ASCENSION (35 page)

Giuseppe
smiled, “I take this.”

Nico lifted a CZ 75 carry pistol out of the trunk and
slapped in an ammo clip. He
looked over his shoulder at Selange, “This one’s for you. It’s lighter and doesn’t have as much
kick as
your husband’s
Glock.”

She took the weapon, “If you say so.”

Nico gave her a few quick pointers, “Be careful,
i
t has a double
-action trigger.
Don’t panic i
f the
first strike fails to fire the primer
,
a second trigger pull
should do it.
”
H
e pointed to
the safety, “
Also,
i
f you have it in cocked and locked mode be careful when lowering the hammer when there’s a live round in the chamber. Got it?”

S
he shook her head negatively
in confusion
then affirmatively
, “Yes, got it.”

Nico
scoffed,
novice!
He
swapped
guns
and
tucked
Alfonzo’s
Glock in his waist then retrieved a
M1911.
The
g
un
was
modified
as
he
specified
with a
noise suppressor and
several clips of armor piercing
ammunition.
Earlier he
downloaded
a satellite view
and interior-exterior schematic
of the property
to his high-tech digital
watch
.
The
GPS-navigational capabilities
could be utilized in the event they went off track
.
He never liked going into a job
blind.
Usually, he scout and planned for these things but here time was of the essence. They had the element of surprise on their side.
Monticelli should have been eliminated long ago.
His
treachery affected
not only
the
Giacanti’s
but his family as
well
.
This was sweet payback
for the death of his grandfather
!

He
intended
to
scout
ahead of the group
and
handed everyone a set of gloves
then
grabbed night vision goggles
from the trunk. He
closed
t
he trunk
and faced the pair
.

“We hike from here
.
We
have
to get
back
before
the
midnight
patrol
comes
by
.”
He gave Selange a reassuring smile,
“
If everything
’s
a go
then o
nce we
’re
in no
chit-chat. You keep low and
keep the gum
aim
ed at the floor until I signal for you to take the shot.
You get one chance girl, make it count
or I will.
” He stepped close
and warned
, “If anything goes wrong don’t wait for
us
. G
et
to this car and drive straight to hangar three
then get on th
e
motherfucking
plane
, are we clear?
”

Selange’s face took on an unreadable expression. The time
was here
and there was no turning back. She took a deep breath, “Clear!”

Giuseppe pulled the tarp back over the car, “The key
’s
under the right tire.”

Nico started away in a jog, “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER TWENTY—
EIGHT

M
artin
Scheppe ran from the courtroom clutching his briefcase under one arm
. His
young
legal
assistant
struggl
ed to
keep pace
. The
appellate
judge ordered Alfonzo Diaz’
release after
Martin argued in similar cases defendants were
given bail
. His client had no
prior
arrests
and was
charged
with a
non-violent crime
. To deny his client bail
violates the Eighth
Amendment
, thus unconstitutional
.
He also informed the judge of his client’s assault while in the custody of the
state and demand
ed
a full investigation
.
Martin reminded the judge his
client was innocent
until proven guilty
and as such had a right to prepare his defense
unimpeded by such incidents
which
occurred at
MCC
’s
facility
.

The Appellate Judge agreed despite protests from the prosecutor and ordered the
d
efendant Alfonzo Diaz released
o
n his own recognizance
and
an independent
i
nvestigation
into what occurred
at
the detention center
.
This was a major victory for Martin
and he did it without utilizing illegal methods
. He wasn’t allowed to see his client due to a no visitor order but one of the
nurse’s
hinted his client
came
close
to losing his life.
Fortunately,
Alfonzo
was young and in good
physical condition
. He was scheduled
for
discharge
from the hospital tomorrow and
returned to
the detention
center
’s infirmary.
He instructed his assistant to get moving on the
paperwork
;
they needed to
get
Alfonzo
out of custody before there was another attempt on his life.

