Page 175

“Greco expected that answer.”

“Good.”

“She’s agreed the Cavalhos can provide Adriana’s security during the initial investigation.”

Demitri’s hand settled on my shoulder, anchoring me.

I shot him a quick Look.

“What happens at seven?” I asked.

Atlas hunched over the table and opened another map.

“Two Cavalho teams block the access road before the convoy reaches the highway. Greco’s officers wait beyond the quarry. Once the trucks are stopped and the drivers are contained, law enforcement takes custody.”

“And the files?” I asked.

Atlas looked at me.

“They go public at the same time.”

Until then, the plan had been about stopping four containers. This was larger.

“How public?” Tone asked.

“Everywhere,” Atlas said. “Greco has spent the last hour activating contacts across Europe. Journalists in Rome, London, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels will receive the Serra files at seven tomorrow morning.”

My father’s name struck through me.

The Serra files.

A name Greco had chosen because Gabriele Serra had built the archive, hidden it, and died before he could activate it. Or perhaps he had. Perhaps the rosary had always been meant to reach this moment.

News organizations would receive the financial records. International agencies would receive the trafficking manifests. Church authorities would receive Ferretti’s messages and signatures. Every file would be mirrored across secure servers before the Coccico could force a single site to remove it.

“They won’t be able to bury this,” I pointed out.

“No,” Atlas replied. “By the time the convoy is stopped, the evidence will be in hundreds of hands and will be leaking into mainstream media.”

“And if the operation fails?” Izzy asked.

“The release still happens.”

“What if they kill Greco before seven?” Tone asked.

“Her dead-man’s switch publishes immediately.”

Raze walked to the shattered window. A steel panel now covered most of the opening. Through the narrow gap beside it, the garden remained bright with work lights and moving guards.

“So this is it,” he conceded.

Atlas stood.

“Greco believes the arrests, seizures, and public release will collapse the organization. Their assets and funds will be frozen. Their officials will turn on one another. Every legitimate business tied to them will rush to distance itself.”

“She expects the Coccico to cease to exist by breakfast?” Marcello asked.

“No,” Atlas explained. “She expects them to begin destroying themselves.”