The trip to Trieste took exactly as long as Marzio had expected. Arriving in the city by the appointed time, the young man went straight to the designated meeting place - IL QUADRILATERO fortress in the north of Trieste. When Marzio drove up to the structure, he was amazed by its layout: it was a square castle on a small hill with high walls of at least fourteen floors, but another thing was surprising – it was clear that the fortress was built on the foundation of an ancient building. This gave away not only the castle walls, which seemed to hide something under their stones, but also the surroundings: smooth ancient paths, incomprehensible mounds reinforced with concrete structures, the very position of the castle. Most likely, this fortress resembled the headquarters of the order, rather than a defensive point.

When Marzio got into the courtyard, he was convinced of the ancient origin of this building - inside, instead of loopholes, there were large windows and balconies, which are characteristic of residential premises of the past era. In the center of the courtyard stood a small building, in comparison with the walls, from which galleries for soldiers went to each wall. Also, the courtyard was quite spacious. There was enough space even for a small garden.

Bernardo Visconti was waiting for Marzio in the inner chambers. After going to the right room, Marzio knocked three times. No one responded. Then he knocked again, but there was no answer. After standing for a while in thought, Marzio still decided to enter. Opening the door, he found the following: upside-down helmets were placed all over the room: on chairs, cabinets and even stairs. In the corner of the room, several knights were crumpling the stamped papers and throwing them into their helmets while keeping score. Teodoro was sitting in the corner of the room, carving figures out of wood with his little foot. Visconti looked through the documents, periodically increasing the stack from which the materials for the shells were taken. Visconti, looking at Marzio, who was looking around, coldly said:

'Stop the coven!'

After that, the throwers shamefacedly cleaned the room. And Teodoro put his figurine on the shelf with a bang.

After that, everyone sat down at the table. During a specific briefing, Marzio learned the plan of the upcoming operation. The Blue Butterfly Fort had not been in touch for a long time: this outpost was located in the Adriatic Sea on a small island, west of the Lastovo archipelago. This was one of the anchor points on the Veneto trade route, and it also served as protection from land. The fact is that the territory of the former Croatia remained mostly wild and dangerous. Sometimes there were raids by waves of mutants, but most of the troubles were caused by pirates, rebels and other robbers. They often raided strongholds, merchant fleets and colonies. It also happened that soldiers rebelled and deserted. Anyway, the detachment needed to clean up the territory of the island, since such a long silence meant only two options – either a riot or a seizure. The command was preparing for the worst, so it was decided to send knights, not ordinary soldiers.

'Our task is to get into the territory of the fort, find out the situation. In the event of a mutiny, it is ordered to liquidate all personnel.'

'How do we get to the fort?' Uberto asked.

Bernardo took a map out of his pocket and spread it out on the table. It showed a plan of the island. It really was a small island, on which there was nothing but a fort. The fortress itself was located in the eastern part, and in the west there was a small wasteland that went south in a stone ridge, where a small pier was located at its very end. On the eastern and southern sides, the fort rested on a cliff, and on the northern side there was a small wasteland in front of a steep bank. On the south side there was a donjon, it was closest to the sea. A dirt road led from the western wall to the pier, and in the north it was empty. In addition to the donjon, there were three more towers at the corners of the square fortification. There was a parade ground inside, as well as a warehouse on the north wall, barracks on the east, and an armory on the south. All of them were hidden behind dense walls and fit snugly to them.

'We will land on the island at night. They'll take us to him by ship. Already from the ship we will land on the shore in boats. Once we are on the ground, our task is to sneak up to the walls of the fort and climb them with the help of tools in this place. he pointed to the tower on the northeast side.'

'After that, Teodoro and Beatrice take up firing positions on the tower. The rest penetrate inside the fortress wall and move towards the barracks. Then we will break through to their citadel. We need to find their leader and capture him, otherwise eliminate him on the spot. If there are hostages among the soldiers, then we must release them, if not, then we will eliminate the remaining bandits. We also have a plan of the interior,' Bernardo pulled out several more maps, with drawings of the entire fort.

