She was incredibly angry, but her face betrayed little, certainly no more than an eyebrow twich. After so much time under the public eye, and even longer as part of an organisation that pride itself on its ability to remain underground, she had learned the art of known when to restrain her emotions, how to remain calm and calculating in the face of adversity, and this definitely qualified as adversity.
"Is that confirmed?"
Marco Arcelli, who was standing behind her, nodded. She saw his reflection in the mirror, and nodded in return. This complicated matters at a time when she couldn't afford complications. They had already cancelled one operation in February due to the clumsiness of an associate who had lost control of the criminal investigation. She had allowed the Carabinieri to come dangerously close to catching an important asset, and even if they managed to prevent that, and apparently the investigation had been closed, it was obvious now that it had been picked up by the Royal Eastern Security Service, and they did suspect a more organised effort was ongoing. They were aware of Il Parlatore, having briefly followed him during an intervention, and probably already had a sketch of his face, courtesy of the man who had accessed that cult website.
Without turning, she spoke. "Fine. That bridge has been crossed, let's ensure others can't cross it as well. Keep him recalled, until we figure out what part he will play in all this. You know who was his supervising associate; make sure she can't hurt the association again. Tonight."
"What of tomorrow?"
Tomorrow. She closed her eyes, trying to decide what to do. They had been planning an important operation for March 18, something much more significant than the aborted operation the previous month, but the affair with the RESS cast into doubt the desirability of moving so fast. Then again, they had been planning for this exact moment for years, and they were too involved to back down now. It was an ambitious plan, and if everything went well, it would be an important statement about their renewed ability to act, after so many years in obscurity. In the end, there was no question: they had to act, and it had to be tomorrow.
"Tomorrow will happen as scheduled. Call the associate responsible for the initial operation and make sure everything is ready. When the time comes, I want you here to help coordinate the response at our central facility. I will be in Messelia. Unless there are urgent developments, I am not to be contacted during that time, and until I say otherwise."
She raised her hand. He followed suit.