Chapter 5

The next day, Mike and Melody began working through their morning routine as per usual. Upon dressing however, they were informed by a servant at their door that their presence was needed in King Farzan’s quarters at the top of the tower in the middle of the courtyard. Knowing this must be something of extreme importance, they walked hurriedly to the tower and began the long elevator ride up to the top. As the elevator stopped, a pair of guards greeted them, clad in armor and wielding fierce-looking battleaxes.

“Please, come in. His Excellency is expecting you,” one of them said, opening the door to Farzan’s inner sanctum for them.

Stepping inside, they now stood in the middle of a luxurious, tropical paradise. The room was lavishly adorned and decorated, containing numerous couches and cushions for entertaining guests and relaxation. The walls of the circular entry room were lined with curtains and draperies made of the finest silk. All of them were colored blue and embroidered with the symbol of the Water Jinn. As they marveled at the lush environment surrounding them, Farzan entered through one of the curtains.

“Welcome, my friends. Please, this way,” he said.

Following Farzan through the curtains, they now found themselves in a large meeting area. The room was circular and decorated similarly to the entryway, but rather than the numerous cushions scattered throughout the room, there was but one seating area. A circular sofa sat in the center of the room around a table. Upon sitting with Farzan at the table, Mike noticed that the sofa, while comfortable, was more rigid in its cushioning than some of the ones in the entryway appeared to be. It was clear that this was an area for work, not leisure.

“So, you are likely wondering why I have called you here today,” Farzan began. “I will explain everything shortly, once our final guest arrives.”

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear!” came a voice from the entryway. A moment later, King Salim joined them.

“Ah, there he is! Mike, Melody, you remember King Salim of the Fire Jinn, do you not?”

“How could I forget?” Mike replied, extending his hand to Salim.

“It is good to see you again,” Salim said warmly, shaking his hand. “I must apologize for my behavior at our last meeting, Mike. I was ... impolite to you.”

Waving his hand, Mike responded, “Completely unnecessary. You were ensuring that the Council was, in fact, acting in the best interest of your people. I respect and appreciate that more than anything.”

Pleasantries exchanged, the group sat at the sofa surrounding the table in the center of the room.

Farzan began, “Now then, the reason for this meeting is to discuss the final two genie servants and their masters, both of whom are part of the Fire Jinn, hence King Salim’s presence.”

Nodding, Salim continued, “From the very beginning of our discussions of your involvement in these affairs, these two masters have always been a cause for concern and worry. Observe.”

With a wave of his hand, Farzan dimmed the lights in the room and brought up the ethereal globe of Earth. Two points of red light appeared on the globe, one in New York, and the other in London. Twisting the globe around, Salim brought the focus onto the New York location.

“Both of these masters have been with their genie servants for quite some time, at least two hundred years each, possibly more,” Salim said. “They have completely mastered their wishing capabilities, and have become very wealthy and powerful as a result. Thus, convincing them to agree to the amendments to our laws will be no easy feat; I have always doubted that it is even possible.”

“All right, let’s have a look at the first one,” Mike said, zooming in on the point of light. Bringing up a biography, he read aloud, “Anthony Trapani, age two hundred thirty. Publicly a respected businessman, but has privately been a powerful organized crime boss since the 1930s. Constantly changes his appearance to give the impression of a child taking over the family business, throwing off suspicion in regards to his longevity. List of female conquests ... long, but not as long as it could be for a two hundred thirty year-old, I suppose.”

“Despite that, it seems children are a big part of his personality,” Melody observed. “Over the years, he has fathered approximately sixty children. In spite of his illegal activities, he is well known in both his public and private lives to genuinely love them and spends almost all of his free time with them.”

“Quite a dichotomy, wouldn’t you agree?” Salim asked.

“Definitely,” Mike mused. “Melody, I think we need to make an appointment to meet with Mr. Trapani on his turf.”

“You mean we shouldn’t announce our presence like we’ve done previously? Why? He doesn’t have any magical barriers like Hiro did.”

Mike replied, “It’s all part of getting inside his head and understanding how he thinks. He sees himself as a businessman in all things, regardless of the legality of the activity. He’s a man who craves respect, and intentionally going against that would cause him to refuse to even hear us out, I fear. Remember, he’s not some immature college student, not like Shane Walker was. Trapani is a man to be taken seriously, and that’s what we should do.”

