Dark Operations
Christopher
Armani’s face turned stone cold, colder than the air in the chamber he had me tied in the night he wanted to take the breath from my lungs. I knew deep down inside that he could see I would never hurt his daughter and that was why he let me go. He had a large window of opportunities to kill me, or take me somewhere far away where no one would find me; and still, he kept me at the yacht club. He knew that doing anything to hurt me with a result of fatality would result in losing his daughter forever. Now here we were, almost on the same side, working for the same goal. To find Lorelai and bring her home to arms of safety, my arms of safety; and I swore when we did, I wouldn’t let go as easily as I had the first time. There would be no time for a grace period, I needed her as much as I needed the breath in my lungs.
The screens ahead of us flashed on and broke my attention to Armani as he pressed certain buttons to pull up different angles on the surveillance cameras. Men in suits were arranged around the hotel in lines going down the docks throughout the resort. The public eye had not noticed a thing because they were spread out; but when Armani zoomed out, the lines formed were a shape I couldn’t place my finger on right on the spot.
“Luciana. Get over here.”
She walked to her father without another word.
“What do you see here?” he asked as if he was testing her.
“They’re icing out the enemy, Papa,” she responded without a hesitation.
Papa? Lorelai always referred to him as her father. Perhaps this was the protocol of the syndicate.
Armani looked up at her with pride. “Very good. What does icing out mean?”
“They form lines around the premises in the shape of a snowflake.”
He zoomed back out, looking around at other cameras to show the various lines of undercover armed Castillo soldiers standing in the shape of a snowflake surrounding the premises. The lines started at the docks, went down the boardwalk, and through the resort; and from what I could tell, Santino had enough soldiers to make not just one, but two snowflakes.
“Can you identify that this vessel belongs to an enemy?”
Luci studied the live stream for a moment, taking the mouse she circled the black rose. “Right here. It’s the Moretti Family, Papa.”
“Excellent eye, Luciana.” He grabbed a walkie talkie radio, placing the device up to his mouth. “This is Papa. I am ordering anyone involved in the ice out notion to ignore Santino De Luca’s orders. Do not make me repeat myself,” he snapped.
“Sir….I mean, Papa, I’m not sure I can do that.” A hesitant male voice came in through the radio.
Armani pounded a fist to the table. “Who ordered you to this location?” Armani barked.
Watching the operation in action really showed me how much control he had over his children and others that worked for him. He was running an army. I expected zero hesitation, and yet here this man was questioning Armani.
“Santino De Luca.”
Armani chuckled lowly into the speaker, clicking the mouse at the computer and keys on the keyboard. The camera streams disappeared and the screens darkened. “You will no longer be hearing from Santino.” He paused. “And the last time I checked? I had the final say in this operation.”
“I understand, Papa.”
“Great.” He sounded a little less annoyed now, perhaps he anchored Santino’s location, and had him exactly where he wanted him? I wasn’t sure, but I’m sure I would find out soon enough. My stomach churned, and twisted into knots. My insides became a nervous mess as I worried how all of this would play out for Lorelai, if she would stand up for Santino like she did for me. I stopped the entire thought process. She wouldn’t choose him over me. She was afraid of him. I loved and cared for her. We had an undeniable chemistry and connection.
“Now, you’re going to answer a question for me. What is De Luca’s location?”
“He’s having dinner at The Shipyard, Papa.”
Armani’s hand curled into a fist once more. “Perfect. You and your freeze out group stay put. I’m on my way.”
I couldn’t be certain on what was going to happen next, but Armani stormed in and dug to the bottom of the mystery on where Lorelai was located and clearly formed a plan at lightning speeds.
Armani messed with the channels on the radio. “Amelia, we have a situation.”
“What is it, love?” she said a moment later.
“I have to make a trip over to Waldo Point. I need you to send a team to the Golden Gate on a freeze out.”
“I can do that right away.”
“Thank you, my love. Tell them to wait for instructions.”
“Will do.”
