Paddy

Paddy
7 pm
Paddy was in the city and preparing to leave. He had found something big and he was following it up in every way he could, using his various contacts from among the other white-hat hackers who he kept in touch with. The vigilante groups he had contacted had sent out messages to other similar groups. He was aware of the danger he was getting into; there was always the fear that he could be monitored by the Dark Net inhabitants but he was undeterred.
Cole Brandt and his peculiar behaviour, along with the timing of his appearance in the happy world of the Delano family, had set off alarm bells in the young autistic man’s mind.
Most importantly, he would not stand back and watch his beloved Mumma be ill-treated.
*
Something about the timing of Cole’s appearance had seemed off. Besides, he had been aware that Mumma had been receiving some weird messages on her blog. She had mentioned it to Melissa Lord and he had overheard her and noticed the pain in her voice. Surreptitiously, Paddy had traced the origin of those filthy messages and handled them decisively; the messages had seemed to originate from what had turned out to be the account held by Cole Brandt.
A childish way of terrorising a woman who had never done him any harm, but it had hurt her. And Paddy was not going to stand by and watch anyone terrorise her. However, Paddy had made sure that the sender of those messages would not be troubling Proserpina in That way anymore.
*
Now he stepped out of the cafe, where he had met a clandestine member of the group who operated from her workplace. The large Hispanic woman who had been his liaison for the day, had shuffled out through a back door to avoid being seen with Paddy. After waiting for a few minutes, the young man followed, only this time, he left by way of the front door. The cafe was a happening place, as Dom would say, peopled with the youngsters who came from the nearby college and the old timers who nipped in for a drink. Young girls standing about and giggling with their friends laughed and glanced curiously at the strange young man with the shock of sandy hair who studiously avoided making eye contact with anyone as he shuffled out, thick glasses on his freckled nose.
*
As he pulled his heavy black windcheater on, he had a strange, unpleasant sensation, that of being watched. Frowning, he carefully averted his head and looked around, but in an unhurried way.
The traffic was moving, and people were getting ready for the autumn weekend ahead. No one seemed to be overtly watching him yet the niggling feeling persisted. Paddy felt his gut clench.
He had never wanted to have any of his father’s bodyguards, the Mafia Don’s men, tailing him but for once, he wished he had not rejected the offer so vehemently.
As he had done for all his elder children, the Don had assigned a couple of young men to keep an eye out for Paddy’s safety. But the youth had hated it. Unlike Claude who was nonchalant about it, Paddy had felt imprisoned and uneasy. Suffocated. Unable to breathe.
It was only after he had asked Proserpina to take away his security cover, that he felt comfortable. He knew she bent over backwards to keep him happy and he was eternally grateful for that; he adored his Mumma who had accepted him into her family as one of her own children.
*
He strapped his backpack on securely and kick-started the bike. A light smattering of rain had begun to fall and he shook his head in dismay. It was dark now; the meeting had taken longer than he had anticipated but he had made some headway and he was satisfied.
Paddy had traced the connection between Cole Brandt and his handler, who had turned out to be none other than one of the Monk, Paval Rudenko’s men.
But driving back in the rain was not something he relished. Paddy loved to cruise along at a steady pace while he was lost in thought, relaxed and at ease with himself; but tonight, he felt a little uneasy and very vulnerable. For the nth time, he wished he had accepted Claude’s offer and opted to stay back in the city. Claude had been practising at the fight academy and he would not be returning home tonight, he had said.
But Paddy had turned down the offer flatly and knowing Claude, the youth would be flirting with some woman, charming her into his bed by now. Paddy sighed and shook his head as he watched the traffic go by, waiting for a minute when he could join the steady stream of people heading home. He needed to get back to his computer room quickly. The USB in his backpack contained a lot of information and he needed to put it into his hard disk for safety. Then, tomorrow morning, he would meet Lucien Delano and give it to him, evidence that would definitely have the Mafia Don furious.
