Taken by Vincenzo Read online

  Running my hands through my hair, I paced back and forth out there. "I can hear you breathing. Just tell me where you are and stop playing games."

  “This is the last time you’ll hear from me, and we will never see each other again. The next time you see me, you’ll be identifying my body.”

  Tears ran down my face. “I’m coming now. Where are you?” Putting him on speaker, I tried to use the iPhone to track him, but nothing came up. He was not on his phone, and he did not have me on a friends list on the phone he was on. Swiping at my tears, I walked back to the door.

  Pulling my badge out of my shirt, I placed it on the scanner and opened the door. I rushed past the security desk and turned right entering the staircase. “If anybody says I’ve sent them to talk to you, use the forty-five magnum.”

  What? He knows that I don’t like guns. I have not shot a gun since I was seventeen. Dad made sure he took me hunting when he took Sergi. He was adamant that I know how to shoot a weapon. I learned but I did not like it. Momma’s rape changed everyone. I shivered as I reached the top steps.

  “I don’t own a gun.” I yanked the door open and rushed to my office. I dropped my voice to a whisper when I passed the offices on this floor.

  “You do. It is where mom told you to put all special things,” said Sergi.

  Click.

  “Hello.” I looked down at the phone. I had full battery life and full cell tower signal. Sergi had hung up. I turned back toward the stairwell and hit redial. The phone rang and rang. On the tenth time, a message came on that voicemail had not been set up on this phone.

  2

  Tatiana

  It was three hours later, and I had not heard from Sergi. My desk was cleaned, and the plant in the corner had been watered three times today. Why bother? All the leaves were brown, and it smelled like cat piss. I forgot to water it for four months.

  Sergi was a hell-raiser. He does not think anything is ever his fault. Ever. In his thirty-three years of living, he never accepted responsibility for any of his actions, until today. Today he accepted responsibility for failing to take care of me. Dad made him promise to take care of me, should something happen to them. What could scare him into admitting that his life would be over soon? What can I do? How can I help him when I do not know anything?

  Bing. Looking up I see the email from Suzie. The anxiety over my whole career hanging on this project paled in comparison now. My brother, the screw-up, was the only family I had left. Russians take family profoundly seriously, and I am no different. Opening the email, I got to work. There was more work than I had seen in the six years that I worked in this building.

  Wincing, I rubbed the kinks out of my neck from bending over my desktop. Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was six o’clock. I had worked another ten-hour day, but my heart was not into it. I thought that by the end of today, I would have a plan on how to help Sergi, but my mind was blank. I really wanted to run out of the office. Where too? James’s house. James Sanders had been Sergi’s best friend for the last ten years.

  Pulling into the WestPoint neighborhood I second-guessed my decision. James’s community was relatively small. Several police cars turned down Madison Grace Avenue. Creeping past the street, I saw at least ten police cars at James’s house.

  Did Sergi do something to James? No. He would not do that. Whatever was going on with Sergi may involve James too.

  Parking on the side of the street, I got out the car. There was already a circle of people gathered around, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Pushing through the crowd, I walked toward the officer blocking the entrance to the house.

  “Officer, I’m here to see James Sanders, can I go up?” I place on a smile on my face, but it fell when four officers carried out a black body bag.

  My mouth fell open. “Is that James? Oh my god, what happened here?”

  “Miss, this is a crime scene investigation, please leave unless you’re immediate family,” he said.

  I shook my head as tears flowed down my cheek.

  “Let me through. That is my son. Move damn it.”

  I turned to see Mrs. Georgina Sanders moving as fast as her walker allowed. She did not get around as good as she used to. Most days she never left the house. James came over to see about her every day, doing all her errands and making sure she was cared for. What would happen to her now that he was gone? She would probably have to live in a nursing home.

  I rushed over to her helping to clear a path, so she could get through.

