazio excavation began. It’s such a triumph for you. And I had a very entertaining speech planned. You would have loved it. I simply can’t tell you—”

“Say no more, please. Just try to get better.” Gianfranco Folti patted his shoulder, eyes full of concern. “I’ll speak to the kitchen staff. This isa catastrophe.”

“No need to blame anyone,” Konig assured him. “These things happen. But if you’ll excuse me, I can’t stay on my feet any longer. I’ll just go up to myroom and rest.”

“Of course. I’ll send up my own personal physician right away.”

“No! Please, don’t. All I want is privacy. You know how these things are. There’s nothing that can be done, it just has to be endured. And …oh, God. Excuse me, please, but I have togo…rightnow.”

“Of course! Go on, go on!” Gianfranco urged.

Konig hurried through the room. Russo and Vilardi were both there. He shot them a piercing glance as he passed. Incompetent fuckheads. Two unknown attendees, unexamined, unvetted, two hours before the event? He’d only noticed their arrival by sheer, random chance. There should be no surprises this late in the game. Certainly not while he was suffering the nasty effects of that disgusting emetic drug he’d forced himself to take. He’d made sure that the first bout of vomiting was witnessed and cleaned up by the housecleaning staff. His absence from the ceremony had to be publicly accounted for by multiple witnesses. Which is why he’d timed the conversation with Gianfranco to be seen by security personnel. His ass was covered from every direction.

He hurried down the corridor, acting like a man urgently in need of a private toilet. Slapped open a bathroom door that was in a surveillance blind spot.

As soon as he locked himself in, he pulled his tablet from his briefcase and ran through the surveillance camera feeds. He didn’t find the mystery couple until he opened up the newest one, the feed from a secret camera that he’d recently installed in Lella’s office. He’d been monitoring Lella anxiously over the past few days. He was deteriorating fast. The command frequency had taken its toll. Not much longer, though. If the wretched creature could just stay on his feet and function for a few more hours, that was all that was required of him.

The mercy blow was coming soon.

Konig did not like Morelli’s last minute additions to the guest list at all. The way the man moved, studying everyone like he was snapping a picture and filing it away. The bitch in the slinky red dress was certainly fuckable, but she didn’t have her male companion’s air of lethal competence, so Konig was too tense and nauseous to be bothered with her.

He slid in the earbuds. The audio blared in his ears.CaptainLella, this is—

Just then, a knocking sound intruded on his attempt to listen. “Signor Konig?” someone whispered loudly outside the door.

It was Russo. The cretin. “Shut up!” Konig hissed. “I’m listening! Wait!”

Morelli’s voice came inloud and clear.

…of Asa Stone. The last minute additions to the guest list that I mentioned yesterday evening.

Ah. Yes. And Stone vouched for them? You checked their credentials?

Yes, of course. Everything is fine.

Fine. I authorize them. Go.

After a few moments, the mystery couple left the room, followed by Morelli. Konig flipped through the various feeds, following the couple on their way through the palace. He disliked the man more with each new camera angle. His size, his build, the way he walked, his eyes.

Konig yanked open the door and glowered at Russo—and surprise, surprise, Vilardi was standing right next to him. Combining their idiocy, as usual.

“I told you not to talk to me here, you fucking idiots!” he snarled under his breath. “You don’teven know me!”

“Yes, I know, sir,” Vilardi whispered. “But the couple whojust came in—”

“Keep your voice down!” Konig peered around the corner.“Get in here!”

Once squeezed inside the small bathroom with Russo, Vilardi tried again. “Signor Konig, Morelli’s guests—that manlooks like a—”

“Like a cop, a spy, an operator? Yes, he does, and probably he is. So we will adjust our plan accordingly. We will be even more careful. You, Russo, and Naimo must stay inside the Sala to the very end, until I tell you to go. I will monitor all of Lella’s communications, and I will let you know what to do and when it’s time to leave. Understood?”

Russo licked his lips, his eyes flicking to the side. Konig’s instructions made him extremely uneasy. Perhaps he was not quite as stupid as Konig had thought.

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