The Second Renaissance Series Boxset

by Paul Heron

  ‘Mancini agents, along with French police have swarmed the place. Michael, don’t get caught. I repeat, do not get caught. They’ve all been arrested. I’ll call you back in a minute.’

  ‘George? George?’ Michael shouted, shaking all over. He turned to Sofia, who was twenty feet away looking over the edge.

  ‘No answer from Scarlett,’ she said. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘They’ve been arrested,’ Michael said. ‘All of them, they’ve all been arrested.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‘WHAT?’ SOFIA SHOUTED. ‘Well what the hell’s George doing?’

  ‘He said he'll call back,’ Michael shouted, scanning the rooftop for a place to hide, finding nowhere. He knew it was only a matter of time before Mancini agents came and searched the roof. With Michael being the ringleader and Sofia being a member of the Sirani family, Couture would love to get her hands on them.

  ‘There’s nowhere to hide. We’re screwed.’ Sofia shouted, her expression furious. ‘I knew this was a bad idea, Michael. We shouldn’t have come here. We should have just taken our chances and went out.’

  ‘We’re not caught yet. Call Alban, tell him to get his ass here, now!’ He ran over to the edge of the roof and grabbed an old aerial pole. He shook it loose then pulled it out of the roof.

  ‘What are you going to do with that?’

  ‘I’m locking us on the roof. Now call Alban and get him here, he should be on his bloody way anyway. What the hell is the point of having him on standby?’ He ran to the door that opened inward. He fed the pole through the door handle. He looked at it, head tilted, hoping it would keep the door closed at least for a while. He ran back to Sofia who was staring at her phone, listening to it ring. Alban finally answered.

  ‘Alban, we need you here now!’ Sofia shouted. She paused as Alban shouted that he was already on his way.

  George called back. ‘Alban’s on his way,’ he said. ‘He will take you back to the estate. As soon as you get there, hide the fragment until we figure out what to do.’

  ‘Okay, where are you now?’ Michael asked, his eyes scanning the sky for the Black Hawk. He knew Alban hated flying during the day; unless you live in a war zone, a Black Hawk stands out more than the Eiffel Tower.

  ‘We’re following Scarlett and the rest, Michael...this is a big problem.’

  ‘You don’t say, George,’ Michael shouted, looking at Sofia.

  ‘There’s Alban,’ she shouted pointing into the distance. ‘Tell George we’re right behind them.’

  ‘Keep us informed where you’re going.’ Michael told George.

  ‘Pierre and Avril are on their way to the estate. It looks like we’re on our way to Paris. I’ll be in touch.’ George hung up.

  ‘What happens if they’re all locked up?’ Sofia shouted. ‘It’s not like we can break them out.’

  ‘We’ll worry about that if it happens. For now, we need to get after them.’ Michael waved Alban down onto the roof. Just as Alban landed, sending vibrations right through the roof, there was an attempt to open the roof’s access door. Then came two gun shots.

  Sofia jumped into the chopper, followed by Michael. Alban took off just as Michael sat down, looking out the window to see if he’d recognise anyone at the building, but nobody appeared.

  ‘Good idea with the pole,’ Sofia said, voice trembling. ‘You’ve redeemed yourself after the decision to go to the roof in the first place.’ She half laughed.

  ‘Thanks, I think.’ Michael removed the container from the bag. ‘Take us back to the house, and we’ll hide this somewhere until we get the rest. The day isn’t over yet.’

  ‘Great,’ Alban shouted sarcastically. ‘We'll be there in seven minutes. Well done, for getting the fragment at least. Pierre and Avril will be at the house by the time we get there.’

  Alban’s words were the last for the remainder of the flight.

  As the chopper landed, Michael looked out the window. Pierre and Avril were both standing outside the house, their engines running.

  Sofia disembarked, followed by Michael.

  ‘How’s my father?’ Michael was quick to ask.

  ‘Two of our Irish agents have taken him back to Belfast,’ Avril said. She placed her hand on his shoulder. ‘He’s in good hands, don’t worry.’

  ‘Okay, we’ve got the fragment,’ Sofia interrupted. ‘We need to hide it somewhere until we get the others back.’

  ‘Well done for getting it,’ Pierre said. ‘We’ve got to move. When Mancini agents find out it’s gone, the next call we get from them will be a ransom.’

