As The Prey Scatters, The Hunter Plots

[Antonio Novello]

Antonio sat in a high backed brow leather chair in his office at one of the Many Novello estates scattered throughout Italy. Having sent an e-mail off to his daughter demanding that she not interfere he turned to other business. His green eyes darted back and forth across the screen as he quickly created a bogus e-mail account. A quiet rage was building, he had underestimated the courage and determination of the small art historian Seraphina Alighieri, and the irrational rage of his young protege', Dante. I should have handled her myself, he thought as he logged into the e-mail account under the name Bernardo Rimmi.

If there was one man in all of Europe that had any chance of finding his quarries it was a distant cousin, another Novello. Seraphina should be easy, she is not used to intrigue, the others may prove more difficult but once I have Sera....the rest will be easy. HE smiled to himself, the simple thought of having Seraphina dead, of his vengeance being had filled him with glee.

"Signore' Sergio Novello,

I am writing you because I have proposal for you. It is best that we do not meet. You will find a briefcase in the Florentine Train station in locker A26 it will have your initial payment and photos of and individual I need you to deal with. I will know you have accepted my proposal in 48 hrs if the briefcase is no longer there. Do not reply to this e-mail I will contact you in one week for progress.

Grazie."

Quickly Antonio gathered up recent pictures of Seraphina from the newspapers about the restoration of the Medici Tomb, and grabbed a briefcase full of Florins about 1.5 million credits worth. He slipped the photos into the briefcase and headed towards the train station.

He remained in the car outside as his driver walked in and placed the briefcase in the locker. He then headed back to the estate. He could not help but smile. She will not last long at all, this should be quite simple. My poor Dante will be able to rest in peace, finally having the satisfaction that the traitorous bitch is dead.

[Antonio Novello]

A lone man in black jeans and a black button down dress shirt open at the collar walked into the Train station and over to the appointed locker as a train headed for France pulled out of the station. He quickly opens the lock and pulls out a black briefcase. With an air of confidence he exits the station and climbs into a deep midnight blue BMW, the he had rented under an alias.

He starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot obeying all traffic rules. He reaches forward and hits play on the CD player and La Traviatta pours out of the speakers. He follows the streets of Florence into its very heart. He parks the car in the underground parking garage before returning to his hotel room also reserved for the same alias as the car.

He passes all of the tourists the flock to the Hilton as their home base as they explore Florence romanticizing its dark underbelly. He passes them all his short black hair, tan skin, green eyes, and muscular frame attracting glances from all of the women that he passes. As any hot blooded young male he finds the most attractive woman and makes eye lingering eye contact. After this job is done I WILL find myself a conquest. He thought to himself as a tall grey eyed red headed beauty walked across his path.

He walked into his room and sat down at the small desk in the antechamber, and flipped open the briefcase. In it he found a manila envelope, he opened it and his eyes grew wide. Staring up at him from a black and white photo from the newspaper was his own distant cousin Seraphina. He stared long and hard at the photo.

"She is harmless, and weak, talented and blessed, but harmless,"

he whispered aloud his soft baritone filling the silence.

AS he read her profile she realized the perfect way to take care of her. HE would make it look like terrorists did it, some small faction that didn't want peace between Earth and the Colonies. I will just catch her tomorrow morning at sunrise asleep in her bed and club her to death, he thought as he shrugged his shoulders. He set the manila envelope back in the briefcase and pulled out a a velvet lines pouch. In it was several diamonds of the finest quality as payment. HE slipped those into his pocket and smiled broadly, as he thought about blood spattering against walls. Maybe I should torture her first, he smiled a broad and serene smile.

[Antonio Novello]

Sergio awoke long before dawn, and packed a bag with rope, duct tape, his brass knuckles and lock picks. He quickly looked at the profile on Seraphina that he had been given an memorized the address. Quietly and nonchalantly he left the hotel and walked to her building. As he breathed deeply the air of Florence he thought of his childhood here before returning to Ravenna. He had met Seraphina maybe once or twice at a big family get together but he didn't know her well, just her reputation.

"Silly girl actually entered politics,"

he thought to himself shaking his head.

The streets were mostly empty as she he approached her building. Out of his pocket he pulled two black leather gloves and slid them on to his large hands. His green eyes became foggy at thought of hearing her screams stopped by the duct tape that would cover her mouth. HE walked up the stairs his steps as light as a cats. He reached into the outside pocket and pulled out his lock picks. Silently inserting them into the lock, with a couple of deft twists the door swung open.

He crept into the dark of her apartment and stopped when a floor board made a squeak, he listened intently for any signs that he had awoken her, but was greeted only with an eerie silence. The first door he came to was the second the bedroom. When he came to the second her door was open, as quietly as he had done everything else he walked into the room, his eyes focused on the bed, as he stood at the foot of the bed the realization that she wasn't there hit him.

