The Twelve Zenati Pt. 26

*****

"Okay, that's enough proof," Vivienne said, looking at the little blip on the ultrasound screen. "I guess we should call him before he finds out I am here."

"Ooh, can I? Let me do it please?" Helena grinned evilly at Vivienne.

"I'm not sure I trust that grin of yours," Vivienne laughed.

"Trust me. I'm a doctor!" Helena said hand on her heart and picked up the phone to dial Dominic's room where he knew Gideon was and put it on speaker for Vivienne.

"Dom? Its Helena," she said when he answered. "Is Gideon there with you?"

"Hey, no not at the moment I think he went to the war room while Emma is force-feeding me again," he chuckled and yelped as Emma must have hit him for the remark.

"Can you get Emma to let him know his wife is in x-ray and if he could come down to see her that would be helpful," Helena grinned at Vivienne. "She's quite emotional, and his presence will calm her, I'm sure."

"Is everything alright?" Dom asked, unable to sense anything from the call itself.

"I can't really say just yet but if you could let Gideon know, please," she asked.

"Yeah, of course," Dom said, and Helena hung up.

"How long do you think it will take him to get here? Five minutes or less?" she laughed. "Do you think you will be okay here while I go out to the foyer of the department and wait for him?"

"Don't be too mean to him," Vivienne laughed. "He will already be in a panic if I know him."

It was closer to ten minutes when Gideon rushed through the door, startling her, his eyes wild and frightened as they took her in lying on the bed beside the ultrasound machine. Saying nothing he went and leaned over the bed, pulling her into a gentle hug as he buried his face in her neck.

"What's wrong? Helena said that you would be okay, but why are you here? What happened?" he asked in a torrent of quiet confused words and thoughts.

"I'm here because I had to be sure before I told you how wonderful you were," Vivienne smiled, and he leaned back looking at her in confusion. "Not anytime soon but next year or in about seven months, you're going to be..." her words were cut off as he guessed what she was saying and kissed her hard and deep. "A Papa," she finished when he finally let her up for air."

"I love you," he said softly and kissed her again. "You are amazing, and every day I love you more than the one before. Cigars! I need cigars!" he sat up, patting his pockets as if they would magically appear.

"This is a hospital, Gideon," Helena said disapprovingly. "What you need is to see what you and your wife have created." She sat at the screen and began to play with the image pointing out different areas in the fuzzy picture to them.

Gideon couldn't make sense of the images, but he held Vivienne's hand and watched her face light up in eager fascination at the small blip on the screen. She was so beautiful, and he was so proud he could burst.

"Helena if you roll over my bladder one more time I am going to pee," Vivienne warned with a laugh. She'd been holding her full bladder for a long time now.

"Sorry Hun, you go pee I will talk to the Papa-to-be for a few minutes, then we can talk about prenatal care," she said and wiped the gel off the sensor and Vivienne's belly.

"You okay to go alone?" Gideon asked as he leaned down to help his wife to her feet and put her clothes back in place.

"I'm pregnant, not made of glass, Gideon," she laughed lightly as he let her stand on her own two feet. "I'll be back in a minute. Do you think you could find out how I could contact Marcella? I want to talk to her now more than ever," she said quietly.

"I'll make sure you do then," he promised and watched her walk away to relieve her bladder. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and messaged his brother.

Gideon: "Tell Marcie Vivienne needs to speak with her and that it's important."

Noah: "I'll do my best, but things have gone a little pear-shaped here today, and I don't think she will talk to anyone else in our family until this is done. Including me."

Gideon: "What the hell does that mean?"

Noah: "Just what I said. Don't worry. I'm on it. Tell Viv to hang tight, and I'll see what I can do."

Gideon: "So it's all gone to hell then?"

Noah: "Not quite, but it's a fair bit warmer from where I'm standing."