Nodding, Melody said, “All right, then. I’ll make the call.”

Strolling through his factory, Anthony Trapani checked through his daily schedule on an iPad Holo. Noticing he had an upcoming appointment in the next thirty minutes, he began to make his way towards his office overlooking the floor of the factory. Along the way, he chatted with several of his workers, knowing each of them by name and asking how their families were doing. Anthony loved his employees, and never wished for his diamond-smuggling business to bring harm to them, which was why he kept that part of his dealings in an undisclosed location. As he watched one of them put the finishing touches on a repulsor-lift for a hover-train, Anthony couldn’t help but chuckle at the operation he had built; from manufacturing tires to now helping to build some of the most technologically advanced vehicles the world had ever seen.

At the turn of the twentieth century, he was just a tiny kid from Sicily, running from the mob boss who had murdered his family. After receiving a name change at Ellis Island, resulting in his hometown of Trapani becoming his last name, he was granted entry into New York City, where he began his struggles to make a better life for himself. He worked for fifteen years, saving everything he could, but to little avail. Soon, Anthony had little choice but to turn to a life of crime, not only for food, but also for protection. The rough streets of New York didn’t take kindly to tiny child immigrants, but joining up with bigger and stronger individuals who had also immigrated to America gave him a fighting chance at life. Still, he was a small fish in a huge ocean, at least, until one fateful day just shy of his twenty-second birthday.

On that day, he and his boss, Gino, had been assigned to speak with a local shopkeeper about his refusal to pay protection money to the leader of the gang Anthony was employed with. The shopkeeper was an honest man, and had made his shop successful enough that he did not want or need to associate with criminals. Still, that success eventually made him a target all the same. Though he still resisted, Anthony and Gino began to trash the shop a bit, hoping to convince the man, but nothing was working. During their romp, the two men heard a frightened yelp coming from the back storage room. Opening the door, Gino discovered the shopkeeper’s sixteen-year-old daughter.

She was very beautiful, and Gino had a well-known weakness for beautiful girls and women; he was well known among the prostitutes of New York, and could advise anyone as to the best women in town. Gino now began to threaten that he would punish the man’s daughter if he did not comply with their demands. Anthony at first thought this was just an idle threat, but when Gino began to rip her dress apart and lower his pants, he knew that his boss was serious. Anthony immediately panicked; he had joined up with a group of men that he had deemed at least to be somewhat honorable, never targeting women and children, yet the rape of an innocent girl was about to occur right before his eyes. He pleaded with Gino to leave the girl alone, but was promptly told to shut up. Seeing no other choice, Anthony drew his snub-nose revolver and fired a single shot into Gino’s temple, killing him instantly before he could harm the girl.

As Anthony dropped his gun and sunk to the floor, his hands trembled as he realized what exactly he had done: he had murdered his superior. Anthony knew he would now be blacklisted and marked for death, as there was never an excuse to turn on one’s own boss. As he was about to get up and sprint out of the shop for his life, the shopkeeper immediately hugged the young man, thanking him profusely for sparing his daughter. The man understood that Anthony had to run, but refused to let him leave before thanking him. He gave the boy an old pocket watch, telling him that it would change his entire life for the better. Anthony had no clue what the man was talking about, but thanked him nonetheless before running for his life. The man shouted to him that he only needed to set the time when he arrived home. This action, as it turned out, had brought Anthony into the company of the woman who became the love of his life.

“Good morning, my love,” came a sweet, feminine voice.

Snapping back to reality, Anthony replied with his slight Brooklyn accent, “Good morning, Apollonia.” The workers on the factory floor whistled and laughed as Anthony planted a long kiss on his wife’s lips.

As the pair walked up the stairs towards the offices, her form-fitting cream dress flowing gracefully with every move she made, Anthony took a few moments as he did every day to admire his lovely wife. She was tall with gorgeous olive skin and deep brown hair that appeared almost black, yet shimmered brilliantly in the right light. Her face was soft and warm, with full, rich lips, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. Apollonia’s breasts were a full C-cup and quite nice, but by far her most wondrous asset was her inviting, heart-shape behind. Every time she walked up the stairs, it was a chore for Anthony not to push her down and take her over and over again.

