Upon receiving the instructions, Enzo swiftly initiated action with lightning speed, largely unbeknownst to almost everyone.
The first to be targeted was naturally Anastasio, Francesco's confidant, who had long since surfaced and been under Enzo's surveillance.
That afternoon, after receiving accurate intelligence, Enzo's intelligence department dispatched agents. Anastasio was abducted from a friend's home by a group of "unidentified" masked individuals. To prevent any leaks, everyone present was also taken away.
The perpetrators were none other than Enzo's intelligence department. Although named an intelligence department, it was even more proficient at these tasks than at gathering intelligence.
As the main executor of this matter, Anastasio was perfectly clear about what he had done, and therefore had long been prepared. Even if he were to reveal a slip-up and face trial, he had already, with the help of many, devised over a dozen different alibis depending on how much information the other party had, and had prepared responses for every conceivable question.
However, what Anastasio had not expected was that he would not face a fair trial, but rather be kidnapped by this group of unidentified individuals, bound hand and foot, and taken to a dark, windowless interrogation room, where everyone wore masks. It was only when they spoke that he realized they had abducted him to interrogate him about the assassination attempt on the Pope.
"Three months ago, where did that batch of standardized crossbows you transported into the city come from?" The interrogator remained masked, preventing Anastasio from discerning his identity.
"Who are you people?"
"Answer my question, I am interrogating you now!" With that, the masked man threw a punch at Anastasio. After a dull thud, Anastasio, along with his chair, crashed heavily to the ground, blood oozing from his mouth and nose.
Anastasio was completely stunned by the punch. After a long while, he angrily threatened, "Do you know who I am? Do you know the consequences of doing this?"
"We know perfectly well what kind of person you are." The masked man grabbed Anastasio's hair and yanked him up, demanding menacingly, "Answer my question."
"No comment! I won't say anything, even if you beat me to death." Although the situation was completely different from what he had expected, Anastasio remained stubborn.
Anastasio knew that if he held firm and didn't give in, he might still be able to save himself. But if he couldn't hold out and confessed to everything, then everything would be over.
"Waterboarding," the masked man said fiercely.
Two masked men nearby held Anastasio firmly in the chair, while several other masked men brought a water tank and a funnel, continuously pouring water into Anastasio's stomach. Once his stomach was swollen like a drum, they punched and kicked his abdomen, causing Anastasio to vomit profusely until his stomach returned to its original state, then they would pour water in again and beat him until he vomited it out again.
Anastasio was, after all, a favored subordinate of Administrator Francesco. In his daily life, few dared to show him even the slightest disrespect, so he had never endured such suffering.
After three such rounds, seeing that the masked men were about to waterboard him again, Anastasio finally couldn't hold on any longer. His body was momentarily overcome by fear, and he blurted out, "It was imported from the Venice Republic."
The masked man in charge gestured for them to stop and said with satisfaction, "Very good, it seems we can save some trouble, and you can suffer a little less. Next question, what were you importing this batch of crossbows for?"
Anastasio, of course, could not tell the truth, so he pulled out the prepared alibi: "The security forces were ineffective in suppressing bandits, largely because their weapons were insufficient, so I wanted to import a batch of crossbows to support them."
"If it was for the security forces, then why did you hide this batch of crossbows in a dilapidated warehouse in the southwest corner of Rome for three months, only sending them out of the city a few days ago?
Are you supporting the security forces in suppressing bandits, or are you supporting bandits in suppressing your useless security forces? It seems you still won't tell the truth. Beat him."
So, the masked men took sticks and gave Anastasio another brutal beating, leaving him on the verge of death, then poured a basin of cold water on him.
"Are you more awake now? If you're awake, answer the questions properly!" The masked man choked Anastasio by the neck and said, "You bought these crossbows and handed them over to the mercenaries you bribed to assassinate the Pope, right?"
Anastasio, half-dead from the beating, was shocked that the other party possessed so much information, far exceeding his estimates, but he still weakly argued, "No, no, I don't know what happened to the Pope. I don't know what you're talking about. I sent the crossbows out of the city that day for the security forces. As for why it was delayed for so long, it's because this batch of supplies is very important and must be given to reliable people for critical use."
"Then who was that reliable person you handed the weapons to? Who in the security forces?"
"I don't know who the other party was, it was..." Anastasio suddenly thought of the most crucial question and did not continue speaking.
"It was Francesco who instructed you, wasn't it?" the masked man pressed, "If you refuse to identify the other party, then we will have to ask Francesco."
"How dare you call Lord Francesco by his name! How can Francesco be touched by you? Who exactly are you people?" Anastasio's eyes widened in surprise.
Another punch, and several of Anastasio's teeth shattered. The masked man warned fiercely, "I told you, don't make me answer questions."
After a while, the masked man brought paper and a pen, placed them in front of Anastasio, and said, "It seems you admit that you were instructed by Francesco. Write the confession. As long as you write this confession and expose the truth, you will be spared death."
"I'm injured, I can't write."
"Then you speak, and I'll write. Then you can just sign it or put your fingerprint on it." Seeing Anastasio give in, the masked man thought the task was almost complete, and his attitude improved slightly. He took the paper and pen and sat down.
"I, Anastasio..."
As the masked man in charge was writing, Anastasio, taking advantage of all the masked men's relaxed vigilance, suddenly rushed towards the nearest wall and slammed his head into it, immediately bleeding profusely and falling unconscious.
By the time the masked men realized what was happening, it was too late. They checked his breathing, confirmed he was still alive, breathed a sigh of relief, and gritted their teeth, "Send this scoundrel for treatment. Wake him up as soon as his physical condition allows."
A few minutes later, inside Enzo's mansion, a person hurried in, running all the way.
Enzo unhurriedly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and leisurely asked, "How is it, has he confessed?"
"Not yet, he's already unconscious. He knocked himself out," the newcomer said with a troubled expression.
"What? Unconscious? What are so many of you doing, you can't even keep one person from doing that?" Enzo grabbed the teacup and slammed it onto the table, startling the newcomer.
"We are currently intensifying treatment, preparing to wake him up."
Enzo thought for a moment, then said, "Wake him up? Forget it, there's no time. Write the confession for him and have him put his fingerprint on it. I originally thought he was just a coward, but I didn't expect him to have some backbone."
"Should we write it for him? How should we write it?"
"Do I still need to teach you this? He must naturally admit everything we've found out. Identifying Francesco is, of course, also essential. As for anything else, have you found out anything? For example, who else is involved, or things we haven't discovered?"
"This fellow, no matter how much we tortured him throughout the process, he barely spoke any truth. But he said the weapons were imported from Venice and also mentioned the security forces. I believe these two points have a certain degree of credibility."
"Security forces? Good, very good, it seems you weren't completely without Gains! Add the name of the security forces captain!" Enzo said happily.