*****

Marcella sighed as she got out of the taxi she had grabbed after dropping Noah's keys with the concierge. She had an hour plus the time it would take to call his family and rally his calvary minus, so, a little over an hour. She hoped she had that long if not longer. If she were lucky, she would have the rest of the afternoon as long as the hastily laid plans she made in the taxi on the way here worked out for her. First things first, she blocked out all of the distractions of the Zenati family except for Olivia and what she needed to do to get the information she needed.

She'd always hoped to leave Noah behind today and not put him in the line of fire and as it happened Zanto and his news had been just the reason she needed to walk out on him. When he realised what she had done, he would be upset with her, not mad, but frustrated and worried she knew. A small piece of her mind told her she was being unfair to him after their time together, but she wasn't going to put anyone she cared about in the line of fire, and she had to admit, al-be-it reluctantly, that she had grown to care for him over the last week.

She cared, how could she not? His final words stuck in her mind and made her close her eyes momentarily. He hadn't meant it; he was just trying to get her to stay with that emotional blackmail. Nobody actually loved her. It wasn't anyone's fault. She just wasn't loveable. She'd come to terms with that years ago. Yet the look in his eyes as he made his declaration made her heart squeeze in her chest. Fuck, why now? No one had ever said that to her before. Not her parents or sisters, even when she was little. Not Apollo, who was the closest thing she had ever had to a real relationship, as fucked up as that was. No, people cared, like she cared about them, but love? No that was for romance novels and rom-coms, not real life and definitely not for someone like her.

The jeweller's shop loomed in front of her, and she checked the large wad of cash she had brought with her from her stash originally for when she needed to travel under the radar. That was step one, now for phase two. She didn't have to fake the sadness she felt as she spoke to the jeweller about being abandoned by a man she had been stupid enough to commit to with the bracelet and she needed it off her arm before she cut her own hand off.

As the jeweller worked through his collection of tools looking for the perfect fit, she felt the sting in the back of her eyes telling her that what she was doing was somehow wrong. She blinked her watery eyes, trying to hold back the tears she felt as the bracelet finally fall free of her arm. Thanking the jeweller profusely as any air-head would she gathered the two halves of the bracelet handed him a hundred-dollar bill and fled back outside. Next, she hurried to a Telstra outlet and bought a new phone. Time ticked by as it was set up for her and she tried not to seem too impatient as she waited long minutes for the assistant to hand her the phone and receipt finally.

Racing into the nearest clothing outlet Marcella changed into a flowing dress and wore it out of the store after ripping off the tags to pay for it leaving her pants and shirt behind and stuffing the jacket into the oversized bag, she had with her. She rechecked her watch and cringed at the time. She hurried on to the next stop on her list and breathed a sigh that there was no line up for what she needed to do. She raced through the copying of the contract and paying to have the original held at the post office until it was picked up the following day. Then she hurried to the taxi rank and grabbed a cab again.

"Mindil Beach and an extra hundred dollars if you drive there as fast as you can," Marcella instructed. On the ride, she downloaded the contacts and apps she needed without syncing everything on her original phone assuming Noah would have some sort of tracking bug on that as well. At least she would be able to track him for a little while, at least until he found her bracelet.

The hour Noah had given her was almost up, and she knew she had run out of time. She considered all of her options and decided there was only one way to buy herself the extra time she needed and keep Noah and the Zanati chasing her shadow until she had made her move. She took a breath and typed out a text, then she erased it, and typed it again. Fuck! Marcella grumbled as she erased the text also without sending it. Hopefully, she would have enough time to make a clean getaway while he followed her bracelet and phone.

"Wait ten minutes for me please, and another hundred is yours she said, passing the previously promised money over to the cabbie. Getting out of the car Marcella hurried over to the last tent in the row marking the edge of the market. The owners were just setting up and distracted, so she bent down beside the tent and nudged the fabric over a bit digging a hole in the sandy dirt big enough for her bracelet and phone. Then she covered them over and sighed. When she returned to the cab, she shuddered. She was now walking this tight rope without a safety net, and she suddenly missed Noah's constant presence at her side reassuring her that she was not alone.

