I want to thank all the nice folks who took the time to give me some feedback on the last chapter and to all who took the time to read it.
I'm NOT spinning off here; everything will come together before the end.
As we all know Hannibal, Clarice and Barney belong to T. Harris. The rest of the folks in this chapter are mine. Still I own very little.
Exchanges XXIX
An Eye for an Eye
Everyone in the helicopter was silent. Clarice leaned on Hannibal's shoulder and occasionally he kissed her hair or squeezed her hand, but his mind was clearly occupied with other issues. He was planning for every possible contingency.
Their helicopter landed on a double landing pad inside a large compound. From the air they had seen the imposing Mediterranean Villa consisting of a huge main house and some smaller units scattered along the vast grounds.
The gardens, in character with the Mediterranean look, were lush and convivial. The property was a good match for the Verger Estate, without the grandiose look and oppressive appearance.
Upon landing, several staff members were waiting to bring them to the main house in one of the waiting cars. Once there, another staff member escorted the newlyweds and Barney to adjacent suites of room, where their luggage was delivered a few minutes later.
The Doctor and Clarice changed clothes in silence, both concerned about the recent events. As soon as they changed Dr. Lecter went next door to invite Barney to join them in their rooms for a drink. It was 1230PM.
"Barney, I'm sorry. I'm sure you didn't bargain for this type of excitement." Hannibal Lecter appeared sincerely contrite.
"Don't worry doctor; I never did anything adventurous in my life, so this is a welcomed change." He chuckled, "somewhat scary, I admit."
After asking then what they preferred to drink, then broached the subject of their host's identity.
"Are either of you familiar with the name Marco Calvacanti" his eyes glinting with mischief.
They both said no.
"Now, why do I suspect you know?" Clarice teased. "Would you care to share?"
"He is a bit of legend, almost a mythical figure; aside from a handful of his business associates, very few have actually met for the last 20 years or so. He is the most powerful industrialist in Italy; his empire branches all over the world. Also allegedly 'Il Capo di tuti capi: the boss of bosses,' on its current manifestation."
"How safe are we here then,…where is this place, anyway?"
"As safe as we'll ever be, Barney; I'm sure the security here is iron clad. I have no clue as to the location of this villa, but I suspect that at this point it might be unsafe to go to Greece. Let's just enjoy the moment and see what comes next."
What came next was a knock at the door; when he opened it, Dr Lecter found himself face to face with Marco Calvacanti.
"Doctor Lecter, I would like to have a word with you, if I may?" Aside from a slight accent, his English was perfect, and his speech had the softness characteristic of men who don't have to raise their voice to be heard. "Your wife might want to join as if you wish."
"Please come in," the doctor invited, opening the door further.
The man's movements were staid, they exuded self confidence and displayed a still calm, no unlike that of Dr. Lecter.
The Doctor made the brief re-introductions, "my wife, Clarice, and our dear old friend Barney Matthews." He said briefly.
Marco Calvacanti took Clarice's hand, looked into her eyes and bowed. It was then that she got a close glimpse at his eyes. They were a familiar tone of maroon.
She almost gasped, but managed to control herself, and smiled.
"Signora Lecter, I've heard much about you, I am a great admirer of the both of you and the doctor"
He turned to Barney with an outstretched hand; Barney had already gotten up and as they shook hand, "Is a great honor to meet you sir," then addressing everyone in the room, Barney added, "I was about to excuse myself, I think need a rest after all the excitement." With that he nodded at everyone and made his polite exit.
"All right then," Calvacanti said, "would you rather talk here or join me for a walk on the grounds; is very beautiful out there."
Clarice chose for both of them "A walk would be fine; a bit of fresh air will do us all good."
Clavacanti lead them to a path that led first under some vines and then along a plateau overlooking a magnificent view.
"Before I begin, I let reassure you that you will find as much sanctuary here in my property as you found at the Maugeri's. Also, if belatedly, express my gratitude for all you did for Luke after the kidnapping."
