The Eve of the Dragon

by Michael Dunn

  “I’ll make this a gym class shower without all the towel snapping.”

  Dan got up and headed to the shower, and all during his shower was singing a loud and intentionally off-key rendition of Kesha’s “Die Young.” It was grating on the American fixer’s nerves and he understood why the family’s usual retrievers wanted to kill this irritating doctor. Tex was starting to lose his temper too.

  Tex Romano was born a third-generation American. His parents had arrived as refugees following World War II when Italy was hurting. They stayed with relatives for a little while in New York City. However, after a couple years of living in New York, living was not for them and in the 1950s, the Romano family headed south to a small suburb outside of Dallas. Robert Daniel Romano’s grandfather and father were both diesel auto mechanics.

  Robert “Robby” Romano II wanted more from life than a school bus mechanic offered. He loved visiting Italy, and when his grandfather (and namesake) visited his old friends and relatives in Naples every year, he took young Robby with him. Robby developed some contacts in Naples and became a small-time smuggler for the Sabella crime family. He easily picked up the regional Italian dialect.

  Growing up in Texas, he had learned Spanish in grade school. In high school, Robby took four years of Italian. His grandfather and grandmother were also his tutors, thrilled that their grandson wanted to learn their family’s native tongue. Robby spent his junior year in Italy as an exchange student, strengthening the bonds with his contacts. He was the American liaison to their gang.

  Robby was not another common street thug. He was the type of criminal who belonged in a boardroom or a courthouse, not one to hijack a delivery truck. When Il Padrino, the Godfather of the Sabella family, met young Roberto from America, the old man blessed Robby and wished him to continue his activities in America. Il Padrino noted with great interest that Robby’s Italian was improving.

  He attended the University of Texas, majoring in both business and Italian and then Robby (now Robert) attended the Texas A & M University School of Law focusing on international law. His parents and grandparents were so proud of him.

  After graduation, Robert told his family that he had gotten a job outside of Naples, working for a “family firm.” Only later did his grandfather learned the “family firm” was the Sabella crime family, but by then it was too late. Robert’s new life belonged in the old country.

  *

  Dan stepped out of the bathroom a couple minutes later with his new clothes on: a white, buttoned-up shirt, white briefs, black pants, black socks, and black dress shoes, yet still wearing his SpongeBob bathrobe, with a white towel wrapped around his head as if he had long hair. The maids chuckled at his appearance. Dan ignored them and searched for Tex, who was no longer sitting where Dan had left him.

  “Hey, Tex!” Dan shouted. “Yoo-hoo, Te-e-ex!” He whistled.

  Tex excused himself from Il Padrino to see to the annoying doctor.

  “Yes, Dr. Carter, coming.”

  Tex asked, “Feeling copacetic?”

  “Better. The smell of honeypot trap is gone, but an overwhelming stink of extortion and kidnapping are still wafting and lingering.”

  “I am sorry you still feel that…”

  “I have a question.”

  “I bet you have several.”

  “Are these shoes real Italian?”

  “Um, most likely, yes.”

  “Oh, cool. I’ve always wanted a pair of Italian shoes.”

  “You’re welcome,” Tex said. “I’m glad you like the new…”

  “When are we leaving?” Dan asked, as they heard the loud whir of a landing helicopter.

  “That is our ride.”

  Dan followed Tex out to the back where the helicopter was landing. Upon seeing the helicopter land, Dan gasped, mouth opened, his lip quivered, and tears welled up in his eyes.

  “Are you all right, Dr. Carter?”

  “It’s just I am a smart-assed doctor, dressed in a bathrobe, about to board a helicopter to perform surgery on a complete stranger in a foreign country. I am a golf swing away from becoming my childhood idol, Dr. Hawkeye Pierce.”

  “What? Who?”

  “Hawkeye Pierce. You know, ‘M*A*S*H?’”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m about to become my idol. I will need a moment.”

  Tex kicked the pavement in frustration. “We are running late! We don’t have a moment, you lunatic!”

