"Are you asking for or for yourself?"
"Is there a difference?" Chiara shrugged, reaching to her side and taking out a chocolate bar.
I watched as she dedicatedly peeled open the packaging, and it got on my nerves.
"Is there a problem?"
"Aren’t you plenty old for a bar?"
"I don’t see you asking that when you stare at my butt."
The woman’s question had rethinking my pervertedness, and while in contemplation, she brought the bar to my lips, wanting to take a bite.
I looked at the innocent smile on Chiara’s face and opened my mouth, having a taste of her chocolate.
She nodded her head approvingly as she moved away, leaving to my thoughts.
"What does this an?"
Chiara’s character right now did not match the script. She was ant to be a crafty elite, one who kept her feelings to herself, but here she was being all sweet with .
"Before you did your magic on the Pope, I already liked you. I planned to observe you so more and then take you in as my protégé, but now that I’m your handler, I figured why not just take you as my little brother.
I’ve never had a little one, it will be nice to have one."
Chiara’s words had silent, and glancing at her from the side, I wondered what sche she was hatching.
"I have my base in the US and do not plan on leaving it."
Chiara didn’t say anything in reply to my words. Our ride continued quietly, covering several kilotres of water and then land.
Several minutes had gone by when the helicopter reached the Vatican, and I noticed the square as we began descending.
The sun was way past its peak, but it still shone, and I wondered about the silence of the touristic site.
"Why is it empty?"
"Your fight was docunted as a terrorist attack by the governnt. Thankfully, no one died, so it’s being easily swept under.
The Vatican, for the anti, is closed."
Where the helicopter dropped us was in an area I would consider to be at the back of the city.
Chiara imdiately led forward, taking into an empty hall and then a hallway.
A cool breeze blew from the left, and I couldn’t help but take in a deep breath.
"With the way things are, will I be correct to say that you and your team failed to accomplish your main purpose for coming to Ro?"
I kept quiet.
"Would you mind telling about the mission?
I could help."
"Really?"
"I care about the city’s safety and, most importantly, the Vatican. If there was a threat, I would like to know about it."
"From your words, it’s clear the US Secretary didn’t let out anything concrete."
"No, he didn’t." Chiara did not hide the truth.
"You and the Pope are assets I treasure. If I were aware of a situation that would bring harm to either of you or your enterprise, you can be sure you would both be inford."
"I could live with that." Chiara flashed a smile.
As good as my relationship with the redhead was shaping up to be, one thing I did not forget was where her loyalties lay, along with her priorities.
Despite her strength, Chiara’s value could not be compared with Denise’s and, to an extent, Martha’s.
While the woman saw salvation in the Church, her eyes lifted to the Pope, these two other won saw their hope in .
Denise’s loyalty was a sure bet, while Martha’s was still on the horizon.
I had yet to see Martha’s full strength, but going by her confidence and the glimpses that I had seen, she should be able to at least match Chiara in strength.
I wasn’t sure about the Pope, though the old man effortlessly saw more than should be seen.
"So what now? I wish to be getting on the next flight to Los Angeles."
"You’ll have to delay it for a bit. Lucy needs to go through so ceremonies headed by the Pope, and the incident at St. Bernard needs to be fixed."
"How long?"
"A week possibly."
"I’m a busy man."
"Are you forgetting your arm?" The woman stopped and looked at .
Away from the danger I felt in the prison, now in what could be called a haven, whatever defence my brain had built against the pain from losing a limb had crumbled.
Chiara’s reminder saw a painful sting erupt from my stump, an apologetic look on her face as she caught my flinch.
"I’m not a businesswoman, but I know you going out in public like that is not a good thing.
Not only will the dia ask questions, starting up rumours, but your business partners too will be curious.
This can make them lose confidence in you and that is very bad."
I didn’t expect Chiara to have her basics so well covered, because she was right.
Considering the deal I had made and the projects that I currently had in motion, popping up with a missing arm would be a red flag and this wasn’t just for my business partners but also for the market.
At the mont, my ideas were still fresh, the cash from keeping them solvent, but news of losing a limb could cause stocks to crash.
Sure, I now had money, but I was conversant enough with the business world to know how fast one could need it and how important it was to always have it.
I thought of Google beginning to look for a back door to kick out after hearing about this and shivered.
"Can I presu you have a solution to this?"
"Yes, but like I said, you’ll have to wait."
I rolled my right shoulder, the sting in my arm becoming quite uncomfortable, and the redhead had us resu walking.
Following a different route, Chiara led once more to Lucy’s door, and she left so words before departing.
"Stay here and rest. It’s the safest place for you at the mont.
Other than dealing with our ss, I have an urgent eting to attend, so we won’t be seeing each other for a while.
Niamh will et your needs during this period."
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