The Scorpion's Tale (31 page)

Steven waited for his flight to Quito. He had
been struggling with how to handle Nick. He was upset about Nick’s
blatant lies, but didn’t know how to broach the subject. Now he was
determined to come clean with Nick. He didn’t script the
conversation in his mind because he was going on instinct. He
dialed a number and Nick answered as if he’d been expecting
Steven’s call.

Nick had almost fallen asleep when he felt
his phone vibrate in his pocket. Nick confirmed it was Steven’s
number. “Steven, are you back in New York?” Nick asked
playfully.

“No, but I’m boarding a plane to a new
destination,” Steven answered.

“I’m in a limo with the boys. We’re taking a
little ride together. Where are you going?” Nick wanted to keep the
conversation light and not arouse his companions’ suspicions.

“Shut the hell up and listen to me!” Steven
yelled without any forewarning. “I’ll ask the questions, not
you!”

Nick was taken off guard by Steven’s
unexpected fury. “Okay, Sport, that’s fine with me. Shoot.” Nick
made the “loco” sign to his men.

“I’m getting on a plane in a few minutes. I
know you lied to me when you told me you were in New York. I know
you’re in Rio and that you’re with some woman named Giovanna from
San Remo.”

Nick’s forehead became moist, but his phony
smile remained pasted on his face.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, I’m listening.”

“I also know there’s a contract out on both
you and your girlfriend and that the Scorpion is on his way to Rio
as we speak.”

Nick’s heart was pounding in his chest. “How
do you know that, Old Buddy?” Nick was trying desperately to remain
nonchalant.

“Trust me, Nick. I know. And I also know that
Pablo Munoz has evidence you killed Carlo.”

“And you believe him?” Nick asked, rolling
his eyes at Braulio who was now the only person in the car paying
attention.

“I didn’t say that. But you and I have a lot
to discuss.”

“It seems so. Let’s talk now. I miss you,
Buddy.”

“Sorry, Nick. Save your bullshit for someone
else. I’ve got a plane to catch. If I were you, I’d get the hell
out of Dodge, and fast! I need to take advantage of the time while
this psycho hunts you instead of me. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Steven, wait….” Steven had already hung up.
As Steven joined the line to board his flight, Nick’s life began to
unravel again, and this time by the very people he thought he had
under his control.

Steven smiled to himself. He had just put his
old friend on a wild, out of control roller coaster ride. He took
pleasure in knowing somebody else would be joining him in the sick
game he was playing with the Scorpion. He was thrilled it was
Nick.

-------------------

Alberto checked his watch for the fifth time.
He had instituted a failsafe to the contract hit he had ordered. If
he did not call a particular number within two hours, that number
would be discarded and Alberto would no longer be able to revoke
the deal he had made with the Devil. After his last discussion with
the Don, he was ninety-nine percent sure his decision was not
premature. However, it was that one percent that bothered him; he
wanted the moral security of a conviction beyond all shadow of a
doubt, for he was acting as judge and jury. His hand unconsciously
reached for the phone even before it rang.

“Don, do you bring me good news or must I
give the kiss of death to my own flesh and blood.”

“I am sorry to say I bring your worst fears
to light. Treachery amongst blood,” Don Gregorio answered. His
voice was mixed with sadness for Alberto and malice toward the
viper in the Manzione family.

“Please tell me the details, my friend.”

“Your soldier Tony was running a brilliant
money laundering operation for the Colombian Cartels. Make no
mistake; I emphasize the plural in ‘cartels’. He had perfected a
way to deliver the cash hordes from both North America and Europe
to Colombia. It was revolutionary. The brilliance was his
simplistic method that earned a five percent fee for himself and an
unheard of one hundred percent success rate! Obviously, that record
drew all the cartels to embrace him. We are talking about moving
hundreds of millions of dollars each month through his computer
export business.

Alberto interjected. “That’s impossible! He
would have to be shipping ten thousand computers at a time to hide
such amounts.”