"It was the right thing to do," Dr Lecter responded with his impeccable politeness. He was curious as to where this was going
"As to our present location," Calvacanti continued, "we are in the outskirts of Ravello in the Amalfi Coast. I was born in this property. My maternal grandfather gave it to my mother as a somewhat begrudging wedding gift. The Viscontis believed she married way below her station, yet my grandfather learned to like my father.
She still lives here, my mother, at age 95 she is still as active as a woman 30 years younger. She spent almost 60 years searching for the children of her late half sister after they disappeared during the way. In the process she became an Internet expert, mostly doing genealogy research. She would like to discuss some of her findings with you Doctor, if you don't mind."
"It will be a privilege," responded the Doctor, more than a little intrigued. "You said your mother is a Visconti?"
"Indeed, my grandfather was the last of his line. My mother's name is Etna, like the Volcano."
"Etna, named after a Volcano…" the Doctor repeated in a pensive tone while his mind raced through the rooms of his Memory Palace.
"Now, if you permit me, I'll try to fill you in the whole sequence of events that ultimately lead to the unfortunate demise of Sal Maugeri."
"My father was the head of most of the families on the mainland, I married at 20 -a family arranged marriage, to a wonderful headstrong girl determined to raise a large family. After three miscarriages in 4 years, she died at the age of 24 giving birth to our full term stillborn daughter. I was 26 years old."
He paused just a second, and went on. "Shortly after my marriage, I became the liaison for the business between our family and the two powerful families in Sicily, the Maugeri Family and the Lanima family. Don Lanima was Lucia's father." He snarled bitterly "We privately called him Don L'animale, -the animal - .
The man was a pig."
He hesitated just briefly then, as if to choose his words for an effective description of what was to follow.
"I became a good friend of Sal's father, Rosario Maugeri, and a serious business associate of Lucia's father. I say business associate, because Don Lanima never developed any true friendships, he had no sense of loyalty and was incapable of affection, not even for his wife and daughter.
We remained associates until a little over 40 years ago. I was 35 at that time, and we had personal fallout of such proportions that the ramifications changed the lives of all three families as that of countless other people." He took a deep breath and went on.
"I knew both Sal and Lucia since they were small children." He smiled, "Sal was fascinated by her from the start. During their childhood years, he followed her around, smitten by her spun and iron will, she was like a tiny cub, testing her strength and bossing him around." He smiled with a mixture of melancholy and bewilderment.
"Sal was a very good man, very decent; too decent for his own good.
"Back when Luke was kidnapped, it was clear that he stood a better chance if I handled the demands for his release. I would not stop at anything to save the boy; just like his mother did all those years before.
Only in one other occasion did I allow myself to feel as much pure rage as I did during the kidnapping. Luckily, for me, I felt unencumbered by moral boundaries; I pandered to my feral instinct and did what I had to do. As a result, Luke was released alive, if just barely." He chuckled bitterly, "when I was informed of his conditions, I found solace in paying back with the biblical an eye for an eye."
Clarice interrupted "How did you manage get him rescued by some unidentified sources as it was reported?"
"I'm not sure you want to know, Signora. For now, it will suffice to say that part of the negociations resulted in three deaths, including that of Lucia's father."
Hannibal Lecter tilted his head slightly to one side and his eyes met Calcavante's.
"You killed Lucy's father." The Doctor thought to himself. "Did he actually had his own grandson kidnapped and tortured."
Marco Calvacante stared right back at Lecter, as if he could read the Doctors thoughts, he responded with a nod.
Clarice noticed the unspoken communication between the two and felt a chill run through her, "I'm out my league here," she thought. Yet, she decided she liked the man, he reminded her of Hannibal.
"A few years ago, the Russians and the Sardinians, stirred by Paolo Delponte, started a campaign to make extra money the old fashion way, by masterminding kidnappings and murders, Sal opposed them. Things escalated and worsened as time went by.
