ASCENSION (17 page)

“You were knocked unconscious by the blast and received
some
nasty cuts
and
second degree
burns
. The
d
octor
took care of
them. You’ll live.”
He answered in a perfunctory tone.

Nico scanned the room for his clothes and saw them bundled on a sideboard next to
a set of fresh
garments
.
He sat forward once again with a grunt. “Anyone survive?”

“You.”

Nico struggled off the uncomfortable bunk. He
had t
o contact
Vincent
. The call should’ve been made hours ago.
He
walked unsteadily to the
sideboard and dressed in
the
clean
clothes
then rummaged through the pockets of his singed trousers. His hand grasped the check then examined it. The instrument was still intact.

“Do
we
have confirmation?
” Nico asked spotting
a
disposable
satellite
phone lying in its package beside a pair of black socks.

Marty swiveled
his head
to keep up with the imposing man’s movements.
The man sat now, put on the socks and searched the floor for shoes. Marty went to the small closet and removed a pair of oxfords. “This is all I could find in your size.”

“Thanks, these’ll do.”

“I saw the recovery.
F
iv
e victims
.”

The noise from the plastic package sounded as Nico unwrapped the cellular. “Five?”

“The Captain.”

“Oh.” He forgot.

Marty appeared to have covered every angle. These devices were virtually untraceable
and made to
d
iscard after
a single
use. He
punched in
numbers
and got his brother on the second ring
.

“Hey,” the familiar voice on the other end bellowed.

“
O
n my way
home,” Nico said
.

“
You
r
bus get
delayed?”

“
No,
I fell asleep.”

“
Glad you’re up
.”

“Yeah.”

“Me and the kid going on a short trip.
Look after the family until we get back.”

“No problem,” Nico
stood and
tucked
in
his shirt
.
“
Say hello to the kid for me.
”

“
You got it
.”
Vincent replied.

Nico disconnected the line and turned to Marty, “Are we already at sea?”

“Yes
, two hours
.”

“
Good, make sure
the Captain
has his
papers in order for harbor
patrol.”

“Okay.”
Marty departed, leaving Nico to his privacy. He gathered the soiled clothes and shoved them
into a
g
arment
bag
along
with the satellite phone
.
The ship swayed as he made his way to the deck
then
he
tossed the bag into the
sea.

Time passed unnoticed as Nico inhaled the crisp sea air
.
He became hypnotized as the
dark silk
waves
crested
high
t
hen roll
ed
onto
themselves
over and over again
.
Beyond, he could see
far away
lights
blink
ing
like beacons summoning him home.
He gripped the railing
listen
ing
to
the boats
’
motor hum and
the swoosh
of ocean
. The
sounds relaxed him.

He gripped the rail leaning forward to absorb the
expansive
watery
surface.
The boat was only a thread on an elephant’s back.
He remember
ed
a piece of trivia. T
he Atlantic Ocean
spanned seventy-six, seven-hundred
and sixty-two
thousand square
kilometers, second only to the great Pacific Ocean.

He remembered this only because it was how far away he felt from
Ariana and the boys
.

H
ell
seemed
preferential to the pounding drum
s
in
Alfonzo’s
head and the languid
heaviness of his body
.
He gripped
the edge of the sofa
to sit
forward
w
ith a groan.
Man, he hadn’t gotten this smashed in a long time.
Bloodshot eyes looked around for any signs
of life in the house
. The place was too damn quiet.
With unhurried
actions
of a
hung-over survivor he
stumbled in
to the kitchen
to brew coffee.

The front door open
ed
followed by soft steps across the
Calamander wood
floor
. From the weight distribution and hasty walk he determined it
could only
be
the housekeeper-cook
Anita. Sure enough, the m
atron
ly woman
entered the kitchen,
spotted h
is
disheveled
appearance and made him sit down.

“I make breakfast.
Sentarse
!
”

“Gracias Anita, but I need to clean-up first.”

