Antiphon

by B. L. Roberts

  Matteo attended to urgent business first, and arranged the meeting with Mr. Coca Cola. He also issued directions for recovery of the bodies, so they could have a proper send off. He would have to face the others, and explain what had gone wrong, and why they would not be receiving the extra one hundred million, and that could prove difficult, as he still didn’t understand himself, what had gone wrong. He would lose face with the others, it had been his plan, the island his idea, and to redeem face, he would have to extract a proper revenge for their deaths. That would come later, but it would come. Not too much later. He would learn who had killed members of his family, and they would pay, painfully.

  The meeting with the man claiming to be from Coca Cola, became a little tricky. Matteo assured him his part of the deal had been accomplished, they had the evidence from their own man on the scene. All records were destroyed, all samples as well. Then the man from Coca Cola asked him to hang on to the boys, keep them secure, for the time being. Matteo’s face disclosed nothing, as he nodded agreement. The man did not need to know, right now, he had lost the boys. He would no doubt learn that soon enough. In any event, this was a new request, not part of his original deal.

  As far as Bramboni was concerned, the contract with this man was concluded. He had done what he had been paid to do, that should be the end of it. The man signed the bank form, and left with the parting words, “Those boys are our guarantee the work in that accursed laboratory won’t start up again. I will let you know when it is safe to let them go.”

  Matteo, again, just nodded. A day later, the money safely under his control, Matteo Bramboni faced the two remaining family heads.

  “Dominic and Nicollo, it is a tragedy, and we mourn for our brother, Giovanni. The family will now have to replace him. I am making enquiries, and I will soon find out who betrayed us, and he will pay, very very painfully.”

  The others nodded solemnly. To betray the brotherhood was unforgivable, and there was only one punishment. Bramboni continued,

  “Sorensen must be made to pay for this, he had no right to kill Giovanni and the cousins. We did not harm his sons, we went to great trouble and expense, to keep them safe. To murder our brother is an outrage, which cannot, will not, go unpunished, and Sorensen will be sorry he did this. We must all put our minds to this, and find a way.”

  There was no dissension. Revenge followed an act like this, as night follows day. There would be payback. They knew Matteo would not rest until it happened, nor would they.

  32

  Frederik Sorensen was anxious to take his family away, somewhere safe, for a holiday, to help them get over the trauma of the past weeks, and told Peters of his intention. Peters response was chilling.

  “Frederik, I think that is excellent, but with a caveat. From now on, and until we get the men responsible for the kidnapping, the ring leaders, you and your family are in danger. We have thrown down the gauntlet to the mafia, and they are not going to take this lying down. I have had a number of brushes with this lot, they are quite ruthless, as you saw when they snatched the boys, and also resourceful, and tricky. The mafia is like an octopus, it has tentacles everywhere, informers. We made fools of them, and that, they do not like, believe me.

  “Also, they do not forgive, and I can assure you, right now, they will be plotting revenge, and you and your family will be their targets. I have feelers out to get to the bottom of who is behind the kidnapping, who, in the mafia, organised it. Their ring leaders are blood related, they see themselves as an extended family, and I suspect their head honcho, a Sicilian called Matteo Bramboni, could be behind this, but I have no proof as yet.

  “I will find out, then my advice to you is, we try to find a way to take them out, that is the only way you can be sure you and the family will ever be safe. From now, until we get this lot, you must exercise the utmost caution. Don’t you go anywhere without bodyguards, nor any members of the family. The boys are not to leave the house unaccompanied, make them understand this. I can provide good men to protect you, and while it is going to cost you, to employ them, I think that is something you will have to bear, for now.

  “Keep this holiday under wraps, quiet, go somewhere away from crowds, and take bodyguards with you. It will be a pain in the neck I know, but I would not be saying this, if I did not think it was important.”

  Sorensen’s first reaction was to dismiss the warning. He wanted to get on with his life, and get over what had happened, but something in Peters tone stopped him. If these men wanted him and his family dead, how easy would it be for them? A sniper hidden in bushes? A gunman in a restaurant? Peters knew these men, understood how their minds worked, and he had the utmost respect for Peters and his capability. Soberly, he nodded.

  “Brent, we owe you so much, and thank you for your concern. You are right, of course. I can’t pretend it is all over, it is not. Do what you have to, to sort this out, and we will do whatever you tell us.”

  Teams of four discretely armed men began shifts at the Sorensen villa, changing every six hours to keep them fresh. All were former special service soldiers from various armies. Peters’s instructions were to keep a low profile, and also to keep moving around the property, and its immediate vicinity.

  After the stress of the past weeks, Frederik felt he needed to escape with his family for a time, to recuperate. With Peters’s warning ringing in his ears, he looked for a safe haven, where he wouldn’t be looking over his shoulder, and opted for Antarctica, a place they had never visited.

  He picked up the phone to make a booking, then replaced it. Could the mafia bug his phone? He was not sure, he would question Peters later, but for now, he would avoid using it, if possible. He summoned his secretary, to make direct personal arrangements.

