Page 12 of The Rescuer

The woman didn’t reply for a few good moments, then started to talk in a worried voice. “Are you sure this is safe? I mean, both for my baby and his...what does Esteban call it...peanut?” She pressed a palm against her heart. “I don't want to lose any of them, Signor Cavallieri.”

“There is always risk with any pregnancy, but I’m sure he will be all right. I can get him appointments with the best specialists.” Speaking reassuringly, Brian gave the woman’s hand a light squeeze. “He wants to keep his baby.” The librarian’s voice became even softer. “Yes, Esteban calls the little one, ‘peanut.’ Having his boyfriend with him will also help Joris.”

“Is there any way to bring him here?” There was concern and motherly affection in Zara’s voice. “My son told me he survived the attack, but other than that...”

“He’s been living with me in my home, but I think he’s ready to move in here, if you, mom, and dad agree, that is.” Brian spoke cautiously, looking between his in-laws and Bart’s aunt.

“I always liked this young man.” Zara smiled at the memory. “Since our son and Esteban came out almost at the same time, my beloved Augustin and Don Mauricio Serrano, the boy’s father, joked that our children would make a cute pair.” She turned to Bartholomew Sr. and Lydia. “Of course, it’s only up to you. I can’t give orders in your house.”

The Hastings didn’t reply; they left their seats and went where Zara sat, putting their arms around her in a protective and affectionate gesture. Brian, Bart, then all the other members of the extended family imitated them, creating a huge group hug. Joris, who by then was engaged in a video-call with Esteban, came downstairs to join the rest of the family and gasped softly at the sight of the small crowd surrounding his mother.

Carlie-Ann, the second oldest of the Hastings children, was the one who saw the teenager first and alerted the others in a whispered voice. Everyone’s center of attention switched from Joris’s mother to him, as his cousins guided the youth to a small couch, helped him to get comfortable, and started to congratulate him, cooing at the baby bump.

Brian also showered the teen with attention and affection, reassuring him of all his support. After a few minutes, he felt the coldness prickling at the back of his neck and down his spine, the telltale sign of a spectral presence. The silhouette, visible only to the librarian’s eye, pointed to the corridor leading to Bartholomew Sr.’s home office.

Brian got the message, left his seat, and went into the room where he was greeted by the familiar coldness. The ghost connected to him, told his name — Mauricio Serrano — and in a very polite voice and bad English, asked for permission to use his body. The librarian agreed, took a sheet of paper and a pen, and started writing.

The ghost left Brian’s body, and he took a look over the paper but blinked in confusion because didn’t understand a word except Bart’s aunt’s name, Zara Van Necker. The realization finally hit the librarian: the ghost was Esteban’s father, Don Mauricio Serrano, and the letter was meant for his son’s mother-in-law to-be.

The temperature in the office started to rise again, a sign that the ghost wasn’t there anymore, so Brian left the room and went back to the salon where most of the family, Zara included, were still hanging out, enjoying each other’s company. The librarian showed the letter to the woman, who recognized the handwriting and started to read it aloud, translating from Spanish.

Don Mauricio was happy about his grandchild, Zara told her relatives, and he was also saying the birth would be easy. The man also asked Brian to take Esteban under his wing and teach him everything a respectable, honorable Mafia leader should know. The man ended the letter by thanking the librarian for protecting Esteban, and he guaranteed the loyalty of his men.

The last few lines, where Don Mauricio was talking about the loyalty of his men, gave Brian hope for a new, durable alliance. He remembered Don Calogero once said that after the 1849 great exodus, some of the Grand Families chose Argentina as their new home. The librarian made a mental note to find out if the Serrano family was one of those.

Even if it weren’t the case, Don Mauricio was the leader of one of the most powerful Mafia organizations in the country, and becoming allies with them was a promising start of what Luca and Baldassare called building bridges. In order to rescue the heirs from the claws of the enemy, the Old World Mafia had to come out of the isolation the circumstances had pushed it into.I will do everything in my power to make it happen, Brian said to himself.

***********

“Good morning, ma'am, we are looking for Brian Cavallieri.” The man clad in a three-piece suite spoke politely in English with a heavy Spanish accent. “We were told he would still be here for the next two hours.”

“Hey, boss, let me help you get down safely. There are people looking for you.” Tanner huffed, amused like every time the librarian was mistaken for a woman because of his long hair.

“Thank you, Tanner.” Brian offered the other man a grateful smile. “Always there when I need you.”

The guard offered his hand to the librarian, then waved it dismissively, talking in a respectful voice. “Don't mention it, boss. That's why I'm here. It's my job as your soldier.”

“He must be a great boss, worthy of his men's loyalty,” The oldest of the visitors whispered loud enough to be heard, impressed by Tanner’s words and care.

“I'm Brian Cavallieri.” The librarian straightened his body posture. “What can I do for you?”

“Sorry, Senor Cavallieri, we took you for a lady,” the man who’d first spoken when the group had walked into the library said in an apologetic voice. “We are a group of men of honor serving under the regretted Don Mauricio Serrano and came to express our gratitude for keeping the heir safe. And, of course, to check if the rumors are true.”

“No worries, I get mistaken for a woman quite often.” Brian offered the man a friendly smile. “I’m sorry I didn't get to meet Don Mauricio Serrano, but I'm glad I could help his heir. He is a very nice young man.” A frown creased the librarian’s forehead. “What rumors are you talking about?”

“That the Cavallieri family is not extinguished and you are indeed the descendant of Blasio Cavallieri.” This time, the answer came from the oldest of the group, who nodded. “And now we can see you are.”

“Don Calogero Sedara told me I'm the spitting image of my ancestor Blasio,” Brian answered his guests with a smile. “I’m glad to meet you all, gentlemen.”

The librarian messaged Jamie, his colleague who covered the other four hours of the shift, and once they were there, he called Ardan and Elias to join him and his Argentinian guests in his office at the administrative building. Don Mauricio Serrano’s loyal allies were already pleasantly impressed by Blasio Cavallieri’s descendant, but when they heard the names of The Base’s leaders, the image they had of the librarian became even more favorable.

Ardan welcomed Brian’s guests with open arms, expressing his condolences for the loss of Don Mauricio, a man of great integrity he’d had the privilege of personally knowing, and offering to help his allies to avenge his death. The oldest of the gangsters answered by thanking The Base’s leader and saying that forging an alliance with all those who didn’t tolerate injustice in any form was precisely the purpose of their visit.

The temporary alliance against Don Mauricio Serrano and his most important ally, Zara’s husband, was about to implode because of the greed of those who formed it, another guest said. The one who united all the others felt entitled to a bigger chunk of the companies owned or controlled by the two dons, and those who helped him to take them down were not happy about it.

At that point, Brian excused himself and messaged Baldassare and Don Calogero, then asked for a recess until the two could get there, too. Indeed, the head of Van Necker family’s main branch came up with a solution that involved subjecting the ventures owned or controlled by those men without honor and moral principles to a cyber and financial attack.

They had the right people for the job, Baldassare assured the Argentinian gangsters, saying the names of Martino and Julien. The guests enthusiastically approved of the plan, especially since most of them collaborated with Tarquin Ballard, Julien’s father, in decapitating drug dealing and weapon trafficking rings.

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