Chapter 19: The Door That Doesn’t Open

Marco, Franco, and Salvo stood in front of the massive iron door, looking at it as if it were a barrier between life and death. The lighting was dim, and the sounds of cars outside reminded them that time was not on their side. The mysterious man who had accompanied them all the way here stood by the door, placed his hand on the digital lock, and then turned to them with a mysterious smile.

"Are you ready?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Franco looked at him suspiciously. "You still haven't told us what we'll find behind this door."

"Knowledge isn't free, Franco." The man said as he pressed a few buttons on the digital lock, but suddenly stopped. "But there's a little problem…"

Marco was fed up. "Let me guess… the door is locked, and you don't have the code?"

"Exactly!" the man said, smiling as if he were telling a light joke.

Salvo hit his forehead with his hand. "Oh my god, why do we always fall for people who don't finish their plans to the end?!"

Marco turned to Franco. "Can't you open it?"

Franco raised his eyebrows. "What? Do I look like a hacker to you?"

"Well, we have a hacker on the team, don't we?" Salvo said as he turned to Colombo, who was standing behind them, calmly drinking his coffee, as if they were on a picnic and not on a dangerous mission.

"Colombo!" Marco called out in a sharp voice.

"Hmm?" Colombo said as he slowly raised his head, then looked at the door as if he was seeing it for the first time. "Uh… Do you want me to open this thing?"

"No, we want you to sing us a song!" Salvo said sarcastically. "Of course we want you to open it!"

Columbo sighed as he put the coffee cup on the floor and pulled the laptop out of his bag with deadly slowness. He began to press the buttons in a provocative manner, as if he were practicing a hobby rather than trying to break into an advanced security system.

"Can you hurry up?" Marco said, his eyes scanning the alley for fear that Luca Ferri's men might appear at any moment.

"Hacking isn't like ordering a pizza, Marco." Colombo said calmly. "It takes time, patience, and an artistic touch."

"Oh my god, we've landed an artist!" Franco said, looking up at the sky.

A few minutes later, Colombo let out a small sound like someone who had just completed a difficult mission in a video game. "Done!"

A clicking sound came from the door, followed by a slow electronic opening sound. Marco put his hand on the gun, and slowly pushed the door open.

Inside the room

The room was dark, the only lighting coming from the computer screens that filled the walls, displaying images of various locations in the city. The place looked like a surveillance headquarters, or perhaps a secret operations room.

"What is this place?" Salvo asked as he walked around the room.

"It looks like an intelligence headquarters." Marco said as he looked at the screens. "But why would Luca Ferri have something like this?"

Franco approached one of the computers and began examining it. "There's something strange here…"

Suddenly, a sharp siren went off!

"What did I do?!" Marco shouted.

"I did nothing!" Franco said as he raised his hands.

The doors started to close automatically, and the lights turned red. An electronic voice came over the speakers:

"Emergency system activated. Data will be secured in 60 seconds."

"Oh my god, this is a trap!" Salvo shouted.

"We have to get out of here!" Marco said as he ran towards the door, but it was already completely closed.

Colombo was watching the screen calmly, then said: "Okay, there's a solution."

Marco turned to him quickly. "What? Speak quickly!"

"Either I turn off the system… or we wait until everything shuts down and we're trapped here forever."

"Option one, please!" Franco said, slapping his head with his hand.

Colombo began working on the laptop quickly, his hands moving as if they were playing a musical instrument. Time was running out, and the timer on the screen showed: 15 seconds…

"Did it work?" Salvo asked anxiously.

Colombo smiled. "Of course it did!"

Suddenly, the alarms stopped, and the doors opened automatically.

"I will never believe you again!" Marco said as he quickly walked out of the room.

But before they could leave, Franco noticed something on one of the screens. "Wait!"

There was a live video of a man sitting at a huge desk, talking on the phone. When they focused, everyone froze.

"That's impossible…" Marco whispered.

The person in the video was… the chief of police in Milan!

"That explains a lot!" Salvo said as he stared at the screen.

"So, Luca Ferri is not alone in this game." Franco said slowly.

Marco laughed sarcastically. "What a mess!"

But before they could say anything else, they heard footsteps coming quickly down the hallway.

"We have unwanted visitors!" Salvo shouted.

Marco grabbed his gun, looked at Columbo, and said, "Time to go out in a dramatic way!"

"I like the way you think!" Salvo said as he prepared for the confrontation.

This night wasn't over yet, it was just beginning…