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Her bewildered, big, dark eyes look up to us as she tries to speak but can’t. The terror is written all over her face, even without words.
What the hell?
Rocco marches over to us. “This is the fucking problem I was telling you about,” he whisper-shouts, glancing back at her over his shoulder. “She can’t be more than fucking twenty years old! She’s in college.”
Not that we’re not opposed to dealing with anyone who crosses us, but this isn’t the usual order of business. It’s not just that she’s a woman. At first glance, she’s a freaking nerd as well.
It’s scum that we are used to dealing with, primarily corrupt politicians, police and mafia figures, and their henchmen. Hence, why Senator Mendes was taken out recently due to his extracurricular people smuggling activities. We generally don’t deal with young women who look like they just stepped out of the New York Stock Exchange.
I scratch the back of my head.
“Who the fuck is she?” Enzo whispers.
“Sloane Summers,” Rocco mutters. “Not what I was expecting.”
“She’s the hacker?” I glance at her again. I’ve been in this game a while. I know firsthand, not to judge a book by its cover. Just because she looks like a librarian, doesn’t mean she is one. “Are you fucking sure?”
Rocco gives me a look. “I’m not in the habit of snatching young women off the street to interrogate for the fun of it,” he mutters. “I’m sure Vaughn wouldn’t make a mistake about this. Besides, she has admitted to working for the opposition, though she’s claiming that she had no idea of the extent of the involvement or who hired her. She only scrambled the phone lines and put up the firewalls that nobody could get through.”
My eyes go wide.“So, she’s some kind of fucking computer hacker genius?” I say, looking over his shoulder skeptically.
“Well, let’s face it, it took Vaughn days to trace the telephone calls, and he said it was the most beautiful firewall he’d ever seen.” Rocco shrugs as my eyes move back to him.
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” I press.
Rocco palms the back of his head. “She seems pretty clueless on who we are and what she’s been taken for…so the short answer is yes.”
We hear a muffled voice, and all turn to look at her. She’s trying her best to convey something, albeit it’s a little tricky with a bandana tied around her mouth.
“Is that completely necessary?” Enzo scrunches his brow. He’s the one most vocal about our torture practices, not that we’re going to torture the poor woman. Not yet, anyway.
“I had to keep her bound and quiet somehow,” Rocco says. “Besides, she seems terrified enough. I’m sure she will spill everything she knows quickly.”
I walk toward her and bend down. She flinches like I’m going to strike her as I reach for the bandana and pull it down to free her mouth.
She looks up at me, blinking several times.
“Sloan Summers?” I ask.
She nods profusely. “That’s me,” she replies, swallowing hard, not backing down from my glare. She has a sweet, quiet tone, and she’s obviously nervous as her voice shakes.
“Do you know who we are?” I prompt.
She shakes her head.
“I’m Marco Medici,” I say. “Have you heard of me?”
She nods.
“We’re not here to hurt you. It’s important that you know that, Sloane.” I let her digest that before I continue, “We need you to tell us everything you know about your last assignment, alright?”
She blinks again.
“It would be in your best interests to answer the guy.” Rocco helpfully adds, cracking his knuckles for effect. Her eyes glide to him, and she looks more terrified than any human being I’ve ever met. Roccoisa lot.
Enzo and I both glance at him in succession. He’s obviously not going to assault the woman, I know this isn’t his usual modus operandi, but I also know he plays the game well.
We need to get her to talk, then decide what to do with her.
