Chapter Two
August 1990 – Miami, Florida
The night oozed humidity. There was no wind and the oppressive heat of the day was still draped over everything. In this part of town, nothing moved, but not because of the heat. Anything or anyone who wanted to stay alive knew that it was a bad idea to be caught out after dark in this neighborhood unless you were part of the crew. Drug runners and errand boys for the Sicilians sometimes slipped in and out of the shadows until they reached the large warehouse but even they tried to be inside before dark fell.
All but one. Dressed in black and as thin as a shadow, he owned the night. Slipping from shadow to shadow, the boy was invisible. Years of practice had made him the best, even at 13, and he knew it. Not that he'd brag about it. No, the consequences of that would be terrible. Much better to stay silent and just do his job.
Speaking of which, the boy thought. I'd better get inside before Mario gets the wrong idea. The boy knew that the front doors were locked at dark and weren't opened for anyone. This was just another incentive to be back inside. You only had to spend one night alone outside in the dark with no food and nowhere to sleep before you decided that inside the warehouse was a much better place to be. At least there you got a corner with a blanket or two and something that passed for a meal.
The boy's errand had taken longer than he thought it would. Didn't count on that extra alarm, he thought. Oh well, I have the piece, that's what matters. The boy ran along the side of the warehouse, keeping to the comfort of the shadows. He silently climbed over the chain-link fence in the back and dropped into the shadows behind the warehouse. He paused and scanned the area to make sure that he was alone before he squatted and began to tap on the side of the building.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap tap. Tap. Tap.
After a moment a low voice whispered, "Nico? Is that you?"
"Yeah, Adam, let me in."
There was a moment of nothing. Then a small flap in the side of the warehouse was opened, allowing Nico to slip into the building. Nico grinned as his friend, his smile Cheshire cat like in the darkness.
"We're going to have to make that door bigger soon, Adam. Not for me, you understand. I could slip through anything. It's you I'm worried about. One of these days you'll be out late and you're going to get stuck trying to sneak back in. I can just see it now: head and shoulders in and the rest of you flailing about outside!" Nico stifled a laugh at the mental imagery.
"Unlike you, Dominico," Adam whispered using Nico's full name. "I'm smart enough to get things done before they lock the front door. You know, it's much easier that way. Plus you get an actual meal that way, not the scraps we can sometimes save for you. Might want to try that sometime."
"Where's the fun in that? Besides, you're only back before dark because they know you're not smart enough to take on the really hard stuff. That's why they give it to me, you big ox!" Nico playfully elbowed his friend in the side.
"Shut up, both of you!" hissed a new voice. A girl stepped out of the shadows behind Adam. "Dominico, Adam's right. You can't keep sneaking in after lock down – Mario is going to notice sooner or later and then you know that there's going to be hell to pay!"
"Mina! I'm shocked, I didn't know you cared!" Nico grinned.
"I don't, you big dummy. But if Mario gets mad at you, then the rest of us suffer too. Besides, I don't want him finding out about our back door." Mina said, taking a step closer to Nico. She spoke with a smile, however, and Nico and Adam both knew that, despite her words, she really did care.
"Yeah, you big dummy!" Adam said as he punched Nico in the arm.
Both boys started to play fight, but soon stopped for fear of being discovered by the hole they had created. Not that they'd admit their fear to each other, but they both had seen what had happened to those that had tried to escape from their Sicilian keepers. Adam and Mina closed the hole in the back of the building and then the three quietly snuck back to the area of the warehouse that was considered "in-bounds" for the kids.
There were five beds in the little area, all of which currently had owners. Nico, Adam, and Mina's beds were pushed together on one side of the area and the other two beds were on the other side. These were occupied by two older girls from somewhere in Russia who didn't speak a lot of English. Adam and Mina didn't speak any Russian so, when Nico was out on a run, the four didn't talk much to one another. Nico didn't speak much Russian either, but he was rapidly learning from the girls who were more than eager to teach him.
Adam was two years older than Nico, four inches taller, and twenty pounds heavier. He was from somewhere in Spain, but wouldn't say where. Adam wasn't his real name. When Nico first met him, Adam wouldn't say much of anything. So, not knowing what else to call him, Nico just went with 'Adam.' Adam seemed to accept the moniker. When he later asked Nico why he chose Adam, Nico just answered, "Well, I didn't know what else to call you, and as you were the first guy here, I figured Adam was appropriate."
Adam was tightlipped about his past; he never disclosed how long he'd been under the Sicilian's control, nor did he say much about his life before. Nico didn't press, partly because he didn't want to have to answer questions about his past, and partly because he'd been kept almost totally isolated for a few years after leaving Italy. By the time Nico was dumped in Miami, he was so eager for someone's company that he didn't question Adam too much. That was a few years ago and, in the interim, Nico and Adam had become friends.