He
tried
call
ing
Mrs. Diaz
as he headed to his car but got her voicemail
.
He left a message giving her the good news then hurried to the parking
. With the court order he’d get to
see
Alfonzo for himself
.

***

T
he
intense winter rays from the
sun came through the window
. The heated
presence awakened Alfonzo from a
much needed nap.
Once bail was
secured he
signed himself out
of the hospital and came to one of his
office’s
, the same one his wife utilized during their short separation. Traces of her presence were there…a brush…scribbled notes…monogrammed invitations…reminders of the life they shared.

He didn’t want his son to see him like this, bruised and weak. He
showered
painstakingly
trying to
avoid
saturating
the
constrictive gauze cover
ing
his upper torso and
head.
He managed to clean the hot-spots and like a feeble old man stepped carefully from the cramped enclosure.
A simple shower was a
difficult
task
when
encumbered by the loss of mobility on one side
of his upper body.
Each time he tried to defy the doctor’s warning
about over extending his arm
a
r
eminde
r came in
a series of stabbing jabs that ran up his neck and across his chest
leaving
h
im
completely
i
ncapacitated
.
A plethora of obscenities
spewed from his mouth trailed by a false pledge to
take it easy next time.

It took forever
to
dr
y
himself
, frustrated he
tucked
the
towel
a
round
his waist
.
W
hatever parts not reached by
the
towel
he
decided to
let
air dry
. He removed
the
tuxedo
from the chair and
tossed
it
to the sofa then sat down at his
desk to phone his wife.
H
er cell rang multiple times
then
went to voicemail. He tried again and the same thing occurred.
Pissed and anxious h
e dialed
his cousin’s number.

The moment Domingo answered
Alfonzo
said,
“
It’s me
cuz
I’m
at my office not far from the house. I need some clothes.”

“What the hell you doing there…why didn’t you call me to pick you up when you got released?”

“Last min
ute thing.
I hopped a ride with the attorney. Right now I don’t want mom or Sal to see me. I look bad.”

“How you get in the building?”

“Man, the questions…the tenant on the first floor has a spare key, remember?”

Domingo forgot the first floor was leased to a dental office. “Okay, you need anything else…food…what?”

“That and my wife, is she at my mom’s?”

There was a pause. Alfonzo hated when people failed to answer direct questions like they had to think about the truth. The truth comes easily no matter how bad it is.

“N
o, she flew home the same day they denied bail.”

“What…what the fuck and you let her…oh man
cuz
…
are you serious?”

“I didn’t know
,
she left with the Italian dude and Nico. I spoke to her this morning though and she seemed fine.”

Alfonzo grimaced when he moved his arm. His head hurt, really bad and he felt sick. His voice was weaker than usual, “Alright…bring me those things
cuz
and get me a ticket home…can you do that
cuz
?”

“Yeah…be there soon.”

The pain
worsened and he took a painkiller then went into the bathroom and examined
h
is face and chest in the mirror. B
lack and
purple were
colors
which didn’t look good on anybody.
Carefully he
un
wrapped
the bandage
around his chest
and
peeled away
the gauze to steal a pe
e
k at his wound. A row of
neat sutures traversed in a horizontal pattern over the healed gunshot scar.
T
he
surgeon
explained they perform
ed emergency
surgery to repair the damage to
his ligaments and muscle. Once again, he was lucky
. T
he jagged instrument didn’t puncture his lung. The severe pain
which
persisted would eventually lessen once
the ligaments and muscle tissues
slowly
healed but this could take anywhere from three weeks to
three months. He
covered the wound and clumsily r
ewrapped his chest and shoulder then turned from side-to-side in the mirror to view
the left side of his partially shaved
head
covered by a large adhesive bandage. There were cuts to his neck he hadn’t known existed.
Red, healing scars.
He frowned then backed away from the mirror.
Geez, I look like hell!

An hour later he buzzed in his cousin and when Alfonzo opened the door to the office Domingo exclaimed, “Holy shit you weren’t kidding…you
a
re fucked up
cuz
and they released you like this?
”