“I’m an old man now. My only child has been traumatized by her son’s death for over seventeen years. She refused to have another kid, therefore, I have no heir. Who is going to inherit my millions?” He paused. “Definitely not her! Thanks to you, she is too fucked up to spend that money! I mean, she has to see a shrink. The poor girl is still in love with Walter, who has moved on with his family. She dares not leave the Sanchez kid. If she does, she’ll ruin the alliance between the Cruccifixos and the Sanchezs’....” he was angry. “You wanted to carry out vengeance on the Sanchez family for killing your father and you decided to kill my grandson? Or kidnap him and hide him from us?” Don Cruccifixo narrated with angry gestures.
Don Olivetti was more uncomfortable than ever. His proud countenance had dissipated into thin air.
“What happened? Can’t speak? Cat caught your tongue?” Don Cruccifixo asked.
“You helped Don Sanchez kill my father!” Don Olivetti finally yelled back.
“You fucking retard! Your father was my buddy! We were pals! How do you think Walter and my daughter, Catherine, met in the first place? You were too busy running your father’s errands to understand the bond between your father and I,” Don Cruccifixo yelled back. Don Olivetti stared blankly into the air.
“I was furious when I heard Don Sanchez killed your father! That’s the last thing I wanted!” Don Cruccifixo added. “If you had just let me handle it, we won’t be in this situation!” Don Olivetti yelled back.
“Nope! You were too stupid. You’ve gotta learn to think, son! It’s not about immediate vengeance, slow vengeance works better!” Don Cruccifixo replied.
“That’s exactly what I did by taking little Pablo away from you! Isn’t that slow vengeance?” Don Olivetti asked.
Don Cruccifixo smiled as he grabbed a chair to sit. He gazed at Don Olivetti then sighed.
“Here’s my proposal, I’ll let you live and try to stop all threats to your family if and only if my grandson is brought back to me. Little Pablo is an Olivetti and a Cruccifixo, we can work together,” Don Cruccifixo said.
Daniel paused as he thought about the repercussions of Don Cruccifixo’s proposal.
“What about the family who killed my father?” Don Olivetti asked.
“Forget that and move on, your father is in a much better place, trust me! He would have wanted you to move on!” Don Cruccifixo replied.
“Pablo remains unrevealed. I can’t risk his life. If the Sanchez find out he isn’t Mexican, they’ll kill the boy and kill your daughter. If you kill me, there’s an entire flood of Olivettis who will destroy you and everything you have ever worked for. You’ll see just how far your buddy’s family can go to avenge their brother’s death,” Don Olivetti replied with a smile. It was a game of bulls and he knew how to play it well.
“True Olivetti. I knew you’d say that. Just like your father. I’ll give you a hole into Don Sanchez’s tight security and then you can kill him. If you don’t want his sons coming after you, I’d advise you to kill his entire family,” Don Cruccifixo replied. They paused. The entire meeting didn’t transpire the way he had imagined. He had revealed little Pablo’s death and made himself more vulnerable to the Sanchez family.
“We have a deal!” they said with a handshake.
Tom, Dean and Sylvester stood side by side in central park, dressed in trench coats. They waited for signs of Nina Owen and Damon’s men. The people walking, jogging, playing with their pets and reading books had no clue of what was transpiring before them. The violin player who played weekly, at the side of the street was there, playing a symphony. Two police officers chatted as they took bites of their hot dog. The chill autumn weather did a good job in retaining Tom’s anxiety.
“You sure it’s safe?” Dean asked.
“Of course! It’s central park; he dares not pull a stunt here!” Tom replied.
Just then, Tom’s phone rang.
“Where’s my truck?” Damon asked. “You should see it around,” Tom replied. He waited for a response.
“I see it. I’ll call you once I know I’m not being followed and cut your girlfriend loose,” Damon replied as he hung up.
“I don’t trust him, Nina’s not here.” Tom said to Dean.
“Shit!” Dean said.
