“I – I,” Clara struggled to say. She was beyond afraid. She pondered about ways to flee. The window was sealed shut, the door was locked, and the fire escape was too far away. Her legs weren’t strong enough to run.
“Relax! Take a seat!” Frederick replied in a calm tone. Clara sat on a chair in front of Freddy. The only thing separating them was a center table in the living room. Her weak legs wobbled like warm Jell-O. Frederick remained quiet. He observed her for a whole minute. Her taste in fashion was exactly the same. Her red flowery dress complimented her skin tone. However, her hair and make-up was different.
“How did you find me?” She asked, still in fear for her life.
“I haven’t been looking for you. I always knew where you were. But if you insist on knowing how, it was without difficulty,” Frederick replied.
“So what happens next? You’re going to kill me? Torture me?” She asked.
“I don’t know yet!” Frederick replied brashly. He was still processing all the possible scenarios of the night’s outcome. His ability to see glimpses of the future made it more difficult to make decisions.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she struggled to ask.
“Well for one, I came here without a gun and your son is about to show up – when he comes, tell him everything is okay and tell him to go back to his room and lock the door behind him,” Frederick replied. Clara was stunned.
“Mommy is everything all right?” Clara’s son asked, popping out from his bedroom only two seconds later. She glanced at her son then glanced at Frederick. She was stunned. Her son was usually asleep at that time.
“Mommy’s okay. You need to go to your room and lock the door behind you. Okay?” Clara said to her son. She kissed him on the forehead. Her son gazed at Frederick again then walked to his room. She waited until she heard his room door lock. Frederick was lost for words as he observed Clara’s little boy.
“Please! Please! Whatever you do to me, leave him out of it. Promise me he will be safe,” Clara begged. Frederick nodded.
“How’d you know he was here? No one knows I have a son. How’d you know he was about to show up?” Clara said as her motherly instincts kicked it.
“Whose son is he?’” Frederick asked, ignoring all her questions. She paused then started to cry.
“Tell me,” Frederick added. He went into her thoughts and he could see it all—her biggest fears. The last time they slept together at the Motel. He could see her screaming during labor years ago. He could see the struggle she went through, as a single mother, hiding from the father of her son. He could see how she struggled to protect the true identity of their son. Everything flooded his memory. There was a long silence.
Frederick stood up from his seat and moved closer. Clara was afraid. “He’s my son!” Frederick said gently. Surprise sprung through Clara’s face. She nodded.
“How’d – How’d you know?” Clara asked, trying to be calm. Frederick sighed. He sat down on the center table next to Clara.
“His age is the right fit,” Frederick lied. His gifts helped him identify his son. Not just through her thoughts. He could also see part of his son’s future.
He wondered why he never knew about it. He wondered why he never saw his future till that very moment. He wondered why members of the illuminati Order never told him. He was back—back from Italy and he was going to make sure he did everything right.
She was mildly relieved. Though, she still feared for her life. “I’m not here to kill you. Truth is…you saved my life that day at the motel,” Freddy said, attempting to hold her hands. She hesitated. She didn’t trust him.
“Where have you been all these years?” Clara asked. “You went on a killing spree and then disappeared? Vanished into thin air! The media was silent about you. People are still afraid. Everyone’s cautious. Yet here you are – a ghost in my living room,” Clara added.
“That’s not important right now,” Frederick sighed. “You can’t be here. It’s too dangerous for you and for Danny,” Frederick added.
“How’d you know his name? I never told you,” Clara asked, shocked.
“That doesn’t matter,” Frederick replied impatiently.
“You are starting to creep me out,” Clara said. She stood up abruptly then walked back towards her son’s room, defensively.
“Look there are some things I can’t explain but I assure you, I will never do anything to harm my own blood,” Frederick replied.
“If I can find you, all mob families attached to Don Patricelli will soon find you and our son – they are reckless psychopaths and I’m sure you know that already,” Frederick added. Clara stopped for a second then sighed. She was at ease even though she had many more questions.
