Page 90 of Vicious Little Princess

“As confirmed by Joseph Stover?” Nico asked.

“He finally got back to you then,” Julian spoke.

“He did.”

“And what did he say that has you sure Carlo is to be trusted with this alliance?” Nico pushed.

“Excalibur.”

“One word and that confirms everything for us?” I questioned, skeptical, while Nico looked on intently and Julian raised an eyebrow.

“We established several code words before we parted ways, in case we needed to transmit covert messages to one another,” Caterina told us. “He’s deep cover. It’s been necessary. Each word carries a specific and often deep meaning. In this case,Excaliburwas more than a mere sword in Arthurian legend. It was a symbol of hope and justice. It was about upholding a moral code, possessing honor and living up to those ideals, especially for Arthur, via his leadership.”

“I get it,” Julian said.

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“If you’re willing to put your trust in this guy over something as vital as this, then I’ll accept that as gospel,” Nico announced.

I’d normally play devil’s advocate, but this time I didn’t find it necessary. I’d come to trust her implicitly now, and there was also the fact that the stakes had been raised substantially, so we could no longer operate so cautiously.

Caterina stepped up to Nico and pressed her hands to his chest. “You trust me that much now, huh?”

“I do.”

“We all do,” I told her.

She smiled at us as she stepped back from Nico, then scrolled on her phone for a few moments, before telling us, “As much as I appreciate that, Idoactually have more than just that one word. It’s something Joe sent along with it.”

“Wow, you really tested us with that, huh?” Julian jested.

Some sort of strange look passed between them that I couldn’t decipher, before the focus went to Caterina holding out her phone to us and playing a video.

“It’s body cam footage that Joe had rolling during a meeting with Carlo,” she told us, just a moment before all of us gathered around to see Carlo, himself, stepping into a clearing in a forest somewhere and looking at the camera—Joseph Stover, really, and uttering,“You’ll send this footage to her when the time is right?”

“I will,”the guy who we couldn’t see, but was obviously Stover, answered.

Before it went on further, Caterina told us, “I’ve also run the voices and the footage through my security to verify its authenticity, just as an extra precaution.

Of course she had. She was amazing when it came to all of this.

We focused on the video as Carlo stepped right up to Joe, coming into full focus, that distinctive, trendy ash gray hair in that Pompadour style and one of his designer pinstripe suits filling the screen.

“You took a risk reaching out to me, let alone revealing yourself in this way, Joseph.”

“Unfortunately, it was necessary.”

“How so from your perspective?”

“You’re gauging my true intentions. Smart.”

“Ensuring that our agendas align. A safe alliance cannot be formed without that being the case.”

“I agree. As you’ve said, this is a risk to me too. However, the tide is turning. It’s putting those I care about in danger.”

“Bianca and Caterina?”

“Correct.”

---