The Second Renaissance Series Boxset

by Paul Heron

  ‘Buongiorno!’ Mohammad shouted, making his entrance known to everyone.

  ‘That’s Italian, not Spanish, dumbass,’ Marcel said.

  ‘Yes, he is dumbass.’ Ajit laughed. ‘You're right about that.’

  ‘Well, how embarrassed must I be!’ Mohammad said, strolling across the room, not paying much attention to either of their remarks. ‘What are we having for breakfast? I'm starved.’ He punched Michael on the shoulder, sitting down beside him. ‘Morning, chief!’

  ‘I’m starving,’ Scarlett said. She entered the room with Eduardo, going straight towards Ajit and Marcel. The kitchen was filing up with bodies and the TV’s noise faded into the background.

  ‘Morning All!’ Ringo marched in from outside. ‘We all ready for today?’ Dropping himself down onto a chair, he grabbed a sugared churro from Michael's plate. ‘I love these.’

  Ahmad and Alban didn’t look just as enthusiastic as Ringo, but then, nobody ever did. ‘Have you all seen what’s happening in England?’ Ahmad said.

  ‘What's happening in England?’ Ajit shouted from the sink, washing his hands. ‘Better be something good!’

  ‘Next week, the British prime minister is meeting with the British Mancini agent to discuss the English piece of the sculpture.’

  ‘Guys, we'll be returning to Little Camberly next week,’ Ringo said, trying to remain positive.

  ‘It doesn’t matter where we go next,’ Michael said. ‘We go wherever we have to.’ He stood up and looked around the table. ‘In one year from now, we'll have given something back to Elisabetta.’ He looked at Sofia. ‘Her work won’t have been for nothing.

  ‘Morning!’ Carolina entered the kitchen sounding lively. ‘Man, that workout was great. What time are we leaving?’

  ‘Guillermo’s meeting with the president is at half past eleven. So, we'll need to leave about half eight,’ Scarlett said.

  ‘That's in forty-five minutes,’ Eduardo said, rubbing his eyes with the sleeves of his robe.

  ‘You better go get ready then,’ Carolina said.

  ‘Aw.’ Sofia grabbed Eduardo by the cheeks. ‘Look, he's still tired.’ She messed up his hair. ‘Poor little Eduardo.’ She spoke as if talking to a baby.

  ‘Piss off, Sofia!’ Eduardo groaned.

  Alban looked tired – eyes heavy and glazed, staring down at his plate as if puzzled at what he was looking at. All the flying around was bound to take it's toll. He was his usual quiet self while eating the breakfast, inhaling the food then he excused himself to go and check the chopper.

  Scarlett watched as he moved through the kitchen, slower than usual. ‘Think I’ll fly us to the farm outside Madrid,’ she said. ‘Alban looks tired and needs to rest.’

  ‘Yeah, his landing is bad enough when he's bringing his A-game, never mind when he’s tired.’ Mohammad teased.

  ‘Where’s this farm house outside Madrid that George mentioned?’ Michael asked. ‘Who owns it? George said we can leave the chopper there and pick up some cars.’

  ‘It's a safe-house we've used before,’ Ringo said. ‘It belongs to a colleague in the car trade. He uses the land for storing cars in presale. But he’s got none there until we're finished. So, the cars that are there waiting for us are all Sirani cars.’

  ‘We've built devices for all our vehicles,’ Eduardo mumbled, still with his eyes closed. ‘We'll use them the same way we use our phones and the chopper. We’ll keep track of them.’

  ‘And of course, working on the Sirani network means they're untraceable.’ Ajit added.

  ‘Great.’ Michael stood up and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. ‘I’m going to get ready. Let’s go see Madrid.’

  Chapter Seven

  AT EIGHT THIRTY-FIVE, they all jumped into the chopper. Scarlett had taken Alban's place in the pilot's seat. ‘It’s a one-hour flight. We should be there around half nine,’ she said, putting on the headset and sunglasses.

  ‘Half nine depending on traffic?’ Mohammad choked on his laugher. ‘I’m here all night, thank you very much.’ He fixed his tie and buckled his seatbelt looking proud of himself and his endless wit.

  Sofia sniggered and shook her head. ‘We’d definitely miss you if you weren’t here.’