“Good! You made the right decision. I promise, I’ll do everything to protect you and my son,” Frederick said as he stood up from the center table. He buttoned his suit jacket and walked towards the door.
“Tomorrow morning, there will be a letter in your mail box. There will be keys to a much safer apartment for you and Danny and enough cash to last you a week. There will also be a fake ID card for you. You’ll meet me at the Union station at exactly 4pm. I’ll be in a Blue car,” Frederick said as he opened the door.
She rushed towards him and kissed him, before he could walk out. There was an immediate sense of longing Frederick couldn’t explain. Wasn’t she the same woman who left him for dead at a motel? Wasn’t she the same woman who betrayed him? Wasn’t she the same woman who was afraid, only minutes earlier? Hormones had a way of tricking even the most powerful people. He stared into her eyes. She stared into his. The pace of her breath increased steadily. His remained neutral.
“I don’t know what’s going on and I know I’m on a need-to-know basis, the only way to stop this is to start a connection with all mob families. They need to fear you and you can be that kind of leader,” She said to him.
“I know. That’s the plan,” He replied, kissing her. He briskly ran down the stairs and entered the passenger’s side of the black Cadillac waiting for him.
“And?” Francois asked. Frederick stared at Francois angrily.
“I just met my son. You and the Order kept this away from me all these years,” Frederick replied in a calm voice. Francois scoffed without a hint of shock.
“Yes we did. It would have distracted you from your main goal,” Francois replied.
Frederick sighed.
“I know,”
“She’ll cooperate. The Order will get their wish,” Frederick replied.
Francois nodded then drove off.
8
PRESENT DAY
Seven years had passed. Rome, Italy. Tom was seated in a class room at Sapienza – University of Rome. It was the seventh day of the month of July. The weather was beautiful. The stars were aligned. The past seven years had been filled with inglorious experiences and lessons—lessons that helped him control his brain and abilities as much as he could. His abilities were heightened and were only growing by the day. Besides Doctor Patel and Juliana, he had no contact with other members of the Order. He had no contact with his grandfather and he was prohibited from finding out about his family of origin until his initiation process was completed. There were seven other potential members of the Order in the classroom, with him.
Tom checked his wristwatch – 6:30pm. He was distracted. The professor’s voice seemed to elude him. It became more and more distant. He could hear the sound of all ticking wristwatches, the sound of professors and students in all the classrooms in the building. He could smell the scent of the donut a young lady ten miles away was eating.
“Uhm Thomas! You seem distracted today,” Doctor Patel said, noticing Tom’s inattention. Tom adjusted himself shyly. The other people in class stared at him in what looked like envy. Of course, he was the heir apparent – the only one who could control a larger percentage of his brain – the only one with formidable abilities – the only one who had an entire Order waiting for him to rule
.
“Nothing sir! I was just processing what you were talking about,” he lied. Everyone knew, but said nothing.
“Okay,” Doctor Patel said without a hint of surprise.
“You have all come this far, make sure you…” Doctor Patel stopped midway. Just then, the room went dark. Tom stood up to defend himself, but felt manhandled and weakened by people stronger than him. He tried to use his senses, but felt blinded. He couldn’t feel, smell, hear or see, but was aware of everything going on around him. He knew he was still in the same room through his power of prediction, but his abilities felt tranquilized.
Suddenly, he heard ritualistic chanting. The chants shook the room he was in. He could hear again. He felt the cold temperature of the room. He adjusted his body temperature the way he was taught to. In seconds, the coolness of the room seized to affect him. He could feel again. He felt a tremendous surge of energy around the room. The chants became louder and the ground shook.
Tom was still blindfolded, but used his other senses to see what he could. Suddenly, with an outburst of energy, Tom shrugged away from the grip of the two bulky men holding him. They tried to gain control of their balance and grab him once more, but he flipped them back to the floor with great speed and ease. The men seemed embarrassed, but they dared not move. The chants suddenly stopped as Tom removed the blindfold from his eyes.
