The Italy Chapter: The Archeologist

Flynn Boyle wasn't even allowed to enjoy his vacation.

He'd landed in Rome the previous night and after a whole night's sleep, had shown up at the Colosseum for his research project assigned to him by the Irish and Italian governments in cooperation. The whole sight had been closed off to tourists, and the officers standing outside were facing serious backlash from the noisy crowd.

Flynn had entered the Colosseum to hear his satellite phone buzz. It hadn't been active since he'd coordinated with secret agent Francesca Bianchi in Egypt in order to pawn her poison darts. Flynn's heartbeat sped up at the sound of the phone, at the thought of something happening to Francesca.

They had met for the first time on a mission in the Amazon rainforest and had bonded over their shared intellectual capacities and interest in exploration. They'd only grown closer since, to the point where he'd been best man a her wedding two years ago. Flynn muttered about something being stuck in his shoes and discreetly stepped behind a column, pulling out the phone. It said exactly what he dreaded.

"We believe that Agent Red has been apprehended by the smugglers she was tailing in Luxor," Flynn whispered aloud. "Furthermore, our various placements have conveyed constructive evidence that she is being held somewhere in Italy. You are to instantly drop whatever you are doing and commence a rescue mission. Going solo is mandatory. Collect green package at station."

Flynn steeled himself. He tried to not to laugh as he imagined the look on the officers' face when he told them the project was being postponed. He departed for the nearby station after leaving the necessary instructions. He strolled casually toward the ticket counter. A loud, bustling family was passing in front of him. The quite plump mother accidentally bumped into him, dropping her purse. She rose apologetically and moved on, but as Flynn reached the counter, he pulled a ticket to Pisa out of the green pouch he now possessed.

His train reached shortly after. The package also contained new models of Flynn's favorite weapons- Shurikens. It also contained the address of the suspected building.

He proceeded silently to the building and observed it. His research skills and contacts made him an able agent and weapon supplier. The building was in the busy part of suburban Pisa. Only the windows of the top floor were closed. No one seemed to be paying special attention to it. Except a man on the other side of the road from Flynn. He ignored everyone else, striding straight past the car Flynn had ducked behind and kicked the door of the place closed behind him as he crossed the threshold.

Flynn leaped unnoticed over the fence and sprinted for the back of the house. He had expected them to allow him in to ambush him; the back door was lying open. He tossed a special surprise for the smugglers in the door and then began to climb up the outer wall of the house.

He reached the top floor and pressed his ear against the closed wooden shutters, balancing precariously on the window-ledge. He could hear raised voices. A man most probably large but not very strong, said, "I am giving you your last warning, Bianchi. You must reveal the location and details of the strongholds of the AISI as well as of their men, or a worse fate awaits."

"I am unaware-" What was unmistakably Francesca's voice rang out and then broke off. Flynn could see her gritting her teeth and repressing groans now, he'd peeked inside; the man drove his foot into her shoulder cavity.

Flynn could wait no longer. He flung his special shuriken, tiny and filled with tranquilizing fluid, designed to incapacitate, not wound. It sank quite shallow into the man's outstretched arm, and he fainted on the spot. Francesca whirled around on the floor, still tied up, looking ragged and starving, but fine except a cut on her cheek.

She suppressed her exclamation. "Flynn! What in the world!" She whispered loudly as he entered nimbly.

He priced the shuriken out of the smuggler's foot and sliced through her bindings in one go. She stood up, and now that she was free, she'd got all her glare back. 

"Flynn, these people are not any smugglers. They think I'm from the AISI, and that's only a temporary profile, of course, and they keep asking me things about it. They already know much more than they should. We need to warn the government of Italy before we proceed with our mission."

"I figured out a lot, but even I didn't think of this. Listen, we can warn whoever we want later, we need to search this place and get out of here. Where's the ID and stuff they took from you?"

Francesca reached up to a shelf and pulled out the bag she'd carried on her mission in Luxor, things intact, surprisingly. "Come on. And be careful. This isn't any street thief."

And Flynn agreed quite strongly with his italian friend as he followed her out the door. These people were more than smugglers. They were something big. Dangerous.