The Don responded, a tinge of pride in his
voice. “With cash, yes, but not with Blood Diamonds. You see,
Alberto, no cash would cross the border. The cash was given to Tony
who then converted it in to Blood Diamonds. The beauty is that he
bought the diamonds from a direct source, which couldn’t sell them
on the open market. The cash was no longer the cartel’s problem
since it was passed onto the diamond profiteers. Tony would hide
the diamonds in the computer keyboards, a place customs would not
look for cash. He then sent them to Brazil, a country not on any
international watch lists. Each keyboard in actuality was worth a
half-million dollars.”

Alberto digested the incredible information
as he ran the numbers in his head. “So how did a problem
arise?”

“It was the greed of the low level scum,
whose only involvement was trucking the computers to the
wharf.”

“Sal and Joey?”

“Yes, and Roberto here in Italy. But the scum
were unaware of the hidden diamonds. They thought they were just
stealing a few computers that would remain unnoticed among the
volume they were transporting. They had no way of knowing that each
time they took ten, it was a five million dollar loss for the
cartels. They fenced their stolen computers at a great discount.
Whoever bought them saw that everything worked, except the
keyboards, which are probably now gathering dust in attics and
garages. The scum did not know they could have been
multi-millionaires!”

“So what was Nick’s involvement?”

“Nick was aware of the money and collected
the right tribute, but withheld millions from you. When Tony
realized he had missing inventory and sought Nick’s help, Nick
contacted the Columbians, posing as the head of the Manzione
family. He pretended to be shocked and concerned about the losses
and promised a swift and decisive end to the pilfering. Instead,
Nick orchestrated the theft of an entire shipment! When the
diamonds did not arrive, the Columbians ordered a hit by way of the
Brazilians, to insure there would be no war with the Famiglia. I
understand the full shipment was stolen just days before Tony’s
death. Tony was feverishly trying to locate the shipment up until
the day he was murdered. In essence, Nick is a viper within your
midst.”

Alberto sadly knew what he had to do now.
“Thank you, my friend. I will take care of the family’s honor.” He
hung up the phone. He would not avail himself of his failsafe.

Steven exited the airplane in Quito and
immediately felt lightheaded. He walked outside and hailed a cab,
which took him to his hotel. The “Casa Habana” was less of a hotel
and more of a quaint, three-story bed and breakfast, with tiled
floors and surrounding gardens. There was no need for
air-conditioning since the opened windows offered cooling
ventilation. Nauseated with no strength to unpack, Steven feebly
undressed to his shorts, lay down on his bed, and fell fast
asleep.

When Steven opened his eyes, it was eight
o’clock and the sun was shining brightly. He was famished but
reluctant to lift his head off the pillow, dreading a return of his
nausea. To his surprise, when he summoned the courage to sit up, he
discovered that he felt fine. He walked to the window, opened it,
and stuck his head outside, breathing in the fresh air. The city
was already alive and Steven felt certain the worst of the altitude
sickness was behind him. He was ready for his first Ecuadorian
breakfast, followed by his search for Father Mateuse.

-------------------

Charlie spent the week locked in his
apartment, drinking himself into a stupor. He could not stop
dwelling on the Scorpion’s warning to never again intervene in the
Scorpion’s business. He also could not stop thinking about Steven.
To save his own skin, he had sacrificed Steven, rationalizing that
the Scorpion would have found Steven regardless. But here he was,
with a dramatic change of heart. Charlie had the chance to atone
for his past and repay his old friend, Steven’s father. He felt
compelled to act. For all Charlie knew, Steven might already be
dead. If Steven was still alive, Charlie decided he would help him,
the Scorpion’s threat be damned. Charlie dialed the only number
that offered him hope. He held his breath and waited.

“Hello,” came the soft voice of a woman.

“Francesca? Is that you?”

There was a pause. “Yes. This is Francesca.
Who is this?”

Charlie swallowed hard. “It’s me, Charlie.
Charlie P.”

There was a long pause. Charlie knew there
was an excellent chance she would hang up.

“What do you want?” she said in a monotone
voice.

“It’s about your son, Steven.”

Again there was a pause. “What about
Steven?”

“He’s in grave danger. He is pursuing the man
who killed his family. He came to Chicago and met me for dinner for
any lead to the bastard.”