  “Now you hurt my feelings!”

  Tex balled up a fist and was ready to punch Dr. Carter when he restrained himself at the last moment.

  “GET INTO THE FUCKING COPTER!”

  Dr. Carter saluted and climbed into the helicopter and buckled up.

  “Put the headphones on,” Tex ordered as he climbed into his seat, buckled himself in, and put on his headphones. Tex tapped the pilot, and they moved upward.

  “But they’re the wrong color,” Dan protested, “and they clash with my outfit and will crush my towel.”

  With a huff, Dan put on his headphones and hummed the theme to the TV show, “M*A*S*H.” Then he asked, “Where are we going?”

  “Pompeii.”

  “Isn’t that the volcano place?”

  “Yeah, thousands of years ago.”

  “Could we go sightseeing?”

  “We won’t have time.”

  “Besides the obvious, what should I expect when we arrive?”

  “When we arrive, a man will discuss everything you need to do.”

  “A doctor?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why can’t he do the surgery?”

  “BECAUSE HE’S NOT A FUCKING SURGEON!” Tex screamed.

  “Oh,” Dan said. “Well, I guess it is a good thing he is not doing the surgery.”

  Tex grabbed the towel off Dan’s head and tossed it out the helicopter. Dan watched as it wafted and floated gently to the ground and Dan remembered the bristling sensation he got when Tex said he could go free after the surgery.

  Chapter Ten: Where Did Dan Go?

  John awoke first, yanked out of his sleep by a weird dream about a coven of witches not unlike the opening of Macbeth. He arose, headed to the bathroom, and made a pot of coffee. John drank his coffee onto the patio, as he scribbled notes from his dream, his interesting night before, and the ideas circling in his head on the plane, something about Nero Wolfe trying to kill him and being rescued by a dragon.

  After a few days here, I might have enough notes for a full novel. Who knows? John thought.

  Steven awoke a few minutes later and grunted a hello. He poured himself a cup of coffee, thanked John for making it, and joined his friend on the patio.

  “Any plans for this evening?” Steven asked.

  John shrugged, kept scribbling, and said, “I guess more of the same as last night… unless Dan has a better idea.”

  “Have you heard from him?”

  “No, and he’s not known for his quiet ways.”

  They both laughed and searched for Dan. John peeked into the master bedroom. The blankets covered the floor along with Dan’s clothes. He had been there since the previous evening. What caught John’s eye was Dan’s cell phone still charging on his nightstand. Where would Dan go without his phone? It is Dan, so who knows?

  Someone knocked at the front door.

  The surgeons glanced at each other confused, as though the other knew who had knocked. John shrugged and pocketed his phone and Dan’s phone before answering the door. Steven sat on the couch.

  “Yes?” John asked.

  Both Steven and John had heard how American women swoon over how handsome Italian men are, but not this guy. He was short, barely five-feet-tall with thin, oily black hair. He had large, bulging eyes, crooked teeth and a non-symmetrical face. The sarcastic voice in John’s head, which sounded like Dan’s, said that, This guy must be Peter Lorre’s great-grandson. He carried a large manila envelope under his arms.

  “Buon pomeriggio. My name is Emilio Morgani. I represent a
man known as The Professor. He sent me here to warn you.” He had a creepy, raspy voice and spoke slowly.

  “Warn us about what?” John asked.

  “Do you… acquainted with a Dr. Dan Carter?”

  John nodded. “He was the one who rented this penthouse.”

  “My employer believes that molto bad people kidnapped your friend last night.”

  John closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed. “Dan was kidnapped? Of course, he has. Who did he piss, er, who did he upset?”

  “Wait,” Steven interjected. “How do you know someone has kidnapped Dan?”

  “If I may,” he gesticulated inside. “I can show you proof.”

