Librium

by PJ Bayliss

  She marched to the car and the driver opened the door to let them inside. A moment later the driver entered the car and they started to drive away.

  ‘The other car is for Adrienne. She was incognito on the ferry behind us.’

  ‘Adrienne? Seriously? I didn’t know.’

  ‘That’s the general idea, Chaise. The less you know the better sometimes.’

  Chaise wondered who the hell this girl was. Somehow, she had transformed into some Special Forces secret agent overnight, and it was quite unnerving.

  ‘Why? Is all this so necessary?’

  ‘This is Italy, Chaise, not New York. Not the Bronx or Brooklyn. The gangsters here go to New York for a nice getaway.’

  ‘I get the idea Peyton, but still...’

  She shook her head. ‘You’ve got no idea Chaise. This is not a place to take chances in our line of business.They know damn well how much profit they can make from our products, the black-market demand for our stuff is ludicrous. And we suspect the mafia are already dealing with the crematoriums and cemetery business already. So, it won’t take much to put two and two together with Federico’s passing. Your father has already had several threats on his life.’

  ‘What? Why didn’t I know that?’

  ‘We, I mean, he, didn’t want to concern you during your studies.’

  ‘Good God, Peyton…’

  ‘That’s why Federico is on that isolated island. His last two villas were raided by gangsters on different occasions. At Trento, they destroyed one of the buildings, but fortunately Federico was always out of the country, or at another villa.’

  ‘I sort of knew about that, just didn’t know how serious it was.’

  ‘Well, when you’re not on the ground in the midst of it all at the time, it is hard to imagine.’

  ◆◆◆

  The driver pulled up across the road from the crematorium and instructed them to stay inside until he returned.

  ‘Don’t fret. Gianni didn’t even know how intense it was either until he started to visit Federico over the past year. I think he thought the old man was going out of his mind when he asked for a security guard to be assigned to him.’

  Chaise could not help but feel sorry for his grandfather. It must have been a terrible way to live for the last remaining years of his life.

  The driver opened their door and they walked down the road to the crematorium where they were greeted by the operator once again. The driver waited inside the reception area by the door as they were escorted to the back room. The operator expressed his condolences and thanked them for coming in to collect the ashes.

  There was a distinct stench hanging in the air that brought their senses to attention. The kind of stench one would rather expect to mask the burning process, but it was not enough to induce them to vomit.

  ‘It went very well,’ he explained,’ but something very remarkable has happened. I must show you,’ he gestured toward the old furnace in the middle of the room. ‘The electrodes we talked about, they’re in here.’

  ‘With the ashes?’ enquired Peyton.

  ‘Oh no, the ashes are there, in the urn you have chosen, of course. But I have never seen electrodes like this before. Ever.’

  He gestured toward the oven and Peyton nodded her head to indicate that she was comfortable looking. The operator raised the lid up slowly and she peered inside.

  ‘Wow! I didn’t expect that,’ Peyton waved her hand toward Chaise to get him to approach.

  ‘Jeepers! That’s incredible!’

  Inside the oven was what appeared to be an elaborate network of wires. It looked more like a wiring loom for a vehicle dashboard than anything else. It was laid out in front of them in a humanoid fashion, with several sets of electrodes laid out where the chest, neck, wrists, and thighs would have been. A mesh of wires connected each electrode to form a limbed structure, and at the top, there was a small metal structure like a fuse box.

  ‘You see what I mean?’ explained the operator, ‘How can I handle this? I do not know.’

  ‘I don't blame you. We appreciate you showing us this. What do you think Chaise?’

  He was still processing the concept in his mind and trying to imagine what Federico had been up to. ‘Is there any way we can somehow keep it like this? You know? Laid out in this way?’

  ‘Why’s that Chaise?’

  ‘If we can get it back to a lab in one piece, then I think we should.’

