Chapter 34: Struggle in the Shadows

Rome – Back Alleys – Midnight

Marco, Franco, Salvo, Luca, and Columbo moved through the narrow back streets, trying to stay out of the way of the watchers. Their plan was bold, but risky. Everyone knew that this night would not pass peacefully.

"Are we sure about this?" Franco asked, putting his hands in his pockets, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Sure?" Marco replied with a wry smile. "We're not even sure if we'll live until morning."

"That's very encouraging." Salvo muttered, counting his bullets, while Luca checked his heavy weapons.

The goal was clear: infiltrate Scarlett's hideout and discover his plan before he could move on them. But things rarely go as planned in the underworld.

Getting to the Hideout

The hideout was located in an old warehouse on the outskirts of town, surrounded by guards and heavy surveillance. There was no way to get in quietly, so they had to come up with a new way.

"Well, who has a brilliant idea to get in without turning us into bullet holes?" Salvo asked, looking at the massive building in front of him.

Luca smiled and said, "Let me handle this."

He opened his bag and pulled out a small electronic device. "This is a jammer. It will disable the cameras for five minutes. After that, we should be inside."

"And where did you get this thing?" Franco asked curiously.

"I have friends in strange places." Luca replied vaguely, pressing the power button.

Sneaking In

Once the cameras were disabled, the team moved quickly. The warehouse was dark, and the corridors were narrow. They managed to advance unnoticed, but they knew that any mistake could cost them their lives.

As they moved inside the warehouse, they heard someone approaching. They hid behind old wooden crates, while a guard walked towards them, humming an old song.

"If we're discovered, I'm not ready to die tonight." Salvo whispered.

"Calm down, no one is going to die today." Marco replied, carefully holding his gun.

But before the guard could see them, he suddenly fell to the ground without a sound. Everyone turned to find Luca standing behind him, holding a small knife.

"What?" Luca said coldly. "He was on my way."

Discovering the Surprise

They moved further inside, until they reached a tightly locked room. Franco used his tools to open the lock, and when they entered, they were surprised by an unexpected sight.

On the table, there were maps and plans of various locations in Rome, as well as pictures of Marco, Franco, and Salvo, as if Scarlett had been watching them all along.

"This guy doesn't play." Franco said as he stared at the scattered papers.

But what caught their attention the most was an open computer, displaying a written message:

"You're late. I knew you'd come."

Suddenly, alarms went off all over the warehouse.

"This is a trap!" Marco shouted as he pulled out his gun.

The next moment, the door opened, and a group of armed men rushed towards them, bullets flying in all directions.

"Oh, this is our end!" Salvo shouted as he jumped behind a wooden table.

The Final Battle

The fight began inside the cramped room. Marco shot the nearest guard, while Franco used his hand-to-hand combat skills to take one down. Luca, for his part, seemed to be in his element, moving quickly and taking down enemies with amazing skill.

But the problem was that they were outnumbered.

"We need a way out!" Franco shouted.

Marco looked around, then saw a small window high up in the wall. "There! Get up!"

One by one, they started climbing the shelves to reach the window, while Luca covered them with gunfire.

"Come on, we don't have time!" Marco said, helping Franco out.

Once they were all out, they heard an explosion inside the warehouse. They looked behind them to see smoke rising, while Scarlett's men were running in all directions.

"Did you plant a bomb?" Franco asked, staring at Luca.

Luca smiled and said, "I always leave little surprises."

Recalculating

After escaping, they gathered in a distant alley, trying to process what had happened.

"Well, things are worse than we thought." Marco said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Scarlett wasn't just watching us, he was planning to trap us." Franco added.

"That means we need to change our plan entirely." Salvo said.

Marco nodded slowly, then looked at his team. "If Scarlett is this prepared, we need to be smarter than him."

Luca, who was amused by the situation, smiled and said, "It seems the real battle hasn't even begun yet."

Everyone stood in silence, knowing that this wasn't the end, but just the beginning of a much bigger struggle than they had imagined.