We walked down the street to a small restaurant, Pasta la Vista. We took a seat at the tables available outside, besides the busy streets.

"La Campania is crowded all day long but it's a bit more during lunch hours. Believe me though, it's less stuffy outside," Angelia said, chuckling as we looked around the flow of people around.

I looked at the menu; lasagne, spaghetti, tetrazzini, pasta primavera, and more, all which made me salivate. I closed my eyes and flipped to a random page to choose. Okay, carbonara it was.

"So, are you from around here itself or did you come here only for the art exhibit? " I asked as we waited.

"Oh, I'm from Napoli itself, and I am also one of the main organisers of this exhibit," Angelia replied.

"So painting is your full-time job?"

"Hmm, yes. That's somewhat the case," she nodded.

Her paintings were very good and she seemed to be well known around. I glanced at her clothes. Was that Gucci?

"And it pays well," she winked at me and I grinned in response.

"And what about you?" she asked, leaning forward, clasping her hands together.

"Nothing great. Just a paralegal at a law firm," I shrugged.

"That's still good, as long as you have the ambition to rise up the levels," she nodded.

"Definitely," I smiled in agreement. Just in time, our meals arrived.

We continued our conversation throughout the meal as I inquired about her journey as an artist. I also learned that she was 28 years old, a bit older than me and did Fine Arts at university. She talked a lot about Naples, giving me advice on where to visit.

When we finished eating and paying, we stood up to head to the exhibit. But a text interrupted me.

Castiel 12:30

Return. Now.

I texted him right away asking why, but being the annoying self that he was, he didn't text back. I rolled my eyes at my phone and sighed, as Angelia raised a questioning eyebrow at me.

"I'm sorry, a...friend texted me saying that there is some urgent matter to take care of, so I need to return," I gave an apologetic smile.

She shook her head. "No worries. Maybe we could meet up another time while you're still in Italy. Can we exchange phone numbers?"

"Sure," I said, handing my phone, as she inserted her number.

I took a taxi back to the apartment. I wondered why Castiel wanted me back. He usually preferred that the 'pest' stayed out all day.

I got out of the car and headed back to the building.

"Hey!" someone shouted from behind.

I turned around and saw the man from the morning. He approached me and handed me what I believed were my earphones.

"I was parking here and I saw those falling on the ground," he explained.

"Thanks," I answered and glanced at his black van, parked nearby.

"What's your name, by the way?" I asked.

"Why?" He frowned questioningly.

"Why not?" I asked, frowning in return.

"What if I don't wanna reveal my identity?" He shrugged.

"Then you're suspicious. Are you a spy? Or are you one of those strangers roaming around in a black van, kidnapping people?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to overthink a lot. Even if I was one of these, would I really say that I am?" He shrugged, a tiny mocking smile on his face.

"Well, you got a point so-"

"Who are you talking to?" Castiel's voice resounded as he came to stand by my side.

I gulped and turned to him with a smile. "A neighbour of yours," I replied as his eyes narrowed at the man.

The man was not intimidated by Castiel. Instead, he shrugged, muttered something in Italian and walked away. I didn't get his name, yet again.  

"Why did you tell me to return?"

"Get in my car," Castiel said, walking past me. I jogged after, catching up.

"Why? Are we going on a date?" I joked.

My face hit Castiel's back as he stopped in front of the car.

"Why? You want to?" came the dry response.

"With you? Anytime," I laughed, getting in the car as I got an eye roll in return from him.

☆☆☆

"I thought you said the IOF has no headquarters here," I commented as we entered the elevator.

"This is just an office only, for meetings within ourselves or with other people. Most countries have at least this," Castiel replied.

"What am I doing here, then? Ain't this supposed to be a meeting between you all?"

"Because I can't trust you with your own life," Castiel said, as we got out of the elevator. I scoffed behind him; I couldn't even refute him.

There was a long table and a large screen positioned in front of it. I got pushed to a seat by Castiel, at the corner of the room, outside of the group. I frowned at him.

"You're making me an outcast."

"That's what you are. Just remain quiet and wait till we finish," he smirked, and to irk me more, he had to pat my head, not once, but TWICE. That was the limit.

As he turned to the table, I positioned my leg high and kicked. I was honestly aiming for his leg, but sometimes, I get better results than the efforts put.

So I kicked his ass, literally.

I was not sure if it did hurt, but he paused for a second. It seemed that some sort of steam was coming out from both of his ears, as he stood rigidly. Yup, he was furious.

Just then, Mr Ford entered, followed by other agents. He motioned to Castiel to sit down. Without looking at me, he marched towards the table and sat down. Meanwhile, I pressed my lips firmly as I cackled mentally. I felt like I was going to regret it later.

I dragged my chair to the window, looking out so as I did not feel awkward aside.

Fifteen minutes later, I had gradually moved close enough to stick myself in between them.

"We have plotted around ten men in different harbours to watch out for any more suspicious ships. Even some of your team members were appointed around the Naples' harbours," Mr Ford further explained.

I looked around and counted. I noticed that four men were missing, including Raphael.

"And did you get any information about Alessio Verdino?" Mr Ford asked.

"There were no sightings of him since some weeks. And we inquired on past members of the mafia from the local police. They said that most of them have disappeared completely while others have joined small gangs around. If the Verdinos are really rising, they may be controlling their activities secretly," Cooky said.

