ROSARI

On the elevator leading up to the fourteenth floor, Rosari comes up with an idea to get past the first wave of security. She knows there's a guard stationed in front of the stairs' exit, and that to gain entry, one must belong to some crime family or the other. This grants her an automatic pass, but unfortunately restricts Dami.

Since they can't end their journey on the fifteenth floor using the elevator, the only choice is to utilize the staircase. Dami has a brighter idea of using Rosari's looks instead for some distraction, which Josi agrees with over the mic. So she settles on that plan. It will prove easier than the one she came up with.

"With any luck, we won't run into any of that bastard's men." Says Rosari.

"Why?" Dami asks.

"They see the way that ogre treats me and follow his footsteps because they know he won't do a thing." Already, her anger rises, but she calms herself. Even with the years of targeted harassment, she finds it difficult to stay cool. Though this is not a case that calls for level-headedness. If Rosari had the chance, she would exact revenge tenfold.

Dami's disgust is evident. "That's messed up."

Rosari merely shrugs. "That's what happens when you lose life's lottery. You don't get to choose your own family, or pick out your parents." She brings her head down. "But sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I . . . actually had a father who loved me."

She knows there's no use thinking about what-ifs, but the possibility of what could have been still sticks to her. If she had a father who loved her, her mother would still be alive. If she had a father who loved her, there would be no auctions. And If she had a father who loved her, there would be no plan to get rid of said father.

"I think Enzo's death should be televised." Josi says over the mic. "What do you think, Dami?"

"He does have a punchable face." Says Dami. "Except a bat would do a much better job than my fists."

Rosari chuckles to herself. Her life may not be perfect, but there are solutions to everything. She will secure a brighter future no matter what it takes.

Once their trip ends on the fourteenth floor, the two take the stairs up to the fifteenth, which takes them a little under six minutes. The issue though, is that the door is locked. Here lies problem number one.

"Son of a degrading manwhore!" Rosari curses.

Dami, on the other hand, keeps her cool and pulls from her holster a pocket knife. She tweaks the keyhole carefully, until finally it clicks open. The door is now unlocked.

Rosari is more than impressed. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I picked it up back when I started robbing . . . back when I used to visit a couple warehouses in New Jersey."

They've secured their entry, but Dami can't go through. At least, not yet. Rosari enters first, and immediately she's greeted by the guard who she'd expected by the door. Indeed the floor is guarded, but not heavily. This shouldn't be too difficult.

The guard is visibly puzzled when he sees Rosari there. But he must know who she is, because he doesn't fuss. He is curious about the unlocked door, however. "Was the door not locked?"

Rosari has to pull his attention away from the door, lest he decides to inspect and discover for himself the assassin she's trying to sneak in.

"It must have been left unlocked." She even grabs his hand and turns him away from the door. She can tell this has done more than she'd expected. He's already smitten. "You must know who my father is. By any chance, would you happen to know if there's anyone in his room currently?"

The guard tries his best to come off flattering, even going as far as flashing his teeth. What he doesn't know is that his attempt is wasted in front of Rosari. He doesn't even answer her question. "Do girls like you always take the stairs or is it just you?"

Rosari's face becomes stony. "You just told me a whole bunch of nonsense."

Now the guard regains his senses. His failed attempt at flirting has sobered him up. Rosari can see his face redden, probably from embarrassment. Or irritation. "I wouldn't know who's in his room. Try asking a guard of his."

Not that that piece of information is important. Rosari knows there's no one in Enzo's room. What she needed was a distraction to allow Dami time to slip by. And now that she has, her job is done.

Rosari decides to give the man a smile. He's done a good job playing his part. "Thank you."

She heads after Dami and makes the same turn she did, only to be greeted by a guard in a chokehold. Dami has him subdued, but doesn't let him go until he goes limp. Then she drags the body into a storage room before they're met with any more guards.

Rosari doesn't even try to make sense of the situation. She makes sure the door is shut close. "He's not dead . . . is he?"

"He'll be fine." Dami squats down and gives the guard a backhanded slap. He groans, then goes limp once again. "See?"

If he really were fine before, he may no longer be after that hit. Rosari rests her back against the wall and watches Dami strip the guard down to his drawers and socks. She changes into those same clothes, which are bigger on her than they were on the guard. But Rosari suspects it comes as no hindrance.

Dami slips the suit on and ties her hair back to complete the look. Rosari, however, isn't too convinced. "This won't do."

"It's a bit baggy, but it should be fine."

"No, I mean your boobs."

Dami takes a peek inside her dress shirt. "I think they look great."

"You know what I mean." Rosari sighs.

"It'll be fine. Besides, I'm not going back out there. I'm taking a detour." She points at the air vent up above.

And now Rosari has gotten a sense of her plan. "Room 1501 is ten rooms down to the right of this one. But be careful. I hear air ducts are as good as a labyrinth."

"I'm familiar."

Of course, she is. The air vent has enough space to fit a person, but Rosari can't help wondering if it's safe enough to utilize. She puts her trust in Dami regardless, because she's already torn the vent down and hoisted herself into the ominous hole.

Now her part of the plan is done.

