Chapter 11: The Threat
September 8, 2004
Joseph walked through the hallways of the Genovian Consulate in Puerto Rico, heading towards the Queen's suite. He checked his watch, it was 9:45 in the morning. Clarisse, Charlotte, a security team and he were leaving for a meeting at the San Juan parliament in a few minutes. As he entered the room, he smelled a wave of scent that made him smile. Clarisse's perfume. He stopped in the center of the room, near the couches, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Oh Joseph, there you are." Clarisse said as she came out of her room and noticed Joseph.
"Yes, um hello Majesty. So you're ready to go?" he asked.
"Yes absolutely. What were you thinking about?" she asked.
"Oh, I wasn't thinking, I was inhaling your perfume my dear." An exquisite scent that soothes me and thrills my heart." Joseph explained after making sure they were indeed alone in the room.
Clarisse smiled at him, approached him and cupped his cheek.
A few hours later, they had all returned to the consulate, proud of the new agreement negotiated by the Queen with the Puerto Rican government. When night fell, Joseph headed to the security room, he came face to face with Shades, who looked particularly like his nephews.
"Boss, what a relief." Shades said.
"Everything okay Shades?" Joseph asked.
"Not exactly. I tried to reach you, but the internal communications were cut off."
"Normal, with all this wind." Joseph said, pointing to the windy weather outside.
"No, actually, they were cut off. It's sabotage boss."
"What do you mean Shades?" » Joseph asked with a look and a serious tone.
"Someone cut the wires on purpose, that's obvious." Shades replied.
"Who could have done that, and why?"
"We believe it's the Rodrigo clan. The family at the top of the Puerto Rican mob. They've already expressed their displeasure to the Puerto Rican government before we got here. In fact, they disagree with the country's new trade agreement with Genovia. Apparently, they'd prefer that the country give them the grape import contracts. Pears were fine, we weren't playing in their game, but with grapes, they consider that we're stealing important contracts from them." Shades explained.
"Okay, I'll do that, but the country would never do business with the mob, come on." Joseph said.
"If I understand correctly, that gives them someone to blame for their failure. A person in fact. » Roger, one of the guards seated in front of a monitor, worried.
"That's what the Puerto Rican authorities believe too. They contacted me just before the communications were interrupted. I then tried to reach you, but we quickly realized that the internal communication cables had also been sabotaged." Shades said.
"Oh shit!" Joseph exclaimed as he walked towards the monitors.
Joseph pressed the keys on the keyboard to switch between the different images projected.
"We have intruders in the consulate! Everyone in place! Hey shit, they cut the camera wires, we'll be in the dark. Newton, Bruno, Jean, with your teams, search the ground floor, they're probably still there. Jim, Simeon and Axel, stand guard on the 2nd floor with your teams. I don't want to see them come up. Shades, Thomas, Roger, Christophe and Claudio, follow me." We'll get the Queen and put her in the blue suite. Be careful, everyone." Joseph ordered.
Everyone complied.
"Charlotte is in her room, we'll pick her up on the way. Then, head to the Queen's suite. We'll wake her up quickly. She won't understand what's going on, but knowing her, she'll let us do it and follow us without any problem. She trusts us. And if they get there, they'll have a nice surprise." Joseph announced as he loaded a gun that he then hid in his belt.
Joseph noticed Clarisse's fear in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, don't worry, everything will be fine." He said as he placed a comforting hand on Clarisse's lower back, as he had gotten into the habit of doing.
"This is the first time I've been threatened."
"And they'll regret just thinking about it, I'm making it a personal matter. Here, put on this necklace." Joseph said as he gave Clarisse a pretty pendant.
"Okay, but there's a GPS chip inside. I want to know where you are at all times." He said.
"But you're going to stay close to me, aren't you?" Clarisse worried.
"I'll be your shadow, Your Majesty, but if they manage to catch you, I'll find you as quickly as possible, and that will help me. But don't worry, I prefer prevention to cure, that's all."
"Okay." Clarisse said, putting on the pendant.
"Now let's go, we have to get you to safety." Joseph concluded.
During the trip to Charlotte's room, Joseph held Clarisse's arm and would not have let go under any circumstances. As he reached the bedroom door, one of the guards opened it hastily, waking Charlotte up.
"What's going on?" Charlotte asked, still in bed.
"It's too long to explain, but let's say that intruders have entered the consulate, and it's not to have tea with the Queen." Joseph explained as he guided Clarisse to one of the armchairs in the room.