She tried to shake it off. They would all thank her in the end, even Noah. It was enough that Olivia had built the bridge she needed with her this morning. She felt a small twinge of guilt about not having enough time to call Vivienne before she went silent, but she had enough distractions today. If something had happened to her friend, she couldn't have handled it on top of everything else. So she contented herself with the idea that it was Vivienne who had asked her to call and therefore she was conscious and able to make demands and would be there when she finally finished this deal.

She thanked the cabbie, who seemed disappointed not to be asked to wait for her again and walked into the sailboat club where she had first met Bea as if the woman should have expected her to show up here rather than at the allotted meeting place.

"So you came, just as I expected," Bea announced as if she had read Marcella's mind. Marcella was escorted into the office, and one of the burly men at her side waved a detection wand over her, and she divested herself of her bag to prove there was nothing on her person then dumped her bag out on the table so they could see its contents. "A brave woman to come here without your Zenati escort and bring what I wanted," Bea stated shrugging as she picked up a lipstick and turned it over to read the colour name. "Wineberry," she commented and threw the lipstick back on the table with the rest of Marcella's belongings before picking up the envelope that held the promise she had extracted from Marcella. After a glance at the contents, she raised an eyebrow at Marcella. "This is a copy?"

"Yes, and the original is all yours, the moment we have verified the information you give us," Marcella said quickly. "It's in a safe place known only to me so you can keep me as a hostage until the deal is done or I can return after the raid and tell you where it is and take you to it, your choice."

"You use the term we so easily for one who came here alone. Olivia didn't baulk at giving away such a prized estate?" Bea asked curiously.

"It holds only fuzzy memories of pain for her. Something she would like to forget," she said a little of her anger at what had happened to her sister there colouring her tone.

"Remington could be a cruel man in many ways," Bea agreed. "As could his cronies, it will be our pleasure to see the end of that circle of evil as much as it will be yours. You will be my guest for the evening, and we shall conclude our business in the morning."

"Tonight? You want the raid to happen tonight?" Marcella gasped.

"It will when you feed the information to your contacts. I had planned to allow Noah to do that while you kept me company this evening, but as you have come alone, you can choose who you would like to speak to," Bea shrugged. "The sooner you make that call, the sooner we can disappear for the evening."

"We will disappear?" Marcella asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I think that's best, don't you? I imagine your Zenati man has the bloodhounds on your trail already so choose quickly," Bea encouraged. "Or I will choose for you and you may not like that result as much."

"No? Who would you choose?" Marcella asked.

"My men would pick up Noah Zenati as originally planned," Bea said. "I imagine our host tonight will be disappointed by his absence. He is a very handsome man, after all." She gave a girlish laugh before continuing. "You decide, though. I expect you have reasons of your own for leaving him behind."

*****

Noah didn't understand. According to his phone, Marcella was in this exact spot, but as he looked around, she wasn't here. He began to panic that he was already too late and the Suebi had killed her once they had what they wanted and she was hidden somewhere right under his nose. Or under his feet he looked down his stomach rolling in sickening turmoil at the thought. The ground where he stood seemed undisturbed, and he sighed until a tickle of a laugh entered his mind. His head whipped around looking for the source of that cackle. It was a sound he hadn't heard for weeks.

It took him mere minutes to locate her, sitting on a bench her white air blowing in the slight breeze as she ate ice cream and watched him curiously. She smiled and tilted her head down. She was gazing at a spot near his feet.

"She buried your means of tracking her there, but she is long gone and into the hands of your enemy," Imelda said casually, as if not realising how the second part of her statement wiped out the relief of knowing she was alive. He sighed and crossed to the bench she sat on.

"Why are you here?" Noah groused unhappily. I thought your people left us to clean up the remainder of the mess."

"My people have gone, but I have stayed to repay a long-overdue life debt," she admitted.

"And that includes hounding me each time I fuck things up?" he accused.

"Not at all," she cackled. "It's merely a happy bonus for me to show you that all actions even though born of good intentions, can have consequences."

"They took her?" he asked miserably.