  He would use the Gulfstream to fly to Ushuaia, in southern Argentina, where the family could join a cruise ship, and the bookings would not be in their names. As a further smoke screen, he instructed his pilot to book in only the first leg of the flight. They would book the second leg when they reached Hawaii. He also released a brief press release, saying he was taking his family to outback Australia, for a camping holiday. Details were quickly sorted, and they departed the next morning.

  At Peters’ suggestion, one of his men accompanied them, a precaution Frederik thought unnecessary, but he did not argue. No one, other that his secretary and Peters, would know where they were, and they should be safe on the cruise. His family could spend two weeks together, with no work, no interruptions, and no stress, a break they all needed.

  Bramboni’s men, charged with spying out the property, identified several of the guards the first day, and their report reached Matteo later that same evening. Bramboni was not surprised, he expected nothing less. After having his sons kidnapped, Sorensen would employ protection, Matteo would have been surprised otherwise. He would continue to monitor Sorensen’s place, until he was ready to make his move. There was no hurry.

  Okay, so the Swede had fortified his home. You don’t strike your enemy at his strongest point, you look for where he is weakest. Like all good generals, this was Bramboni’s policy. He would find the weak spot. When he decided to strike, it would be decisive, and this time, there would be no slip ups, and no mercy. Sorensen would live to regret what he had done, then he would die.

  Matteo Bramboni’s man, perched among wires high up the electricity pole at the end of Sorensen’s street, pretending to do repairs, noted the vehicle containing the family, leave, and duly reported. Another contact at the airport also reported the departure of the Gulfstream, but Bramboni had no idea, as yet, where it was heading. He alerted contacts at airports in several likely countries, to watch for it landing. By the next day, he had it traced to Hawaii, but then he lost track. He was told of the purported trip to Australia, doubted if it was true, but nevertheless alerted contacts in several Australian cities, to keep their eyes open.

  Bramboni was not unduly perturbed.
He surmised the Sorensen family would want some privacy after the return of their boys, probably go somewhere for a quiet holiday, maybe a Pacific island. There was no hurry. They would return, and he would be informed, and would begin to lay plans for his revenge. Sorensen had to die, also his family, that was definite, but Bramboni knew it was not the Swedish millionaire who had orchestrated the recovery of his sons, nor the killing of Giovanni and the others. Sorensen had hired outside help, and whoever was working for him was the real murderer. Bramboni wanted that man’s name. He, too, would be added to the kill list. No, he would head that list.

  Extensive though his list of contacts was, it had limitations. Bramboni bribed where he could, paid for information, and, where necessary, used muscle to coerce people to cooperate and pass along bits of intelligence that was useful to his network, but at first he struck a wall. Two weeks passed, and no one either could, or would, tell him who was behind the boys recovery. Then he had a flash of inspiration, and kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner.

  Whoever it was, would have needed the cooperation of the Swedish police, and he had a mole in police headquarters. Perhaps he could find out that way. It took a few more days, but his idea worked. The name on the slip of paper handed to him, was Brent Peters.

  Bramboni thought he had heard that name before, it rang vague alarm bells, and he began to do some checking. What he learned, gave him cause for concern. Reports of several instances where jobs had gone belly up, big jobs, had Peters name attached, and Bramboni learned, Peters was held in fear by some of his associates, men who were not easily frightened.

  No matter, it meant he had to be ultra careful. The man must be clever enough, and have good contacts, to have found the boys, Bramboni had thought their hideaway foolproof. Yes, to take out Peters would have to done with great care. His police source thought Peters was still living at the Sorensen residence. It would be too difficult to get at him there, he had too many bodyguards, with police backup only minutes away. He would have to tempt him away from the home, to a place where he could be attacked. Bramboni mulled over the problem, waiting for an idea, and he threw it out to his brothers, Dominic and Nicollo, not that he really thought they would come up with something clever, but one never knew, they might surprise him.

  While Bramboni was cogitating over how to kill Brent Peters, similar thoughts were occupying the American’s mind, only it was Bramboni he wanted dead. The man was evil. He had planned the kidnapping, and was quite prepared to kill the two innocent Sorensen boys, if it furthered his cause. More than that, he remained dangerous. Peters understood the Mafia code of revenge. Bramboni would be plotting his, Peters’, death right at this minute, and it would be a question of who could kill the other first.

  With Sorensen safely out of harm’s way on his holiday, Peters went to work, milking his contacts for all the information he could find out about the Sicilian. What he learned, did not point him to a way to get at Bramboni. The man lived in a fortress, protected by numerous, well armed, foot-soldiers, and the entire island of Sicily where he resided, was in his thrall. An overt attack on Bramboni’s headquarters in Sicily, would require an army, and was not an option. It would require too many men, and would involve heavy loss of life. He had to get Bramboni away from Sicily. He needed bait.

  The bait eventually came in the form of one, Professor Lee Miu Wong, but when it did come, it was not exactly what Peters had anticipated.

  33

  When Georgio Scarletti returned from his work unexpectedly, and announced he had been given a week off, Maria was delighted. They could go shopping together, have a nice dinner at a restaurant, maybe even go to the theatre. Georgio, too, was happy to be home with his wife, they could spend some of his time off, trying to make the baby she so badly wanted, but there was a hesitancy in his manner, that Maria picked up on.

