ASCENSION (18 page)

C
arlo
Dichenzo
leaned against the door of the limousine
observing the approach of his nephew flanked by his
crew
. The young man possessed a
confident swagger
reminiscent of his late brother
.
The trio passed a group of tourists
outside the Tito
Minniti
Airport
and soon stood yards away.
Alfonzo
wore dark shades and a classic brown
Dolce
suit. A
stylish
cream shirt peeked from beneath the jacket, its
collar and cuffs
embroidered
with
gold and brown stitching. Carlo appreciated his
nephews
sense of
stylish
sophistication
. A man with good taste was a man with ambition.
Carlo smiled fondly at his nephew.

“
Buongiorno Alfonzo
!
”

“
Yeah, what’s up?
” Alfonzo responded
.

The young man’s clenched jaw and stern countenance did not go unnoticed
by the wise
older man.
Carlo placed a hand on
his nephew’s broad
shoulder, “It is good to see you,” then kissed each
masculine
cheek. He stepped back and gestured
toward the car
, “Get in.”

The men piled inside the limousine and the chauffeur headed out of the congested
parking zone to merge with the fast moving traffic famous in most of Europe. They traveled
through the capital of Reggio Calabria known as the toe of the Italian Boot to an ancient villa
on the outskirts of the province.

The
y came to a halt
outside
a s
prawling villa estate and
Carlo spoke rapidly in Italian
to the driver then turned to his nephew
.
“A meeting requested by Monticelli is a meeting I rather you not attend.
But we are here. Giuseppe and I will accompany you. Everyone else must remain here.”

“Fine with me.”

“
We are not
permitted
to enter
with
weapons, Constantine and Vincent
be
at the ready if we do not return in one hour.”

Vincent nodded.

Alfonzo pulled on his cuffs. Somber eyes fell on his
u
ncle, “
What if they question your
presence
?
”

T
he International Board of Directors
believed him to be the young man’s protector. His presence would not be questioned. If it was he would deal with it. In any event he refused to allow his nephew to enter the lion’s den without a lion tamer. He tapped the young man,
“
Come nephew, we go together!
”

The trio waited at the front entry until the door was buzzed open
. They
soon
entered
a
windowless foyer where
visibly armed
men converged upon the
m
and they were frisked before being led into a large meeting hall. They walked across the polished bamboo floor and were seated at a
massive
rectangular table beneath a shiny
crystal chandelier
. The room boasted of prosperity and
omnipotence.

Present at the end of the table w
ere Monticelli and Dominick. Seated across the table
from them were
six men with unreadable expressions watching their
arrival.
Armed men were austerely positioned along the walls eyes trained on their guests.

Alfonzo
waited impatiently for
the farce to begin. Carlo and Giuseppe
were
visions of
disciplined patience
. They were accustomed to these ceremonial meetings but he was not. The entire organization and their traditions were meant to intimidate. The only thought on his mind were his wife and the uncomfortable jet-lag stealing over him.

The cheap motherfuckers could
’ve
pr
ovided
coffee!

One of the elder councilmen,
Umberto
Cigliari
was a thin withered man with
white hair and sharp piercing eyes.
“
Benvenuti
!”
He said now that everyone was present. “We are here to question a matter brought to the council’s attention by Signore Monticelli.”

Alfonzo remained stone-faced as Umberto spoke
for the council of elders.

“We are private men, b
usinessmen. It is not often we convene at the request of non-members but this matter is one which may affect our interests and for this reason we have agreed to address the matter.”
Umberto leaned forward and folded his hands atop
the table and looked directly
at
Alfonzo, “Monticelli accuses
you of
orchestrating the death of his son
Maximo w
ho was
a very important participant in our American holdings, as are you Mister
Diaz. Monticelli
also
accuses you of systematic elimination of
another of our
counterparts
who were our largest supplier of arms
.”

Alfonzo tensed. Monticelli was
clever
. H
e
managed
to appeal to their intrinsic greed
and
fear
of monetary loss. The spineless sap!

Carlo addressed the council, “
Saluti
I
vecchi
amici!
I
am here as friend
to
Luzo
and his son.
I am acquainted with each of you and my interest here today is to ensure my friend’s
son is not being used by Monticelli to ignite petty disagreements. It is a fact Maximo is
dead
,
however he suffered an unfortunate car accident
.
A grieving father sees shadows where there are none. As for the other accusation against Mr. Diaz I’m afraid he is as ignorant as I.
”

“Yes, we are aware of your frien
dship with his father Carlo and appreciate your
loyalties,
however it is Alfonzo who must answer.”