Anita clucked
her tongue
disapprovingly, “You cannot do these
t
hings
t
o yourself. You have a family
.
”

Alfonzo nodded soberly, Anita
usually did not
meddle but
today
he
w
elcomed the maternal scolding. He truly
fucked-up last night. There was no nice way to describe it. He fucked up
royally
!

Anita
washed and dried her hands then pulled ingredients from the cabinet
.
“You know
I have a son
not
much older than you.
The man
always in trouble…trouble…trouble. You know why?”

Alfonzo’s eyebrow lifted
curiously
, “No.”

“Because he
drink
too much
. You remind me of him.”

“
Thanks for the PSA
,”
was his sarcastic response.

The m
atronly
woman turned
to face her employer with disapproval
, “
You
know nothing
about a good woman
.
Mrs. Diaz is a sweet lady and now she go!”

Alfonzo
came alive
at
the
declaration
,
“What?”
He ran upstairs checking every room
and found them
empty. He phoned security
and
got
confirm
ation
Selange
indeed
exited the property around five in the morning with
Shanda and Sal
.
Alfonzo called his wife’s cell phone. Of course she didn’t answer. He left a
m
essage
,
“
Call me Selange. I mean it babe, I have a right to know where you’re taking our son!
”

He
called the airport and discovered his wife boarded a flight to New York an hour ago.
His next call went to Domingo to have him meet his family at JFK and deliver a message
to his
runaway
wife
then
he
flopped down on the edge
of
the bed.
He stared beyond the wall
dumbstruck.

They’re gone
…holy shit…she left me
!

A
nita
took pity on the young man
when he
returned
downstairs
fresh
ly
shaven and
wearing a
sharp business suit. His eyes were red, either from the night of debauchery or crying, she didn’t
know
which but it was
apparent
he
suffered greatly
. Her offer of comfort was food. This she could
provide
.

Alfonzo plopped in the chair
and dug in to
a
healthy serving of
salchicha
s
y
huevos
.
The sulking man ate and drank the black coffee in silence as she tidied the kitchen. Occasionally, her owl eyes
checked on him to make sure he was eating. Food was best for the body after a night of drink. It absorbed the toxin and flushed it out
through natural means.
When he was done she retrieved the empty plate and mug then retreated to the kitchen. His cell rang and he answered. She heard him speaking and turned on the water to wash the dishes humming quietly.

“
Hola
hijo,
como
esta?
”

“
No
es
b
ueno
. I gave you a kiss but you were sleeping and smelled funny.”

“You did, huh.”

“M
ommy
keeps
crying
. S
he’s no fun.”

“Where’s
mom
can I talk to her
?”

“
Mommy’s not here.”

“Where is she…where are you?”

“I’m with auntie Shanda in the airport.”

“Where’s mommy Sal
vatore
?”

“I
d
unna
know. I
wanna
go home
.”

“Put
tia
on the phone.”

Shanda’s voice
echoed, “Yeah Alfonzo what’s up?”

“Where’s my wife?”

“She’s getting the luggage.”

The panic subsided, “Is Franky there, too?”

“No Alfonzo Franky’s not here.”
She said patiently.

“Where is Selange going?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Shanda you owe me
, do me the solid and cut me a break
.”

She took a minute to think about it. “Ugh, I’ll tell you but if you come here and start any shit then I’ll have my father deal with your ass, you hear me?”

“Fair enough
,
chica
.”

“She’s going to visit with your mom then she said she’s going to stay
at
your office suite on
a hundred and
twenty-eighth. Look she’s coming. I
gotta
go.”

“Thanks Shanda.”

“Save your thanks. Just get your shit together
and don’t hurt my friend
dumbass!
”

The phone went dead and Alfonzo quickly dia
led his cousin
and told him Selange’s plans. “Keep an eye on her primo.”

A
car honked outside. It was Vincent. Duty called but he swore once he returned he’d g
o after
his family.

CHAPTER FOUR
T
E
EN