Mind Games

Chapter Ten: Watch it Burn

"Martina Gianelli," her friend's voice rumbled down the line, his Italian accent thick and husky. Like he'd called her as soon as he had woken up to give her the information. "Born Martina Pazzi. She runs the American half of the Pazzi's syndicate. A rather unscrupulous woman."

"I know the type," Lucca says, phone pressed to her ear as she walked amongst the growing crowd at the Pike Market Place.

Her friend chuckled out an emotionless laugh. He knew that she was referring to his mother. Maybe even her own. In either regard, they both knew that type of woman.

"She's in Seattle, which according to my sources, is unlike her," her friend continued. "She is known to leave any city before a crime goes down involving her family. Anything to point the blame away."

"So, the fact that she's staying..."

Meant that she considered the worst of the worst not to be over. Meant that she had work unfinished. Which meant that Lucca was probably being watched. None of which she got to pass on to her friend as he interrupted her.

"I worry for you, Juliette," he says.

"It's noted," she tells him. "Do you know where she is staying in Seattle?"

"No," he answered after a long moment.

Lucca wanted to accuse him of lying. He'd have been looking into Pazzi for days, he'd have found her, followed her. He would have known where she worked and lived and what business she was involving herself in.

He'd already told Lucca that he was worried, and he wouldn't have wanted something to happen to her, so it was unsurprising that he wouldn't give her the address. That he wouldn't send her into danger.

He may have even gone so far as to kill the woman herself, if, of course, that didn't disturb his own family relationship with the Pazzi's back home.

But then, "But I do know where she is going to be."

Lucca raised her eyebrows, even knowing that her friend couldn't see her, though he could no doubt speculate of her surprise to his willingness to give up the information. She was thankful, though she knew there was likely a catch.

She could already hear the way he was regretting having opened his mouth. The way he was silently cursing himself out in his mother tongue.

"I don't want you in danger," he says, and it sounded like he was almost begging.

His concern was sweet. And she wanted to say unwarranted, because her life was always in some kind of danger, a nasty side effect of harbouring the name 'Hayden', but he was human. And he acted more human than any other crime boss she was aware of. He felt guilty, putting people in danger, especially those he cared about and he cared about Lucca.

And as much as Lucca cared about him, was thankful for him, and didn't want to add another burden of guilt to his subconscious, she knew she had to protect her own family. And he knew that, too. Would do the same thing. Had done the same thing, even going against her own wishes to keep himself safe.

This was almost routine for them. Ask for help, get warded off because of the other's worry and then do whatever it was the other was worried about.

Which was how she knew that he would eventually give Lucca the information she was after.

"I won't be," she tells him.

"You will be," he says. "Whether that be because you are surrounded by Pazzi and her family or by idiotas who don't know when to speak or what to speak of."

Lucca raised her eyebrows once more.

"How do you feel about a fancy dress party?"

And that answered her silent question about what he meant by 'idiots'. The wealthiest of the wealthy, the elitist of the elite, all coming together to show off their money and plastic beauty, to talk about nothing as though it was everything.