“Kidnap her,” Massimo states.
“Kidnap her,” I confirm with a nod.
“Can we do that?” he asks looking at each of us.
We’re not in the habit of kidnapping women. It should be something to think about properly. Since I’ve already thought, I have no problem with doing it. I guess that must mean my soul might be darker than my brothers. Maybe it is, after all it was me who got my wife’s head in a fucking box. My wife, who was taken, kidnapped.
“I’ll do it,” I offer. “I will do it.”
“It means war. If we get her and Mortimer finds out we have her, it heralds war,” Massimo says and I think back to the letter our anonymous friend sent us.
He seemed to know so much; I wonder if he knew the war he cautioned us about might start like this.
“What if we take her and demand he gives himself over?” Dominic suggests and I almost laugh. That would be the thing to do if we were dealing with a weaker enemy. However, we’d be more likely to see hell freeze over, or fucking pigs taking flight in the sky before Mortimer handed himself over to us.
“It’s obvious she’s important to him,” he adds.
“Yes, but men like him don’t work like that.” Massimo shakes his head. “He wouldn’t give himself over to save his child. If he gets her, he knows we won’t kill her because she’s leverage. He’ll do everything he can to get her back and that means weakening us in whatever ways he sees fit.”
“If he finds out we took her, it means death to everyone we know, here and in Italia,” I say, and Dominic bites the inside of his lip.
We’re strong, but when you don’t know what your enemy’s full strengths are that leaves you open for attack. Massimo has Emelia, his wife. Kill her and you kill the man he is. I know he’s thinking about her even as we speak. I would be too if I had a woman.
“Demanding ransom like that might have to be plan B,” Massimo adds.
“So, Plan A. should be focused on the simplest thing we can do,” I impart with a sigh.
“Yes, which is to avoid war.” Massimo asks. “The simplest thing to do is to find him and launch a surprise attack to eradicate him. Something he never saw coming and can’t prepare for.”
Goosebumps prickle my skin at the prospect of this happening, of finally getting Mortimer Viggo, and in such a way. This is a door that swung wide open for us to go through.
“I think I should take a trip to Rhode Island,” I offer. “If this woman is indeed his daughter, she’ll know where to find her father. If we could pull off a plan like that it would be priceless.”
“We’ll all go to Rhode Island,” Massimo replies with a determined nod. “Boys lets’ keep this under wraps. I’ll choose a select few to accompany us. We don’t tell anybody about this until we need to. The fewer people who know the better.”
Dominic and I both nod.
“We’ll need a solid plan when we get to Rhode Island,” Dominic says. “Providing it’s her.”
“Let me worry about that,” I answer.
Those eyes of hers stare at me and I already feel the beast roiling inside me getting ready to strike.