“Don’t worry, the truck is bugged, get the car!” Tom replied.
Nina struggled to get the ropes off her hands. It seemed to only cause bruises on her wrists. She was at the back of a van, locked in and terrified. She looked around for anything that could set her free. She found a broken beer bottle at the corner then grabbed the shard of glass. Just then, the back of the Van opened. Nina froze to look less suspicious. She hid the shard behind her.
“Your boyfriend must really like you. He must be either stupid or madly in love. He gave me my truck of goods without asking for you first,” Damon scoffed. Nina ignored him.
“Punk ass white boy!” Damon said. His men laughed. “I’m not sure if I should let you go or I should keep you for insurance,” Damon replied. Nina mumbled incoherent words. The duct tape prevented sounds from emerging.
“Shut the door. We’re taking her. We’ll keep her till we get to a safe distance then dump and kill her by the road side. She knows what we all look like and is more likely to tell the cops about us,” Damon said to his men. Nina managed to compose herself as she used the broken glass bottle to cut herself loose.
The next problem was opening the van door, to escape. She listened as she heard doors of other vehicles slam. She knew Damon wasn’t in the van she was in. She waited to hear the sound of the other vehicles drive off. As soon as the driver of her vehicle turned on the engine of the vehicle, she made a loud noise by hitting the van with her legs.
She waited. She could hear one of the men exit the vehicle. She put her hands behind her back, pretending to be tied up. She could hear the sound of her heart beat rigorously as she impatiently anticipated her escape plan.
A man opened the door.
“What you want?” he asked impatiently. She mumbled, still with the duct tape in her mouth. He pulled the tape off her mouth.
“Ouch!” she screamed.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“I need to pee!” She said.
“Pee on yourself! I don’t care, I am not letting you out,” he replied.
“You really want your boss to know you let me pee on myself in his van?” she asked.
He paused for a moment.
“Alright! Follow me and be quick. We’re running outta time,” He replied.
Nina got out of the van. She scanned through the environment, as fast as possible. The other cars had left. She gazed at the tall muscular man holding her.
With quick reflexes, she kicked him straight in his balls and made a run for it. Running was easy because she jogged every morning. She was wearing only stockings and the floor was cold. She didn’t care. She could hear her tight fitting dress rip. Regardless, she ran as fast as she could, trying not to look back at the two black guys running after her.
She crossed the road. She looked back. “Come back here you bitch,” he cussed out at her. The sight of him holding his crotch, in pain, was particularly humorous. Her adrenaline seemed to be kicking fine. However, the cold wind blowing on her face made her pant furiously. She was determined to escape.
Just then, she tripped and fell face flat on the concrete floor. The pain was sharp and she could hear a loud ring in her ears. She realized she was doomed. There was blood. Hope was gone. “What was I thinking?” she thought.
She turned around to see the two men coming closer and closer to her.
“Stupid cunt. I’m gon’ fuck you up tonight before I dump your dead body on the streets!” one of Damon’s men yelled angrily. She felt light headed. She couldn’t move. She realized she had no option but to give up. She saw the two men walking towards her; one smiling and the other cussing at her, still holding his crotch.
“Stupid girl! Think you can outrun us?�
�� one of them said.
Suddenly, she heard two slight sounds. Both men simultaneously dropped dead. Her eyes were fuzzy. A Caucasian man walked towards her dressed in a grey suit and black leather gloves. His cologne was strong and his hair seemed too rigid for the blowing wind. He looked down at her then brought out his cell phone from his pocket.
“Boss, I got her! It’s time to call it in!” the man said as she passed out.
They drove west towards Illinois through the swift highways. Everything was working out well. He had sacrificed the lives of some of his trusted crew members and was glad that it was all worth it. “Yeah! I got the truck of cigars, half of the money and his girl as insurance. I’m a smart ass nigga!” Damon bragged, to his boss, on the phone. He paused.
“Yea we should be in Decatur soon!” Damon added. “Yea I know. We had to create chaos to scare the kid!” Damon said to the voice on the phone. He paused again.