He gazed around the room in astonishment. He was no longer in that small classroom. He was in a much bigger room with at least seven hundred people dressed in grey robes. The interior was coated with precious stones, marbles, rubies and diamonds. The ceiling reflected the sun with even lighting that illuminated the entire hall and engulfed every shadow and darkness. There were four pillars and a statue of a dragon that hung half way from the ceiling. The walls had various symbols – familiar ones and unfamiliar ones. They all looked at Tom in astonishment.
“He truly is the one. The sedative given to him barely lasted,” someone whispered.
“He shrugged off the two strongest people alive like feathers,” another person whispered. Their whispers sounded loud in Tom’s ears.
Suddenly, two beautiful young women dressed in grey robes walked up to Tom, holding a folded robe. They put the robe on him and escorted him towards the one man wearing a white robe. He was standing on an altar made out of solid gold. Four Lion statues surrounded the altar. The chants became much louder then stopped as soon as Tom was face to face with the man wearing the white robe. Tom looked around awkwardly, expecting his other seven companions to be with him, but no one was. His mind was too clouded with awe to concentrate on finding certain individuals, but he could see the strong molecular energies they all had. He could hear their thoughts and their emotions—a mixture of envy, awe, uncertainty and mistrust.
“Thomas Olivetti, grandson of our most revered member of the Illuminati, Frederick Olivetti. We are gathered here today for his induction. With his tremendous abilities and earthly connections he would be an asset to this organization,” The man in the white Robe said. The chanting began again. Tom tried to analyze his immediate future, but couldn’t see anything.
“On your knees!” the man said as Tom dropped to his knees, unwillingly. It was like an unforeseen force pushed him down to his knees.
“Thomas Olivetti! Do you swear to protect the secrets of the Illuminati?”
“Yes I do!” Tom replied.
“Do you swear to uphold the ideals of this Order?”
“I do!”
“Do you swear to protect members of the Order both the seen and the unseen?”
“I do!”
“Before any human soul?” the man added. Tom paused. He stared at the man in front of him. He couldn’t help but reluctantly reconsider the question. He glanced at the man from head to toe then glanced at his audience. “I…”
The man in front of him had a wide and smug grin on his face. His face was semi perfect. His energy was old, but strong.
“Before any human soul…Yes I do!” Tom finally replied.
“And by the power vested in me by the Order of the Illuminati, I declare you head Dragon of the Order. From this day henceforth, you shall not claim your throne until you have fulfilled the purpose of which you were sent to. Besides the members of your inner circle, you shall not form any contact with any member of the supreme species. Most importantly, you shall not reveal the secret of the Order. Rise!” The man said in a thunderous tone.
Tom stood up. One of the women who escorted him to the altar earlier, walked towards him with a silver cup in her hands. Her silky silver dress exposed her thighs. Her smile brightened the entire room.
“Your arms!” She said. Tom stretched out his hands. The other woman emerged from his left with a knife. Both his wrists were slit without warning. Blood spilled into the cup. In less than a second, the wounds closed up. The woman handed the huge silver cup over to the man with the white robe. The man placed the silver cup at the center of a round table. Soon, Doctor Patel, Julianna, Richard Bradford, Nimbau George Alsa, Krishna Patel, Ying Ho, Mary Konye, Keiko Fujimori, and Yuri Bergman, all walked to the center table. Tom looked around for his grandfather, but he wasn’t there.
“He’s not a member of our inner circle anymore, Tom,” Doctor Patel said to Tom via thoughts.
“Due to conflict of interest,” Richard Bradford added spitefully, via thoughts.
“Thomas Olivetti! Please step into the circle,” the man in the white robe said. Tom walked to the ancient circular table where everyone was. They simultaneously slit their wrists and spilled their blood into the cup. Tom stood, observing the ritual. He was disgusted. He hoped drinking from the cup wasn’t part of the plan.
