Tony stepped back into the Agency office to find the middle-aged man standing, waiting, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. “Here, drink this”, he said, “it helps”.

  “Thanks”

  “You can step back into the other room if you’d like to change out of that uniform and into your usual attire”.

  Five minutes later Tony, dressed now in a smart business suit, emerged and sat in the chair in front of the desk.

  “Well, how was it sir? Intense? Rewarding?”

  Tony gulped at a newly refilled glass. “Fulfilling”.

  Behind them the light on the door changed from Red to Blue and the Assistant entered. “All here sir. Everything went like clockwork” he spoke as he handed over a recorder to the middle-aged man and left the room.

  Checking the images on the recorder, the man smiled, then took out the memory stick. “There remains, of course, the final payment of our fee.”

  “Yes, of course” replied Tony as he reached in his pocket and brought out his phone. “The balance is Twenty-Five Million I believe. After the deposit?”

  “Yes, that’s correct. I must admit though, I was somewhat surprised at the price this item reached. Young women always attract more interest, but the bidding for this particular subject proved quite intense.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Tony made the transfer and waited for the confirmation to appear. “All complete, thank you sir”.

  “And the images?”, Tony asked.

  “Right here sir.”

  Tony took the small crystal cube in his hand. “This is the only copy?”

  “Yes. At the present time. I would recommend you make your own backup of course. The privacy of our clients is our utmost priority. It doesn’t look too good for public relations, of course, with our clients all prominent people and in the public eye.”

  “Good.” Tony said with a hint of satisfaction. He stood up, dropped the cube on the floor, and brought his foot down heavily, smashing it into countless fragments. The act felt like a huge release – and condemnation.

  The man behind the desk gasped.

  “Now that our business is concluded I can tell you exactly what I really think. You’re a morally repugnant excuse for a human-being, running a grotesque and abhorrent business.”

  The middle-aged man frowned. “I don’t understand. You appeared most eager to purchase this item, and the amount you paid?”

  “I would have paid twice as much to prevent any of your other clients indulging in this girl’s fate. My Great Grandmother’s maiden name was Barrichello. Rosina was family.”

  The man shrank back in his chair as Tony leaned over the desk and looked him straight in the eye.

  “As I led that girl over to the wall, I told her that the son she’d given birth to two years previously was safe, protected by people who would love and care for him, and would grow up in a free Italy. I told her who I was and where - or rather when - I’d come from. I showed her this,” taking the jewelled silver broach out of his pocket and holding it up to the man’s face.

  “I told her that her courage lives on in her descendants and that my family will honour her forever.”

  With that, Tony rose and left the room. His parting words, “Bella Ciao”, whispered, hung in the air, before the door slammed behind him.