ASCENSION (26 page)
“This is just the welcome I needed.”
They hugged and kissed
. Finally he released her and she
removed her coat
to hang it in the closet.
She talked as she removed her boots
then
returned t
o
watch the conclusion of the
soccer match
beside her husband
.
“How long are you staying?”
“
Not sure, depends on if I can convince you to give up your job in the D.A’s
office.”
She
pat
his leg then stood, “
F
at chance.”
She was
in the small Manhattan kitchen now, “You
’ll have to give yours up first and we know that isn’t happening.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, I know you sweetheart. You’re an addict.”
“So are you.
Workaholic.”
“
It’s one of the reasons you love me.”
“Absolutely!”
He turned his head to peer over the sofa at her, “Where are the boys?”
“
With
my parent’s for the weekend,” she said amidst the clang of pots and pans.
“I thought you
were off on the weekend.
”
“I usually
am
but I’m assigned to a really important case. I had to get some work
done at the office and unfortunately
it carried over into
the
weekend.
”
“Aren’t you tired of bringing work home with you?”
She turned on the water and filled the kettle, “Yes. Want tea?”
“Thank
s
.”
She joined him on the sofa as she waited for the water to boil
, “What happened to your
neck
?”
“
Got burned, it’s nothing
.
”
She didn’t question him. When he was ready he’d tell her otherwise she
didn’t pry.
He clasped her hand, “I need a favor.”
Ariana’s dark brown eyes
narrowed
, “What is it?”
He reached under the sofa and
removed
a duffle
bag
.
He unzipped it and produced a
specimen
bag w
hich held a white sheet of paper
with several smudges.
Without
examination she
knew what he wanted
, “Another one?”
“How soon can you get me a positive I.D?”
Ariana shrugged, “I’ll take it over to one of the techs on Monday.”
Today was Saturday
. He guessed a few days
wasn
’
t
so
bad. He reached down again and
brought forth
the cashier’s
check. He placed it in her hand
and h
er expression changed from curiosity to contemplative, “
What is this?”
“Thirty million dollars.”
“I can read
,
you know what I’m asking.”
The tea kettle whistled.
“My pension disbursed in one lump sum.”
Ariana’s eyes returned to the check
to
peruse its authenticity. The funds were drawn
from an international bank in Switzerland
.
In the past Nico entrusted her
with large amounts of money
she
deposited in a
dummy
account in the
Bahamas
.
Careful
planning
and execution went in to
making certain
his
identity remained
anonymous.
“I suggest you
get
this converted to bearer bonds.
It
may require a trip to Switzerland.”
“Why not make the deposit as usua
l
?
”
She sat the items down and excused herself to make two cups of tea. Nico watched
h
er sa
shay away and smirked. He wondered what type of underwear she wore
beneath that
professional attire.
She returned and
placed the
steaming
cup
of
green liquid
on the coffee table
.
“
A trip to Switzerland is impossible
for me
,” he said casually, “currently I am
persona non grata
.”
“It’s a lot of money. It can be traced.
Better to cash it at the bank
its
drawn from, get bearer bonds then make incremental deposits in several different accounts.”
“I step one foot in Switzerland and I’ll be locked-up. Come up with something else.”
“Okay, I think I know somebody who can take care of this for me but it’s a thirty percent commission.”
“Take your commission. I’m not greedy.”
S
he laughed, “You’re too generous.”
“And you’re a fucking shark!”
“Takes one to know one as they say besides, someone has to look out for the
boys
financial future.”
“That’s already done, anyway what about our future?”
“The hit-man and the lawyer.
Makes a good book.”
She laughed, “
I don’t know big guy as long as you’re running around what do they call it in your world? Whacking …clipping…rubbing out people or whatever you call it I can’t be seen with you.”
“You’re a great lawyer but you need to work on the supportive wife part. I’m not a convicted felon so that shit doesn’t apply.”
“True, but your alleged association to organized crime doesn’t bode well for an Assistant D.A. Anyway, I didn’t set these rules you did. As I recall you wanted to keep our relationship under wraps. Remember that
shit
?”
