LUCAS'S POV

The private vault room under Palazzo Contarini was built of solid, strong titanium, and it was lit by harsh white lights that hummed in the heavy quiet.

Three Syndicate guards lay unconscious or bleeding on the polished marble floor near the door. I stood by the heavy steel double doors, with my silenced gun raised and my back pressed against the doorframe, while the electronic lock hummed as it worked.

Inside the glass inner room, Leonard Vance stood in front of a huge fingerprint and eye scanner, holding his eye close to a red laser light.

"Eye scan complete," a computer voice announced across the room. "Main access...