Chapter 2 - THE SIX PHOTOGRAPHS
Matteo laid the glossy prints on the green blotter.
Each photograph showed a man.
Six men.
All powerful.
All dangerous.
The first was Alderman Frank Russo.
The second was Victor Moretti, the shipping baron of South Chicago.
The third was a federal judge named Thomas Sterling.
The fourth and fifth were Gabriel’s own dock managers.
The sixth photo was different.
It showed an unmarked black surveillance van parked outside the gates.
Olivia stared at the pictures.
Her pulse hammered in her throat.
"Who took these?" she asked quietly.
Matteo didn't look at her.
His eyes remained locked on Gabriel.
"Our exterior cameras caught the van three nights ago," Matteo said.
Gabriel picked up the photograph of the van.
His thumb traced the dark windshield.
"The relay in Room 7 was bouncing a signal," Gabriel said.
His voice was dead calm.
That calm was terrifying.
"It transmitted outside the property line," Gabriel added.
"To that vehicle."
Matteo leaned both hands on the mahogany desk.
"They weren't just tapping board meetings, boss."
"What else?"
"Room 7 sits directly above the private family wing."
Silence settled over the library.
Heavy.
Cold.
Suffocating.
Olivia felt her breath catch.
"My quarters," she whispered.
Gabriel turned his dark eyes toward her.
He looked at her faded robe.
He looked at her bare feet on the Persian rug.
"Your quarters are in the east corridor," Gabriel said.
"Directly beneath the sub-duct."
Olivia’s stomach twisted into an icy knot.
"Why would anyone listen to me?"
"They weren't listening to you, Olivia," Gabriel said softly.
He stepped closer to her.
He smelled of cedar and cold iron.
"They were listening to what you knew."
A technician rushed through the library double doors.
He carried a tablet with a blinking red waveform.
"Mr. Duca," the technician gasped.
"The feed didn't cut when we pulled the relay."
Gabriel’s jaw hardened.
"Explain."
"There is a secondary transmitter."
The technician tapped the glass screen.
"It’s broadcasting right now."
Nero suddenly stood up from the rug.
His dark ears pinned back flat against his skull.
He let out a low, vibrating growl from deep within his chest.
The hair along his spine stood straight up.
He didn't look at the doors.
He looked at Olivia’s robe pocket.
Olivia froze.
The air vanished from her lungs.
Her hand drifted slowly toward the pocket of her gray robe.
Her fingers touched cold plastic.
A small, rectangular device.
About the size of a thumb drive.
With a tiny, rhythmic blue pulse.
She pulled it out into the harsh light.
Gabriel moved faster than thought.
His hand clamped around her wrist, steadying her trembling fingers.
His eyes burned into hers.
"Where did you get that, Olivia?"
Olivia looked at the blinking blue light.
Tears of pure dread sprang to her eyes.
"Lily," Olivia choked out.
"My daughter gave it to me on Sunday."
She swallowed hard.
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"She said a nice man outside her school told her it was a lucky charm."
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