Only thing missing now was that Queen Elizabeth showed up at this hotel along with Prince Charles both of them claiming to be purebred Akandos. He dropped the phone and rolled his eyes, and then he waited for things that might come. The voices had become an excited roar. Gregory didn’t move from the spot. Someone would probably eventually get on the porch. After about half, an hour he heard a car drive up, coming to a halt with screeching brakes. Then the voices swelled again at once but then fell silent completely. There was a sudden silence, which was as disturbing as the voices before. After a short time, Keanu was standing together with Yaros and Milos on the porch. Yaros gave Gregory to understand that he should follow them. Gregory got up and followed the three through the living room to the front door. They stepped out onto the landing in front of the house, then Yaros and Milos stepped aside. Keanu stayed beside Gregory. In front of the house, there were more than ten cars parked in a row. There were at least thirty or more people standing around. Many of them were young men and a few young women. But, there were also some older ones. Gregory gazed around and his gaze came to a halt at a turban looking damn familiar. He gasped when he realized that it was Donna Tiziana standing beside Giacomo next to a dark blue van.
Lake Simcoe
Gabe was beside himself, and he was so angry he could have screamed. Carmine hadn’t returned yet. The damn cottage was barely a five minutes’ drive from the Country Club and strange enough, the Ferrari was parked outside, which meant that he had been here with Rhonda and then maybe left with her car. He didn’t know, and damn he didn’t care either. So much for - I will take the whole weekend off for you son. At 4 am, Gabe had enough. Armed with a toolbox and a flashlight he left the house. Previously he printed out the installation plan of the Ferrari type, his father owned. He studied it carefully, so he certainly wouldn’t make any mistakes. Gary had done some explanation, but he wanted to make sure once again that he had figured it out correctly. He went down on the ground positioning himself under the car with the flashlight between his teeth and severed the brake cable almost completely so that the cable was hanging by a string, exactly as Gary had told him. He had carefully calculated how many times the brakes would still work before the cable ripped apart.
According to his calculations, there was a perfect curve while driving along the lake. He would roll out of the moving car, and Carmine would tumble down the slope to the shore, and remain lying dazed in the car. But, if the car exploded and burst into flames his plan was fucked up because Carmine was supposed to lose his memory and not his life in this accident. If he failed, he could forget about going to Sicily. He didn’t want to cause too much of attention and drama and if Carmine died there would be drama and other consequences involved. On the other hand, even if he didn’t lose his memory, which he still hadn’t figured out how this could be possible, it wouldn’t be that bad. He just had to stay for some time out of the picture and being in a hospital was just what was perfect for his plans. So in the meantime he could go on with his travel plans and Carmine wouldn’t be able to stop him. Therefore, he had also tried to manipulate the fuel line. If all went well, so that the tank was almost empty at their departure, any explosion was quite unlikely.
He had to wait until the morning came. Otherwise, too much fuel would leak out, and they were not even able to leave. He had calculated everything precisely. He had to be careful to get his plan to succeed, and then no one was able to suspect him having to do anything with the accident. Around 5 o'clock in the morning, he dozed off on the sofa. The electricity was out. It was pitch-black and there was no electricity in the whole house. Maybe Carmine was lying out there somewhere in his drunken state. Gabe didn’t hope so, how would he explain the almost severed brake cable. Crap, he was suddenly wide-awake. He was sitting on pins and needles. Where was this idiot? Carmine Grande didn’t come home all night, and Gabe didn’t know what to do. Should he call him? Should he call the cops? No certainly not, his old man was truly old enough to take care of himself. Finally, at dawn Gabe fell asleep, just to be awakened shortly after again because there was a lot of noise. Carmine came whistling merrily clopping into the house. Gabe sat up startled his eyes bleary and disheveled. His father belched loudly plunking down on the sofa next to him, "How about a nice strong black coffee for your old father, son."