"What if it's not just everyone but just Alessio who is planning something?" another agent asked.

We all paused and contemplated the idea.

"Even if he's the leader or something, he can't be doing anything alone. The fact that he can control the activities even if they take place is other countries is something to consider. He or his group has contacts everywhere," Mr Ford replied.

I raised my hand. Mr Ford raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm just curious. How many family members of the Verdinos were in the mafia?"

"We don't know actually. We know Alessio because back then, he was already exposed to this world and was expected to be the one taking over after his father," Mr Ford said.

"There have been rumours that he does have other siblings though. And Enzo's wife had died long ago. And since Enzo was an orphan, there are no wider kins of his," Castiel added.

"What we need to do right now is to search who is with Alessio and what is their real aim. Make sure to pass the message to all police stations to keep a lookout for any suspicious activities," Mr Ford stated.

After a few more minutes of briefing and suggesting what to do and where to go, it was time to leave. I ran ahead first and got into Castiel's car first.

Castiel got in and gave me a dead stare. I looked to my right side, ignoring him. His hand slamming against my window startled me and as I turned, I was met with his face, only an inch away from me. I gulped as the sense of being caged enveloped me.

"Can you, like, get away?" I croaked, pushing him out of my comfort zone.

He smirked, his hand reaching out to grab mine, which was pressing on his shoulder. He squeezed my hand and whispered in my ear, "I'll get you back when the right time comes." And as he withdrew his face away, his cold lips brushed against my cheek, leaving shivers in me. Shivers that I got from cringing so hard.

He retracted to his seat and I got my confidence back. "Ha, you can try," I scoffed.

A smirking Castiel ignored me and started the car.

☆☆☆

As Castiel was parking his car, I unfastened my seatbelt.

"Oh, there goes your neighbour again!" I exclaimed, seeing the stranger. He was walking to his black van, sporting black jeans and jacket, followed by another man, whom I couldn't see from my perspective.

His van was parked at the end of the line and as he passed by, Castiel pushed my head, making me duck down as the men passed by, as a result, making both of our heads crash together.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"Wait a few seconds," Castiel whispered. I huffed and stayed still.

When he rose up again, I followed and glared at him, searching for an explanation. But he wasn't looking at me. Instead, his eyes were focused on the strangers. I squinted my eyes towards them, as they arrived at the van, standing and discussing something.

"Hey! Isn't that the Italian guy? His name was Bocal something!" I exclaimed, gaping at him.

"Boccaccio, Giuseppe Boccaccio," Castiel muttered.

"Yeah, that's it. You guys sent him back. And I know you didn't send him back only because he was an undocumented migrant. What was the real reason?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"We've been keeping tabs on him ever since he arrived. While he was probably thinking that we helped him walk free, he's been helping us all along, indirectly," Castiel shrugged. I hummed in agreement. Good tactic.

"But if he's really guilty of being linked to the cases, and is with this guy, does that mean this man too...?" I trailed in realisation. "Damn, but he's handsome though," I huffed in disappointment.

"What are you implying?" came the ice-cold question.

"Nothing, actually. Let's follow them," I brushed him off and gestured to the men, getting in the van. It must have really been a van used to kidnap people if our assumptions were right.

Castiel sighed to himself and started the car once again, ready for another ride.

"Should we inform the others?" I asked.

"No, we do not know where they are heading or what they are doing, for certain yet," Castiel replied, concentrating on the van in front of us.

I was going to comment that they'll spot us but stopped as Castiel took a left turn while the van went right ahead. He knew his shit, so I'll leave him to it, I shrugged to myself.

We drove for a long hour and finally slowed down as we approached the sound of waves. While the van continued on, Castiel parked the car in an alley. We got down, and the first thing that hit me was the salty breeze.

"Let's go," Castiel declared, jogging ahead as I ran after him, clutching my purse and squeezing it in my pocket.

Soon, we approached the harbour; the sound of the waves resounded in my ears, while some seagulls screeched, swooping up in the air. And at that moment, I wished I could take a picture of the setting sun at sea. A mix of purple and orange seemed to have been thrown across the sky, which reflected on the sea, where a few yachts were floating in the horizon.

Castiel's hand dragged me back to reality. His hand was grasping mine tightly, as I looked up at him. He was not looking at me.

"Stay close. I don't want you running about and risk getting shipped away again," he said seriously.

I opened my mouth to reply.

"And do not speak. You'll attract unwanted attention."

I closed my mouth.

The harbour was quite animated at this time of the day, perhaps due to the beautiful view we got here. Castiel and I walked, hand in hand beside the harbour, where the boats bobbed and creaked, along with the motion of the slight waves.

The boats and ships seemed to be lined up by size. Small boats and yachts filled the view around us, but further ahead lied the cargo ships, fishing vessels and bulk carriers.

Soon, the sun disappeared beyond the ocean, dragging the colourful sky away. A dull grey colour replaced the earlier breathtaking view, while the chilly breezes of the night set in. Most people were turning around to leave while we moved along the harbour going deeper into it, where the bigger ships laid about.

Castiel paused in his steps, behind a ship, looking around.

"At this time, there are no more locals or tourists around. We'll have to be careful."

"Then, I advise being even more careful," a voice echoed from above.