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As Gia had said, there was a key in the flowerpot next to the front door, which I used to unlock it. Vince pushed past me and up the stairs. I followed him and Emilio followed me, closing the door again behind us. Neither of us could stand surprises.
Vincenzo clicked his tongue. "Think we're a little late. And this guy is furious."
He tore something off and was already holding it out to me as I climbed the top step of the stairs.
"Creative. A note, red pen and the messageI'll find you, bitch."
"And the door is open," Vince declared, pushing it open. "Chaotic. Either he was looking for something, or his point was to make as much of a mess as possible."
"In the chaos, you wouldn't find possible surveillance devices that quick," Emilio noted, raising an eyebrow as soon as he stepped over the threshold.
Gia's apartment comprised a larger room, an adjoining bathroom, and an alcove containing a small kitchenette. The ceiling had cracks; the floor was PVC, and the furniture looked like it had come from a thrift store. The windows were so thin that it was sure to freeze in the winter, which was further aided by the lack of a radiator.
I remembered her reaction when she stepped into my apartment. It all made much more sense after seeing this.
"I don't think we'll find anything relevant here," Vince muttered, picking up a few of the items scattered around the room.
"Then I can at least bring her some things." I picked up a gym bag and started fishing clothes out of a fallen dresser. Without looking closer, I packed a large portion, then went into the bathroom and threw everything I found there– it wasn't much– into the bag as well.
"You want to bring her things?!" Vince asked when I returned. Emilio seemed to have ignored his questioning look.
"I put her up in my apartment. For her safety and ours."
Vincenzo made an undefinable noise. "What about the Switch? Are you going to pack that, too, or should we leave the only valuable item in here?"
Without comment, I held out the bag so that my brother could stow the red and blue device inside.
"We'll put one of our guys here to monitor the building. I bet this guy comes back and then we can go after him." It was just a suggestion but my tone made it sound like a done deal. I had never been good at asking for permission. And if he knew we were expecting him, it might lure him back to the apartment.
"Sounds good. We'll look at the cellar anyway," Emilio said and pointed to the door so we could leave again.
Word probably spread fast that we had been here, and I no longer wanted to be present as soon as the first curious people crawled out of their holes and looked around. Asked questions.
"The building complex with the basement is where?" Vince asked before stepping out of the door.
I was a little surprised that no one had shown up. I had expected that the Frenchman was cunning enough to have the building watched and to show up at the right moment. After all, he had it in for us, and it didn't happen very often that three of us were out and about together. The three de Archard brothers in one bunch. Who would voluntarily let that pass by?
Emilio explained to Vincenzo where we had to go next. Outside the house again, I noticed how little was happening. Most of the young people had disappeared and there was an almost eerie silence.
Was I right after all? Did the Frenchman watch the house?
I sharpened my senses and looked around, but discovered nothing unusual.
"We should hurry. Just like last night, something doesn't feel right about this," I breathed, so that only my brothers could hear.
"You had a bad feeling, and you stayed anyway?"
"Dario chose for us when he started messing with the bomb," Emilio replied, less than enthusiastic about it.
"You decided you wanted to do business with a Frenchman, of all people!" Vince sounded upset.
"I wasn't aware that there's a fundamental problem there."
"There is. French people have no interest in anyone interfering in their national business. It's fine for them to have a presence in other countries, but not the other way around. Besides they're just annoying, overbearing and not the partners you need to maintain a relationship with."
The more Vincenzo said, the more upset he sounded. It seemed to bother him that Emilio had made this faux pas.
I followed the conversation between the other two men in silence, to prevent them from diverting their focus to something else. For example, on the thing with the bomb, or Gia or anything else that needed my full attention.