He grinned at him with bloodshot eyes. The smell of alcohol was mind-blowing and threw Gabe off balance. As he wasn’t in his best shape after this sleepless night, he got up reluctantly stretching. Outside it was bright and the morning sun was shining through the window. Gabe looked at his watch. Damn, it was after 10 am. He strolled into the kitchen. Coffee was perhaps not the worst idea. He needed a clear head. He switched on the coffee machine. God, he hated filter coffee, but it was the only choice around here. At least electricity was back on again. He would have killed for an Espresso. His thoughts brought the hint of a smile on his face. A glance over his shoulder at Carmine, who had fallen asleep and lay snoring on the sofa made his smile disappear immediately. Frowning, he grimaced, he could forget about him. Probably he was going to sleep it off all day, the way it looked. The fishing plan did fall literally into the water he mused. Good for him, that there was a plan B. He sipped his coffee burning his lips with the bland aqueous brew. Cursing, he put the cup on the kitchen counter. Damn, he had to go through Plan B again before Carmine had slept off his intoxication. He needed to think and could not let the smallest details out of consideration. In one week, he was going to fly to Catania with Angel and the Vultures of the Scarborough High. None of them knew that Carmine didn’t approve of the trip except Angel, and it had to stay that way. He had already organized a place for them to stay. No one was going to stand in his way. His plan had to be just perfect. Restless, he paced back and forth. Carmine's snoring was getting on his nerves. He had to focus dammit. He put on his boots and his jacket, although the weather was beautiful and the sky cloudless, but in autumn it got quite breezy on Lake Simcoe. He trudged out into the open and went to the shore of the lake. From time to time, he stopped, took a couple of colorful pebbles in his hand, and threw them into the water.
A while later, he was on his way back to the house wandering through the forest, which began behind the cottage. Lost in thought, he buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket when his hand suddenly groped something flat, smooth. He took the object out of his pocket. It was a small brown vial containing some liquid. He lifted it up to the light. The vial was still about half full. Suddenly he remembered where the bottle came from. The Summer Festival! Angel had added a certain something to that punch back then. He kept looking fascinated at the clear liquid. The mixture had caused everybody who drank it to lose all of their magical powers for the night, and it had made them feel dopey headed. He still remembered Sebastian and Alex, who had too much of the punch and then divulged secrets, they’d better kept to themselves as they both paid with their lives for their silly talks. He wondered what kind of an effect the stuff had if he mixed it into his dad’s eagerly awaited coffee or a glass of water with an effervescent aspirin tablet, against his hangover. He didn’t know, but he hoped it knocked him out properly. For a moment, he thought to call Angel and ask her about the effect in such big doses. But, he then rejected the idea immediately again.
The less Angel knew about it, the better it would be in the end. He would take the risk of Carmine losing his memory, his mind or both. It made him think of Gregory, who had lost his memory after drinking Mila's mixture unintentionally out of stupid jealousy. That had been quite a lucky accident and if the same happened to his dad, then so be it. The odds were in his favor, no doubt. Everything happened for a reason, they said. So, he hadn’t found that flask for no reason then, and the mixture was clearly meant to be used on his old man. The sun was high in the sky by now. This meant it was already noon, and he had to go back as quickly as possible because he didn’t know how much of the brake fluid and the gasoline had already leaked out. He hurried back to the house. Carmine was no
longer laying on the sofa. Gabe looked around, hearing noises from the bathroom. It looked like his father tried to get rid of the dizziness and the hangover by taking a shower. Gabe walked to the bathroom door. He knocked, "Hey Dad, how about some coffee now? I mean the one you asked me about before you fell asleep?" The sound of rushing water stopped, and moments later the bathroom door opened. Carmine Grande got out, wrapped in a large white towel. He looked a lot better than before. He smiled wryly, "That would be nice of you my boy. I feel smashed and had a tough night. This Rhonda drinks a camel under the table. Anyway, she was in much better shape than me, I must admit. She was still holding up perfectly while I was crawling on the hotel room floor." Gabe went to the coffee machine, "You were in a hotel room? I thought she would have taken you to her house." Carmine Grande grimaced as if he had bitten into a lemon, "Forget it, she has some crazy lover who followed us for a while. He is some aggressive fruitcake. Can you believe that he tried to shoot me? That's why we had to take a hotel room?" He said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world and perfectly understandable. Gabe smirked, he didn’t care to lecture him, it was already too late for that and with some luck, Rodriguez would track him down and shoot him at the cottage. On the other hand, if things turned out wrong, he might even shoot him. Better, not take any chances. He was just interested in one thing; getting Carmine off the streets without causing too much of attention.
