The Beauty And The Heist

Chapter-33

Seconds later, I received flight tickets on my phone. A flight to Rome and then a connection straight to Los Angeles. I was about two hundred percent sure that Isaac could find out within seconds, but I was counting on the fact that the crew was asleep and I would be somewhere over the Atlantic by the time they figured it out.

My escape plan had more holes than a Swizz cheese and stunk twice as bad. Damien was a CIA spy and Antonio was a trained assassin. Not to mention Adrian could probably tell that I was faking the sleep from a mile away.

Adrian.

No, I could not afford to follow my heart, it would only get me hurt.

Or killed.

My legs quaked with fear as I stood up. If - when- Adrian found out...

No. I had to go and I can't afford to get caught.

I pulled on the heavy jacket that Antonio had bought me and opened the window silently, carefully. Being the only girl in the crew had its perks. I had no roommates.

The snowstorm had died down, leaving the land covered in a blanket of soft snow. There was some sludge underneath the window and I could tell that my landing would be slippery and ungraceful and detrimental to my already flat ass.

As expected, I slipped and fell. Fortunately I managed to cushion the fall with may hand. Unfortunately, it was the injured shoulder. A sharp burst of pain ran down my arm, making it flood with warmth. I bit my cheek to stop myself from crying out.

Okay. Now how do I get to the airport? I didn't have any car keys and I wasn't about to drive on an ice covered road with an injured shoulder.

I plugged in the airport in Google maps and found that the Nuuk airport was fifteen minutes from my current location. It was the first stroke of luck I'd had in the whole day and I was glad.

The snow boots Antonio had bought me did little to allay my clumsiness and fifteen minutes later I had an unusually large array of bruises to show.

I was shivering now. But the airport wasn't too far away.

I breezed past check-in as I had no bags of my own but my passport was in my jacket pocket. A flight attendant looked at me pityingly and smiled gently, I shakily returned the smile. What had I gotten myself into? Adrian would surely find me in L.A. One option was to miss the connecting flight and stay in Rome. He would trace the flight and look for me in LA and I'd be safe for a while. Maybe so I could collect myself and truly disappear.

Half of me wanted to go back and ask for his forgiveness out of raw fear. The other part of me wanted to run till I could feel safe again, till the fear would subside.

I knew it never would. Even if I did manipulate Castellino into helping me disappear there was no guarantee that he wouldn't stab me in the back. In fact, if I stayed long enough he could find out that the DeLuca Boss and I weren't on good terms.

I could smell the cloying scent of Cologne before I saw him. Apparently he hadn't learned his lesson. Neither had I. One deal had already gone bad.

He was exactly as I remembered him except his hands were covered in heavy bandages that seemed to be weighing them down. The only consolation I had was that he couldn't use a gun like that.

He sat next to me, occupying more space than the seat allowed. I wrinkled my nose.

"So, Ms. Rane, give me one reason I should let you live."

I stifled my fear and wore a snarl of my own with confidence that I didn't have.

"I told you. Get me to Los Angeles and I will help you." I snapped.

"And how is that?" He asked.

"Well, how do I know that if I tell you you wouldn't kill me?"

"You do not have to switch flights at Rome. I'll be gone and you will be in a plane with over a hundred passengers."

"Good enough. So you have the layouts of il labirinto," I said.

"Yes." He confirmed, his voice betraying none of his emotions.

"After you navigate the maze and find the safes you need a code to get in the room," I said.

"And how do I know this information is reliable?"

"Have you heard of Vickram Roy?" I asked.

"Yes."

"He told me. I'm just telling you what he said."

"And you know the password?" He asked.

"Yes. Vickram Roy gave us a clue. The coordinates of a minor planet called 1391 Carelia to point to Mrs. DeLuca. He said that we already know the pin. The pin is 1391."

"Hmm... interesting coincidence that 1391 just happens to be the planets name and the code."

"Or Roy chose the code when he was designing the satellite in il labirinto."

"Fair point, Ms Rane. Anything else I should know?" He asked.

I hesitated, I was a bad liar. Castellino picked up on that hesitation.

"Anything else that could convince me to let you live?" He asked conversationally.

"Don't hurt Adrian," I said. I hoped that covered up the hesitation.

Castellino laughed.

"Worry about yourself, not about him. His fate is sealed."

"So is yours," I muttered.

"Then I have no use for you," he said, smile dripping with condescension.

I smiled back as if he were nothing but an adorable kid.

"Do you think Adrian will sit silent and let you waltz off into the sunset with the satellite?"

Castellino's smile dropped.

Checkmate bitch.

"I can distract him. Tell me when and I'll make sure he doesn't get in the way," I said.

"You betrayed him!" He laughed. "Do you know what will happen if he gets his hand on you!? He is dangerous! He will kill you with just his words! You saw what he did in my house!"

"Yes I realize that, which is why my help comes with a price as well." I said, suppressing the quake in my voice.

"Which is?"

"Five million." I shrugged.

"Done. If I get the satellite, you get five million and disappear. If Adrian catches you you die. Funny how the tables have turned isn't it?" He laughed again.

I smiled tightly.

"Nice doing business with you," I said as the plane landed in Rome.

I watched his bulky form disappear in the influx of passengers, hurrying to get their bags and get out. It would be an hour before we left for L.A.X. I didn't have the guts to get off the plane and kill boredom. There was nothing I could do really, so I went to sleep.

I was awoken from my power nap by the chime of the microphone announcing the safety procedures.

It was only then that I realized who was sitting next to me.

A heavy ball of lead seemed to fall in my stomach and dread crawled in my veins. This was it. Goosebumps rose up my arms as I recognized the perfume of the passenger next to me.

I froze.

"Well, you didn't even say goodbye. You could have atleast left a note," said the DeLuca Boss as he extended his legs in front of him and draped an arm across the back of my seat.

A/n
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