Chapter 12 #3
Cavendish looked mildly annoyed. “You’re hardly in a position to bargain, Mr. di Pietro.”
“He’s not a part of this.”
“Again, the operative word here is leverage. If we let him go, what’s to stop you from doing a bad job on the forgery, or refusing to cooperate entirely?
We can’t very well break your arms or legs to get you to fall in line, and still expect you to produce a quality product.
” But they could hurt my boyfriend. That was what he meant, even if he didn’t actually say it.
I looked at Armando again. He was staring straight ahead and didn’t so much as glance at me. There was a frown line between his brows, and he was grinding his teeth. Other than that, he remained motionless and nearly expressionless.
I didn’t know what else I could say or do. This man held all the cards, and trying to run or fight would probably get us shot. I sighed and slumped in my seat, and Cavendish asked, “How long do you estimate the forgery will take?”
“The data sheet said the canvas is roughly three feet by four. I’m very familiar with Cezanne’s work and style, so I can probably complete it in under a month, assuming I’m provided with the right supplies.”
Cavendish seemed happy with that response. He got up and said, “Very good. Safe travels, gentlemen.”
“You’re not coming with us?”
“No. My team and I are based here in San Francisco, which is how we were able to reach you so quickly. Another of Mr. Ashcroft’s colleagues will assist you when you land.
You’ll be in the air close to eleven hours, so do take advantage of the onboard food and beverage service.
There’s also a bedroom at the back of the plane. I suggest trying to get some rest.”
“Am I going to meet Ashcroft at some point?”
“That’s highly doubtful. He’s a very busy and important man, and you’re little more than a pebble in his shoe.”
He started to leave, but I called after him, “Swear to me that no harm will come to us or my family if I cooperate.”
He paused in the doorway and glanced at me. “Again, you have my word. Just do as you’re told, Mr. di Pietro, and you’ll be able to look back at this as nothing but a minor inconvenience.”
With that, he left the plane. A few seconds later, another thug boarded, followed by two pilots and two flight attendants, who went to work preparing for takeoff.
I turned to Armando, but he got up and moved to a seat at the back of the cabin, which was facing away from me. I thought he’d be scared, and he probably was. But he also seemed furious.
I decided the best idea was to give him some time to process what had happened, so I stayed where I was.
Pretty soon, I was approached by a bubbly male flight attendant, who asked if I wanted a beverage.
Did he know I was being abducted? Did he care?
When I declined the offer, he went and asked Armando the same question and got a clipped, “No, thank you.”
Sometime later, a light appeared on a control panel to my left, instructing me to fasten my seatbelt.
A few minutes after that, we were barreling down the runway.
I checked to see how Armando was doing during takeoff.
His back was to me, but I could see his hand white-knuckling the armrest. I already felt guilty, and that ratcheted it up even further.
Once we were in the air and the seatbelt light went out, I got up and moved to the seat across the narrow aisle from him. He was staring out the window and didn’t look at me when I asked, “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“I’m so—”
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. Not again.”
“But I am.”
His eyes were blazing when he turned to me and said, “That doesn’t help, Salvatore.” Had he ever used my full name before? I instantly missed his affectionate nickname for me.
“I know, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“You know what you could have done? Been honest with me.”
“Technically, I didn’t lie...”
“You told me you were a criminal when we were joking around. You knew I wouldn’t believe you, any more than you’d believe I worked on race cars.”
“I was planning to tell you the truth today,” I said, “as soon as we got to the hotel.”
“Come on. You had two and a half months to say, ‘oh hey, by the way, that fake back story I told you was actually the truth.’ Maybe you could have thrown in the fact that you were being hunted by a terrifyingly powerful maniac, who wanted you to pay for your crimes. That might have been good to know.”
“I really was going to tell you everything this afternoon.”
“Why today?”
“I wanted to come clean before we had dinner with your family. I didn’t want to lie to them.”
“But lying to me was okay?”
“No, it wasn’t. I should have been honest with you from the start. I never thought my past would blow back on you though, because I really didn’t think they could find me.” He didn’t reply, so after a pause I said, “The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt you, Arie.”
“But here we are.”
With that, he went into the bedroom and shut the door, leaving me alone with my guilt.