CHAPTER 19
“Hello there!” Brian raised his head from the thick register he was writing in, his face brightened by an affectionate smile. “I know, I owe you and Elyan a visit, but…” He gestured with his hand to the papers scattered all over the counter.
“Please, Zio, don’t apologize, we both know you’re a busy man, and nothing is more important than teaching the young generation about the value and power of the written word,” Baldassare’s reply came in a voice filled with understanding and familial affection. “What are you working on, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Cataloguing the books.” Brian raised his hands. “I know, with all the modern technology and one of the best IT experts who takes care of the library’s central computer system, writing all the titles down may seem like a waste of time, but I’m an old-fashioned guy who sometimes likes to do things the old way.”
“I don’t think it’s a waste of time, on the contrary; power outages or a malfunction of the computer could make finding a certain book a very difficult task, that’s why having a backup becomes essential.” Baldassare accompanied his words with a nod of approval.
“Exactly.” Brian facepalmed himself. “Excuse my lack of manners, I didn’t offer you a seat. Please,” he gestured to one of the chairs across the counter. “For a busy man like you, every minute counts, and whatever brings you here must be very important, so how can I help you?”
Baldassare made himself comfortable in the chair, then opened the briefcase he was always carrying with him, pulling the report out of it. “Could you please take a look over this and tell me what you think?”
“Let me see.” Brian took the papers from the other man’s hand and started to read them. After about fifteen minutes, he cleared his throat. “Hmm…interesting. The guy is either bat-shit crazy, or has someone very powerful backing him up.” He gave his conversation partner a piercing look. “What’s the plan? Knowing you like I do, I’m sure there’s at least one,” he smiled.
“I have to admit this time I’m a bit at a loss,” Baldassare sighed, running a hand over his face. “I really don’t know what to make of this.”
“I think the guy has an agenda, and that’s why he wants to keep his identity secret.” Brian fell silent, going through the report for another couple of minutes. “Also, something is telling me his claims are legitimate, and the ones he asked for the territories back from acknowledged this.” He inhaled sharply. “I also think he is powerful enough to start a war against whoever would refuse to give him back what he considers rightfully his.”
“After reading the part about the claims, more specifically, about the organizations owning the territories the fella already took back, I looked over a map of the city.” Baldassare leaned forward. “He follows an algorithm, and, if I identified it correctly, his next target is the Alboni family, a member of the Old-World Mafia.”
“That’s…” Brian ran a hand through his hair, then shook his head. “This would bring the guy, whoever he is, at our doorstep. So far, he chose negotiations over war, but we can’t be sure he will continue to do so, or for how long. Any suggestions?”
“I’d say it wouldn’t hurt to give the Alboni family a heads up, just in case. Also, a meeting of The Council is absolutely necessary, so we all could agree on the best strategy.” Baldassare stopped for a moment.“First thing first, however, we have to find out who the hell this guy is,” he continued in the tone of a man with a plan. “I’ll talk to my darling Elyan about this when I get home.”
Brian smiled paternally when the other man mentioned the name of his husband. “Tell the coolest dude in all the lands I miss you dearly.” He shook his head. “I saw him the other day with Miss Eugenie, he was cooing at her, so focused, so…” The librarian took a deep breath. “In all honesty, I was afraid he’d fall into a bout of depression right after he gave birth, but he proved me wrong by being the best father in the world.”
Baldassare nodded, eyes shining with love. “And the best lover, husband, friend, and everything in between.” He sighed dreamily, then stood. “Speaking of, I’ll leave you now, my dear Elyan and our sweet baby girl are waiting for me.”
“Send them all my love.” Brian left his seat, went next to the younger man, hugged him, then flinched. “Oh, before you go, there’s something I want to talk to you about, and also ask you for a huge favor.”
“Sure, anything.” Baldassare, who started heading to the door, stopped in his tracks and examined the librarian with worried eyes. “Judging by your expression, it seems like something very serious.”
Brian nodded and started telling him about Stephanie’s visit and confession from earlier, adding his own observations and concerns about his sister’s ex-husband being still alive andkicking, and also out of jail. Unfortunately, since she forgot to mention his name, and he didn’t want to call and ask her, because he was afraid the question would trigger her, his suspicions couldn’t be either confirmed or denied.
Baldassare listened to the librarian with great attention, and only started to talk after he fell silent. Even if they didn’t have the guy’s name, they knew he was sentenced for fraud or embezzlement, and that gave Elyan a good starting point. Using the special filters he and the other computer geniuses in his family designed, he would search the New York State’s prisons’ database and find him.
Once they would have a name and a photo, Baldassare continued, he would send word to everyone on the streets to search for Stephanie’s ex, leaving no stone unturned. Also, he would choose a few of the most loyal informants to discreetly watch over the librarian’s sister and nephew round the clock, and intervene if the situation would require.
Everything will be alright, Baldassare reassured the librarian, hugging him once again, then walked out of the library. Like he did with Stephanie, Brian watched him driving away, then got back to work. The angry kid grew into a quick-thinking young man, with a sharp mind, who never took unnecessary risks and always made sure that collateral damage was little to none.
He really has what it takes to be a good War, even a better one than his predecessor, Brian said to himself, heart filled with pride. As he was writing down the titles of thebooks and the number of copies, the librarian sensed the presence of Don Giovanni approving him, and nodded his hello, accompanying the gesture with a smile.
Brian frowned as the air swished around him; he sensed the ghost was acting differently than usual; the spirit of the Sicilian mafioso was agitated, confused, and even a bit scared, as if he knew something important, but wasn’t allowed to talk about it. The librarian mentally asked Don Giovanni’s specter if he was alright, but no message came back, so he shrugged and continued to work for a while.
Caught in his activity as he was, Brian didn’t look at the clock on the opposite wall, and, when he finally did, the man was shocked to see it was almost five o’clock, the end of the day shift at the library. Jamie’s coat was already at its usual place, although they were not in sight. Most likely, they are in the back, the librarian thought, stretching his arms above the head.
The sound of two distinct male voices got Brian’s attention, making him leave his seat and head to the back of the reading hall. He listened intently; indeed, the assistant librarian was there, and his conversation partner was none other than Tanner, who was still there, although his shift ended. Loyal as he was, the guard wanted to make sure his boss was well protected while he was at work.
Brian felt a pang of guilt in the chest at the thought that him working overtime also stole from the time Tanner should have spent with his family, and closed the register, putting it in one of the desk’s drawers. The man was about to go andannounce to his co-worker and the guard that he was leaving, when he remembered to check something on the highest row of shelves.
As he was climbing up the ladder, Brian noticed someone was about to come inside; from where he stood, the librarian couldn’t see who it was, but the person gave off bad vibes. However, he shrugged the unpleasant feeling off, because there were a lot of older kids and even teachers permanently living in The Base town who came to the library in the afternoon and even evening. That’s what the night shift is for, he thought, minding his business, while the person, a man, got closer and closer to where the ladder was.
The guy grabbed the librarian by the hair and yanked him down. “Stephanie, so here you are, bitch! You may be really stupid to not get that there is no place in the world, no hole in the ground, no cave where you can hide from me. Come on, I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget very soon.”
“What the fuck!” Brian exclaimed as he was pulled from the ladder. “Why do abusive assholes always go for the hair?” He sounded half-amused, half-irritated. “How about that, moron?” He regained his footing and punched the attacker in the face a few times.
“Boss, are you alright?” Tanner came running from the back, Jamie hot on his heels. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?” He went for the attacker, grabbing him by the neck and shaking him violently.