  She stopped and pushed me. “Get out of here. I know your brother had something to do with this. Sergi is spawned from the devil himself.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Why are you here?” She took her walker and ran it over my foot.

  I hobbled back. “I came to see if James knows where Sergi might be. I haven’t heard from him in months.”

  “James told me he found out something terrible about Sergi, and he wasn’t friends with him anymore. He said he would tell me today when he came, but there was a knock on his door. He answered it and the phone line went dead.”

  She pointed a quivering finger in my face. “Your brother killed my son, and I intend to prove it.” She ran over my foot again and walked toward the officers.

  I turned to leave. Swiping the tears away, I thought about Sergi. James did not have any enemies. He was well-loved and liked by everyone. This just didn’t make sense.

  “I’m officer Tanner, Mrs. Ivanor don’t think about leaving town. We’ll have some questions for you.”

  “No problem. Am I free to go now?”

  “The sooner we get this over with the better,” said Officer Tanner.

  “Ok, do you want to do it right here?”

  “No, we need to go down to the police station.”

  It was several hours later that I was able to leave the police station. They didn’t say much, but it wasn’t hard to see that they thought Sergi was involved in James’ murder. They kept bringing up evidence that they had but were very vague as to what kind of evidence. More and more, I was glad that I did not know where Sergi was. I hoped he did not have anything to do with this murder, but I wondered.

  Now I really had no way of knowing what was going on with Sergi. James was the only friends that I knew, and that was saying something. Sergi did not have a lot of friends. I was being treated like a suspect, but Sergi and I were never close. My job can attest to that, as it came up when I got my security clearance. They were hesitant because of Sergi with giving me a top-secret security clearance, but we have always been estranged.

  When Mom and Dad died it was like I also died in Sergi’s eyes. I had never felt so alone, and Sergi abandoned me. I would go about my business working and Sergi pops up to beg for money. This was our routine. I hated it, but he only called me when he needed cash. I cannot imagine never talking to him or seeing him again. I had hoped one day, he and I would grow closer.

  I drove home like a robot. Pulling in my driveway, I just sat there. It was like I flew here, and I blanked out. This situation with Sergi had me discombobulated and I could not seem to get right. It’s pitch-black and dangerous for me to be sitting in my driveway. The news says there is a serial rapist running around the area targeting single women. If I do not want to be a victim, I had better get in the house. Flinging my purse over my shoulder, I jumped out the car, arming it, before rushing up my steps.

  My limbs felt like lead. I unlocked the front door and kicked it shut. Locking the door, I walked into the kitchen dropping my keys on the countertop. Shrugging weakly, I leaned against the refrigerator and wept. This situation with Sergi showed me that I was not in control. I was a control freak, so being at the mercy of someone else was catastrophic to me.

  An hour later, I am staring at my healthy precooked meal. My heart leapt out of my chest when I hear knocking on the door.

  Could that be Sergi?

  Running to the door, I opene
d it. The smile left my face as I faced two men I had never seen before. They looked like government workers.

  What the hell is the government doing at my house? How deep did this mess go with Sergi? If he was involved in James’s murder, this was already deep.

  “Ms. Ivanor. I’m Larry Dodson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” He flashed an FBI badge then pointed to the man in a grey suit standing behind him, who opened his jacket flashing the same badge.

  Are these FBI badges even real? How would anyone know a real one from a fake? Why are they here at my house?

  My eyes darted passed Larry as Karen, my nosey neighbor, decides at nine at night to put her trash out. Trash day is not until next Monday. Karen at least can identify these men.

  “This is my partner Greg Parks. We’d like to talk to you about your brother,” said Larry.

  I may look suspicious if I don’t let them inside. They may have more information on what had happened to Sergi. The last thing I needed was another dang interrogation. It seemed like nobody cared what I wanted.

  “Come in gentleman. Please excuse the house I wasn’t planning on having company at this time of night.” I opened the door wider and stepped back allowing them to enter. Closing the door and locking it I walked over to them.