When everyone got acquainted with them, an indoor action plan was drawn up. Marzio listened attentively to his commander. Having memorized everything that was said, the young man had a complete idea of the upcoming operation.

'Separately to you, Marzio,' Bernardo said suddenly.

'Since this is your first mission, then there is no amateur activity.'

'Of course,' Marzio immediately snapped.

'I would like to hope for your reasonableness. Well, well...,' he turned to everyone again.

'We sail tomorrow morning. And now hang up.'

Marzio spent the rest of the day in a state of agitation. He was very worried about the upcoming mission and checked his equipment several times. The others behaved quite calmly. Apparently, they understood that the young man needed to prepare emotionally for the upcoming task on his own, or they just didn't care. While Marzio was cleaning his UMP for the hundredth time, Uberto and Fabio were playing cards, Sergio was reading a book, Beatrice was writing something, Teodoro was carving wood with a knife, and Bernardo was away for a while to the command. Marzio was a little uncomfortable, because he felt like a stranger, but they met him quite cordially, yes, and even more so Visconti himself expressed a desire. However, it didn't last long. A couple of hours later Bernardo returned and the whole group went to the refectory.

In the dining room, the food was quite decent cooking. The group got a little lively at dinner: Bernardo was telling Marzio about the local contingent, and Beatrice was arguing with Fabio. The young man had already got used to the situation, but then a huge knight with bright red hair and a spreading beard approached their table.

'Hello, Brother Bernardo!' he said pugnaciously in his bass.

'And you don't get sick, Brother Alberto,' Visconti greeted him.

'And this, as I understand it, is a new addition to your squad?' Alberto asked, looking at Marzio.

'Yes, this is our newcomer – Marzio.'

'Ha! Well, nice to meet you, Marzio,' He held out his strong hand to the young man. Marzio stood up and shook it respectfully.

'My name is Alberto Barbarossa - commander of the Hospitallers,' After shaking hands, the young man sat down, and Alberto continued to talk with Bernardo.

'It's been a while since you've had a refill. I still remember how young Sergio joined your squad. How many years ago was that?' Alberto thought about it and began to comb his bushy beard.

'A lot of water has flowed since then,' Bernardo answered him.

'Times are changing, and the squad needs new blood. We're sailing to Croatia tomorrow, do you know what we can hear there?'

'Croatia? Everything seems to be calm on the border, but heresy is spreading in the depths of the country.'

'Freethinkers, I suppose?'

'Yes, all sorts. Then Satanists will show up, then all sorts of pagans – in general, as always.'

'it's clear. And how are you, Alberto?'

'Yes, little by little. We just arrived with a detachment from Serbia, and we are already being driven to Hungary.'

'Reinforcement?'

'Yes. All veterans are being pulled to the borders. Have you heard that the second army has gone to the east?'

'The second one? So things are bad.'

'I have seen these Bulgars - a terrible people. Their cavalry, like a flood, sweeps away everything in its path, but their wave broke against our walls.'

'Not completely, apparently, if so many people are being pulled together.'

'No wonder. Soon the nomads will regroup and attack with renewed vigor. Then we'll see whose steel is stronger. Well, okay, it's time for me.'

'See you soon, Brother Alberto.'

'See you later!' The red knight strode away.

'Good luck in your service, Brother Marzio,' finally Alberto shouted to the young man.

Marzio spent a short night waiting. It was short because the young man could not fall asleep in a new place. But when Bernardo announced the rise, Marzio was no longer asleep. He cheerfully jumped out of bed and in a short time completely gathered himself. The rest of the squad did the same. Finally, Marzio was able to find out what weapons the knights of the Visconti squad were armed with.

Bernardo had a modified M4A1 rifle with an under-barrel grenade launcher and an optical sight. He was equipped with armor that Maritso could only envy. A fabric vest sat on top of the armor, with 3 horizontal shopping bags sewn on the chest. On the right there was a net for dumping the shot, which was supposed to be for everyone, and on the left there was a weighty luggage with grenades.

