Edge of Tomorrow (55 page)

“No,” he lied. “I haven’t bought you a
personal gift yet, and I decided I would like to. That’s OK, isn’t
it?”

“Why, of course. Open it for me, please. My
nails aren’t quite dry.”

He opened the case and revealed the bracelet.
She leaned closer to get a better look at it and her breasts fell
out of her loose robe. Personally, Hatch thought that was a much
more beautiful sight than the bracelet.

“It’s gorgeous, Hatch! Those aren’t real
diamonds and emeralds are they? Shit! What’s wrong with me? I
forgot who you were for a moment!” she babbled, overwhelmed by the
beauty of the jewelry.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s
too
much, Hatch! I can’t accept anything like
this!”

“Of course you can! Let me put it on
you.”

He put it on her left wrist and she sat and
stared at it. All of her jewelry put together didn’t cost as much
as this!

Remember, Syd, money means less to him than
to regular people. I shouldn’t take this, but it’s sooo beautiful,
and I’ll hurt his feelings if I don’t. He has no concept of money,
but I think he is sincere in wanting to give me a gift.

“I love it, Hatch! I’ll accept it, but I
shouldn’t, I know. You’ve only known me a couple of weeks.”

“But what a two weeks!”

“Can I wear it to dinner, or would that be
too blatant?”

“Wear it anywhere you want, anytime you
want.”

She put her arms around his neck and gave him
a sloppy kiss as his hands found her bare breasts.

“What time was dinner?” she whispered in his
ear.

Il Castello di Bragno, Rome, Italy

Thursday, August 16, 2001

10:00 A.M.

A late breakfast had been served at 9 A.M. in
the small dining room. By 10:00 A.M., Gina, Silvia, and Teresa were
cleaning the dishes off the table and pouring more coffee for those
who wanted it. Bill Coffer and Gunny had been invited to the
breakfast so they could participate in the debriefing session on
the previous day’s events, and aid in the development of an ongoing
plan of action. Syd was glad Angelina Cifelli had taken her
children and gone to visit her parents in Genoa and, thus, had
missed the latest fray.

All of them had been amazed at how Syd had
dispatched the dangerous Roberto with the dagger, then saved
Hatch’s life by shooting Tony, Lucchese’s chief enforcer, with
Roberto’s gun. Syd had been more impressed by Sara’s handling of
Teresa’s would-be rapist and torturer. Coffer briefed them on how
the rubber boat had been disposed of, and told them the bodies were
deposited in a back alley close to Bocca’s building. If they had
families, at least their bodies could be claimed for proper burial.
The other option had been the bottomless sea.

Carmelo had seen the morning TV news and told
everyone that it was being reported as organized-crime-related,
probably executions by enemies of the Catena di Morte. No other
details were given. Bocca was not mentioned.

“Well, that part of the plan seemed to work,”
mused Hatch. “Did they mention the Sicilian Mafia by any
chance?”

“Only indirectly. They did a quick background
piece on the Catena and its enemies, the two leading ones being the
Stidda and the Mafia,” replied Carmelo as he sipped his coffee.

While Hatch thought that one over, Syd said,
“What is Teresa doing here this morning? After her experience
yesterday, I would think she would be visiting a shrink.”

Sara answered, “Me, too. I talked to her
about it, but she thought getting back to her normal routine was
best. We’ll see how she holds up.”

“She’s had a rough week. She’ll be glad to
get back to school, I would imagine,” mused Syd.

“Your week has been worse,” laughed Sara.
“Some Roman holiday!”

Syd shrugged and sipped her coffee, not
knowing how to answer that statement. From across the table, Gunny
stared at Syd in admiration. He had convinced Carmelo to tell him a
little about her history when he had asked how Syd could have been
able to take out two of the
catenari
attackers with such
professionalism.

That explains her ability with a sniper
rifle—and her running style. Fucking Metsada! And that body! I wish
she wasn’t sleeping with the boss. I’d love to get her in the strip
poker game!

Last night’s poker game had been canceled, of
course, since everyone had been busy defending the castle, and
dumping bodies in Rome.

Maybe we can reschedule for tonight. I’d
like another shot at the major again. She still has a body like a
brick shit house!

