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This whole thing has got me thinking. I want her. I want a family with her. If I manage to get her out of this alive, I’m going to do a lot of the things you need to do to get a family.
The way I felt when she sent me the video told me everything I needed to know.
The things she said shouldn’t have hurt. I shouldn’t give a shit what she says to me. She’s my enemy. Of course she’s going to try and verbally cut me.
I felt anger. Guilt. Sorrow. A fuck of a lot of things that add up to something real. Something proper.
Then the double blink. The kind of signal no one but me would understand and interpret. A video made under duress. Made purely to try and hurt me.
Reminded me of the bond we have, the one I tried to deny for far too long. Once this is over, we can turn that bond into something real. That double blink told me we can make this marriage work.
“How long to the lake?” I ask Monty.
“About an hour,” he replies. “Crossing it will take about twenty minutes but I hope you know what you’re doing after that.”
I tell him the plan. He starts laughing. “You’re a crazy son of a bitch,” he says when I’m done. “But maybe the only son of a bitch crazy enough to make this work.”
“Let’s see,” I reply. “We’ll know soon enough, won’t we?”
20
Leonardo
Monty leans on the side of the car, smoking a cigarette while I climb into the wetsuit. “Not easy to come by,” he says, nodding toward the Maiale.
“You should have heard him when I asked to borrow it.”
“Not surprised. It’s practically an antique.”
“As long as it works, I don’t give a shit how old it is.”
“Good luck,” he says once I’m finally zipped up. “Try to make it back in one piece if you can.”
“I’ll do my best. Check the bag for me.”
He looks inside. “All there. You sure you don’t want me to come along?”
“Unless you learned to swim since the last job, you’re better off on dry land. Just be ready to move when we get back. They may give chase and I want to choose the ground to defend if they do.”
“Got it.”
I wade out into the water, positioning myself on the Maiale seat, checking the oxygen levels in the tank by tapping it.
“How’s this thing even work?” he asks.
“Basic torpedo engineering but it’s got me on it instead of explosives.”
I turn on the engine, nodding his way before attaching my oxygen mask. I ease out into the water, controlling the rudder until I’m a couple of feet under the surface. I check everything again. Oxygen good. More than enough to get across to the other side. Bag still watertight. Everything in it is protected. The engine’s working fine. I am good to go.
I hit the throttle and get moving. The goggles on my face make it hard to see at first but my eyes adjust in the murk of the deep water. I follow the compass heading, maintaining a straight line across the center of the lake.
I get to the far side in twenty minutes. I come up slowly, expecting to get shot any minute. When I’m about eight feet from the surface, I kill the engine. In front of me, I can see the beach. It looks exactly how it did through the monocular. Sandy shore. One boat tied to a jetty. Overhanging cliff with few handholds.
I push off the Maiale and swim for the beach, staying underwater for as long as possible.
I break the surface and step onto the sand next to Amato’s boat. I toss off the oxygen tank, dragging it under the cliff until I’m hidden by the overhanging rock.
I sit here for a moment. So far, so good. Long way to go yet.