Carlo touched Alfonzo’s shoulder
to silence his response
, “Grief filled with hatred consumes Monticelli and impairs his
senses. It is not beyond a man like him to orchestrate these things to stir the seeds of doubt and
mistrust against Luzo’s son.” He removed his hand from Alfonzo’s shoulder, folded his leg and
coolly
smoothed
an imaginary wrinkle on
his pant leg, “The death of
your business acquaintances can be attributable to other factors we
are not aware
of. S
urely reason and logic has not fled with age.
Making claims against a man without proof is
as baseless as
the
malicious
gossip
of women
.
”

Ricardo
Barbieri
another member of the council decided to speak,
“Friendships do not give license to
insults
amico
Dichenzo.” Then addressed Monticelli unceremoniously, “Monticelli where is your proof of
Diaz’ involvement
in any of these
accidents
?”

Monticelli rose from his chair
d
ramatic
ally,
“
Grazie.
Wise men for an opportunity to address a wrong
.”
H
e touched the
shoulder of the man seated on his right, “
T
his is
my nephew-in-law Dominick who
is to
become my predecessor.”
Frank Monticelli said as he talked with flourishing arm gestures to the men listening with rapt attention. Dominick however, concealed his delight at the old man’s words of his succession.
The open announcement in the presence of witnesses assured no
dispute
of his leadership once the old man expired.
Which in light of his medical condition was going to be
very
soon
.
All he had to do was
wait
.

Alfonzo’s expression
remained
impassive
as Frank Monticelli pointed a wrinkled finger down the table at him,
“It is suspect he is able to secure development deals with countries
who once
refused
negotiations with many of our
families
in the
past
.
He has risen too quickly to your equal without
contestation –and how is this done
?
Because right beneath your noses he has rid the organization of key players…one being my son. –And here is your proof!
”

Because old fool, money does not always open doors sealed shut, a crowbar is more effective!
Alfonzo thought.

The
secrets of the
ledger was
Alfonzo’s crowbar and he utilized it to gain access to many prominent
people with family, political and personal
confidences
they sought to protect. Money
unsealed
the
door
farther.
Whatever proof Monticelli claimed to have could only be a fabrication.

“Mike Logan is an alias
for a contractor
from
Australia
. This man
was in Florida the same day my son was killed and
seen
with
Alfonzo Diaz
a
day earlier
!”

Alfonzo sat forward. Carlo pressed lightly on the young man’s arm for restraint
and he
settled angrily in his seat with eyes on the old man. If it were not for these
witnesses he would cut the old man’s throat to silence his lies. Instead he complied with the
dictum of
his uncle
.

“Proof?”
Ricardo reiterated.

Frank produced a set of papers
.
“Here is
the
charter
manifest
with
Alfonzo’s name
and
a copy of a plane ticket purchased by Logan. The
destination
s
are
clearly visible
on each as the date
.” He handed the documents to
the
guard
who stepped forward
then
continued, “I do not have proof
regarding the Three Kings,
but it is no secret they were interested
in
Palazzo Enterprises
,
even made a purchase offer
m
onths earlier
.”

Ricardo waved a hand
at
Monticelli’s
supposition
, “Speculation
…
not
proof
.
However, we will examine the
items given
more closely.
”

Umberto perused the documents then passed them to
his counterparts to scrutinize and
Alfonzo
glowered.

Carlo spoke in Alfonzo’s defense, “Gentlemen, these allegations are
unfounded.”
H
e pointed
at Frank, “
Have you
forgotten who makes these claims
?
”

Alfonzo seethed in anger
but
allowed his uncle to continue without interruption.
Carlo’s dark eyes were unreadable as he delivered a passionate oratory, “Was he not
accused of the massacre of the Giacanti family and ousted from the I.B.D?”

Everyone
sat
silent
ly with their heads bowed
.

“Sergio Giacanti as you recall
started
this committee. He sat amongst you as a friend
made many of you rich. Yet,
the brutal slaying of
his
family remain
s
unsolved
and the only suspect stands here weaving lies about another. Who can trust him? He is a seditious murderer you should have silenced long ago!”