"Damnit,"

he muttered under his breath.

Instantly he collected his thoughts and began to ransack her room for any clue as to where she might be. There was nothing. He walked through the house turning on lights searching for clues. On the the living room floor was a package from a Svetlana Popova.

"A Russian huh? Maybe she will know where sera is."

He memorized the name, before turning to her computer which was still on. He searched through file after file looking for something that would tip him off about the Russian woman or where she had gone. HE read a group of files regarding the peace treaty she was working on and decided to Contact L-1 at some point to find out who had accompanied her to the colonies.

He opened her browser which went immediately to her e-mail. He tried desperately to hack it but could not get in. Leaving L-1 as his only option.

Quickly he left locking the door behind him. HE returned to his hotel room and waited for his contact to e-mail him.

[Antonio Novello]

Disappointed Sergio sat at his desk waiting. He poured over the profile in front of him with a greater attention to detail than he had before. I can't believe I was outsmarted by her? Who tipped her off? His blood lust boiling with he rifled through the papers over and over again. A cruel grin spread across his face as he found something that might help him. "We do not know his name, but her Fiance is French, and a nobleman." was written by hand on the last page. The hand writing was vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place it and didn't really care to.

Quickly he hacked into the records of flights leaving for France from Florence he went through the list looking for Alighieri or Donati, or any name made famous by the Divine Comedy, figuring that is where she would pull an alias from. No one. Well she didn't fly out, he thought to himself as he began hacking into customs records to see if she had left by car. Using the same parameter's for an alias he read through the records at the borders, again nothing. If she left the country it must have been by train. Another quick hackers trick and again a dead end.

HE shut the lap top, and packed it away. Quickly he packed all of his things as he tried to guess which city in France she would go to first. Paris has all of the art, but Versailles has a Neapolitan flair that would feel more like home. HE called the concierge and had him schedule a flight for Versailles. Once in Versailles it would be time to contact the Colonies.

[Antonio Novello]

OCC: All conversation is in Italian.

Sergio sat in the airport waiting for his flight to board eagerly waiting for a run in with his distant cousin. He picked up his cell phone and called Interpol.

"Si, Inspector Bernardo Lombardi Speaking">

"Inspector,"

Sergio began putting on airs of concern for his cousin.

"I would like to report a missing person, however due to the sensitive nature of her position this needs to be kept quiet."

"First off Signore' who is she?"

The inspectors voice showed his irritation about being told how to do his job.

"Ambassador Seraphina Alighieri."

"Ambassador Alighieri, is she not also the art historian restoring Sangriesta Nuova?"

His interested had obviously been piqued.

"SI, but now you can see as to why this must be kept quiet."

"Si, Si, and who are you?"

"I am her Cousin Sergio Novello."

""I see, when did you find out she was missing?"

"We had an appointment this morning and when I went to her apartment it had been ransacked."

"Si. I Will run checks through customs and see if we can find anything, how shall I contact you, Signore?"

"This number, I will be in France on business but do not hesitate to call should find anything."

Of Course Signore, can I get a description of her?"

"She is about Five Foot Six long brown hair about to her waist, brown eyes, slender."

"Did it appear that she had packed and left in a hurry when you were at her apartment?"

"No".

"What is her address so that we can take a look?"

"9 san Guelph, apartment 2".

"Thank you very much Signore', and I promise you that we will be discreet."

"Grazie Signore' Inspector."

"Venuti Signore Novello".

With that Sergio hung up the phone and contented himself with daydreams of her screaming against his hand as he bludgeoned her to death, until he boarded his flight.

[Antonio Novello]

The plane touched down in Varseilles. Quickly he disembarked and with even greater sped and the benefit of his last name he made it through Customs.

He exited the airport in to the warm sun of France. Quickly he hailed a cab, and in fluent french he spoke,

"To the Best Hotel in the city please."

He stared out the window as the driver took him through the winding streets. His eyes were wide seeking out his darling murderous cousin. Each brunette he passed that was about her build he focused on. His sense made acute by rage.

He had not seen her as the driver stopped in front of the hotel. He paid the man and tipped handsomely.

There was no fuss as he checked into the hotel once the name on his credit card was read. He set himself up in the penthouse, and immediately opened his laptop and a directory of the city. Starting at the top of the Hotel list he hacked into each mainframe searching for Seraphina. HE contented himself by watching hours of videotape looking for her, and imagining what he would do to her once she had been found. The thought of his own body covered in her blood made him smile.

[Antonio Novello]

OCC Meanwhile Back in Florence.

