Plan C
“From the dashcams left in some of the vehicles, we could confirm only the license plates.”
“……”
James wasn’t especially impressed that they’d managed even that much. It only reinforced just how thorough their preparations had been.
“Even if the license plates were still there, I doubt the Italian police could have learned anything from them.”
“That’s correct. Most of the vehicles were stolen, and the rest weren’t registered.”
“All right. What about after that?”
“……”
James waited for Yosef’s next words, but the Camerlengo only stared back at him, mute and blank.
“Is that it? You don’t have any other information?”
“The police are still investigating what happened after that, so I don’t know yet.”
“One last question, then.”
“Please, ask, brother.”
They said it wasn’t by air… and if they don’t know whether the trail led east or west through Europe, then…
James weighed the compass points in his head, then pointed in one direction.
“This way… so you’ve confirmed they fled north?”
Rome, the capital of Italy, sat near the center of the country, and the south was hemmed in by sea on three sides. If they’d run by car, north was the only sensible direction. If they’d gone west, the trail would lead to France; if they’d turned east, Austria and Slovenia would have to be brought into the search. And if they kept driving straight north, there was also Switzerland and Germany. They’d fled toward a region with too many options, deliberately throwing the police off their trail.
“That’s right. All of their vehicles vanished north in a line. Then, at some point, they disappeared like smoke. Checkpoints are now being set up at every border crossing to the north.”
“Ha! Those bastards…”
James kept looking north for a moment longer, then slowly turned away.
The mana linked to the Holy Grail isn’t heading north…
He could still feel the faint residue of the Holy Grail's mana. The distance was enormous, yet the mana was still telling him the general direction of the Grail. It was so thin and hazy that, if he didn’t concentrate, it felt as though it might vanish at any second. If the object had been any farther away, he wouldn’t have sensed it at all.
They even went out of their way to muddy the investigation right to the very end.
James had hoped that tracking down the Grail’s location would let him recover the rest of the stolen goods as well, but he still couldn’t be certain.
“Brother James. I’m worried those merciless men may hurt you.”
“Camerlengo, I’ve been practicing my shooting hard lately.”
“...Do you need a firearm?”
“No. I’m just saying.”
The inventory was already stuffed with all kinds of guns, looted from four different American arms dealers.
“That’s it for the site check. The rest is down to luck.”
“Please don’t do anything dangerous.”
“Of course. I have no desire to get shot like Father Stefano, either. I’ve already run out of holy water, after all.”
“……”
“I’ll contact you if I find them.”
Plan B is always swallowed by Plan C.
James set the wizard’s Plan C in motion.
He left the Vatican at once and expanded his mana to the limit of what he could safely sustain.
The distance is roughly… 400 km.
The expanded mana made the faint trace a little clearer. As he took out a map and checked the place the mana was pointing to, James stopped on one city in Italy.
Judging by the distance, it’s definitely not Naples… is it Bari?
The fastest way to reach Bari was to take a plane through the airport.
If I wrap this up quickly and come back, I won’t miss my flight to Korea.
But James was heading not for the airport, but into a back alley in Rome.
“Kya-hyak!”
A cat startled by the sudden appearance of a person in Bari’s back alleys let out a sharp yowl and bristled in alarm.
“Hey, kitty. Nice kitty.”
“……”
The cat gave James’s clumsy call a haughty turn of the head, then trotted away in quick little steps.
“Now let’s check the exact location.”
Mana rippled out from James’s body as he began searching for the trail he’d left behind long ago. Then he lifted the map and confirmed the location of the mana trace, which had become much clearer than before.
...The harbor?
Ferries leaving Bari could reach Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania. No matter how tightly the Italian coast guard watched the waters, they couldn’t possibly catch every smuggling vessel. James was certain the transport they’d use was a ship.
They’ll think the investigation has already been dragged north.
James casually hailed a taxi and headed for the harbor. Once he checked the mana trace there, it would be over.
Skrrk.
After getting out of the taxi, James walked into a darkening corner of the harbor.
Then, once he was in the alley, he pulled on a baggy hooded jumper, sunglasses, and a mask, hiding both his face and his build.
Ah, right. The body armor.
He couldn’t forget the new body armor he’d bought along with the rest of Samuel’s collection.
I really hate getting shot.
He would protect himself with proper defensive magic in the first place, of course, but surprises could happen at any time.
Fully prepared, James left the alley. Yet the figure that emerged from it was invisible to everyone else.
Tap.
Only the sound of small footsteps told the world that someone was moving.
James had come to a port-side storage yard stacked high with containers, more specifically a shabby warehouse near the edge of it.
...
As he approached, James quieted his footsteps. Men in leather jackets were pacing around the warehouse that had seemed empty at first glance. The two of them were only walking, but James was certain they were the ones he was looking for.