“The police can’t be on our ass, we covered our tracks!” Damon replied with confidence. He looked at the side mirror. The only cars on the highway were black Chevrolets.
“Boss we got two cars following us!” one of Damon’s men said.
Damon hung up. He turned back. They were right.
“It might be nothing. Don’t panic!” Damon said, trying not to shiver. The voice on the phone convinced him well enough that he was going to jail that night.
“Okay drive faster!” Damon said as he dialed Tom’s number. It rang once. Tom picked up. “You piece of shit, you sent the cops after me?” Damon asked.
“No way! Where’s Nina?” Tom asked.
“Ha-ha! If I were you, I wouldn’t expect to see her again. You broke our deal!” Damon replied then hung up before Tom could respond.
There was a road block in front of them. State troopers armed with shot guns, road tacks and German shepherds blocked the entire length of the highway, checking each vehicle that drove by. There was no exit and no possible way of maneuvering a U-turn. Shit.
“Call them and tell them to kill the stupid cunt! She’s no use to us anymore!” Damon said to one of his men. His man dialed some numbers. Both numbers went straight to voicemail.
“Uhm boss, we lost track of them.”
“What? They aren’t following us?” Damon replied.
“No. last I heard of them, they said they were held up cos she needed to take a pee!”
“Fuck!” Damon cussed out loud.
“THIS IS THE FBI, STOP YOUR VEHICLES NOW!” a voice from a government vehicle said.
“The FBI? What the fuck!” Damon said. “Stop the car!” Damon added, trying to remain calm.
Four black Chevrolet SUVs emerged from nowhere. Choppers flew above the vehicles with state and local police cars, surrounding the entire interstate.
“WE NEED YOU TO STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS UP, NOW!” an FBI agent yelled out. Damon and his men stepped out of the vehicle, with their hands up, looking like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
“You gon’ bust me for some cigars?” Damon yelled out.
“Shut up and put your hands behind your back!” an agent said, rough handling him. He slammed Damon’s face on the car then cuffed his hands behind his back.
“You ain’t gotta do that to a black man. You’ll be hearing from my lawyers, you motherfucker!” Damon scoffed then smiled.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.” The agent replied.
“I assume you can afford one so never mind” the agent said sarcastically.
“Search the vehicles!” someone who looked like the FBI district director yelled.
The SWAT team ran out to the truck, in a uniform manner. One of them signaled to the other to open the truck. Just then, two officers came with German Shepherds to sniff around. The dogs barked uncontrollably. Two officers in protective suits went in to search the vehicle.
“It’s just Cigars!” Damon said as he was rough handled into one of the holding vehicles.
“Shut up! A dead girl in your vehicle? You have a lot of explaining to do!” the agent said as he slammed the door. His eyes widened.
Whoa!
“Boss! The FBI has Damon, but there’s no sign of Nina. Only a dead girl named Ricky Raymond!” Dean said as he got into the back seat of the car.
“What! You think he is hiding her?” Tom replied, perplexed and furious. One plan had worked and the other had flopped.
“I have no idea!” Dean said as Sylvester drove off. “Let me know when our guy on the inside finds out where they’re holding her! He couldn’t have killed her. I’m sure of it. She’s the only bargaining chip he has,” Tom said. The thought of losing Nina gave him a slight ache on his stomach.
“Yes. And I just got a text. We have captured Purio Maccuzo!”
29
Don Olivetti stormed into his home to meet curious and impatient eyes. He had just driven two hours back after a meeting with Don Cruccifixo, unprotected. His paranoia made the drive feel even longer. Some of the Olivetti family members were in the living area. Others were in the dining area, still distraught and shaken. The younger ones had managed to keep themselves entertained in the twenty-five seater theatre room. They’d been stuck in his house for hours and were wondering when it’d be safe to head back home.
