AWAKENING (2 page)

She smirked and
moved further east where
earlier
she’d
seen a
woman with a bright orange lantern and a cigarette
. She
watch
ed the festivities
from a secluded spot away from the large crowds
; her cigarette and her lantern.
Yei
thought, the lantern woman
’s location seemed a fitting
place to
rest and get a smoke.

She found the desolate area where she’d seen the woman with the lantern.
The woman was still there, smoking.
Yei
, smiled at her because what she believed to have
been a tobacco cigarette had an odor of marijuana.
Again, everything we believe is not necessarily true. The eyes are
deceptive;
sometimes we must clean the lens or strip the film away to see the cobwebs in the corner of the room.

The woman leaned against the
wood railing watching
the festivities
with a
bored
expression
.
Yei
,
understood the feeling.
The
pomp and circumstance over
the Lantern Festival
had lost its luster the moment she became a free thinker. L
anterns w
ere
regarded as auspicious for pregnancy. Watching the lantern display carries a similar meaning
. In
modern times the practice has gradually changed.
It’s quite contradictory if you are awake, especially when the
government restrict
s how many children a couple may have. T
hose watching and dreaming
were blind believers, chained to the past. They were followers of antiquated practices which impede
progression and
foster
community
ignorance
. The cost of this great spectacle
, may have
fed thousands of hungry
people here in
Taiwan.
Their u
nity
be damned!

Yei
, crouched
a short distance
from the woman and set about replacing the memory card
.
She finished
and
sat on the ground
, then
pulled out a cigarette.

“Want to try
this
?” The woman leaning there asked
Yei
in
Mand
a
r
i
n.

Yei
stood, “Sure
,
”
and
put the
joint
to her lips and sucked
hard. She
held
the smoke
in her lungs
, exhaled then took another
drag before passing it back to the woman,
“Thanks, good
stuff
.”

The
lantern
woman smiled, “
You’re w
elcome,”
and then
her
lips tugged at the edges
. There was a sudden
pinprick to her heart
.
It became wide
branches of sharp pain and a breath spread it more.

“It will
end
soon Kim-Sung, do not fight it.”

Kim-Sung coughed
. The
woman watched compassionately, almost as
if she’d done nothing
wrong
. The
lovely face
appeared so harmless –but it was not.
Kim-Sung recognized the
face of a
n
assassin.
They’re unassuming people
whom
you least expect
,
until you are
at death’s door. This Asian woman was
beautiful death
; a
mocking
celebratory farewell at the Lantern Festival
.

Kim-Sung
coughed
,
again
,
then
her
heart spasmed.

Constantine
Tulo
;
she hated the name
.
Her husband held such promise when they first met. He was considered one of the best, until spirits robbed him of reason. Then he became an i
nsipid
lush
. She blamed him for their tragic divorce from life, but accepted death at the hands of a woman. She preferred it this
way;
women were not as clumsy or cruel as the men.
She wondered who gave the order,
women or
men.
A half-smile
came;
she hoped Selange spoke the words
. Somehow, it was nice to think of the spunky American. She liked her better than the other women. Yes, Selange was not an arrogant or spoiled bitch!

Kim-Sung
began to slowly descend,
her eyes
on the figure. The long thin blade which
punctured her vital organ
retract
ed
and
became
concealed in her sleeve.

Oh, such a clever one. Kim-Sung, whispered, “Tell Selange, I am sorry. Forgive me
,
”
then she sat, eyes wide open in a death sleep.

CHAPTER ONE

‘Knowing
yourself,
is the beginning of all wisdom.’

                                                   -Aristotle

Giuseppe gripped the man’s ear and
led
him
to the chair in the center of the room
then shoved him forcefully
down
.
The man’s
ass collided with the hard seat and he
put
a
hand to his reddened ear
,
after Giuseppe
let go to rub away the soreness.
The weasel accountant embezzled nearly half a million euro
s
from
Giuseppe’s
brother-in-law
Matteo’s
businesses and attempted to leave town this morning. Obviously, he hadn’t gotten far,
ha
d he?

“Signore Dichenzo…” the accountant sputtered
,
before
desperate eyes turned
on
his former employer, “Signore
Peglesi
, this is not what it looks like!”

Matteo
Michello
Peglesi
found the man’s statement amusing. Half a million euro
s
were missing, the accountant records did not match, and the man was attempting to flee, it was exactly as it ‘
looked
like’
. He was being ripped off!