  “Um… sure,” John said, stepping aside to let Emilio inside the room. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “No, thank you,” Emilio walked in and sat down on the sofa. He placed the manila envelope on the coffee table in front of the couch, and he removed several 8x10 photos. Emilio shuffled the pictures and then displayed them on the coffee table. The black and white pictures presented Dan drinking in a bar, Dan dancing and singing karaoke, Dan acting like a fool in another bar, Dan making out with some young woman, and Dan in his bathrobe escorted by men into a limousine.

  “Who’s the woman?” Steven asked.

  “Her name is Paulina Russo, a known prostitute used by the Sabella mafia. They have been eyeing you since you landed. Three American surgeons arrive in Italy with no ties to anyone in Italy. They chose Dr. Carter because he is plastic surgeon and he seemed like the most corruptible.”

  “Both statements are true,” Steven said.

  “And how did they figure which of us was the most corruptible?” John asked. “I mean, it is obvious, but how would foreigners know that?”

  “We have hackers in Italy too, just like the Russians. We know everything about you. We know you three went to the University of Miami School of Medicine where the three of you met and work together, and two of you recently earned for your specialties.”

  “Why do they want us?” Steven asked.

  “Because you are… disposable.”

  “Expendable,” John corrected.

  Emilio nodded and said, “‘Expendable,’ right.”

  “No, no, I meant why do they want us?” Steven asked.

  “They want you to smuggle the ancient Orb of Genoa.”

  “The what?” John and Steven asked in stereo.

  “You never heard?”

  Both John and Steven shook their heads.

  “Americans,” Emilio whispered and shook his head too. “The Orb of Genoa has magical powers, but the powers of the orb reflect those of its owner. If the owner is good man, the orb brings good fortune. If the owner is bad man, well, misfortune falls upon him and his family for generations. The bad man often does not know he is bad man and believes the jewel will only bring him more power. The orb passed through many hands throughout the centuries. However, it was lost for many years. My employer has tracked it to a smuggling ring in Pompeii and that is where they took your friend.”

  John and Steven stared at Emilio blankly and dumbfounded for a few seconds before John broke their trance by asking Emilio, “Are you fucking kidding me?” John laughed.

  Emilio, startled, said, “I do not understand what you…”

  “That is the most ludicrous story ever. Yes, the story of a magical orb would make for a good Maguffin in a movie or comic book, but seriously? If I buried the magical orb would a giant beanstalk grow the next morning that housed a giant who owns a goose that lays golden eggs or something?”

  “I do not understand what you mean when you say…”

  “We get it.” John said, laughing.

  “What?” Steven asked.

  “Dan set this up,” John said and continued laughing. Then Steven got it and he laughed too. They laughed until their faces reddened. John wiped the tears from his eyes.

  John said, “You had me going. You really did, until the magical orb story. Though,” John laughed again. He said, “You guys should have come up with something more believable than a magical fucking orb.” John laughed again. He shouted, “Okay, Dan, you can come out now. You got us. You had us worried, and this was exactly what we needed to get over ourselves!”

  “I can assure you, this is no…”

  John said, “You can leave Emilio and take your magic beans story with you.”

  “No, you do not understand. You are going to meet the Professor.”

  “I don’t think so,” John said. His face hurt from laughing.

  “Oh, I insist.”

  John and Steven stopped laughing when Emilio pulled a pistol. The American doctors raised their hands.

  “A car is downstairs and waiting. Come on, let’s go.”

  Emilio led the surgeons to the elevators down to the lobby and out of the hotel toward the Rolls Royce as Emilio nudged them inside and they were off to see the Professor.

  Chapter Eleven: Meeting the Professor

  The ride to the Professor was quiet. It took about twenty-five minutes in traffic to get there and they arrived at a compound that mirrored the botanical gardens more than the home of a hardened gangster. The car pulled up to a broad pair of double doors where the driver typed a code into a keypad. When the doors opened, the car followed a long, winding road up to a large brick house, which, by the size of it, could have been an old converted hotel. It was four stories high and made to appear old and rustic.