They strolled as though they weren’t guarding the area at all, yet rifles concealed beneath their jackets shifted just enough to show the faint outline of a muzzle whenever they moved. Every tiny motion about them felt different from that of ordinary men. They reeked of old training and professional discipline.
“……”
James stopped dead and waited for them to pass.
They’re still on guard.
He’d thought that after robbing the Vatican Museum and shaking off the pursuit, they might have relaxed a little. But these were men whose work was as meticulous as their preparations, and even their underlings were elite, well-trained soldiers.
“……”
On the surface, the men swaggered lazily past him, and even though James knew they couldn’t see him thanks to the spell, he still tensed.
They can’t see me—
Whoosh.
One of them suddenly stopped and looked around.
“...What is it?”
The man who asked with half-lidded eyes looked lazy enough, but his gaze swept the surroundings in an instant, finishing a quick first check.
“Smell.”
“What smell are you talking about? Sniff, sniff.”
James belatedly regretted the illusion magic that hadn’t hidden scent as well, but there was nothing unusual coming off his body.
No way…
“I feel like I know it, but I can’t quite place it…”
“You hungry or something?”
“Ah! I’ve got it.”
He remembered what the scent was, and the words that followed made James’s heart drop.
“It’s the smell of body armor.”
“!”
But even to his partner, that sounded too absurd to believe.
“Heh. What?”
And yet the man really had caught the scent of the body armor James had just put on.
“Back when I was in the military, I got issued body armor for the first time and I smelled it then. That smell is faintly coming back to me now…”
“You lunatic. Were you a soldier or a military dog?”
The pair traded jokes as if they weren’t worried at all, but their eyes kept flicking around, sweeping the area.
“Left side clear.”
“Right side clear. Nothing out of place.”
Their gazes passed right over the spot where James was hiding.
“Maybe one of these containers has fresh uniforms in it.”
“Could be…”
Only after they’d moved away did James catch the faint scent rising from the body armor he was wearing.
What kind of freak remembers the smell of body armor?
Still, the immediate danger had passed, and James had picked up a new piece of information from their conversation.
That was a British accent.
From the way they spoke, he could tell they were men who’d come from Britain.
“……”
Thanks to their reaction, James knew he had to move even more carefully. He’d intended to go straight into the warehouse and deal with them inside, but now he changed his plan and decided to check with mana first, then enter only if it seemed safe.
His fingers stirred the mana, and a magic circle visible only to James unfolded before his eyes.
Third Eye. Action.
James’s third eye slipped through the wall like a ghost and drifted into the warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, a man was on the phone.
“Yes. The preparations are complete.”
“When do you leave?”
“The container ship departs tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, then... I’ll have to wait a good while longer.”
“We’re proceeding according to schedule, Boss.”
“Frank.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Even the Frank David had thought of as the boss was nothing more than someone else’s underling. The people around Frank were holding their breath, as if they meant not to make a sound while he was on the phone.
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“There can be no mistakes at the very end.”
“……”
“I’m in a terrible mood these days, since business hasn’t been going well.”
“I’ll personally handle everything to the end.”
“Have you packed the drugs to distribute there?”
“Yes. They’ve been shipped separately in two containers, and I’ve also set aside the weapons the organization will use.”
These were weapons prepared for dealing with the mafias entrenched in Italy.
“After we leave, we plan to quietly pull the goods back out. The members left behind will operate in Italian mafia territory afterward, and if any conflict breaks out, we’ll sweep them all away. And the cargo in transit will pass through Albania and...”
The prepared report continued, and Frank finished speaking at last, tense all the while.
“...I’ll see you after the job, Boss.”
“Good luck.”
“Phew.”
Just as the call was ending, there was movement outside.
Skrrk.
Two men who had been keeping watch outside through a small warehouse door came in.
“What? Paul. Why are you back already?”
“Owen says he has something to report.”
Owen, who stepped up to Frank, lowered his voice and reported in a whisper.
“Boss. I smelled body armor while I was going around the containers just now.”
“!”
Frank looked briefly startled, then asked again.
“Where?”
“Near the containers along line A-7... there wasn’t any sign of anyone, but I thought I should report it just in case.”
Frank answered with a laugh.
“Ha! There are firearms and body armor in those containers. They’re ours.”
“Ah.”
“...I knew it.”
More than that, Frank was hearing for the first time that body armor could be identified by smell.
“But you knew that by smell?”
“My nose is a little sensitive, so...”
“Pfft. Owen, you’ve got a pretty interesting ability there?”
Frank let out a snort of laughter, then hardened his expression.
“Owen. Don’t go near line B-6.”
“...There’s body armor there too?”
“Curious?”
“……”
Owen knew from his years in the organization that asking too many questions only endangered your life.
“N-No. It’s fine if I don’t know. I won’t go that way, Boss.”
“Good judgment. Even with outstanding ability, if you’re too curious, it’s hard to live long.”
Owen swallowed hard, feeling his worst fears beginning to take shape.
“……”