Beatrice had a lighter armor that was perfectly matched and even gave a little idea of her forms. Horizontal pouches were located on the sides and were filled with heavy magazines for the high-precision sniper rifle M107A1.

Uberto wore heavy forged armor, he looked like a rock that could break into any formation no worse than a knight on horseback with a spear at the ready. On his belt hung two interchangeable panels mounted on a rigid body with cartridges, length-adjustable slings and ribbons, when the cartridges in one panel ran out, it could be unfastened and pulled out the next, besides grenades were hung on the sides.

Fabio was in light armor with an iron breastplate, he had 5 bags for the MP5 MLI machine gun on his vest, square pockets were sewn to accommodate explosive charges, detonators, shovels, hooks, besides he also had a satchel with explosives.

Sergio was in heavy armor, with a large medical pouch and several small ones, as well as two pouches for his AKM magazines.

Teodorro, instead of a pouch, just criss-crossed the tapes for his MG4 rapid-fire machine gun, he was the only one who did not carry a drop bag.

Marzio also got a vest with 5 pouches: 4 for the magazine and 1 for grenades.

In full force, the group went to the port of Trieste. Hiding their weapons, the knights made their way through the already awakened streets of the port city. At the appointed place, a ship was already waiting for them, as well as a detachment of soldiers of the order. They will have to occupy the fort after the knights' assault squad cleans up the island. Otherwise, they will participate in the assault. They all boarded a caravel and sailed to the south of the Adriatic Sea.

The voyage lasted several hours. In almost complete calm, the caravel slowly floated on the water surface. If such trips were commonplace for the rest of the squad, then for Marzio it was an unforgettable first impression. The young man looked with interest at the surrounding shores. Visibility was excellent, so he could make out the outlines of the shores many kilometers away from him. For the first time, Marzio left the territory of Italy. He imagined with interest what the lands of Croatia, so far away from him, would look like. The excitement of the upcoming mission was replaced by a child's delight in swimming. Although he felt sick, even this could not overshadow the impression of what he saw. A warm sea breeze blew a salty breeze across his face. By the middle of the trip, a good south-easterly breeze had intensified, and thick clouds began to approach from Naples. So Marzio spent all the time on the deck of the ship, admiring the sea.

But the voyage didn't last forever. The sailor shouted that they were approaching the island of Vis. This meant that the island they needed was already close. And indeed, after sailing two small islands, behind which a large Vis was visible, they saw the Blue Butterfly Fort right ahead. Everything was exactly the same as on the maps. From a distance, the fortress looked solid against the background of blue water and the white covered shore on which it stood. If you look closely, there were no strange signs of the fort: the flags of Venice were still flying over the towers, and there were no signs of destruction. But, anyway, something was wrong. However, the caravel moved on, approaching the island of Lastovo, which was a few kilometers away.

The ship docked in a bay near the village of Scrivena Luka, where there was another outpost of Venice. The crew went ashore, as it was necessary to wait for darkness. Marzio spent several hours waiting at the post, as he was left to guard the ship. It didn't tire him at all: a pleasant sea wind, the sun disappeared behind the clouds, and the small island fishing village seemed to be dozing. But by the evening everything had changed. The pleasant breeze turned into a cold stream that pierced through the young man. Clouds covered the sky with a dense veil, as if about to erupt. At sunset, the caravel set sail again and went out to sea.

