ASCENSION (34 page)

Nico pushed off the wall to get a closer look at the
digital
map. It was a detailed aerial view of a plot of land with a red dot on a sprawling estate. There
were
foot
notes
in code, one’s he couldn’t decipher. So,
Alfonzo planned to
eliminate M
onticelli
.
Nico wondered
when
was Alfonzo going to tell
him
?

“How do you know about Monticelli
, better yet
how the hell did you get
your hands on
that?” He asked then he thought about his stupid advice to Alfonzo
.
He should’ve kept his mouth shut and
he wouldn’t be having this conversation with Selange about killing someone.

“
Alfonzo told me how Monticelli
murdered
his
grandfather, even the
children.
He shouldn’t be alive Nico to keep terrorizing our family…someone has to stop him.” She took a deep breath, “I know what I’m doing. Alfonzo mentioned he planned to stop Monticelli. He was going to do it himself but I talked him out of it
. If I let him do it maybe he wouldn’t be where he is. He’s always fighting for survival it’s time I help him –ugh
I’m done talking
. C
ome or stay
, it doesn’t matter.
I’m going!”

“Okay
…okay
I’ll help you but we’re doing it my way.”

“
We don’t have much time the
jet is fueled and ready.
”

He caught her arm
and his st
are
sent chills down her spine, “I said I’ll help. Your husband will have my head if anything happens to you
. W
e do this my way!”

“As long as your way has me pull
ing
the trigger on the sonovabitch!”

His hand dropped from her arm and he smirked. This side of Selange he
’d
never seen and frankly
it thrilled him. She was tough…obstinate as hell…just like Alfonzo
!

“
There’s no way I can convince you to let me handle this and you wait here is
there
?”

“No Nico. This is my family we’re talking about
.
I
need to do this!
”

“
Can you really
kill a man?”

“
I’m
hunting and
killing a monster!”

H
e saw she meant every word. Nico released her arm, “
Okay boss
you can come along
. You get to take the shot but we’re going to need
Giuseppe
on this
.
Give me fifteen minutes to make a call. We’re
also
going to need some real fire power young lady!
”

She nodded because she knew he was right. The art of killing was his specialty, something she was completely ignorant about.

A
lberti
signaled with his cap and the man scurried across the narrow street. He
c
limbed
into the passenger seat and the car
took
off
before he shut the door.

Alberti kept his eyes on the road as he spoke, “
Nice, crisp air isn’t it here
?”

The man on his left shifted, “Um I guess so.”
In a heavy Australian accent.

“Like the birds, people are creatures of habit, when it gets cold they seek warmer climate.”

The man took the opening
, “
Yeah, speaking of birds, I found your bird
Christopher
.
He’s
soaking in
the
sun at his home in
Laurel Bay, South Carolina
.”

The road branched into three lanes as he came to the main street. He veered in the
less traveled direction to view the countryside. This way he could also see if they were being
followed.

“
Interesting,
” Alberti
commented.

“
He’s got a dog, lives alone in a two bedroom ranch and fond of take-out
.”

Alberti watched the road signs, the words were in Greek,
KIPI 8 kilometers. He continued on eager to see the famed high-arched bridges, thought to be built for packhorses and
caravans.

The problem with most
young people
were their assumption everything required haste. In fact, most situations required patience, something he mastered
as a young boy
many
years
ago
under the tutelage of his
taciturn
father through the game of chess.

“
Have you ever visited Greece?”

The man frowned, “No, not my idea of a vacation.”

“Shame,
they have
many beautiful women
with voracious sexual appetite
s
.”

The man smiled, the old man knew what buttons to push. “Maybe, you can introduce me
to one later
, mate
.”

Alberti nodded, “Certainly.”

Mike Logan smirked, “You’re a funny old man, I swear.” He shook his
head,
maybe
the old man wasn’t interested in the information
on this Christopher Hernandez after all
.

Mike did
f
reelance jobs
but t
his latest assignment wasn’t like
any of
the
others. This one didn’t require him to kill
, only gather information and it paid well
.

They rounded a rocky point in the road and Alberti rolled down his window to gesture
a
t an old stone bridge with sloping arches with a shallow stream flowing below.
“
Aaah
, old is a glorious thing, well
-
built and strong it stands defiant of time.”