"They want to kill her?" Charlotte asked with fear on her face.
"Probably, or else hurt her for sure. What I think is that they want to kidnap her to bring her to their boss, who must want her to retract about the new trade agreement between Genovia and Puerto Rico." Joseph quickly explained to Charlotte.
"It's terrible." Charlotte almost choked.
"That's not going to happen, I'll give you a paper." Joseph added.
"Communications are blocked, even internally, so that complicates the situation a little." Shades added.
Everyone was in place in the room. Charlotte was seated next to the Queen, in the next chair, and Joseph was standing next to Clarisse, his hand on her shoulder. Throughout the procedure, he had never spent even a fraction of a second without physical contact with Clarisse.
Suddenly, they heard gunshots that seemed to come from the hallway. Joseph grabbed Clarisse's arm and dragged her to the corner of the room, hidden by a large solid wood wardrobe. Everyone got into position to welcome the intruders. Charlotte had placed herself in front of the Queen to protect her if necessary. Joseph was to be placed in front of them, also camouflaged by the wardrobe. He took out his weapon and removed the catch. He then got into position. The door opened with a single kick from one of the intruders, then the gunshots were heard. Blades flowed silently over Charlotte's face. Clarisse was terrified inside, but thanks to her experience as Queen, she didn't let it show. However, she kept her eyes closed, which somehow betrayed the fear that had invaded her body. Joseph, on the other hand, had left no room for fear. He had great experience in extreme situations. He had been trained to deal with such situations when he was in the Spanish Navy. He was focused. The two women jumped at the shrill sound of Joseph's gun. He was constantly coming out and covering himself. In total, they had been able to distinguish at least 5 or 6 shots from Joseph. Once silence and calm had returned, Clarisse opened her eyes. Panic invaded her eyes when she realized that Joseph was no longer in her field of vision. She was terrified that he had been hit by a bullet. She tried to get out of her hiding place, but Charlotte did not let her.
"Wait, Majesty, I'm not sure it's safe." She whispered.
"Joseph, where is Joseph?" Clarisse asked, also whispering.
Suddenly, their attention was diverted to Joseph's voice.
"Come on, you little bastard, who do you work for?" he asked.
Clarisse finally managed to get out of her hiding place, Charlotte had visual confirmation from Shades that the area was now officially secure.
"Joseph!" Clarisse almost shouted as she approached him.
"Your Majesty, stay away. Don't get near that pain in the ass." Joseph said as he raised his hand in front of Clarisse to keep her away, then continued.
"Shades, watch this filthy piece of shit for two minutes please."
He then approached Clarisse, then hugged her. They didn't care about the people around them. They knew that it was a normal gesture under the circumstances anyway. Joseph whispered subtly in her ear.
"It's okay now my dear, there is no more danger now."
"I was so afraid that you had been hit."
They moved away a little and Joseph spoke.
"Now excuse me for a moment Your Majesty, I have a little prick to talk. Charlotte, lead the Queen to the security room. Thomas, Christophe and Roger, escort them and stay with them. Claudio and Shades, you will help me make this prick talk." Joseph ordered.
"I won't tell you anything." The man, now tied to a chair, said.
"Shut up! You'll open it when I decide." Joseph said before punching him to show him who was in charge.
He then leaned towards Clarisse to speak to her privately.
"Now my love, I need you to get out of this room. Look straight ahead, don't look at the floor okay? Can you do that for me?" Him, he said.
Clarisse knew perfectly well what Joseph didn't want her to see. She didn't want to see either.
"Okay. Joseph be careful above all." Him, she said.
He nodded to her, then Clarisse left the room with Charlotte as soon as the 3 guards had been selected by Joseph. She had obeyed him and had in no way looked at the lifeless bodies on the floor. Once the door closed behind the small group, Joseph rolled up his sleeves and hit the man again.
"So, let's start by getting to know each other, you and me. What's your name?" Joseph asked as he pulled a chair from the back of the room and placed it in front of the man.
"I forgot." The man said rather arrogantly.
Joseph smiled at him, then hit him again.
"You know, I spent almost 10 years in the Spanish Navy. I know most of the torture techniques. And if you add to that my diplomatic immunity, you must suspect that I'm going to make you live upside down on earth if you don't answer every one of my questions."
The man only laughed in his face.
"Okay, understood." Joseph said as he turned to Shades, who handed him a gallon of water and a towel.
Joseph covered the man's face before speaking.