The caravel rounded the Lastovo archipelago and sailed past the large island of Korcula, again going on a direct course to the fort. At a small rocky island, the ship dropped anchor. It was a comfortable position: from the side of the island it was difficult to see the caravel hiding behind the rocks in the dark, but from the mast it was possible to follow the island. The plan was simple, the crew on the ship was waiting for a signal: green fire – the fort is under control, you can dock, yellow signal - help is needed, red signal - the situation is stalemate. The Visconti squad embarked on two boats: Bernardo, Fabio, Sergio on one and Uberto, Beatriz, Teodoro and Marzio on the other. Although the wind picked up, but the waves were not large, so the group began to slowly swim up from the flanks to the island. No light sources–just night vision devices built into the helmets. The landmark was perfectly visible: against the background of a red sunset peeking out from under a layer of clouds, occupying a small space between the clouds and the coast of the Italian peninsula, the black towers of the fort towered over the sea. The yellow torchlight on the walls flickered like the squinting eyes of a predator.

The group swam closer to the shore. According to the map, there should be an ideal shore on the northeast side to which you can dock. A few minutes of tedious swimming, and they were on the spot. The black fort towered over them with its bulk. The knights landed on the stone shore, dragging the boats onto dry land. All this happened in complete darkness, under the sound of the surf. Having managed the transport, the detachment began to climb the steep bank to the castle. The island did not look particularly friendly – only stone, sand and thorny bushes. When the group fully ascended the hill, they found patrolmen at the walls of the fort: three men armed with cold weapons lit their way with torches. Visconti gave the command with gestures, and the squad took up positions. Marzio found himself behind Fabio and Teodoro. They were hiding behind large bushes, and the young man was hidden behind a stone. Three guards were walking in the direction of the northern shore, along a barely noticeable sandy path. They looked calm, chatting cheerfully with each other. As they got closer, the topic of conversation became audible.

'Yes, it's already over, don't worry.'

'A couple more days and we won't be here.'

'And if they send a check?'

'We will answer them, and when they come to their senses, we will be gone.'

'Ha, well, okay then.'

Visconti gave the command to Sergio and Fabio. Marzio saw the engineer prepare to fire. Sergio, hiding behind a mound of rocks on the other side of the path, barely leaned out, exposing his AK. When the guards began to descend to the shore, three barely audible shots from silencers sounded. All the soldiers were knocked down, and they fell to the ground at once, slowly rolling down. The fallen torches continued to illuminate the small patch of sand. Teodoro approached the corpses: he examined the bodies and, finding no signs of life, threw all the torches into the black abyss to the sea. The group continued to move on.

They stopped only at the very walls. Here began the second part of the plan: Fabio pulled out of his backpack a pneumatic device for firing a self-opening cruciform hook, called a cat. With the help of which he fixed himself on the wall. Then Sergio and Fabio began to climb the tower. Carefully stepping on the masonry, they climbed vertically to the very top. At the very loopholes they stopped, and then abruptly made a dash and disappeared. It took no more than a minute as two bodies fell from above. The former guards hit the stone dryly and disappeared into the darkness. After that Sergio gave a sign, and the next ones began to rise: Teodoro and Beatriz. After them, it was Uberto and Marzio's turn. Although they were taught this at the academy, but in the field it's completely different. Observing all the necessary rules, the young man carefully took step by step until they were at the top of the tower. It was a circular platform on which guns stood at all 360 degrees. Teodoro and Beatrice have already taken their positions there. The girl put her rifle on the bipod, and the old man clung to the sight of the machine gun. Bernardo was the last to climb to the top.

The third part of the operation was coming. Everyone except Beatrice and Teodoro got inside. Visconti went first, then Sergio, Fabio, Marzio, and Uberto brought up the rear. Opening a heavy wooden hatch, they descended a massive vertical ladder down. The first room was completely empty: torches burned lazily on the walls, quivers with arrows stood in the corners, and there were several more benches. There was also a door on the wall, which was previously bolted. Then the knights went down one more floor below, there were already two doors to the inner rooms in the walls. The room itself was also empty, apparently the relaxed guards were sleeping in the barracks. Also prudently, the knights barricaded both entrances and moved further down. They found themselves on the first floor of the tower: there was direct access to the parade ground, as well as to the barracks of the fort. Stepping carefully on the straw-covered floor, the knights closed the door to the street and prepared to enter the barracks building. The door opened inward, so the first Bernardo, who was walking, opened it with lightning speed, but completely noiselessly. Before he could take even one step, Visconti turned sharply to the left and fired one shot. Marzio didn't see, but he heard something big settle to the floor. Having penetrated to the first floor of the barracks, Marzio noticed the collapsed body of soldiers in the very left corner. Apparently, he was assigned to guard the room, but he dozed off at the post and did not have time to react to the knights. The first floor was a large rectangular room with very narrow windows, which were also located under the flow.