  Peyton agreed. ‘Let me make a few calls. I have an idea about who can help us out,’ she quickly dialled a number on her phone and walked out of earshot to make arrangements.

  ‘Will you want the urn, Mr. Vallati?’

  ‘Huh? Oh, yes. I will be taking that, thank you.’

  ‘Splendid, also, there was some jewellery too. I have placed that in this box for you.’

  ‘Jewellery? I didn’t think you’d end up with it?’

  ‘True, true. But this was a special wish from your grandfather, what he wore. And you know, the corruption in this city, sometimes things will happen. For this, your father asked me to take care of special things. Things like the jewellery.’

  Somehow what he’d explained made sense to Chaise who thanked him for his consideration and for taking care of Federico’s remains in such a compassionate manner.

  Peyton returned as the jewellery box was being handed over. ‘Done. I have arranged for a local coroner to come around and sort this out. He’s off duty today, so he won't be very far away.’

  The operator thanked them, as Peyton handed him an envelope with his payment. He took a brief glance inside and thanked her before they left.

  ◆◆◆

  Not a word passed between them until they reached the car. They were both confused and full of questions about the mass of titanium wires in the oven.

  ‘That was not what I expected.’

  ‘Me neither, Chaise. I thought we would find something like an oversized pacemaker, perhaps an ECG wire. Not that.’

  ‘I know. He must’ve had help putting them in, surely?’

  ‘I agree. He probably implanted them surgically somehow. And with help from somebody, no doubt.’

  ‘A surgeon?’

  ‘Almost definitely.’

  They continued to speculate upon what the network of wires did for Federico and why he had decided to experiment upon himself in this manner. It wasn't unheard of that he had tried some of the chemicals he’d developed before, especially in the earlier days when his remedies were frowned upon by the pharmaceutical industry. They wondered if it was for a sleep medication, a muscle relaxant, or perhaps some form of pain relief.

  ‘There’s something I don't quite get though, Peyton.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘If he had all those wires everywhere on his body, then what was he doing with them? If it was an experiment, then where’s the lab?’

  She frowned with her mouth, ‘Hmmm, I never thought of that part of the equation.’

  ‘Does he have another villa on the island? Like he did in Trento?’

  ‘No. Not to my knowledge. He would’ve told us all about that.’

  'Well he can't tell us anything now...'

  They both looked at each other with wide-open eyes of revelation and together they cried out, ‘THE VIDEO!’

  36

  The boat seemed to take forever to navigate the harbour. It slowly motored out to sea until it reached the end of Molo San Vincenzo pier where the port met the open sea. The engines rumbled as the captain increased the speed and the deck shuddered and vibrated beneath their feet.

  ‘Finally, we’re away,’ Chaise mumbled.

  This trip to the island couldn’t have been any slower for them. They were filled with anticipation about what the video could contain back at Federico’s villa. Chaise clung on to the urn and jewellery box nice and tight and looked out over the bow of the ship as it cruised along.

  Peyton finally returned from the ship’s café with a hot coffee. He thanked her
and asked her about the video.

  ‘Didn’t you say that you helped him put it together?’

  ‘Yeah. But I only helped the funeral director set the video equipment up. They were having difficulty with one of the cables.’

  ‘You haven’t seen the video yet?’

  ‘Nope. They asked me to leave them alone once it was working.’

  Chaise sighed. It seemed that waiting until they reached the villa was his only option. He sipped his coffee and gazed out toward the horizon.

  ‘A penny for your thoughts?’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘What are you thinking about?’ she replied. ‘Your mind is obviously wandering off somewhere.’

  He smiled. Peyton knew him well, and indeed his inner thoughts were scattered upon his brow. ‘I was just thinking about us, to be honest.’

  ‘Us? Really?’ she perked up in her seat. ‘Since when was there an “us”?’

  ‘Since yesterday, I guess.’

  Peyton smiled. Their encounter upon the balcony may have been induced by a weakening through alcohol, but given any sober moment, she’d do the whole thing all over again.