"Aren’t you afraid that the guy finds out where you are and follows you up here?" Carmine looked thoughtful, "You know what son? You are damn right. Might be best if we cancel our trip, if you don’t mind, we could leave as soon as possible and get back to the city" Gabe grinned giving himself a pat on the back, he had done a real good job so far. Amazingly, enough the old man seemed to be truly afraid of Rhonda’s violent lover. "Sure thing, I'll make you some coffee and will find an aspirin for your hangover, then we can leave" his father sighed gratefully. Then he looked searchingly at Gabe, "But, are you sure, that you aren’t pissed because we didn’t hang out or went fishing?" Gabe smiled disarmingly patting him on his shoulder, "Don’t get stressed out, we will hang out some other time when there are no pretty young women around to distract you." Carmine was rather baffled, to see Gabe so understanding and serious about it. "I'm glad to hear that. I was worried that you would take it the wrong way, that I dumped you for Rhonda last night. I'll make it up to you. You'll see." Gabe gave him an amused glance, "Sure you will."
If only he knew how soon he would make it up to him. He filled a glass with water putting an effervescent aspirin tablet in. Then he poured the remaining contents of the inconspicuous brown bottle into the glass and handed it along with the black coffee to his father. Carmine gulped both down at once. Grimacing he shuddered, "Such a hangover is a terrible thing, and I wonder every time why I ever have to drink alcohol if I feel that lousy the next day." He smiled sourly, "But, the next time around, I forget how I felt." Gabe didn’t answer, he couldn’t have cared any less about his dad having a hangover. He grabbed his stuff putting it into his shuffle bag, and then he brought the bag to the car. Carmine followed him. His head ached, and he was sweating like a pig. The blue sky swam before his eyes and he seriously wondered whether it was such a good idea to drive in this condition. He shook off the thought immediately. What was wrong with him, he was behaving like a senile, weak old man. But, he was neither old nor weak let alone senile. He was in the prime of life, and he was not going to let himself be thrown back because of a silly hangover after a night out drinking.
He had to show Gabe who was in charge, who was the boss around here. He got behind the wheel, trying to get a clear head, but somehow he didn’t succeed at all. He turned on the ignition letting the engine roar, with screeching tires, he drove off leaving, a cloud of dust behind. "Is everything okay Dad? Do you want me to drive?" Gabe seemed worried. "Of course, everything is ok, what do you mean?" he roared with laughter. But, the scenery blurred more and more around him. He hardly saw the road in front of him. What the hell was happening to him? His eyes watered, and he felt dizzy. Panic seized him when he saw a truck coming. Carmine rammed his foot on the brake, but the brakes gave away, and he stepped into the void. He heard Gabe gasping for air followed by a scream beside him, trying to turn the wheel around getting control of the car, and then everything happened very quickly. The Ferrari got off the road and raced down the steep scarp to the shore of the lake, with undiminished speed, despite Carmines desperate attempts to actuate the brake. The car overturned several times and came to a halt on its roof. It would only be a matter of seconds before the Ferrari exploded. Gabe came around, damn shit, he had been gone for seconds. His plan had clearly backfired. He wanted to jump out of the moving car and roll down the scarp, but the door had been blocked. Now he was hanging upside down in the passenger seat of the Ferrari, and it was only a matter of time until it would explode and burst into flames, he didn’t know how much fuel was left in the tank, as he hadn’t finished his job this morning. He had to do something, to avoid a possible explosion.