  “Can I get you guys anything to drink?” I walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed some cold water. My throat was dry, and I needed something to keep me sane during this conversation.

  “No thank you,” said Larry. He sat down on the couch next to Greg.

  “Your brother was in our custody,” said Larry.

  “What do you mean by was?” I looked from Larry to Greg then closed my mouth. Sergi escaped and called me before going on the run.

  Did he mean the FBI was trying to kill him? That is crazy. Right? There’s no shortage of crooked people in the government or any other job. I can’t tell them that Sergi called me because I might be in danger.

  “I’m sorry it’s rude to interrupt but you caught me off guard.” I crossed my legs.

  “Your brother Sergi has been in our custody for five months. Last December we caught him coming from Mexico with over one hundred kilograms of cocaine,” said Larry.

  What! Sergi doesn’t take drugs. What the hell had gotten into him. Did he do drug trafficking? Last December he calls me and was acting funny. When I asked him why he was in Mexico, he said he went to visit a girl. What else don’t I know about my brother?

  “You looked surprised. Did you know your brother was on drugs?” asked Greg.

  “No.” One thing for certain, Sergi is not on drugs. You can’t pay him to take aspirin let along do drugs. He obviously was drug trafficking but not to take drugs.

  “When is the last time you spoke to him,” asked Larry.

  “January thirty was the first time he called me. He sounded strange and after five minutes he hung up.”

  “He’s in a lot of trouble. I don’t need to tell you, if we find out you’re hiding him, we’ll arrest you,” said Greg.

  I rolled my eyes. Greg was a dick, and he rubs me the wrong way. “You’re more than welcome to search the house, but I’m not taking your threats. You need to leave.” I stood up. I have heard more than enough.

  These jerks lost my brother and expected me to do their job. To hell with them.

  I walked to the door. After I changed the tone of my voice both stood up.

  “If we don’t catch him before the Mancini Mafia does, he’s as good as dead,’ said Larry.

  “If you cared anything for him, you’d help us. We’re his only chance,” said Greg.

  “It sounds like he doesn’t have any hope at all. What kind of FBI agents are you? You lost him then you come here threatening me.” Greg’s face turned red. He looked like he swallowed a toad, and I’m glad my barb found its mark. My brother may be no good but I’m not going to take crap from no one.

  “Get out of here now. It isn’t a secret that my brother and I are not close. He only calls me when he wants something.”

  “Shut up Greg. He is the reason that Vincenzo Mancini is dead. Do you know who Vincenzo Mancini is?” asked Larry. He pulled out his business card and handed it to me.

  “Vincenzo was the cruelest Italian mob boss there ever was, and he’s dead, thanks to your brother. His twin brother Antonio Mancini is now the boss of Mancini mafia family, and guess what his next business move will be? The Mancini mafia have killed so many people that we don’t have an actual number. I could tell you that if I devoted all of our lifetime to counting; we would die and the number still wouldn’t be accurate,” said Larry.

  “Antonio and Vincenzo were close. Antonio will be knocking at your door, and not to talk. Who will help you?” asked Greg.

  Goosebumps ran up my arm despite the heat filtered through the house.

  Do I now have to worry about the Italian mafia?

  “How would the mafia know that he had anything to do with Vincenzo’s death unless someone at the FBI told them?”

  Larry looked at Greg. “You’re right. That is why he and I are here to visit you. I think so too, which is why we need to find him before they do,” said Larry.

  “If you think of anything or need us please call,” said Larry.

  3

  Vincenzo Mancini

  Frank had better not waste my damn time. To leave Sicily when Pietro Esposito thinks he can poach on the Mancini territory is ridiculous. I’ll have his head strung up on the tallest bridge by midnight tonight. Where the fuck is Frank?

  Is that him? Why is he walking like he is heading toward a guillotine? If he doesn’t prove to me that this meeting was useful, he will be dead. My gut tightens and I have an eerie feeling my night is ruined.