"No, she went to them willingly to avoid the confrontation here. She did that for you because you made her care for you more than she wishes to admit," Imelda cackled again. "She gave herself as collateral to ensure that she gets what she needs before handing over the original document that matched the copy she carried. She will complete this mission to save her sister before even considering what she needs for herself."

"Fuck," he ran his hands through his hair, feeling helpless and wondering how he could have ever let her go.

"You had no choice but to let her go. She asked you to prove your words to her by doing just that," Imelda said. "Every person in her life who claimed to care for her forced into situations she didn't want, except you. You have given her choices not always good choices, but you have given her the choice of going alone and accepting the consequences or allowing you to help her. She understands that, and she understands that it hurt you today to let her leave," she soothed.

"It doesn't help me, knowing that. Not when she is in danger right now, and there is nothing I can do to help her," he snapped angrily.

"There is nothing you can do for her today that you have not already done. She has started a sequence of events that will sew chaos, not even I can see through to an outcome. Go and congratulate your brother on his impending fatherhood. You must leave this place as soon as possible and seek out your brothers. Help your table complete the discovery of evidence to free Olivia from suspicion. The place and the people are real as is the information Marcella has been given," Imelda told him. "If you stay, the consequences may be more than are willing to pay."

"She already has the information she needed?" he asked.

"Yes, but they continue to hold her as collateral until she gives what they need once the deed is done. You gave her much to think about. Not one person in her life has ever claimed to love her before today. Care yes, but not love and so she has believed herself unlovable. She did this to protect you, not because she didn't want you by her side. She will come back, but it will take more than threats or pretty words to make her choose this life with you. Those pretty words and threats have been given to her many times over by people who meant her nothing but harm," with that Imelda stood and blended into the growing crowd of the markets. "Your actions can sway her heart, but you must choose carefully for it will take only a small falsehood to break her trust now. You must leave this place now or risk losing it all, go home Noah Zenati. She will return. Eventually."

Noah wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there deep in thought after Imelda left when another person sat on the bench beside him, close enough to make him look up with a glare to make the person give him some personal space.

"She's not coming, is she?" Zanto asked, rubbing his thumb in a line up and down the centre of his chest.

"No, she has given herself to the Suebi as collateral until the information exchange is complete," Noah sighed.

"Did she call?" Zanto frowned, not knowing how his cousin would know that was what she had done.

"No, but trust me, that's what has happened. Now, all we can do is wait and see how the chips fall from her gamble," Noah said gruffly, fear for the woman he loved clogging his throat and making his voice rough.

"Not necessarily, did you have a tracker on her?" Zanto asked.

"She took it off and buried it over there," Noah pointed vaguely toward the outlet at the end of the row.

"We can backtrack it and see where she went before here," he suggested. "It might give us some clues about what was going on in her head if nothing else." He put his hand out for Noah's phone and felt a small jolt of relief as he absently handed it over. The two men sat in silence as Zanto worked on the phone as well as his own.

"Okay, let's go," Zanto said. "Unless you want to sit here and do nothing until we hear from her. If we hear from her," he said, knowing he needed to push his cousin out of his funk. Noah snarled at him but got to his feet and approached the last known location of the woman he loved and looked with new eyes searching for her bracelet.

*****

Vivienne startled when her phone rang. She thought she had turned it off when she was with Helena. She stepped away from where Gideon was collecting congratulations from the members of his family that were at the hospital with Dom and Xavier and dug her phone out of her bag prepared to turn it off. Something niggled at her and told her she needed to answer the private number in case it was Marcella calling because of her message. If she had gotten a message saying Marcella needed to talk to her, she wouldn't like it if her friend didn't answer and she knew Marcella didn't have the same phone since she had left hers here at the hospital when she left. The phone had almost rung out when she swiped the screen to answer.

"Hello?" Vivienne said, unsure of herself.

"Hey, what's so important that I needed to call in the middle of all this mess?" Marcella said a little abruptly taking Vivienne by surprise.

"Marcella! Thank God, are you okay?" Vivienne asked feeling silly now that she had insisted Gideon get her to call.