Hatch addressed Carmelo. “We need to
bring this thing with the
catenari
to closure. Lucchese knows exactly what happened, even if
Bocca didn’t live to tell him, except he thinks we’re the Mafia.
This could mean he’ll just back off and leave us alone, or he may
be angry enough to go to war with the Mafia and come at us
again—maybe even expand things to hit other Mafia
compounds.”

Carmelo replied, “I agree, but he should
avoid any kind of war if he expects to pursue this Monterra thing.
But he isn’t known for always doing the smart thing. He is a
hothead.”

“I would like to tell Don Cerini
Tessitore all about our little charade and let the
real
Mafia handle this from now on.
He
is
still alive and well,
isn’t he?” asked Hatch.

“The last I heard,” replied Carmelo. “Getting
an audience with him is impossible, however. He doesn’t even admit
that he is who he is. Maybe you can write him a letter.”

Hatch chuckled at Carmelo’s sarcasm and
sipped his coffee.

“Who is Don Tessitore?” asked Syd, not
understanding quite what they were talking about.

“The real thing, not just a movie role.
He is
the
head of the
Sicilian Mafia. He is the most powerful criminal in the world. His
tentacles reach worldwide,” replied Carmelo. “He is 85 years old,
but he still runs the organization with an iron hand.”

“But impossible to get to, eh?” remarked
Sara.

“For most people, yes,” said Hatch. “But
there may be a way.”

“Wait a minute here!” exclaimed Syd. “I don’t
believe my ears! Why are you worried about Lucchese going to war
with Tessitore? Let the fuckers kill each other off and do the
world a favor. I can’t believe you’re worried about warning
Tessitore about our little scam. Do I sense a switch in morality
here? You had no trouble wiping out the Wrath of Allah without
warning them!”

Hatch didn’t like the vehemence of Syd’s
outburst, but he could understand how she could interpret his
statements. It pained him to see her angry at him about anything.
He put his hand over hers.

“Talking to Don Tessitore has nothing
to do with any moral concern for the death of very bad criminals.
Although I may make it look like that to
him
—if I can talk to him—but my real purpose is
to use him to diffuse Lucchese’s involvement in any claim against
the throne in Monterra. I still don’t want Lucchese to succeed in
that endeavor. Tessitore may want to eliminate Lucchese. That’s
fine with me if that is the only way to deter Lucchese. It’s
cleaner that way than me having to do it personally,” Hatch
explained, hoping Syd would understand what he was trying to
do.

Syd digested the lecture and was still not
sure it was a necessary action to pursue.

“Wouldn’t you be taking a great risk seeing
him on his turf and telling him all of this stuff?” queried
Syd.

“Possibly.”

“You mean Van Lincoln, the tycoon, might get
an appointment, safety guaranteed?” added Syd.

“Not without help,” mused Hatch, hoping Syd
was softening. “What I am about to say now is not to leave this
room. Understood?”

They all nodded. Gina and her helpers had
left the room earlier.

Hatch continued, “Bruno Finelli, whom you all
know, was a Secret Service agent before he joined me—for eight
years. There was never a more dedicated agent, but in 1994 the
Attorney General mounted a big push against organized crime in the
United States. By 1996, every person with any possible connection
to organized crime had been investigated. Having an Italian name
didn’t help. They turned up an FBI agent who had taken bribes from
the Gotti family, so all government agents were reevaluated. That’s
when they found out who Bruno’s mother really was.”

He paused and drank some more coffee.

Sara interjected, “I thought Bruno’s parents
were well-respected lawyers.”

“They are,” Hatch resumed. “Lanzo Finelli,
Bruno’s father, married Bruno’s mother in the early sixties. He has
never been to Sicily—or Italy, for what it’s worth. His wife-to-be,
Blancha, had recently arrived from Sicily. They fell in love,
married, and then Bruno was born.”

“Cut to the chase! The suspense is killing
me!” laughed Carmelo.

“OK,” grinned Hatch. “Bruno’s mother’s maiden
name is Tessitore. She is the daughter of the esteemed Don.”

Sara blurted, “Then Bruno is Don
Tessitore’s
grandson
?”