Antonio Sat in the limo his entire visage one of calm, certain that Sergio had taken the mission, if there was one thing he truly like about Sergio it was he ruthlessness. HE had been a loyal family assassin for years.

He had given his driver the combo to the locker and eagerly awaited his return. It would be nice to have that troublesome girl out of the way.

He smiled broadly as his driver approached the limo. Once the man was seated Antonio spoke.

"Did he accept?"

"Si signore."

Antonio smiled and nodded he was certain when he contacted Sergio the next day that she would be dead.

He went home drank a glass of the new Cabernet Blanc that the Vineyard was trying and went bed. HE slept soundly for the first time since Dante's Attack on Seraphic.

He awoke the next morning refreshed a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. She took a long hot shower and dressed himself in his favorite Armani power suit, and sat at his desk.HE opened the paper and flipped through looking for word of Seraphina's death. Seeing nothing he turned on his computer and logged into his bogus e-mail account as Bernardo Rimmi.

"Signore Novello,

I am contacting you as to the progress of your business trip. I hope all has gone well."

He sent it off to Sergio. His calm visage hid the fuming rage and disappointment that he felt. How could that little twit have eluded him, he thought to himself as he poured himself a glass of wine. His green eye focused intently on the computer screen. The rich green of his eyes turned pale as his fury rose to a boil. He began to breathe slowly to calm himself down. Patience he told himself. He then turned his attention to the family business and put her demise on the back burner.

[Antonio Novello]

Sergio stood up and stretched his back ached from being hunched over his computer for hours without catching a glimpse of Seraphina. There was nothing on any guest registry that could even be her at least as he understood her.

He Poured himself a drink for the mini bar, and took a hot shower, he set the software on his computer to save any data if a face should flash up that matched hers in any hotel, before going to bed.

He dreamt of her wide brown eyes staring up at him in terror, and her full pouty lips contorted behind a gag as he tortured her.

He was mildly aroused when he awoke the next morning the dreams of her screams still fresh in his head. He dressed quickly in the standard black jeans and black turtleneck that was his uniform when hunting.

He sat down at the computer there had been no match made while he was sleeping. It was then that he noticed an e-mail. It was from his contact.

Sergio read it and new better then to reply from his own PC. He headed out into Versailles looking for an Internet cafe. When He found one he paid the fees and sat down at a computer. First he set a up and e-mail account of Sergio Rimmi then he replied.

"Our fine quarry is eluding me here in the wine country of France. But I am still searching."

He didn't sign he figured that his contact would know who he was. Even under an alias.

[Antonio Novello]

Antonio returned to his room and sat down in front of his computer. HE stared at the screen finding hard to believe that a waif like his cousin could evade him. HE was certain she was in France. Where else would she go? As he stared at the screen an idea wormed its way into his mind. Quickly he hacked into the mainframes of all of the major art centers in France. The Louvre, the palace at Versaille, etc. All the while he kept the facial recognition software running. He even hacked into the train stations mainframe and ran the tapes using the recognition software. He sat back and watched for a few minutes before making a pot of coffee.

As he was standing by the pot waiting for the coffee to brew. He heard a ping from the computer. He rushed over to the desk.There on the screen was a match. He zoomed in on the train and saw that it was one leaving for Paris. HE switched off the computer and quickly packed. HE checked out of the hotel and rushed to the train station. Using a terminal there he sent and e-mail to Antonio, fomr the same nom de plume he used before.

"I have found the grape we have been seeking it is in Paris I am heading there now."

HE logged off and bought a ticket for the Paris train.

At last, he thought to himself, she is in reach.

HE boarded the train and found his private cabin. A sadistic smile spread across his lips as he revisited his dreams from the night before. His whole body was tense at the thought as being so close to his quarry.

"Poor Sera," he thought "You are going to rue the day that you betrayed us all."

"

[Antonio Novello]

THe train pulled into the Paris Station, it was a beautiful day the clouds were high and sparse. He took a deep breath of the PArisian air, and headed for the Cab stand outside the station.

"Monsuier, Parle vou Francais?"

"No, Italiano"

The cabbie swapped to Italian..

"Where to, SIr?"

"THe Finest Hotel in Paris."

"Oui."

The cabbie took off for the center of Paris. Sergio stared at the window and watched the city pass by. SO much like FLorence in the way that the ancient was pressed in on by the modern. Again the sadistic grin spread across her face. Her imagined screams ringing in his ears.

The cab stopped infront of a baroque building not far from th e EIffel Tower. Sergio nodded. "The Ritz Carlton signore."

"Grazie."

HE handed the driver the fair and a handsome tip.

THere was a slight skip to his step as he walked into the hotel and checked in. Once in his room.he set up his PC and promptly hacked into the security mainframes of every Musuem in Paris and set up the recognition program. HE sat back and waited.