  Michael checked his phone. Sky World News now had two main stories: The Man Who Shut Down World Satellites and The Newly Discovered Rock Material & Possibly A New Source Of Energy. He felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck, his body tremble. If only the world knew exactly what those rocks really were, they’d have a different idea. They’d kick the world leaders off their seats, and take back control of the world, before the God of Greed and the Dark Lord had their way.

  Ringo, always with his own personal priorities, hooked his iPod up to the chopper’s sound system and blasted some rock music. Nirvana was the first choice.

  The atmosphere within the group, was as relaxed as it could possibly be, given the circumstances.

  Michael spent the flight swamped in the thought of what he’d seen when Elisabetta had summoned him to the Otherworld. His gut tightened and churned. And not because of the flight. Something bad was coming. He knew it. Was he wrong in keeping it from the rest? Perhaps he was, or maybe he wasn’t. Only time would tell.

  A short while later, Scarlett’s voice resounded. ‘We've arrived,’ she shouted, beginning the descent.

  They landed on a farm on the outskirts of Madrid, setting down in the middle of the tarmacked driveway beside two blue barns, the barns being more like aircraft hangars.

  Ringo jumped up, rubbing his hands. ‘Don't worry, there aren’t any bloody animals in those barns.’ He threw the door open. ‘There are beasts, but beasts on wheels.’

  Sofia followed him out, then Carolina, Mohammad, then the rest, Michael being the last to depart. He felt vulnerable, more so than usual, as if he was being watched, on show and as soon as he stepped out of the chopper, his feeling of vulnerability amplified.

  ‘You okay?’ Scarlett asked, approaching him from the front of the chopper, snatching his attention. To Michael, she looked very sexy at that moment, with nothing but her blouse on, unbuttoned half way down to let the air hit her chest. ‘What?’

  ‘Nothing.’ He shook his head, peeling his eyes away from her. ‘You look great. Come on.’ He gestured towards Ringo, pulling open one of the barn doors. ‘God, you’re gorgeous.’

  ‘What?’ Scarlett said.

  Michael shook his head. ‘Nothing.’ He became more concerned with the time. Looking at his phone, it was half past ten. ‘We’ve got one hour until Guillermo meets the president.’ He called Guillermo. The Spaniard answered after the first ring. ‘Hola, Guillermo. Como estas?’ He followed Scarlett towards the barn, but the noise of everyone was proving too difficult for him to hear. He turned to walk in the opposite direction, pressing his finger in his free ear.

  ‘Michael, I’m driving to the city now. I hope to arrive at Moncloa Palace a little early to compose myself before the meeting.’ He laughed nervously. Clearing his throat, he asked, ‘and you? When will you arrive?’

  Michael turned and glanced at the others. ‘We'll be there soon.’ His eyes shot open when he saw the vehicles they'd be travelling in. ‘This is going to be fun.’ He spoke into the phone.

  ‘What was that?’ Guillermo asked.

  ‘Nothing. I'll send you a text when we arrive. We'll be waiting at a safe location not too far from the palace.’ He hung up and smirked, making his way towards the barns, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. ‘Ringo, this is a nice surprise.’

  ‘Hummer Humvees!’ Marcel shouted, displaying his brilliant white smile.

  ‘Big and dumb,’ Sofia said, not in the slightest impressed. ‘How about something small and elegant?’

  ‘Boring!’ Mohammad shouted.

  Ringo jumped into the black one, Ahmad hopped into a red one and Alban took a yellow and black one.

  ‘Michael, you go with Sofia and Eduardo in Ringo's,’ Scarlett said. ‘Carolina, you go with Marcel a
nd Mohammad in Ahmad’s. Maria and I will go with Alban.’

  Marcel checked his watch. ‘How long until we get there?’

  ‘What’s wrong, pretty boy got somewhere to go?’ Sofia asked.

  ‘According to Sirani Maps, it’s fifteen minutes without traffic,’ Eduardo said.

  ‘This is Madrid. Of course there will be traffic, bone head!’ Carolina complained.

  ‘About twenty-five minutes, maybe even half an hour,’ Scarlett said.

  Michael sat in the back, directly behind Ringo. As usual, the Sirani group chat was on, allowing them to chat together as if all were in the same car. Mohammad nervously asked Marcel and Carolina how to say something in Spanish in case he got caught. What was alarming the most was Mohammad's new and uncharacteristic change in tone.