'Think, Gabe,' he thought desperately, and then he had a saving idea. He tried to turn slightly in his seat, which was a difficult task. He could see though that the car window was actually shattered. His luck! With numb fingers, he tried to make the opening caused by the shattered glass a bit larger. Blood ran down his numb fingers, but he hardly felt it, his life that was at stake. An adrenaline rush went through his body, and he managed to make the hole large enough to put his hand through it. He closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping that it would work. The sky darkened at a stroke and was suddenly overcast with dark clouds, heavy drops of rain fell on the dry ground. Followed by torrential rain, the rain was as cold, as if the water came from a glacier. The air cooled immediately, and Gabe's breath left ice crystals behind on the shattered windshield. The temperature had dropped considerably during seconds, and the overheated Ferrari cooled down in seconds. The risk of an explosion was averted.
Gabe exhaled, despite of his predicament, the Ferrari wouldn’t explode, which was saving their life on one hand, but would also on the other hand raise questions when the police launched their investigation. But, there was always a way out, he would find a solution if it was necessary, he always did. Like last year when he had run over Aiden's cheerleader with a car, even though it had been little Leyla he had aimed for, to express his anger towards Gregory. He couldn’t punish they guy in person for his betrayal because he disappeared and Gabe hadn’t believed that he was dead for a single moment. He just wanted to let off some steam. Well in hindsight, he had to admit that it was probably a little childish and dangerous. But, even if someone noted down the license plate he’d still gotten away with it. He had his connections and made the black Buick disappear. Gary had taken over and handled everything just fine what concerned the traceability of the car. There was always a way out, even this time he was going to find a way. Maybe he found a culprit. He thought of Rhonda and her jealous lover. All of these things went through his head while he was hanging upside down in the passenger seat of the wrecked car in the icy rain. He was still slightly dazed from the impact looking at Carmine who was hanging motionless beside him in his seat belt. He was either unconscious or dead. He couldn’t say. Then suddenly he heard a voice from far away.
"Are you all right?" A gray-haired elderly man leaned down to him looking worried at him. Probably the driver of the truck, his father had almost rammed before getting off the street racing down the embankment. Gabe wasn’t able to speak, all he managed was a groan passing his lips. He didn’t even have to pretend because he really felt crappy and his head hurt like hell. Apparently, he had hit his head during the impact. "Are you hurt?" There was the man's worried voice again. Gabe tried to speak once more, "I'm not sure, but I guess not." A short time later, he heard the siren of the police, followed by the ambulance and the fire brigade. Gabe had the impression his skull would burst with all the noise. It took quite a while until they managed to free Carmine from the b
adly wrenched Ferrari. It seemed to take hours. They worked with welding torches, as the doors of the Ferraris were demolished badly. First, they took care of his father getting him out of the car. He was still hanging motionless in the belt. The paramedics took him away on a stretcher. After they got Gabe out of the car, he was surprised that he was not really hurt, except for his hurting head, everything seemed to be fine. He looked as if he was completely unharmed. The medics gave him a blanket covering his shoulders. Meanwhile the weather had miraculously recovered.
The sky was blue and cloudless again, as if the icy rain had never fallen from the sky. Gabe's whole body trembled and his teeth chattered noisily. Chills run up and down his spine. The cold and the shock of his pain shook him to his very core. He had almost been killed, it had been a hairbreadth escape, and he could have ended up in Nirvana. The thought left him shiver again. A serious-looking paramedic aimed a small flashlight in his eyes and checked his pulse. He had been hurt, and she checked his cheek and disinfected the injured area. Then she put gauze over the wound.
Elementary Virtue: The Prophecy Page 28