Is this destiny?

The video ended and Angelo was not moving. 

The more Sarah looked at Angelo, the more she felt sorry for him.

"Old man, are you OK?", Sarah asked after some time.

"No.", Angelo responded and voiced his thoughts: "I have difficulty believing that this is true."

"We also have the evidence that in the last few weeks Bruno is collecting information on Emma. He hired people to find out about her habits.", Sarah said. "The USB also has a video showing Bruno's interaction with Emma in the café when he approached her for the first time. You can see that he planned in advance."

Angelo looked like he aged a decade within these last few minutes and his low voice reflected his lack of energy. "Bruno was by my side for twenty years. I watched him grow and this… I am not ready to accept it."

Sarah nodded knowingly. "That is expected. What do you need in order to accept the facts? Time? More evidence? Bruno?"

Angelo frowned slightly. He is not sure himself. Will more time help him come to terms that Bruno is backstabbing him and plotting to kill his children? Probably not. He already has the facts, but he needs to confirm with his own eyes and ears. "I want to talk to Bruno."

This is something that Sarah and Aiden predicted. That is why they asked JoAnna and Jeff to keep Bruno alive for twenty four hours: they needed the time to come and talk to Angelo.

"By tomorrow this time, Bruno will be in your hands. Expect a message from us with the time and location where you can pick him up. It will be in this area.", Aiden said.

Angelo was surprised with this. "You are giving me the evidence and Bruno without anything in return?"

Sarah smiled while thinking how Angelo is silly. Does he really think that they can't take what they want? "Capo Angelo, we are not here to make enemies. But no matter how friendly we are, we hope that you keep in mind that if we want your base we don't need to blackmail you or to play games. Treat this information as a sign of goodwill from our side, but we will not allow anyone to take advantage of us. If you back out of the deal, we will take all three bases and probably more than that. I hope you don't see this as a threat, think of it as a promise. We will know when Bruno is in your hands and after that, you have one day to tell us which base is ours."

Angelo showed a small smile before responding: "Milan. You can have Milan. When I get my closure, I will let you know. But I need few days for my men to leave and to take our equipment and supplies."

Sarah extended her hand, showing all five fingers. "Five days. After that, our men will be there and whoever is lingering will not find a good ending. And any equipment and supplies will be ours."

Angelo nodded in agreement and added: "I need three days."

Sarah smiled in approval. "Three days it is."

She unplugged the USB drive from the laptop and gave it to Angelo. "Other than the videos, and the evidence containing Bruno's communication through emails and texts, there is information on how to contact us."

Angelo took the USB drive and asked Sarah: "Are we friends now?"

Sarah shook her head. "Acquaintances. If our transaction goes smoothly, the truce will come into effect and you can say that we are neutral. The time will tell how our organizations will interact."

"You are coming to Europe?", Angelo guessed.

Sarah smiled when she saw a hint of anxiety in Angelo's eyes and she guessed that he is concerned if the army of Chaos starts spreading their influence in his territory. "We are only passing through. But we need few bases for our men and supplies as a connection between our core and destination. We will be in touch…"

Aiden packed the laptop in his backpack, and they were about to leave when the wind howled outside louder than so far, announcing an upcoming storm.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?", Angelo asked, considering the bad weather.

Angelo's offer made Aiden frown (but no one saw it because of his mask).

"Your cook is unable to prepare meals. He will wake up with the rest of your people in about…", Sarah checked the time. "Half an hour."

Angelo guessed that they somehow overpowered his security, but he doesn't know how. He was relieved to hear that they are not dead. He watched Sarah and Aiden as they wished him goodbye when a sudden realization hit him…

"Is Emma doing OK?"

Angelo's question made both Sarah and Aiden stop in their tracks.

Angelo stifled a laugh. For the first time since they invaded his room, he actually managed to surprise them. 

Angelo decided to share his observations: "You came here and told me that Bruno wants to use Emma in order to take my position. You gave me all this evidence while leaving me to decide on the repayment. You don't want to use my daughter as a leverage to gain advantage over me. My conclusion is that you found out about Bruno because you care about Emma. Based on the fact that she has nothing of value to give in return for your protection, I assume that you are friends and based on your reaction just now, I confirmed that my assumptions are correct."

Sarah has to admit that the man is smart. She took a mental note that the next time they will go with blackmail, to make it more convincing. 

"What do you plan to do with Emma?", Sarah asked.

Angelo shrugged indicating that he is not sure. "I plan to approach her, but at this point, I don't know how."

Sarah narrowed her eyes at Angelo. "Do you plan to pull her into Nero armi?"

"I want Emma to know about it. And Mike, Sean, and Ryan as well. But I will leave it to them to decide if they want to be involved with it or not.", Angelo disclosed his plans.

"What if none of them is interested?", Sarah asked. The idea of Angelo forcing his kids to join Nero armi reminded Sarah of Lebedev family and it rubbed her the wrong way.

Angelo spread his arms and smiled. "There are plenty of capable people in my ranks. But I will not make another mistake of favoring only one. As for the rest, I will figure it out as I go."

Sarah relaxed. If Angelo does not plan to force Emma (or her brothers) into this, they will not meddle.

"Emma is happy.", Sarah responded to Angelo's first Emma-related question and added: "She does not know about us and as long as you don't make her do something against her will, we will not prevent you from approaching her."

"I am glad that she has friends like you to watch her back.", Angelo said with eyes full of longing.

Sarah looked at Angelo and suddenly she realized that he is… lonely.

Aiden saw that Sarah is getting emotional. He waved Angelo goodbye and put his arm around Sarah's shoulders, pulling her out of the room. 

Aiden is in a rush to leave before Sarah gets a crazy idea to stay back and comfort the old man. What was that dinner invitation nonsense? This is their honeymoon! Just the two of them! And no bad weather will stop him from leaving this place!

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