  The gardens between the gate and the front doors of the Professor’s Italian farmhouse could have won many awards and several magazine covers. The gardens and the house were living works of art. In the center of the topiary maze stood a fountain with four cherubs spewing out water. Everything was lush and green in the yard. The brick walkway had been sculpted as carefully as the topiary. Three men (who resembled artists more than landscapers) worked on the lawn.

  “Get out,” Emilio said waving his hand.

  John and Steven climbed out and waited outside. Two men arrived at the doors gave Emilio a nod to let them all inside. Video cameras watched them at the front doors.

  Steven thought, Cameras are probably everywhere.

  The house was as large and beautiful as the garden outside, but the rooms and hallways were narrow.

  The Professor’s office was large and lavish compared to other rooms in the house. Old books and fragrant roses covered the walls of his spacious office. Behind an enormous cedar desk, a massive flower arrangement blossomed, which, the Americans guessed led to a generous greenhouse or so the Americans guessed.

  Behind the sprawling desk stood an extremely fat man who was well dressed and immaculately groomed. His nails were as perfectly manicured as the lawn outside. He wore an expensively tailored gray double-breasted suit with an orchid in the lapel. The captured tourists would not have been at all surprised if the Professor had his suits handmade and delivered from Savile Row. The Professor sported a red vest and a blue silk tie with a gold tiepin. He was dainty for a man who must have tipped the scales at over three hundred pounds.

  He had like a fleshy block head with large cheeks that were becoming jowls. His eyebrows were bushy salt-and-pepper caterpillars. His nose was old school Roman, and he had a cruel mouth. His graying hair was neatly brushed and held firm with a styling gel product.

  There was a snobbish air to him mixed an aroma of cruelty hidden behind his effeminate facade. He was pruning some flowers when he heard his office door open.

  “Hello, welcome,” said the Professor. He spoke with a high, wheezy voice, like a man with a permanent cough stuck in his throat. The Professor spoke with a manner of an upper class Englishman. Both American hostages thought that he sounded like an asthmatic James Mason. “It is so good of you both to come here. I am Professor Thaddeus Marin.” He shook their hands and then said, “Please, sit down. I hope my associate was not too harsh with you.”

  “No, no,” John said, after shaking the Professor’s meaty hand. “He was just menacing enough.”r />
  The Professor sighed and shook his head. “I am sorry about that. It is a necessary evil in this business, and people like yourselves should not be treated so… roughly.” He wheezed as he talked.

  “Guards, leave us,” he said and they obeyed.

  Steven asked, “People like us?”

  “You men are doctors, surgeons even, men of extended learning and letters, and also on holiday; civilians and educated professionals like myself. You are not ruffians and scalawags, who can communicate only through violence like animals. May I offer you both a drink?”

  Steven shook his head, John nodded and the Professor poured himself a Scotch neat.

  Steven asked, “How about you tell us why we are here?”

  The Professor sat down. “Did my associate, Emilio, inform you of what… the reason I brought you here today?”

  “The story of the green orb or sphere?” Steven asked. “Something to do with the kidnapping… of our friend.”

  “Yes, that is the oversimplification of the story and enough for Emilio to know, but that is correct.”

  “According to the story he told us, it allegedly has magical powers,” Steven said.

  The Professor nodded and said, “Yes, that is part of the legend. It might help if I begin from the beginning.”

  Steven closed his eyes for a second and believed this was where they would learn why his moniker was the Professor. He had been in enough college classes to know when a droning lecture was about to begin.

  “Do you men understand the importance of the Orb of Genoa now?”

  John raised his hand and asked, “Will this be on the test?”

  The Professor chuckled and his whole belly shook. It made Steven think of being a child and believing in Santa Claus.

  “That was funny. I detest men without a sense of humor,” The Professor said.

  “Then you’ll love Dan Carter,” Steven said. “His patron saint is Robin Williams.”

  The song, “It’s Raining Men,” by the Weather Girls blared inside John’s pocket. Steven and the Professor both looked confused.

  “Speak of the devil,” John said. “This is Dan’s phone. Excuse me. Hello?”