  “What’s this about Frank?”

  “It’s not my fault. I came to you as soon as I heard. This should prove my loyalty,” said Frank.

  This can’t be about my shipment of a trillion dollars’ worth of drugs that just hit the Columbian streets. The FBI always think they are ahead of the game, but they are not even on the board.

  “This meeting doesn’t prove shit. Talk now or I’m going to a put a bullet in your head.” My gun is pointed dead center of his temporal lobe.

  “Antonio’s dead. There’s nothing I can do. I was in Mexico when it happened, but I also got a call from Greg Parks,” said Frank.

  My baby brother is dead. No one would be that stupid. My finger rested on the gun trigger. “No one would be that fucking stupid, except you pigs.”

  “It wasn’t us. It was Sergi Ivanor, a Russian drug trafficker, who was working with us and gave you up. Sergi said you had millions of drugs hitting the streets of Columbia,” said Frank.

  Damn Sergi Ivanor. Everyone knows that you never rat out the mafia. If you get caught you do the time. Whoever this Sergi is he is going to wish he’d chosen jail. “Last time. What does that have to do with Antonio?” I swing the gun bashing his head. He fell to the ground as blood squirted everywhere. I swung my knee into his face.

  “Antonio was in Miami. He flew in to meet Ninfa Fadore, when someone thought he was you and gunned him down outside her house.”

  “Who. Who took the shot?”

  “Carlos Ramirez, a small Mexican drug lord looking to make a name for himself.”

  I’m going to assume my brother’s identity and kill Carlos and Sergi. I am going to wipe out their ancestry then I’m going to run Miami just like I run Italy.

  “Get up. You are going to prove your loyalty now. You’re going to report that I’m dead and give them my DNA sample as evidence.” I sliced a patch of skin off my bicep and handed it to him. You have forty-eight hours to pronounce me dead and have Antonio’s body ready for me to pick up.”

  “I have to keep the body, so it is believable.” Frank stood holding his nose.

  “My brother’s body comes home to lie in our family burial or your whole family will be butchered in front of you before I end your sorry life.”

  “Fine. I’ll
find a way to make it happen,” said Frank.

  “You sure will and my men won’t leave your side until I see you face to face again,” said Vincenzo. Snapping my fingers, ten men stepped out from hiding.

  “If you leave their sight you die. If they think you’re bullshitting, you die. If you blink wrong, you die.”

  “Got it.” He turned eager to leave my sight.

  “Wait. You’re forgetting something.”

  “That’s all I know.”

  I pointed my gun at his head.

  “Please. I have done everything you have asked of me. Don’t shoot me. Please.”

  He was not going to grow a set of balls before he died. We all die, but we can choose to do it respectfully. “Does Sergi have family? I need all their names. Carlos Ramirez’s as well.”

  “Carlos was an orphan who grew up at Rikers. He doesn’t have any living family. Sergi has a sister names Tatiana Ivanor. Tatiana will be watched and in FBI custody,” said Frank.

  She must be beautiful for him to lie to my face. Interesting. Maybe I will fuck her before I torture her to death. “Great. I expect you to hand-deliver her to me.”

  “Get him out of my sight.”

  Forty hours later I am standing out in the night overlooking the water, waiting on that chicken-livered bastard Frank. I am cut to the bone marrow that Antonio is no longer among the living. If I am honest, I don’t think I will ever be okay. I had to stand over our parent’s grave with excuses on why baby Antonio will be in their arms so soon and not living the full life he was meant to live.

  It should have been me lying in that casket. I was never meant to see him lowered in the ground. Hell. I didn’t even know if he had a will and had made plans for his demise. Antonio’s death had yanked my beating heart from my chest. His letter on how he thought I was selling myself short brought tears to my eyes. I can still feel his ice-cold fingers around my heart tugging at me to be different.