Mike stretched his neck to see. The bridge
wasn’t
impressive
.
It was rugged
a
nd rather plain except for the arches.
Alberti drove the car alongside a set of shrubs and stepped from the vehicle to get a
closer look. He motioned for Mike to join him
.
Reluctant
ly
Mike followed the
eccentric
man’s path and stood
at the edge of the rocky hill.

“It looks sturdy doesn’t it?”

“Um-I guess,” was Mike’s unenthusiastic reply.

Alberti peeked over the side of the hill where water flowed across the scattered rocks.
“There is no fondness for
anything once it’s aged.
Pity.”

The old man spun around suddenly and lost his footing. He fell over and Mike bent to help him
to his feet.
“Hey be careful
, mate
.”

“
My legs give out occasionally.
” He rubbed his strong knee for emphasis then said, “Aye,
I think I dropped the car key,” Alberti said searching the ground with his eyes.

“You sure?”

“Yes,
i
t must have fallen.”

Mike crouched
to
scan the ground. He felt
pressure
against
h
is
spine
and
he
toppled over
. He
tumbl
ed
down
the
steep embankment
toward the ravine.
He
fell
head first
and a rock
which appeared
smaller from above was actually a formidable size boulder.
There was a loud thud followed by
a bright
red
plasma
sliding over the dull gray boulder
. It
merg
ed
with the stream
.

Alberti straightened
to his full height
. H
e was saddened by
his contribution to
polluting the
e
nvironment
but he immediately thought of the bright side
.
Thank goodness the rain from nature cleans the filth away.
He
lit a cigar.

Old…how dare
you
call me old
, mate
!

C
HAPTER TWENTY—
SEVEN

Selange
called the hospital
again and requested a supervisor, yet got nowhere
.
Alfonzo’s condition was
confidential
patient information
and they were not at liberty by orders of the District Attorney to discuss it with anyone. She cursed then phoned
Domingo
to see if he’d heard anything, when he hadn’t she
finally
called
her son. She reminded Sal to brush his teeth before bed then promised
him
mommy was coming home soon.

The moment she hung up and settled into her seat the plane
climbed to the heavens. S
he turned to see the darkening sky and thought about the night she recited
Stephen Crane
to her then lover
.
She’d
reached
for
a
ball of gold
in the sky
, gosh what a crock, aspiring for something but when it
falls at your feet you don’t recognize its value
until it’s too late.
She tried to change her husband, mold him,
soften
the rough edges but why? The rough edges were part of him
. She decided if he lived she’d accept every part of him, even the rough parts.

I
t was a relatively short flight
from Puerto Rico to Florida. Soon the
plane
’s wheels
contacted with the runway.
The small craft
bounced
several times
as
it
touched down on the tarmac. The high pitched noise
of the jet engine filled the air. She
discerned
the point when the craft turbine engines
wound down by the decrease of the earsplitting screech.

Giuseppe awakened
, “
S
hort flight.”

Nico scoffed, “You can sleep anywhere.”

They exited the aircraft and
hurried to an awaiting vehicle driven by an associate of Nico’s. The
bearded
reticent driver
immediately drove to a desolate section of Miami
,
dropped them on the side of the road and pointed to a row of trees.
“Key’s in the ignition,
” he said then
zoomed
into the night.

Selange followed the men as they
trudged
through co
ncealed forestry until they reached
a
car hidden
beneath
black tarp.
Nico pulled
it away
to reveal a
good old American
black
M
ustang.
Nico touched the hood of the car
lovingly, “Just what we need real
h
orsepower.” He
turned to Selange, “
Now’s the time to
back-out
young lady
.”

A car passed beyond the trees on the quiet roadway. After it disappeared from sight she
a
nswered, “Not a chance.”

Giuseppe popped the trunk
,
“
Oooh
…I like!”

They peered
inside the trunk
at the assortment of high caliber
handguns and ammo clips.
Giuseppe chose an Italian
Beretta
M9
and tested its weight in either hand.
Nico suspected he was
biased by its Italian manufacturer and the large number of rounds.