At some point, Luke asked me to talk to Sal, he thought Sal was being too soft, and felt it would backfire.
Sal was a very good man in a brutal world where forgiveness is considered a weakness, and unless dispensed wisely it can be deadly.
I tried to reason with him, and ran against a brick wall; he just wouldn't agree to eliminate Delponte. He actually believed his son in law was not involved.
During the events of the last two month, the two of you and Lucia managed to abort every one of their kidnap attempts plus, I hear, Delponte's attempted to blackmail Rachel Rosencranz and kidnap both her and Franz.
You crushed their operations so persistently it practically put them out of business by destroying their reputation." He chuckled, "Delpontes disappearance, which also points in both yours and Sal's and Lucia's direction, was the straw that broke them.
Now, they are doubling up their effort in an attempt to save whatever face they believe they have left."
"By killing Sal, however, they removed the one element that prevented me from crushing them. Until we finish them, which won't take long, you will be safe here under my protection. We can accommodate you and you guest in the main house, or if you prefer complete privacy in one of the houses inside the compound, either way you'll have a helicopter or cars at your disposal for sightseeing if you must, but all under the surveillance of my people."
During the brief pause that followed, and using a tone that Clarice found strangely reminiscent of the dungeon, the Doctor asked,
"Tell us, at what point did you tell Luke that you are his father?"
Clarice held her breath "leave it to Hannibal to ask such imprudent personal questions," she thought
"Ah," Calvacanti chuckled, "Dr. Lecter's legendary perception." He stopped walking and leaned against a tree slightly to the side of the path, so he could face them both.
"After the kidnapping, once we were reasonably certain that his mental state would allow him to process the events that lead to his kidnapping. At the time, Lucia, Sal and I got together and told Luke what was relevant about his parentage. He knew his grandfather was the mastermind behind his kidnapping and we wanted him to know exactly what lead to it. We wanted him to know who could he trust: Namely Sal, Lucia and me, period."
He took a deep breath and went on.
"Back in the summer of Lucia's eighteenth birthday, I went to Sicily in a final effort to convince Don Lanima to legalize his family business by investing their assets into industries, and other business opportunities. Both my father and I, and Rosario Maugeri, had done it, we hoped eventually to do away with all the family's illegal activities. My goal was to encourage L'animale to make independent investments and suggest new business enterprises he could start for himself and the member of his family business."
He paused significantly and then went on.
"That summer Lucia and I fell in love."
It was clear that the walk to memory lane was difficult for him. When he went on, his voice was thick and low, while the memories, booth glorious and painful replayed in his head.
"I had loved my late wife a great deal, yet I had never been in love.
It was that summer, when Lucia and I fell in love, both of us for the first time; when we thought we had a glorious future ahead of us; that our lives changed forever…For the worse."
"Dear God!" Clarice thought, "He has been holding a candle to her for forty years!"
Calvacanti reached up for the honeysuckle vines that climbed up the tree upon which he was leaning, plucked a flower, casually popped it in his mouth, and began to chew it. Clarice found the gesture both sensual and fascinating.
He went on
"I'm going to be very candid here, Lucia asked me to answer all your questions, but the fact is she and I saw each other only twice in the last 40 years and I'm not sure how she would feel about my revealing without her input, parts of our story that are so inherently hers."
"Well, we are about to find out," said the Doctor. "Here she comes, marching with the resolve of a Waikiki." He looked down for a bit, then at the other man, and muttered softly "good luck, buddy, it seems as if will need it."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The character of Etna Visconti Calvacanti is fashioned after a member of my family, who at age 95 [going on 96 actually] lives by herself, by choice, teaches twice a week at the University Extension where she drives herself. Twice a year drives to the Berkshires by herself [ a few hundred miles] is socially more active than most folks and uses the Internet quite frequently.
In the next chapter we'll meet an unexpected character which will lead to another long lost one. With plenty of Lecter's past and future on it
Let me know if this feels right
Clariz