  “Something is bothering you, Georgio, what is it? Do you have a problem?”

  Georgio flopped into a chair.

  “I am not sure. Professor Wong would not say, but he was very upset, as if he was on the verge of tears. I thought someone in his family must have died, but he would not say, just that we all had a week off, and had to leave the island. I guess I will find out, when I go back next week. It is good, having a break, but actually it is a nuisance, I was in the middle of tests to reproduce the virus.”

  He cut short his explanation, suddenly remembering he was not supposed to talk to his wife about his work.

  “Never mind, you can do it when you do back.”

  Maria thought any interruption to what they were doing in that laboratory, was a good thing, but she dared not say that to Georgio. The couple spent a happy week, then Georgio left, to return to the island. Maria was astonished when he returned, later that same afternoon. She saw at once he was upset.

  “Georgio, you’re home again. What has happened?”

  “My job is finished, over! Wong has told us all we are not proceeding with the work. It is at an end, we are all sacked. Our work is stopped. Caput. He is paying us all off, the job is finished.

  “He was very generous. He told us Mr. Sorensen is paying us all a full year’s salary, in lieu of notice, so I cannot complain, but we had to sign another undertaking, not to disclose what we have been working on, and Wong said to go home, and forget about it.”

  He became agitated, walking backwards and forwards quickly, then stopping, to shake his head.

  “How can I forget about it? What we were doing out there was incredible! We found out so much about the genome, and how viruses could interact with it, there was just so much to advance medicine, Maria. It is a tragedy we could not continue.”

  Maria did not share his despondency. When the first glimmer of understanding of what her husband was doing, had sunk into her brain, it had caused her distress. That Georgio was working on a contraceptive that would somehow prevent women having babies, both frightened, and alarmed, her. What would God think? Maybe, what had now happened, was God’s way of putting a stop to it. Who was Georgio, to argue with God? Georgio should look on the bright side.

  “Georgio, you say you will be paid a whole year’s salary, at the same rate as they have been paying you? That is a lot of money. We can have a real holiday together, travel, and you will have plenty of time to find another job.”

  Georgio would not be consoled.

  “It won’t be the same. The people I was working with, they were the top in the field, they were all brilliant. I was so lucky to get the opportunity to work alongside them, to hear the way they could reason things out, and the professor, Dr. Wong, he is an extraordinary man. The laboratory we were given had everything you could possibly ask for. Every piece of equipment we had, was the best and latest in the world, and could do every test and measurement we needed, and do it quickly, that is how we could accomplish so much, so quickly. I don’t think I will ever get to work in a place like that again.”

  Maria didn’t know too much about laboratories, but she couldn’t imagine they would be very different from each other. She made soothing noises to placate her husband.

  “Come and have a drink, and relax. You’ll soon get over it. Let’s talk about that holiday.”

  Georgio was not so sure he would soon get over it, but he accepted the drink.

  Back on the island, Professor Lee Miu Wong sat slumped in his chair, and decided to attack another bottle of Vodka. It had been a hellish week and a half, firstly sending off his team when they were on the cusp of completing their assignment, then having to put up with that insufferable Italian and his smirking face, gloating over the destruction of their precious work, then having to inform his staff their services would no longer be required. That was the worst part.

  They were such a brilliant collection of minds, such a pleasure to work with, and they had achieved so much, miracles really, in such a relatively short space of time. It had been incredible, watching things develop
, so quickly. To see them go, dispersed to various parts of the world, was a tragedy. Thank God Sorensen had agreed to his suggestion about giving them all a years salary, it was a lot of money, but it made him feel better. Some of the scientists had given up top positions in other organisations to join his team, and for him to pull the rug out from under them like this, was inexcusable.

  Only it was excusable. Wong understood the reason behind his boss’s order, and if their roles had been reversed, he would have done the same thing. Sorensen had to save his children, that was more important to him, than what they were doing in his laboratory. Wong could not tell the staff the reason behind the shut down, he had been sworn to secrecy, and knew the boys’ lives could depend on it remaining a secret, and that made it more difficult. His staff would have understood, had he been able to give them the reason.

  Some on the team felt betrayed, disappointed, and the best Wong could do was apologise, try to assure them there were valid reasons behind what he was doing, and sweeten them with the salary payout. They were all gone now, only he remained on the island, with his wife, Lanfen. One thing lightened his mood somewhat. The knowledge all had not been entirely lost.

  The copies of notes and records he had made, lay safely locked in his safe, and the samples he had extracted, looked to be doing well. He would keep that knowledge to himself. Whoever had taken Sorensen’s sons, were ruthless and dangerous. Such people were loathsome, they would stop at nothing, and the professor was astute enough to know, that if they found out he had kept duplicates of the work, his own life could be in danger. He would keep this knowledge to himself.

  He slowly made his way to the liquor store and stared at the Vodka bottle for a few moments, picked it up, studied it for a few more moments, then slowly put it back. Whatever was to happen over the next few days, perhaps weeks, would require a clear head, and the Vodka would not help.