THE LULLABY KEY : THE FALL
CHAPTER 42: The Cartel’s Offer
Rome was hot and crowded and full of tourists.
Lena and Marcus moved through the streets like ghosts, avoiding cameras, avoiding crowds, avoiding eye contact. They had changed clothes twice since landing. They had switched taxis three times. They had thrown their phones into the Tiber River.
The church of Santa Maria della Vittoria was smaller than Lena remembered. The facade was Baroque, ornate, almost gaudy. Inside, the air was cool and smelled of incense and old stone.
The Bernini sculpture was in a chapel to the left of the altar. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. A woman in white marble, her face lifted in rapture, an angel’s arrow piercing her heart.
Lena knelt before the sculpture, pretending to pray.
She ran her hands along the base of the statue. The stone was cold. Smooth. Unbroken.
Then she found it.
A seam. Almost invisible. Where the marble base met the floor.
She pressed.
A small drawer slid open.
Inside: a USB drive. Red. Labeled “MARCHETTI – PERSONAL.”
Lena’s heart hammered. She closed her hand around the drive.
And then she heard the voice.
“Don’t move.”
A man stood behind her. Dark suit. Dark sunglasses. A bulge under his jacket.
Lena didn’t turn around. “Who are you?”
“Someone who wants to make you an offer.”
“I don’t want your offer.”
“You haven’t heard it yet.”
The man sat down in the pew next to her. He was younger than she expected. Mid-thirties. Handsome in a dangerous way. His accent was Mexican.
“My name is Eduardo Castillo. I work for the Sinaloa Cartel.”
Lena’s blood ran cold. “You’re a drug lord.”
“I’m a businessman. And I have a problem. The same problem you have. August Marchetti.”
Lena stared at him. “Why would Marchetti be a problem for a cartel?”
“Because Marchetti controls the borders. He decides which drugs get through and which get seized. He decides which cartels live and which die. For the last ten years, he has favored the Zetas. My family has lost billions. Thousands of men. All because Marchetti decided to pick a winner.”
Lena’s mind raced. “And you want me to help you?”
“I want to buy Vault 4. The one in Mexico City. It contains evidence of Marchetti’s dealings with the Zetas. Evidence that could bring them down. Evidence that could save my family.”
“You want me to sell you evidence.”
“I want you to give it to me. In exchange for something you need.”
“What could you possibly have that I need?”
Castillo smiled. “David Pike.”
Lena’s breath caught.
“He’s in Mexico City. Hiding in a safe house owned by the Zetas. I know where. I can give him to you. Alive. In exchange for the vault.”
Lena looked at Marcus. Marcus shook his head slightly. Don’t trust him.
But Lena was already thinking. Pike had killed her mother. Pike had killed her father. Pike had tortured her and Marcus. He was Marchetti’s right hand. His capture would be a devastating blow.
“Give me the location first,” Lena said. “Then you get the vault.”
Castillo shook his head. “The vault first. Then Pike.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You don’t. But you know I’m the only one who can give you what you want.”
Lena was silent for a long time.
Then she pulled out the red USB drive. “This is Vault 7. The personal vault. The one that will destroy Marchetti. I’m not giving it to you. But I will give you Vault 4. In exchange for Pike. And if you double-cross me, I will release Vault 7. And I will make sure your name is on it.”
Castillo’s smile faded. “You drive a hard bargain.”
“I learned from the best.”
Castillo stood up. “You have 48 hours. Meet me at the Angel of Independence in Mexico City. Come alone. Bring the vault. And I will bring Pike.”
He walked out of the church.
Lena sat in the pew, the red USB drive clutched in her hand.
Marcus sat down next to her. “You’re not actually going to give him the vault.”
“I’m going to give him a vault. Just not the one he wants.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we’re going to copy the files from Vault 4. Keep the originals. Give him the copies. He’ll never know the difference.”
Marcus smiled. “That’s illegal.”
“That’s justice.”
They left the church, the red drive hidden in Lena’s sock.
Behind them, the statue of Saint Teresa stared at the ceiling, her face frozen in ecstasy.
She had no idea what was coming.