25. Chapter Twenty-Five #3
“I was. Funny, you seemed familiar when Josh introduced you. But then I’ve met people before who have resonated in that way—although not as strongly—so I initially dismissed the notion.
Put the experience down to the fact that you knew Josh.
You know, the way we tend to gravitate towards the same friends as our partners.
Besides, I knew beyond any doubt that I was the sole surviving Knight, the first one taken down and left for dead among the carnage in the gym.
I became suspicious when I compared Albert to being your uncle.
Honestly, Gabe, the blood drained from your face.
But then, of course, you took that stack of Euros from Josh, the cash Albert left you, and I got a good look at the tattoo on your wrist. And in that moment, I knew.
Detail is my thing. I said nothing because you were escaping to a new life and had no memory of your old one.
I figured the less you knew, the better.
What I wouldn’t give to have no memory of that brutal childhood. ”
I have the photo of the eight Knights together somewhere in my bag, a truly multicultural mix. I hadn’t recognised Nishan—we were all so young.
“But I’d be fucked if I wasn’t going to do everything in my power to assist you,” he continues. “Which meant keeping a watchful eye on you. As I say, detail combined with technology has always been my forte, even back then. That’s how I’m hardwired.”
Strangely, I’d felt someone was with me, looking out for me, the kind of thing Albert would have done. For a time, I’d actually believed it was Albert, that he was still alive.
“If I’m going to be honest, Gabe, when Josh and I phoned you in Tuscany, when you told us about the villa discovery, your voice had changed subtly.
You sounded relaxed and excited. Alive. And I was not about to ruin that.
Everything happening to you seemed to be tied to the Callico family, and I knew I could handle any one of those amateurs, if and when the time came.
So I chose to carry on watching from a distance. ”
Nishan chuckles before continuing.
“That camera system in Eagle House is a work of art, isn’t it?
Almost unhackable. Almost. But that night of the raid on the villa.
Fuck. Nobody could have seen that coming.
My phone flashed a system alarm when a couple of intruders appeared on your back lawn, but then my connection dropped, and I was booted out.
Whoever put the system together must have built in a failsafe.
I was blind and had no idea what the fuck had happened to you.
I spent the next week calling in favours.
But then Alice came to see Josh and told him she had spoken to you, said you were fine, sipping cocktails on the back lawn.
A day after the raid. By then, a couple of my old and trusted contacts had put me in touch with Romano.
I cannot tell you how relieved I was when I found you were alive and well, and that Gabriel had been retired—in name, at least.”
“Does Josh know any of this?”
“Not much. You know how spirited he gets. If I’d told him someone had attempted to kill you, I think he might have gone straight to Callico House and tried to torch the place, before flying here.”
“I meant, does he know about you?”
“No,” says Nishan decisively. “Romano does now, but not Josh. And I would rather keep things that way. I’m Nishan now, not Seven, not soldier, not an automaton to be ordered around and switched off when no longer needed.
I love Josh, but some things he’s better off not knowing.
I will always sleep with one eye open—hence the elaborate locks on our garden flat—but I will strive every day to give Josh a good life. That much we both deserve.”
“You do.”
“But you getting rid of the old man has lifted a weight. We were programmed to obey that bastard’s commands when he used certain phrases on each of us.
That’s how he triggered us to kill each other.
Good job your Italian friends blew him out of the sky.
All I could do was take over the computerised controls and hope that holding them steady would do the trick. ”
“You took control of the drone?”
“The drone’s computerised navigation system.
Same with Mr Washington’s car. I could have seized the controls at any time, but I only needed access to his phone’s messaging system and road cam.
I had feeds from Sylvie Leblanc’s hospital room CCTV and her uncle’s—my reluctant saviour’s—security system.
I told you I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on you.
Everything and everywhere these days has an element of computerisation and surveillance.
And you remember the London property you rented near the hospital? ”
“That was yours?
“Not mine, but my dad’s. My adoptive dad. But I manage the property for him. The girl in the office was on the phone with me that day you rented the place.”
“You charged me two grand for that hole?”
Nishan smirks. “If I’d charged less or told her to let you have it for free, you’d have smelled a rat.”
This is true.
“As it happens, agreeing to hand keys over immediately, via a phone call, is unusual enough. But I knew you were in dire need. The night you set off the fire alarms, I was outside the hospital, observing Leblanc’s room feed from my phone from the same bus shelter as Lorenzo.
Good diversion, by the way. When Lorenzo rushed to get his motorbike, I had an idea what he had in mind, so I trailed the guys who were following you on foot.
Just in case. Fortunately, neither of you needed my help taking them down. He’s pretty handy, your man, isn’t he?”
“He is, indeed.”
“I took care of the mess you left behind. And alerted Romano to the number plate of the one that got away. You know, they picked the perfect location to jump you. A total blind spot. Not a single CCTV along that parade of shops. Unheard of in this day and age, which made me think those guys knew what they were doing. It also meant the clean-up was pretty seamless. Look, I’d better go before Josh comes looking for me.
But I just wanted to say I’m always here if you ever need to talk.
And I have a feeling that Romano, seeing what I’m capable of, might call on me again. ”
“Trust me, he tends to do that.”
Nishan chuckles. “You know, old man Leblanc told me my problem-solving skills, firearm handling and most of all, my technical savvy made up for my lesser fighting skills. Otherwise, there might have only been seven Knights.”
“More than made up, I would say. Thank you for everything, Nishan.”
“We’re brothers, Gabe. That’s what we do. We look out for one another.”
As the afternoon wears on, I am determined to join everyone for dinner.
After getting the go-ahead from Romano, Lorenzo helps me to shower and dress.
But I refuse his help walking, preferring to use my feet and get some exercise.
However, I do allow him to pad out a chair at the dining table and make sure I am comfortable.
November weather in Tuscany often drops to below ten degrees, and with the threat of rain, Mrs Bellacci decides to serve dinner in the villa dining room overlooking the pool.
If I didn’t know her better, I would think she had been planning the meal for weeks.
The main dish, perfect for the cool weather, is a huge pot of steaming Tuscan fisherman’s stew, which she calls cacciucco.