The moon hung low in the night sky, casting a pale glow over the deserted parking lot. Shadows danced across the pavement. The air was thick with tension as Ludovica and Leandro faced off, their silhouettes stark against the moonlit backdrop. Matteo stood a few paces away, his gaze flickering between the two adversaries, waiting for the opportune moment to intervene.

Their battle raged on with fierce intensity, the clash of steel and the echo of fists reverberating through the night. Ludovica's movements were fluid and precise, her every strike calculated to disarm her opponent. Leandro, undeterred by her onslaught, countered with equal ferocity, his red eyes gleaming with determination.

Suddenly, an opening presented itself as Ludovica and Leandro were pushed back by each other's force. Matteo seized the opportunity, raising his gun and taking aim at Leandro's leg. But just as he pulled the trigger, the bullet veered off course, grazing Leandro's thigh instead of hitting its mark.

"Oh, come on! He can do that?!" Matteo exclaimed, incredulous at Leandro's display of psionic power.

But Matteo's attack had actually not failed. Because the battle was over the moment Leandro's focus wavered from Ludovica to Matteo, Ludovica saw her chance.

With a swift and powerful kick to the head, she knocked Leandro out cold, sending him crashing to the ground. The fight was over, and victory belonged to Ludovica and Matteo.

Breathless and victorious, Ludovica stood over her fallen opponent, her chest heaving with exertion. Matteo approached cautiously.

"That was incredible," Matteo said, a grin spreading across his face. "I never doubted you for a second."

Ludovica smiled, a sense of satisfaction washing over her. "Thanks for the assist," she replied, her voice tinged with relief. "But let's not stick around. We need to get out of here before anyone else shows up."

"Right, just need to finish this business." Matteo approached Leandro's unconscious form with a cold determination in his eyes. Without a word, he raised his gun and fired two shots into Leandro's head, ending his life in an instant.

Ludovica, an assassin herself, couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over her at the sight of Matteo's ruthless efficiency. She had seen her fair share of death, but there was something unsettling about the casualness with which Matteo had taken another man's life.

[ Notorious Deed Accomplished : Murder : Obtained 1 Notoriety Point ]

"Let's go," she urged, her voice tinged with unease. "The job's done now. We need to get out of here before anyone else shows up."

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But instead of heeding Ludovica's words, Matteo hesitated, his gaze fixed on Leandro's lifeless form. "There's something wrong with his face," he muttered, his tone tense.

Curiosity piqued, Ludovica approached Matteo as he knelt beside Leandro's body. With a swift motion, Matteo tore off the skin mask Leandro was wearing, revealing the face beneath.

Ludovica gasped in shock as recognition dawned on her. "He's one of the generals of the Di Napoli Mafia - Marcus Bianchi, a well-known psionic" she exclaimed, her voice barely above a whisper. "But he died three years ago."

Matteo's eyes narrowed as he studied the face before him, a sense of foreboding settling over him.

'The Di Napoli Mafia, huh? And assuming Fritz was really from Schwartzberg Consortium, deep into Moretti Territory.' his gaze then shifted to Marcus' body 'And this man was spying on the Dubois clan. A storm is coming I guess...…..'

Matteo was broken out of his trance as Ludovica put her hand on Matteo's shoulder. "Earth to Matteo, stop spacing out. Let's get out of here."

Matteo nodded as they again entered Ludovica's car. and he wasted no time in contacting Angelina, "Angelina, we've taken care of Leandro," he said, his tone confident. "I'll send you the location for the clean-up crew."

Angelina's voice crackled through the device, "Good work, Matteo. I'll handle the legal side," she replied. "The police won't involve themselves in the affairs of the underworld."

Matteo couldn't resist a mischievous smirk as he added, "Oh, and Angelina, don't be too surprised when you see the face of Leandro."

Before he could elaborate further, Ludovica interjected urgently, "Just tell her, idiot! It's important!"

Confused by Ludovica's outburst, Angelina's voice crackled over the line, "What's going on? Is everything alright?"

Matteo hesitated for a moment before sighing in resignation. "Angelina you know how you told me that we don't know Leandro's real identity?" Matteo asked rhetorically.

"Yes....."

"Well, Leandro... He's actually Marcus Bianchi, one of the generals of the Di Napoli Mafia."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line as Angelina processed this shocking revelation. "Meet me tomorrow," she finally said, her voice tinged with urgency. "We need to discuss this further. And be careful, both of you."

With a sense of foreboding hanging in the air, Matteo and Ludovica ended the call. The events of tonight were just the beginning of something much bigger and more dangerous than they could have imagined.

/////////////////

The next day, Matteo and Ludovica met with Angelina as planned, recounting the events of the previous night, carefully omitting Matteo's involvement in the deaths of the enforcers of the Dubois clan. Angelina listened intently, her expression unreadable as she took note of every detail.

After they finished debriefing, Angelina nodded, her demeanor composed as she began writing the mission report. "Thank you for your cooperation," she said simply, her focus on the task at hand.

Once the report was completed, Matteo spoke up. "I've decided to stay in Vignoble for a week, you can go back to Verbindung without me" he announced, his gaze meeting Angelina's.

Angelina nodded in understanding. "That's fine," she replied calmly. "Sophie's favor has already been paid off, so you're welcome to do as you please."

With that settled, Angelina bid them farewell and left, leaving Matteo and Ludovica to their own devices.

"So Ms. Ferrari, would you like me to outline our plans for the upcoming week?" Matteo said as he turned towards Ludovica with a smirk.

"Before we proceed, Mr. Marchesi, could you clarify our end goal? What exactly will my role entail once I'm on board?"

"You will be my Knight, Ms. Ferrari. As for 'our' goal...." he smiled trailing off "It is freedom. FREEDOM THROUGH ABSOLUTE POWER"