  ‘Let’s get moving then,’ Michael said, slinging the holdall over his right shoulder. ‘Where do you think-’ he trailed off, noticing a flower bed that ran along the four-foot-high white wall separating the garden from the beach.

  ‘Bury it under the flowers?’ Sofia laughed. ‘It’s not a funeral. Not yet, anyway.’

  ‘It can serve as the beginning act to burying the French mission. Our first step in burying Mancini Corporation, and stopping the God of Greed and Donn.’ Michael looked at Sofia. ‘They are not taking over. This world is messed up enough as it is.’

  ‘God, this is for sure changing you all. From the sweet innocents you were only last week,’ Avril said.

  ‘Experiences change people, Avril,’ Pierre said. ‘You know that. It’s changed all of us.’

  They all watched as Michael stepped into the flower bed, took off his jacket and rolled his sleeves.

  ‘I like a man who's not afraid to get his hands dirty.’ Avril joked. ‘But here, take this.’ She lifted a spade that was dug into the soil. ‘You can go down deeper with this.’

  Within a few minutes, they all felt more at ease knowing that the fragment was under four foot of soil.

  Michael ran into the house to go to the toilet. He quickly splashed water over his face to wake himself up. His sleep-deprived body was crying for a good night sleep, but his new life running against the clock wouldn’t allow it.

  He looked at himself in the mirror knowing he was changing as a person. That didn’t bother him anymore. What did was the worry of whether or not they were going to get caught. Working hard and being pushed to his limits wasn’t a problem, for Michael, it never was, but failing was.

  The sunlight moved from behind a cloud, flooding into the bathroom, causing the chain around his neck to glisten. He noticed a black feather, resting on top of his shoe. This made him laugh. Someone was checking in on him. He left the bathroom.

  ‘We all good to go?’ Sofia asked, sitting on the edge of the pool table in the games room, arms folded and one leg swinging.

  ‘God, if you were chewing gum and blowing bubbles you’d look like a right...’

  ‘Seventeen-year-old?’ She finished his sentence. ‘Yeah, well, we both know that’s not going to happen, don’t we? Let’s face it, this bullshit story of us going back to the way we were is a fantasy. I’ve killed someone, Michael. I’ve taken a gun and put bullets into a man’s back.’ She tried to laugh it off, but her eyes filled up like glasses of water. She brought her trembling hand up to shield her quivering lips.

  Michael stepped in towards her. He wiped a tear away that was trickling down the left side of her face. ‘You saved my life, Sofia. If you didn’t do what you did, I’d be dead right now and Jose Garcia would still be kidnapping and torturing people. You did the right thing.’

  ‘Yeah, whatever, Michael. Turn off your so-called Irish charm. It’s not going to work.’ She sniffed and stepped her swinging leg back onto the ground, pushing past him. ‘Come on, we’ve got to go get the rest of them.’ Grabbing her bag, she left the room without even looking at him as she spoke.

  Michael didn’t know what else to say to her. ‘Maybe George is right. We’ll need some serious counselling after all this.’

  He stepped out of the house. The time was eleven thirty-five, and Marseille’s blue sky advertised it to be a nice day.

  ‘Right, first of all, there’s a curfew,�
� Michael said. ‘So how are we supposed to travel on roads when anyone who’s seen will be picked up?’

  ‘We’ll have to take our chances. George and the rest must be doing fine,’ Sofia said.

  ‘Well, has anyone heard from them?’ Michael asked, looking at Sofia, Pierre, and Avril. ‘If we get caught, it’s finished. And you know what’s at stake. I don’t want to rot in prison until the world falls to the darkness.’

  ‘Me neither,’ Sofia said, her voice softening. ‘I can’t go to prison.’

  ‘The only way we can travel freely is if we travel in disguise,’ Avril said.

  ‘What, dress as Mancini agents, look at what we’re wearing now – bone head,’ Sofia shouted.

  ‘Don’t you call me bone head, you spoilt brat. Oh, look at me I’m Sofia Sirani, I can do whatever I want...’

  ‘Shut up, the both of you,’ Michael shouted.

  ‘Avril’s right,’ Pierre said. ‘We need to disguise ourselves as...’

  ‘Genius idea,’ Michael said. ‘We grab a marked police car and travel in it.’