Mina was the next addition to the Sicilian's errand-running squad. She was a year older than Nico and a year younger than Adam and, like Nico, from Italy. Unlike the boys, she wasn't so reluctant to talk about her past – she just couldn't remember much of it. Her parents had died in a car crash when she was four. Some relatives had taken her in, but had quickly decided that another mouth to feed wasn't worth the measly inheritance that Mina's parents left her. They'd kicked her to the curb after a year or two, sans inheritance, and she lived on the street until a man had asked if she wanted a job. She'd been "running errands" for the man ever since.
The Sicilians had quickly figured out that kids, especially orphans, were great for running whatever kind of errands (legal and illegal) they needed. No one looked twice at a kid with a backpack (and a backpack held a lot of dope). The kids were given three meals a day, a place to sleep, and some clothes in exchange for their services. And, if a kid got caught, well, they were expendable. Simple threats were enough to keep the kids in check. It was the perfect set up. None of the kids liked working for the Sicilians, but it was better than living on the streets.
"Nico, did you get it?" Mina asked. They weren't supposed to talk about their errands, but it had become something of a friendly competition between the three friends.
"Yeah, I did. Piece of cake. You would think these people would have more security around their winter homes." Nico smiled. He had been sent to retrieve a rather beautiful and stolen piece – Rembrandt' Self-Portrait from the vacation home of a wealthy elderly couple. "Why would anyone just leave a recently stolen piece in plain view while they aren't at home?" Nico mused. "It serves them right! The real crime would have been to leave it where it was. Now it can be appreciated by those who really care."
Adam looked at Nico in disbelief. "They had the Rembrandt in plain sight? They did know that it was from the Gardner theft in March, right?" On March 18th the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was robbed. The thieves waltzed right in and took some priceless works of art right off the wall. The majority of the works taken were by Rembrandt or Degas, but a Vermeer and a Manet were also snatched. The majority of the works were still too hot to fence, but the Sicilians had connections and were being paid a lot of money for the Rembrandt Nico had taken earlier that evening.
"It wasn't exactly in plain sight." Nico said quietly, not offering any more details.
"Can I see it?" Adam asked. Nico hesitated for a moment before he reached into the messenger bag he was carrying and pulled out a small box. The etching was small, only 1 ¾ x 2 inches, but it was beautiful. Nico, Adam, and Mina all stared at it for a few moments in silence. They loved art and to be in the presence of a such a work – a REMBRANDT for God's sake – left them speechless in awe.
After a few moments, Nico closed the lid of the box and tucked his prize safely back into his bag. "I'd better get this to Mario," he said as he walked away from his friends.
Nico knocked on the door of Mario's office and waited to be acknowledged.
"Che cosa?" growled a voice. Nico opened the door and stepped into Mario's office with a cheeky grin.
"Nico, you have the item we sent you for?" Mario asked. Nico nodded and pulled out the small box containing the Rembrandt. "Good," Mario said as he took the box from Nico. "Any problems?"
"Do I ever have any problems?" Nico retorted before he could stop himself. Mario raised an eyebrow and Nico looked away. "No, no problems," he said again, more quietly. "There was a secondary alarm, but I didn't trip it. It should be weeks before they find out that anything was taken."
"Was there anything else worth grabbing?" Mario asked the boy.
"No. Nope. Nada. Nothing. The Rembrandt was the only thing they had in the safe." Nico lied. The safe contained a rather beautiful emerald necklace and earring set and a couple of bundles of cash in addition to the Rembrandt, but there was no reason to tell Mario that. The Rembrandt was stolen and therefore not rightfully theirs, so they couldn't call the cops about the theft unless they wanted to answer a lot of difficult questions. The jewelry was real and probably something that had been in the family for a while. Nico shied away from taking things that had a great deal of personal meaning. Art was one thing, but jewels were another. Besides, if Nico had taken either of the other items, the police would definitely have been called. Not that Mario thought about any of that when he asked if there was anything else to take. He just wanted to squeeze the most profit out of every job that he could, no matter the consequences.
Mario was about to say something when another man burst into his office.
"Boss, we got a problem," said the newcomer, out of breath. "Somebody tipped the Feds that we was here. They're on their way and we gotta get out a here!"
"Nico, leave, now." Mario snapped. "Go back to your bed and wait there. Don't say a word." Nico nodded and slipped out of the office, shutting the door behind him. Nico, however, didn't go back to his friends. He was somewhat alarmed that the Feds might be closing in. He crouched in the shadows next to the door and listened to the conversation inside the office.