  ‘Yesterday was good. And special.’

  ‘Yeah, it was. Do you think there’d be any more yesterdays in our future?’

  Peyton leant forward and kissed him upon the cheek. ‘Who knows what the future may eventually bring?’

  Chaise noticed a younger man lurking around behind them wearing a hoodie. He flicked his eyes toward him direction to make Peyton aware of him being there. ‘That guy looks a bit odd, don’t you think?’

  Peyton turned to see what was grabbing Chaise's attention. ‘Hmmm, a bit odd, maybe.’

  ‘Could it be mafia?’

  Peyton nodded her head, ‘Nahh. She looks more like ex-Belgium forces…’ she laughed. ‘It’s Adrienne, you fool!’

  Peyton waved her over and she sat down beside them, the hoodie pulled over her head.

  ‘My God, Adrienne, have you been there watching us all along?’

  ‘Watching, listening…’ she flicked an earpiece out of her ear from beneath the hoodie. ‘Just making sure everything went as planned.’

  The whole security detail concept was new for Chaise to grasp but he started to appreciate it once Adrienne began to explain her previous work contract.

  She had been deployed to work alongside another security agent for a wealthy millionaire in Dubai who financed large construction projects around the Middle East. Most days she worked in the office where she could blend in with the other employees as a receptionist or personal assistant. However, on other days she had to protect him out in the field as he visited various construction sites.

  ‘My partner was a Navy Seal who freelanced in the security business. He was a real piece of work. I reckon he’d be a psychopath if he wasn’t on the right side of justice.’

  ‘Sounds like a charming guy…’ Chaise jested. ‘What was his problem?’

  ‘Baggage. Lots and lots of baggage. He was narcissistic, and hedonistic too as he really didn’t give a fuck about anything, anyone, or anybody. But, I guess he had a decent reason for being like it too.’

  ‘Why do you think that?’

  ‘Well, his military experience, I guess. From what I could gather, he was either a sniper, espionage agent, or maybe an assassin. Whatever he was, he was the judge, jury, and executioner all in one.’

  ‘Yeah? Like I said, charming…’ interjected Chaise. ‘So, what happened in this contract deal?’

  ‘It all went to the pack one day during a visit to a construction site. I insisted on a decoy car, like the set-up we had today, but he decided otherwise and we ended up in one car all together. He said it was more convenient. Whatever.

  It wasn’t very convenient when they ambushed us on the way there.’

  ‘Ambush? Like a holdup?’

  ‘No. Like an assassination. Three cars boxed us in, a fourth jammed us in from the front. We rear-ended that one, and they opened fire from all sides.’

  ‘Shit! That’s insane!’

  Adrienne shook her head. ‘Tell me about it. Because both of us were in the front seat, all we could do was take cover and try to survive. Semi’s from all angles, armour penetrating rounds and a flaming cocktail as they departed.

  ‘God only knows how we got out of that car alive. Here’s the weird thing though. My partner, the prick I told you about, pulled me from the wreckage once the shooting stopped. My leg was busted up, and he’d been shot in the shoulder, his bicep hanging off & everything, but he still managed to drag my arse out of there.’

  ‘That’s impressive!’

  ‘I know. Turns out he had this condition, something from birth, and was totally immune from pain. I’d never heard of it before, but the freak could have a burn, broken arm, cuts, anything. He simply didn’t feel a thing.’

  The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital several weeks later.’

  ‘What about your partner?’

  ‘He survived, apparently. I never saw him again because he went off to a military hospital. Not just any military hospital either. It was like some of secret compound for his particular division.’

  ‘Sounds like a blessing in disguise, to be honest.

  ‘I agree. That’s where I met your father in the hospital during my recovery. He had just been over to see him in the military hospital and was helping the doctors. Gianni mentioned something to me about the amnesia my partner apparently suffered, but it was all a bit hush hush. That was one of Gianni’s first military experiments I believe, so you connect the dots from there.’