"So we're going to start slowly, just to show you that I'm not kidding, this technique is one of my favorites, because it doesn't really get dirty and it turns out to be quite effective after a while. " He said before pouring the first half of the gallon of water on the man's covered face.
"I won't talk." The man then said.
"Right now, I just want to know your name. Let's start with that, it's not too difficult." Joseph said before getting ready to start the maneuver again.
"Rohan, my name is Rohan!" The man shouted.
"Well, you see, when you obey." Joseph said while sitting on the chair backwards.
The man didn't answer.
"So, as you can see, we have several gallons full of water at our disposal. If that's not effective enough, I have several other ideas."
"I won't say anything."
"As you wish." Joseph said before shooting him in the foot.
The man screamed in pain for a few seconds, then Joseph continued.
"Your boss's name!"
"Ernesto Rodrigo!" Rohan shouted.
Joseph smirked before getting up. Rohan gave him a questioning look.
"I already knew that." He said, then continued.
"It was obvious that your clan was behind this attack on the Queen. You're not happy with the new agreement, we understood that, in fact, it was obvious that it came from you. You're so predictable."
"Not so much, otherwise you could have reviewed the attack." Rohan said rather arrogantly.
Joseph hit him again.
"That damned bitch has nothing to do with the wine trade. She should have stayed out of our gangs' dishes. If she doesn't back down, we'll kill her, but not before we make her regret daring to thwart us. Several of the guys would like to feel what it feels like to fuck a Queen. Plus, she's hot."
Rohan didn't have time to finish before he was shot in the forehead. Joseph had anger visible in his eyes. Shades approached him.
"How are you, boss?"
"Better now. Shades, warn everyone, we're leaving here as soon as possible. The winds have calmed down, we're going back to Genovia. Claudio, can you call the police? We're going to have to get this filthy trash out of here."
Less than an hour later, the entire team was now safe. They were in the lounge on the ground floor of the consulate, waiting for the Genovia One to be ready for takeoff. They were just waiting for a phone call from the officials at the private airport in San Juan. The lines for communication had been carefully restored by the royal team. Joseph remained constantly close to Clarisse. He moved away from her a little to whisper in her ear.
"My dear, I'm going to go to the room next door, I have an important call to make. I'll be right back okay?"
In the other room, Joseph dialed the number of his cousin Alma's home.
"Hello Alma, this is Joseph. Yes, I'm fine, and you? Is your husband available? It's urgent. Thank you."
"Hello Joseph, what's up, my friend?"
"Hello Rafael, listen, I could use your services, let's say. In fact, you must know Ernesto Rodrigo's clan?"
"Yes, of course, that bastard tried to steal half a million from me last year. »
"We have a common enemy." Joseph simply said.
"So if I understand correctly, you want me to take care of it?" Raphael asked.
"Exactly."
"I thought you didn't want to be involved in the mafia business in any way."
"Let's say I'm willing to make an exception."
"What did he do to you that you want to make such an exception?"
"Do you remember 6 years ago, at Carla and Sylvio's wedding when I told you about the woman who..."
"Yes, the inaccessible woman who makes your heart beat, I remember." Rafael cut him off.
"Let's say the Garcia Clan launched an attack on her tonight." Joseph explained.
"They attempted an attack on the Queen of Genovia? But they're crazier than I thought, those ones, it's not getting any better. »
"Rafael, please, I…"
"Don't worry, Joe." Rafael cut him off again, then continued. "You've always kept my many professional secrets, even the most questionable ones. Your secret is safe with me. But tell me, now that she's a widow, is that…"
"I don't think this is the time to talk about that." Joseph cut him off in turn.
"I'll take care of that piece of shit with pleasure. Queen Clarisse is practically part of the family after all, and the family is sacred. Besides, I've been dying to take that bastard down for a while now. We'll take care of everything. When I'm done, the Garcia Clan will be nothing but a bad memory, trust me."
"I'll owe you one, Rafael." Joseph said.
"You helped me seduce your cousin 25 years ago, I owe you one, Joe. »
"Let's just say we're even then." Joseph laughed.
"I'll let you know when it's done." Rafael concluded.
Joseph hung up and went back to Clarisse.
September 9, 2004
The royal team was now back at the palace. They had landed very early in the morning. Joseph was in the palace's security room. He hadn't really slept. He was far too preoccupied, someone had tried to kidnap her, with the intention of harming her, even killing her. He always kept an eye on the camera in the Queen's suite, overlooking the bedroom. Since there was no camera inside her room, he had told Clarisse to leave the double doors wide open. Since a camera in the suite was aimed at the bedroom doors, one could see inside if they were open. He saw Clarisse come out of her room quite early. He concluded that she hadn't slept much either.