“Yes. When the Secret Service discovered
this, what with the climate at the time, they pressured Bruno out
of the Service. It broke his heart—the Secret Service had been his
life. To make it worse, his wife left him. His mother had left
Sicily so that when she had a family, it would not be involved with
her father’s business. It caught up with Bruno anyhow. Bruno has
never had any contact with that part of his mother’s past. As far
as I know, he has never met his grandfather.”

Hatch was silent for a moment and the others
just looked at him and waited.

Syd said finally, “I don’t see how Bruno
could meet with the Don. He ruined Bruno’s life in absentia. I’m
also surprised the Don let his daughter leave like that. Isn’t that
some sort of fatal family breach?”

“Often,” Carmelo picked up the thread. “Who
knows what the actual circumstances were at the time? Sicilian
blood runs thick and deep. If Bruno asked his grandfather for a
meeting, it might be granted. He is 85 after all. He might want to
see his grandson before he dies.”

“My thoughts exactly, Carmelo,” said Hatch.
“I hate to ask Bruno to do that, however. Being Tessitore’s
grandson cost him his career and wife. He probably hates him with a
passion, and wouldn’t want to see him under any circumstances.”

“He might if you explained the situation to
him. His mother may want to make peace with her father before he
dies,” said Syd. “Who is the heir to the throne, so to speak?”

“Blancha’s brother, Evio. Bruno’s uncle,”
replied Hatch.

“Is the Don’s wife still alive?” Syd
continued, thinking that maybe the women in the family could break
down the barriers.

“Elene Tessitore is 82 and alive and
kicking,” said Carmelo.

“Maybe Bruno or his mother could make
overtures to Evio or Elene to see if they would talk to the Don
about seeing us,” said Syd.

“I’ll have to talk to Bruno and see if he
will even touch this situation at all,” mused Hatch, noticing Syd’s
use of “us.”

Carmelo pushed two sheets of paper to Hatch
and said, “In the meantime, we have this. It was faxed in from our
Rome office this morning. It’s a fairly complete Carfagno family
tree.”

Hatch glanced at it and passed it over to
Syd, his mind on other things at the moment.

“Too complex for me to concentrate on now.
You take a look, Syd; see if there are any surprises,” mumbled
Hatch, his thoughts on Bruno and Don Tessitore.

Bill Coffer spoke up. “I’m having laser
sensors put in to cover the moat. We don’t want another surprise
like that. Also, on the perimeter access road that the sniper used.
Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get back to the compound. If you
strike out with Bruno, I can probably get you in to see the Don the
same way we dropped in on Bocca. Remember, that’s what we’re
trained to do.”

“Thanks, Bill. I’ll keep that in mind, but I
may decide just to drop this entire thing if it involves any danger
to any of us. Maybe just whacking Lucchese is safer.”

When Coffer and Gunny stood to leave, Carmelo
said he was going to the office and get some work done, attack the
pile of action items on his desk.

Finally, after the three men had left, Hatch
said, “Because of the time difference, I can’t call Bruno until
this afternoon. How would you two like to go sightseeing in Rome?
I’ll even buy you lunch.”

“Will it be safe?” asked Syd.

“Should be, unless Lucchese acted quickly and
sent some more hoods down here. We’ll chopper up to the Rome office
and I’ll have Carmelo assign us a driver for the Cherokee. The
driver can watch our back, just in case.”

Syd added, “I’ve always wanted to throw a
coin in the Trevi Fountain! This could be a fun day for a
change!”

Syd folded the Carfagno family tree papers in
half and headed to her chambers to change clothes. She would look
at them later.

• • •

The driver brought them back to the Triple
Eye offices in Rome at 5:33 P.M. They had packed in as many
touristy things as they could in the time they had. The two women
were ecstatic.

“What a day, Hatch! Thank you so much!” said
Syd with enthusiasm. Sara agreed.

“I had fun, too,” he laughed. “I was the envy
of all those Italian stallions with two such beautiful women with
me. I’m sure they all wished they had X-ray eyes!”

As he said that, his pager vibrated. He
looked at the code and was surprised to see the code for the
President of the United States.

What now? Another highjacking somewhere in
the world?