Prelude to downfall

"Now listen carefully, you offered to give your life in place of your children's as any loving father would, so here's my deal, get the press, call it an... Uhm, let's say a national announcement about to be made in the Quirinal Palace, then turn yourself in."

"Done"

The voice chuckled in unbelief, "You sure you don't wanna bargain?"

"No"

"But that's not all; I thought to keep it from you, but there's no use; you'll comply with everything. You'll be murdered there, Nikolai, right in front of millions, and before you ask, your bodyguard, the buffy one, yeah. I'll send him the location to pick up the kids." Silence, then; "That's my deal."

"Done"

***

So he was here.

"...What really happened to Fabio Conti."

He had felt It might end this way; Fabio's son was never discreet about his intentions to get rid of him, but that it had taken three awful days to come to terms with it finally was what infuriated him.

When Nico walked to the podium, lips close to the speaker, he had sighted him rig