  ‘Amazing story,’ remarked Chaise. ‘Sounds like it should be a novel.’

  Adrienne chuckled. ‘Maybe...’

  37

  Secrets are a difficult thing to harbour. For starters, there’s a simple matter of trust between those that choose to share a secret and those who reveal. And while Chaise felt as if he was keeping a secret from his father, he wasn’t so confident he knew what the secret was about.

  Chaise had no idea what the mass of electrodes and wiring worked or represented. There was no evidence of what it was used for in Federico’s life, so it remained a complete mystery to him.

  He didn’t even know if it was for good or bad, so naturally he didn’t mention a word to Gianni when he took the DVD from him.

  ‘A DVD? The video is on this?’

  ‘Uh-huh. That’s what the funeral director gave me.’

  ‘Seems a bit old fashioned…’

  ‘Well, he was a little old himself,’ quipped Gianni. ‘I guess it’s the whole presentation thing. The director gave us a nice folder with these memories to be shared, including the videos' Federico recorded. It sure as hell beats sharing them on Facebook.’

  Chaise immediately sensed an agitated nerve bubbling close to the surface, so he graciously accepted the DVD and walked out to the balcony where Peyton was waiting.

  ‘A DVD?’ she said with a frown.

  ‘Don’t get me started...’

  ‘I haven’t seen a DVD player anywhere in the house,’ she held up her phone, ‘and all I’ve got it this.’

  ‘Same here. Mama has an iPad, so that’s pointless. You helped set up the recording, so what did you use then?’

  ‘That’s my point. Everything had to be brought in by the funeral director. It needed to be set-up from scratch because Federico doesn't even have a television.’

  ‘Who on earth doesn’t have a telly?’ quipped Chaise. Ripples of desperation began to flow through his chest. There was one obvious solution, and while it was as plain as the nose upon his face, there was little chance of it happening.

  ‘We could try the neighbour,’ said Peyton.

  Chaise shuddered at her suggestion. He was, in every sense, a typical male who resented asking for help. He’d rather be lost in the countryside than ask strangers for directions.

  But she was right, of course. The neighbour was the best option.

  ‘Okay. I
guess that might work. Do you know them?

  ‘Met him a couple of times. He’s nice enough.’

  ‘Let’s go then,’ Chaise resigned himself to the idea and followed her downstairs. They walked past the garage door to the entrance.

  ‘Wait a minute!’ exclaimed Chaise, ‘The car!’

  ‘What?’ she turned back but Chaise had disappeared into the garage and had jumped into Federico’s little car. He let out a yell of celebration.

  ‘We can play it in here! It has a monitor!' He was ecstatic, not merely for finding the solution, but for not having to ask the stranger next door for help. His stubborn virtue had conquered once again.

  Chaise inserted the DVD and the dashboard screen flicked into action and started playing. There was a logo from the funeral director business on the screen before the image of Federico appeared.

  The old man smiled and took a sigh before speaking. He looked frail and well-weathered, but still content and his eyes remained full of love. His trembled as he talked into the camera.

  He began by welcoming Chaise to the video and immediately apologised for not being able to make it to the graduation ceremony. ‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to your ceremony some time ago when my body started to crumble. I couldn’t control this..., this..., thing inside me. It’s not a cancer, it’s a demon with no boundaries between the simple pleasure of life and the terrible void of pain.’

  Tears started to form in Federico’s lower eyelid as he continued to explain. ‘Throughout my entire life, I fought for what I believed in, and I struggled to control these types of things. My struggle was for everybody, and I did help so many people with the products I created.

  The drugs.

  The chemistry.

  The magic of a cure.

  And, the wonder of creation.

  Then I marvelled at the wonder of your creation.

  When you entered my life, all the years of hard work, and lifetime that I devoted to the world to find a cure suddenly turned into a heartbeat when you and your brother arrived.’