The Carducci Convergence

by Nicolas Olano

  Weeks into their voyage, stopping at every miserable port down the southern coast of Indonesia, the freighter finally arrived at Dili in the island nation of East Timor where, for some time, Jean Dupree and Enrico Testa would make their home. Dili is the capital and main urban area where Dupree had acquired a beautiful Portuguese style home on a nice piece of land overlooking the city and its port. He had never seen it other than on the computer screen but it was time to visit it in person after such a long voyage.

  A car waited for them after customs and took them to their new home. All that was needed for a comfortable life had already been delivered to the house and arranged by Antonino the butler and the rest of the staff. After the privations both had suffered in the last few months, Palmeira, as the house was called, seemed like paradise. It had an ample swimming pool, a fruit garden, and a horse stable. The house itself was an old plantation home of some Portuguese sandalwood and spice farmer, and later of one of the Australian oil executives during the exploitation of the island’s resources of which Timor received little or nothing. Palmeira was a large place but in a country where most people live on less than two dollars a day. Dupree could afford a full staff and then more.

  Within a few days Jean Dupree had a handle on the bank and its staff and Enrico had the measure and control of the house and garden personnel. Antonino, the butler, had been a sergeant during the independence strife with Indonesia and most of the workers had been soldiers under his command. He gravitated instantly towards Enrico, recognizing in him the officer in charge and thus, a regimental style to which everyone fell into comfortably was established at Palmeira. Morning exercises were de rigor and martial arts were taught and practiced on a daily basis. In no time Testa had himself a little army. Now he wanted weapons with which to train them.

  Dupree, carefully and under the guise of an adopted name in his new role as president of the Malay-Timor Trade Bank, Senor Fortunato Bernardes, started sounding out some of the old clients he had served well through the IOR. To his delight there was positive response and though the figures were not large at the beginning, they certainly made a difference in the prestige of the small bank as it converted cash into assets through the starving economy of East Timor. It would take some time before Dupree could use his bank to buy a bigger one in a larger economy, but he was on the right track and he had the time.

  Ever since Toby had busted a waiter at the Round Robin for pushing smut – but couldn’t get a word out of him about his “clients” – Senator Archibald Mason had not returned to his clandestine apartment in Maryland. He had been under surveillance for a month but then Delany could not justify the expenditure nor get a warrant to search the apartment. The surveillance team only followed him once a week on Thursdays because that had been the day he went there before. Toby and Betsy were saying that it was like a standing date with them to meet at seven in front of the Marriott and see what the good senator was doing. After three or was it four months and no luck, they did not expect much tonight but lo and behold, at eight o’clock sharp they saw a car circle the hotel a couple of times and then the senator in his disguise left the hotel and got into the vehicle. As usual a few blocks away the driver got out and Senator Mason took the wheel. They followed him to the Maryland apartment and waited for him to come out again and film his return as they had filmed the sneaky exit from the hotel.

  What happened next was not in the script. A van stopped in front of the apartment and an Asian woman got out the back door dragging a very young Asian girl towards the building where Senator Mason kept the apartment. Betsy perked up like a lioness on the hunt that has just picked up the scent of a wounded wildebeest. Toby followed suit and both kept their eyes on the building. The woman rang a bell and seconds later the door opened and the woman pulled the struggling girl by her coat lapels into the building. About ten minutes later the woman came out alone, boarded the van and departed. Every detail was on film.

  Betsy and Toby called Joe Delany on his cell phone and gave him a detail of what had happened. They had no proof but their instincts told them what had just occurred. Delany agreed and gave them the go ahead to breach the apartment under the guise that the FBI agents believed they had witnessed a kidnapping of a minor while acting on an anonymous tip. When the door burst open and both agents entered the apartment they found the child cowering naked against the headboard of the bed while the senator in his shirt and socks showed the child his erection, which rapidly deconstructed but not before Betsy had it on her cell phone video.

  Under instructions by Delany, Betsy took charge of the girl, let her dress while they waited for the return of the woman who had brought the child. The senator was cuffed and shackled on the floor exactly as he had been when they went in; naked from the waist down, his wrinkled butt getting scratched by the rough carpet and his flaccid prick next to a puddle where he had peed. Toby had spent his time tricking the stupid pedophile into a confession while still confused. He made sure the senator was Mirandized not once, but twice so that the confession would not be debased by a shyster in a $5,000 suit. When the madam showed up to get her child she was arrested, as were two men in the van.

  The arrest, confession, and conviction of Senator Archibald Mason rocked the establishment and sent shockwaves through the nation. A Chinese child enslavement and prostitution ring was uncovered and a list of prominent as well as common men were arrested and convicted of a series of felony charges that assured their incarceration. Nothing much could be done about the Chinese organization, as most of it was in Shanghai and out of reach. About thirty girls of ages ten to fifteen were rescued from a house in Virginia, but only an elderly couple who were in the house was captured and charged together with the madam and her flunkies. On a happier note, Archibald’s cellmate turned out to be none other than ex-Congressman Terry Taylor. Everyone thought they made a lovely couple.

  Marco and Patricia were married in Sarasota in a Catholic ceremony at their home just a week before their daughter was born. Ian Carlo, his wife Helena, their daughter Teresa, and Ian Carlo Jr. were there for Marco, and Francisco gave away the very pregnant bride. M&M was there with Amiable Manning, and Leon Goddard with his wife. The Goldman and spouses, Matilde, Luigi, Pete, and José were there, and Major Allen played the double role of guest and head of security. Joseph Delany Jr. came with his wife. He was being considered for office in his native state of Delaware and for deputy director…of the CIA.

  NOT THE END

  About the Author

  Nicolas Olano is a writer who narrates fiction intimately intertwined with reality. His background in international business allowed his world travels and intimate knowledge of the financial world that governs us all and which is the central character of the Carducci Trilogy.

  He lives in South Florida with his lovely Lilita to whom he dedicates this book. Nicolas Olano shares his experiences as a pilot and a fanatical fly fisherman in narratives within the main thread of the book.

  Also by Nicolas Olano

  Coming Soon

  More than half a million Americans are the target of Iranian Terrorists. Can The Carducci stop them?

  This second book in The Carducci Trilogy will blow your mind! Actual world conflicts come to life in every tangible way touching on personal, national, and international motivations for unspeakable acts of terror.

  Iran, Venezuela, Colombia, and the United States are the main players, represented by impassioned, discontented and pervasive evildoers and equally passionate and dedicated defenders against such evil.

  Here, the Carducci utilize unexpected weapons and enlist individuals with very flexible moral standards to play out their plans in which they see themselves as the ultimate resource against an outcome that the target nations cannot confront without throwing the world into conflict.

  In this fictional but very believable narrative, the lives of hundreds of thousands of American citizens are the target of very resourceful and motivated terrorists. This could happen!

&nb
sp; Artificial Intelligence May Be the Downfall Of Humanity

  In this tantalizing novel, the last of The Carducci Trilogy, a small gadget appropriately called “The Gremlin” wreaks havoc on the most sophisticated networks in the world. It steals great sums of money, locks out users, robs data, and it is in the hands of some nefarious individuals.

  The Gremlin falls into the hands of The Carducci by mere chance but having it may well cost them their lives. The Yakusa and the English Lord of past adventures unite to pursue the Gremlin no holds barred!

  You will not be able to close the book once you start reading.

  Remember though, that this may be happening right now!