She spoke the truth
but now he was looking forward to settling down to some degree. Not in a small apartment in New York but perhaps Europe or South America. He hadn’t decided yet. It came down to convincing her to leave her job to come with him. He knew uprooting the boys might be a problem, especially since they were close to her parents but it wouldn’t be like they’d never see them again.
“Must you remind me?”
A
riana
ran fingers through her fashionably short hair. A style
made famous by the actress
Halle Berry.
They were an odd match, she the career professional working for
an ambitious New York City District Attorney and
he
a non-conformist.
A professional
hit-man and expatriate.
They met in London
ten years ago
.
Ariana
was
an idealistic
new
attorney
employed by
a
Manhattan law
firm
specializing
in corporate law. She
recently
completed a meeting with a senior executive of an international company
and
decided to stop at
The Capital, a tea shop on Basil Street in London’s southwest ward
where he sat enjoying a cup of brew
after a job
.
When he saw her he considered her
pretty
and
interesting
.
Her
eyes were beautiful, dark and smoldering but it was the
arrogant curve at the side of her mouth
which fascinated him.
She
carried a shopping bag
from
Harrods
and
possessed
this
sexy
fierce
walk
which posed a
challenge
to
his male ego. Her hair was longer then but the face remained unchanged.
He recalled walking over to her table as she enjoyed a solitary cup of tea and
occup
ied the empty
seat
across from her
.
The look she gave
him
would have sent
a lesser man
scurrying away
instead he
leaned
across the table and whispered in Italian, “
Sembri
il
tipo
di donna
che
non ha
avuto
un
uomo
che
potete
per
favore
corrattamente
.”
“
E
si
guarda
il
tipo
di
uomo
che
e
abituato
a fucking
puttane
,
” she replied.
Th
is is
how they met and
also
when he found his
futura
moglie
..his
future wife
.
Y
ears later here they were once again sharing tea together. She sipped quietly, “
Ummm
.”
Nico drank the herbal liquid
. H
e preferred
ginseng
. The ginsenosides were
rumored
to
boost
libido
and maintain erection.
Pushing
f
orty
and with a veracious
sexual
appetite
he needed a boost for
elongated stamina.
“Remem
ber the first time we met?” He asked feeling nostalgic.
She laughed and tea sprinkled across his shirt
, she cupped her mouth, “Sorry.”
He
chuckled because
it was
hilarious.
He hadn’t thought the attractive woman was fluent in
four languages
, more less spoke Italian. If he’d known
he’d spoken
Serbian
instead.
Ariana
recovered and her eyes sparkled, “What a pick-up line,” she mimicked
, albeit
an
English translation, “
You look like the type of woman who needs a man to please you properly.
”
Nico waved his hand in disagreement, “No, I said
you look like
a woman who
does not have
a man
to
please
her
properly and you replied
,
-And you look like the type of man who
enjoys the company of w
hores.”
She took his cup and sat it on the coffee table
next to hers
, “I guess we
were both
right.”
Nico smirked
.
“Except, I’m no longer in the company of whores.”
“Are you sure about that?” She said as she began to unbuckle his belt.
He leaned back smiling. His wife turned him on. “I love when you talk dirty
.”
CHA
PTER
TWENTY-ONE
J
anuary
in New York
City
was like walking into an ice-box naked.
Alfonzo missed the
seasonal changes but he didn’t miss the blaring sirens from
e
mergency vehicles or the
danger
associated with the urban environment
.
He also did not miss the yellow taxis
which
flooded Manhattan
and
made
driving a risky undertaking
.
He checked the time then smiled at his son who watched the lights along
the
a
venue in wonder.
Tonight family and friends converg
ed
up
on the famous Waldorf-Astoria
for the Brown-Diaz Scholarship
Award Ceremony
.
They arrived in sleek black limousine
s
to the main lobby of the luxury hotel and
stepped onto
glitzy
Park
Avenue
beneath
the canopied lights of the art deco
building.