He set the walkie down and looked to Luci. “Luciana, I need you to make sure Christopher and Marie stay safe, and we’ll need them to come with us if we have any chance to pull Lorelai back in. We have to move. Now.” He was on his feet and we followed behind him on Luci’s hand gesturing commands. We went back through a vortex of darkened hallways, and stepped into an office, going through a hidden bookshelf. We came out inside of the Black Diamond Club. We boarded the Black Knight speed boat and sat down. Marie and I exchanged glances as Armani took off on the water.
***
When we arrived, Armani was stopped by security.
“I’ll need to see your ID and proof of privileges at this club, sir.”
Armani pulled out his ID. “Check your list under Castillo. I assure you, my name is on the list.”
The security officer narrowed his eyes and handed back the ID. “I’m not sure there’s a place to dock, but I suppose you could try the back rows.”
“Noted.” Armani snatched his ID back, and continued through the gate when it was opened. He found a spot and quickly placed the ropes on the dock and helped the girls out before he nudged his head. “Let’s go, Montgomery!”
I climbed out without as much as a hesitation and waited for further instructions. Armani walked ahead of us, leading us through the docks.
I saw the lines of men in suits standing on the docks on each of our sides. Armani went straight to the hotel high rise and led us up the elevator. My nerves heightened as sweat dripped down my face. The thought of Santino trying to get away with her, terrified me.
Taking the elevator up, we walked toward the restaurant; and just before Armani was going through the arched entryway, Santino came out holding Lorelai’s hand. The second he laid eyes on Armani, he made a mad dash for the staircase, forcing Lorelai with him.
Armani ran after them, and I was right behind Armani without waiting on Luciana’s cue. As we ran down the stairs, I heard my heart thumping in my ears as Lorelai yelled in distress at Santino to stop, and each time he would respond and tell her they had to go.
“Santino! Stop! I don’t want this! Please, let me go,” she pleaded once more.
I imagined Santino pulling her down the steps, his speed picking up. Glancing over the side as I rounded one of the railings, I glanced down the center and she was struggling to push him away.
Santino blatantly ignored her pleas. “Stop fighting it, or I will throw you over this damn banister!”
Anger built up in me, I could see that he had not only manipulated her, but perhaps he had bribed her with some kind of award and now his true colors were shining through. We must’ve gone down ten flights of stairs before a gunshot echoed through the stairwell.
I ducked down as I heard a ping from the bullet and saw that Armani was able to dodge it as well. Marie came up from behind me, staying ducked down and hidden. I glanced at her, and I was met with a fierce cold glare in her eyes. I wasn’t the only one ready to kill Santino. Her jaw clenched, and like the rest of us she was furious with Santino’s actions. She was ready for a fight and I knew that together, we would save Lorelai. There was no other option.
Armani got on his walkie. “We need back up. I need all hands on deck. Move in from the north and south end. De Luca is armed, attempting to shoot and making a break for it. He has Lorelai.”
Armani looked at me and Marie, but never lost sight of his petrified daughter. He stood up and continued down and I heard a stampede of footsteps moving up the stairs from below. The syndicate army had made their way in and Santino would soon have nowhere to run.
By the time Marie, Luciana, Armani and I reached Santino, the army of security officers stopped him in his tracks. We came to a face to face confrontation with Santino, his hands gripping Lorelai with evident force. An obstruction taking the breath from my lungs, Santino wrapped an arm around Lorelai’s neck, placing her in a headlock. Reaching behind him, he pulled a gun out pointing the barrel to her head.
Armani’s face went beet red with fury. They stood parallel, walking in circles on the platform
“Back off, or I will shoot her.” He paused, in heavy breaths. “Call the army off and step aside,” Santino spoke through gritted teeth.
“You know,” Armani started. “the longer you try to make it seem like you’re in charge, the worse this will become when we leave here, Santino,” he scoffed.
Santino narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m so sick and tired of living under your goddamn thumb, Armani. I’ve done everything for you. Everything you’ve asked of me, every task, drug deal, I’ve meddled in innocent people’s lives, and blood has been shed in buckets. The only thing I asked for in return is her. So I’m taking what you promised me in the end. Once and for fucking all.”
I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, I shook from the inside out watching Lorelai’s face drop in horror. Armani made deals at Lorelai’s expense? Was this why he forbid her to see me?
