Halo (K19 Security Solutions 8)

As much as I wanted to locate Richard Emsworth, I wasn’t in any hurry for my time with Tara to end. Not that I’d admit it to Striker.

“I’ll have the alerts K19 placed for Tara Emsworth pulled from the international agency wires. When you meet your AISE contact, advise him we’ve located the daughter and will continue surveilling her to see if she leads us to her father.”

As much as I didn’t want to ask, I had to. “Do you think she’s aware of what her father was involved in?”

I heard Striker sigh. “Aine certainly doesn’t believe so.”

“Picking up cash in Switzerland doesn’t look good.”

“Her being in Italy doesn’t look good either. Which reminds me McTiernan said that AISE believes her father has ties to the Calabrian crime syndicate.”

This was not good news. The ’Ndrangheta had been operating in the Calabria region of Italy since the eighteenth century. It was said that the organization’s narcotics trafficking, extortion, and money laundering activities accounted for three percent of Italy’s GDP. By some accounts, their annual income was $50–60 billion US dollars.

Like Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, the ’Ndrangheta syndicate was comprised of approximately one hundred organized sub-groups, called cosche, each of which claimed sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village. Within Calabria alone, it was estimated that there were six thousand members. Worldwide, that number doubled.

“Listen, Halo, if Tara is somehow involved, she’s in way over her head. The Calabrians are considered to be the biggest cocaine smugglers in all of Europe. They aren’t people to fuck with.”

“Copy that.”

The reason my base was in Tuscany, specifically at Valentini, was my AISE contact on the Emsworth investigation was none other than Matteo Casavetti, whose family’s winery Pia had suggested we visit later today.

Pia, however, was completely unaware of who her cousin really worked for. Many agents employed by AISE worked undercover for the majority of their careers, given the level of corruption in Italy. To her, Matteo was the second son of her aunt and uncle, who worked at the winery along with his three brothers.

“We appreciate the support,” said Agent Casavetti when I joined him at a field office in Florence. He led me into a meeting room where I was stunned to see a woman who worked for Valentini already seated at the table.

“This is Agent Lucia Cesare,” he said when I raised a brow. “She asked to join us today to discuss the visitor who arrived at Valentini yesterday afternoon.”

She stood, shook my hand, and sat back down.

“I’m assuming you’re speaking of Tara Emsworth.”

“She knows her father’s whereabouts.”

I looked between her and Matteo, who was seated beside her. “Is that right? Do you have proof she does?”

Lucia shook her head. “She should be brought in for questioning.”

“That may be the way AISE would handle it, but I can assure you, it isn’t the way I intend to.

”

“This isn’t your jurisdiction.”

“Excuse me?”

“This is an AISE investigation.”

I looked at Matteo a second time. He hadn’t said a word, and it was pissing me the fuck off.

“If that’s what you think, this meeting is over.”

Matteo’s eyes opened wide. “What do you mean?”

“If you’re under the impression I answer to you, you’ve been grossly misinformed. You don’t want to do it my way, I’ll go above your head. Way above. I’ll have no problem continuing my investigation with or without AISE support.”

When I stood, Matteo held up his hand. “There is no need for this. AISE is more than happy to do it your way.”

“For now,” I heard Lucia mutter under her breath.