The appearance of Cole the previous evening and his show of affection towards Tara had set warning bells jangling in Paddy’s head. All night long, Paddy had stayed awake, working feverishly, filtering and collating the information he had received about Cole, working on the large computers in his room. Finally, almost towards dawn, he had managed to get a picture of what was the truth. But for that, he needed some help and he had immediately got onto his beloved Kawasaki bike and ridden to the city to meet up with some other people who could help.
*
They were not his friends, this loose group of other hackers who supported each other when the need arose but otherwise, blended into the background and kept away from each other, going about their mundane lives in anonymity.
But he had reached out to some of them and their responses had helped him greatly.
Paddy had confirmed that all was not the way it seemed to be.
*
Frowning and deep in thought, he swung himself onto his black sports bike, a powerful Kawasaki ZX series bike that had been a recent gift from his parents. It was high-powered with sophisticated suspension systems and high-performance brakes, and he had made sure to get it typically stuffed with the latest and greatest technology available. Claude had whistled in awe but he had remarked, in his frank way, ” It doesn’t look too comfortable, Paddy!”
Paddy had grunted. He knew the score; when you’re going over 100 mph, the Kawasaki became very comfortable because the bike was in its element. Looking to make his ride more comfortable, he had added some soft bags and a more comfortable seat to better enjoy long stretches of challenging roads or racetracks. It was common for him to speed out of the gates of the Delano mansion and dash off to the city or wherever he chose to go, a free spirit. Lucien frowned at this but Proserpina would gently stroke her husband’s sleeve and say soothingly,
“Let him be.’
*
Paddy swung himself onto the seat and fastened his helmet, thinking of the information he had obtained. As he swung on to the street, he was unaware that a dark SUV that had been discreetly parked in a side street, its engine idling for some time now, had also slowly revved up and was beginning to follow him, keeping a safe distance away from him.
*
Paddy rode on for some time, the traffic becoming thinner as he left the outskirts of the city, heading to the Delano mansion which was away from the city. As he went, he noticed with annoyance, that the rain was increasing in ferocity. And it was as he took a turn and headed into the hills, that Paddy realised with a sinking heart, that he had a tail.
A couple of large black SUVS, their windows tinted and ominous looking, were behind him. getting steadily closer, too close for comfort, too close to be anything but a threat. With a shock, he realised that one of them had been behind him, a safe distance away, almost from the time he had left the city…
Panicking, Paddy shot forward, desperate to get home now. But the large vehicles behind him also roared forward. The road was now almost deserted and Paddy realised with a sinking feeling in his gut, that if one of them came at him, he would not stand a chance. The road was a lonely one for he had swerved towards the road leading to the mansion and there was little or no chance of coming upon any kind of traffic other than the cars coming from the Delano home. His heart pounding, the rain lashing against this visor, almost blinding him, he rode like a man possessed, almost standing upright in his bike he prayed that he would get home before he was killed.
The sound of a gunshot rang out and he felt the bullet whiz past his head. He guessed that the occupants of the vehicle giving chase were now trying to shoot him down like a dog before he entered the safety of his home ground.
Even as he turned around to slide a quick, terrified glance at the vehicles that were dangerously close and gaining on him, there was a loud screech and he turned his head, too late to avoid colliding with the vehicle coming from the opposite direction.
As he grunted with the force of the collision, his thoughts careened around his head; Paddy had discovered that Brother Paval was the mastermind behind the deception that Lucien Delano had been put through…
He had discovered the true identity of Cole, the supposed bast*d son of Lucien Delano.
And along with that, Paddy had found out the real identity of Cole’s father…
Dangerous information. Information that could cost his life…
*
But as his weightless body sailed up in the air before hitting the ground with a sickening crunch as his bones shattered, the last thoughts young Paddy had were of his mother, not the woman who had given birth to him, the woman he could not remember having seen, but lovely, gentle and caring Proserpina Delano: even as his slim body was tossed like a doll, thrown up into the air, only to fall onto the ground, his head hitting a boulder that was jutting out, he cried out,
“MUMMA!”