"Boss, Franco said that he heard the Feds talking about moving in on us tonight."
"I knew having an agent in our pocket would pay off. Well, we've got to go then. Tell Johnny and Paul to pack up everything they can in the van and beat it. We'll meet them at the safe house. You get the money from the safe and grab the girls. I'll meet you at the car."
"What about the other kids?"
"They're expendable. I'll take care of it. Just go! We probably don't have much time."
Nico jumped up and ran back to his friends. He knew what "expendable" meant. He'd seen it often enough.
Adam and Mina were laughing, but they stopped once they saw Nico running toward them.
"We've got to go, now," Nico said. The Feds are on their way and Mario is not planning on throwing them a welcome party. We've got to be gone before he gets back here." Adam and Mina knew what Nico was talking about. They'd talked about what to do if they were ever faced with this situation. "Take only what you can put in your packs," Nico whispered. "I'm going to talk to the girls, try to get them to understand."
Nico rushed over to the Russians, who knew that something was wrong. "We've got to go," stumbled Nico in broken Russian, desperately trying to make himself understood. The girls didn't understand everything Nico was trying to say, but they knew that something was wrong. They got up and followed Nico back to the hole at the back of the warehouse where Mina and Adam were already waiting.
Adam pulled back the boards and slipped into the night air, followed by Mina. Neal threw his pack through the hole and was helping one of the Russian girls when he heard Mario shouting. Nico looked back and locked eyes with Mario.
They hadn't bothered to conceal the hole from the rest of the warehouse like they normally did.
Two shots rang out and the girl that Nico had been helping slumped in his arms. Adam and Mina, hearing the shots, pulled the girl through the opening. Nico turned back for the other girl and saw her glassy eyes staring back at him. She was dead. Nico gulped and remember the last time he'd seen someone shot in front of him.
Another shot echoed in the warehouse. Nico felt a searing pain in his left shoulder. By this time Adam and Mina were screaming at him to c'mon already. Nico shimmied through the hole and into the night before Mario could get another shot off. The first girl was lying on her side next to the building.
"She's gone, Nico. Let's get out of here before Mario finishes the job. You can't help her anymore!" said Adam, pushing Nico away from the building. "Run!"
Mina, Adam, and Nico sprinted away from the building. They heard sirens in the distance. The Feds would be too late, but at least the Russian girls would get a decent burial. Nico thought.
They were 10 blocks away before the adrenaline faded and the trio stopped running. Nico suddenly stumbled and fell against Adam, knocking them both to the ground.
"Nico, watch it, man!" Adam grumbled, picking himself up. Nico moaned and didn't get up as quickly. With concern, Adam watched his friend stand up. He was paler than normal and swayed a bit. Then Adam noticed the blood dripping down Nico's left hand. "Nico? What happened? Is that your blood?"
Nico grimaced and nodded. "I think Mario got me," he said before collapsing to his knees.
"Mina, help me here!" Adam said as he rushed to his friend. "C'mon Nico, I know a guy that can help you, but you have to help us get you there. It isn't that much further." Adam draped Nico's good arm over Mina's shoulders and then offered his support on Nico's left side, careful not to cause his friend any unnecessary pain.
Five blocks later Adam knocked on the front door of an abandoned building. Mina looked at him curiously.
"You have a friend who lives here?" she asked. "You've never said anything about it."
"I haven't said a lot about a lot, Mina. He's a friend, yes. He asked that I not talk about him with anyone and so I haven't. He's more than a little paranoid but he's got a good heart. He'll help Nico."
Just then, a quiet voice came from behind the door. "I heard a mockingbird in the park today," it whispered.
Adam whispered back, "It was red. Really red and in need of help."
The door opened immediately and a short man in glasses peered out of the darkness. "Adam? What's wrong? Who are they? Did anyone follow you?"
Nico groaned and slumped against Adam.
"Look, Mozzie, we really need help. Things went south fast and I didn't know where else to go. We weren't followed and these are friends, one of whom was shot. Can we please come in?" Adam asked, growing impatient.
Mozzie hesitated and then stepped back to let them enter. "Put him on the couch. I'll call Ricky. Where was he hit?"
"Left shoulder, I think."
Two hours later, Nico was sleeping on the couch. Mario's bullet had grazed the top of his shoulder, causing a lot of blood but not much damage. Mozzie thanked Ricky, who packed up his med kit and left as silently as he had come. Then Mozzie turned to Adam.
"Okay, give, man. What happened?"
Adam glanced at Mina before telling Mozzie everything that had happened that night.
