ASCENSION (9 page)

Alfonzo
heard laughter and
looked
in the direction Alberti’s eyes traveled only a moment before.
T
hrough the f
ern
s
he
noticed Selange dancing with
Franky
, his son in the middle doing a two-step to a salsa song
as Shanda sat texting
. They
appeared to be having such fun
and
he
experienced a pang of jealousy
.
He hated
to see
his wife
danc
e
with Franky.
S
he seemed to enjoy
his company over her
husband
’s
. Was this t
he fun she wanted? He wondered.
H
e
blamed
himself
for not being more attentive
but he
sought
to rectify
the situation
tonight.

“
There’s a matter I must discuss with you
,
”
Alberti said casually.

Alfon
zo directed his gaze to Alberti. Why else would he have flown to America?
“I
thought so
.”

Alberti discreetly
glance
d
once more
toward the pool area
, “You have what you want,
yes
?”

“
Without a doubt
,
”
Alfonzo answered truthfully.

“Good
-g
ood,
you made a wise decision then.
” Alberti commented through a cloud of smoke
.
“
T
here is a meeting
of the
International Board of Directors and
your presence
is required.
A
very delicate matter
for
th
e
entire
coun
ci
l.
”

Raucous l
aughter rang out
and his eyes diverted
again.
Fr
anky swirl
ed
his son
in
the air
causing the
boy
to
shriek
with joy
.
His wife
laugh
ed
as
Franky planted the boy
on
the ground
and
Sal wobbled
unsteadily
to
his mother.
Selange
shook a playful finger at
the
bodyguard then pushed
a hand
against his chest.
Alfonzo
’s
face
tensed in anger
at their
comfortable familiarity
.

Alberti saw this but said
nothing.
It was a private affair.

Alfonzo shift
in place,
“
When?”
He asked sullenly.

“
Tuesday
.
Your
U
ncle
Carlo
will
await your arrival
.”

The flight to Italy was an entire day
which
meant he must leave tomorrow.
Dammit!
“
And t
his can’t
wait a few more days?” Alfonzo asked although he knew the answer.

“
It’s in your best interest to be there
, Monticelli requested a meeting before the council to
address the death of his son Maximo
”

The mention of the Monticelli name got his undivided attention.
Maximo Monticelli was a top Lieutenant in
New York’s organized crime family. His
death last year
in a
fatal car accident in Florida
shifted the succession of power within the Monticelli clan but Alfonzo did not understand the necessity of his presence. Afterall, he had no business dealings with any of the
Monticelli’s
, everyone knew this.

The old man served as Alfonzo’s mouthpiece in matters of delicacy with the
International Board of Directors. They were a group of old men
who respected tradition over
progression
.
Their council consisted of factions of top organized crime families in Italy.
Men with influence in politics and law enforcement.
T
heir meetings were often secret affairs, each location different from the last and
heavily secured. Being required to attend did not bode well with
Alfonzo,
he was a puppet to no man.

Luzo Palazzo’s
business undertakings made many of them
rich
er
men
, since his passing their dealings with Alfonzo was mainly through Alberti in request for favors
.
Primarily
, laundering their bloody money.
A practice he debated and refused until his uncle warned him of the consequence. “Th
ese men had an
agreement with your father
which
you are expected to honor. Not to do so
will be a sign of disrespect and
begin a bloodbath nephew. I will support your de
cision but
be
forewarned this may cost
you
more than
pride.”

And
taking his uncle’s advice under consideration Alfonzo
reluctantly
entered a
truce with the devil.

“What does his son’s death have to do with me?” Alfonzo asked.

“
I have no idea, but
you
r presence is requested
.”

“I don’t want to entertain
a
murd
ering bastard and I don’t give a damn how it looks
!”

Alberti bent low to smell the
pedal of a Jonquil. Its slender
rush
like foliage had a
s
weet
scent.

“Do you play chess?” Alberti asked the young man.

Alfonzo didn’t understand the relevance
besides Alberti had asked this question once before and he repeated the answer he’d given a year ago
, “No
, I prefer
checkers
, it’s
straightforward.”

T
his time
Alberti smiled, “Ah, you like to
jump over things
. A quick easy game requiring limited wit
, whereas, c
hess requires
patience and
strategy. You should learn, perhaps I will teach you.”

“
I disagree, but we’re not here to debate board games, are we?”

“Life is a game. One day you will realize this. Yes, d
efinitely
I
must
teach you
the wisdom of patience.
”
H
e faced Alfonzo now, “Your absence will be noticed
and seen as an offense.
Are you prepared to accept the consequences?
”

Th
e
dark question
caused Alfonzo to pause.
He was tempted to answer affirmatively instead he said,
“
S
tay for dinner.”

The
young man’s
manners remained
intact
. Alberti smiled graciously, “
T
hank you, but I must leave.
I
h
ave a long flight home
,
b
esides my wife waits
. You see,
I
too
am
happily
bound.”

Th
e
old man’s
words rang in his
head
as he watched
him
swiftly
turn to navigate his way
down the drive
to
the
c
ar.
Alfonzo took a deep breath to calm the anger
stirring in his head. Franky was becoming a problem and a cause of concern.
He trusted his wife but Franky
–well
he was a
different
matter
especially after what he
just
witnessed.

A
familiar
ring-tone emanat
ed
from his cell,
“Yeah?”

“
Que
paso
prim
o
?”
Domingo
greete
d
.

Alfonzo cocked his head to
the side as he watched
Alberti’s
vehicle
disappear
amongst
the trees.

“
Nada
y t
ú
?”

“
Just checking on you and la familia. Everybody miss you man.
”

The tension in his jaw relaxed
, “
Really, I was there three weeks ago.
”

“
T
hat’s
cool
and all but it ‘
aint
the same. Y
ou
know what I mean
?
”

“
No,
”
Alfonzo teased then added, “Yeah
I miss
chillin
’ with you guys, too
. Anyway,
how’s
Teresa
and the kids
?”

“Man
don’t
get me started, she
trippin
’
whenever I
gotta
go
out. I try to tell the woman,
it’s
business
but you know how my lady is
.”

Alfonzo
circled
the
side of the house and
entered
the
gate leading to the
patio
.
K
nowing Domingo
’s
reputation with the ladies he was probably taking care of personal
business.
“
M
om
knows we’ll be
there
at the end of the month
.
You guys
ready for the awards
ceremony?
”

“
N
o doubt
.
Teresa
has
her dress and
y
ou know me, I’m coming GQ
!”

“
Yeah, yeah,” Alfonzo said good-naturedly. “W
hen
I get
there
watch your mouth
a
round
my kid
.”

“Ah, shit! You know that ‘
aint
happenin
’
. Sal
has
to expand his vocabulary.
Hell,
I
’ll
have him
up on the lingo in no time and
grabbing his
crotch
like we do in the ‘hood.”
Domingo joked.

Al
fonzo chuckled and leaned against the gate unnoticed.
“I think Sal
might
teach
you a few things, after
-
all he
has
the Diaz chromosome.
”

Domingo’s laugh
ter
ran
g
out,
“
Yo
,
that kid
do
remind me of your crazy ass
, word
!”

“
All right,
I
gotta
go but
I’ll check you later
.
”