A massive double door on the left side of the wall led to the parade ground, and opposite it was a large oblique staircase to the top. There were large tables and benches everywhere. Probably, the first floor was a dining room. There was nothing else here except bags and barrels. All this simple decoration was illuminated by candles on a rusty chandelier under a sooty ceiling. Uberto went to the big doors and slid the bolt. Now the knights had to clear the second floor. Climbing the stairs, they found themselves in a room filled with beds on which at least thirty people slept. Uneven snoring echoed along the walls, and torches, as if under gusts of air from the throats of soldiers, trembled in the semi-darkness. No one woke up, so Visconti gave the command to eliminate. The knights quietly crept up to the beds of the soldiers, then they pulled out knives, with a sharp movement gagged their mouths and cut their throats. Marzio did not participate in this Visconti instructed him to monitor the rear. The young man only heard wheezing and rustling. In less than five minutes, it was all over. The knights were climbing the tower again, leaving thirty corpses behind them.

Once again on the floor leading to the interior of the walls, Visconti opened the door that led straight to the donjon.

At the base of the tower there was a basement, which also served as a dungeon, and a kitchen with a pantry. The main hall occupied most of the floor and was heated by a huge fireplace, it spread heat only a few meters, so that iron baskets with coals were placed further along the hall. Above was the commandant's room with a personal small stove.At the very top of the tower there was an open area with a raised standard.

There was no one in the long corridor. The group quickly passed through the corridor and came directly to the entrance to the main tower of the entire fort. Now the fourth part of the operation was coming. No sooner had Bernardo opened the door than she herself bought, and a confused young guard appeared in front of him. Surprise was depicted on his young face, but before he could even open his mouth, several bullets threw him back. With a clang of armor, he fell to the stone floor with his arms outstretched. The sound was loud enough, so the knights began to act faster. They entered: on both sides of them were walls with doors, on the left one led to the stairs, and on the right one to the rooms, and the other to the south wall. The squad dispersed around the room, but then footsteps on the stairs began to be heard. Visconti gave the command to Uberto, who stood near the door. After a few seconds, it opened, and a guard entered the room and looked sleepy. He was muttering something to himself, but Uberto jumped up to him from behind and with a sharp movement slit his throat. Then the knight slowly laid the corpse on the floor. Now everyone was preparing to enter the rooms. Bernardo on the left, Sergio on the right, followed by Uberto and Fabio. Marzio was covering. The knights knocked down the door and rushed inside: four beds with partitions on which officers slept. The sleepers woke up abruptly and were about to jump out of their beds, but short queues piled out of the back. Several bodies hit the headboards of the beds loudly enough, and one fell to the floor loudly. The interior was clean: in addition to the beds, there were several chests, as well as a stand with weapons. There were loopholes in the walls overlooking the parade ground. Visconti looked into one of them – everything was quiet outside. While Sergio and Bernardo searched the room, the commander ordered Uberto and Marzio to inspect the first floor. Fabio remained on guard.