The next morning Nico awoke in confusion. He kept silent and still, not wanting to alert anyone that he was awake. There was a short man sitting at the table across from him drinking coffee and studying a chessboard. Nico supposed the man was around 20, but the premature balding and the glasses made him look 10 years older.
"Adam tells me you've got quick fingers. That true?" The man asked without looking at Nico.
How'd he know that I was awake? Nico thought. I didn't make a sound or move or anything!
"You're breathing changed. That's how I knew you were awake. How's the shoulder? Ricky said you might be sore for a few days but there won't be any serious damage."
Nico paused when it seemed like the man had read his thoughts. "I'm fine. Where am I?" he asked cautiously. "Who are you?"
The man turned to face him. "You can call me Mozzie. Adam and I go way back. He and Mina went out to see if they could find anything about your Italian friends."
Nico sat up slowly. "They weren't my friends. I don't ever want to see those men again." Nico moved over to the table and sat down. "My name's Dominico, but my friends call me Nico."
Mozzie nodded and went back to studying the board. Nico looked briefly at the board before grabbing the pencil and notebook sitting on the end of the table and beginning to sketch. Mozzie, lost in thought, didn't notice the minor theft until he reached for the notebook. He looked up and saw that Nico had it.
"Hey! What are you doing? I was using that." Mozzie said.
"Fine, calm down. Didn't know it was a big deal. Here, take it."
Nico was about to tear out the page he'd been doodling on when Mozzie stopped him. Mozzie looked at the drawing on the page and then back at Nico. It was a drawing of Mozzie studying the chessboard from Nico's perspective.
"Kid, you've got talent. What else can you draw?"
"Anything that I can see," Nico said, pride creeping into his voice. "I usually do better if I can draw what I see right in front of me, but, if I really think about it, I can usually draw things that I've seen just once or twice."
Mozzie smiled. "I think we're going to get along just fine, kid."
Before Nico could respond, Adam and Mina burst through the door.
"We've got to go, Moz." Adam said. "The Feds got everybody from the warehouse but Mario. Word is that he's looking for us. And we really don't want to be found."
"Okay, easy, Adam," said Mozzie. "Sit, breathe. Let's figure out what to do. You can't stay here, that's for sure." Mozzie thought for a minute before getting up and leaving the room.
"Nico, are you okay?" asked Mina. She eyed her friend as he sat at the table. He was pale and was favoring his left arm, but, other than that, he looked relatively okay.
Nico smiled genuinely, "I'm great." Adam raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine," Nico admitted. "My shoulder hurts like hell. But it's so much better than it could have been, so I really can't complain." Nico swallowed hard at the thought of the two, now dead, Russian girls.
Mozzie walked back into the uncomfortable silence with a duffel bag in hand. "I have a car around the corner than we can use to get out of here. We'll have to dump it once we get out of town so we aren't traced. By the way, I hope you aren't overly attached to your names." Mina looked at Mozzie with confusion in her eyes. "You'll have to shed your names if you want to lose Mario," Mozzie continued, explaining his earlier comment.
Nico shrugged. "A rose by any other name…"
Mozzie looked at him quizzically, before responding. "Romeo and Juliet." Adam and Mina looked at Nico with different expressions of disbelief.
"What?" Nico asked. "So I spent some free time at the library. Big deal."
"Anyway," Mozzie continued before the conversation got too off-track. "You need new names. Choose something that isn't too close to your real name, but is close enough to be easily remembered. Staring with the same consonant is usually a good idea, but pick whatever you'll remember. Once you've chosen your new names, make sure to use that name and only that name, even when you're just thinking. You have to train yourself never to respond to your old name again. Once we get to where we're going, I'll see about getting some IDs made."
Mozzie hustled everyone out of the building and down the street in the direction of his car. Nico thought he looked a bit lit a bobble head the way he kept looking around them. Nico knew Mozzie was checking to make sure they weren't being followed, but he also knew that there were less conspicuous ways of doing so.
Adam shrugged, "So, what'll it be, kids? Adam isn't my real name anyway, so I think I'll stick to that. Mario never knew my name anyway."
Nico said, "I think Nick is probably okay for me. Close to my name but different enough."
"No! That won't do!" interrupted Mina. "That's too common-sounding for you. Your middle name is Napoleone, right?"
Nico winced. He regretted letting that slip. "Yes."
"Then let's call you Neal. That's close enough to the truth. Besides, you're about the same size as Napoleon anyway!" Mina laughed as they reached Mozzie's car. The comment wasn't really that funny, but it did a lot to alleviate the tension that had been building.
Nico, no, Neal, smiled. "I may be short now, but one day, just like him, I'm gonna rule the world!"
The four got in the car and sped away from the city.