Philippe
He did not waste a minute
In a flash he had leaped up, disregarding the movement of the plane and had rushed to the cockpit, ignoring the startled looks of the pilot, the co-pilot and the two stewardesses were there.
” Leave. Do not land. It is a trap.’ He shouted.
The pilot, a man in his fifties, looked confused but the co-pilot, a younger man, took one look at the Capo’s tight expression and shouted,
‘ Do it, Carl!”
The hand on the controls on the mode control panel whitened as the man scrambled to obey. The wheels of the aircraft which had already hit the ground slid back and the small private plane, which had been about to glide to a halt, now shuddered as the pilot made a supreme effort and the plane shot off into the air again, swerving but lifting into the air, successfully.. Behind him, he could feel Shah’s tension, as he stood, sweating and breathing harshly.
His black eyes were on the tarmac and he suddenly yelled,
“Boss, they are opening fire!’
The small army of dark vehicles that had been lined up on the edge of the tiny airstrip, had alerted the Capo. Where was the need to have seven large SUVs to meet a mere Capo?
And then, Lucien Delano’s message had made him certain, confirmed the danger.
The little aircraft was climbing, gaining in altitude when there was a loud sound from somewhere behind them.
‘Capo, we have been hit,’ shouted Shah frantically and the Capo turned, a ferocious expression on his face. The pilots were grappling frantically as they attempted to steady the little plane but he saw the tension in their faces.
He turned his mind on Ria.
Would he never see her again, he thought as his chest constricted in sorrow and anxiety.
*
Jack had voiced his fears to Melissa.
The young man spent most of his time at the University but when he returned, he also met the older Delano boys. Claude was someone he was fond of and he had shared a unique bond with Paddy.
But he was no fool, although he was more immersed in his art than anything else. It was he who had alerted Melissa and told her about the news making rounds among the younger people in the city, about the growing influence of a group of people who were trying to expand a sex trafficking racket.
And they began grooming gullible, naive young people, generally swooping down on them via their social media accounts.
Melissa sat back now, in her bed at night, as she braided her golden hair and got ready to go to bed. Her husband had called earlier in the evening. His work was going to take longer than he had expected. She sighed and told herself that once Tristan Lord was back, she would tell him about what Jack had confided in her. Without any concrete proof, she was loathed to disturb her friend, Proserpina Delano, and make her even more troubled than she already was. With that thought uppermost on her mind, Melissa drifted off into a restless sleep.
*
Tara
She told her brothers brusquely that she wanted to go to Maddie’s home to complete her history project before she returned home. And before Lou or Dom could stop her, she had scooted behind Maddie and was already running behind the other girl, bundled up in her warm coat and hood as the kids left school.
Lou rushed after her shouting,
“Hey, have you told Mumma?’
Tara tossed her head defiantly as she shouted over her shoulder,
‘No, YOU do it.’
Maddie giggled, not a very pleasant sound but Tara, in a spurt of newfound independence, was not really listening.
The girls hurried down the street, laughing and running. Lou stood, scowling. Mumma would be furious and if Pappa got to know…!
*
With a sigh, he walked to the waiting vehicle and climbed in. The Don was insistent on this; the children should be escorted to school and back; he had had too many bad moments when his wife had been taken, and he was always aware of the dangers lurking outside the safety of his tall walls. His boys, Dom and Lou thrived, they had their friends, and their activities and were alright when it came to following their father’s orders. But Tara, who had seemed to be the most docile, was now going to prove to be the most difficult…
*
Hurrying down the street where Maddie lived, Tara asked,
‘ Is your Mom at home? I did not see her at school.’
Maja Nord had managed to get a job in the same school, based on Proserpina’s recommendation and she worked in the primary school.
“Nah,” said Maddie dismissively,
‘She said she was not feeling well or something.’
And she shrugged dismissively.
Tara felt a twinge of unease. How could she say that about her mother? But then, she was enthralled by her friend who did mysterious, grown-up things like smoking a joint that her brother had left behind and stuff. And Maddie had also been the one to tell her about how babies were made.
Tara shuddered, in remembrance;
“EEEW, GROSS!’