Marzio kept his machine gun at the ready all the time. Although it was somewhat unusual for him to look at the world through a helmet with night vision, but because of the excitement, he completely forgot about the discomfort. Marzio was the first to go down to the floor: everything was clean here – it was a warehouse. After he and Uberto barricaded all the doors, the knights returned upstairs. Now it remained to clear the upper floors, where the commandant of the fort was supposed to be. As soon as they reached the stairs, they heard conversations. There were about six people above them. Visconti took out a smoke grenade and threw it up. A second later, there was a bang, and the whole room was in smoke. The knights quickly ascended to the floor and eliminated six guards with pinpoint shots. The smoke began to slowly dissipate through the embrasures in which the guns stood, and the group rose further. The commandant's room was located on the top floor of the dungeon. Behind the first door in the corridor, a guard was sleeping peacefully. He continued to sleep only forever. There was another platform above the knights, which also had people on it. Therefore, Marzio and Uberto covered the rear while the others broke into the commandant's room. It is worth saying that they did not catch him by surprise: the commandant dressed and even armed himself with a crossbow, although his only shot hit the door, and not the shoulder of the bursting Visconti. Then there was a small brawl, from which the criminal did not emerge victorious. The knights broke the commandant and made an arbitrary interrogation. A map of southern Italy and the coast of Croatia with routes was found in his chambers. Also a log of deliveries and passing ships.

'Who the hell are you!?' the indignant commandant asked.

'Hospitallers,' Visconti replied calmly

'You'd better tell us why it took so long to get in touch?'

'We had an epidemic, we could not take risks and contact other people.'

'You're lying...,' Visconti replied calmly and with a malicious smile.

'If you had a disease, then your subordinates would not just walk around and sleep all together in one place. Besides, where are the graves and your flag calling for help? Just don't tell me you forgot,' the commandant wanted to object something, but Bernardo slapped him in the face with a swing.

'And now tell me: what are these maps and why are those ships in this magazine that were recently attacked?'

'This is standard accounting! I don't know anything about the attacks,' Visconti wanted to continue the interrogation, but strange sounds began to be heard from the street.

Sergio looked out of the window: several people were gathered on the parade ground near the barracks. They tried in vain to get inside and cursed loudly at the whole fort. The guards on the walls noticed their hubbub.

'It looks like the birds are waking up,' Sergio stated.

At that moment, the commandant jumped up and ran to his bed. He bit into the cord that led up, and somewhere outside the walls there was the sound of a bell. The people on the parade ground abruptly fell silent.

'Damn...,' Bernardo croaked and stunned the commandant with the butt of his machine gun.

'There will be music now...'

There was another uproar in the street. The knights tied the commandant, who was unconscious, to the bed, and Visconti took all the necessary papers. Then footsteps were heard on the stairs – three armed guards were coming down it. As soon as they burst into the corridor, they were met by small arms fire. All three of them fell to the floor with a clink of their fallen swords. Fabio quickly went up to the upper landing and made sure that it was empty. Meanwhile, the fort raised the alarm. Bells rang, and soldiers poured onto the walls and the parade ground. Now the fifth part of the operation was beginning. Visconti ordered them to split up: Marzio and Fabio will go along the south wall towards the gate, and the rest will go out and clean up the armory and warehouse. Bernardo also gave the go-ahead on the radio to fire Teodoro and Beatriz. The shooting started.

Teodoro fired a long burst at the crowded soldiers, who shouted in the direction of the dungeon, intending, most likely, to wake up the officers. Five people instantly turned into a sieve, and the rest jumped aside and laid their ears at the unexpectedly loud sound. While the machine gun was mowing down the guards on the parade ground, Beatrice was working on the crossbowmen, who had already caught on and started shooting at their tower. Naturally, the rate of fire was not in their favor, and one by one they fell from the shots and Baretta. At this time, the rest of the knights were running inside and on the wall. Marzio and Sergio ran past the big guns looking into the black sea, while the others moved along the corridor inside the wall. Teodoro successfully mowed down the guards in the open, although many of them had already managed to run to the corners. Beatrice's situation was a little different: a lot of crossbowmen climbed onto the towers and camps, who were shooting at snayapersha. Some of the bolts fell dangerously close to Beatrice, but the girl continued to blow up the heads of the shooters with her bullets, who were going to stick out for return fire.