  Chapter Twenty

  ‘HOW ARE WE GOING TO get a police car?’ Sofia shouted. ‘It’s not like we can go to the police station, Michael.’

  ‘No, but if we report a crime and have police come to us, then we can take their car.’ He looked at them all for an opinion. Avril and Pierre looked unsure, but not opposed. Sofia looked at him, her piercing eyes ready to tear into him. ‘What?’ He shouted, getting tired of Sofia’s mood.

  ‘So, we’re just going to take their car?’ She laughed.

  ‘Well, have you got a better idea? Smart ass. Let’s hear it then?’

  Sofia sighed and shook her head. ‘So, do you expect to just borrow their car?’

  ‘We apprehend them and keep them here at the house until we come back for the fragment.’

  ‘What? You want to kidnap cops now? Are you insane?’ she shouted. ‘Why Elisabetta chose you, I have no idea.’

  ‘Kidnapping cops is insane? We’re kidnapping the bloody world leaders – idiot. Look, you need to remove that chip from your shoulder, or stick from your ass, Sofia. Just because you shot someone doesn’t mean you can become a hate-the-world, bloody grump. Grow up and stop feeling sorry for yourself.’

  ‘Screw you, Michael. I should have just let Garcia cut your throat.’

  ‘Wow! Hold on,’ Avril shouted, stepping in between the two. ‘You both need to cool off.’

  Michael looked at Sofia, who’d turned her back. Arms folded, she strutted off across the garden towards the wall overlooking the beach.

  ‘Avril’s right,’ Pierre said. ‘We need to keep our cool, Michael.’

  ‘She’s just an asshole!’ Michael shouted after Sofia, ensuring she could hear. She responded by signalling her middle finger as she marched across the garden.

  ‘And, yes, our best option would be a cop car,’ Pierre said, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket. He dialled and looked around as if thinking of what to say. Then he spoke in French. ‘Yes, hello. There’s been a break in at the Sirani estate.’ He paused, looking at Michael, his eyebrows raised, grinning. ‘Yes, that’s correct, number thirty-two. Okay, thank you. Goodbye.’ He tossed the phone back in his pocket. ‘We’re good to go. They’ll be here soon.’

  ‘Right, Pierre, you and Avril wait by the front door. Keep it open as if you’ve just walked in and found a mess. I’ll wait behind the front door to surprise them, and-’ Michael looked over at Sofia. ‘Avril you go over and tell her majesty what’s happening.’

  ‘Maybe you should go over and talk to her, Michael. She’s upset,’ Avril said, her head nodding from Michael’s direction to Sofia’s.

  ‘She’s a pain in the ass, that’s what she is,’ Michael shouted, feeling his face and neck redden. ‘I’m going to wait in the house. I’ll try George again.’

  He pulled his phone out, walking through the door, gladly welcoming the house’s cool air and shade. His eyes lit up when George answered. ‘George, what’s happening up there?’ He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a can of Coke and a Mars bar from the fridge.

  ‘Michael, we’re still on their tail. The roads are empty, so it’s risky.’

  ‘Okay, fall behind and hide somewhere for a while, at least until the curfew’s lifted. We’re getting a police car now, and then we’ll be right behind you.’

  ‘A police car?’ George said, sounding concerned. ‘I don’t want to know. Just get here, Michael. Don't get caught. Hopefully, Charvet’s return to Paris lifts the curfew. The bloody country can’t operate.’

  ‘Keep us posted. I’m away to join the French police force.’ Michael hung up. Opening his drink, he downed it all in two gulps, leaving him burping the gas back up, with a touch of elegance and class.

  He wondered what would happen after it was all done. Would it, or could his life ever be the same again? He guessed that's what him, and the rest of the team would have to wait and see. They were given a responsibility to be proud of, but at the same time, it felt like their greatest burden.

  He stood in the airy hallway, the midday sun flooding in; every piece of furniture glistened. The reflection off the wooden floors was dazzling. He spotted a painting on the wall in the corner above the piano. As he got closer to it, he realised it was one of Elisabetta’s pieces: an oil canvas of the famous Virgin and Child created in 1663. He was impressed. ‘You really were a talented lady. You were taken from the world too soon. If you'd lived past your twenties, you’d have done a lot more.’