  ‘Mohammad, what are you worried about? We won’t get caught. Sofia spoke forcefully. Mohammad didn't reply. Nor did anyone else try to reinforce Sofia's words. The usual uncertainty of “us against the world” set in. Not only us against this world, but us against the otherworld, too.

  The journey was eerily quiet. Ringo tried to raise the mood with a playlist of dance music, quickly being cut when Enrique dialled in.

  Marcel answered. ‘Hola!’

  ‘Buenos dias,’ Enrique said. ‘I’m pitched up in a car park, nice and quiet, just a couple of hundred yards from the location. Look out for me. I’m in a silver Mercedes. Registration plate: ENRQ UNO.’

  ‘Great, love the registration,’ Sofia said.

  ‘Thanks, Sofia. See you all soon, guys. Take care.’

  ‘You, too.’

  ‘Ohh, someone has the hots for Mr Spanish agent,’ Mohammad bellowed through the system, following it up by making kissing noises.

  Ringo looked at Michael in the rear-view mirror. Shaking his head, he laughed at Mohammad's impeccable timing to lighten the mood. And grateful the usual joker's mood had picked up again.

  Michael received a text message from Enrique. I’ve just seen an entourage of fifteen black BMW X6s. Definitely security for the president. I’m in the underground car park. Pay attention.

  Michael asked Ringo to turn down the music. ‘Okay, Enrique has just sent a text to say he’s seen fifteen cars that look like Mancini vehicles head for the palace.’

  Maria’s voice came through from Alban’s car. ‘We're ten minutes away from the palace. Eyes open everyone. If Mancini are looking for us here, then we can’t risk getting into anything with them here.’

  ‘Great! This will make it much easier for us,’ Eduardo said sarcastically. ‘So, Enrique is in an underground car park below the Hotel Besaya which is directly across the road to the palace. Better not be anything dodgy down there. We can’t exactly fly out.’

  Michael looked out the window. He saw a four-story building, constructed with a sickly mixture of yellow and brown bricks.

  Ringo pulled up to the barrier. He snatched a ticket from the machine and the barrier went up, shuttering as it moved. Entering the car park slowly, they waited on the ramp for the other two cars to pass through. Ringo was quieter than usual. His normal child-like, happy-go-lucky personality vanished with the sunlight.

  Michael looked at Ringo in the reflection of the rear-view mirror, tapping Ringo on the shoulder from behind. ‘Remember what you told me before I addressed the world in the jungle? We're in this together, remember, or as Mohammad would say-'

  ‘We’re the number one team!’ Mohammad bellowed. ‘Go team!’

  Carolina spoke from the other car. ‘I don't like this. My gut tells me not to be here.’

  Michael's nerves couldn't help but jumpstart. Carolina wasn't just a martial arts specialist, but she was a lady well in tune with her intuition. Any time in the past where she’d felt something was up, she was generally right.

  ‘I don’t like this either.’ Eduardo agreed.

  ‘Can everyone stop creating bad vibes, please!’ Ajit griped. ‘We’ll be okay. If Mancini are here, we’ll FUCK them up!’

  Michael laughed to himself at Ajit's reaction to the ever-increasing tension. He looked at Sofia who was staring thoughtfully out her window. Her serious expression spoke volumes. She was her usual calm, confident self. But she, like Michael, had an overactive brain and was probably trying to work out an endless riddle in her head.

  ‘Hey.’ Michael grabbed her hand. ‘What's up?’

  ‘Nothing, I'm thinking about Guillermo. Yeah this is scary for us, but we’re all here together. He’s with the enemy and he’s in immediate danger. It seems we have a lot of people facing something very nasty to help us. I mean, this foundation has some very dedicated people putting their lives on the line for us. I don’t know, it's hard to believe strangers would do this.’

  ‘Do they have a choice?’ Michael said. ‘We don’t have a choice. Part of me wishes I was back in Belfast, scratching my ass in front of the TV.’

  Sofia laughed. ‘You, TV? I couldn't imagine you being still for too long.’

  ‘There's Enrique.’ Ringo interrupted as a car flashed it’s headlights in the corner of the level. ‘Time: eleven sixteen, not bad.’ Ringo threw Enrique a thumbs up and reversed into the bay next to him.

  Michael was itching to get moving. Sitting in the car made him feel useless, like he'd lost control. The operation was currently in the hands of Guillermo.