Giuseppe smirked and
pat
Matteo
’s
upper
back, “See this never happens with my people. You make examples for small things and they are frightened of what you’ll do for bigger things.”

Matteo frowned. His brother-in-law was heavy handed in matters.
Matteo’s
father taught him differently, gain your employees respect and their loyalty is guaranteed. In this case, his father was wrong. There is no loyalty when it comes to money and women. Men betray other men.

They were in the cellar of one of Giuseppe’s spots, with six men standing ready to hear the order to execute the thief.

Matteo
put out his hand, “
Datemi
una
pistol
!”

Giuseppe gladly removed his shiny
gun
and slapped it in
Matteo’s
palm, “
Here.
”

“Wait –wait
!” T
he accountant pleaded
, “
I will give back the money.”

“It’s not about the money,” Matteo replied, because it wasn’t. It was about trust. A thief amongst them was untrustworthy and a threat to the entire family. He aimed at the man’s forehead and he squealed, “Please, there’s something you do not know…it’s about Fabio Benaducci. His son, Roberto…”

Giuseppe and Matteo were all ears. Fabio Benaducci was an ally to their families.
He hailed form Naples and had ties in America. His son Roberto was also Giuseppe’s friend
for many years.

“
Someone saw
Roberto
talking
to a DSS Agent
in Venice
. They did not overhear…”

Giuseppe cut the man off, “When?”

“Two days ago.”

This news disturbed Giuseppe. The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service was the federal law enforcement arm of the Department of State
with dual roles. They were members
o
f the Foreign Service and law enforcement agents.
Arl
ington, Virginia
is
where they’re headquartered. T
hey
’re
assigned to various field offices around the world. Their duties ranged from protecting dignitaries to counterintelligence. Roberto being seen during a clandestine meeting with DSS agents did not bode well with Giuseppe.

Matteo raised the gun and fired. The thief had only secured a minute more of life. Death was the punishment for his actions. “Clean this filth out of my sight!”

The men went to work and Giuseppe ushered Matteo into a private room away from their ears. “This is not good.”

Matteo put the gun on Giuseppe’s desk then took a seat, “Can we believe the words out of the mouth of a thief
, th
ey
li
e easily,
no?”

“Truth can come at the sight of a gun. Besides, why volunteer th
e information
?”

“To spare his life.”

The moment
t
he
accountant
stole
from Matteo, his fate was sealed
. Giuseppe was
n’t
concerned
any longer
with the accountant. His mind traveled to a more
pressing topic,
Roberto.
They were friends for many years. It saddened him to think of what he must do. He would not send a lackey in this instance, on the contrary. He planned to sit and drink with the man one last time.
They’d l
augh and take jabs at one another –then when the hour was right, he’d look his friend in the eye, ask one question before silencing him forever. He would kill him
fast;
perhaps d
o as his cousin Alfonzo advised; a
sharp blade directly to the heart or across the throat w
hen it
’s
personal
.
Betrayal by those closest w
as
always the most injurious. Too, bad!

Giuseppe
took a deep breath, “I
believe this is somehow connected to my cousin’s
troubles in America.”

“What can Roberto
know or
gain
by
cooperati
ng
?”

Giuseppe stared at t
he silver gun atop the polished m
ahogany desk. Roberto knew little about
the Giacanti’s.
They were friends, yes, but his father warned him years ago never to speak of family to others
.
His father told him many things –but failed to tell him Alberti
was Nico’s father.
All these years he believed Nico
was
his cousin on his mother’s side
, a
n offspring and rotten seed of Ernesto, aka, The Butcher. This changed many things, however it did not alter his dislike of Nico, Giacanti or not!

Alfonzo, he loved. The younger man should have put a bullet in Nico’s head and
tak
en the
children from his adulterous
wife. He scoffed at the thought of having a wife
,
when freedom to do as he pleased
did not come with
marital restrictions.
In conversations with Alfonzo
he
discerned the man had
begun to
embrace bachelorhood with gusto. Clubbing, women, drink and sports were the highlighted topics. Yes, a man forge
d
his own destiny, live
d
by his own rules and
was
not bound by one woman who could bring him
eternal
misery. His parents had an
admirable
marriage. They understood
loyalty; they were an exception.