Sergio ran ahead, and Marzio kept up with him, clutching the UMP tighter and tighter. They had to overcome the entire fort in the width of the southern wall. Crossbowmen, seeing more convenient targets for themselves, began to shoot at them as well. The knights also fired back. Marzio could not see whether he had hit or not, but as he ran, the young man tried to shoot as closely as possible at the shooters who were hiding behind the loopholes on the western wall. They did not have time to pass the middle of the wall, as from the hatch, which was just opposite the armory, which was on the bottom right.

'Marzio, cover me!' Sergio shouted to him, who hid from the arrows behind one of the guns, changing his magazine to AK.

A line of fire opened up in front of Marzio, and three guards who had already managed to get out of it. They were rushing straight at him, shouting, armed with short swords and a halberd. The young man, without thinking, immediately pointed his weapon at them and gave a long burst at the bellies of the guards. From the shock wave, they flew half a meter away, landing on their backs and dropping their weapons. All three of them. At once. Marzio's vision blurred for a moment, but he immediately brought himself to his senses. But maybe it was the clang of bolts that struck near the feet of the young man. It took him a second to come to his senses, and then he ran after Sergio again, who changed the horn of the machine gun and continued to shoot at the guards on the run. About twenty corpses were already lying on the parade ground, and this is not counting those who died on the walls and who were probably already finished off in the Visconti armory with the rest.

When Sergio and Marzio almost reached the western tower, the door suddenly opened in front of them, and five people ran towards them – all the shooters. Sergio braked on the move and gave a long burst at the soldiers running at him. In a matter of seconds, the passage was clear. Running right over the warm bodies, the knights found themselves inside the western tower. A guard was coming down the stairs from above, who was immediately shot by Sergio. The man screamed and fell to the floor, and after him another body fell out of the open hatch, which had half of its face missing - clearly the work of Beatrice. Sergio took out a flash-bang grenade and threw it into the lower hatch. There was an explosion, and several voices screamed under the floor. Then he jumped down after her. Meanwhile, Marzio checked the upper floor – everything was clean there, and then returned back. Sergio was already climbing the stairs.

When they were on the street again, they saw several dozen people gathered around the gate. They quarreled heart-rendingly among themselves and tried to shoot back from crossbows at Beatrice and Teodoro. The rest, armed with cold weapons, ran along the wall towards the knights. 'Marzio, take those!' Sergio shouted to him.

Then the knights began to advance further: Marzio alternately shot the approaching guards on the wall, and Sergio shot down the crossbowmen. Marzio got a taste, or it was the adrenaline that hit him so hard. After the first victim, the young man began enthusiastically and very clearly to make single shots into the body of soldiers. They tried in vain to cover themselves with their shields, hoping for armor, but from such a distance it was useless. When the knights entered the rooms above the gate, they left five bloody corpses on the wall.

Inside the room, the soldiers showed perseverance. As soon as Sergio entered, a crossbowman with a short sword attacked him from the darkness. He struck down at the knight from above, but he managed to block the blow with a machine gun, and then pushed the guard away with his right foot. He fell to the floor and did not get up again. A healthy soldier with a torch attacked Marzio, but he could not take two steps, as two bullets had already pierced his stomach. No one else resisted them: there were a lot of corpses in the room, and those who survived fled in panic to wherever. But then Marzio noticed with his peripheral vision movement along the dirt road from the castle – several people were running towards the pier in the dark. The young man could not see how many of them there were, but he felt it necessary to inform Visconti on the radio.

'Move after them!' the hoarse voice of the commander answered him.

'Detain or shoot on the spot!'

Marzio informed Sergio of this and ran down to the gate. Descending the small staircase, he was not surprised that the grate in the wall was open. The young man rushed into the darkness, following the retreating rebels. The fort was already cracking down on the last ones who had taken refuge in the north tower and in the storage rooms.

