Arthur
The great room had an unrestricted view of the gardens that surrounded the Tabella Della Morte. The Table of Death. Flowers of every kind, fuchsias and dahlias, were ideally placed to give the area a homey look. I suppose that’s what I was going for, using my family home in New Orleans as a means to a far greater end.
The centerpiece, a large fountain, dominated the garden, and I remembered a time when this view brought me joy. There had been days when I could stand out there and forget that much else existed. This however was not one of those days, and it hadn’t been for years. I had called an urgent meeting, and there was only one thing on the agenda. Acquisition.
I sat at the head of the table, my knights awaiting instructions. These men were the best of the best at what they did. Failure was not in their vocabulary which was good since failure was not something I would ever tolerate.
“The Russo brothers are becoming a handful.” I filled the men in on their perfect plan to overthrow me, Arthur Calthorpe.
The looks on their faces were a cross between amusement and annoyance. There was one thing these men despised, and that was being underestimated. My knights were untouchable, that was a well known fact, so the thought of anyone deluding themselves that they could threaten me and get away with it was absurd.
“That’ll be interesting.” Kay, another one of my knights said, as he tapped his knuckles on the thirteen seat, mahogany, round table, “They’ve clearly thought this whole thing through.” He could not keep the sarcasm out of his voice. The truth was we had men in the police force and even in the government. There was no place we hadn’t infiltrated. That was a bonehead plan, but I had a feeling it was much more than that. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We play a game of chess with the Russos.”
They leaned in listening.
“The game’s aim is to deploy all your pieces to their most effective starting positions. The last thing you should be concerned about is attacking your opponent. You wait until all of your pieces are strategically placed. You leave your tactical maneuvers until then, forcing the opponent into compromising positions you can then exploit, leaving them defenseless and at your mercy. They have made their move and so it is time to take out some of their pawns. Now, a lot of people underestimate the power of the pawn; a good chess player never does.
“But where’s the smashing?” Bors laughed.
“You know, the key thing about pawns compadres, is that they are treasures, when they make it to the other side of the board, they can be whatever they want, even a queen. And that is why players will do anything and everything to keep them on the board.”
Lance looked at me knowingly. “The Russos don’t seem to have a clue that we’re on to them.”
“And, Charles Russo has treasures,” I said with a calculated smile. The men exchanged glances.
Lance pressed a button on his laptop, and the projector screen came to life with a picture of a much younger Gaia and her twin brother, Gabriel. I could not help but focus on the stubborn set of her jaw and the fire in her eyes, even in this picture where she was likely no older than sixteen years old.
“Gabriel Russo has a bit of addiction it seems.” Lance commented, scrolling through pictures of the boy in clubs and whorehouses, shooting up and sniffing coke. “He’s an easy one it would seem, but her…”
“I could break that one easily.” Bors laughed, and I felt my fists clench.
“Bring them back here,” I commanded. “Unharmed and untouched. Seth, you’ll be assigned, Gabriel.”
The young knight nodded.
“Shall I bring in the Princess?” Bors chuckled, toying with his knife.”
“Geraint will bring her.”
“Has our Arthur taken a fancy to the little minx then?” Bors chortled, but one look from me had him shrugging. The truth was Geraint was not a wildcard, less likely to lose his temper and pre-maturely slit her throat.
“I want them both here, sooner rather than later, and then, then we wait for Daddy to come to get them. Then we slice his throat for so much as thinking about double-crossing me.”
My eyes were fixated on the girl on the screen. Her eyes, those full lips, and that spirit I’d only briefly caught a glimpse off.
There was no end to the women I could have, but there was a fire inside Gaia that made her irresistible. I watched it simmer in her eyes that night on the balcony. I wanted nothing more than for her to combust around me.
I always get what I want, and right at that moment, I wanted Gaia Russo.
* * *
“The boy is here,”Seth announced just a week after our meeting. He and Geraint were seated in my office. “He was, shall I say, very cooperative. I made him an offer he could not refuse. I was a bit offended he didn’t put up a fight actually. Just left with me, no questions asked. He was pretty high at the time.” He slouched in the chair across from me, a smug look on his face.
“He’s settled in then?” I asked, crossing my fingers on the desk, a habit I got from my father.
“Penthouse suite, with all the women and the score he can manage. He is in his element, quite literally.”