~《¤》~

DAMI

The duct is less spacious than the previous one Dami had ventured through. It's also more filthy, which came as a surprise seeing as the resort generates more income as the years pass. Surely, they could allocate some of that income to some air duct cleaning service. But her journey in there won't be long. Ten rooms, Rosari said. Well, in about four more air vents, she should be arriving at her destination.

The suite seems empty. Dami surveys the interior through the vent, scoping as much of the perimeter as is currently available. Only when she's certain of its occupancy does she descend below. She's in the living room from what she can tell, and from outside the windows is a view of the city. Or at least, what's left of it after so much light pollution. There's a couch in front of a TV, as well as a dining table to the side, all drenched in white. The walls haven't been spared either. What luxury.

There's a wall that separates the living room from the bedroom, and from Rosari's information mixed with a bit of common sense, that's where Enzo's computer must be.

"Are you in?" Josi asks through the mic.

"Yes. What of Enzo?"

"Still with Idris. For now."

Which means she has to speed up the process. For a system full of classified info, the computer sure is treated trivially. It's been left out in the open on a desk. Not Dami's problem. This all works out in her favor. She types the password in, waits a couple more seconds, and is then finally granted full access. She inserts a flash drive and begins sorting through the files, which, to her dismay, are abundant in number.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff in here." Dami says into the mic. "And they're named random things like landmarks and cities."

But what she doesn't expect during this tedious task is more gasoline added to the fire. "This is just great," Says Josi. "Enzo's on the move for the elevators."

Rosari hurls out some curses Dami has never once heard before. It seems she will have to stall her father after all.

"We'll stall them for as long as we can." Josi says.

In the meantime, Dami works through the files as speedily as she can. She scrolls and clicks and spares a few seconds to read through. Most of the files are plans and dates of past shipments. Some detail contracts of some sort. Typical mafia related issues. What Dami wants to know is why he keeps them all stockpiled on his computer, even ones that are dated years back. Because now she's been forced to scan through them all.

Josi has more news. Bad news. "Enzo's men just went up ahead. They're heading for the suite as I speak."

There isn't nearly enough time to go through all those files, but Dami continues scrolling. She clicks, exits, then clicks on the next. Until finally she stumbles across a file titled "Arc de Triomphe", and instantly she knows she's found the right document.

Only issue now is waiting for the download to complete, which seems to be taking more time than anticipated. Dami sends a hand through her hair and pulls at it.

The door to the suite opens, and now Dami knows her time has run out. But the download completes just then, as if that was its cue. Dami has no time to waste. She grabs the flash drive and exits through the balcony, which, fortunately, was left open. But what isn't so fortunate is the fact that she's on the fifteenth floor.

Dami simply sighs. What a way to meet your end. She tucks the drive into her pocket and begins making her way across the balcony, one side step after the other, back flat against the wall. Thankfully, the wind is tame. Once she's made it to the next room over, she tries the door to the balcony, hoping to escape the death trap she's been forced into. Unfortunately, it's locked.

Dami runs both hands over her face. Should she resort to gunning herself down? That would be far easier than plummeting fifteen floors into hard concrete.

She embarks on the same journey to the next balcony. The door this time is open, granting Dami time to celebrate. But out of the frying pan and into the fire, there are two armed men in the living room. They look at her like she's a ghost, some specter sent from some other dimension. Understandable. The average human doesn't enter a room from the balcony, much less one on the fifteenth floor. They draw out their weapons.

Dami, now aware of the predicament she's in, frustratingly sighs and begins massaging her temples.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Guard Number One asks, as cautious as can be.

Dami tries coming up with an excuse. "I'm Rosari Maranzo's guard."

The two men throw glances at each other, and Dami thinks they may have bought her excuse. But that doesn't seem to be the case. "That bitch doesn't have a guard." Guard Number Two says, his gun aimed at Dami's head. "Who the fuck are you?"

Dami's frustration doubles, giving way to an overwhelming surge of anger. It just so happens that the men serve under Enzo. What luck the assassin must have.

Before the two men can even react, Dami grabs Number One and uses him as a shield in front of Number Two. She has the hand with the gun pinned behind the captive's back, and all that's left is for the other guard to drop his weapon. But he doesn't. He keeps it aimed at them, perhaps trying to find some way to injure Dami without putting his buddy in harm's way.

"Drop the weapon." Dami tells him. She even gives the guard time to make the decision. But when he doesn't, her patience begins wearing thin. She confiscates Number One's gun and, instead of firing at Number Two, launches the weapon at his face. It will not end well if the gun is fired. It will attract attention from the rest of the guards.

Once Number Two has been momentarily subjugated, Dami pulls Number One's arm backwards until it snaps. And before he can scream from the pain, she smashes his face into the wall with enough force to grant him unconsciousness. That's one down.

The second guard, she decides to take her frustration out on. She picks him up from the floor and begins landing as many hits as she can. Punch after punch. Blow after blow. She gives him no time to recover, even as the attack begins digging up streams of blood. His face has become so disfigured, it's hard to tell what he looked like just minutes ago.

Then the door opens, putting a stop to Dami's assault. "This room is occupied-" But the visitor is all too familiar. She's seen him before, mostly around Idris Verdonni. A man with shoulder length hair and silver cuffs to his ears.

_____________________________________