Breathing heavily through his helmet, Marzio ran as fast as he could after the bandits. He saw them begin to descend down the slope to the shore. They had a head start – Marzio began to realize that he would not be able to catch up with them in time. But they still had to leave by boat, which means he can shoot them from the shore. They won't be able to sail so fast at night. Marzio raced headlong, jumping over large rocks, kicking up dust and sand under his feet. A cold wind was blowing at his back, as if urging him on. Echoes of the battle could be heard in the fort, which were drowned out by the sea surf. Through his helmet, he could see several silhouettes already approaching the dock: a large wooden platform with a barn, at which several small boats were moored. There was also a place for a larger ship, but it is unlikely that the caravel could comfortably accommodate here. Now the rebels ran up to the group of boats. Marzio did not dare to shoot yet – he hoped to get to the pier and shoot the fleeing ones from there. But then something strange happened. Two ran up to the boat covered with a large canvas and threw it into the water. Underneath it was not an ordinary wooden boat, but something else, similar in shape, but of a strange gray color. Metal, Marzio realized. Against the background of the dark sea, it stood out as a large white spot. The young man was two hundred meters away from them, when suddenly the water foamed up behind that strange boat, on which all the retreating ones had already settled. At the same moment, there was a terrible roar, as if a whole flock of bees buzzed in Marzio's ears at once, and the boat moved. By herself, without oars, she swam, leaving behind jets of foam. There was no doubt – it was a motor boat. They told about her at the academy, but what should she do on this island far from civilization. Marzio finally reached the pier and fired a few shots at the swimmers. He saw his bullets spouting around the boat, and those who were in it clung to the bottom. Then Marzio saw in the light of the moon, which appeared from behind the clouds, that a man with black round glasses, which stood out against his pale skin, was sitting at the side of the boat, closest to Marzio. And also a brown robe and gray hair –he had already remembered that himself, but only where he had seen this man. Marzio fired a couple more shots, but the UMP treacherously ran out of ammo. When the young man hurriedly changed the store, the boat buzzed away, bouncing on the waves, towards southern Italy.

When Marzio returned to the fort, it was all over. There were a lot of corpses everywhere, and a dozen people were tied up in the center. Among them was the already familiar commandant, still unconscious. Visconti got him well.

'Did you catch up?' asked the suitable Marzio Bernardo, who was guarding the prisoners.

'They're gone,' Marzio replied shortly.

'It's a pity...,' the commander replied dryly.

'On a motor boat' the young man continued.

'What!?' Bernardo immediately perked up.

'They sailed away in a motor boat, that's for sure. I shot at them, but they were already far away.'

'M–yes...,' Visconti drawled thoughtfully

'And the case is getting interesting.'

'All clear, Commander!' Fabio's voice sounded over the radio.

'Great. We've cleaned up the whole fort, not counting those who managed to escape. Apparently, the "syndicate" has firmly planted its roots.'

'The syndicate?' Marzio asked.

'They don't tell you about this at the academy, but there are not just gangs of robbers and groups of deserters. There is an organized criminal organization called "Syndicate". It is their handiwork that most of these diversions are carried out. They weave the whole Mediterranean like a spider's web and pull the strings from time to time.'

At that moment, the rest of the squad began to converge on the parade ground.

'It's not the first time the Syndicate gets in our way, but one thing scares us...,' Visconti looked intently at Marzio. Although the young man could not see his eyes behind the helmet, he could feel them.

'They also know the truth about the past.'

'That is...,' Marzio began.

'They have our technology.'

'Yes. Or maybe it's better than ours, who knows. We still can't find their headquarters and leaders.'

'The premises have been cleared, Commander,' Teodoro began, coming up.

'That's all we could find useful,' He handed Visconti some watmans.

'OK. But Marzio found a whole motorboat.'

'What?! Seriously?!' exclaimed in the squad.

'Yes, but she swam away from us. In general, now everything is clear - the fort bribed the "Syndicate" and used it as a transit point, and in addition, they also leaked information on trade caravans. In general, I consider the task a four-star success–' Bernardo took out a rocket launcher from his bosom and raised his hand up.

'At ease...'

A green signal soared into the sky.