Page 183 of Rise of the Queen

“You don’t know what communicates with her?” Sephie asked.

“No, she refuses to reveal how she gets the information,” Battista said.

“How long between when deals are made and when she finds out usually?” I asked.

“I’m not entirely sure. I don’t think I’ve ever asked that question. Why are you asking?”

“Because Sal made a deal. We don’t know specifics, but it wasn’t that long ago that he did it. I don’t know if he made a deal with a lower-level demon and that’s why it hasn’t come up on your radar or if it’s so new that your psychic hasn’t been alerted yet,” I said.

“Actually, I was going to bring that information to you today. I thought I was going to tell you something you didn’t know. I should’ve known you’d all know already. How did you find out?” he asked.

“Dario said Sal told him about it after it happened, which is somewhat surprising. I don’t know how much these guys are talking about these things among each other, but it seems like something you’d keep to yourself,” I said.

Battista thought for a moment, then said, “Maybe this is all coming from Ricardo. Maybe he knows he needs more help than he’s found.”

“Can your psychic find out what kind of demon Sal made his deal with? Ricardo and Martin are going to need to be dealt with differently than everyone else, because of their deals,” I said.

“Differently how?” Battista asked. I knew he was going to want to know the details. I wasn’t sure I was ready to tell him about my level-up yet.

Thankfully, Stephen is quick on his feet. “Because the demons they made deals with are so powerful, we have to change tactics with them to be effective. It’s going to be much nicer for us to know beforehand if we need to change tactics with Sal as well.”

“We need to take precautions in order to protect ourselves. Knowing beforehand gives us the upper hand. Which is why we would appreciate notice if you ever need our services for one of your associates again. That was not a fun day for any of us,” Sephie said. Battista could tell by her tone that she was not joking around.

“My apologies, Sephie. I didn’t know the extent of his crimes beforehand. There were plenty of us who had our suspicions, but no one knew for sure until you guys exposed him,” he said.

“I understand. Just let us in on the suspicions next time,” she said. I saw Ivan wink at her, knowing she was trying not to get too irritated thinking about that day and everything she’d seen.

“You have my word that you will know what I know from now on. It never occurred to me that you guys would need to take precautions, but now that I do know, I will make sure you know everything that I do,” he said apologetically.

I knew we greatly benefited Battista, especially in matters of business, but I also got the impression that he genuinely liked us. He seemed to like my father as well. As much as anyone could like that man. They’d been friends for years, but I never realized the extent of their relationship until recently. My father had been helping out behind the scenes for much longer than I was aware of. It was an intriguing side to Vitaliy that I never would’ve known about, were it not for Sephie.

“What are your plans for taking care of Ricardo and Martin?” Battista asked.

“Honestly? We don’t have any yet,” I said, chuckling at Battista’s shocked expression.

We spent several hours talking things through with Battista. There were so many different players involved that it was going to be difficult to formulate a solid plan for all of them at once. We hadn’t even brought Martin into the picture yet. Or the Mexican cartels.

“I have it on good authority that Niko and Vito are planning on returning to the city in the next two weeks. We don’t have a specific date yet, but the money supply is drying up, so they’re coming back to find out what’s going on with the underbosses and their inability to collect taxes,” Battista said.

Ivan was running his hand over his goatee, as he usually did when he was thinking through a problem. “What if we let them come back to the city to try and collect taxes? The people won’t stand for it. What if we let the people take care of Niko and Vito for us? They’re a big reason why the underbosses stopped collecting taxes in the first place. Even with knowing what happened to Massimo and Lorenzo, they still likely would’ve kept trying to collect taxes if the people hadn’t fought back.”

“I happen to be very good friends with a very talented arms dealer. He can make sure the people are protected against whatever Niko and Vito decide to try,” Battista said.

I felt Sephie starting to make the connections at the same time I did. “If the people of the city take care of Niko, Vito,and whichever underbosses object, then the mayor will need to appear like he’s being tough on crime to keep the favor of the people,” she said.

“Which will be the perfect opportunity to arrest Dr. Moretti. He can be the reason we connect Sal and Henry,” I said.

“Henry connects the switch-hitting representative,” Ivan said.

“The mayor and the DA look like they’re being very tough on crime and easily get re-elected,” Stephen said.

“Not to mention the new wing on the hospital that’s happening out of all this,” Andrei said.

“Okay, so that takes care of everything here quite nicely. What about Ricardo and Sal?” Sephie asked.

Misha’s eyes went wide. “I know why there were two scenarios for taking care of the bosses. Because we’re using both of them. Niko and Vito are coming here, which is why I could see that outcome. But we go after Ricardo and Sal and take care of them before they have a chance to return to the city.”

Ivan chuckled, pointing to Sephie. “The princess agrees,” he said. They all looked at her, smiling. She looked to me, silently asking what color her eyes had decided on.

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