“Enjoying the view as usual?” she asked with her trademark Italian accent, eying him playfully over her shoulder.

“You know me too well,” Anthony said with a chuckle. “Now, what’s this first meeting on the schedule regarding?”

Shaking her head, Apollonia replied, “They did not say. They only said that it is a matter of immediate importance that affects you directly.”

Rubbing his chin in confusion, he then asked, “Who are these people?”

“Their names are Mike and Melody Braxton, but that is all I know about them.”

“Did you sense any danger from them?” Anthony was always careful to steer any potential violence away from his place of business; the factory was a legitimate company, and the last thing he wanted was for his employees to be inadvertently caught up in an attempt on his life.

“None, as far as I can tell.”

“Very well, let me know when they arrive.”

Stepping inside his office, he relaxed at his desk for a while, reviewing productivity reports for the month on his computer. Soon a soft knock came at the door leading to Apollonia’s adjoining office. “Come in,” he said.

“Mr. Trapani, your first appointment of the day is here,” Apollonia said.

“Very good, send them in.”

Standing to meet his guests, Anthony was greeted by two individuals: a blonde haired young man with a look of quiet confidence in his eye, and a beautiful redhead with striking emerald eyes. Both were dressed in tan suits. After running his fingers through is slicked, black hair, Anthony extended his hand in greeting.

“Morning, I’m Anthony Trapani.”

“A pleasure, sir. Mike Braxton. This is my wife, Melody,” Mike replied, shaking his hand.

“Melody? Very beautiful name, for quite a beautiful woman,” Anthony remarked, kissing her hand lightly. “Your husband’s a lucky man.”

With a cute giggle, Melody replied, “Thank you, but I’m the lucky one.”

Glancing at the pair with a smug look in his eye, Anthony only replied, “I’ll bet.”

“Please, have a seat,” Anthony said, gesturing towards the chairs at his desk. “Can I offer you anything to drink?”

“Not for me, thank you,” Mike replied. Melody shook her head no.

“Alright,” Anthony said, sitting at his desk with them. “Now then, let’s get down to it. Why did you two need to meet with me so suddenly? My wife informed me that it is ‘a matter of immediate importance, ‘ correct?”

“That’s right,” Mike replied. “It concerns the life story of a young boy who immigrated to America from Sicily in the year 1900. A boy who, despite living for years in poverty, managed to change his luck for the better and make his family one of the wealthiest and most successful in America.”

With a slight chuckle, Anthony remarked, “Impressive. You’re familiar with the story of my great-grandfather, my namesake.”

“We are,” Mike said. “That is, if he was in fact your great-grandfather.”

The smile disappeared from Anthony’s face. “What do you mean?”

Flashing her megawatt smile, Melody said, “We know the truth, Anthony. We know everything about you. Your escape from Sicily, your struggles to work your way up in America, the decision you made to kill you boss, and everything else that resulted from it ... including Apollonia.”

After pondering this information for a few moments, Anthony pressed a button on his desk. “Apollonia, would you join us please?”

The graceful and beautiful woman stepped into the office a moment later, walking over to her husband. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

He gently wrapped his arm around her waist as she stood beside him, and said, “It seems our friends are under the impression that my great-grandfather and I are one in the same.”

With a confused look on her face, Apollonia asked, “Are you aware that the first Anthony Trapani came to America over two hundred years ago?”

“We are,” Mike replied. “And we also know how he has managed to survive for all these years. It’s all thanks to you, Apollonia.”

“I ... don’t understand,” she said.

“Apollonia, it’s ok,” Melody said reassuringly. “We know the truth. You’re a genie. Just as I am.”

Turning to her husband, Apollonia said, “Your new friends are quite intelligent, my love.”

“Looks that way.” Eyeing the pair intently, Anthony asked, “What exactly is it you want? I had the understanding that genies couldn’t sense each other.”

“That is normally true. However, there are extenuating circumstances,” Melody answered. “We are here at the request of the Council of Four.”