Just then, the man in the white robe lit a match stick and tossed it into the silver cup of blood. The Silver cup went into flames.
“Just like the fire burns the blood, so shall it burn your bond together! Just like the fire brightens the room…”
“So shall we be enlightened!” the entire room echoed.
“Thomas Olivetti! Welcome to the Illuminati.” the man said in a roaring voice.
The room shook in voices of praise.
9
September 1, 1963
Clara arrived atthe Chicago Union Station. She was wearing a simple blue dress, long white gloves, white tights, blue shoes and a long brown furry coat to shield herself from the cold. She struggled to hold her furry hat as the ghastly Chicago wind struggled to take it away from her. She checked her watch. It was 4pm. She looked around for any sign of Freddy, but he was nowhere. She walked slowly towards the train tracks, ignoring the crowd of people surrounding her.
Suddenly, someone bumped into her. “The boss wants to see you,” a man said. Two men grabbed her side by side then walked her out of the Union Station. There was a black limo waiting in front of the building. Her heart raced. Her expectation was wrecked. She wanted to see Frederick and not two unknown men with frowns on their face. Beads of sweat struggled against the cold to rip out of her skin. The door of the limo opened as she was forced into it.
She managed to compose herself as her eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the limo.
“Hello Clara!”
The words sent shivers down her spine. It wasn’t Frederick’s voice. It was someone far worse.
“Don Cruccifixo,” Clara said, acknowledging his presence. His tough boyish look was difficult to miss. His face could calm a crying baby and frighten a street thug at the same time.
“You are a very tough woman to find,” Don Cruccifixo replied. Clara could feel the Limo moving. She said nothing as she tried to probe her heartbeat. Besides Don Cruccifixo, there were three other men in the vehicle.
“Top New York bosses start turning up dead. Don Moretti – Don Patricelli. All my investments tarnished because of two skillful assassins…” Don Cruccifixo began.
“Someone has got to pay,” He added as he signaled to one of the other men. In seconds, a gun was pointed right next to her head.
/> “Please! He – he – wants to…” Clara stammered.
“Shut up!” Don Cruccifixo yelled.
“One of the people you killed in Moretti’s club was my cousin. My blood. My heir. Don Moretti’s death wasn’t enough for you guys? You had to kill my cousin too?”
Don Cruccifixo’s guard was ready. He clicked the gun’s safety. Clara closed her eyes. She was ready for a loud bang. Suddenly, the car stopped.
“There’s no way I’m going to kill you, you’re worth more to me alive,” Don Cruccifixo said as he got out of the Limo. The two men dragged her out of the car. They were in a warehouse. Her eyes darted from one spot to the other. Old building. Barely any lights. In a location so remote, the next building was about five miles away. They walked into the building. It was dusty, but a lot warmer than outside. The lights were dim, but bright enough to see people in the background.
“What do you want from me?” Clara asked, fearing the worst.
“Hello Clara,” Frederick said as he stepped out of the shadow. She gave a sigh of relief as soon as she saw him.
“Don’t be too calm. Your assassin friend here is cutting a deal with me for your life,” Don Cruccifixo said.
“What deal?” Clara asked.
“Something that needs to be approached with caution,” another voice replied from behind the shadow.
He stepped forward. “I am Senator William,” the voice added. Don Cruccifixo appeared tense. The only calm people were Francois and Freddy. Clara observed everyone; all men, dressed in sharp suits, hiding their fear behind their guards, but not Freddy. Freddy was different. He seemed fearless and his strange friend seemed unbothered by what was happening.
“I’m just going to cut to the chase. We need someone really important, dead,” Senator William said bluntly.
“Who? How important is this person?” Clara asked.
“The president of the United States,” Senator William replied.
Olivetti: Illumination Page 7
