Forgiving Him is a Sin

53

(The next morning)
Stefano POV

"Call Clyde, I need him on the phone." I tell Massimo as I walk out of my room while wearing my suit jacket.

"Damn, bro! Whose birthday is it?" Tony jokes, he's sitting on the end of the couch with crossed legs and his chin resting on his hand.

"We need to get ready, I plan on raiding them this week."

"Hmmm, okay..." he says boringly, so not interested. He probably thinks I'm lying.

"He said he'll be available in a few minutes." Massimo enters the living room again, letting me know.

"Good. Milena said she needed a female distraction, Tony. I suppose you know what she means by that."

"Well, obviously, duh! She wants someone to... wait what?" His face suddenly changes from boredom to shock.

"How the hell did you talk to Milena?!" He yells.

"Don't shout now, I talked to her last night. She also said to let you know the kids are innocent, I don't know what that means."

"She means Popov's kids, and by a female distraction, she means someone to distract Popov. But how-did-you-contact-her?!"

"It's Clyde, our spy. He's been working under Popov for over 10 years" Massimo answers him.

"You have a man inside?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! This makes things a million times easier!!!" He exclaims.

"Hello?" Clyde's voice is heard through Massimo's phone.

"Tell me about the situation there." I tell him.

"Smooth so far. The flower is in a good place, the mirror is steady, and shiny shoes are still in the same place."

"I need more on the mirror, has there been any progression?"

"I don't know, this is the slyest mirror I've ever seen, I can't tell."

I sigh in confusion. Even Clyde can't tell what Milena's up to.

"I will make a move on Wednesday. I need you to be ready."

"Are you crazy?! You want to die?!!" He yells over the phone.

"Stefano, it's too risky" Massimo says.

"There's no other option. If you're with me, then you're with me. If not, you're free to leave." I have already made up my mind.

"Fuck." Clyde says.

"Hold on a minute!" Tony says with his finger pointing up, he puts down his cup of coffee and gets closer to us.

"I know you're talking with codes, I'm good with codes and I'm sure I got it 100%! So just let me say something." He pauses for a moment then continues. "Let me ask you a question Clyde, are the shining shoes still in the same place they were before with the mirror?" Tony asks.

"Yes." Clyde answers.

"Did they, umm... have a problem before?" He tries to make it discreet.

"Yes, I believe they did."

"Okay, then that's extremely easy! I don't know what we're waiting for! We can go like... right now!" Tony says with all confidence.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

"Here's the thing. Why is the mirror not making progress? Because of the flower. If the flower has someone that can protect it, the mirror is wide open!" Tony says, he pauses for a bit then continues, me and Massimo exchange looks.