Francesca cried silently, the tears streaming
down her face. She wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. “What do
you need me to do?”

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. For now,
they could leave the past behind them. They had once been very
close, but after Tomasso’s death, Francesca cut all ties with his
friends. “I want to help your son. I must find him, even if it
costs me my life.”

“Did you tell Steven about his father?” she
asked, hoping for the best but dreading the worst.

“No, Francesca. All I told Steven was that he
was a casual acquaintance from the neighborhood. Some day he may
learn the truth about Tomasso, but it will not be from me. I need
help finding him, Francesca. I don’t know where he is.”

“The police are also looking for him,” she
said. “There is a detective that has been asking a lot of
questions. Do you want to work with the police, Charlie?”

“I’m a little uncomfortable with law
enforcement. Is this detective a good man? Can I trust him?”

“I don’t know, Charlie. He seems nice. I’ve
spoken with him a few times. But he’s also a cop. I don’t know what
to think. Amanda’s older brother, Marco, has been dealing with this
detective. You should discuss this with Marco.”

“I don’t know Marco.”

“I do. He’s honorable. I’ll call Marco to let
him know you’ll be calling.”

“All right. Give me his number.” He paused
for a second. “Please tell him something good about me so that I
can gain his confidence. There isn’t much time and we have to act
fast.” Charlie scribbled down Marco’s numbers. “Thank you,
Francesca. It was wonderful hearing your voice again. I miss
you.”

Francesca spoke softly, comforted that
Charlie could not see the pain on her face. “It was good to hear
your voice, too. Please do whatever you can for my son. Thank you
and goodbye, Charlie.”

-------------------

The limousine pulled down a private lane
leading to a park. Giorgio’s eyes darted around, taking everything
in. Nick’s stare was cold and penetrating, but, as if on cue, it
changed to a pleasant smile on his face.

“Relax, Giorgio, we’re almost there. Do you
know where we are?”

Giorgio shook his head. “I’ve never been
here. What are we doing here?”

“So many questions and so little time,” Nick
replied.

Nick turned to Pete. “It’s time to pass out
the candy.”

Pete nodded as he withdrew the Glocks and
handed one to Nick and Braulio. Nick noticed Giorgio staring at the
guns, clearly wanting to grab a weapon. “Don’t go there, Giorgio,”
Nick warned. “Believe me, I don’t want to kill you.”

Giorgio relaxed slightly as Pete handed two
machine guns to Braulio and Louie. It was a warm, sunny day, but
Nick and his men wore long coats to conceal their weapons.

“What’s going on?” Giorgio asked
apprehensively.

Nick grinned. “Look out your window, Giorgio.
We’ve arrived.”

Giorgio peered out and saw a large picnic
table where several men were gathered. All of them stared intently
at the limousine. No guns were in sight.

“Who are they?”

Nick looked puzzled. “You don’t know? Those
are your Brazilian friends.”

Giorgio went white, his voice cracking. “I
thought we weren’t meeting with the Brazilians? I thought you had
to return to New York?”

Nick could sense fear like a wolf and knew
Giorgio was terrified. “I
am
returning to New York, but I
changed the time of the meeting so we could finish our business.
After all, I
have
waited four days for this damn thing.”

Giorgio shook his head uneasily. “I’m not
getting out Nick. I’m not meeting with those guys now.”

Nick rolled his eyes and motioned to Braulio
and Louie, who opened the door and got out. Louie grabbed Giorgio
and threw him out of the car. Nick and Pete slid out and joined
them outside.

Louie and Braulio lifted Giorgio, pushing him
toward the picnic table. Nick and Pete led the group, followed by a
highly reluctant Giorgio. A tall, muscular man seated at the table
slowly stood up and walked toward Nick. His tight fitting tee shirt
accentuated his bulging muscles. He had a shaved face and head and
wore dark, mirrored sunglasses. The other men seated at the table
stood and accompanied him. He smiled at Nick revealing perfectly
straight, white teeth. He was exceedingly handsome and could have
been a model. He extended both arms to Nick.