“Honey!” Don Olivetti’s wife said as she dropped her tea cup. She hugged him tightly then withdrew then hugged him again. She was ecstatic and relieved.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay? Where have you been? Why didn’t you call?” his wife asked in a rabid tone, unable to contain her excitement.
“I’m okay. Everybody okay? Where are my brothers?” Don Olivetti asked.
“Yes! Everyone’s fine! We were worried about you. They’re in your office!” She replied. Don Olivetti rushed in without asking any further questions. He had an urgent matter to discuss—one that had to be delivered delicately.
“Hey Brother!” Sebastian said in excitement as he noticed his brother. Don Olivetti briskly walked to his desk.
“I’m fine brothers!” He said as they took turns hugging him. He glanced at everyone, excited to see them. They were still in their suits, unshaken and confident that their brother will handle the situation wisely.
“We have Stanley’s corpse back on the premises!” Georgie said.
“Good. Any casualties?” Don Olivetti asked. “It has been taken care of. I sent a clean-up crew and paid the right people to dismiss the case as a wrong drive by shooting. That being said, we need to retaliate now!” Georgie replied.
“I just had a meeting with Don Cruccifixo!” Don Olivetti started in a calm gesture. The room was silent. They stared at each other, too alarmed to respond. “He’s going to help us kill Don Sanchez!” Don Olivetti added.
“What’s the catch? Why would he do that? You killed his only Grandson!” Sebastian Olivetti blurted out.
Don Olivetti sighed heavily. He poured himself a glass of wine then gulped it all. He laughed as the warm taste of wine went down his throat.
“I never thought I would taste this cup of wine tonight. I thought I was going to die for sure!” He said to himself. All stared at him like confused puppies.
“He was a friend of our father. Don Cruccifixo. Good man. He wants to repay Don Sanchez for killing our father!” Don Olivetti replied Sebastian.
“Why now? We might be walking into a trap!” Georgie Olivetti replied.
“I thought about that. That’s why I’m asking for your advice!” Don Olivetti said as he poured himself another glass of wine.
“I don’t think it’s a trap. My bodyguards were killed just to get me alone with Don Cruccifixo—to a location nobody but me will know!” Don Olivetti said.
“What’s the point?” Jonathan asked.
“Apparently he doesn’t trust any of my guards. He thinks we have a mole!” Don Olivett
i replied. Murmurs emerged.
“Well, I’d suggest wise moves. We don’t want a negative backlash,” Walter replied.
“Okay we’re done here. I’ll let you guys know when retribution starts!” Don Olivetti said.
Georgie hesitated. Don Olivetti gestured to everyone to leave the room. They scrambled out of the room, in a hurry to get back to their semi normal lives.
“Walter!” Don Olivetti said as Walter turned back. “I need to have a word with you!” Don Olivetti added.
“I’m all ears,” Walter said as he returned to sit down on the chair by his brother’s desk. He crossed his legs comfortably.
“How’s your leg doing?’ Don Olivetti asked.
“Better than yesterday,” Walter said with sad humor. Don Olivetti smiled back.
“I want to talk about Cruccifixo’s daughter,” Don Olivetti said. Walter looked up at Don Olivetti, who was standing beside him, in astonishment.
“Yes? What do you want from her? You killed her son, Pablo!” Walter Olivetti replied defensively.
“Nothing! No need to get defensive on me. If we show any sign of weakness, they’ll come for us just like they killed Stanley,” Don Olivetti replied. Walter sighed.
“But, if we can get their weakness, we can destroy them all,” Don Olivetti said in a soft tone.
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Walter asked. Daniel was quiet. It was a cold move, but he had no option.
“You’re suggesting we use my past relationship with Catherine Cruccifixo to filter through her family?” Walter replied in an elevated tone.
“Walter, the girl is depressed. Her father even said so. She doesn’t give a fuck about her husband’s family. She wants you! She has always wanted you! And if I’m not mistaken, you do too!” Don Olivetti replied as he leaned forward on his desk.
Olivetti: Inception Page 19