Lorelai’s tears streamed down her cheeks, staring up at me with a plea of sorrow. How could she think I was mad or even an ounce upset with her? All I wanted was for this to go away, for good.
Armani inched closer to the man holding his daughter at gunpoint, circling around like a hawk hunting its prey. “You lost that privilege, Santino, starting when you successfully sent my son to his death.” He paused, and I imagined that he was giving Lorelai a look of apology. “You know what I’m capable of. Perhaps you should turn to Lorelai and tell her the goddamn truth about how her brother died.”
Santino’s jaw set into place, furrowing his eyebrows. The daggers remained and panic rose in his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Armani.”
Armani shook his head, pacing the platform, his hand at the back of his jeans. “So you weren’t the one that encouraged him to hack the Morettis’ system and clear them out under his name, and our IP address?”
“Armani wanted them out as much as I did,” Santino spat.
Studying Armani’s hand gestures, he placed his thumb with his forefinger together, and the first five men lined up behind Santino. They grasped his wrist twisting the gun from his grasp successfully, placing the security back on the gun.
Santino’s arms were brought behind him as the men in suits placed his wrists in handcuffs.
Standing to the side, I could see a wicked smirk curve over Armani’s lips. “Let’s try that again. This time, let's try the truth.”
Security turned Santino to face Lorelai, and he looked down to the floor like the coward that he was. He sighed and bit his lower lip. “Your father was out of town and left me in charge. We found out about the Morettis moving into Castillo territory; and because I had to call the shots, I suggested we make it hard for them to stick around. Junior was all for it. He wanted to help, but I was the one who suggested he hack their system and completed the blackout. It wasn’t long after the hack that he went missing, a few days, maybe a week.” He paused. “I never stopped looking for him. I searched in every spot I thought they could’ve taken him. I never tried to move in on the yacht club itself, but I fear that’s where they were keeping him.”
Lorelai shook from head to toe as tears fell down her cheeks. She reached her hand back and slapped him across the face. “You were supposed to be looking out for him! He told me you would be there if or when this job got tough, and you turned around without thinking twice and led him to his death?” She bit her lower lip, sadness filled her eyes as she looked at the floor. “When were you going to tell me? After you dragged me away from the only place I called home? You made too many broken promises, Santino; and I hope you pay the most severe price of living with it!” She yelled, the sound of her stern tone echoing through the stairwell. She turned to Armani. “Killing him would be the easy way out.” She muttered and moved past him.
She set her eyes on me, instant tears cascading over her eyes and fell down her cheeks. My own emotions heightened as I set sight on her standing within touching distance. She closed the space between us, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her face into my chest. “I’m so sorry, Christopher,” she mumbled through sobs.
It took me time to embrace the moment. Taking in the touch of her body against mine, her whispered repeated apologies echoed through my head as I shut my eyes and wrapped her in my arms, pulling her in further against me and burying my head into her neck needing to breathe her scent, breathe the moment. Words escaped my mind. I opened my mouth and nothing came out for a moment. “D-don’t apologize, baby. It’s all going to be okay now, no matter what.” I whispered against her ear.
Keeping Lorelai close, I looked on at Luciana and Marie watching us and pulled her tiny frame in closer. She was all mine and I’d be damned if anyone dared to take her from me again.
“Get him out of my sight, gentlemen. I’ll be over to deal with him shortly,” Armani barked. “And take the back entrance out. We want little to no attention on this.” Armani snapped before turning toward us.
Pulling away only slightly, I kept one arm securely wrapped around Lorelai and turned around.
“Luciana…” He gestured for her to step forward.
Luci stepped around us while Marie stepped in on the other side of Lorelai and wrapped an arm around her.
“Take them back to the vault to ensure safety measures for now, and wait for me to come back.” He pulled his wallet out. “And send your mother out for ice cream or coffee. Whatever you guys want.” He handed her a few large bills.
A smile cracked through my lips as I witnessed the softer side of Armani come out to play. I almost couldn’t believe my ears. He was insisting his daughter order in a treat which told me one thing. He knew Lorelai very well and he was at least somewhat satisfied with the outcome of this mess.