  ‘Cops are here. They're coming through the gate,’ Avril shouted in the front door. ‘Get ready.’

  Michael snapped out of his daydream, and bringing his eyesight back into focus, he took one final appreciative look at Elisabetta's work. ‘Right, let’s get this done.’

  Sofia strolled in, arms still folded defensively. ‘Okay, Bruce Lee, let’s see you in action.’ She said sarcastically, stepping behind the front door. ‘You do have a plan, don’t you?’

  ‘Knock them out and tie them up.’ He looked at her face. Disapproval written all over it. ‘Look, I know we’re getting innocent people involved in this, but-’

  ‘Here, handsome! You’re better looking with this on.’ She handed him the mask of the former Irish minister – Oisin McLaughlin. ‘And this is from Pierre.’ She handed him a black Beretta with a silencer.

  ‘What I was about to say was, we’re all innocent in this. We’ve all been dragged into this. So, these cops or anyone else who may get dragged into this along the way will just have to accept it like we’ve had to. That all this is for something.’ He pulled the rubber mask down over his face again, smelling the sweat soaked rubber from the inside. ‘Smells like my old boxing gloves in here.’

  ‘Yeah, and mine smells like perfume. Now, shush they’re coming.’ Sofia dragged him in behind the door.

  Michael checked the gun was loaded. He’d never shot a gun before, and he didn’t really want to start unless it was target practice. He could feel the innocence of the team quickly dissolving and wanted to prevent it from disappearing completely. He could see the damage shooting Jose Garcia had done to Sofia – even if she’d never admit to it.

  The patrol car slowly approached the front of the house. The engine shut off. The sound of one door slamming shut was followed by a second.

  ‘Good afternoon, someone reported a break in?’ A man’s voice said.

  ‘I did,’ Pierre said. ‘Thanks for getting here so fast. Is the curfew still on?’

  ‘It’s a lovely house you’ve got here. Is it yours?’

  ‘No. I work for the Sirani Foundation. My sister and I look after their business here in France.’

  ‘Oh, really? That’s convenient, isn’t it, Isabella?’ The officer addressed the second officer.

  ‘Yes, Sirani...Very convenient,’ the female officer said under her breath.

  From behind the front door, Michael knew something was up. He looked back at Sofia.

  ‘What’s that s
upposed to mean?’ Avril said in a tone that would only serve to increase the tension.

  ‘Where’s the fragment?’ Isabella said. The sound of guns clicking sent Michael’s stomach tumbling.

  It was good Pierre and Avril – like all Sirani agents – were trained to speak many languages.

  Pierre shouted in Irish, ‘Get out of here. It’s them.’

  Sofia snatched the gun from Michael and ran from behind the front door. ‘Drop your guns before I blow your heads off!’

  Michael knew she would shoot them if they didn’t do what she said. Clearly, she wasn’t of sound mind after what had happened in the jungle.

  ‘Put that gun down. Don’t be stupid,’ Isabella shouted as she pointed her gun from Pierre and Avril to Sofia. ‘I'm ready to fire this, are you willing to fire yours? There’s no turning back from it, you know it-’

  ‘Too late. Now drop it.’ Sofia took another step further out into the porch.

  Michael followed. There were two guns pointed at Sofia and now Michael. ‘You’re outnumbered,’ Michael shouted, smiling and gesturing towards the gate, causing the two officers to turn around. Pierre grabbed the male officer’s gun. They both wrestled. Michael ran over to help Pierre. The officer was bigger than both Michael and Pierre.

  The female officer stepped back, surprised they’d been caught off guard.

  Avril produced her gun. ‘Now you drop yours.’ She pressed it against the officer's head. ‘I’m only going to tell you once. I’ve no problem extinguishing you rodents.’

  The male officer was so strong that Michael had to cling onto his back as he put a choke lock on from behind. The giant stood up with Michael on his back. Pierre got the gun. Michael released the giant, dropping off his back.

  The agent turned, looked Michael square in the eyes, towering over him. His chin was at Michael’s eye level. ‘You’ll not stop us.’ He looked at the female officer and sniggered, and then looked back at Michael. ‘Your father! He was crying like a-’ before he could say another word, Michael punched him square on the chin, slamming his mouth shut. Two front teeth flew out of his mouth, and he fell to the ground like a dead weight, his mouth pouring with blood.