"To my laboratory. It's a very secure place, since I work on stuff that can be potentially life-threatening. Which means, you’ll need me to get in there."
"If it's that secure, could Freddie get in?" Adrian shoots back.
"He has access to the best hackers in the world. I know because I introduced him to them. Unfortunately. " He winces. "You could also use a hacker, I suppose." He raises a shoulder. "But it'd be a lot easier if you took me along."
"Hold on. If he took them to the laboratory, wouldn't there be other people there, as well?" Luca growls.
"I work alone." He glances away, then back at us. "What I work on is top-secret and privately-financed. Not even the government knows about the kind of research I conduct.
"Privately-financed, eh? By whom?" Massimo snaps.
"I don't know."
"He’s lying." Luca takes a step in his direction, but Adrian grabs his shoulder.
"Hold on, bro, let’s hear him out first."
Adrian stabs a finger at the man. "Start talking before Luca here, loses his patience and decides to shoot you, or worse, rough you up further. It's a miracle he hasn't lost his cool so far."
The man pales. "It's the truth. I get all of my directions by email from a secure server which is impossible to trace. I know because my hacker friends tried. Whoever they are, they pay me very well. Each month, the money is credited to my bank account. And no, we haven't been able to trace that, either."
Luca takes a step in his direction, and he leans as far back in the chair as he can. "It's the truth. I promise you on the lives of my children."
Luca hesitates. "If you're lying, I'll shove your head so far up your ass, you'll never be able to speak again."
Sweat beads the man's hairline. "I’m not lying."
Massimo blows out a breath. "So, you want to come along for the mission because, I assume, we'll need your fingerprint or your retinal scan to gain entry into this place?"
He nods. "I specialize in weapons technology. Freddie asked me to sell him some of my patented technology."
"But you refused?"
He nods again. "Not that it mattered. He took my drone technology, then took my family as hostage, for good measure."
"So, the drone he used to shoot at me was designed by you."
He seems surprised. "Shit, I didn’t know. I’m sorry about that, man."
"Maybe it’s time you found a different way of making a living, eh?" Luca scowls at him.
Massimo, Adrian, and I exchange looks.
"Ah, Luca, considering we’re not exactly the good guys here, it might be a bit much asking him to change his occupation," Adrian murmurs.
"Speak for yourself. As far as I’m concerned, we go out of our way to make sure we help those who come to us. If it weren’t for us, this country wouldn’t be able to function. Have you seen how corrupt the politicians are? Compared to them, we always deliver on our promises. And we get justice for those who are wronged."
Massimo rolls his shoulders. "He has a point."
"He fucking does," Adrian grumbles.
"Can we get back to the issue at hand?" I squeeze the bridge of my nose. "This Freddie guy is one massive pain in the ass. Why the hell is he targeting me anyway?"
"He's coming after you because he's pissed at the lot of you," the man interjects.
All of us turn in his direction.
"How the hell do you know that?" I glare at him.