It had sounded so ugly, so disgusting!
*
Maddie glanced at her as they entered the small house where Maja and her children stayed.
‘Not like your fancy castle,’ she sneered and once again Tara felt uneasy. The girl looked positively jealous and sometimes made very snide envious remarks. Tara was always left in a spot, wondering how to respond.
No, she must have imagined it, thought Tara and then they stopped in the hallway. Loud voices came from one of the small rooms within the house.
One was Maja and she sounded hysterical, distraught.
‘Magnus, you cannot…!’, came Maja’s voice followed by a scuffle, the sound of something made of glass breaking, and a stifled scream, then the sound of a slap.
Tara tensed, eyes widening in alarm but Maddie merely smiled and said,
“Aw, c’mon.’
As they passed the kitchen, she shuddered as she caught a peek at the two people inside.
*
Maja Nord was standing, holding her cheek, her large eyes wide in shock as she stared at her son who was towering over her. The red-haired woman was leaning against the tiny kitchen counter, tears falling, her mouth trembling.
Violence in every pore of his body, her son towered over her. Two pairs of eyes swung to the doorway as they passed and she felt a chill as she saw the look on Magnus’s glazed face; the pupils dilated, his nose red.
But her friend was already pulling her into a tiny room, almost like a closet, which housed Maddie’s stuff. The smell of unwashed clothing and the rank odor of used socks filled the air but Tara was too scared to say anything. She knew her friend would immediately taunt her because Tara’s bedroom was three times as big as this tiny room.
And definitely cleaner!
So she sank onto the small bed, pushing away a pile of clothing to make way for herself and her friend as Maddie pulled out a phone.
“What is that?’ Tara whispered in surprise.
“I got a burner phone, silly,’ said Maddie, her eyes dancing.
“How…?’ said Tara breathlessly.
‘My Pop might not be as big a mobster as yours,’ sang Maddie as she danced about the room, waving the instrument like a trophy, ‘But when I saw him yesterday, he gave it to me.’
And then, sinking down onto the bed, she brought her face close to Tara’s as she went on,
“I asked Magnus about it too. He says you can make calls and receive calls on this and no one can trace it! Isn’t that cool?’
And Maddie cackled in joy. But Tara was uncomfortably aware of the other girls’ malicious looks.
“Come on, let’s have some fun,’ she urged Tara, rightly reading the hesitation in her friend’s beautiful, wide grey-blue eyes. And then she added, the one phrase that would have Tara drop all her defences,
‘Or maybe I could tell Lola Marsh about it cos she looks like she might be better fun than YOU.’
Her statement had the desired effect.
Maddie knew that Tara had no other friends at school except for herself. And Lola Marsh was one of the girls who Tara could not stand, the one kid who preened and walked about like a queen. The thought of her only friend ganging up with the class bully gave Tara nightmares.
She hastily subsided and dropped her school bag on the floor as she settled down to test the anonymous person who seemed to be online forever.
*
Lucien
He sat in his study, dressed impeccably as always, and listened to Schwartz who was conferring with someone over the satellite phone.
Handsome James turned around, his face grey with tension as he faced the Boss.
They have been hit, he announced, his voice clipped.
The door opened gently and Proserpina stepped in. She looked as beautiful as ever, thought Lucien, his muscles tightening with need.
She had heard the last words and she froze, her large brown eyes widening in consternation, her hand going up to her throat.
“Lucien?’ she asked turning to look at her husband who sat, his large figure dominating the room, his hot, angry eyes on her. Beston was there, had a look of unease on his craggy face as he met her eyes and looked away.
Schwartz moved to her, taking her in his arms as she sagged, her eyes wide and frightened as they stayed on her husband’s granite-like face.
“Lucien’, like a child she queried again, like one who needed reassurance when he could offer none.
‘The Capo,’ he said shortly, standing up, his voice cold with jealous rage as he saw how her hands, small and pale, rested so familiarly on Handsome James’ chest, beseechingly. Her head tipped back to meet the eyes of her best friend, her most trusted friend as she looked from one man to another, and then, asked in a whisper,
‘Is he…?’