The Life Rebirth

Continued from Part 3: The Life Sacrifice GABRIEL I let Sal take me around, introducing me to everyone at the party that night, both his friends and his sons'. I didn't show any interest or even let on that I could hear the questions being thrown at Ricci in harsh whispers, and of course, I turned a blind eye to the stares of disbelief. Believe it or not, Alonzo wasn't my first target of the night, no. A fish rots from the head, sure, but in this case, I want that head to watch as everything around him crumbles while he lives in fear of what comes next. While at Sal's side, I kept my face neutral and only spoke when spoken to, though I kept target number one in my peripheral at all times. I know she must be dying inside, and I'm pretty sure she's anxious as hell to get Alonzo alone. The eight suspects kept giving each other looks from across the room while trying not to appear guilty or afraid. I didn't know Sal was going to drop Ma's name like that, in essence letting his son kn

GABRIEL I knew this time would come, the time when I would stand face to face alone with Ricci. I was proud of myself as I stood there outside in the winter garden where I'd purposely gone to isolate myself making it easy for him to follow. After placing little devices where needed throughout Sal's tour, which I recorded with the camera on my watch, I'd gone back to my room to rest and to check up on my handiwork. Felice and the kids had taken off somewhere, and I knew Sal was in his study with his two sons when I went on my first expedition back to Felice and Ricci's room. If anyone saw me, I could just explain myself away as being lost as it was my first time in this big house, but no one saw me, and I didn't hang around long enough to get caught. Of course, I could've probably walked in without issue since the whole staff seemed confused by my presence and because no one had kicked me out and I seemed to be Sal's new favorite grandson; who would dare object? But I didn't want

GABRIEL It took another six months before Memnon was ready to move, or at least he was finally making noises in that direction. A lot has happened in that time. First, I did not return to Sicily, not yet, but I did stay in contact with Sal, almost weekly, in fact. He would've liked more, but I knew a big fish in the water has more lure than the little one on the hook. So, I kept him waiting while giving him updates on my life, fictional, of course, but he'd find the truth of my words if he looked. I also used the time to lay the groundwork for my next big move when I finally do return to Sicily. Things were going slower than I would've liked, but all things considered, I'd not been wasting valuable time, but instead, getting things in order for my departure. In that time, I'd also been collecting and compiling my findings from the recordings I'd made from the devices I'd planted in the palazzo and also in Teresa and Antonio's home. The bottle of wine I'd sent her was long gone, b

GABRIEL "Who are you? why are you trying to hack into my system?" I pressed some keys quickly to stop the hacker from getting any further. "So, you've seen me. Pretty good." "You're not bad yourself; now answer the question." I was calm and cold as ice. "I'm someone who is trying to save you from yourself." "I don't compute." "You know exactly what I'm talking about. That road you're about to take, it's a dead end. You shouldn't be so quick to give up on yourself. I don't want to see someone with your capabilities wasted. Stay safe!" And he's gone. Who the hell was that? Whoever he is, he's good, very good. I almost didn't see him until it was too late. I shut down and reworked some stuff on my end to safeguard myself even further. I'm not exactly nervous, but this is the first time something like this has happened. Trying to save me from myself. Memnon? No, it wasn't his crawlers, so who? I could run a reverse hack, but I get the feeling this person is too good, and I'

DRACO "Andros, how much do you trust this guy?" "He's in the top ten." "Good enough. Thanks for this. If this thing works out, I'll send you a bottle of that Scotch you like." We man hugged, and I left to go back home. My gut tells me Mancini is on the up and up. The fact that they'd pieced together so much just from one conversation that took place so long ago between two kids told me that he doesn't just collect geniuses; he's one of them. I don't care what he's up to, so long as he saves my son, he'll be in my top ten too. I let myself relax on the jet and made myself believe that this could be a way out. I've been on edge all week thinking that Gabe was about to leave again, but it's only when I went to board the plane, and the pilot told me about the flight out tomorrow, that I knew it was a definite. I've been fighting with myself ever since, trying to find a way to stop him from going back there. I almost called Uncle Guy and told him to take out Ricci and be done with