"Good morning, Majesty." He began.
"Good morning Joseph. Did you sleep well?"
"Let's just say I've seen better." He replied.
"Me too." Clarisse smiled delicately.
"Have no fear, Majesty, measures have been put in place to increase security at the palace. I have also sent 6 additional men to America to provide additional protection for Mia and 6 men to the Ventemelia rectory to watch over Pierre."
"Do you think they could go after Pierre or Mia?" She asked, visibly worried.
"I prefer not to take any risks." He said.
"Joseph, you are so considerate, I appreciate it very much. »
"No one is going to try to hurt you in any way. I'm making this a personal matter."
She cupped his cheek.
Charlotte entered the suite.
"Your Majesty, we have started a communication plan to hush up last night's affair. It was a success. And Prince Pierre is on the phone, he would like to speak to you. He noticed the extra security around him, he suspects that something is wrong and he is worried." Charlotte said.
"Thank you Charlotte, I will take him to my room right away."
About ten minutes later, Clarisse returned to the desk.
"Pierre is coming to the palace. He is keen there. Charlotte, have a suite prepared for him, as usual. Joseph, Pierre is waiting for your instructions for travel. He is still on the line." She said, pointing to the phone on a small piece of furniture in her room.
When evening came, Joseph finished his evening meal. It was late, but he had spent the day and evening on the lookout. He heard someone enter the kitchen.
"Ah, there you are, Joe." Pierre said as he entered.
"Your Highness, good evening." Joseph smiled at him.
"I wanted to thank you personally, Joseph. My mother told me what happened yesterday. Thank you for saving her. Thank you for watching over her. Thank you for protecting her."
"That's natural, Your Highness. It's my job. And Clarisse is my friend. As long as I'm alive, no one will hurt her, you can count on me."
"I know. I always knew. Do you think they could come back?" Pierre asked.
"They won't get the chance."
"How can you know?" Pierre asked.
"It's a long story." Simply say Joseph.
"I see. But can you tell me more?"
"I don't think you really want to."
"Actually yes, Joe. Those men tried to kill my mother. I want to know. You have diplomatic immunity, Joe, so it's not illegal. Whatever you're planning, I want to know."
"I won't do anything, not directly at least. I won't leave Clarisse, not even for a few hours. She's terrified, and I won't be at peace if I leave. But I have contacts in the mafia. In my family by marriage. It's only a matter of time before that gang leaves this world." He shouldn't have gone to Clarisse."
"I'm glad to hear that." Pierre said, satisfied.
Joseph gave him a questioning look, but smiled.
"Don't look at me like that. Just because I followed the ranks of the church doesn't mean I want my mother's attackers to get away with it. My mother is the only family I have left, along with Amelia of course. I lost my father and then my brother. You don't touch my mother."
"We're on the same wavelength." Joseph said.
September 13, 2004
Joseph was in the security room, studying the surveillance cameras of the entire palace grounds. He heard his phone ring. He answered it quickly, because he recognized the number on the caller ID.
"Hi Rafael."
"Hey Joe. It's done. There's no gang member left alive." I kept Ernesto to myself. I made sure to let him know that he should never have gone after the Queen of Genovia. He even apologized, those were his last words."
"Thank you Rafael. I'm so relieved to hear that."
"We're staying in Puerto Rico until there's no more threat, but it's just in case. The danger is gone."
"Thank you so much." Joseph added.
"It's okay, we don't touch the family."
"I appreciate it. I'm going to go reassure Clarisse. Thanks again Rafael."
"Bye Joe."
A few minutes later, Joseph entered the Queen's suite.
"Your Majesty, Highness, the threat has been averted."
"Are you sure?" Pierre asked.
"Yes, completely."
"How can you be sure?" Clarisse asked.
"I just heard that the gang has been dismantled. They're all dead," Joseph explained.
"I'm relieved." Clarisse said.
"Me too. I'm going to go get Charlotte and Shades back, they were worried too." Pierre said before kissing his mother's cheek and leaving the room.
Now alone in the room, Clarisse took the opportunity to speak freely.
"I know you had something to do with it, Joseph. Thank you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I know you, Joseph, I know you." She smiled at him.
"No one can mess with you and get away with it." Joseph told him with a very serious look.
Clarisse cupped his cheek before speaking.
"I love you." She told him without breaking the contact of her hand on his face.
"I love you too." He said, enjoying the contact.