  The next ten minutes grew agonisingly painful to just sit and wait. And each person had a different coping mechanism. Michael sat quietly watching the others. Eduardo's left knee was dancing as he sat biting his nails. Ringo sat strumming his fingertips off the steering wheel. Sofia hummed while scrolling through her phone.

  Michael checked local Spanish news. He saw that there was a gathering in the afternoon involving the president. As he read the story, a message came from Guillermo.

  I’m waiting in the lobby. I went to the bathroom to activate the listening device. It’s clipped inside my shirt collar. I think the fragment is here, and I’m meeting the president in ten minutes.

  Michael smiled and informed the rest.

  Chapter Eight

  MICHAEL KNEW, FOR SOME reason he'd bet his life that wherever the Spanish leader was, the fragment would be. Which was good. Both were equally as dangerous and would prove easier to kill two birds – or one Fomorian in disguise and a magical stone – with one ‘stone’. Mancini Corporation was not stupid. To assume they were would not only be a mistake, but dangerous, and they would perhaps have a good guess that Sirani agents would be coming after the Spanish before any other. So their element of surprise would be less than that of the French mission. Michael’s only hope was that they’d have what it took to out-smart Mancini, because that appeared to be what it would boil down to. With all the resources the Sirani Foundation had at it’s disposal, Mancini corporation was equally as strong, if not stronger. Both in an earthly materialistic sense, and an otherworldly capacity.

  ‘I’ve got a question?’ Marcel asked.

  ‘Oh no. We’re in trouble!’ Mohammad bellowed.

  ‘Shut up, before I kick your ass.’

  ‘Try it, Bruce Lee,’ Mohammad shouted.

  ‘Both of you shut up.’ Carolina shouted.

  Marcel fixed his tie. ‘If the Spanish fragment, like the French fragment, has been separated for so long and has been in someone’s possession, how come it hasn’t been used to tear shit up yet?’

  ‘Good question,’ Scarlett said. ‘At the time of it’s creation, the Dark One protected it, kind of gave it a human allergic reaction, in order to stop another man or woman from handling it and using it’s powers. It’s only been since he struck his little deal with Pietro Mancini that he would gift the powers to the person who possessed the stone. Kind of like a screw you, middle finger gesture to Elisabetta and the Tuatha de Danann for giving the Fomorians seven pains in their ass.’

  ‘What are the pains?’ Eduardo asked.

  ‘Us, dipshit!’ Carolina said.

  ‘My god.’ Sofia shook her head and dropped his face
into her hands. ‘We’re dealing with geniuses here.’

  ‘Lucky “the golden boy” and Sofia got their hands on the French piece,’ Mohammad finished. ‘I’ve never been one for jewellery, but those pendants Sofia’s hot aunt gave us are some badass items.’

  ‘Pietro Mancini knew the fragments couldn't be handled. That’s how he was able to convince French and Spanish rulers to buy them back in 1665,’ Maria added. ‘It's the same with the pieces being used to convince world leaders at the UN meeting in Vienna of their never-before-seen energy.’

  ‘Yeah, even if the politicians weren't all doped up, you could still sell them the idea of it being a new, undiscovered form of energy,’ Ajit said.

  ‘This is something that wars have started over – energy resources,’ Sofia added. ‘However, Mancini Corporation is taking a risk by telling the world that they have discovered these stones.’

  ‘It just proves how confident they are in their organisation. To handle such a claim and the risk that comes with it. That takes balls,’ Carolina said.

  ‘Yeah, and stupidity,’ Ajit said. ‘But what’s most astonishing is how us seven tits are the ones selected to stop them. It’s hilarious, but not in a funny ha ha kind of way.’

  ‘I’ve got a message from George,’ Michael said.

  Michael – Mancini agents have already met with the Spanish president. I’m guessing he will have told them the location of the fragment and an announcement will be made live on television during the party this evening. That’ll be your best chance of grabbing President Perez. He cannot bring anymore global attention to Spain. That's something you must prevent, at all costs, Michael. Understood? Collecting the masses is one sure way for them to grow their Fomorian army. The substance that you found for testing in the jungle has been confirmed to have some Fomorian DNA in it. We don’t want people taking that.

  Michael read the message out to the rest.

  ‘This is too much like the operation in France,’ Marcel said. ‘They’ll be expecting something similar to happen and will be everywhere to ensure we don't get near the president.’