“Oh, I get it,” Anthony said, feeling as if he knew where this was going. “They must not be too happy with some of my ... off the books activities, and they sent you to shut me down. Is that it?”

Melody began, “No, that is not-”

“Well, I don’t give that up so easily! Apollonia, I think it’s time you show our friends out.”

Walking up to Mike, she said, “It is time for you to go, I’m afraid.”

“We’re not done yet,” Mike said calmly, staring straight at Anthony.

“Please, this way,” Apollonia said, reaching for Mike’s arm.

“You lay a hand on my husband, and you will regret it,” Melody advised her.

Apollonia paused at her threat, looking to Anthony for his reaction. He nodded, indicating for her to “show them out.” However, as soon as she touched Mike’s shoulder, she found her wrist in the iron grip of Melody’s hand.

“Your actions are ill advised, girl,” Apollonia said to her. “As you must know, my husband’s business attracts a number of dangerous individuals. I am well practiced in using any means necessary to protect him from threats.”

“That may be,” Melody replied, “but the Council anticipated that this might happen. I’m more than capable of overpowering you, that I can promise.”

The two women locked eyes for several moments, neither conceding an inch in their self-confidence. Apollonia was first to break the tension, attempting to perform a Judo throw to flip Melody onto her back. Melody, however, was more than ready, landing squarely on her feet and using her momentum to fling Apollonia over her head, landing the woman flat on her ass. She panted for a few seconds as she caught her breath, slowly turning to stare at Melody in sheer amazement.

“It seems ... I underestimated you,” she finally said to Melody.

As Melody took her seat next to him, Mike asked, “Mr. Trapani, may we continue to have a serious discussion now?”

After taking his wife’s hand to help her up, he replied, “I suppose. You sure you’re not here to shut me down?”

“Positive,” Mike said. “While I may not agree with all of your choices, Apollonia has, for the most part, served you in merely a protective capacity, which is well within the laws set by the Council. As far as they’re concerned, your choices are your own.”

Mike continued to elaborate on the amendments to the laws and the Council’s desire for Anthony to agree to the new laws. Anthony listened intently, running his fingers along his wife’s soft skin all the while, as he often did to help calm his mind in an unfamiliar situation.

“So what you’re sayin’ is ... as it stands, these amendments don’t apply to me, is that right?” he asked.

“Correct,” Melody replied.

“And they only affect me if I agree to them?”

“That’s right,” Mike said.

“Why would I do that? I mean I’d be giving up one of my biggest bargaining chips, a trump card that could save my ass in a desperate situation. Why give that up?”

Looking Anthony square in the eyes, Mike answered, “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“In your opinion,” Anthony stated simply, pointing at Mike.

Smirking, Mike asked, “What about that shopkeeper’s daughter you saved all those years ago?”

“What do you mean?”

“In your opinion, killing your boss to save her was the right thing to do. I’m sure others in your gang would have felt differently, but that didn’t change what you knew to be the honorable thing to do,” Mike explained.

“Be that as it may, I fail to see how that has any impact on us today,” Anthony countered.

“No? What if a man like Gino had gained a genie? He would have been able to do what he nearly did to that poor girl, but to anyone and everyone. He would have unlimited power to rape anyone he pleased, all without consequence,” Mike replied.

After several long moments, Anthony said, “That ... would be horrible. But I’m not like Gino; I would never do that.”

“I know you’re not,” Mike said with a smile. “That’s why I’m asking you in this way. Remember, Melody and I could have simply appeared to you magically and tried to force ourselves upon you, but we didn’t. We made an appointment and asked to meet with you on your terms, all because we realize that you are a man to be taken seriously, a man who, in spite of his illicit activities, does possess a sense of honor and decency. There are certain lines you will not cross. That is why, I believe, you know this to be the right thing to do.”

“I don’t know...” Anthony mused.

“Mr. Trapani,” Melody said softly. “Please don’t do it for us. Do it for your family. What if you could prevent something horrible from happening to one of your daughters or granddaughters, but chose not to?”

Glaring at Melody, Anthony growled, “You leave my family outta this. I love them with all my heart. They’re my whole world.”

“I know they are,” Melody replied. “That’s why this must be done. For their sake, if nothing else.”